self-love
Spiritual Maturity Is A Lifelong Journey
What does spiritual maturity mean to you? Every time I ask someone this question, I get all kinds of different answers.
A Baby Boomer I asked said it meant going to church, donating to charities, studying the Bible, and following the Ten Commandments.
When I asked a Gen Z client, she said it meant minding your own business and not caring what others think of you because it is none of your business what they think. She also said she was a Wiccan and didn’t believe in wishing negative energy on others, because she knew it would only come back to her if she did.
I recently asked four people at a social gathering, and they had different opinions on the subject. They were in their 30s and 40s and had a young teenager with them. Interestingly, one thing they all agreed on was that it is spiritually mature to create healthy boundaries with family and friends for your own mental and spiritual well-being. One woman shared, for exxample, that if she hadn’t stopped hanging out with one of her friends, she would have hit rock bottom emotionally.
“I just could not put up with the way she treated me. I used to spend a lot of time stressing about the things she would say and do. I was always overthinking every toxic interaction with her, and our so-called friendship was not good for my mental state,” she explained. “So, for me, spiritual maturity is walking away from those who bring you down.”
Reclaim Your Personal Power With ‘Sat Nam’
As a Kundalini Yoga teacher, I had the unique privilege of studying with Yogi Bhajan, the yoga master who introduced Kundalini Yoga to the Western world. Before he passed away in 2004, Yogi Bhajan gave me my spiritual name, Satya Kaur, which essentially means “princess” or “lioness” who embodies or strives to live by the principle of truth. It symbolizes a spiritual identity or path that focuses on integrity, authenticity, and the pursuit of spiritual truth.
Our soul identity is the key to our life journey and spiritual growth. For this reason, at the end of each Kundalini Yoga class, the teacher says “Sat Nam” to the students. The class then repeats these words back to the teacher. Because of the name Yogi Bhajan gave me, this mantra will always have a special place in my heart.
The phrase is a Gurmukhi term that translates to “Truth is my name” or “True identity.” It is used as a yoga mantra to center the mind, connect with one’s true self, and remind us of our true essence and reality beyond the physical and mental constructs of the external world.
Saying “Sat Nam” to others is similar to the greeting “Namaste,” which means “The divine in me bows to the divine in you,” or “The spirit in me salutes the spirit in you.” For me, sacred affirmations like “Sat Nam” and “Namaste” have even more power and meaning now in the dawning Age of Aquarius.
Learn To Say No To Toxic People!
Do you allow others to steal your energy with their drama and demands? If so, you may want to reconsider how you deal with them, because it is very unhealthy physically, mentally and spiritually to be around negative people and force yourself to do things you don’t want to do.
Protecting your energy field from toxic people and situations is more important than you may realize. They can have a profound effect on our overall well-being. Physically, the stress and negativity can lead to various health problems, such as elevated blood pressure, a weakened immune system, and disrupted sleep patterns. Chronic stress can also contribute to the development of more serious health conditions over time.
Emotionally, exposure to toxic people can lead to feelings of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. Overly demanding people tend to be self-centered, manipulative, abusive, and lacking in empathy. They disrespect emotional and physical boundaries and undermine your self-esteem. Constant exposure to such people can leave you feeling emotionally drained and manipulated, and undermine your confidence and sense of self-worth, affecting your emotional resilience and ability to cope with life’s challenges.
The Compassion Of Tough Love
We have an amazing tool within us: our heart. Not only does it keep us alive, but it also allows us to feel deep emotions, such as love and resentment, joy and sadness, achievement and loss, compassion and apathy.
Many people fail to see the power of the heart and what we as humans can do with that power for ourselves and others. The heart is in fact key to our personal and spiritual learning and our soul expansion in this lifetime.
However, many of us who strive to contribute to a better world with the power of our loving hearts have also seen that giving material things, like money, and trying to help those who refuse to help themselves, does not cure the suffering in the world. It usually only puts a band aid on the underlying problems and in time it just returns as additional problems.
We all have our own karmic lessons, and if not learned it becomes a recurring issue until we finally learn to fix it, learn from it, and move forward. Then it is no more a lesson, but a wisdom.
It is also true that we can get in the way of others learning their lessons. Sometimes we jump in too quickly or end up taking on their burden, only to find it happening again and again. Then all our efforts and sacrifice were in vain.
Maybe It’s Time To Let Go Of The Baggage
Most people who make New Year’s resolutions don’t keep them. Every year we tell ourselves it’s time to move on, to change, to leave negative people and influences in the past, and yet we rarely follow through. We wonder if it is even possible to let go of the things that hold us back?
Yes, it certainly is!
The first step is to simply make the decision that it’s time to let go of all the old baggage in your life. To do this we must be completely honest about what’s really holding us back and why it’s so difficult to let go. This is sometimes best done with the help of a coach or mentor, such as a therapist, spiritual advisor or trusted friend, who will listen and guide you objectively.
Until we have a true understanding of all our baggage and our own part in it, it will never go away. We must also be gentle and accepting as we travel this path. The past can never be undone, but it can be learned from and it can help us move into a better future.
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results each time.” It’s within our power to change negative thinking patterns and habits. Good habits take at least a month to wire into our brains. Start with affirmations, practice better self-care, and stop obsessing about things you can’t change or control. Over time, you’ll find yourself making better decisions that aren’t tainted by the past.
Calling In Your Beloved This Holiday Season
The holidays are a time of love, belonging and togetherness. It’s traditionally a special time of year when families gather, friends reconnect, and hearts open to the magic of the season.
For singles on a spiritual journey who are seeking a meaningful romantic connection, the holidays can also be a powerful time to call in that special someone. The vibrational frequencies of the holiday season are a perfect time to ignite such a unique romantic connection. Energetically, it is similar to meeting your future partner at a friend’s or relative’s wedding!
How does this work? Metaphysically or energetically speaking, it is necessary to become a vibrational match to your future partner in order to attract them into your life. You must adjust or calibrate your overall energy vibration to match the type of person you desire to be with in a long-term relationship. This involves cultivating positive thoughts, emotions, and actions that resonate with the qualities and characteristics you seek in a partner.
This concept of vibrational energy alignment is related to the Law of Attraction (like attracts like), the Law of Vibration (everything is energy and vibrates at a certain frequency), and the Law of Cause and Effect (we reap what we sow). According to these universal metaphysical principles that govern our lives, the energy vibration we emit attracts people and circumstances with similar energies into our lives.
When It’s Time To Draw The Line!
There comes a time when you need to draw a line and walk away from people who constantly disrespect, criticize, or belittle you.
Even if you can’t walk away completely because you’re related, you need to at least set some clear boundaries and keep them at arm’s length.
But in some cases, it is best to have no contact at all with toxic relatives.
The great spiritual teachers have all taught us the same golden rule.
Jesus said, “In all things do to others as you would have them do to you, for this is the sum total of the Law and the Prophets.”
Buddha said, “Do not harm others in a way that you would not harm yourself.”
Muhammad said, “None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
Krishna said, “This is the sum total of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to yourself.”
Well, the same is true in reverse. You are a child of the Divine. You were created in the image of God. You are a spiritual being in human form. No one has the right to treat you any way they would not want to be treated themselves.