Tag Archives: Spiritual Awakening

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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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 4, Releasing the Fear

Posted on May 4, 2011 | 5 comments

Eckhart Tolle says, “Joy does not come from what you do, it flows into what you do and thus into this world from deep within you.”

 Have you ever noticed that when you feel joy, you are totally free of fear?  Joy is really love, for when we feel joyful, we feel loved or feel loving.  It’s all one.

Years ago when I had chronic fatigue syndrome, I awoke one morning, and as I lay in bed still feeling weak, a soft cool breeze blew over me.  This was New Orleans in the summer, so a cool breeze was no small thing.  My cat lay purring next to me.  Suddenly, I was flooded with joy.  It welled up within me and I felt profoundly grateful for being alive.  For a moment, I was totally free of all the daily fears that I would never recover, feel energetic again or be able to live a normal life.  For a moment I was free of the daily depression I had experienced for three years.

In that moment, I realized the joy was always there within me and had nothing to do with what was happening in my life.  I could draw on it at any time.

 Fear Can Block Joy

When we believe joy resides outside us, we are always looking in the wrong place.  But sometimes we do not realize that joy is within us because it is buried deep beneath layers of disappointment, anger, frustration, and other negative emotions that can be heavy to lift.  All negative emotions are caused by fear, so in reality our fear is what blocks our ability to experience love and joy.  Only when we release our fears and clear the mind can love and joy flow to the surface.

The Effect Of Fear On The Mind

We all experience fear sometimes, but what is important is that we learn not to let it control us.  As long as we experience fear, it will block our mind’s ability to pull through information that will help us solve the problem that has created the fear.  Fear will only pull through information that helps us cope with the fear.

 How To Release Fear

When fear arises, we must direct our minds to release the fear, and if we are willing to let it go, a peaceful feeling will replace it.  As I direct my mind to release the fear, I often take a deep breath and exhale in order to feel the release throughout my body as well as my mind. When the fear is released, the mind will be clear to pull information from our memory and the spiritual realm that will help us solve the problem that stimulated the fear.  We will always be given the guidance we need when we need it.  If a clear solution does not appear immediately, just know that it will come in time.

By using meditation, practicing gratitude and releasing our fears, we can become more spiritually conscious and awaken to a calmer, more joyful life, empowered from our centers.  When we are the source of our own joy and feel good about ourselves, we become “the right one” and draw to us those people and experiences that will enlighten and enliven our lives.  Learning to release our fears allows us to have access to the wisdom of the Universal Mind, Spirit.          © 2011 Georganne Spruce                   

Similar topics are discussed in Oneness  and The Vortex.  See the side bar.

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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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