Love and Light
Sandra
Love and Light
As the debate over whether U.S. lawmakers should give President Obama authorization to launch a military strike against Syria continues, many of us are once again feeling the enormous inner conflict and deep sadness that comes with trying to reconcile the stark contrast between war and peace. Because our natural spiritual state of being is unconditional love, I truly believe that, at a soul level, every human being desires peace. The question is: How do we create it?
The emphasis is on the word “create” because peace is a sense of well being that originates from the inside, beginning with the intention of the heart. If we are “looking” for it, we will not be able to find it because peace is not something that comes to us from the outside. The condition of our physical world is a giant mirror reflecting back to us the collective thoughts of every person who is part of our earth family. Since thought is creative, whatever we focus on expands. Therefore, what we are seeing is an indication that part of our human society is predominately focused on judgment, violence, greed, and crime.
We can point a finger of blame wherever and to whomever we want, but it does not change the truth that each one of us has played a part in creating the condition of the world in which we live. Perhaps it has been in seemingly minor, passive ways, such as getting caught up in the turmoil and conflict of the world by watching and listening to endless news reports of violence and acts of desecration. Or, it could be as intensively aggressive as being a perpetrator in a massive heinous crime. Judging who is “most wrong” renders us powerless and only creates more separation and discord between us and within our lives.
We can only change the quality of our collective personal reality by taking personal responsibility for the part we have each played in creating it. Since all change begins at the level of self, when we change our individual lives, the world around us changes as well.
To create peace within your own life, try some of these basic ideas. You will be amazed at what unfolds!
Meditate – Create a space of at least 20 minutes every day to sit in a place of peace and quiet. Your meditation can be as simple as sitting on your sofa and focusing on your breath. The importance of this cannot be overstated, for it is within the silence that you can remember your mind and body connection with spirit.
Pray – Ask for divine guidance as to how you can best bring peace to the world; envision what a peaceful world looks like. Most importantly, imagine the feeling of peace within your own heart.
Forgive – Let go of the need to be right. All conflicts, whether it be in personal relationships or between countries, originate from the perception that one party is “right” and the other is “wrong.” Would you rather be right or do you prefer peace? (You may find it helpful to read my blog on Forgiveness, April 23, 2013.)
Live consciously – Align your thoughts, words, and actions with the spiritual values of love, respect, peace, and cooperation. This requires diligent practice and is the most effective way to live a peaceful life.
Be mindful of what you feed your mind – Stop watching violent entertainment shows and videos and modify the amount of time you spend following the news. There is a difference between being informed and immersing yourself in the fears of the world. Instead, spend more time reading, watching, and listening to information that inspires you and nourishes your soul. What you put into your mind is what it feeds back to you.
Commune with Nature – Spend more time outdoors in the beauty of nature. Nature regenerates your body, mind, and soul and balances your energy.
Even though the status of the world may seem overwhelming and out of our personal control, we each have the power to contribute to world peace. It begins with our personal lives, starting in this present moment. Every person makes an enormous difference in creating harmony within the world. Like a drop of water, every single thought we have ripples out into the massive sea of the collective thoughts of all humanity. By choosing thoughts of love, we automatically unite with other like-minded souls in forming a field of energy that has the infinite power to exponentially create an entirely new world.
NOT ONLY CAN WE CREATE WORLD PEACE,
IT IS OUR SACRED MISSION TO DO SO!
As always, I welcome your thoughts.
Love and Light,
Sandra
Ironically, one of the greatest fears we humans have is that we will be vulnerable if we express our true self to the world. In an attempt to “protect” ourselves, we many times project emotions which we do not authentically feel, display behaviors which are designed to please others, and say things we don’t really mean.
Why do we do this?
We live in a society in which we are conditioned to focus primarily on outer stimulation. From earliest childhood, many of us were taught by well-intentioned parents, teachers, and caregivers to define ourselves by what other people think of us. Seeking the approval of others quickly became the major motivation for most of our behavior patterns, starting very early in the lives of many of us. As a result, we may have developed a belief system that our self-worth is determined by the opinions of others rather than learning to develop our own sense of self-esteem based on inner values. Unless we became aware of this perception and chose to change it, we most likely continued to perpetuate this belief into adulthood.
Why does this cause pain in our lives?
One of the tenets of the Universal Law of Manifestation is that we attract what we project. Accordingly, if we do not project our authentic selves, we will not attract responses from other people that align with who we truly are. For example, most of us have been in numerous life situations where we have knocked ourselves out trying to please someone by being the selfless mother, father, spouse, sibling, or friend. We emotionally gave and gave until eventually we felt depleted. We were desperately seeking approval for our heroic deeds. When we did not get back what we considered an appropriate response, we felt totally unappreciated and, perhaps, even rejected. This seemingly selfless approach is far from selfless because it cultivates an environment where everyone is looking to everyone else to feel regenerated.
Does it take courage to express our true self?
Of course it takes courage to live an authentic life in which we are projecting our honest self, rather than hiding behind layers of veneers that we have designed to deflect the hurtful thoughts and actions of others. It is important to remember that “courage” (root word cuer, meaning heart) does not mean the absence of fear; indeed, we all have fears. Having courage means that we make a conscious choice to live from the heart by choosing thoughts, words, and actions that are aligned with our spiritual values of kindness, cooperation, and respect for self and others. Interestingly, when we are being who we truly are, we are actually able to detach from needing approval from everyone else because there is an inner peace and sense of confidence that comes from living in integrity.
The only real “safety” any of us has in life is the security of being our authentic selves. Every single one of us is amazingly special. NO ONE ELSE CAN BE YOU! No other human being has your particular personality, your one-of-a-kind brain, your special body, and your extraordinary soul. YOUR UNIQUENESS is a contribution to all of humanity.
When you express your TRUE SELF to the world, you are sharing the physical expression of the Love and Light of your soul. What could be more “safe?”
Love and Light,
Sandra
I have often shared with others my belief that forgiveness is the greatest gift we can ever give to ourselves. This many times surprises people, because it is a commonly held perception that forgiveness is something we do for others – almost like a favor that we are doing for someone. Sometimes we perceive our forgiveness as a reward we will give someone if they apologize first or change their behavior to accommodate our expectations.
It is extremely important that we understand the actual meaning of the word forgiveness. When trying to accurately interpret a word, it is many times helpful to go back to the original definition as it appears in the dictionary. According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, the actual definition of forgiving is allowing room for error or weakness; and the definition of forgive is to give up resentment. When we remember that we are all fallible and that the only thing we have to lose by forgiving anyone is the self-destructive resentment and judgment we are carrying, we begin to see more clearly that the person who benefits most from the process of forgiveness is self.
Let’s discuss just a few of the many reasons that help us to understand why forgiveness is essential for our OWN health and overall well-being:
Forgiveness is rooted in Self-Love – Self-love is the fundamental principle of all healing and the root of all compassion for self and others. When we hold on to anger and resentment with people from the past, we hurt ourselves by continuing to experience the emotions that are associated with these painful experiences. This takes a heavy toll on our mental, emotional, and physical health. It is also important to remember that life is a two-way street. Either knowingly or unknowingly, we too have hurt others through our unkind words and actions. We can only give to others that which we give to ourselves—so developing the attitude of being compassionate and kind to ourselves is a very healthy way to develop the habit of forgiveness.
Forgiveness creates harmony – It frees us from the need to be “right,” which automatically makes someone else “wrong.” This attitude breeds constant conflict with others and within ourselves. Every person who is in a disagreement thinks he or she is “right,” or there would be no discord in the first place. By letting go of our need to be right, we are not admitting we are “wrong.” We are simply being wise and compassionate enough to realize that we do not know what someone else is experiencing, what they are feeling, or why they have responded to a situation in a way that does not match our expectations. Simply stated, we are not the authority for how someone else thinks and acts, so it does not serve us well to criticize others. By judging others, we plant the seeds to remain entangled in an unproductive drama that intensifies the struggle, rather than focusing on the resolution.
Forgiveness creates inner peace – A peaceful mind is a quiet mind. Paradoxically, I think most of us would admit that we have cluttered minds. Forgiveness promotes mental clarity by cleansing our minds of unhealthy, resentful thoughts from the past. This creates the mental space for more expansive perceptions based on our spiritual values. Our society is extremely focused on physical fitness and cleansing diets for our bodies; yet we ignore our mental fitness and the critical need we have to houseclean our minds of the toxic thoughts that we constantly recycle in our minds based on our anger and resentment toward others.
Forgiveness frees us to be in present time – Blaming others keeps us stuck in the past and reinforces thought patterns that create the same dramas in the future. The only time in which we can create new realities is in the present. Since our thoughts create our personal reality, why not choose to forgive the past and adopt a new way of thinking? Why look backward? It’s not the direction you want to go.
Forgiveness shifts our self-perception – We can transform our perception of ourselves from being a victim of our circumstances, reacting to hurtful situations from the past, to one of being a student of life. Seeing ourselves as a student of life means choosing to interpret all the situations we have ever had and all the people whom we have ever met as lessons that help us to learn more about ourselves, others, and life in general. Since our perceptions determine how we experience everything in life, shifting from a self-image of being a victim to the more enlightened self-image of being a student of life empowers you to create new, more expansive realities that align with your desire to live the life YOU choose.
Forgiveness, like any form of thought, can be consciously chosen. While it can seem difficult at first, the more we practice forgiveness, the more natural it becomes. We begin to feel better about everyone—especially ourselves.
Do you have a challenging forgiveness situation that you would like to share? I welcome your comments and questions.
Love and Light,
Sandra