Emotional Cleansing

Awareness is the prerequisite for change.

Joan Borysenko

          As this year comes to an end, it is the perfect opportunity to release any unwanted experiences, thought, or belief systems that no longer serve you and holding broken and restrictive energy.

          We spend a lot of time cleaning out closets and drawers, clearing out old books and clutter even though it feels overwhelming.  When we finally clear out a space, you feel fantastic. 

          However, many of us have no idea how to do emotional cleansing or letting go of relationships or unhealthy choices that causes us stress.  Emotional cleansing is about activating a willingness to look at the ways in which emotions can run and ruin our lives.

          Emotional cleansing is about taking the time to dissect old behaviors and patterns that keep us in a constant state of drama.  The act of emotional cleansing requires that we slow down and clear out thinking that is not productive, negative self-talk, and the clutter of past experiences that haunt us.  Emotional cleansing is an art form.

          It takes practice and a deep commitment to clean out our emotional baggage.  It means looking honestly at what triggers us, how we behave under duress, and how a painful past has left us feeling helpless and disconnected.  It is about inviting good into our hearts and lives instead of focusing on challenges.  It is about asking for inner guidance and trusting that feelings do not define us.  Feelings are simply energy and can shift in an instant when we open to the light within us.

          Whatever you are holding onto that is keeping you small, now is the time to let it go!  Love is available; joy is around the corner; peace is surrounding you; light is expressing as your very life. 

Today, take charge of your emotional reactions.  Ask for guidance to clear out tendencies that are cluttered and constricting; and open yourself up to a life of magnificent joy!

The Drummer

Don’t follow someone else’s map.

Deepak Chopra

          The loud drum beat we hear in our lives comes from the external world; you need a bigger car, a bigger house, more status, more exotic vacations, more of more!  But, there is a softer drum with a different cadence; this drum is calling us to love, to practice compassion, to be caring, to grow spiritually.  If we don’t listen for that second drum we may think we are living the good life, but we will never be truly happy.

          A television program exposed how easily influenced we can be.  Groups of men and women were asked to compare geometric shapes.   Most of the people responded accurately, but when put in a group that deliberately gave wrong answers, some of the participants changed their correct answer to conform.

          True courage is being who you are no matter what others may say or think.  This is not easy.  The path of following our inner guidance takes great courage, especially when other people are pressuring us to follow the crowd.

          For our lives to have meaning we have to live from the inside out.  Having nice things and a great job is fine but they are no substitute for what really matters.  What really matters are moving beyond fear and expressing what we believe and who we are.

Today, step into the life that you are meant to express.  Move beyond all fear and know Spirit walks by your side.

Giving versus Sharing

Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened.  Happiness never decreases by being shared.

Buddha

          We often confuse sharing with giving.  Sharing is heart centered and not attached to the material world.  Giving is connected to physical things and is often mixed up with our definition of what we believe we need.

          When we are in a space of giving, need tends to be the primary denominator.  It could be a need to acknowledgement, validation, or acceptance.  It could be a need to be liked or to feel important.  It does not matter what it is we are trying to get.

          The mere act of needing is telling the universe that something is missing.  It is an act of stating lack, and when we do that, we attract more of what we are lacking.  People are afraid to let go of old ways of being, and so they spend money that they do not have in order to feel loved.

          Sharing, on the other hand, is about being open and contributing your gifts from your heart.  To share takes “material value” out of the situation and focuses on loving.  People instantly relax and take in the gift of you.  Sharing is an act of unconditional love.

Give yourself permission to share from the heart, expecting nothing in return.  Know that you are enough!

Demonstrating Forgiveness

The forgiving state of mind is a magnetic power for attracting good.

Catherine Ponder

          To demonstrate is to practically apply something.  Forgiveness is about releasing negative energy that can take you hostage.   Forgiveness means looking at our judgments and being willing to let them go in exchange for having peace of mind.  It is not about condoning anyone’s behavior.  It is not about letting people off the hook for misguided thinking or actions.  It is about being present and releasing people and events that cause us mental and emotional upheaval.

          The Hebrew word for forgiveness translates to 'drop it'.  Some of us carry our pain like a badge of honor.  It is how we identify who we are.  Who might you be without the blame and anger that keeps you connected to people and events that hurt you?

          I believe that absent the baggage of an unforgiving heart, you would be free to show up fully in every situation.  Without the baggage we carry around, all of us could be present to shine the light of our divinity in ways that would transform this planet.  I stand with you this day as you move into a place of choosing to drop anything that does not support the grace-filled life that you came here to express.

          So today, release everyone and everything that is not supporting your divine nature.  One of my quotes, “it is not about the situation, but how YOU deal with the situation that is important."

Choices

It is also helpful to think of adversity not as much as a threat to our peace of mind but rather as the very means by which patience is attained.

The Dalai Lama

          For some, the holiday season is a time of joy, family, and celebration.  For others, this is a time of profound sadness—wrought with pain and suffering from failed relationships, financial challenges, job dissatisfaction, and issues of self-worth.  Today I want to share a tool to help you or someone you love transform feelings of depression by looking at circumstances as gifts.

          The dictionary defines depressed as “low in spirit, dejected; suffering from social or economic hardship.”  It is about allowing life to move us to a state of feeling low, unwanted, uncertain, and fearful.

          On the other side of depression is expression.  I believe the reason each of us is here is to express our feelings, thoughts, and talents—to share our gifts in service to humanity—in a way that moves us forward, beyond limited thinking and choices that do not serve us.  This is where we can move from fear to faith, from doubt to trust, and from pain to power.  Know that your gifts are essential to this world.  Spirit must express through us and our job is to be willing to view everything as an opportunity for growth and healing.

Today, open to the realization that everything in the universe is conspiring for your full expression.  Every day, every moment, every second, there is choice.