Category Archives: Inspirational Posts

AWAKENING TO LOVE OURSELVES

Posted on January 18, 2012 | 5 comments

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”   Buddha

Do you love yourself?  Do you accept your failings and forgive yourself when you don’t live up to the standards you set?  Do you accept who you really are, including your limitations?

Struggling With Not Knowing

I’ll admit it.  I’ve been pretty judgmental about myself lately.  I set higher standards for myself than I do for others and am disappointed when I don’t live up to my expectations.  Lately, as I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been learning about social media and online marketing.  Now, after ten years writing my spiritual memoir, I have decided to e-publish it.  In addition, I’ve set up a blog and learned to navigate that technology.  This has been exhilarating and exhausting because computer technology is a huge challenge for me.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed.  Everyday, it seems there are ten new questions I can’t answer.  Even when more savvy people answer my questions, I don’t always understand the answers.  Because of this, my greatest challenge is how inadequate I feel on a daily basis. Even after researching information on the internet, I often have to ask the same question again.

Understanding the Fear Beneath Our Inadequacy

When we feel stressed and inadequate, it is worthwhile to ask, “What is really causing this discomfort.   Frequently, it’s fear.  We are afraid we won’t succeed at this challenge. We’re afraid we won’t do it well enough, or we’re afraid we will disappoint others. When what we are doing becomes too difficult, we may give up and run away. Eliminating this source of discomfort seems like a simple solution.  But is it?

Refusing to face the challenge and solve the problem rarely gives us any lasting satisfaction.  What we really want is not to escape, but to feel capable of solving the problem or to feel all right about not knowing how. At these times, more than any other, we need to remember to accept and love ourselves.

Taking the Time to Love Ourselves

When we feel loved, we feel more capable.  We can do anything.  So perhaps, in these moments of doubt, what we most need to do is love ourselves.  What does that look like?  For me, I think it means accepting my difficulty understanding technology and telling myself it’s all right.  It means letting go of my ego’s need to handle all the challenges by myself.  It means congratulating myself each time I have the self-confidence to admit I don’t know what to do next and am willing ask for help.

We are each precious spiritual beings.  We must accept and love who we are in order to feel peaceful. If we feel inadequate or are self-judging, we need to raise our vibration. One way to do that is to turn inward, quiet ourselves, and release our fears and expectations. Then we may be able to hear that voice within that is so much wiser than ego. Breathing deeply, and with each breath, directing our minds to release the fear, we create a space where peace and new solutions can come through to us.

Doing what we enjoy, such as walking in the forest or by the seashore, eating a really nice meal, visiting with a good friend, or dancing, will also raise our vibration.  Taking our attention away from the fear and stress clears the mind.  Doing the things we enjoy nurtures us at the soul level and is a way of loving ourselves.  If we tend to take better care of others than ourselves, we need to do for ourselves what we do for others.

In the end, we need to accept we are fine the way we are.  Life will continue to offer opportunities to grow and become more of who we are.  When we stop feeling bad about our lack, we will be able to see the good we have done and the courage it took to do it.

What do you like most about yourself and what you’ve learned or done recently?  What lifts your vibration?

Please comment.  If there are topics you would like for me to discuss, please let me know by leaving a comment.  I’d love to respond to your interests.

© 2012 Georganne Spruce

Related Articles: Forgive Yourself-Powerful Self-Help, Accepting Oneself (A Buddhist view), Forgive Yourself (Wayne Dyer)

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DANCING TO THE MUSIC OF YOUR HEART

Posted on January 11, 2012 | 11 comments

“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”    Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Do you ever feel that you don’t belong? Or that the people around you at work or home don’t understand who you are?  Are you searching for more meaningful experiences with others?

Tina Turner Chickens - Biltmore Estate

Is Our Inner Music Positive or Negative?

If you can answer yes, to any of these questions, perhaps you are dancing to the music that others don’t hear. And that’s okay as long as you like the music within. Is it a song of joy and love of life or of depression and sadness?  If you don’t like the song vibrating within you, then it’s time to change it.  If you do like it, then it’s important to just accept you are in a different place than those around you and that’s okay.

It is not surprising that we sometimes feel we are dancing to different music than the people around us.  When we are rooted in Spirit, we often do not share the values of our society at large.  We may try to explain to others who we are, but often they are not ready to hear this, for our different point of view threatens them.  In this situation, we experience discomfort because we feel separate.

But we are the only ones who can release feelings of separation by choosing to raise our vibration.  For example, I have a tendency to sing when I’m drying my hair.  It distracts me from the discomfort I feel holding the much too large hair dryer over my head.  Lately, I’ve been singing “Summertime” from “Porgy and Bess.”  I suppose it’s wishful thinking.  When I finish drying my hair, instead of thinking the usual, “Thank goodness that’s over,” I feel cheerful and in touch with my passion for life.  Throughout my day, I dance to the energetic music I created from the heart.

Awakening to the Highest Response For All

We feel good when we feel One with All that Is.  When we meditate or walk by the seashore, we become One with the beautiful energy of Spirit.  In less peaceful situations, we need to allow that core energy to resonate within us.  We do not need to repress our feelings.  We need to feel them, then go within to take the time to choose a wise response.  We need to ask our inner selves, “What is the highest response for all concerned?”  That response will also be the best response for us as well.  We need to learn to be responsive rather than reactive.

The highest response does not always guarantee that the other person will agree or understand our perspective, but it is an opportunity to influence others.  Oneness says, “Those of you who have chosen to experience your awakening amongst the masses are planting the seeds of that heightened perspective in plain view, right where the world needs them most.  The lives of those you touch, even in passing, or teach by example, as you follow your own inner path in their presence, will be transformed by it.” (Pages192-193) Being different is often a blessing.

As with many things, we may not be present to see that transformation in our adversaries.  It will first be internal and invisible.  It may take place years from now.  We need not become attached to knowing what happens.  This was a lesson I had to learn as a teacher.  Over the years, so many students came through my classroom, and I never knew what influence I had on all of them.  I could only do my best and know that those who needed to learn the nonacademic lessons and were ready to learn, would learn.

Dancing With Others to the Music of Our Hearts

When others can hear the music to which we dance, we are energetically drawn to one another.  The more I concentrate on keeping my own vibration up through dancing and exercise, meditation, good food, mental stimulation, and positive thinking, the more I draw  like-minded people into my life.  After all, we are responsible for the song our heart sings.  Although it may be tempting, betraying the song within in order to connect to what is around us is never wise.

If you continue to dance to the beautiful music within you, others will begin to hear the music of your heart and soul.  Blessings for the New Year.

© 2012 Georganne Spruce

Related Articles:  Beyond the Beyond (how music and prayer transformed Tina Turner), Heart Chakra Meditation, Conflict Resolution or Heart-Centered Communication

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AWAKENING TO OUR TRUTH

Posted on January 4, 2012 | 7 comments

“To know that you do not know is the best.  To pretend to know when you do not know is a disease.” Lao Tse from the Tao Te Ching

The beginning of a new year is always a good time to look at our lives and evaluate if we are living our truth.  Have you told any white lies lately? Exaggerated an event to make yourself look better? Embellished your resume or job application? Told a loved one what they wanted to hear rather than what you really felt?

Fear Keeps Us from Telling the Truth

What is it that keeps us from telling the truth? It is always one of two things: the fear of rejection or the fear of inadequacy.  Fear is what separates us from ourselves.  When we are not truthful to ourselves, we separate ourselves from the Oneness of Spirit that is our essence.

I learned during my first year of teaching high school that it was pointless not to admit when I didn’t know something.  The students could spot a lie in a minute.  When I began the second year of teaching, I explained to the students on the first day that if I didn’t know the answer to their questions, I would tell them and help them find the answer.  They liked that and it set a tone of trust for the year.

I was in my twenties, and just after I married, I realized there was something I didn’t like about myself.  I occasionally told little white lies.  I had started doing this when I was growing up with parents who fought frequently.  In order to avoid upsetting a parent, I would answer a question based on what I thought they wanted to hear rather than the truth.  It made me uncomfortable, but it was better than being screamed at or having them scream at one another.  Most of all I needed peace.

When I married, I wanted an open, honest relationship and knew there was no longer a reason to lie.  My husband was easy-going and loved me.  Not to tell the truth seemed like a violation of our commitment.  I began to monitor myself and eventually let go of the insecurity that had led me to believe I needed to lie.

Lies Separate Us from Love

Where there is fear, there is separation—not just from another but from Spirit.  Our inner and outer must match.  If we pretend to be loving when we don’t feel it or do it just to impress people, we betray ourselves and them.  Love cannot exist where there is fear.  When we pretend, we do so because we feel we are not good enough.  We think that if we do good deeds, we will earn spiritual points.

The Ego Feeds on Fear

Admitting our mistakes and weaknesses is not an easy thing to do.  Our ego will rebel and insist its well-being is more important than our soul’s.  Ego will give us all the reasons why we need to appear more competent, more beautiful, or more loving because ego feeds on our fears.  When we are truthful and at peace, ego is diminished.  When ego is diminished, we make wiser choices.

Speaking the Truth from the Heart

How we tell the truth to others is just as important as telling it.  If we think it will be hard for another person to hear what we have to say, we need to center ourselves first and speak from the heart.  It is more likely that another will be able to hear what we say if it is said with love.  If we speak from love, then we speak with integrity and are one with the other person.  In this place of Oneness, we will know if we really need to speak this truth.  Many relationships have been damaged by the way in which we express our truth.

Lao Tse’s words are very wise.  When we don’t know what to do and allow ourselves to know that we don’t know, we open ourselves to the possibility that Spirit will provide the answer.  If we remember that we are one with this loving, creative energy, we can release our fears of inadequacy and rejection, knowing that all is well just as we are.

How do you maintain your truthfulness?

©2012 Georganne Spruce

Related articles: Where Does Your Sense of Self Come From – Eckhart Tolle

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AWAKENING TO THE DANCE OF LIGHT

Posted on December 21, 2011 | 6 comments

“I generate an energy field in and around me of a high vibrational frequency.  No unconsciousness, no negativity, no discord can enter that field and survive, just as darkness cannot survive in the presence of light.”  Eckhart Tolle

As the light outside slips away earlier each day, we are drawn to look more deeply inward.  What can we learn from the many religious celebrations that fill this time of year with joy and remembrance?  What holidays do you celebrate and what do they mean to you?

Celebrating Darkness and Light

Our celebrations have more in common than we may realize, for all celebrate the significance of light and remind us we are all One.  On December 22, we celebrate the Solstice, the longest day of the year, the time of deepest darkness before days begin to shorten, and we begin the journey back to the light and growth of spring.  In the Sumerian myth of Inanna, Inanna gave up her earthly life and journeyed to the underworld to visit her jealous sister. There, she was stripped of her power, died, and was reborn. The story is a reminder that, even when we feel all is lost, our wounds can be healed and burdens lifted.  We will find the light again if we are willing to take the journey.

Celebrating the Love of Christ

On December 25, we celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus who has been called, “The light of the world.”  The 25th was also the Roman Winter Solstice based on the Julian calendar.  On this day, the birth of Jesus brought to our consciousness the idea of putting love at the center of our lives. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves and to treat them as we wish to be treated.  We are all given the challenge to replace the negative ideas that separate us with the belief that we are all One in love.  Love is the light that will heal and bring us to an enlightened awareness so that we may live as neighbors, regardless of our differences.

Celebrating Peace and Faith

Beginning on December 21, is Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights in Judaism.  This day commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabean Revolt in the Second Century BCE.  Each night for eight days a candle is lit.  As the light grows, faith grows.  Like Christmas, it is a time of gift-giving, feasting, and celebrating with those we love. It is a celebration of light.

Celebrating Our Light Within

In these long dark days, we are more and more drawn to the light.  We enact rituals that bring us together and remind us that light, love and faith uplift and enrich our lives.  As the security of our lives is shaken by changes in the world around us, we must remember that the lights of celebration that comfort us are only reflections of the light within us.  It is that light that we must ignite to renew and grow our lives.  If we allow that light to shine outward, it will inspire and heal others.  That is the light that connects us to the eternal love of the Creator where we may dwell in peace regardless of the season.  In touch with the Creator, we are all blessed.

Have a wonderful holiday! I will post again on January 4, 2012.

©2011 Georganne Spruce
Related Articles:  Eckhart Tolle on Enjoyment

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AWAKENING TO DANCE IN THE RAIN

Posted on December 14, 2011 | 2 comments

“Some men (and women) have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can.”  Martha Graham

Are you living the life you desire? What are your reasons for not doing that? Does every day flow peacefully as you easily move from one difficulty to another?  Or do you find your progress stymied by irritating and distracting events and issues?  What changes do you need to make?

Being Spiritually and Emotionally Stuck

Last week, I listened to a friend explain that she had not used the Emotional Freedom Technique I taught her to release negative mental blocks.  She was still thinking and processing the information.  We were in public so I listened politely, but I was surprised.  This was energy work not mental work.  I wanted to say, “It doesn’t matter what you think about it.  If you don’t try it, you’ll never know if it works.”  If thinking hasn’t caused her to become unstuck by this time, it isn’t the solution.

Only action can dig us out of our emotional ruts.  There is no perfect moment.  There is only the moment when we decide to act.  Thinking in a new way may bring us to this moment and help us see a new path, but until we act, we have not experienced the value of a new choice.  It is the experience that creates a new life for us.  Instant manifestation does occur, but most of the time what we want to manifest requires us to take at least one active step in the direction of what we want.

Only Thinking About Change Doesn’t Create It

Many years ago, I knew a man who wanted to get a job.  He was very spiritual and spent a great deal of time doing positive affirmations, but no job appeared.  When I asked him what jobs he had applied for, he answered that he hadn’t applied for any.  He just knew the right thing would come along if he kept affirming.  Finally, in desperation, he applied for one and got it.

It’s relatively easy to find reasons for not pursuing our dreams or making changes.  Our fear always gets in the way, and we camouflage it with practical excuses.  We can’t take the job we really want because it won’t pay enough or we’re sure we wouldn’t get it because we don’t have enough experience.  We create endless resistance.  We convince ourselves that making the change is impossible and come to a point where we feel good about not acting.  Accepting the status quo calms our fear, and it goes underground.

Taking the Risk to Dance in the Rain

But of course, the longing for something more does not go away and eats at us from time to time.  We find a good reason to change, but we convince ourselves it isn’t the right time.  Life is too complicated right now.  We don’t have enough money or support.  A wonderful unknown author once said, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to be over, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

Dancing in the rain, especially without an umbrella like Gene Kelley used, is a crazy fun thing to do.  We laugh, we sing, we let all that rain we were afraid would ruin our hairdo pour over us and we feel free like a child.  For one moment, we forget all the negatives and live life.  Without even realizing it, we have taken that blind leap of faith and are doing what we feared.

Taking the Blind Leap and Aligning with Godself

 So I wonder, what is my friend waiting for?  She has plenty of excuses not to act, but she needs only one reason to take that leap.  Oneness says that it is not courage we need to make this leap, but total detachment to outcome.  “That blind leap is one that is taken not within the confines of your mind, but is sourced within the depths of your heart of hearts.” (Page 76) By aligning with one’s Godself, one is able to know that “the outcome will reflect your highest possible good…” and “that there is nothing to fear.” (Page 77)

In the coming days, in the midst of the holiday bustle, let us be in touch with our heart of hearts, move lovingly through the storms, and take time to dance in the rain where we are open to all good things and cleansed of the fears that limit our joy.  Peace, Love, and Joy to you all!

©2011 Georganne Spruce

Related Articles:  How We Get Hooked and How We Get Unhooked – Pema Chodron; Letting Go

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THE SPIRITUAL DANCE OF INSPIRATION

Posted on December 7, 2011 | Leave a comment

Who inspires you? Whom do you inspire? Where does your inspiration lead you?

“You are here to enable the divine purpose of the universe to unfold.  That’s how important you are!”  Eckhart Tolle

You are unique. Live your life authentically, for only you can bring to the world what you were meant to bring.  If you do not live out your passion, it is not only your loss, but the world’s loss.  As the days grow longer and we spend more time inside, now is a good time to look deeper and explore whether you are living your true purpose.

I’ve been a dancer, teacher, and writer.  I love creating a new dance or piece of writing, but beneath all that is my real purpose—to inspire.  When I was first presented with this purpose, I thought, “How superficial.”  Compared to all the people who were feeding the hungry and curing the sick, it didn’t seem concrete enough to matter.  But then, I realized that I had done things I would never have done had I not been inspired by others.

As a teenager, I read about Isadora Duncan, the mother of modern dance.  She defied convention by living free from the constraints placed on the women of her time and created a new, freer form of dance.  She inspired me to become a modern dancer, but also to reject a conventional life that defined who I could be in terms too narrow for me to become who I truly was. As a result, dance became a powerful spiritual as well as creative practice, and in the process, my body which had been weakened by childhood diseases became strong.

In 1958, after living in the segregated South most of my life, I wrote an essay on prejudice for a ninth-grade English assignment.  My teacher’s comment was “With this objectivity, you would make a good journalist.”  She was the first person who encouraged my writing.  I was shy and introverted and couldn’t imagine interviewing people, but I thought, “Maybe people need to hear what I have to say.  Maybe my words matter.”  So I enrolled in speech classes and continued writing, knowing in my heart that someday I would write seriously.

By the time I had to make a choice about how to earn a living, another teacher had inspired me.  My eleventh grade history teacher had his students read and discuss classics like Utopia, The Prince, and 1984.  Instead of teaching wars, he used literature to teach the great ideas of each period and history came alive for the first time.

How Living Our Purpose May Inspire Others

As a result of these two teachers and the motivation that I could teach dance as well as teach English, I became a high school teacher dedicated to teaching students how to think.  I loved seeing their eyes light up as a concept became clear.  I loved seeing them become totally absorbed in creating a project.  I wanted to help them become lifelong learners and have the courage to become who they really were.

Find Your Calling to Live Fully

As my life has evolved and people have responded to my work, regardless of its form, I have come to understand inspiring others is my calling.  At the heart of each of us is a passion and purpose that enlivens us.  As it calls to us, we must find a way to answer the call or we will always wonder what could have been.  Sometimes the call comes from our interaction with others.  Sometimes it comes from that voice within whispering to us during the night when we lie awake.  Sometimes it slams into us because of loss and tragedy.  But it is our soul calling us back to ourselves and who we really are.  May you find your calling.

If you are searching for your calling, I highly recommend the classic book, Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life, by Gregg Levoy.  It speaks deeply and eloquently about this topic.  If you live your calling, what is it?  Please share what it means to you under comments.

©2011 Georganne Spruce

Related Articles:  What Oprah Knows for Sure About Your Calling, How to Find Your Calling

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AWAKENING TO NEW PATHS

Posted on November 30, 2011 | 1 comment

Do you usually agree with your friends’ ideas?  Do you do what they want regardless of how you feel about it?  Do you always tell your boss what he or she wants to hear?  Are you afraid to act differently than those around you?

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

What Values Guide Your Spiritual Path?

We all travel different paths in life even when we appear to conform to society’s values.  At the deepest level each spiritual path is unique even when, on the surface, we appear to be the same.  The real question is: Does the path you have chosen serve you well?  Does it meet your deepest needs?

Is the path you follow based on values that serve you well?  I’m thankful that when I was growing up, my parents taught me to respect others, be honest, be responsible, and care about others.  In addition, we didn’t have much money and had to be creative and work for what we got.  I was taught how to set priorities about what was of value.  People always came first.

Individual Values Challenged By Society

But living by such values is not always easy in a society that puts materialism first.  I often feel my values are at odds with the society’s and yet they serve me well.  Black Friday is a perfect example of what I try to avoid—events created to manipulate mass consciousness.  It is well named, for it appeals to the darkest part of human nature.  It seduces by appealing to our scarcity consciousness and greed.  It feeds that part of ego that fears we will not be valued if we don’t own the latest smart phone or 54” HDTV. It encourages the idea that competition, even if it involves harming others or being harmed, is good.  It reduces our humanity.

Creating A New Spiritual Path for Us All

Perhaps it is time to create a new path for our society that puts the basic spiritual values of love and integrity first.  Ralph Waldo Emerson was an innovative thinker in his time and his words resonate today.  The path of greed our society has been following has failed to bring us what we really need. It separates us through competition rather than bringing us together with cooperation.

When we cannot afford to mask our insecurities and deeper needs with glamorous and distracting things, we may become angry and resentful or we may choose to take a positive approach and adapt to a new life.  Do we really need such a large house or so many cars?  Do we have to vacation in Hawaii? When our lives are simplified, we have more time for each other to develop loving relationships.  We learn the value of giving and sharing.

Create a New Path

Who really matters in your life?  What are the things that bring lasting joy?  The greatest contribution we can each make to change our society for the better is to find the best path for our own lives.  Does the path you are following bring you peace, love, and joy? Are you fulfilling your true purpose in this life?  If not, what is the path you need to follow in order to bring about the change you desire?  Create a new path and leave a trail for others to follow.

©2011 Georganne Spruce

Related Articles: Getting in touch with Your Own Spiritual Energy, Wayne Dyer – Interview with a New Age Retailer

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BEING GRATEFUL FOR THE SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

Posted on November 23, 2011 | 2 comments

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day.  What are you thankful for? If your life couldn’t be better, do you take the time each day to say “thanks?” If you’re having some challenges in life, can you look beyond them to see what is good?  If life is a disaster right now, are you willing to hunt for one simple thing to appreciate?  Maybe it’s the song of a bird or the smile of a stranger you meet on the street?  That one small thought of gratitude can change your life.

“It is impossible to be negative while we are giving thanks.” Donald Curtis

Gratitude As Daily Practice

Since I’ve incorporated expressing my gratitude into my daily life, I find that this always uplifts me regardless of the specific circumstances of the day.  Although I may go over my gratitude list during meditation, I have chosen to take it further than that.  At the moment when something good appears, I say “Thank you.”  The energy of those words seems to uplift the energy of the experience even further.

Creating a Positive From a Negative Experience

What is perhaps the most challenging for us all is to be thankful for the unpleasant experiences in life.  They come into our lives to help us learn lessons although we often only see what we learned in retrospect.  In the 1990s, I had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  I had probably had it for two years before I was diagnosed because I couldn’t remember when I hadn’t been exhausted.  Most doctors knew nothing about it or discounted its existence.  Fortunately, I was able to find a wonderful doctor through a friend who had it.

I had to radically change my life in terms of going to bed at 9:00 pm, eating only organic food, eating only certain food, taking dozens of supplements, and avoiding stress.  In order to afford the treatment, I had to continue teaching full-time.  Because I was exhausted all the time, this strict lifestyle seemed overwhelming at first, but it did heal me.  Many of the changes became a part of my life even after I healed and have made me very healthy.  I have none of the physical problems most people my age do and the ones I have are very minor and don’t limit my activity.

When we can learn something from a negative experience and can feel thankful for the lesson, it transforms our memory of the experience.  We can focus on what is good and let go of feeling like a victim.  We can be grateful that what we have learned from the challenge makes us healthier or happier or more competent or more loving.

Gratitude Uplifts Us

Do I wish I had not had to go through this experience to learn how to be healthier?  Of course I do, but that’s not the point.  Like so many things in life, we do the best we can until we learn better.  That’s why I’m grateful for the journey.  I know that if I stay open, I will continue to learn and that always improves the quality of my life.

On this Thanksgiving holiday, may you be blessed by the gratitude you give and receive.  May your spiritual journey enrich your life.  From all the lessons you’ve learned, what is the lesson you are most grateful for?

© 2011 Georganne Spruce

Related Articles:  Seven Practical Steps to Turn Around a Bad Experience, How to Raise Your Vibrational Frequency

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ACCEPTING THE RHYTHMS OF LIFE

Posted on November 16, 2011 | Leave a comment

“Not everything that is faced can be changed.  But nothing can be changed until it is faced.”  James Baldwin

Accepting Divine Order

When I first heard the term divine order, I latched onto it as way of describing the fluctuations in life that I didn’t always understand.  If a wonderful synchronistic event occurred, I labeled it divine order.  If something thoroughly unpleasant or tragic occurred, I labeled it divine order.  Divine order became the way I described all the mysteries in life.  It explained the unexplainable and helped me to accept what I couldn’t understand.

Learning to accept what is, whether we like what is happening or not, helps us to find peace and erases the resistance that may prevent us from understanding what is occurring.  At times, it may not be clear if what is occurring is a good or bad thing, but by accepting that it is in divine order, we acknowledge it is part of our reality.

Denial Undermines Our Power

People have a tendency to deny the negative experiences of life.  By doing so, we prevent ourselves from growing.  We need to acknowledge all experiences so that, if we are able to improve a situation, we don’t let the opportunity pass by.  Some things can’t be changed, but ignoring the ones that can only makes us feel less empowered or victimized.

The recent events at Penn State are a perfect example.  Many who were aware of the child abuse there chose to do nothing.  They denied and hid what they knew.  They refused to face the horrific effect their lack of action had on many young children.  Being unwilling to face their responsibility to stop this abuse, in the end, led to their disgrace.  Denial only delays the day we have to face the thing we fear.

Accepting What We Cannot Change

Unlike the Penn State disaster, there are events that occur over which we have no control.  The only thing we can control is our response.  A loved one becomes addicted to drugs.  Time after time they make foolish and dangerous choices, and time after time, we talk to them, and love them.  We may pay for them to see a counselor or go through a drug rehab program, but nothing we do changes their behavior.  We have faced the situation and are unable to change it, so we must accept it as it is.

Is the self-destruction of our loved one in divine order?  It is very difficult to believe it is, yet it may be the very experience that will eventually transform this person in a truly positive way.  In the middle of it, we have no way to know.  We can only accept what is and have faith that there is a karmic or spiritual reason for our loved one’s behavior.

Our society has encouraged us not to express negative feelings.  We’re supposed to be positive all the time, and in one sense, our society has encouraged us to deny what we really feel.  There’s nothing healthy about this although it is best for us to be aware of expressing those feelings appropriately.  But denying that we feel what we feel makes it impossible for us to resolve those problems and the issues around them.  We have to face it, if we want to change it.

The Divine Gift of Acceptance

Every year in January, a spiritual group to which I belong has a gift exchange.  We each bring an item that has meant a great deal to us, but one that we are ready to release.  The items are placed on a table and each person gets to choose.  Then, that person explains why they have chosen the gift and the person to whom it belonged explains what it meant to them.  Several years ago, I chose a stone a friend had originally bought at a Deepak Chopra seminar.  Across the stone is written “Acceptance,” and it lies on a table in my family room where I see it often to remind me that I need to accept what I cannot change.  Every year, I think, “I’m ready to let go of this.  I’ve learned about acceptance,” but inevitably life presents me with another lesson to illustrate that I still have more to learn.  I guess I have to accept the fact that I need to keep the stone for at least one more year.  How do you find acceptance with the difficult areas of your life?

© 2011 Georganne Spruce

Related Articles: Acceptance and Surrender, 12 Practical Steps for Learning to Go With the Flow, Dangers of Denial

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AWAKENING TO HAPPINESS

Posted on November 9, 2011 | Leave a comment

“Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them.”  Count Leo Tolstoy

It seems to me that the fall leaves are more brilliant than in past years.  Their colors vibrate with an intensity that feels like nature is joyfully expressing its aliveness.  Or is it just me?  Is the vibration of my energy higher than usual? Am I the one that is more alive?

Something significant has transformed my life.  Most of the time I am happy.  This was not the case in the past.  Today, many sources tell us that the vibration of the Universe is speeding up to lead us into a new age of peace, love, and community.  This change affects us all, and if we are in alignment with ourselves, we will flow with this new energy.  Not everything will be perfect and joyous, but our expanded awareness will allow us to make better choices and these choices will help us to be happier.

Thoughts Create Emotions

Despite the fact that this energy may be helping me to feel happier more often, I think there’s more to it than that.  Our thoughts create our emotions, and I choose to monitor my thoughts.  Reading certain books has reinforced the idea that how I think about a situation will determine how I experience it.  Any of the Abraham books by Esther and Jerry Hicks use this thinking as their basis as does Science of Mind.  At the bottom of the blog, I have recommended an Abraham video that does an excellent job of describing how to move from negative to positive emotions.

Balancing Our Energetic Alignment

We all need to pay attention to our thoughts.  The thought comes up, “I have so much to do today.  I’ll never get it done.”  If we accept this thought and attach to it, we set ourselves up to fail or feel stressed.  Instead, I think, “I have so much to do today.  It will be fun and satisfying to get it all done.  I look forward to today.” As I reconfigure the thought, I feel excited and know that all is well.  I start by making a list of what I want to do and set priorities.  That gives me a guide for the day that makes it easier to flow from one task to another.  I also love to check off each item as it is completed and this reinforces my sense of accomplishment.

Laughing at Your Face in the Mirror

Whenever possible I choose to spend my time with people who, for the most part, focus on the positive.  It is often difficult to maintain a positive point of view when we are around people who constantly irritate us.  However, the people who irritate us the most may be here to serve as triggers for us or we are here to serve as triggers for them.  Our conflicted interaction is an opportunity to learn major lessons.  At times, they are mirroring something in us that we need to see.

Recently, as listened to a speaker, I became very irritated, thinking, “She’s too dramatic.  What an ego.  She needs to tone it down.”  Then she announced that her topic that day was judgment.  I couldn’t help laughing at myself.  Not only have I been accused of being too emotional and dramatic, I immediately saw how she mirrored me.  Letting go of my judgment of her presentation allowed me to really hear what she said, and it was powerful.  Laughing at our foibles is an excellent way to raise our vibration.

Choice Empowers Us

When we consciously choose our responses to life’s challenges, we can begin to create the life we want.  If we see life as always happening to us, we have no power.  We can only empower ourselves by knowing that we can change our negative thoughts to more positive ones.  We can choose to find the best in each day, each person and each experience and this will lift our vibration.  Happiness is a choice.  Everything in our lives doesn’t have to be perfect in order for us to be happy.  Frankly, in this changing world, having at least one thing a day for which to be happy seems like a great gift to me.  What makes you happy today?  Please comment.

© 2011 Georganne Spruce

Related Articles:  (Video) Abraham – Choose good feeling thoughts to get into the Vortex, Constantly Choosing a Positive Attitude

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