January 31, 2011

It is good to be grateful for roadblocks and detours, for these sometimes teach the lessons we most need to learn. Figuring out how to deal with these challenges on our path through life can be frustrating but finding the answers can be gratifying. If the purpose of being here, a spirit in a physical body, is to allow the individual as well as the All to grow, then the seeming impediments to our progress can offer us new ways of thinking about ourselves and others. And, when we are most in need of help in surmounting the roadblock or traversing the detour, it is then we need to permit ourselves to reach out to others for help. That connection is part of the lesson . . . to learn that we are never alone and that other spirits, either incarnate or discarnate are there to help us, to allow us to be inspired by their example or comforted by their kindness. Our challenges are blessings that allow us to grow . . . the strongest plants are those that break through the soil to grow and be nurtured in the sunlight. Namaste!

January 30, 2011

In meditation, to intone the eternal syllable “Om” is to allow one’s individual spirit to become one with the universal spirit. When we sit softly and quietly and breathe Om from the depth of our physical being, through our spirit and into the wider world, we accept both our limits and our limitlessness in the universe. We are spirit in a body, limited by the physical plane on which we live at this moment, but still we exist as part of the limitlessness of the wider realities. Om is the sound, the basic note of the music that permeates every physical and non-physical facet of the All. When we allow Om to emanate from within our being, we join a larger cosmic chorus, singing in peace, joy, and love as one in the sacred now. Namaste!

January 29, 2011

When you ask the universe questions, it is important to listen for the answers. We can ask “why me?” or “why is this happening?” but if we do not listen, if we do not watch for answers, the questions are meaningless. The spirits, teachers, guides, masters, and angels who are there to provide the answers do not necessarily speak to us as would our friend next door. Often we must discern answers that come in seemingly unexpected ways. It may be a phrase or word that repeats during the day or occurs simultaneously . . . we are reading a newspaper and read a certain word at the same moment it is said on the television or radio or even by someone else in the room. We may ask a question before going to sleep and the answer appears, often with great clarity, in the midst of a dream. Sometimes, the answer will appear before the question is asked on the conscious level. If we truly pursue an examined life, we must keep ourselves open to the answers we receive. Then do we live a life that is fully awake and aware. Namaste!

January 28, 2011

How do we know if we are on the right path? Because if we are on it, it is the right path for that moment, in that moment. This may sound harsh to one encountering challenges that seem insurmountable, but, truly, if you are in a given situation, it is because it is where you are supposed to be to learn what you need to learn. The best course of action to discern the reason for being on that path is to pretend to be a journalist and ask who, what, when, where, and why. Who am I and with whom am I supposed to be learning? What is it that I am supposed to learn/what is my purpose? When do I know that I am supposed to change direction? Where do I go from here? Why am I experiencing this situation? And, of course, you can ask “how?” How did I get here? You may find that your questions are different, but the important thing is to keep asking, and to keep listening. Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Examine your life with an open mind and an eager heart and you will awaken to the answers you seek. Namaste!

January 27, 2011

There are many kinds of beings and entities in the universe, and spirit, either incarnate or discarnate, is but one. Angels are another. They are immortal beings who do not require the path of reincarnation. We are admonished to take care of others and tend to their needs because in doing so we may be caring for angels. While this may be true because angels can and often do take human form to accomplish a multitude of tasks—helping in the events of crisis, at the time of transition, for guidance, providing warnings, imparting a message from another plane of existence, or to save someone  from a dangerous situation—it is equally likely that the being we are encountering is a fellow spirit, a fellow traveler, who at the moment is discarnate, perhaps one with whom you may have contracted in the between time to encounter in this life as a test of learning, of having attained a needed lesson. This being can be a spirit who takes on the illusion of human form or even an unaware incarnate spirit. Not knowing with whom you are dealing, the best course of action is to treat people the way you would like to be treated—with kindness, compassion, empathy, and love. Namaste!

January 26, 2011

Everything and everyone in the universe is connected, one to the other. In joy and in sorrow, in plenitude or in need, we are connected and in that connection, we have the opportunity to tend to others as we would want them to tend to us. When we reach out to others, we are, in truth, reaching out to an expression of ourselves. The person in need of a hug, the one in need of a nutritious meal, the one in need of a few cents in the check-out line at the grocery store . . . when we give to them, we give to the whole, of which we are a part. Knowing the need of another and addressing it is compassion. Perceiving internally the need of another is empathy. Responding to that need is acting in the realm of grace—giving generously with love, mercy, and goodwill. In this, we ask nothing for ourselves, but, rather, give to another, and yet, because of the interconnectedness of our spirits, we enjoy the glow of grace. Namaste!