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Spiritual Responsibility

January 2, 2012 by Suzanne M. Baker

As we begin this momentous year, I resolve to increase my spiritual responsibility. I resolve to incorporate more spiritual discipline into my life. I am giving daily practice equal priority to my spiritual curiosity by devoting more time to meditate, heal, and practice energy work, regularly rather than just sporadically.

I want to follow the beautiful example that so many of you have set. The theme of spiritual responsibility seems to be everywhere these days, and more and more of us are harnessing purpose. We are finding that spiritual responsibility brings tremendous joy.

You see, when we are “asleep” and think that we don’t matter much, life is easier but less meaningful. It is in some ways a vacation from working on our growth. But the beautiful truth is that we each matter, and embracing our true selves means stepping up to the plate. It means becoming responsible.

Our souls obviously want this for us, but our “teenage” minds resist. They are used to making excuses and leaving larger problems to others. But now, we are waking up to make bigger choices. We know better and cannot pretend to be ignorant.

Denial of spiritual power is the easy way out, but it only cheats us. It keeps us sleepy and ineffective. Teacher Paul Twitchell shares his perspective, “God works in this way. He takes away the little problems and gives you a bigger one, and if you refuse it then you are not able to progress on the path. He is building your responsibility to life, for someday … it will be your duty to run the entire universe.”

We are powerful, and our actions make an impact. The flap of our “wings” affects the whole world. So let us be more responsible with the energy that we generate. Let us become empowered rather than wounded. Our spirits long to lead us, if only we allow them to.

2012 is the year to set a new standard for living that champions grace, integrity and love. I finally get it – we have to build our new world. It is up to us to actually create it. Our problems are catalysts for breakthrough solutions – for personal triumphs of spirit, and for ancient innovations the likes of which our modern civilization has never seen. We are receiving unprecedented help from above that is showing us our power, and must do our part to heal ourselves and the world. I believe with all my heart that we can transcend humanity’s pain if only we heed the call and devote ourselves to spiritual responsibility.

Posted in Exchange, Self, Transition | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Be Honest

December 29, 2011 by Suzanne M. Baker

It’s been one year since Share the Spiritual began, and I want to thank each of you for reading and sharing here. I’m grateful for your inspiring voices that bring such joy to this endeavor. I’m excited to be working on a book about embracing the sublime nature of ourselves and our true reality.

This week, I’d like to talk about living in complete truthfulness, something counter to how we’ve been raised in a competitive society. I’d like to share a challenge that I am also personally taking on. The challenge is this – try to be completely honest with yourself about everything, at every moment that you’re presented with.

If you don’t already do so, pay attention to situations and yourself, and recognize how you have been trained to operate. Notice the stories and excuses that might surface and begin to control you. Choose instead to observe the truth from a place of neutrality, without judgment. Then embrace that truth with love.

Keep in mind that the purest truth is not any kind of failure. It is completely free of limiting definitions. We are often conditioned to make ourselves look different than we are at heart, but this is just learned behavior for the ego. It is never who we are. You are in truth a magnificent soul who is growing yet brighter through your human experience.

The goal of the honesty challenge is to get to a more harmonious existence without being ruled by expectations and excuses. We humans tend to take on attachments that bring us much suffering, and beneath these are basic needs that haven’t been met. Find out what needs you have that are going unfulfilled.

It’s so easy in life to feel powerless and unheard, but the number one person who is not hearing you is you. Hear yourself, and assert your ability to fulfill your own needs.

The second part of this challenge is to be completely honest with others. Start by being honest with yourself about how you feel, and then operate from this truth with those around you. Practice transparency in your relationships with thoughtfulness and love. Get to a place where appearances melt away and your relationships become authentic with rich exchanges. They reflect the truth of what it means to be a whole and beautiful human being.

Those who don’t understand your truth have their own needs that aren’t being met. No hurt feelings are necessary. And remember, relationships evolve along with us, becoming deeper or sometimes ending. Then life greets us with entirely new friendships.

Being honest is about making choices with the kindness of your soul rather than the greed of your ego. It means living in a world that is open and light, that champions love.

Being honest can be quite a challenge for the human experience, but just by trying, we are given tremendous growth. I am grateful to each of you who are living in authenticity and are showing me that I too can remove my clouded conditioning. I can allow my true self to shine.

Posted in Being | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments »

Silent Night

December 18, 2011 by Suzanne M. Baker

This winter holiday, I wish to experience all the profound peace that the season holds. I wish to unplug from incessant scheduling and electronic distractions, and feel what is magical again. I want to hear the quiet of nature, and in that stillness, remember the sacred in everything.

Let us listen to the silent night together, and feel a thrill in our hearts for the gift of life! May we receive all the spiritual riches we are being given. May we realize that we are a luminous part of it all.

So often, we deny ourselves our own worth. We can so easily feel like we are never enough – like the next teacher or book will hold answers that only we can give. Even the New Age world can leave us feeling inadequate. But the truth is that we are so incredibly special and so loved.

Do not doubt yourself, brave soul, but sing the unique song you came here to sing! Sing it out loud for all to hear. You are so very brave as you get back up again and again in this shining opportunity called life. Remember that you do it to grow with love.

Now, in our human evolution, you are getting to a place of inner knowing without words. And it comes naturally to all of us – even those who aren’t “spiritual.” This knowing is simply love.

We love each other so much. Stop and listen, and see that this is everywhere. Love is the eternal message delivered by illuminated masters through the ages. It is the message of the story of Christmas, delivered by a newborn who came to remind us of our true essence.

I think the nativity scene beautifully explains the unconditional love that we are capable of. Because this is what we feel for our own children. It is what we are at heart. Unconditional love teaches us how to relieve our suffering and how to find our true selves. It is always the answer.

May we each of us on this earth forgive ourselves for our human struggles, and realize how beautiful we are – indeed, how spectacular and eternally loving! May we feel the immaculate peace within our souls in the silent night, amidst the natural beauty of winter.

It is dusk as I write this, and the woods paint a fitting scene. The trees are bare, reaching with elegant branches that slumber and yet are vital with life. They are pregnant with the buds of spring. The tree trunks form arches that link together, making a kind of graceful architecture. They have built high windows that frame the setting sun as it turns scarlet! And before my eyes, they transform into a magnificent cathedral, graced with stained glass in all the colors of fire. Before my eyes, the woods have become a glorious temple to God’s love – to our love that is burning with increasing intensity that no one can deny.

We have been dormant on the earth for but a brief time. Now, we are waking up to birth what has always been in our hearts. We will find ourselves starstruck by this love that we hold. And then we will know that it has always been within us, simply waiting to be born.

Posted in Love | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments »

Reach Higher Always

December 11, 2011 by Suzanne M. Baker

I believe that the most important thing we can each do right now is to reach higher at any given moment. We can choose to act in a positive way with love, and so create a more beautiful life for ourselves and a better reality for others. You see, our thoughts and behavior affect our world at every level. Reaching higher helps all of us.

Reaching higher is practicing unconditional love. And this comes naturally when we’re awake to our soul. Reaching higher is the opposite of hierarchy and pity. It means residing in a lighter spiritual place that embraces every fellow human. Reaching higher is acting from the heart instead of reacting from the ego with blame.

As we all know, our world has been experiencing unprecedented change, and our spiritual journeys have been calling us to take more responsibility. We are being asked to acknowledge the truth, to accept the negativity that’s part of human duality, and to illuminate the dark with love. By doing so, we embrace the whole of us, and we create harmony.

As such, old beliefs of negativity have been rising to the surface and can no longer be ignored. They have been pushing our buttons as a kind of accelerated learning process on this ascending earth plane – this hothouse for emotional growth. The conditions of life have been increasingly teaching us day to day, and by reaching higher with forgiveness, acceptance, and love, we get to grow instead of suffer. We become expansive and free.

Of course, I know all too well that reality can seem brutal. We can be flourishing spiritually with the best intentions and still find ourselves so hurt in our human-ness. We can become overwhelmed by the seeming injustice of our lessons coupled with these turbulent times. But every moment is a new opportunity to start over and try to reach higher. Every day, we can bring more love to our experience.

So often, we expect people, situations, and ourselves to be a certain way, but if we become more neutral and accepting, then criticism and judgment fall away. Self-generated negativity dissolves.

The next time that you think something negative, stop and try to appreciate instead. This is a positive choice that our world of duality always offers. When you are faced with a life challenge, look at it from a positive standpoint of growth, something that will make itself obvious years from now.

We are, each of us, amazing, and are simply teaching each other here. When we choose to see this and look for the best in everything, we build a light filled world that is contagious! Most of all, the positive work that you do to reach higher as a human benefits your soul forever.

Like most of us, I have been going through some purging this year, and I’m being reminded to reach as high as I can, for I’m miserable when I don’t. I have been feeling more and more chaotic energy and yet increasing magic available. My thoughts are manifesting in miraculous ways. The veil is easily lifting from the divine, and I’m seeing myself in everyone and everyone in myself. I am feeling love for all.

When I tap into my heart, I feel the undefinable love that we are, and I take it everywhere I go. When I breathe without restriction, and practice meditation, I connect to the inherent peace and knowing of my soul. I feel compelled to reach higher.

Let us all be the highest humans that we can be! And let love be our motivation. Let us give ourselves more joy instead of heartache, peace instead of war, and light instead of dark. By working on raising your own vibration, you help humanity raise its vibration, during this crucial time for us all. So reflect your eternal inner light upon the world and never stop reaching higher.

*Writer Sean Lathrop offers insightful clarity for our times. Please check out his inspiring articles here.

Posted in Transition | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments »

Give

December 4, 2011 by Suzanne M. Baker

Here amidst the holiday season, I’d like to explore what true giving really means.

Sometimes as modern humans, we can feel so rushed and stressed to buy gifts for each other. We feel so overwhelmed with obligation. We can think that our presents will only be acceptable if we spend a certain dollar amount. And so, our giving becomes limited before we have even begun. But this mindset can easily be overcome, because our true nature knows only abundance.

You see, we are limitless, generous beings who are briefly living in a limited world. True giving remembers this and comes from our overflowing hearts. It is a conscious gesture of love intended to enrich life by devoting our energy to another. Giving is sharing ourselves with generosity and then realizing that we have so much already, and so much to give. It is thinking about someone else’s joy before our own, and in the process, experiencing joy together.

As we all know, giving never feels that we “should” give. And it is not a contest. The prophetic expression “you get what you give” rings ever true. When we give with generosity, this is what we receive in life. But when we give from the ego, competition shows up for us in the future.

Giving is not concerned with exact and even exchanges. It is the opposite of expectation and lack. And when we reach deep and give what is most challenging, we grow immeasurably in love.

Giving is service. It is stepping out of the self to help others with our unique talents. It is erasing the lines that divide and striving to take care of all, because we see the whole picture of one.

That we set aside a time each year to give to each other is quite profound. Let it be a celebration ripe with spiritual exchanges rather than material. Let it be a thank you for the sacred that we share on this tumultuous human road.

Some Gift Ideas  –

Instead of adding to our piles of stuff, imagine gifts that bring magic. Get excited, and experience the joy of putting together a unique present rather than spending hours at the dreaded mall. Create gifts of time, care, nature, and art. Use creative materials that inspire. Give a living plant or sapling tree, seeds or herbs in a unique, recycled planter, or a beautiful candle to make wishes upon, with a home made label. Give music and poetry that stir the soul, art supplies and a canvas, or a beautiful journal and pen. Think of gifts that take care of ourselves with healthful ingredients for the kitchen or bath, using artful bowls, spoons, or jars and ingredients, tied together with handwritten recipes. Give a favorite book with your inscription, photographs beautifully presented, or a travel log for adventures. Give handmade ornaments or materials for a vision board. Help with a special project that your friend’s been longing to start by giving your time and an object to begin it.

Give experiences. Present a small token that unfolds to greater meaning, such as a ticket, a menu or a key. Treat your friend to a beautiful lunch, and then go to see gorgeous paintings at a museum, or plan an evening to stargaze. Give special luxurious presents – things to splurge on with generosity – things you’d love to give yourself. Give what is precious to you that might bring joy to someone you love. Donate in another’s name to a cause that they care about. Give something thoughtfully humorous that heals with laughter, or a gesture of beauty like flowers and evergreen branches in a lasting vase. I can think of no better gift than a handwritten letter telling all that you love about another. Tie it with ribbon as a scroll or write it on an ornamental keepsake for them to turn to throughout the year. Heartfelt words hand-painted onto mere objects transform them into symbolic treasures.

Reignite the magic we knew so well as children, and have forgotten in our day to day. Harness the creativity we have to make something precious out of the homemade. Here, on the cusp of creating a more conscious world, there are so many gifts that can help our collective cause. Look for presents that inspire by being sustainable, spiritual, and conscientious – that benefit each other and our earth. The size and cost do not matter, just the gesture and the care. If your gift comes from your own talents and your heart, then it carries invaluable riches.

Rediscover the thrill of pure giving – one of life’s greatest joys! And give from your beautiful self. Give with life-changing love.

Posted in Exchange | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments »

Remember

November 27, 2011 by Suzanne M. Baker

Last week, I explored how shifting beliefs can help to actualize what we wish for. More and more, I am remembering that having this opportunity to change from within is exactly why we’re here on earth.

You see, human drama creates a choice environment to shift at the soul level. The challenges that we experience push us to tap into our unfathomable reservoirs of love and put them into action. We grow ever stronger in this way. And we choose our lives with heartfelt desire for this growth.

In his groundbreaking book Your Soul’s Plan, Robert Schwartz illustrates the soul’s desire so beautifully. He points out something that is revolutionary – as humans we learn through opposition.

We come here hoping to strengthen certain qualities of love from within, and so we are purposefully treated in a manner that is the opposite of these qualities. By being challenged externally and denied love on the outside, we experience breakthroughs that assert love on the inside.

For example, when someone is surrounded by compassion, they know it in an external way, but not necessarily in themselves (even though it is there waiting). If they experience circumstances that challenge them to feel compassion for another person, then they truly know what it is in action, and they can carry this knowledge with them always. Thus, opposition is a tool used to experience love in all of its forms.

This is how we design our lives. We help each other by playing out roles that teach love. And often, these come in the form of negative relationships.

We agree to do this for one another with tremendous compassion and bravery because we want to help champion the love within ourselves. Again and again, we are learning to believe in ourselves by embracing the divine love within.

It took me a long time to see this in my own life, but in overcoming my challenges of self worth and belonging, I am experiencing a shift in belief about myself. I am building inner strength and I am remembering why I chose to live this life – so that I might grow in ways I could not in heaven. I wanted to go through specific experiences firsthand so that I could live through the varied aspects of love, including what love is not. I wanted to have a clean slate of amnesia so that my consciousness would not interfere with my lessons, until I was ready to remember.

Now, I am waking up to what I came here to learn and to the truth of our divinity, and it feels blissful beyond measure. You see, the spiritual journey unfolds with a knowing smile shared with every human who walks the earth, every being in the universe, and with God. Each awakening builds awareness of our undeniable unity as one, and the immeasurable, unshakable love that we are. This is who we have always been, and we are simply waiting to remember ourselves.

Posted in Purpose | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments »

Affirmations

November 20, 2011 by Suzanne M. Baker

Affirmations are positive statements that bring conscious direction to our lives. They are heartfelt declarations that define where we want to be. They work when we believe that we are already there.

Affirmations are meant to be free of doubt because when we voice what we don’t fully believe, our fears get sent along with our wishes.

For example, deep down we might worry that we will never truly be successful in life. If we affirm, “I am successful,” we are also sending an underlying feeling of defeat, and this sabotages our efforts. Success can’t come into action until we shift from within – until we completely believe in ourselves and overcome the external challenges that are telling us otherwise.

Our challenges teach us in this way, and affirmations can solidify the process.

What we tell ourselves in our heads, take into our hearts as truth, and repeat in the background of our lives, all create what we experience. We see what we believe and don’t see what we don’t.

As many of us have found, this ability to manifest is increasing exponentially right now, and we can harness it in extremely positive ways. We can start with the positive things that we believe and let them build upon each other through affirmations. These can keep us on track amidst the challenges we came here to grow through.

Many advocate repeating new affirmations daily for a month or more as a way to replace negative thought patterns. But again, be aware of buried doubt that negates. Speak with conviction and take your affirmations to heart. I have found that the most effective affirmations are said only once and are completely original to the moment. For myself, I feel each statement with my whole being and consciously send it out to the universe with deep intention.

Affirmations often appear to me spontaneously, and these in particular are life changing. One day while walking, the following statement came to me, “I am so happy to be here!” I instantly realized the impact that this declaration had as it filled my heart and changed my perspective.

James Barrett teaches that affirmations are to be made with certainty in the present, without words like “I am trying, wanting or going to …” Instead, solidly declare “I am now doing …” in your affirmation. This way, there is no lack of direction. You are stating your affirmation with the result you want as though you already have it, without want or need.

I think one of the most important things that affirmations can accomplish is to help us talk more lovingly to ourselves. This creates positive experiences from the inside. Indeed, spiritual self-love is the key to life because everything starts from within, and when we fully love ourselves, we remember that love is what we all are.

So declare how life is, and believe that it is so! Take your affirmations to heart and live by them. Expand your affirmations to include a larger picture of the world that believes in the highest attainments for all of humanity.

Here are some of my personal favorite affirmations:

 

I love my life! I love living here. I love the people I get to share life with.

I am receiving beautiful, light-filled experiences of life.

I see the greatness in everyone. Everyone is amazing!

We are waking up and growing in illumination. Right now!

My heart is so full of love. I sense love everywhere I go.

I accept and love myself exactly as I am. My life is perfect just the way it is.

(And, in honor of Thanksgiving)

I am thankful for the gift of life and the people I get to share it with.

(to be followed by one of the most beautiful affirmations of all time)

Thank you.

Here’s to empowering affirmations! Please share your favorites with us here.

Posted in Being | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments »

Free

November 13, 2011 by Suzanne M. Baker

Our souls long to be free, but how is this possible when we’re held captive by the human experience? Are we not trapped in Plato’s cave, observing obscured shadows on the wall? Nevertheless, I know that we can find freedom through spiritual awareness because I have felt it with all my being. True and unbridled freedom is our natural state, and rediscovering it is remembering who we are.

Our spirits are immortal and free, and knowing this is every human’s right, but we have been denied the truth. We have been controlled for eons by those in egoistic power. They have kept us dumb and in the dark.

Most of what popular culture calls freedom is based on fears of survival and promises of safety. It is conditional upon our obedience to those who justify one human dominating another. We have been taught that authority is “right” without question and that hierarchy is desirable, but these are simply methods of control.

Our conditioning has made us afraid to be found “wrong,” and so we follow what society dictates. Many of us have been left wandering half asleep, unable to hear guidance but plenty of fearful media. We have bought into restrictive beliefs, and even violence, because we want to feel safe and accepted. This has made us unaware and powerless. Needless to say, this is not freedom.

True freedom is liberation from fear. It is finally flourishing in our own power instead of following those who want to control us. It is questioning everything so that we find our own answers. The truth is that we are incredibly free and safe within, and this becomes obvious when we awaken to the spiritual.

True freedom means being strong in our independence and our unity. You see, false freedom teaches us to take care of our own and remain separate from others, but until we respect every person regardless of what group they’re in, we will remain trapped in survival mode. Imagine a world instead where we are raised to know our spiritual power and work in harmony with each other. This is freedom.

So many of us set the bar low when it comes to our personal freedom. We become stuck in a self-made  survival mode of obligations rather than fulfilling Higher Purpose. But our beliefs create reality, and we have the power to shift them. We have the freedom to choose at any moment moving forward to break out of limitations, including the negative things we tell ourselves.

Freedom is being open to greater awareness and living in truth instead of opinion. It is being completely authentic and free from our egos. It is ceasing the endless mind tapes of past and future and turning the judgment machine off in our heads. That way, we are free to simply experience life, and to set others free from our expectations.

Protect your freedom! Pay attention to the energy around you and your intuition – what resonates spiritually with you. When something feels wrong in your gut, including your own behavior, stop and steer away. When something feels uplifting, choose this and reside at an elevated level of lightness and freedom.

We always have a choice. We can go about for years adhering to situations that compromise our freedom, only to wake up and realize that we can liberate ourselves, no matter how difficult that might seem. Amidst the pain, there is ultimately a releasing and a dramatic break from unhealthiness. We feel lighter as we re-chart our course with a free heart that chooses love over fear.

Humanity has not been free, but now that we are rapidly evolving it’s getting easier and easier to remember what it is. We are waking up, and our world is being shaken by the truth, and freedom is being championed around the globe. We are becoming aware that at the spiritual level we’re not trapped, and rediscovering this is a kind of personal resurrection. It feels limitless and light, joyous and harmonious, and how were always meant to be.

To remember freedom has been the most exhilarating and reassuring part of my spiritual journey so far.

Posted in Being, Shadow | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Perfect

November 6, 2011 by Suzanne M. Baker

Are you like me? Do you live thinking that perfection is just around the bend – a more ideal version of your life where you will do everything perfectly? Well, it’s becoming obvious to me that this unnatural state will never get here.

I often expect people to be perfect. I don’t allow for their complete and complex humanity. I tend to strive for a kind of artificial ideal that does not include the whole self. I exclude my own humanness.

I have lived many days wondering if I will ever get things “right.” I have put off life itself while waiting for an imagined future where I will do everything “perfectly.” But this unnatural state will never get here, because making mistakes is the human experience.

It’s all designed to move us forward. Life affords a unique chance to evolve. It gives us a dramatic and dual world. When things are more loving, as they are where we come from, we remain more static. But, when we are here and are faced with human challenges, these repeated difficulties push us to grow. We are offered the opportunity to learn about ourselves and to develop rapidly at the soul level.

What we perceive as imperfection is simply a chance to evolve, and this is the journey. The process is the purpose, and knowing this reminds me to live right now, rather than for an imagined scenario that will never be. Most importantly, the journey is perfect in how it teaches. And we, as expressions of God, are divinely perfect within. We are gorgeous in our unique power.

As an artist, I have noticed that the most beautiful things are not trying to be artificially perfect. They are truthful, and as such, we can relate to them. They call on us to embrace our whole selves and yet to reach higher towards beauty’s ideal. Maybe this shows the appeal for the perfect life I’ve been trying to get to, but what I have been missing is that it’s how we handle things that matters most.

You see, life is a spiritual practice, whether we’re ready or not. It is trying to teach us how to deal with our inevitable challenges. We will always be presented with the painful difficulties we wanted to go through, for that is the point of being here. And even when we fail to rise above our difficulties, our spirits still gain immense lessons to take back home.

I have found that my humanity becomes most obvious when I’m faced with personal upsets. I know all too well the reality of applying spiritual ideals to the messy soup of life, a test I often fail with emotional embarrassment. But, there is always a giant gift beneath the fiascoes I was born to perpetuate. Often, I only see this years later when I finally recognize God’s perfect design. I become moved to say, “Thank you for this lesson, for I could not have gotten here without it.”

It is so freeing to live in authenticity rather than pretending to be perfect. Expectations can be so high amidst our glaring difficulties, but if we let go of this false sense of control, we get to see the truth and know real freedom.

Lately, I find myself rejoicing in the small mistakes I make for the feeling of acceptance they bring. I am wanting to stop fighting the frustration around me, and instead ask, “What is the lesson here?” I am wanting to be open enough to say “I don’t know, please teach me.” I am learning to love my human self completely, with all of my light and shadow. These are the grand opportunities that life offers, and I am striving to cherish these immeasurable gifts.

Posted in Being | 5 Comments »

Carpe Diem

October 30, 2011 by Suzanne M. Baker

I want to seize this golden opportunity called life! I want to be completely awake for all that this human experience offers. I know that I chose to be here, and I want to savor every rich moment out loud!

Let us be completely present for life. Let us break through the limits of what’s expected and go for our dreams.

What do you want to do? What do you want to see, and who with? Seize these answers so that your soul has no regrets – so that at the end of your life, you will have done what you came here to do.

What is holding you back? What is your first, immediate response to this question, and can you break free from it? A lot of  times we don’t allow ourselves some of the most basic joys and freedoms. Dare to ask for them! Because you deserve every fulfilling experience there is to know.

These hours are your birthright! Seize them and take your rightful place in the dance of life. Be bold and engage the dazzling moment! Love your life and rediscover its thrill.

See that fun is an essential part of the creative process – of creating your life with utter joy! And believe in yourself as you do what you’ve longed to do.

As my friend Donna says, when we try something daring and new, the universe celebrates along with us. Remember most of all that it’s never too late to seize your life! Appreciate this precious opportunity at this very moment. Enjoy the blooming rose of right now instead of worrying over details that will mean nothing in a year.

So often, we strive to surround ourselves with safety and rationalize that this as the ultimate happiness, but there is so much more out there. We grow immensely when we reach for new experiences instead of suffering through the familiar. We give ourselves the chance to shine!

One illuminating blog, The Hawk’s View, addresses the conundrum of how comfort can seem like paradise, but is really an illusion. The Hawk writes, “Deep within my Soul I am aware that it is fear of the unknown that makes me see this is Eden.” He tells us that the answers we truly seek are only to be found through risk and adventure. When we remove our fears, we are free to grow and to thrive. In The Hawk’s words, we “journey from a false paradise to spiritual enlightenment.”

Embracing change allows us to grow through new adventures. And I have found that when my life gets shaken up, a profound breakthrough surfaces. My soul is freeing itself from limits, and I am offered a chance to thrive at a new, higher level. I feel the thrill of life again instead of being asleep.

Now, I realize that I have the power to re-ignite my life. No one can rescue me the way that I can empower myself. Even God cannot act for us; we must do the physical acting ourselves.

And I leave you with some strong incentive from Mark Twain: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sail. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Posted in Present | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments »

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