spiritual wisdom
In The Grace Of Divine Time
Several bald eagles flew in above me this morning, as I drove along a peaceful country road, which I travel several times a week. For the past month or so, I’ve been seeing these eagles roost in one particular area along my route.
I usually see them poised in stillness upon the bare branches of the winter trees. But today, most of my sightings were of them circling in flight overhead, crossing back and forth over the road.
Sometimes they appeared to be pursuing their prey, other times leading their young, or simply enjoying the freedom of gliding through the sky beneath the beautiful morning sun. This occurred in several places along my journey, spanning a range of miles beyond the one roost and eagle family I’ve been witnessing.
Before, during, and after my way was bedazzled with this abundance of bald eagle beauty, my thoughts had been steeped in the topic of time. I sensed the eagles crossed my path to affirm and guide me in my contemplation of eternal time.
I also sensed they came as signs of a shift in my life. They were reminding me that what has been waiting in my life – energy that has been paused, stuck or still, resting, gathering, or incubating – is beginning to move on the horizon of visibility, and gradually gaining momentum.
When I arrived home, waiting in my mailbox was a pamphlet with the printed words: The Times Are Racing. Well, message received loud and clear! It’s time to express my appreciation of time.
The Power Of Your Totems
Those of us who are metaphysically inclined often believe in the power of carrying a sacred object, symbolic item, or ‘totem.’ The totem is worn or kept on one’s person for various purposes, including healing, protection, guidance, or support.
This spiritual practice is known as Totemism. It is a system of belief in which humans are said to have a mystical relationship or kinship with a spirit-being, such as an animal, plant or symbolic object.
Believing in the power of a ‘totem helper’ gives one the kind of spiritual self-confidence that can make the difference between success and failure. Actually, I wear on my person a medicine bag in the Native American tradition, which contains various totems or ‘alliances’ I have found in nature.
Some of them were gifted to me, because they resonated with my energetic frequency and “wanted to be with me,” as friends and fellow metaphysicians have stated through the years. It is our custom to save special things of this nature for gifting to each other, especially at sacred times of the year, such as when we celebrate the solstices.
Right now, I am surrounded by all of these charming personal offerings. There are the great horned owl feathers that were gifted to me, for example. I used it to make a prayer stick, that I now make use of during meditation, and sometimes also as an altar piece. In the tradition of Totemism, I consider it to be part of a living being, which is the altar. Indeed, every altar has its own ‘being-ness,’ the same as any other sacred deity.
Take Negative Emotions All The Way Home
When life gets tough or something happens to upset me, whether it be big or small, I make it a point to become very quiet and mindful. I do this to get clear, so that I can see all sides of a situation, as well as stay open to learning any possible spiritual lessons that are being offered.
Typically, there’s a strong emotion linked to what has occurred. If I can allow it to be there in a calm way, I can start to see the situation from a clearer perspective.
If the situation involves being hurt, for example, I take some time out – long enough to not hastily defend myself or problem-solve. Doing this creates an opening where the Divine can step in and take over.
I like to think of it as having a weight on me and imagining a group of cherub angels coming along to lift the heavy burden emotions I’m experiencing. They then take it from me and fly away. Though this is just a visualization, there is great relief at times in turning situations over to a higher power.
I have noticed, as I get older, that certain things that used to bother me so much, and would take weeks or months to get over, I now release in just a day, or even a couple of hours. This is because I no longer allow myself to be overwhelmed by the emotion in the moment.
I believe what helps to accomplish this is going beyond the difficult emotion, into a realm or a land less frequented. I refer to is as “taking it all the way home.” What I mean by this is to examine what it is I am most afraid of.
The Linear Time Trap Of The Past
It is said we do not know what time is. We also do not know where it comes from, and we definitely do not know where it goes! And according to Albert Einstein, the famous physicist, the distinction between past, present and future is only an illusion, because space and time are fluid. Yes, such are the mysteries of the fourth dimension.
Linear time may be an illusion in scientific terms, but in our daily life it is still the time that we cannot stop or control. That clock keeps on ticking, and the cycles of night and day will forever come and go. Every morning, the sun shall continue to rise, and the Earth will progress on its annual journey around the Sun.
However, our experience of time goes beyond the everyday linear. Did you know that there is also such a thing as spiritual time?
Surely you have observed that whenever you are doing something really unpleasant or boring, time can certainly drag on. For example, I recently had to wait for some medical tests that would determine whether or not I was developing breast cancer. Thankfully, the tests came back negative, but I remember thinking of those awful four weeks of hospital visits and biopsies as being the ‘longest month of my life!’
On the other hand, time can also pass so quickly whenever we are having a good time and enjoying ourselves. Why would this be? Well, when you are really delighted with something, your soul, your spirit, your higher self becomes fully engaged in the pleasant experience you are having. In simple terms, when this happens, you literally lose track of linear, reality time itself and your personal, spiritual time shifts to the front. This is the time of your true spiritual self.
Love Is The Healing Force
I grew up in a Christian family. In fact, it was going to seminary, and exploring world religions, that eventually led me to practice metaphysics and intuitive consulting as a full-time profession. Being trained and ordained in a Christian organization has also given me a unique perspective on alternative spirituality and metaphysics.
Jesus is, in fact, one of the spiritual guides I connect with when I work with people. This has made me realize that Jesus, the central figure in Christianity, is often misunderstood by many people. In the many years of connecting with Jesus, I am confident that he never had the intention to create a formal, organized religion. In fact, often the religious attributes attached to Jesus are far more complex than his original core message.
Jesus taught very simple strategies for life. I think sometimes these strategies are considered too simple by some people. When asked, Jesus was able to sum up his teachings in three simple statements. Someone inquired about an authentic spiritual path and Jesus gave two commandments and then gave a third statement, “In these two commandments rest all of the law and the prophets.”
This third statement is quite profound. He was stating that every spiritual text that had ever been written, or would ever be written, could be summed up in two commandments. This means that in Jesus’ perspective, if a person simply abided by these two commandments, they would be fulfilling the fundamental guidelines associated with religious and spiritual practice.
If you are interested in Jesus’ teachings, or interested in following the path he taught, then the good news is that you are already following the second ‘commandment.’ I have been living on this planet long enough to recognize that every person is already following this second commandment, which says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”