Designing Our Life Quilts
When I look at the quilt my grandmother left me, I see a patchwork design. Each piece represents a fragment of her life story and contributes to the overall pattern. Like the pattern created on a quilt, the patterns of our lives and spiritual journeys may include remnants of varied experiences coming together to create unique designs.
Each of us, with our individual talents, ideas, and perspectives creates a
patchwork that we call life. Some people form designs and patterns that are static, others that are whimsical and constantly changing. As we grow through the years, we incorporate the lessons we learn from experience, reworking and adapting the design of our lives to accommodate our new needs.
Creating Our Own Belief System
Some quilts are based on traditional designs passed down through generations, while others are designed as individual artistic expressions based on the quilter’s personal choices. Much like traditional quilters, some of us choose the traditional spiritual path to follow the dogma of an organized religion, a pattern created long ago by others as a beneficial path. Others of us choose to follow an eclectic journey, searching many spiritual disciplines for insight on how to live a better life, thereby creating a highly individual spiritual belief system.
I have chosen an eclectic journey, collecting spiritual remnants from a wide variety of disciplines and shaping them into the design for a spiritual quilt that reflects who I truly am. As each new idea enters my life, I study it, practice it and observe the result. Did it help me move toward peace or wholeness or joy? Did it add to the fabric of my life a dynamic new element? Did it expand my spiritual views? Did it awaken and warm my soul? If the answer is yes, the idea becomes a part of the design.
A Turning Point In My Spiritual Awakening
About twenty-five years ago, I reached a major turning point. I had explored Buddhism and learned to meditate. I had learned that the source of my negative thoughts and emotions was fear, and I learned a mental technique to release it, but something was still missing. Being a very emotional person, I still needed to learn how to manage my emotions more effectively.
I joined a Unity Church of Practical Christianity and one day I heard, “Your thoughts create your emotions.” I thought, “That can’t be right. My emotions are what cause me to think positively or negatively.” I’m sure I had been exposed to this idea before, but somehow I had never really heard the words.
For days, “Your thoughts create your emotions” echoed in my mind. What if that were really true? About the same time, I began to learn about affirmations as a way of manifesting positive people and experiences into my life. Slowly, I began to put it all together. I would have a negative thought and anger or sadness would immediately appear. I would use the technique I knew to release the fear beneath the emotion, and a moment of peace would appear.
With time, I added another useful piece to this pattern. I felt peaceful for a moment, and then I filled the space with a positive statement, such as “I am a peaceful person. Only good comes to me and only good flows from me.” As time went by, I used more specific affirmations and created positive feelings to support my positive words. The channel Abraham would say I raised my vibration.
Adapting Our Spirituality to Life
By this time, the basic design of my spiritual quilt had taken form: meditation, releasing fear, affirmations, and focusing on positive emotions. Over the years, I’ve added more color and width to the design, adding intricate stitches that connect all the pieces or that give it a flair that is uniquely mine. Although the design of my spiritual quilt will never be complete, I share it with friends and readers. In case I find another spiritual truth to expand its design, I always keep some open space around the edges
There is no right or wrong design, no better or worse design for our spiritual quilt. Whatever warms your soul and the souls around you is the blessed path. Only you know what that is.
What are the pieces that create your spiritual quilt and how does it warm you?
© 2011 Georganne Spruce
Related Sources: Resources for Spiritual Journeys
Awakening to the Dance 
My mother was a quilter, Georganne. And now……I realize I am a quilter, too. I think my quilt looks a lot like yours! I really enjoy your spiritual messages. Thank you.