Tag Archives: Growth

AWAKENING TO RELATIONSHIPS: INTEGRITY, Part 3

Posted on April 3, 2013 | 2 comments

“Living with integrity means: Not settling for less than what you know you deserve in your relationships.  Asking for what you want and need from others.  Speaking your truth, even though it might create conflict or tension.  Behaving in ways that are in harmony with your personal values.  Making choices based on what you believe, and not what others believe.”   Barbara De Angelis

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Do you have integrity?  In all situations or just some?  On what beliefs do you base your integrity?  Do you act with integrity when you know it will create difficulties?

Integrity is the third element in what I call the essentials for a good relationship of any kind.  The elements I’ve already written about are empathy and intimacy, and I’ll conclude the series next week with the topic of commitment.

Integrity Strengthens Trust and Love

Integrity is usually defined as being true to your moral or ethical principles, so it has meaning only when it is coupled with a belief system.  In a relationship, acting with integrity can create trust and strengthen love because you learn you can depend on the other person to act in accordance with their values.  This, of course, assumes that you are in a relationship with someone whose values are compatible with yours.

Integrity Begins With Being True To Your Self

I like Barbara De Angelis’ quote because it covers several important aspects of integrity, mainly the idea that we must be true to ourselves if we are to be true to others.  That’s where it starts—being true to yourself.  Only then can you be true to others.  When we always try to please others to the extent that we go against our own values or harm ourselves, we are out of integrity.

What Is Integrity In A Relationship

Years ago, I was in a relationship with a man whom I deeply loved.  We were both creative people and that bound us in a spiritual way that was very powerful.  But over and over, to be with him, I made choices that were not good for me financially.  One time, I cashed out a life insurance policy so I had the money to spend an extended amount of time with him to see if we could live together.  At the time, I was unemployed, but a month before I was to leave to see him, I was offered a good job and I turned it down.  I put the relationship first.

Our relationship had always been off and on because he was afraid of commitment although he clearly loved me, and when things were good between us, they were very good.  But in this case, I had sacrificed my security by turning down a job to be with him and expected him to understand I would need to get work.  He kept insisting that I needed to create my own business and not work for any institution.  He was self-employed and had no respect for people who worked for institutions.

I had tried to be self-employed, but I didn’t have the financial resources he did, so I had to work for other people.  He had a fit over this.  While he was true to his values, he had no respect for my needs—a not unusual dilemma in relationships.  The situation disintegrated from there.  I asked for his understanding and didn’t get it.

At this point, I realized I was settling for a lot less than I deserved.  Clearly, his set of values and mine were not compatible.  I didn’t feel I should have to sacrifice my financial security to be with him, and he couldn’t afford to take care of me, nor did I want him to.  But I was not taking care of myself and I didn’t feel good about that.  However much I disliked the choices this man made in relation to me, he was being true to his own belief system, no matter how selfish I may have judged it.  It became clear that he would not change anything in order to be with me.  At that point, I finally had the sense to walk away.

Being True To Ourselves Empowers Us

What became very clear to me was that, by speaking my mind and not sacrificing what I needed in a relationship, I felt more empowered, although it created conflict.  I found the courage to be more of who I was and committed to living with more integrity in relationships.  I could not live with someone who felt he would be out of integrity in order to meet my needs.

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Integrity Is The Core For Decision-making

Living with integrity helps us to respect ourselves even when it creates difficulty, but without it, we lack an inner core from which to make decisions.  On the other hand, we also need to look at our value system.  Does it allow us to live with integrity and relate to others in a loving and caring way?  Most of us want to be in a relationship in order to share in a deep and loving way, and that may require some compromises.

Relationships Require Compromise

The question is always: what can you compromise and still be true to yourself?  Some couples want to keep the peace no matter what they have to do because they are afraid to explore what is hidden and unknown.  The problem with hiding ourselves is that we can never be loved for who we really are because our partner never knows who we are.  It may never dawn on us that our partner might love us more if they knew who we truly were.

The Value Of Shared Values

It’s not a choice I would make.  I want the person I’m in a relationship with, even in just a friendship, to know who I really am and show me who he really is.  I want the relationship to have integrity based on a shared set of values, and if the price we pay is to disagree sometimes, so be it.  Disagreements hopefully lead to a discussion that leads to a deeper understanding of each other and enriches the relationship.  Besides, making up can be a lot of fun.  It’s all good.

Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

© 2013 Georganne Spruce                                                                     ZQT4PQ5ZN7F5

Related Articles:  Selling Out: Compromising Integrity in Intimate Relationships,  Integrity in Relationships, Trust Your Inner Self – Wayne Dyer, A Lesson on Integrity from Gandhi

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DANCING TO AWARDS

Posted on July 25, 2012 | 1 comment

(Please look in the side bar for the image awards.  They disappeared today from this space due to technical problems beyond my comprehension)

Over the last year, I received three blogger awards which I haven’t posted or followed through with.  I apologize for taking so long to reach this point, but I had to make finishing my book and publishing it the priority in my life.  I just didn’t have time to answer the questions and find so many other bloggers to link with.  So, in order to avoid delaying any further, today I will respond to all three.

I was excited to receive these awards and each time this recognition really gave me a lift.  I still don’t have a huge number of followers, but the ones I have are so inspiring, and I love their comments.  Some are close friends here in the mountains; others are hundreds of miles or continents away, but we are connected in a spiritual way and learn from each other.

First, I want to thank Dimitie Kendall who is a coach and writer with many positive thoughts.  She nominated me for both the Liebster and Sunshine Awards. Secondly,Yoga Leigh at Notes from the Bluegrass, who nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award, is a constant inspiration because she is so good at going deeply into major themes. Thank you both for thinking of me.

The Sunshine Award is given to blogs that positively and creatively inspire others.  As a winner one has to:

  1. Thank the person who gave you the award and write a post about it.
  2. Answer the questions on favorites.
  3. Pass the award to 10 inspiring bloggers, link their blogs, and let them know you awarded them.

Favorite Color – Green

Favorite Animal – Cats of all kinds

Favorite Number – 6

Favorite Drink – Mango juice

I’m on Facebook, but not Twitter yet

My Passion – anything that is creative

Getting or Giving Presents – I like both

Favorite Day – Saturday

Flowers – Daisies (I like their smiling faces)

In addition I am passing on the award to the following 10 bloggers.  Here are their links so you can visit and enjoy.  In addition to spirituality, I’m also interested in mythology, psychology and health.  You’ll see them all reflected in my choices.

1. Jeremiah, http://knowthesphere.wordpress.com/

2. Debbie, http://dailymuse.spiritlightinsight.com/

3. It’s A Jung World http://sycofx.wordpress.com/

4. Hand in Hand With Spirit  http://handinhandwithspirit.com/

5. Yvonne Serocki,  http://newheavenonearth.wordpress.com/

6. Alpha Miguel-Sanford, Aspire, Motivate, Succeed  http://amsdaily.net/

7. Artist of the Everyday http://artistoftheeveryday.wordpress.com/

8. Michael Clark, Earthpages  http://epages.wordpress.com/

9. Nadine Marie, Aligning with Truth, http://mytruthsetsmefree.wordpress.com/

10. SSHenry, Redefining Reality: A Metaphysical Odyssey  http://sshenry.com/

Now, on to the Liebster Award which is give to bloggers who have less than 200 followers.  I have no idea how to determine this, so I’m just choosing to award 5 more sites that I like.

1. I am to thank the person who gave me the award and link back to her blog

2. Copy and paste the award icon onto my post (at beginning of post

3. Pass the award on to 5 fellow bloggers and notify them

I will forward this award to:

1. Enlightened Living  http://iiriaa.wordpress.com/

2. Juanita, The Oneness Channeling, http://theonenesschannelings.wordpress.com/

3. Sara Morgan, http://workonmyterms.com/

4. Working Purposely, http://workingpurposely.wordpress.com/

5. Coaching Mary, http://coachingmary.wordpress.com/

And now to the third award, The Versatile Blogger, given to me by Leigh at Notes from the Bluegrass.  Thank you so much.  I have already linked to her site at the beginning of the blog.

The requirements for this award are similar to the others: thank the person who nominated me and link to them and tell the person who nominated me 7 things about myself:

I love to read Michael Connelly mysteries, my favorite fiction writer is Barbara Kingsolver, I rarely listen to music except for birdsongs, my favorite nuts are almonds, I like the daily readings in Science of Mind Magazine, my favorite vegetable is broccoli, I always wear earrings.

I must nominate 15 bloggers and link to them.  I’m sorry I can’t come up with 15 new ones so some will be repeats from other awards, but there are many good blogs.  Nominees:

  1. Health Demystified, http://healthdemystified.wordpress.com/about/
  2. Lori Deschene, Tiny Buddha http://tinybuddha.com/
  3. Muse Vault, http://musevault.wordpress.com/
  4. Hand in Hand With Spirit http://handinhandwithspirit.com/
  5. Three Well Beings, http://breathelighter.wordpress.com/
  6. Walter Smith, Newdigitalscapes , http://walterwsmith.wordpress.com/
  7. Yvonne Serocki, http://newheavenonearth.wordpress.com/
  8. Steffini Lum, Meta Body Mind http://newheavenonearth.wordpress.com/
  9. Enlightened Living  http://iiriaa.wordpress.com/
  10. Artist of the Everyday http://artistoftheeveryday.wordpress.com/
  11. Michael Clark, Earthpages http://epages.wordpress.com/
  12. Trish, Absolute Awareness, http://absoluteawareness.wordpress.com/
  13. The Inner Revolution, http://khatijadadabhoy.wordpress.com/
  14. Juanita, The Oneness Channeling, http://theonenesschannelings.wordpress.com/
  15. It’s A Jung World http://sycofx.wordpress.com/

I know this is a lot to absorb at once, but please try to take a look at some of the sites and save the page to look at more later.  I’ve learned so much from all these writers and I hope you will find them helpful too.  Again, many thanks to Leigh and Dimitie for this recognition.  Next week I’ll be back to my usual musings.  Namaste.

© 2012 Georganne Spruce                                                        ZQT4PQ5ZN7F5

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AWAKENING TO GROW

Posted on May 24, 2012 | Leave a comment

“The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.”  Wayne Dyer

Are you open to changing and growing?  Or do you try to keep things the way they are despite the Universe’s hints?

Growing Can Be Challenging

I’m a day late posting this blog because I needed to spend yesterday growing.  It wasn’t the sort of growth I like.  It involved downloading new software and learning to use it, and it was very challenging.  One piece, Scrivener, is what I believe will be a very useful piece of software that will make my writing and compiling books so much easier.  I’ve been putting this off because I didn’t want to deal with the learning curve.  But I couldn’t finish the paperback version of my book without doing this, so I took the plunge.

The second software was unexpected.  When I received the book file from my friend Brad Swift who formatted it, I couldn’t open it because it was zipped.  (You technical people know what this means.)  My operating system is supposed to have the ability to unzip, but, in fact, it doesn’t.  It has a bug in this area, so I had to download another program just for zipping and unzipping.  Isn’t that just zippy!

Oneness Will Bring Us Help

Fortunately, I had some good help—from Brad, who is a coach and creative thinker.  We tried everything to get that file open, but finally had to admit, something was wrong with my computer.   I also had a great tech, Jeffrey, from Scrivener emailing like crazy, analyzing and suggesting the next step.  It was a long day.  Sometimes I left the computer to cry, sometimes to scream.  I even stopped to read inspirational thoughts once.  That didn’t help.

Well, I messed up the downloads more than once, but fortunately I could delete them and try again.  I wanted to give up more than once.  My brain felt totally fried.  Despite a part of me saying, “You don’t have to do this now,” I knew I did.  I knew that if I gave in to that part of me that is the helpless little girl, I would be very unhappy with myself.

Awakening to Our Inner Strength

You see, as a child who was often sick, my overprotective mother often told me I was too weak to do something or that I would hurt myself if I pushed too much.  So, I felt weak and helpless for a long time until I began to dance and feel strong.  It’s at times like this that my little girl sneaks out again, and I have to remind that part of me that I have recovered from helplessness and can do this difficult thing.

We all have messages from the past that occasionally haunt us, but if we are willing to grow, we say, “Ah, there you are again.  Sorry, but I need to move on.  I’m grown up now.”  Just as flowers need good soil, enough sun and water to grow, we must nourish our own growth.  It may involve feeding our inner selves with meditation, a walk in the forest, or an inspiring book.  Or it may mean trying to do something we have no idea how to do and deal with the frustration and our deflated egos as we try and fail and try again until we succeed.

Having the Courage to Try

Despite my mother’s fears that I would hurt myself, she taught me a contradictory message that has been so powerful.  She insisted that there was no disgrace in failing, only disgrace in not trying.  If you never try, you’ll never know if you can do it, and you’ll always wonder.

My file is now unzipped with the document sitting beautifully in the new software as if it had been born to live there.  Do I know how to use this program?  Sort of.  But I’ll learn more, and I’m already envisioning how it will help me write my next book.  Thank you, Brad and Jeffrey.  And when this paperback is on sale, I’ll let you know because it is a story of growth, despite many challenges, and I hope it will help others to grow too.

How have you grown lately? Please share.

©2012 Georganne Spruce

Related Articles:  Eckhart Tolle – Facing Adversity, 5 Ways to Let Go of Resistance, A Constant Self-Growth, Awakening to the Power of Pleasant Thoughts

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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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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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PRACTICING THE SPIRITUAL DANCE – DEVELOPING STRENGTH

Posted on July 6, 2011 | 3 comments

“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

Dance As A Physical And Spiritual Practice

The practice of dance is one of the most rigorous and spiritual disciplines that exists.  Like all practices, the more one learns, the more expansive are the results.  Each step along the way yields riches of the physical and spiritual kind that not only strengthen one’s dance skills, but which enhance all aspects of life.  Beginning with this post, I want to use the practice of dance as an analogy to the practices that can enhance our lives spiritually.

From 1960 to the mid-1980’s, I trained, performed for four years, and taught modern dance.  Its gifts were abundant!  Dance taught me about inner and outer strength, how to balance and center my body and mind, and the value of flexibility.  Learning the value of daily dance practice and seeing that it could result in my accomplishing something I thought I couldn’t do taught me why it is so important not to give up when life becomes difficult.

Learning modern dance was enormously challenging for me.  As a child, stricken by rheumatic fever and a heart murmur at four years of age, I was not allowed normal physical exercise, nor was I able to study ballet, which was my dream.  Fortunately, I out grew the heart murmur and at sixteen, my high school offered a modern dance class which I quickly embraced.  It was tough for a weakling like me, but with time I developed muscles that gave me strength and some shape to my skinny body. This was the time of Marilyn Monroe and years before Twiggy’s shape became the ideal.

Choosing Physical and Spiritual Health

Without physical strength, we cannot enjoy the activity of life, but we also need inner strength.  A few years ago when I fell on the ice and sustained a broken elbow and two pelvic fractures, I went through months of physical therapy determined to return to my former state of activity.  What I found shocking was that, according to my physical therapist, most people stop doing their exercises as soon as they leave the rehab facility.  As a result, they never fully recover, choosing to remain disabled rather than be disciplined and committed to their healing.

Empowering Ourselves

With any injury or challenge, we need the inner strength to persevere and take responsibility for doing all we can do to overcome the challenge.  This is how we grow in confidence.  What dance taught me was that even when a new dance phrase was difficult and I struggled to perform it smoothly, if I kept going, it would eventually get easier, and one day it would flow effortlessly.  There is always some challenge in learning something new.  If we avoid everything that is difficult in life, we miss wonderful opportunities that, through our perseverance, will empower us. We all feel more confident when we have successfully overcome a daunting obstacle. 

Both inner and outer strength require practice in life as in dance.  By practicing, we develop experience, find new ways to solve problems, feel more confident, and grow in awareness.  We can’t learn to dance without dancing.  When we choose to develop strength, we are choosing to become an “athlete of God.”

 When have you been an “athlete of God” lately?  How do you practice?

 In 1960 Martha Graham, choreographed a dance called “Acrobats of God” in which she celebrated and made fun of dancers and choreographers.   Look here if you’d like to see a video.   

 © 2011 Georganne Spruce

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RECEIVING LOVE

Posted on June 22, 2011 | Leave a comment

Looking for Love

Remember the old song “Looking for love in all the wrong places?”  I heard it again a few days ago and thought how drastically my idea of where to find love had changed in the last few years.  In conversations with other women, the topic of where to find a mate usually touches on Match.com, activities they enjoy, church, work – the list is endless.  The idea seems to be if we are in the right place at the right time, we will meet the right person.  It’s all just timing and luck.

 The Law of Attraction

Au contraire.  A few weeks ago, I stumbled across the same idea twice in the same day.  This kind of synchronicity always gets my attention.  During meditation time, I read from The Vortex by Esther and Jerry Hicks, a book about the Law of Attraction and relationships.  In a number of places in the book, Abraham, who is the source of the teachings, points out that in order to receive anything we want, we must imagine what it feels like to have it, rather than focusing on what it feels like not to have what we want.

Later, while reading Harville Hendricks’ book Receiving Love: Transform Your Relationship by Letting Yourself Be Loved, I came across the following idea: If we are looking for love, we’re unlikely to receive it because we are in the looking mode rather than the receiving mode. (p.123) Immediately, I thought of all the times I’ve heard the longing in the voices of women and men as they talked about looking for a mate or a friend.  I’ve known what that longing feels like too.

The second thought that came to mind was “this is the law of attraction.”  Hendricks is pointing out that in order to receive what we want we must be a vibrational match to that desire.  When we are looking for something, we are emphasizing the fact that we don’t have it.  This is scarcity, emptiness.  When we see ourselves as receiving it, we know that it exists.  We can see and feel it.  We feel excited and confident knowing the relationship will manifest at exactly the right moment.

 In Order To Love Others, We Must Love Ourselves

I believe there is also another important element at work here.  To have a healthy relationship with anyone, we must have a healthy relationship with ourselves.  How can we feel we are receiving love, if we don’t love ourselves?  We have to believe we are worthy in order to feel we will receive friends and lovers who are positive and supportive.

When I am longing for something in my life, I feel sad.  There is a lack that needs to be filled in order for me to feel better.  When I find myself in this frame of mind, I often stop and meditate, seeing the white light of the Creator surrounding me and enveloping me in love.  From deep inside that eternal love wells up, filling me.  Not only am I loved by the Creator and worthy of receiving all good things, I love and accept myself.  In loving myself, I empower myself, radiating out into the Universe loving energy that will attract like energy.

Loving From Our Spiritual Centers, Not From The Ego

When I love myself from my spiritual center and not from the ego, it is not surprising that new people and new opportunities show up in my life.  They are always positive.  Like attracts like.  When we feel good about ourselves, we will attract others who feel good about themselves, and this offers us the best opportunity for a happy and healthy relationship.  It’s the lover within us that really counts.  © 2011 Georganne Spruce

 How have you manifested the relationships that are meaningful in your life?

 If you want to learn more or are having difficulty manifesting positive relationships, I highly recommend The Vortex and any of Harville Hendricks books on love as well as the Imago Relationship work that he and Helen Hunt created.

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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

Check The Vortex on the side bar for more information on The Law of Attraction.

 

 

 

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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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