When external factors shift we have an opportunity to rediscover our core which is the only truly safe place to call home.
There are times when our whole world seems to be falling apart around us, and we are not sure what to hold onto anymore. Sometimes our relationships crumble and sometimes it's our physical environment. At other times, we can't put our finger on it, but we feel as if all the walls have fallen down around us and we are standing with nothing to lean on, exposed and vulnerable. These are the times in our lives when we are given an opportunity to see where we have established our sense of identity, safety, and well-being. And while it is perfectly natural and part of our process to locate our sense of self in externals, any time those external factors shift, we have an opportunity to rediscover and move closer to our core, which is the only truly safe place to call home.
The core of our being is not affected by the shifting winds of circumstance or subject to the cycles of change that govern physical reality. It is as steady and consistent as the sun, which is why the great mystics and mystical poets often reference the sun in their odes to the self. Like the sun, there are times when our core seems to be inaccessible to us, but this is just a misperception. We know that when the sun goes behind a cloud or sets for the night, it has not disappeared but is simply temporarily out of sight. In the same way, we can trust that our inner core is always shining brightly, even when we cannot quite see it.
We can cling to this core when things around us are falling apart, knowing that an inexhaustible light shines from within ourselves. Times of external darkness can be a great gift in that they provide an opportunity to remember this inner light that shines regardless of the circumstances of our lives. When our external lives begin to come back together, we are able to lean a bit more lightly on the structures we used to call home, knowing more clearly than ever that our true home is that bright sun shining in our core.
The following is an excerpt from the "Find the Healing Message in Dis-ease'" on-line course. If you would like to enroll in the course, click here.
Regardless of the severity, intensity, frequency, or duration of any condition that would cause you dis-ease, Spirit can and will inspire you to the most perfect cure: self-acceptance and unconditional Love.
Although wonderful and beneficial on many levels, our medical system, from a spiritual vantage point, greatly separates us from our nature and encourages us to form an identity around what is wrong. Whatever is off balance receives recognition, the perpetual pursuit for "what's wrong" becomes all right.
This point was driven home to me at a Christmas dinner I attended. On my right hand side was an older couple, the man wore jeans and a white, oxford shirt. He sat forward in his chair, frequently imbibing his alcoholic beverage.
Next to him, back erect, donned in a red jacket and blinking earrings, sat his wife. Her lips pursed, she stared at him.
Desiring to engage in friendly conversation, I asked the man, "What kind of work do you do?"
No sooner had the words left my mouth than the wife jumped in, "He can't work. He's got a bad knee."
Instantly, he looked deflated, then replied, "I've got a good one, too. And all my other parts work."
"Well, the doctors and I know about your bad knee. It's stopping you. If you'll get the knee fixed, maybe you can work," she replied.
"Yes, but I've got a good knee!" he insisted.
"Yes, but you've got a bad one!" she reiterated.
Both sat speechless. I quietly munched my salad. The silence was golden.
What struck me most about the revealing conversation was that this woman had reduced her husband to a bad knee. Despite his full life, decades in which I am sure he had acquired many experiences, memories, materials, and moments to share, she recognized that he had a bad knee!
You are not your knees, your nose, your knuckles, or your nervous habits.
YOU are a spirit, and you are more that you believe yourself to be!
"I am Spirit, whole and free. I now allow my physical, emotional, and mental health to reflect this perfection in every way! I am healed!"
Let's talk about your body.
TAKE SOME TIME TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS
1. What are your beliefs about your body? Are you willing to let go of the old in exchange for a spiritual belief about your body? Do you believe you can heal?
2. Write a list of physical and emotional illnesses and how you think these may be connected to your underlying thoughts or fears.
All the joy and passion you can envision can be yours right now, rather than in a future point in time.
The time we are blessed with is limited and tends to be used up all too quickly. How we utilize that time is consequently one of the most important decisions we make. Yet it is far too easy to put off until tomorrow what we are dreaming of today. The hectic pace of modern existence affords us an easy out; we shelve our aspirations so we can cope more effectively with the challenges of the present, ostensibly to have more time and leisure to realize our purpose in the future. Or we tell ourselves that we will chase our dreams someday once we have accomplished other lesser goals. In truth, it is our fear that keeps us from seeking fulfillment in the here and now—because we view failure as a possibility, our reasons for delaying our inevitable success seem sound and rational. If we ask ourselves what we are really waiting for, however, we discover that there is no truly compelling reason why we should put off the pursuit of the dreams that sustain us.
When regarded as a question, "Why not now?" drains us of our power to realize our ambitions. We are so concerned with the notion that we are somehow undeserving of happiness that we cannot see that there is much we can do in the present to begin courting it. Yet when we look decisively at our existence and state, "Why not now, indeed!" we are empowered to begin changing our lives this very moment. We procrastinate for many reasons, from a perceived lack of time to a legitimate lack of self-belief, but the truth of the matter is that there is no time like the present and no time but the present. Whatever we aim to accomplish, we will achieve it more quickly and with a greater degree of efficiency when we seize the day and make the most of the resources we have at our disposal presently.
All the joy, passion, and contentment you can envision can be yours right now, rather than in some far-flung point in time. You need only remind yourself that there is nothing standing between you and fulfillment. If you decide that today is the day you will take your destiny into your hands, you will soon discover that you hold the keys of fate.
