wisdom
Spiritual Courage
When most of us hear the word courage, certain ideas come to mind of going beyond our normal range of responses to life, or beyond our perceived comfort zone. We may think of courage as standing up to a bully, or taking a risk in life, or leaping forward in blind faith.
Not only are we treading into new territory when we engage courage, but we are leaving behind an old pattern or belief system that has prevented us from stepping beyond what we have feared most. To be courageous and to step beyond our fears, we need to be willing to succeed, or fail.
Failure to most people means not meeting a goal. But what if failure also means to remain stagnant? When we look at courage to help us break free of limiting circumstances or beliefs, it becomes easier to be courageous, because we see that not being courageous has only kept us trapped in repeat cycles. Furthermore, to varying degrees, it often causes unhappiness in an area of our life.
I had a male friend who looked much younger than his age, and always looked happy. When I asked him what his secret was, he simply replied, “Courage.” He said he would do something to scare the pants off himself at least once a month! I laughed, but saw the point he was making.
He loved being in nature. He would ski off huge cliffs, go skydiving, and participated in many other activities that take guts to do. My friend is on the Other Side now, but he visits me often with his message of courage.
The Key Is In Your Hands
I received a lovely necklace as a gift recently, with a beautiful center stone and a small ‘skeleton key’ at the bottom. A skeleton key is a type of master key in which the serrated edge has been removed so that it can open numerous locks .I’ve seen these keys before, and remembered vaguely the symbolism, but I decided to refresh my knowledge by researching further the significance of this symbol.
Katie Pifer writes that keys have had a variety of spiritual symbolisms attached to it “for as long as man has had locks. They are connected with gateways and portals, doorways to the unknown, knowledge, mysteries, powers, initiations, new ways, forbidden things and answers to curious questions.”
Keys symbolize our ability to gain access to those things of either a material or spiritual nature that are of the greatest importance to us. The key is an object symbolic not only of opening doors to new paths that align with our desires, but also closing and locking doors to those things that we wish to leave behind.
Skeleton keys are considered to be a more powerful symbol, since they can open many different locks. Thus, they have been perceived to be the powerful ‘keys to the Kingdom,’ or the key to that someone special’s heart, and so on.
Skeleton Keys are traditionally also worn as powerful amulets. It is thought to be good luck to touch a key when you are entering a challenging or dangerous situation, because keys are believed to keep you safe. They are also symbolic of transformation, freedom and liberation.
The Wisdom Of Supporting Others
Being kind, compassionate, supportive and treating others as we want to be treated, is important for our physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Negative energy at work and in our personal lives, can drain our energy and negatively impact the health of mind, body and soul.
Work related issues carry their own special stress, since that has a direct impact on financial well-being, as well as personal happiness. It is best to avoid the envy, jealousy, gossip and betrayal. Beware the eye-rolling, personal attacks, whispers behind closed doors, and the divulging of information that isn’t meant to be shared, as well as the ‘just plain pettiness.’
If you are the one being attacked or targeted, resist the temptation to respond in kind. A public battle of words, or ‘tit-for-tat’ gossip, will change nothing. Adding fuel to the fire will only guarantee that the battle will continue and become even more nasty.
You don’t need to be phony, but it is advisable, and always empowering, to be civil and dignified, and to stay centered. Sometimes it is best to just remain silent. Let your actions speak for you, and to your character.
You don’t need to make excuses for, or feel sorry for the other person, or the group. Just remember what your goals and purpose are. Reach beyond that, and implement an energetic and spiritual practice that will empower both yourself and others.
The Karma Of Animal Cruelty
Our cats, dogs and all the other wonderful animals we call our pets are like tiny buddhas. We receive wisdom from them in so many ways. They never use words to convey anything, only feeling. If we are in-tune with them, and watch their behavior, we get a sense of how they are feeling.
Venturing into the Akashic record, to read for my clients, I have come to understand that much of our karma is based on how we not only treat ourselves and other humans, but also our fur friends and every other living being on this planet.
And in my experience, karma seems to bear an especially heavy weight when it comes to the animals. To my knowledge, those who abuse and mistreat animals will pay a severe price for it in their spiritual growth and soul evolution. In fact, many people return in a next life as the very animal they hurt, and will experience the same, or worse infliction they put upon that animal.
Animals are creatures of God, messengers of Love. They are here to teach us how to co-exist with each other with compassion and unconditional love. They show us how to share space, heal with touch and communicate telepathically. Some cat owners, for example, will tell you how their cats begin to circle around them and purr whenever they are meditating, or engaging in other forms of spiritual practice, which heightens their energy frequency and spiritual awareness.
Seeing The Real World Of The Heart
As a woman and mother, I have questions about things happening in my world. As an intuitive empath, I receive questions that others have about things happening in their world. A recent experience sums up what I consider to be the most reliable source of inner wisdom, and where answers can be accessed by all of us.
I was awake one night with the energetic sensation of a specific situation permeating my experience. I could feel the energy in each expansion of my chest, as I inhaled. It filled my every breath, my every sense. My mind questioned, but I heard the guiding whisper of God in my soul say, “The real world is in the heart.”
There are spiritual dimensions of reality that are deeper, finer, subtler, more substantial than what is evident on the surface in the physical world. The door that opens to them is within the heart. There is truly more than meets the eye.
This realization reminded me of the illustration plates in the anatomy section of my parents’ encyclopedia, which fascinated me when I was a child. It wasn’t the human body per se that so intrigued me; it was the way the transparencies overlaid one another to form the whole picture.
At the top of them all was the skin, creating a picture of a human the way I was accustomed to see. As I turned the first page, I got a glimpse of something I had felt but never seen directly before with my eye, namely muscles. Page by page continuously showed deeper levels of anatomy beneath the surface, including the circulatory system, organs, and skeleton.
Letting Go Of Those Old Branches
As winter arrives, it is always a time of reflection for me. Winter storms are so bittersweet. They are beautiful, but they also can be very destructive. In a winter storm last year, I have observed some of the strongest, oldest trees losing their branches. Those large branches were the first to snap. They looked so strong and have weathered so many storms, yet they could not withstand the wind.
As I analyzed the results of that winter storm, the realization came to me that the smaller, more supple branches had the ability to bend with the strong winds. The large, majestic branches, however, had become rigid over the years and broke easily in the powerful, icy wind.
The same principle could apply in our lives. How well we handle a challenging situation will depend on our ability to remain flexible and adapt. A very strong, experienced person may appear on the surface to be able to move mountains and handle most situations with ease. But if that same person is unwilling to listen, refuses to compromise with others and cannot remain open-minded, they will most likely be doing a lot of ‘snapping’ when facing adversity.
If we can ‘bend’ to at least agree to disagree with others, and keep a more flexible, adaptive attitude in difficult times, it makes life a lot easier to maintain harmony with the world. If tunnel vision is how we choose to see life, it is impossible to see that others may also be right sometimes, or have a better solution. When we become rigid, stiff, closed and inflexible, it becomes harder to see the bigger picture and to have a more peaceful approach to life.
When we are rigid and think our way is the only way, it is also hard to make and keep lasting relationships. In a group situation there are always people that see the opposite side any situation for a problem. Sometime these people may play devil’s advocate. They listen to each point of view to arrive at a compromise.
The Spiritual Power Of Color
Color is a bridge between the spiritual and physical and can have powerful impact upon our emotions and well-being. We all have colors that are our favorites, that we use personally, and in our homes, to create a sense of joy, beauty, relaxation or passion and excitement.
There are many applications for specific colors in various spiritual pursuits and practices. Various meanings are also applied according to cultural beliefs. The Chakras, for instance, are identified by color, as well as their location in the body. Chakra therapy usually also encourages the visualization of colors, while focusing on specific charkas.
Spiritually, color can impart both information, as in the reading of aura colors, and energy, as in healing. The aura is the energy field surrounding living beings which is ‘visible’ to those who are clairvoyantly sensitive.
Color therapy, or chromopathy, is becoming a very popular alternative therapy. The principle of color therapy is that different colors carry different energy frequencies, and therefore they can be used to address specific concerns. Studies have shown that color can affect mood, heart rate, alertness, and impulsivity, to name but a few.
Certain colors tend to have significant spiritual therapeutic properties, and science has recognized the impact of these same colors on the brain and emotions. Green, blue, yellow and red are examples.