Tag Archives: Consciousness

ENLIGHTENMENT: A GOAL OR A GIFT

Posted on May 18, 2011 | 4 comments

Awakening to the Journey

I recently read in Oneness by Rasha, “The process of awakening is not one in which a definitive threshold is crossed and one is then enlightened, transformed, or ascended.  There is much backsliding to be expected on this journey….Your own preoccupation with the concept of completion will keepthat state of attainment ever elusive.” (p. 92)

Over the years I have known people whose life goal was to reach enlightenment.  For a long time I assumed there was possibly a path mapped out in Eastern religion that would lead one to that goal.  I never explored Hinduism or its relatives, but when I began to experience Buddhism, I found meditation so challenging that I decided there was no point to set enlightenment as a goal because it was unattainable in my lifetime.  If it happened, it happened.  Setting enlightenment as a goal seemed self defeating.

 The Ego Loves Spiritual Goals

When I first read the Oneness passage above, it really resonated with me.  A friend and I had a conversation on this topic.  He wanted to attain enlightenment
in this lifetime.  I said that I felt making enlightenment a life goal was an ego response.  It was the ego that wanted to brag about being enlightened, but that true enlightenment just happens.  When we become attached to doing good so that we will become enlightened, we are not being authentic.  Again, we are not acting from the heart, but to fulfill a goal created by ego.

Living authentically from the heart will take us to a place beyond ego.  We will help others because we truly care about them, not because it impresses them.  We will release judgment toward ourselves and others, embrace our backsliding and learn from it how to live more consciously.  We will understand that the journey is endless.  What matters is not the imaginary end but how we experience the process.

 Respect Each Person’s Spiritual Journey

Each journey is unique, and we create it by the choices we make each day.  Each of us awakens at our own pace. The reason I use the word “awakening” as part of the title in this blog is that the first step to any growth is to awaken or become aware. Whatever wisdom has awakened within me over the years has appeared when I least expect it.  Often as I search for an understanding of one mystery, the answer to another emerges. Just when I start feeling that I’ve reached a point of healing about an issue, the pain or grief may erupt more powerfully than ever.  What I know is that this is individual and unpredictable and that it is a gift, no matter how painful it may be.

However, who am I to say that it isn’t good for my friend to choose enlightenment for a goal?  Perhaps that is exactly what he needs to do in order to learn his karmic lessons.  But my goal is still not enlightenment.  I need to keep things simple and just live each day as consciously as I can. I want to treat myself and others with respect, to offer help when I can, and to create activities that stimulate the joy within me so that it will spill over to others.  A spiritual teacher of mine used to say our purpose on this earth is to expand our energy and to do that we need to experience love and joy.  When we are able to do that, we are enlightened.

How do you see enlightenment?  What do you think about Rasha’s comment on
enlightenment?  © 2011 Georganne Spruce

Related posts are “Diving Deeper” and my first experience with Chakra Balancing, “My First Time”

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ATTRACTING ABUNDANCE

Posted on May 11, 2011 | 3 comments

What are you thinking as you pay your bills? Do you see this
activity as a reflection of the scarcity in your life or of the abundance?

Positive Thoughts Have Power

I used to know a woman who wrote on the top of each check, “Thank
you, God.”  For her, having the money to pay her bills was a sign of abundance, and she sent gratitude out into the Universe each time she spent money.  She
wasn’t a wealthy woman with unlimited resources.  She worked at a job, owned a house and had responsibilities,
but she chose to focus on what she had instead of her lack.

I don’t write “Thank you, God” on every check, but whenever
I remember, I say “Thank you for this abundance.”  It is important to acknowledge what is good
in our lives and identify that as abundance.  Acknowledging this gift from the Universe makes me feel good and raises my vibration.  That vibration ripples out into the Universe, drawing to me more positive energy in many forms.

Definition of Abundance

Don’t limit your ideas of prosperity or abundance to finances.  Anything uplifting contributes to our concept of abundance.  What about the love of friends and family?  What about opportunities for growth or expanding awareness?  What about a surplus of food?  What about good health or an understanding health practitioner?

The forests and mountains where I live are one of the most bio-diverse
areas in the world and constantly feed my spiritual needs.  This area also has an abundance of people who share my values and many opportunities to explore self-growth and artistic expression.  Despite often living on little money, I’ve had little debt and never felt poor.  It isn’t a mind-set I choose to embrace.

How To Draw Abundance To You

I grew up in a family with a huge scarcity consciousness so it is an on-going challenge for me not to allow that to become an obstacle.  In order to feel prosperous most of the time, it is important to keep one’s energy up and to be free of expectations about the source of the abundance or how it will look. Sometimes we receive what we requested but don’t recognize it because of our preconceived ideas about its appearance or source.

 Recently, I discovered that my car needed an expensive repair.  Repairing it at the price the dealer quoted me would have destroyed by monthly budget, so I asked the Universe for another solution.  First, I released my fear to clear my mind. Secondly, I expressed gratitude for the good in my life and the fact
that I had extra money in savings. Thirdly, I visualized gold coins showering me and the car being repaired for much less than the dealer’s quote.  I
visualized this until I felt it had actually happened.

Within a few days, through a friend, I found an excellent mechanic who would do the repair for half price, and the next day my tax refund was deposited in my bank account.  It was more than enough to cover the repair.  Since I had made a mistake on the tax return and had no reason to expect it so quickly, this was a delightful surprise.  I knew the synchronicity of these events was not random.

In the final analysis, I see everything good that comes into my life as abundance.  As a result, I feel secure most of the time.  When I don’t feel that way, I use the three steps I mentioned above.  That’s how you too can create abundance and flow with the Universe.       © 2011 Georganne Spruce

For information on creating abundance, try these following
links and any of the Abraham books by Esther and Jerry Hicks.

 “Removing Brakes from Abundance in 17 Seconds” – Abraham

“How to Attract Abundance” – Wayne Dyer

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BEING THE RIGHT ONE, Part 3, Meditation

Posted on April 27, 2011 | 2 comments

Using Meditation to Find Your Inner Self

In order to be “the right one”, rather than looking for completion outside ourselves, we must be in touch with our inner selves.  However, during most of the day, our focus is on the outer, the daily routine of our lives, and our minds are concerned with working, solving problems, shopping and running errands.  The chaos and noise of the outer world and our active minds distract us from being in touch with our inner selves. 

Over the years, I have learned to integrate my spiritual and material lives so that, for the most part, I am at least marginally in touch with my center most of the time.  As problems arise, I stop and turn inward for a moment, observe and evaluate my options.  It has taken many years to reach this point and the practice that has made this possible is meditation.  Years ago when most of my friends practiced Transcendental Meditation, I was drawn to Buddhism and began the sitting practice of zazen.  Now I’ve created my own version of a meditative practice.  It doesn’t matter what form of meditation we use.  Any form will put us more in touch with our spiritual selves.

Meditation Takes Us Beyond Ego

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of meditation is that it takes us beyond our egos.  When we are caught up in the turmoil or pressure of everyday life, our egos are often fully engaged.  We are concerned with how we do our jobs or who will get the promotion or be laid off.  Parents worry about their skills as parents.  Are they doing the right thing about their children’s problems?  Why is this friend or partner being distant?  Don’t they like us anymore?  Did we do something wrong?

As Eckhart Tolle points out in A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, “…almost everyone carries in his or her energy field an accumulation of old emotional pain, which I call ‘the pain-body.” (p. 140) He goes on to explain how negative emotions feed the pain-body and make the ego more powerful.  The only way to combat this is to be present so our egos don’t control us.  With regular meditative practice, we can be present, an observer in our own lives, operating from our peaceful center and unobstructed by the needs of the ego.

 Meditation Supports Spiritual Awakening

Meditation takes us to a place deeper than ego where we are able to release our attachments to the concerns of the day and our emotional pain.  This place is sweetly quiet, a place empty of conflict where we learn to observe our thoughts and emotions and release them without judging or attaching to them.  In this holy place within, we become an empty vessel and create a space where Spirit can visit and provide us with deeper insights.  In this peaceful place, all is well and joy flourishes.

Once we are able to find this peaceful center and commit to experiencing it on a regular basis, the inner balance this creates spills over into our daily lives.  We learn to identify those moments when we are about to turn an incident into a major drama and are able to choose not to.  We notice that we are being caught up in the fear that something negative might happen, and we choose instead to envision the event turning out positively.  Instead of panicking because we don’t know how to solve a problem, we are able to sit quietly and wait for the mind to clear.   

Knowing we can choose to experience our challenges with a positive or neutral attitude gives us more power over our lives.  Knowing we have a center that is peaceful and connects us with the Infinite Mind gives us a beautiful security.  In this place of inner joy, we are healthy, whole, and complete.  Having access to our inner selves, we know we will always have the capacity to be “the right one” in our own lives.         © 2011 Georganne Spruce

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BEING THE RIGHT ONE, PART 2 JOY

Posted on April 20, 2011 | 2 comments

 Living A Joyful Life Through Gratitude

Creating inner joy is the key to a deep sense of inner confidence.  If we know how to find joy within ourselves, that is a powerful tool for spiritual growth.  If we can do that, what else might we be able to do? 

This is the second part of a series on “Being the Right One.”  Last week, I quoted Ken Keyes, Jr., who said, “As we grow in consciousness, we discover it is more important to be the right person than to find the right person.” For the next two weeks, we will explore this concept, identifying tools we can use to create this inner joy that helps us feel healthy, whole and complete. 

We Can Choose How We Want to Feel

How we think determines what we experience.  How we think determines how we feel.  How we think is a choice to some extent and that is often determined by how much responsibility we are willing to take in moderating our own thoughts.  It’s easy to say that one person has an easier life; so of course, we think it’s easy for her to be happy.  That’s true to a certain extent, but how do we account for the fact that there are people paralyzed from the neck down who still find pleasure and joy in life?  And how do we account for the people who have everything money can buy, but are unhappy?

 I will admit a few bites of dark chocolate can go a long way toward making me feel better when I don’t feel harmonious, but what do I do when that luscious, lingering taste deserts me?  Nothing external lasts.  It’s always about the interior, our feelings and thoughts determine what we experience and if we can think joyfully, we will experience joy. 

One Way to Create Inner Joy Is to Think Positive Thoughts of Gratitude

One of the most meaningful practices to create joy is gratitude.  There are many ways to experience gratitude.  Every morning when I first awake or am at breakfast, I thank Spirit for all the good things I have experienced recently.  I used to do this sometimes on the way to work.  I’ve even taken a moment while I was stopped in traffic, to thank Spirit for a couple of things.  Many people keep a gratitude journal where they write down the things they are thankful for each day. Expressing thankfulness can be done anytime, but allowing time for gratitude at the beginning of the day is very beneficial. 

I especially love my friend Debra’s practice.  “Each day when I am going for my walk / run, I am always grateful……..first that I can get out and use my body to run up and down the hills. Second, that I live in such a beautiful place in which to enjoy the wonderful outdoors. When I am grateful, my morning exercise becomes joyous and not something I am complaining about having to do. It makes my whole day more positive.”

Finding Joy When Life is Difficult

On those days when I feel everything is going wrong, I force myself to hunt for those tiny morsels of gratitude,  remembering how much I really have – shelter and food and the necessities of life.  Sometimes, I simply thank Spirit for helping me through another day.  It’s interesting how focusing on one tiny object of gratitude always leads me to the next one, and before long, I feel that glimmer of joy lighting up the negativity. 

That glimmer of joy reminds me of all the times I felt confused, bereft, or abandoned and how it passed.  This joy reminds me that I am stronger than I think I am.  It refuels my confidence and I remember that I am never alone.  Spirit is always there and with Spirit, I can do anything.  And I am grateful for that.  © 2011 Georganne Spruce

Do you want to know more about thinking positively?  A wonderful source is The Vortex by Esther and Jerry Hicks.

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BEING THE RIGHT ONE

Posted on April 14, 2011 | 4 comments

“As we grow in consciousness, we discover it is more important to be the right person than to find the right person.” Ken Keyes, Jr.

How many times have you said, “If only I had the right___.”  We can fill in the blank with any of the following:  the right partner, the right dress, the right friend, the right job, the right house or the right degree.  Actually the list is endless.  What we are really saying is that we believe something outside of us is magical enough to fix what is not right within us.  If we are not at peace with the interior, the exterior will never be acceptable.

When I found the house where I now live, I chose it for many reasons.  It has beautiful hardwood floors, it’s one level, it has lots of trees around it, and it’s in a quiet neighborhood.  But the main reason I chose it was that when I walked in the front door, it felt like my center.  The energy felt like my peaceful energy when I’m meditating.  A feeling of happiness and thankfulness filled my heart.  The energy of the house’s interior matched the energy of my interior at its best.  I wanted a house where I could come home from the trials of the world and find life there – a place of healing, regeneration, and celebration that matched the best part of me.

Too often we focus on what is out there, and time after time we are disappointed.  Husbands, parents, bosses, friends just don’t live up to our expectations.  The problem isn’t with others; the problem is within.  When we are the right persons, we fill up our own emptiness.  We find the courage to make the decisions that will make us happy. 

One time when I lived in New Mexico, I was complaining about everything that was going wrong in my life.  I said to a friend, “If I could just put together the life I want, I would be happy.”  Without missing a beat, she smiled and said, “When you’re happy, Georganne, you’ll have the life you want.”  She was right of course.  When we generate that joy within, take responsibility for being the right person in our lives, our expanded consciousness becomes a magnet for all good things.  The people we meet and the experiences we have are matches for our joy within.

This week let’s make a list of all the things we can do daily to generate joy within ourselves.  Each time a wave of joy springs up inside, notice what you’re doing or thinking that has generated this.  Please share at least one thing under comments and I’ll use your ideas in my next few posts.  Blessings!

© 2011 Georganne Spruce

 

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LIGHTING OUR DARKNESS

Posted on March 30, 2011 | 2 comments

“As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.”  Carl Jung

 March is so fickle.  Half winter and half spring, she taunts us with indecision, but at least until lately, she surprised us with a few sunny days. This rainy darkness depresses me; I want to bask in spring sunlight.   Instead, like so many moments in life I am left to find a way to “kindle a light” in this darkness.

 To be honest, there is light in my life right now, but the darkness I live with is a heavy cloak that wears me down.  In addition to the cloudy darkness of a rainy day, I struggle with several loses.  A couple and two single friends, all of whom are very dear to me, have moved away.  I miss the fun we had and the frequent conversations that went deeper, filled with caring and insights.  I grieve the loss of closeness that can only be felt face to face.

 How do I “kindle a light in the darkness” of these circumstances?  I remind myself I am grateful for the technology that allows me to communicate with them.  I am grateful for the friends I have who are still here.  I am grateful that the sciatica that caused so much pain is gone and I now know how to prevent it from recurring.  I’m grateful for the wonderful botany class I’m taking where I can interact in a deeper way with Nature and share my love of it with others in the class.  I’m grateful for all the guidance I’ve received in the marketing class I just completed.

 By focusing on gratitude, my energetic vibration rises, and I create a light that reveals the positive elements of my life.  When I write, I experience more peace and joy, especially when it uplifts and inspires others.  When that happens, the light expands to my readers and to the people they touch.  Remembering what is good is the lamp we may always light in the darkness.

How do you light the darkness that appears in your life?                                               © 2011 Georganne Spruce

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EMBRACING THE DUALITY

Posted on March 10, 2011 | Leave a comment

I love the way mind and Spirit work together when I’m asleep to solve problems and create new insights.  How to configure a blog is a new experience for me, and although I’m pretty happy with the way my blog works, I began to think yesterday I’d like to revise some elements of the design.  When I awoke this morning earlier than usual, the new layout flashed through my mind.  As I inspected it, I realized the picture I saw was exactly what I wanted.  “Wow,” I thought, “that was fast.”  It’s not the first time I’ve noticed what seems like instant manifestation.  In fact, I’ve learned to be very careful about what I say because sometimes my wishes manifest before I’ve had the opportunity to wisely revise them.

 The rapidity with which we are able to manifest is related to the process of ascension that we are all experiencing whether we realize it or not.  In Oneness by Rasha, Oneness or God explains that “the vibrational momentum driving all Creation toward unity is the same momentum that people everywhere are experiencing in their daily lives.” (p. 15) It isn’t just our imagination that time is speeding up; it actually is because the vibration of the Universe is speeding up.  As a result, our level of consciousness is rising, for we are All One.

 Then why is life so difficult?  To help me deal with the times when my desires don’t manifest, I often turn for guidance to Oneness and randomly select a reading.  Amazingly, it is always what I need to hear. Today the words that resonated with me were “Be not so quick to judge yourself or others who stumble beside you on your sacred journey.  It is naïve to assume that a simple, obstacle-free path is a symptom of spiritual advancement.”

 It is so easy to think that we have failed in some way when life becomes difficult.  Although we love those smooth and lovely, almost instant manifestations, they are only part of the story.  The challenges we encounter are the very opportunities we most need to accept as part of our ascension. They can take us deeper into this incredible growth process to a place where the really significant experiences lie.  This is what gives color to our lives, stretching us to deeper levels of understanding.  Oneness goes on to say, “The exquisite state of balance toward which you strive is the culmination of the full spectrum of life experience, both positive and negative.” (p. 234)  The more we can accept this duality as reality, the more we are able to maintain the positive attitude that in the end, it’s all good and another important step on our spiritual journey.  Let’s all remember to have compassion for ourselves as well as for each other.

© 2011 Georganne Spruce

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