spiritual contemplation
Putting Yourself In Time-Out Can Be A Blessing!
When children and teenagers do something that really ticks off their parents, what do they get? Well, they get grounded, or put in time-out, of course! That’s right, kids are given an opportunity to think about the errors of their ways, learn from their mistakes and protect them from their own bad choices.
I remember one day, when I was still a teenager and I was really, really wanting to go out with a frien. She knew a cute boy who just got his own car. They were going to go cruising down this stretch of road that was popular with the local cool kids. I wanted to go so badly, but I got grounded and I was really upset.
But strangely, I also somehow felt relieved that I couldn’t go that day. I sensed that something bad might happen if I did. My mother told me the next day that the boy was tragically killed in an accident with his new car. I would have been with him in the car that night, had I gone out with them. I was only 15 years old at the time, and my life would have been over, or forever changed. I was so glad that my mother grounded me for my own good and that I was still healthy and alive.
I can think of a few times I experienced divine intervention in this way. Since that day there have been several times in my life that I intuitively decided to say no to opportunities, invitations, and even temptations. There are in fact occasions noted in personal journals when I had opted to do something else than was in the offering by way of friends or acquaintances. Later it would become clear that I probably would not have enjoyed myself very much anyway, or I may not have even lived to tell the tale!
Many times, by simply paying attention to the little voice within that says to me, “Get up and leave now,” or acknowledging my negative feelings regarding a certain person, place or situation, I have avoided much trouble in my life.
A Time For Mindful Reflection
As the leaves begin to fall and the weather changes, I am reminded that change is a natural part of life. As the seasons change, it is natural for us to also shift and adapt, as our ancestors did for millennia.
Many years ago, a martial artist reminded me that when facing a difficult challenge in life that we are not able to avoid or change, we can still alter our view of the situation and find new meaning and resolution. What seems like the harshest challenges in our lives are often blessings in disguise. It often gifts us the opportunity to move forward and grow by changing that which no longer serves our true purpose and highest good.
We are living in an extraordinary time where natural forces are increasingly reminding us to become more responsible custodians of the environment that hosts our species. We must also become better stewards of the glorious physical temples that house our souls. The key to this is mindfulness. By adopting a mindful lifestyle, greater planetary care and self-care becomes second nature to us, and both our own lives and the world we live in will benefit exponentially.
Mindfulness allows us to be present in each moment, appreciating the beauty of constant change and the natural cycles of life even as it happens. When we become still and centered, we connect more deeply with ourselves and the world around us.
An endless array of spiritual practices and self-care endeavours, such as prayer, meditation, gratitude journaling and charitable volunteering can help us find peace despite any great change or challenge that may be confronting us. Make the effort to find your own desired outlet for connecting to your inner peace, as this undertaking will lead to a lasting fulfilment and joy that you can hold on to at any time throughout your lifetime. Continue reading
Blessed Are The Kind And Helpful
September is Virgo season! What better time to consider becoming a better person by being more compassionate and supportive to others in need? Virgos are known for being helpful, kind, sympathetic, and someone others can lean on.
Virgo happens to be my Sun sign, so I have a bias here. But seriously, nothing is more rewarding than to be of service. Nothing blesses us more than helping to make the world a better place.
We owe it to ourselves and others to be of service. Because once we are truly there for others, we soon begin to notice undeserved joys and blessings filling our wellspring of abundance every day.
When we are kind, helpful and of service to others we begin to draw more beneficial energy to us, and lose track of the need to count money at the table as it comes in. Work is simply fun! Others see our joy and inspire towards similar goals in their own lives.
Those who are unkind or disregard the needs of others, even treating others as their emotional punching bags, eventually have a heavy karmic duty to repay. Being selfish, narcissistic, and cruel are the sources of much misery, anxiety and self-destructive, addictive behaviors in many people’s lives. It simply does not pay to be callous and uncharitable.
Of course, we all have our self-absorbed ‘bad days,’ because none of us are perfect. But we do an inventory at the end of the day, reflecting on how our conduct may have made others feel.
Create a sacred space in your home where you may atone for your missteps; peaceful area where you may recite a daily intention for grace. Equip this space with an essential oil diffuser or incense burner, candles, crystals and gemstones, oracle cards or runes, prayer beads, singing bowls, personal mementos, photos of loved ones, artwork, and other symbolic items.
Spiritual Enlightenment Is Not A Fireworks Display
Many seekers desire spiritual fulfillment, or yearn for enlightenment, assuming it would instantly bring them wisdom, inner peace, and serenity. But instead, true spiritual growth is often delivered in challenging ways we never expected.
Increased spiritual growth often begins with life-altering events, unsettling discoveries, or distressing insights – such as realizing what has really been holding you back from attaining spiritual fulfilment. These learning curves can show up in many ways. For example, as an unexpected ending of a relationship, a health crisis, or the loss of a loved one.
Often, it shows up in the form of disruptive events that expose dysfunctional thought or behavior patterns that have been stifling your mental freedom, or a toxic mindset that has been hindering your ability to see clearly to break free from limiting beliefs and self-sabotage.
The term ‘spiritual enlightenment’ is used very loosely these days and has become a confusing concept to many people. The truth is that authentic spiritual enlightenment is actually not a very big deal. It is seldom the ‘fireworks display’ that our egos might want it to be.
Spiritual accomplishment is nothing to be prideful or boastful about. It is actually a very quiet process; inward and intimate. People who go through this process in an authentic way, report the experience as being a modest, intuitive alignment, rather than a dramatic breakthrough of profound elation.
Only once we have improved our intuitive alignment, are we subtly encouraged by spirit to not to stop there, but to muster up the courage to take further steps in our spiritual growth and evolution. We become increasingly self-aware and are able to assess what we may have done to contribute to the disappointments in our life, and how these dysfunctional patterns may have started.
A Cheater Is Never ‘The One’
I have been doing love and relationship readings for over 30 years now…and one thing I have learned is that staying in a toxic, soul-crushing relationship with a partner who is cheating never ends well.
I am clairvoyant and therefore able to remote view the lives of my clients. I can see, for example, if there are other women around someone’s husband or boyfriend.
Sadly, whenever this kind of information comes up in a reading, I find some clients refuse to accept the truth of their situation. They are often in denial and believe that their unfaithful partner or spouse will change his ways.
In readings, I also analyze the couple’s astrological compatibility and their romance and marriage aspects – which oftentimes further indicates their partner came into this incarnation with a predisposition for infidelity, polygamy, sex addiction, and so on.
As a seasoned love psychic, I can assure you the best thing most people in such a relationship can do for themselves is to get out of it! Never settle for less than you deserve in a relationship. If you are currently doing that, reflect on your self-worth. Self-respect is impossible without self-love.
Indeed, no relationship is perfect, and it always requires commitment, dedication, hard work, compromise and at times even some personal sacrifice. But this should never include being okay with infidelity and dishonesty. Cheating should be a dealbreaker, no matter what.
How To Make Gratitude A Way Of Life
Life has certainly not been easy for me recently. First and foremost, my iPhone, email account, bank account and credit card had all been hacked by some very clever cyber-criminal. Soon after, my brother went into hospital for the second time. I was feeling rather sorry for myself until one day, after visiting my brother in the hospital, I was delayed while driving home. I had to stop at a junction to allow oncoming traffic to pass. A hearse was passing by on the other side of the road.
“God bless the deceased and their loved ones,” I softly prayed.
As the funeral procession moved closer, I noticed that the flower wreath beside the coffin had a ribbon with the words: Beloved Daughter. In a flash, all my own problems seemed to evaporate, as I thought of the bereaved parents of the deceased. Here I was, complaining that I could not access my email account, while other people were grieving the passing of a loved one. Although it was a brief, random experience, it made me take a step back and take an honest look at my life. It caused me to reflect upon the many blessings in my life and, apart from my brother’s current health condition, the ongoing well-being of the rest of my family.
The hearse experience was highly synchronistic and definitely a sign from spirit. The Universe no doubt had an uncanny hand in ochestrating this occurence, as it mimicked an similar experience I had almost 20 years ago! Back then, my son had been born three months prematurely and suffered a minor brain hemorrhage as a result. Statistically, the doctors told me, the odds were fortunately in favor of him surviving such a premature birth. Still, the four months that he was in hospital were probably the most harrowing of my life!
Hold On To Your Inner Peace
One must never allow anyone or anything to steal your peace. However, while it may be easy to agree to this motto in principle, it is not always so simple to implement it. What does it really mean to deeply feel one’s peace and fully exercise your freedom to shield and protect it?
There are so many ways that our peace can be ‘stolen.’ Some causes are external, or appear to be, when outward events and behaviors of others disrupt our peace. But the real steal always happens within. And it only happens when you surrender it to the situation or allow others to take to from you.
It does not matter what the external situation is, or what the words and actions of others may be, giving away or handing over your peace rests solely in your own heart, mind, and personal choices. So, does protecting your peace.
The soul is by nature peaceful. Identifying yourself as the eternal soul or spirit, not the temporary body or mind, anchors you in that peace. When something unsettling in this world arises, reminding yourself who you truly are spiritually will help you reconnect with your inherent state of inner peace.
Our spiritual sense of self-identity can further be strengthened by our daily spiritual practice and by studying the characteristics of the eternal soul. In the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita, for example, Krishna describes the soul as indestructible, imperishable, and immeasurable. It is unborn, ever-existing, immutable, unchanging, and everlasting.
Furthermore, the Bhagavad Gita identifies the soul as an infinitesimal spark of energy emanating from the infinite Supreme Person, who is the source of all material and spiritual worlds. Different energies of this Supreme Divine Being are detailed in different categories as internal, external, and marginal. Continue reading