Tag Archives: Consciousness

DANCING WITH SPIRIT IN A NEW WORLD, Part 3

Posted on October 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

 Taiowa is the breath, humankind is the mouthpiece

to carry the sounds of creation to the far reaches of eternity.

 The people are the building material,

bringing on their wings the lessons of time.

 Timelessness, selflessness, oneness are

the rhythms of the song the ancestors knew well.

As I read and watch the Occupy Wall Street protest, I am carried back to an earlier time in my life when my generation protested racism and the Vietnam War.  It was our intention to change the world, and in some ways, we did.  Now, we are ready for more change, and I am deeply touched by the timeliness of the last two lines of this ancient Native American song which the ancestors sang.  We are on the verge of a new world where timelessness, selflessness, and oneness will be valued.

It is not healthy to live in the past, but it is foolish not to learn from it.  Each experience we have is a lesson from which we learn how to live a better life.  We are now being forced to look closely at our attachment to consumerism and greed.  We are being forced to simplify our lives.  We are being forced to look within where the real treasure lies.

Awakening to Past Lessons to Enhance the Future

 We can learn a great deal from the values of indigenous peoples.  They honor and live with the natural flow of seasons.  They value community and the old wise ones in that community.  They are one with nature.  They are connected through generations by respect and stories.

Timelessness Connects Us With Spirit

 In this new world we are creating, we will learn to respect timelessness, selflessness and oneness.  Timelessness teaches us to be in the moment: to feel our emotions, to connect quietly with Spirit and ourselves so that we can be guided to the best solution or course of action.  When we step outside the rigidity of our structured time, tasks are completed easily.  When we do an activity we truly enjoy, we are caught up in the pleasure of it and lose track of time.  When we have finished the activity, we don’t feel tired and depleted, we feel energized and joyful.  One of the gifts of timelessness is joy.

Selflessness Opens Our Hearts

 Selflessness requires us to give from the heart of our deepest selves.  The intent of our giving is as important as what we actually give. It is from the heart that we are able to choose what is best for all.  Many people have been taught that they must help others in order to be worthy.  When others are in need, they feel compelled to fill that need and become very uncomfortable when they can’t.  On the other hand, the martyr never knows when to stop giving, and in the process, harms herself, often feeling that the thanks offered are never enough to fill the emptiness inside.  Neither of these is selflessness, for selflessness has no strings attached.

Oneness Connects Us With All Living Beings

 When we experience timelessness and selflessness, we experience oneness.  We may experience oneness in meditation or making love, walking in the forest, or talking deeply with a friend, but always we sense a deep connection.  We are more than one; we are One – an integral spot in the cosmos, stripped of individual identify to become more than we could ever dream of being.  The mystics know this experience well.  But in our world, we separate ourselves from others because we are afraid of our differences or afraid we will be rejected.   We fear we are not worthy enough and so we avoid looking deeper within although we cannot heal the fear that separates us from each other and Spirit without going within.

In the book Oneness, the authors say, “By making the highest possible choices in any given moment—one makes the optimum vibrational contribution to the energetic collective of you.” (Page 222) We are not separate from each other.  This is our greatest illusion.  When we make the highest choice for ourselves, we contribute what is loving and positive for all.  When we act toward others in the highest possible way, we uplift our own vibration.

The Basis of a New and More Humane World

As the protesters grow in cities all across the world, we become more aware of the oneness we all share, for all people desire justice in their governments in order to live a humane and enriching life.  Whether it is political or economic justice they desire, whether they are Christian, Muslim, or have non-sectarian beliefs, we are now united by the same human desires.  With timelessness, selflessness, and oneness, we will be guided into a new and better world where we are one community.

How are timelessness, selflessness, and oneness important in your life?

© 2011 Georganne Spruce

Here are the two previous posts on the topic of Dancing with Spirit in a New World, Part 1,  Part 2.    Related Articles:  Time and Timelessness, Selflessness—Core of All Major World Religions—Has Neuropsychological Connection

 

 

 

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DANCING WITH SPIRIT IN A NEW WORLD, Part 2

Posted on October 12, 2011 | 2 comments
Hut of Toda tribe (Nilgiris, India)

Image via Wikipedia

Taiowa is the breath, humankind is the mouthpiece

to carry the sounds of creation to the far reaches of eternity.

 “The people are the building material, bringing on their wings the lessons of time.

Finding the Perfect House

I will never forget the feeling I had when I first looked at the house where I now live.  I had been looking for months, and there were two houses I had almost chosen, but each had a very steep driveway, not a good choice for mountain winters.  This house also had a somewhat steep driveway; yet, the moment I entered it, I knew it was mine.  The peaceful energy enveloped me, and I wanted to stay there forever.

What I felt in the house was not something I had created, but was the energy of the person who lived there before me.  Whoever she was, she had left good energy for the next owner to enjoy.  I didn’t realize until later that much of the house had also been arranged according to feng shui principles.

In addition, I loved the materials used in the house: light, bright hardwood floors, red brick and white frame, the green door, and an all white interior where the reflection filled most rooms with light.  Somehow, it all fit together in a perfectly complementary way.

Building a Spiritually Based Life

Just as the builder of this house chose the materials to fit and blend in a balanced way, we choose the materials with which to build our own lives.  We are the materials of the Universe, and as we each build our lives, consciously or unconsciously, we help to create the world in which we live. If we make choices that are spiritually based, then we help to create a world that is more spiritually based. What are the basic materials of our lives?

The Foundation Is Our Soul

Like the foundation of a house, our core or soul is who we are when all temporal circumstances and physical exteriors are stripped away.  It is our eternal spirit.  In the “dark night of the soul,” it is what seems like that tiny thread to which we cling when all else has crumbled or fled.  It is that place in us where the light of Spirit reminds us we are always One, and we become aware that we are never just me.

The Frame Contains Our Spiritual Philosophy

Like the frame of a house, we need something sturdy to hold us up which will weather time and all circumstances.  In addition to our core, our principles and ideas form a basis for our decision making.  For some, these are religious principles, for others they may be intellectual or spiritual guidance that support good decision making.  Some may follow Jesus’ teaching of “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Others may follow Confucius who said, “They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.”  Regardless of the philosophy, these ideas provide us with another level of guidance in addition to our core’s guidance.

Our Boundaries Create Our Walls

 Just as the walls of the house provide us with protection, and within them, we experience a safety zone where we can rest, the emotional boundaries we create serve much the same purpose.  However, if we pull these boundaries too tight around us, restricting greatly the people, ideas, and opportunities we allow inside our lives, our home will be a small one.  We may feel safe, but we may suffocate in such safety.  If we trust the flow of life and allow our boundaries to expand and open our hearts, minds and souls to more possibilities, we will find a deeper richness.

Awakening to a Life That Is Good For All

So, as we move through time and share with our world the materials we have used to build our lives, we help to create the world in which we live.  Sharing the lessons we learn empowers others and may also help them avoid some of the negative experiences we have had.  As we awaken, we will build the future together, and so we must choose our materials carefully for the greater good of all.  When our choices come from deep inside our spiritual being, we are dancing with Spirit, and the result can only be beautiful and the energy peaceful.

What are the materials of your life? the foundation? the frame? the walls and roof?

© 2011 Georganne Spruce

Related Articles: Tips and Pointers For Building A Spiritual Life From Scratch,  Wayne Dyer on Living A Spiritual Life 

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DANCING WITH SPIRIT IN A NEW WORLD, Part 1

Posted on October 6, 2011 | 1 comment

Taiowa is the breath, humankind is the mouthpiece

to carry the sounds of creation to the far reaches of eternity.

The people are the building material,

bringing on their wings the lessons of time.

 Timelessness, selflessness, oneness are

the rhythms of the song the ancestors knew well.

 The preceding excerpt from Powamu: The Last Myth of Creation is on a poster I bought at Chaco Canyon in 2001.  This song is in Meditations with the Hopi.  Chaco Canyon was the center of the great Anasazi culture in New Mexico.

The words of this ancient song speak to me deeply today as they did on that day so many years ago as I watched the first light of day shine through an opening into the Great Kiva and strike the wall beyond as it had for centuries.  A great civilization lived in that place.  As I think about it today, I am struck by how the time in which we live is significant in relation to the future of mankind.  As a result, I will take each stanza of the song as the theme for my blog post this week and for the next two weeks, exploring how the ancient wisdom relates to us now.

What Changes Will We Make in the World

We are experiencing huge changes in physical and spiritual world.  We are in a process of ascension, a change in individual and world consciousness.  We are approaching the end of the Mayan Calendar, another signal that we are moving into a new paradigm. So who will we be in this time and what do we wish to contribute to our new world?

We are the mouthpiece through which the holy speaks.  We are the individual expression of Spirit.  When what we create comes from Spirit, we become who we really are:  beings of Love and Light.  Although we are but a moment in time, our voice travels through all eternity.  When we are gone and our civilization is only miles of ruins, what will the scholars have to say about who we were?

What sounds will we choose to carry to the far reaches of eternity?  Will they be the sounds of falling buildings, the explosions of weapons, the cries of the dying?  Will we carry our obsession with self-destruction into eternity?  Or will we choose to carry the sounds of peace?  To choose silence over noise so that we can hear the sound of the bird’s flight and the fish slipping quietly through the waters?  Will we choose competition or cooperation? When will we begin to listen to the holy within ourselves, to hear our own heartbeat and follow its guidance?

The Dance of Our New Life

The time is now to decide how we will dance in this new life.  Ancient peoples danced for every celebration, for it put them in touch with the eternal spirit in themselves.  To dance in this life is sometimes as simple as listening to the sound of the birds and sharing the laughter of a friend.  It is often about awakening to the choice to see what is positive in an experience and focusing on that.  It is about dancing as a community where we care for others and they care for us. This is the energy we need to take into our new world, spreading the joy and hope wherever we go, committing ourselves to creating new structures that equally meet the needs of all people, and caring responsibly for the resources we have.

Being the Mouthpiece of Spirit

We are the mouthpiece of Spirit, and our words and choices carry the sounds of our creation into the far reaches of the future.  Despite the chaos around us, we have the power to reinvent our lives, our cities, and our relationships.  Let us choose wisely and lovingly as we create this new world.  It is time to create an opening for the Light to come through and venture into a transforming way of life.  Join the dance as we move into this higher consciousness.

What is your vision of a new world?  How are you helping to create it?

© 2011 Georganne Spruce

Related Articles: The Quickening (2012), Nearing 2012 of Spiritual Emergence Teachings: Krishnamurti, Gandhi, and Eckhart Tolle

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AWAKENING TO THE PEACE AND WHOLENESS BEYOND FEAR

Posted on September 7, 2011 | 7 comments

Release Fear and Awaken to the Dance

Beneath every negative emotion is fear.

Every psychological fear blocks us in some way from receiving the guidance we need to find peace and know the best action to take.  Without fear, we can stop saying, “What’s wrong with me?” and begin to say, “What can I learn from this experience?”  Self-judgment has no value.  Without it, we can reflect on a situation and gain insight and inspiration.

We all have moments when we feel we are not good enough or have handled a situation badly.  Our inner critic recites the long list of our deficiencies, blaming us for every experience that did not manifest in the way we wished.  We may be, in fact, very compassionate in our interactions with others, but forget to offer ourselves the same kind of consideration.  To awaken to the dance of life completely, we must have this compassion for ourselves.

Wholeness, the Gift of Accepting Who We Are

One of the most profound ideas I have ever read comes from Oneness by Rasha.  “Those moments when you judge yourself most harshly and in which you feel you let yourself down are the moments most deeply yearned for as a soul.  For, in the moments you look back upon with regret—the ones that conjure up within you the most profound humiliation in your own eyes—are the moments for which you chose a human incarnation.” (p. 237)  “And in your embracing of all that you Are—and in your acceptance of all that you are not…is the unconditional gift of wholeness that awaits you.”(p. 238)

We do not have to be perfect to be whole. If we had reached a level of consciousness where we no longer needed to learn lessons, we would not be on this earthly plain. It is our ego’s pain and feeling of lack that feeds the fear that we are not good enough. Through the fears that surface, we glimpse the shadow, that darker side of our unconscious, and we are able to see the issues we need to address.

How To Release Self-Judgment

Last week I tried to communicate with a friend by email.  It was clear he had misunderstood something I said and he seemed to be avoiding the issue.  I was frustrated, thinking, “What have I done wrong here?” After pacing the floor a bit, I released my fear that I had offended him and asked, “How can I best bring peace to this situation?”  I felt calmer, and in a moment, a positive, light energy rose in my body, and I knew I needed to call him and arrange to talk face to face.  When I called, he eagerly suggested we meet for lunch.  As a result, we had a wonderful, open talk and parted with peaceful feelings toward one another.

When we find ourselves in these self-critical modes, we need to look beneath the surface issue and ask, “What is it I fear?”  Then, we need to release the fear, so that our minds are not busy coping with the fear.  Once we have released the fear, the mind feels clear and we can ask, “What is the best way to solve this problem?” or “How can I create peace out of this discord?”

When we do this, we shine light on our darkness.  We become open to identifying the lesson we need to learn.  Inner guidance will appear to guide us in the best direction.  Free of fear, we are able to let go of self-judgment.

 Finding Inner Peace Beneath the Fear

Evaluating and revising is a helpful learning process.  We all have to explore and experiment in order to learn.  Sometimes we will find the right answer; sometimes we won’t, but being afraid to try a new approach blocks our ability to learn.  With these fears released, we can find solutions and awaken to the peace that lies beneath our fears.  When we are able to accept all these parts of ourselves, we will experience wholeness.

What fears do you need to release?  How do you find peace?

© 2011 Georganne Spruce

If you are interested in my upcoming “Release Your Fear” workshop on September 18 when I teach a specific technique for releasing your fear, see my Workshop page.  Advanced registration is not required.  All are welcome.

Related Articles:  Spiritual Practices: Shadow, Shadow Exercises

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AWAKENING THROUGH SPIRITUAL REFLECTION: WHAT DO YOU MIRROR?

Posted on August 24, 2011 | 4 comments

“Do you ever wonder if the guy in the puddle is real, and if you’re just a reflection of him?” Calvin and Hobbs

Seeing Who We Really Are

Do you ever find yourself observing someone’s behavior, being irritated by it, then suddenly realize the reason it irritates you is because it’s a reflection of your behavior?  The idea that we are mirrors for each other is a powerful one, but whether or not we learn from these experiences depends on what we are willing to see.

Sometimes reflections are so clear, exact replicas of our faces, words or behavior that we cannot miss the message.  Other times, like the picture above, the reflection seems cloudy with undefined edges and unclear images.

Sharing Our Awakening

Last night, I listened to a presentation on Human Design with several people, many of whom are friends.  We discovered that most of us belonged to the same design type.  As the characteristics of our type were revealed, we mirrored one another with startled stares, exclamations, and laughter, amazed by our similarities. We were told that the strategy for centering our energy was “to wait and respond.”  To use our will power to force things to happen would create frustration.  Considering the fact that several of us are self-employed, we also mirrored our shock at this revelation.  How could that be?

Awakening Through Reflection

As I attempted to integrate our similarities, I also became aware that some of my companions, in the past, have reflected my behavior in ways I don’t particularly like.  I was looking at both sides of the mirror at one time.  Flashes of memories came flooding back:  the times I wanted to control something that was uncontrollable, the times I responded insensitively to another because I was frustrated (ouch), the times when I held back information for fear I would reveal too much of myself, and most of all, the ways I criticized the person mirroring this to me.  Each person in that room was my teacher.

Reflecting Who We Really Are

Along with getting a glimpse of the way others mirror who I am, I became aware that the strategy for my design type, wait and respond, was basically the same as the major spiritual lesson I had been learning.  About a year ago, unhappy with the direction of my life, I meditated on how to create a less stressful life where I could put my writing at the center.  I felt I needed a master plan.  Then, the awareness came to me that all I needed to do was to take the first step.

Wait and Respond

I was tired.  Tired of trying so hard.  Tired of planning.  I decided to try a different way.  So I took the first step.  I began writing my memoir every day, decided to set up a blog and learn to use social media for marketing.  Okay, I did have sort of a plan, but what should I do first other than work on the memoir?

I waited.  Before long, what I needed showed up.  The community college offered courses on social media and blogging, and a woman I knew understood this new technology.  I took the courses and my friend became my mentor.  Waiting, something I hate to do, led me to the next step; then I responded.  The human design strategy simply reflected back to me what I already knew: when I wait, what I need shows up, then I respond.

I have much to reflect upon as I look deeper into the experience I had last night.  Some of edges in these reflections are crystal clear, while others are blurred and mysterious.  The latter will require that I go deeper.  In next week’s blog, I will explore the way we may use reflection to do that.

When you look at those close to you, what do they reflect back to you?  What are you willing to see?

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© 2011 Georganne Spruce

Related Articles:

I See You, Now See Me – Neale Donald Walsh

How God Tells You It’s Time To Change – Wayne Dyer

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AWAKENING SPIRIT TO THE COMEDY OF LIFE

Posted on August 9, 2011 | 2 comments
Jumping Over the 3rd Largest Pyramid in the World by Anirudh Koul

“What a wonderful life I’ve had! – I only wish I’d realized it sooner.”  Colette

I used to think that happiness was created “out there” by other people, food or music, or things going my way.  Now I know it comes from within and that I can choose my experience.  I can write my own spiritual script.

“All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players.” Shakespeare 

Playing the Enlightened Fool

Our lives are the most important story we will ever write and this physical existence is the stage where we have chosen to play out our stories.  Is yours a comedy, tragedy or melodrama?  Although mine often feels like a tragedy or a melodrama, I try at least to give it comic overtones.  Sometimes I enjoy playing the fool, who, if you remember from Shakespeare’s plays, was often wiser than the hero.  The fool was often the means by which the power of the time was encouraged to laugh at itself.

When my ego begins to think it’s going to run the show, I try to play the fool and laugh at myself.  There was a time when I couldn’t do this at all.  I was a very insecure young person and very self-conscious, always afraid of someone’s criticism or of being rejected.  I was very serious about everything and considered too much laughter trivial.  I couldn’t stand to be laughed at.  Now I revel in it.

Laughing for Spiritual Well-Being

One aspect of happiness is being able to laugh at ourselves.  This is such a gift.  If we can laugh at our shortcomings and mistakes and accept our humanity, we can avoid the kind of self-criticism that tears us down.  It’s always wise to take a good look at our mistakes and understand how to avoid them or correct a problem we’ve created.  But it’s not spiritually healthy to become attached to our negative thinking.

Laughing at our foibles lifts up our energy vibration.  When we’re happy, we’re more likely to make positive decisions and find positive solutions to problems.  Playing the fool once in a while helps keep us from taking ourselves too seriously, for taking ourselves too seriously often sets up a resistance that creates more problems.

Releasing Resistance Frees Us

The most important resistance we need to avoid and release is the need to be right.  This is often the flaw we see in Shakespeare’s tragic characters.  Unable to view their challenges with a more flexible mind set, they follow a path that eventually destroys all they value.  Like these characters, we may become so attached to a particular point of view that we are unable to see the weaknesses in our thinking and plunge headlong into a disaster.  Laughing at ourselves or being laughed at can often break this unhealthy attachment and release the resistance.

Choosing the Gift of Happiness

I love this quote by Colette:  “What a wonderful life I’ve had! – I only wish I’d realized it sooner.”   What are you focusing on in your life?  Are you making the time to enjoy Nature, your friends and family or creative outlets? Are you finding something to be grateful for each day?

In order to experience happiness, we have to be thankful for what we have and willing to let go of our need to control life.  The best laughter usually comes from the unexpected.  Caught by surprise by a spontaneous comment or response, we let go and enjoy the foolishness of the moment.

When I say things that really make people laugh, they are always unplanned and leap from my mouth before I even know what I intend to say.  From some place of inner joy or mischief, the idea leaps forth into being.  I’m always delighted when I can make others laugh, even when I embarrass myself.  No matter what is happening with the stock market, world economy, or the Turkeys on The Hill (as in D. C.), we all need some comedic interludes.  We need to remember that childhood joy is still alive in us and if we can’t solve our problems today or even tomorrow, we can celebrate our humanity and laugh it up.

Feel free to share a comment, a funny joke, or absurd thought.  Let’s laugh it up today.  We probably all need it.

© 2011 Georganne Spruce

Related Link:  Seven Secrets of a Joyful Life – Wayne Dyer

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PRACTICING THE SPIRITUAL DANCE – FLEXIBILITY

Posted on July 20, 2011 | Leave a comment

“We learn by practice.  Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same.  One becomes in some area an athlete of God.”  Martha Graham

Flexibility In The Dance Of Life

In life and dance, flexibility is an essential quality.  As we watch a modern or ballet dancer, we are amazed by the infinite variety of shapes through which she or he moves.  For dance, the body must be stretched beyond comfortable limits.  For life, our minds must be stretched as well.

Physical flexibility allows us to move with ease, letting the momentum of the movement carry us through space like a bird in flight riding the updrafts.  But spiritual and mental flexibility helps us to trust that what unfolds is good, even when it is challenging.

Flexibility Raises Conscious

An inflexible mind limits our lives as much as an inflexible body limits the dancer.  Oneness states, “There are no right and wrong choices.  There is simply action and reaction.  And both are intertwined in the eternal dance of life.” (p. 320)  Flexibility allows us to be more conscious, to be able to see what the possible consequences of certain actions may be and then to choose wisely the action we wish to take.

For example, I grew up with the notion that friends were forever.  At least that was the way it was supposed to be.  I still think this is a wonderful idea whenever it is possible to stay connected to the same friends for years.  But I came to realize that in our mobile society this is difficult.  If we are also growing and changing, it is inevitable that we will outgrow the value of some relationships and that they may become so diminished that we each need to move on.

Letting Go With Love

Is it wrong to walk away from people and circumstances that no longer support what is best for us?  If we are to be healthy, whatever and whoever is in our lives must be compatible with our spiritual path or else that energy will be depleting.  Learning to let go with love is just as valuable as being able to welcome what is new with love.  Sometimes letting go simply means thinking differently about a situation. We need the flexibility to make whatever choice is appropriate.

So in life, flexibility allows us to change our mind, see other points of view, and experiment in order to find healthy solutions to problems.  Life becomes an improvisation so that we are open to new possibilities.  It teaches the ego that it doesn’t always need to be right. This is why meditation is so helpful. In the silence, we are able to sense our oneness with all creation.  In this space we are in the flow and we surrender to life, just as the dancer surrenders to the dance, and we become “an athlete of God.”

When has changing your perspective helped you make a better choice? Please comment.

© 2011 Georganne Spruce

Related Readings:  Practicing the Spiritual Dance – Strength

Practicing the Spiritual Dance – Balancing

How Simple Thinking Leads to a Brilliant Mind

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PRACTICING THE SPIRITUAL DANCE – BALANCING

Posted on July 13, 2011 | Leave a comment

“We learn by practice.  Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same.  One becomes in some area an athlete of God.”  Martha Graham

Awakening To Balance the Mind And Body

Finding balance was one of the great gifts I received from studying modern dance for many years.  Imagine, balancing on the toes of one foot, your spine stretching to its full length, your energy flowing from your pelvis, reaching down into the earth and upward to the sky, a perfectly balanced tension. 

Surry Celebration Team Dance, Flickr.com

To find balance requires strength, practicing pliés (knee bends) and relevés(balancing on the ball of the foot) daily for years until one day, it is easy and one rises miraculously into a moment of perfect balance.

I learned early that in order to perform a movement well, my mind and body had to work together.  This was long before I learned to meditate, so I didn’t’ have the advantage of knowing how to center my mind.  At first, when I tried to balance, I concentrated on contracting the right muscles in order to balance on my toes or one foot.  Then one day, I heard a teacher say, “Stretch, stretch your spine, stretch toward the ceiling, stretch out of the floor.”  I got it – balance was about expansion, not contraction.

We Need A Strong Spiritual Core For Life

Balancing requires stretching and strengthening.  In traditional modern dance, all movement is motivated from the center of the body, the pelvis.  Dancers need a strong core or else we find ourselves foundering, too weak to control leg and arm movement or unable to control our movement as we move out into space.  The same is true in life.  We need a strong, core spiritual belief that guides us.  We may believe that we are all One or we live from a spirit of Love that connects us to others in a meaningful way.  Whatever this belief is, when it resides at the center of our lives, it comforts and guides our actions and choices, acting as the core that holds the rest of our lives together.

Balance Opens Us To Wisdom

We also need a balance between the mind, body, emotions and soul.  If we can see the world only in emotional or rational terms, we have a limited awareness and may not be able to see the whole picture in a situation.  As we stretch, we allow the mind to open, expand, and move into new space.  We consider the possibility that ideas we have previously rejected may have value.  We learn to listen to another’s truth considering the possibility we may learn from them.  We learn to corral the part of our unruly ego that wants to reject whatever is not known and comfortable.

With balance comes wisdom, for balance teaches us to sit in the midst of chaos and remain centered.  When we feel balanced, we may choose not to respond to conflict.  We may choose to take a few deep breaths rather than honk our horn at the slowly moving person in front of us in traffic.  We may be able to stop ourselves from rushing out the door to a meeting when our child needs us to sit and listen.  When we are balanced, we are more aware.  We are living in that perfect tension between earth and sky.  We are an “athlete of God.”

 View the first in this series on “Practicing the Spiritual Dance – Developing Strength.”  

© 2011 Georganne Spruce

Related Readings:

Is Balance Possible in This Lifetime

How to Find That Elusive Balance Between Work and Life

 

 

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MYSTICAL MUSIC FROM SPIRIT

Posted on June 29, 2011 | 1 comment

Sunday morning I awoke with the words of a James Taylor song ringing in my head.  “Just shower the people you love with love/Show them the way that you feel/Things are gonna work out fine if you only will….”

Listening For Spiritual Answers

This happens fairly often.  It has probably been happening all my life, but it was only a few years ago that I realized I needed to pay attention to it.  At a spiritual retreat on how to create the life you want, the facilitator told us to notice what song was in our heads when we awakened the next morning.  I don’t remember what song I heard, but it was one that spoke to me.

Sometimes the song in my head is one that I recently sang at a gathering, but sometimes it’s one I haven’t heard for a long time.   Either way it always answers a question that has been gnawing at me.  Regardless of the question, the advice given in Sunday’s song was good advice.  In this case, some anxiety about a couple of people had surfaced, but so slightly that I had not turned inward to ask for guidance.  Despite that, the answer arrived before the question.

I also occasionally hear an answer before I finish asking the question.  Before I noticed this happening and started paying more attention to my inner life, I probably missed many answers. I was negligent about taking the time to listen to my inner guidance.  I was told many times by spiritual counselors or by my own guides that I wasn’t listening.  As I became more aware and consciously tried to slow down, I occasionally asked my inner guidance, “Guides, am I listening better?”  For much too long, the answer was usually “no!”

Staying Connected With Our Inner Life

Functioning in the world at a job or just dealing with daily chores like changing the oil in the car, cooking supper for the family, or taking care of health issues can easily consume our energy and fill our minds.  But what I’ve realized is that I get messages all day to slow down.  When I drop three things in a row, start tripping over furniture or spill a glass of water, perhaps I need to slow down.

When these things start happening, they usually continue until I do stop.  For example, I use two water filters that sit one on top of the other so that I get a result similar to remote osmosis.  One day just before I was expecting a house full of people, I hurriedly filled the top one and quickly placed it on top of the other.  As I rushed from the room to do the next task, a crash and the sound of water flooding the kitchen stopped me.  The top filter had slipped off and fallen to the floor.  Luckily my friend and her husband had arrived early and helped me stem the deluge and mop the floor before other guests arrived.

Being in the Moment

It all comes back to being in the moment.  Only then are we really conscious so that our energy flows in a way that allows us to easily direct it to the task at hand and to open that space where we can actually hear our inner voice advising us.  And sometimes that inner voice may reach us singing in that holy moment each morning just before we realize we’re conscious and our mind presents us with its list of things to do.

I love that moment and always try to sing along.  It’s always good to start the day with a little mystic music, even if you have to make it up.

© 2011 Georganne Spruce

How do you stay in the moment?

Related Readings: Expand Into the Place of Inspired Mind

How Meditation May Change the Mind

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HAVING FAITH

Posted on May 25, 2011 | 1 comment

Clearing the Heart Blocks

 Several summers ago, I attended a retreat in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina taught by Vani(Linda Bretherton), a healer from the United Kingdom.  The setting couldn’t have been more inspiring with ponds and streams, a butterfly garden, and a quaint rustic lodge.  The year before, Vani had worked on my charkas, opening many blocks that enabled me to find the courage to pursue a more heartfelt life.  In a small pavilion by a rushing stream, we did deep, difficult work, and when I left I knew it would take a while to integrate what I had experienced.

For the next year, my life was rather stressful, but also joyous, because there were times when I was joyfully immersed in writing, stopped worrying about how to make a living and just celebrated being alive. Only when the sense of lack from my early conditioning came back to haunt me did I feel stressed.

Spiritual Messages

This conflict between my emotional and practical sides had always been a challenge.  One night just before the retreat, I had a dream in which I was at the Intuition Institute.  Referring to my lack of clarity concerning the path I should follow, I asked, “What’s this all about?”  The answer was “It’s a struggle between the rational and the intuitive.”

Then, almost a month after the retreat, I woke suddenly at 3:30 am like a bolt of lightning had hit me.  Totally lucid and feeling surprisingly peaceful, I saw a large billboard in my mind.  Across it in neon letters, Spirit wrote, “It’s all in place. Relax.”  That was simply too much for me to process, so I turned over and went back to sleep.

By the time I woke again, I could only respond to this message with awe.  It didn’t seem quite real.  However, the theatre teacher in me was very impressed with how dramatically effective Spirit had been in getting my attention.  She was usually more subtle than this, but evidently I hadn’t been listening very closely or my fears were clouding my mind.  Clearly, she didn’t want me to miss this one.

The Fear of Letting Go

After I exhausted myself analyzing the meaning of this remarkable experience, I realized I was avoiding accepting this simple and beautiful message. Underneath it all, I didn’t trust myself enough to believe I deserved Spirit’s trust.  What if I were unable to truly accept this? And what if I could accept this?  That was a scary thought: really turn my life over to Spirit, to do it completely this time.  To really let go.  To have complete faith.

 I have a little poster on Faith that says,

When you have come to the edge of all the light you know,

And are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown,

Faith is knowing one of two things will happen:

There will be something to stand on

Or you will be taught how to fly

 I remembered all the tears I had shed at the retreat.  They came in enormous waves as if the ocean were crashing through my soul.  They were uncontrollable, washing away large quantities of deep sadness, ancient wounds, carrying me through deep currents to eventually deposit me in the light again where I knew I was a Divine Being.  I had underestimated the power of those tears to force me to let go. 

What more could I want to know than “It’s all in place. Relax!”

And yet, there I was a week later – angry, resistant, confused, stressed, clutching, attached to one point of view – unwilling to shift my thinking to a new perspective.  Even after releasing my fears and reaffirming that I was open to Spirit’s guidance, I fell back into the quagmire of negativity and attachment.  Where was my trust, my faith, my knowing?

At a ceremony on the night before the October full moon, I chose an Insight card, “Prosperity.”  I asked, “How?”  The answer was “It’s coming.”  For clarification, I drew another card that stated, “Take time off to allow your body to rest and renew.”

“It’s all in place. Relax!”

So, I rested.  On the full moon, something shifted.  I let go of my need to control the situations in my life.  I accepted the possibility that looking at the cause of my anger from a different perspective would allow me to understand these situations in a deeper and more beneficial way. I considered the possibility that I truly did deserve Spirit’s full support, that I did deserve this gift, that all I wanted was already in place waiting for me to claim it.

Five years after Vani’s retreat and Spirit’s amazing message, I have continued to receive financial and emotional support for my writing from many unexpected sources.  I have learned to trust that I may not know the outcome of the whole plan, but I simply take the next step.  I don’t need to know what the step after that really is, for Spirit keeps surprising me with where she wants me to go.  I’m learning there is not one answer; there are many answers.  I have to remind myself frequently to let go, relax, and make space for the miraculous to bless my life.

Faith is, after all, the ultimate acceptance that the unknown is Good.  “Relax!  It’s all in place.”       © 2011 Georganne Spruce

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