loneliness
We Are Never Alone
Extreme loneliness and feeling isolated have become more prevalent over the past year. Distancing ourselves from loved ones, friends and co-workers has not been easy, but being the determined spirits we are, we are all finding new ways to communicate and stay in touch. Yet, it will never be the same as a real-life hug.
Living in a house with several other people also does not shield us from feeling lost in all the chaos and noise that reaches us from the outside world, leaving many of us feeling empty, anxious and downcast.
To navigate these challenging times it is vital to have strong internal center and active spiritual life. Being spiritually aware and grounded empowers us with the knowing that we are never alone. Spiritually conscious souls know that the Universe, Spirit, God, Source, is always with us, supporting us, directing us, and protecting us.
Touching base with Spirit on a daily basis offsets the void of loneliness, fear or despair when it rears its ugly head. Some people do not have a social support system, and this can generate even more severe loneliness, depression and mental health challenges.
It’s important to remember that in our daily prayers and meditations, we are able to send protection, healing light and loving energy to others at a distance. We should be mindful to reach out to others more often and share our ‘spiritual glow’ with them.
It is also helpful to remember that there is always a higher purpose with everything that happens in our world. Keeping this knowledge uppermost in our minds can take us out of panic mode and remind us that faith and trust will bring us through to the other side of this pandemic.
When a sense of loneliness arises, one of the best things you can do is to reach out to someone else who is in a more difficult or less privileged circumstance than yourself. It serves to break the hold that a feeling of solitude can have on us.
Thriving In The Winter Of Our Discontent
Enduring a harsh winter with extreme weather, in the midst of an ongoing pandemic, is not an easy feat. It reminds me of the ‘winter of our discontent’ that Shakespeare refers to in the first line of his play Richard III. This winter-pandemic combo is certainly a ‘double whammy’ that could potentially break any camel’s back! But how we choose to deal with these times will determine how it will serve to improve our lives in the long run.
Winter is actually a great time to think about spiritual and personal self-care, especially in places where there are extreme weather conditions. Where I live, in the state of Maine, the winters weather conditions can be severe, making it a time to just surrender, to give myself permission to rest my body, mind and spirit.
It is a time to go within, to meditate, to read, write, paint, to do things that feed the soul. It is good time to connect deeply with our inner being, the subconscious mind, the higher self. It is a time to retreat, allowing the mind to regroup, and to replenish your body, mind, and spirit. When we take the time to get acquainted with ourselves again, we find truth, wisdom, mental and even physical healing.
If you are going through a snowed-up winter right now where you live, use this time to review your bucket list. Reflect on all that is good about your life. Think about things that are not working for you anymore and the best course of action to move forward. Give yourself time to process it all.
The past year has also been a time of getting to know who we really are and what matters to us most. The global pandemic had some major shocks and surprises in store for those of us who had lost touch with ourselves and the people around us. I have been helping many clients working through these challenges.
For many the pandemic has notably been a time of intense solitude. A time of learning to be comfortable in your own company. In the beginning, the hope was that life would go back to normal in just a few months. But as time has gone on, we have had adjust to the so-called ‘new normal.’
The Spirits Of The Mountains Are My Soulmates
There are times in our lives when we know that our inspirations are coming from something beyond the personality. These visions come from a land beyond the physical, even beyond words. They are concepts we have no words for, we have only our inner knowing. The personality moves over and we find ourselves relying upon something beyond the five senses, or sheer logic.
Perhaps that sixth sense is the emerging force, which is the next step in the evolution of the human race. A developing being knows it is no longer appropriate to depend only upon the physical world. This being will develop the skills it needs to see and feel and work within the unseen territory of the soul.
Once we acknowledge the soul’s existence and approach it with respect and sacredness, the personality becomes aligned with the soul. With this alignment comes respect for all life, and many difficulties usually experienced with the unconscious personality can be avoided.
When our soul becomes mindful and directly involved with the physical world, we greet each day with the deepest part of ourselves, and all activities become gratifying and purposeful. It is the gratitude that we give each day that gets us off the karmic wheel of debt, because we now see the sacredness of all life. W
I have much to be grateful for. The desert’s barrenness, along with the mountains’ majesty, stripped me of my ego long enough to allow the healing forces of the sagebrush to greet my soul. Sage has healed my physical body during illness, my emotional and mental bodies during depressions and confusion, and it has healed my soul of desolation.
Pay It Forward With Holiday Gratitude
As the year end approaches, most of us would normally be shopping, entertaining and gathering with friends and family to celebrate the various holidays and the New Year. Lots of special food, drink and laughter would also be the order of the day!
With a few exceptions, many of our usual traditions are however being curtailed this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, at a time when holiday shopping, traditional music and festive lights usually brighten the scene, many of us will have to be low-key and socially distanced, even isolated and alone.
In addition, although many people will be able to celebrate virtually, those with limited access to technology will not, so some loved ones will be forced to limit their contact to the telephone only, or even do without.
It is therefore even more important this year to think of those who will not be able to find an easy way to compromise or ‘make-do’ with alternative online shopping or virtual socializing.
Give thought to those you personally know who may have been cut off from their usual social activities, friends and relatives. Perhaps you can make an extra phone call or two, or send an old-fashioned Christmas card by postal mail, or surprise them with the delivery of an unexpected little gift.
Let just one person outside your intimate family circle know that they are still in your thoughts, even though you cannot visit or see them in person. It can make really make a world of difference for someone who is unable to get out to visit friends, or welcome family this year.
Many people have also lost loved ones in recent months and will be grieving this Christmas, instead of celebrating. If you know someone who is in this predicament, do reach out to them and offer a comforting word and some emotional support. Even just a little can go a very long way!
A Silver Lining In Times Of Uncertainty
We grow in our spiritual awareness and insight in different ways. Some of us read spiritual material by great authors, for example, and learn from their wise teachings, while others meditate and go deep within for guidance, and so on. However, in my experience the most powerful catalyst for spiritual growth is a time of trauma or crisis.
With the Covid-19 pandemic currently raging around the world, many people have lost loved ones, income, savings, businesses and homes. These losses can be devastating, especially when children are involved. Many people are in grief, many are lonely and isolated. Normal life has been greatly curtailed for many, with no clear end in sight.
It has also been an extremely stressful, challenging time for our essential frontline workers and healthcare professionals. The novel coronavirus has affected everyone to some extent, and it is during such trying times that many of us turn to Spirit, or the God of our understanding, and ask: why?
In these times our faith in a higher power, in ourselves, and in our world at large, becomes even more pivotal to our mental health and personal well-being. Hope and faith give us the strength and courage to carry on another day, regardless of not being able to see the end result at the moment. When we dig deep, we can often find untapped spiritual and psychological reserves, that we were unaware we actually had.
Although living through a global pandemic is an experience our generation has not encountered before, many of us are rising to the occasion by helping others in person, online or by donation.
People are also transforming from within. Many are becoming stronger, more resilient and positive, knowing that they will be able to surmount this challenge, and even support others throughout the ordeal too.
Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow
A loyal client recently asked me to send her one of the guided meditations in my collection. I have collected many over the years, and she experienced several of them in a meditation class I used to offer. She said she was planning to start a small meditation group of her own, and would be happy with whichever meditation I chose to share with her.
I sincerely wished to help her, and therefore wanted to choose carefully. So, on my walk this morning, along a path lined with olive trees, I asked my guides for a sign or symbol of what script would best help her get going with her guided meditation venture.
Well, Spirit never ceases to surprise me. The ‘sign’ was almost instant, and prominent. Out of nowhere, I suddenly smelled the exquisite scent of the ‘Yesterday Today and Tomorrow’ plant (Brunfelsia). I immediately knew exactly which meditation to send my client.
Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow Meditation
Sit in a comfortable chair and close your eyes. With your eyelids closed, glance upwards for a few moments, directing your eyes towards the heavens. This is helpful in relaxing your eyes and also symbolic in connecting with Spirit.
Now, take several deep breaths and, as you do so, relax your head in a downward position. Allow your eyeballs to relax downwards too, whilst still keeping your eyelids gently closed.
Healing The Pain Of Losing Your Beloved
Understanding the true nature of our soul journey, how does one cope with the pain of physical separation when our loved ones leave the physical form? There is no easy way to cope with the grief of separation from a beloved. It opens the water ways of deep emotion that rise and fall like the waves on the sea.
Even in the super-excellent times of Radha and Krishna, the supreme divine feminine and masculine described in the ancient spiritual texts of Srimad-Bhagavatam, waves of love in separation were displayed and described to the ultimate pure degree. These transcendental writings identifies the eternal realm of divine love as the original clear source of all that we experience here in a dimly reflected form, including the pain of being parted from the physical presence of a dear soulmate.
So, what can we learn from this source that we can mirror in undergoing this heart aching distress in our own lives?
The first lesson we can take away from the transcendental example is that pain in separation is a gift of love. It arises in direct proportion to the depth of the soul-to-soul connection shared between two people. Thus, every pang, however painful, is like an ornament decorating the heart with the truth of that blessed union. It embodies a reminder not only of the person, but of the great treasure we were fortunate to hold in our arms…and still in our hearts. It invites us to feel grateful for the rare opportunity we had received to experience such deep love in this world. Continue reading