Gratitude Is The Essential Spiritual Practice
In a fast-paced world with many distractions and challenges, it is easy to overlook gratitude’s transformative power. Cultivating a mindset of appreciation by acknowledging all the good in our life greatly enhances our well-being and quality of life.
Gratitude is advocated in many cultures, religious teachings, and spiritual traditions. It is generally considered the mother of all virtues and the essential spiritual practice. In Judaism, for example, gratitude is considered an essential part of worship. Islam encourages believers to be grateful and express thanks to Allah in all circumstances. Christians are encouraged to praise and give gratitude to God not just in thought and feeling, but also in deeds and action.
Gratitude is also a virtue that Hindus believe should be cultivated in order to live a fulfilling life of inner peace and contentment. Many Buddhist monks begin each day with a chant of gratitude for the blessings in their life. In fact, in Shin Buddhism, gratitude is seen as a primary practice that has priority over meditation and study.
In modern times, scientific research has shed further light on the profound benefits of having an ‘attitude of gratitude.’
While traditionally confined to the realm of philosophy, gratitude has garnered much attention in the field of positive psychology in recent years. Neuroscientists have also begun exploring gratitude from a scientific perspective, seeking to unravel the intricate workings of the brain when we practice and experience gratitude.
Let Spirituality Be Your Guiding Light
In a fast-paced world where superficial, materialistic pursuits tend to dominate our lives, the search for deeper meaning and purpose has become even more significant for many people. Spirituality has always been a guiding light in this quest.
Spirituality offers solace, clarity, and a profound connection to something greater than ourselves. It is inherently personal and subjective, and not limited to religious affiliations, formal belief systems, or cultural traditions.
To be spiritual is to have a deep awareness of the higher self, as well as a heightened connection to God, Goddess, Source, Spirit, the Divine, the Universe.
Our preferred spiritual practice does not have to be some form of dogmatic religion, which tends to involve organized rituals, ceremony, and fixed doctrines. Instead, it can also be an individual exploration of higher consciousness that seeks a direct and personal experience of the sacred and divine.
Spiritual awareness is also not confined to merely a few isolated moments of contemplation, but instead a holistic, consistent state of mind, or way of being in the world, that permeates every aspect of our life.
By integrating spiritual principles and practices into our daily life, we infuse our everyday choices and actions with intention and authenticity, leading to a more balanced, fulfilling, and purposeful existence.
The Simple Secret To True Happiness
It is easy to become too focused on the pursuit of happiness, to the detriment of true happiness. For many years, I was constantly setting goals for my ‘future happiness,’ only to eventually realize that I had been missing out on the joy available in the present moment.
I am certainly not alone in this, as I find many of my friends and clients tend to postpone joy and contentment, believing that they will finally be happy once they have achieved milestones, or acquired certain possessions.
Meanwhile, the key to living one’s best life is to fully embrace the present moment. This does not mean that we should stop dreaming of a better future or no longer pursue important personal goals. However, our future hopes and ambitions should not cause us to put our life on hold, nor prevent us from being fully immersed in the now.
If you are also someone with such an intense future-focus, I encourage you to begin living more in the present. You will soon discover a more fulfilling and joyful way of life.
Future-Focused Thinking
The first step is to let go of future-focused thinking. Many of us tend to constantly think about the future, worrying about what lies ahead or longing for future achievements. This mindset deprives us of the beauty and opportunities that exist in the present.
Astrology Forecast June 19 – 25, 2023
Energies will slow down this week as we move into the watery vibes of a Cancer Moon today and tomorrow, followed by the Sun’s entry into Cancer on Wednesday.
For the next four weeks, our focus will turn to home life, family, and comfort-seeking activities. Gardening, cooking, and restoring order to our homes and relationships are the hallmarks of Cancer energy.
Emotions and spiritual activities will also serve as a focus, reminding us to rebalance those aspects of our inner life that may have become scattered or disconnected.
Self-focus will be prevalent Wednesday and Thursday under the Leo Moon, as we pause to look at where we may have been giving too much, while not taking proper care of ourselves. Wednesday a Mercury in Gemini sextile with Mars in Leo will further boost our energy levels, communication skills and self-confidence. This is a good time to turn the focus back on our own needs for a few days and set some much-needed boundaries.
Thursday’s Leo Moon square with Uranus in Taurus may cause some trouble. We may feel irritable, moody and rebellious, act unnecessarily stubborn, and make rash decisions. Abrupt changes or challenges may arise unexpectedly, so focus on staying centered and grounded.
Once the Moon enters Virgo on Friday, we’ll have two days to concentrate on restoring physical order to our surroundings, clearing out clutter, making lists, and creating a blueprint for future plans and projects.
Sunday we can welcome the Moon’s entry into Libra on Sunday, where we can assimilate all the activities and insights of the past week to find our balance.
Left Holding The Bag
One of my clients recently said, “I’m the one left holding the bag.” Have you ever been ‘left holding the bag?’ This is when you are put in a situation where you are unfairly held responsible, because other people fail or refuse to take responsibility.
The expression “left holding the bag” originated in 18th-century Britain, but at the time it referred to a person being caught with stolen goods, while the rest of their criminal gang escape responsibility.
Many of us are left holding the bag at some point in our life. This is especially true for empaths, healers and highly sensitive people. They are often the scapegoat in their family, or the friend who is taken advantage of, or the coworker who has to pick up the pieces when others neglect their duties.
The solution for this is often found in spiritual self-empowerment, inner child healing, energy shielding, or simply the setting of boundaries. These are challenges I often assist clients with.
A client was about to purchase a bed and breakfast establishment with the support of an investor. When the day came to sign the papers, the investor decided it was just too much to deal with at the time. This left my client ‘holding the bag,’ having to find a new investor.
Another client was abandoned by her siblings when their mother’s mental and physical health suddenly began to deteriorate, and she was left to her own devices having to care for her mom with no assstance or support from the rest of the family.
Spiritual Awareness Requires A Soul-Body Connection
A practical way to understand our own spiritual identity within the co-created reality of this world is to think of our soul as the metaphysical software, and our body as the physical hardware. Both software and hardware are needed to have a fully functioning computer that is able to solve problems and complete tasks.
In spirituality, we tend to focus mostly on the mind or consciousness aspects of our existence, such as intuitions, dreams, psychic experiences, paranormal events, our belief system, and altered states of consciousness achieved through various spiritual modalities, including meditation, chanting, trance-inducing rituals, hypnosis, yoga, music, mandala, and so on.
Yet, we seldom consider the importance of the physical experience we are having. This is a vital component in our spiritual evolution that is often overlooked! As metaphysical, energetic beings, we incarnated in human form with a physical body to have a physical learning experience. There is therefore much spiritual value in making the most of our physical embodiment in this lifetime.
The physical body we are born with unique resonates with our soul consciousness and is designed to support us through our journey on this physical plane. But too often we take for granted this amazing vessel that carries us through life. Soon after our birth we become so used to being in our body that we seldom consider its true value.
Sadly, many of us tend to abuse our body in all sorts of ways, for all sorts of reasons, and yet, our body just keeps on doing everything in its power to keep us healthy and strong, for it to continue carrying us through our spiritual journey in this lifetime.
Facing Our Shame Leads To Spiritual Growth
I was recently reminded of a hasty set of predictions I made a decade ago for a former colleague, when I had just started my psychic career. At the time, his wife was pregnant with twins, and I foolishly attempted to forecast when, where and how they would be born. Some of my predictions panned out, while some didn’t. At least I correctly predicted they would be born under the sign of Leo!
Looking back on it, I realize I was overly giddy in wanting to share my impressions with him. I certainly overstepped boundaries as a developing psychic, when I chose to impulsively send my predictions to him by email, without him asking for it. This kind of unsolicited psychic advice is seldom a good idea.
In those early days, I wrongly assumed it was the right thing for me to do. I presumed it my duty as a psychic to share whatever I perceived. Not only did I later regret sending that unwelcome email, but I also felt very embarrassed and ashamed. It also shook my fragile ego at the time.
Today, I see it very differently. That hasty email has since served as a valuable lesson in humility, patience, and vulnerability. In fact, it made me a better psychic. These days, I am much more measured and circumspect in my approach, and I no longer feel pressured to share absolutely everything that comes to mind, especially not if it is uninvited.
We all make foolish mistakes sometimes, but we live and learn. This is, after all, what our life journey as a spiritual being in human form is all about. Sometimes my clients say things like, “I shouldn’t have said that,” or “I wish I had never done that.” I then gently remind them there’s never a black-and-white line in the sand that, once you have crossed it, you’ve forever made yourself a ‘loser’ or a ‘fool.’
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