Category Archives: Grief/Loss

“The Choice,” Your Choice

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You have a choice! Perhaps you have been a victim of a bad situation but YOU have a choice to not live in victimhood! Recently, I was given a copy of the book, “The Choice: Embrace the Possible,” by Dr. Edith Eva Eger. It was painful to read her account of surviving the unspeakable horrors of “living” through her 16th year in Auschwitz in the last year of World War II (1944.) Dr. Eger tells her story of emotionally burying the horrors of her experience for decades until she sought out treatment and support and then to realize she had a “Choice.” She needed to do the work to free herself from her own prison. Her story is remarkable AND not an uncommon dilemma for many of us traumatized by the brutal lessons of our lives.

Why do many of us feel more comfortable remaining in our pain filled life dramas? Sure, it is familiar. Sure, we may think we “deserved” this self-constructed prison because our self-esteem is less than it could be. And, many of us have learned a coping strategy which is successful in dragging other compassionate people into our web of “attention seeking” victimhood as a way to get our emotional needs met. BUT, (a big but) we can choose to not be a victim in our own self-constructed web. We can take some responsibility for how we respond to our life’s traumas.

As I write this blog, Dr. Edith Eger is 90 years of age and has found her way to serve humanity by sharing her story and then sharing her discovery of the choice she has had to make in teaching her lesson from this horrific life experience. This extreme example is supported by her clients working to recover from their life traumas. Each of these stories reflects different discoveries and the advances which she has moved through. No matter what nightmare YOU have experienced, even horrors beyond your control, you have a choice. How YOU respond from the lessons you have survived is up to you. No one else… Her book, for me, was hard to read in her recounting of the holocaust she lived through in the 1940’s. It triggered memories and emotions that could have been avoided but facing her painful memories puts many other life learnings into perspective. Taking personal responsibility is never easy. It is so important if you want to learn and grow most fully. Dr. Eger was opened 25 years after her release from Auschwitz by reading Vikto Frankl’s account of his time in Auschwitz in his book “Man’s Search for Meaning.”

Childhood traumas are reflected in many of the client stories which are shared. These are not an uncommon life experience even in sheltered childhoods. We come into our human lives to live, and then to learn, from the “dramas” and the traumas we experience. I was hit as a child by my father in his frustrations. I learned that I never wanted to hit my sons and perhaps this behavior has been extinguished for our descendants and future generations in our family. The world needs this behavior to be extinguished!

Consider the choices you have in your life, your behaviors, and your responses to the difficult experiences you have found in life. Even PTSD responses can benefit from understanding the possible choices you can have. And, if you are a reader,
“The Choice” is available online or locally. The link to the Amazon advertisement is: at Amazon.com and through many other outlets.

Perhaps consider, YOU have a choice to find Joy in every experience and in the interactions you will experience. Even if these encounters may be difficult or even painful to live through. The lessons which you find may be a main piece of your purpose as you follow your path through this life.
Hang in there….

Thanks for your time and consideration. Your insights and experiences are unique and a blessing, so please share these…

If you are READY and looking for a supportive community where you can share your story, your wisdom, and grow spiritually in a non-religious environment, consider Masters of the Journey.
You are a Blessing! You are a Master! Your wisdom from your life experience can have great value to other pilgrims on the path toward awakening and enlightenment.

The Masters of the Journey has events which are updated on our Facebook page which is found at: www.facebook.com/mastersofthejourney Please comment on this blog and share, if appropriate. More of our blogs are based on spiritual consciousness and can be found at www.dstress.com/blog

Wisdom Sharing: Let’s Get Started!

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Let’s Get Started!

Do You have a story to tell? More importantly, do YOU have Wisdom to share?
Of course you do…

We all have a story. We were born. We grew and lived our lives. AND, we survived until Now!
95% of us do NOT think we are amazing and special or that we have lived the “Heroes Journey.” But, we have! If anyone heard your full story the witness would ask, “How did YOU survive all those challenges?” Most people would NOT want to have gone through what YOU had to go through to get here… The fun exciting things and your successes would be fun to try on… The painful challenges, failures, difficult lessons, and the dramas you have survived would be too difficult for most mortals. Now, you learned more from your failures and painful experiences than you did from being successful, IF you are honest and like most other people. Even if you would not wish these difficult experiences on anyone you loved, and most other people who may mean less to you, YOU survived and there is knowledge and some Wisdom to share.

For me it was the ending of my marriage. My wife and I were 19+ years into our marriage when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She was given less than 5 years to live with stage 3 C ovarian cancer. The surgeries and chemotherapies were horrible. We worked together and with her resolve, and all the alternative therapies she could find, my bride lived 8 and 1/2 more years. This experience made us closer! We shared love and experiences that each became an adventure. I would NOT wish this on anyone! But, I would not trade this experience, if I could. I learned so much! And, the great vacuum in my life when she finally “transitioned” was so much greater than I could have imagined. Even though I had 8.5 years to prepare, I was not prepared for the hole in my life AND this was one of the greatest learnings from my grief that I hold so dear. I do NOT want sympathy! I am not a victim! I was blessed with a love and a learning that taught me so much. AND, this learning is supposed to be shared!

Your wisdom born out of the difficult challenges has happened for a reason. You learned some important lessons. You are now here to share your wisdom AND somewhere there is a person who NEEDS to hear your story. You may not know that person or why they need to hear your story but they do need to witness you as a survivor and fellow pilgrim on the path through this life.

We want to overlook ourselves as the Miracles we are! We are a composite that is unique, born out of the challenges which no one else has lived through. No one else can do YOU like you do YOU! Your life adds to all consciousness as a unique contribution. If you can take responsibility for your Greatness, drop the role of “victim,” and find the importance and the Joy in the lessons you have learned, YOU can be the Beacon of Light to people you bump into in this life!

It would help greatly for you to start telling your stories. Practice telling these stories. AND, then find the people who would learn best by witnessing your stories. You can be a hero! You can lead the way! You can be of service to humanities’ consciousness by sharing of yourself! You may never know how impactful you have been or be able to take credit for a life changed by hearing your story. But, if you do not tell your story it will die with you and your full legacy may not be fully fulfilled.

Live fully and Serve by sharing of yourself. YOU benefit from retelling your “story” from the new perspective of who you are Now! You are a Miracle and Your story has value! Please share your wisdom!

Thanks for your time and consideration. Your insights and experiences are unique and a blessing, so please share these…

If you are READY and looking for a supportive community where you can share your story, your wisdom, and grow spiritually in a non-religious environment, consider Masters of the Journey.
You are a Blessing! You are a Master! Your wisdom from your life experience can have great value to other pilgrims on the path toward awakening and enlightenment.

The Masters of the Journey has events which are updated on our Facebook page which is found at: www.facebook.com/mastersofthejourney Please comment on this blog and share, if appropriate. More of our blogs are based on spiritual consciousness and can be found at www.dstress.com/blog

Remembering the Blessings!

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I am posting this blog on January 16th, 2020. This is a message for me, from me, AND for YOU. Eight years ago today, at 8:20 AM, my Bride, Barbara, transitioned from this life. I am Blessed for all of the lessons she has taught me. In fact, I would not be writing this blog or working to create the Masters of the Journey community without this direct influence. Please, DO NOT think or Feel, “Poor John”. I am not a victim! I am a soul, just like you, struggling with life’s amazing challenges. Most of us have experienced the loss of the loved one, a friend, or a relationship. If you have walked this Earth in this life, for any amount of human time, you know how life can change. Times of change are often the most important times of growth and learning.

My Bride transitioned 8 years ago after our 30 years of relationship and after 8 1/2 years of living with Ovarian Cancer. The brutal struggle was filled with Joy and Growth. We grew closer. Our Love seemed to delve into the darkest places of anger, pain, and frustration, yet, it found ways to glow with warmth. For me, the lessons of empathy and the meaning of living while struggling with our human mortality was led by my wife. She demonstrated focus and stubbornness to live as long as she possibly could so her passing-over actually came as a shock to me. Two months before she died from our life together, she asked me to “not forget her” which with a knee-jerk reaction I complied. Not really knowing or understanding this promise which I had made. This is not unusual for me because I am naive about many of the things in this life that I have signed on for.

The void in my life when she moved on was a huge surprise. Though I had 8 1/2 years to prepare, I was taken by surprise. The vacuum in my life was much larger than I could have imagined. This is part of my lesson, my learning, and the message I am here to share. Sure you know that Life is precious. You assume the obvious that my wife of 28 years+ and the mother of my children would be “missed,” but that is not the story. Barbara, in spirit, has guided and protected me since January 16th of 2012. Her “presence” has given me stories to share. She has helped create every act of service I have engaged within. Our shared story lives to be a beacon for others to follow and to learn from.

Never consider any personal loss without reflecting on what you have been asked by the Divine Spirit to gain from a difficult life experience. Find a way to celebrate the Joy of life as you dance through the “mine-field” of life’s challenges. You came here to learn, and even enjoy, the bruises and bumps you find along the way. You chose to create the life you lead with your successes and with your awkward mis-steps… Any losses create the opportunity to appreciate your Blessings and your connections. AND, every person you bump into along the way offers you an opportunity to exchange love and wisdom from experience, even if born out of the pains which accompany you through your mortal life. You are made stronger as you are swept along in the rapids of the River of Life.

Also, find your way to remember the perfection and the Divinity within you. You are a Miracle! Look within to feel, and accept, the guidance of the Divine. It bubbles up, often in a subtle feeling, when you are at the crossroads of your life. You have read this far into this blog post for a reason… You were meant to find this consciousness and to go out and to celebrate the incredible experiences of your life, even with the bumps and bruises. Please share your story and serve by witnessing the story-telling of the souls you meet along the way! Your “Hero’s Journey” continues and your experiences can be of service to the community you live within, if you share YOUR story. By the way, YOU are loved and connected to all the wisdom of the Divine Spirit, just “remember” it and feel it within…

Thanks for your time and consideration. Your insights and experiences are unique and a blessing, so please share these…

If you are READY and looking for a supportive community where you can share your story, your wisdom, and grow spiritually in a non-religious environment, consider Masters of the Journey.
You are a Blessing! You are a Master! Your wisdom from your life experience can have great value to other pilgrims on the path toward awakening and enlightenment.

The Masters of the Journey has events which are updated on our Facebook page which is found at: www.facebook.com/mastersofthejourney Please comment on this blog and share, if appropriate. More of our blogs are based on spiritual consciousness and can be found at www.dstress.com/blog

I Love You! I will always Love my Bride, Barbara!!!

Ingredients of a Legacy Sharing Story

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Tell Your Story:
Ingredients of a Legacy Sharing Story

We have all lived long enough to have those major learning moments or events in our lives which created dramatic new perspectives on how we live or conduct ourselves. These are the experiences which make our lives interesting, and often, challenging. We learn from these abrupt life changing encounters.

What was or were the major moment(s) in your life which seemed to change you? What did it feel like? How did you integrate this new awareness or learning into your life?
Examples:
Birth of a Child
Death of a Close Family member or Friend
STE: a Spiritually Transformative Experience
NDE: Near Death Experience
A major “Awakening” about Nature/life/death
A major travel adventure – which “Opened Doors”
A traumatic event that taught you… (Severe diagnosis, accident, fight, Injury…)
An event like a wedding/Graduation/Career change

2. When You share your story of these life altering events:
A.) Does it benefit the person you are speaking with?
B.) Does it benefit YOU to retell your story?

3. Are You reliving your story and triggering real Feelings when you re-tell your story?
(Is your response genuine and real?)

4. Has Your “Story” changed over time?
Have you continued to learn from your past experience?

5. Is it a mental process or a heartfelt sharing?
Do you “Feel” this past experience?

6. Why would this learning experience be a benefit to some, if not all, the witnesses?
What did you learn?
How has this changed your perspective or “Life”?

What makes this a Legacy Story?
A story of an experience that changed you (or your perspective) which will be a benefit for other people to experience/hear. The experience created a “change” which altered the pattern of life enough to send you off seeking in a different direction. An “Awakening” which led to a “Knowing” or a deep “Remembering” regarding your connection to the Divine Spirit. (This often makes you know that you are so much bigger than your 3 dimensional life allows you to mentally know or understand…)

Practice sharing your story. Get feedback. Answer questions which are raised. Become as clear as your thoughts and words will allow. (Add color, and depth, and sound, and feeling to your attempt at sharing your story.) You can not do FULL justice to recounting your Feelings, but you offer yourself as you retell this story and subconsciously communicate a more complete scope of your awareness awakening experience.

Thank you in advance for your efforts of sharing your wisdom!

PLEASE Consider, sharing your story and getting it recorded for our library so it will be available for other people and perhaps, especially, for the younger generations. (Some of our interviews can be found on YouTube in the Masters of the Journey channel…)
Or, contact me through email at mason@dstress.com if you have a compelling story to share.

Thanks for your time and consideration. Your insights and experiences are unique and a blessing, so please share these…

If you are READY and looking for a supportive community where you can share your story, your wisdom, and grow spiritually in a non-religious environment, consider Masters of the Journey.
You are a Blessing! You are a Master! Your wisdom from your life experience can have great value to other pilgrims on the path toward awakening and enlightenment.

The Masters of the Journey has events which are updated on our Facebook page which is found at: www.facebook.com/mastersofthejourney Please comment on this blog and share, if appropriate. More of our blogs are based on spiritual consciousness and can be found at www.dstress.com/blog

“Unconditional Love” The Divine’s Undefinable Blessing!

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Have You ever experienced “Unconditional Love?” Perhaps you have had an experience in “knowing” or “remembering” the Divine Spirits’ essential Love. It is a “feeling” not a thought. It is impossible to define in our 3 dimensional world and language. Like the human act and feeling of Love, it defies definition. As an exercise in frustration, can you define a simple feeling like the smell of a fragrant rose or the taste of an exquisite food? Perhaps you can say what it is NOT. Or, you can compare it to something we have in common but the nuances of this unique sensation do not lend themselves to the world of descriptive words.

More difficult is a sensation that does not reside in our 3 dimensional human world like Divine Unconditional Love. So, I share a story. When I was 19 years old in my second year at UCLA, I participated in a weekend workshop. Our larger group divided into 5 or 6 smaller groups to discuss various topics. I selected the group discussing Death and Dying. Kubler-Ross’s book “On Death and Dying” had been released and the group leader had read this book. He decided that the group would have an “experience” in the form of a guided visualization to “explore” Death and Dying. I had never really thought about this. I was innocent and Naive in this area so I had few pre-conceptions and no anxiety. I was asked to relax and to step out of my body to go to discover what Death was all about. So, I did what I was told. I assumed everyone would be doing this and it seemed easy for me, at that time. I drifted up and away from my body and traveled out into the Universe. Finally, I got to what I perceived to be “half way to Death” and before me was a dark horizon. My understanding at the time seemed to be that on the other side of this horizon was Death. It seemed warm and inviting. I was attracted to it and peaceful. It was comforting. My perception included these words: I was enveloped in warmth, unconditional love and acceptance. I was free of constraints like time and space. I was “connected” to all other souls and things. I had access to all of universal wisdom.

No Big Deal! After all, everyone in the room with me was experiencing the same thing on their out of body experience, I thought. It was so inviting, I did NOT want to go back. Non-verbally, it was explained that I had to go back. I refused and resisted. I was told that I was not done doing what I had come to do so I had to go back. Grudgingly, I returned but not before I was told that I could/would come back when my time was correct to return. Knowing that I would be allowed to return, in time, I went back and got into my body. Words are inadequate to truly communicate what I had experienced but I was young and dumb so this did not seem to matter to me, at the time. This experienced was difficult to integrate but the main concept was that Death was NOT scary or the enemy. It was something we would all experience when we transitioned out of our current incarnations.

When the “guided visualization” was complete the guy in the front of the room asked if anyone had an experience. I waited because I was one of the youngest people in the room. No one raised their hand to share so I raised my hand and told my story. No big deal. I thought everyone had gone where I went… The guy in the front of room got really excited. His eyes got wide! He started jumping up and down in excitement and THEN I realized that I had had a profound experience. A life changing experience. My innocence and naivety were dissolved. I had a story to tell and to share! BUT, words are not adequate. In fact, in the past 50 years, my mind remembers the experience as clearly as it had just happened except for the the profound feeling of Unconditional Love which does NOT translate into my 3 dimensional life. There are no words and the “feeling” which enveloped me is not clear in my focus. Vague but there.

We have feelings like love and these have conditions, you know strings attached, etc. We can not fully define this feeling but “Unconditional Love” is in a league of its own. I KNOW, we all have had this experience (before birth and after we transition from life) but finding integration and definition in our lives is NOT fully possible. YOU will know it when it comes. You will Love it when you feel it. You are a Blessing! You are a Miracle. Your Spirit is Perfect! And, your life has a purpose which can not be understood, fully, as you plod through your life experience. In the Higher Realms, it will make more sense. AND, YOU are Unconditionally Loved!!!

Thanks for your time and consideration. Your insights and experiences are unique and a blessing, so please share these…

If you are READY and looking for a supportive community where you can share your story, your wisdom, and grow spiritually in a non-religious environment, consider Masters of the Journey.
You are a Blessing! You are a Master! Your wisdom from your life experience can have great value to other pilgrims on the path toward awakening and enlightenment.

The Masters of the Journey has events which are updated on our Facebook page which is found at: www.facebook.com/mastersofthejourney Please comment on this blog and share, if appropriate. More of our blogs are based on spiritual consciousness and can be found at www.dstress.com/blog

The Joy in Life’s Challenges

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Have you ever set a difficult challenge for yourself and celebrated when you accomplished your goal? Perhaps you wanted to run a 10K footrace. Or, you wanted to lose 20 lbs. Or, you want to master a piece of music and perform it for an audience. What if you set a very difficult challenge and you did NOT succeed or meet your goal? Was the effort and attempting to push your limits worthwhile and a “stretch” which made this effort worth your time and energy? Testing yourself and attempting to “stretch” your limitations is often the most important learning you can have. Life, yes your life, is full of challenges which can ask you to “stretch” and can feel difficult, even painful. The most painful challenges are often the most satisfying when you can achieve your goal. Even when you fail, you can learn, and grow, a lot.

Living can have its painful lessons. We can find the lessons useful and these can broaden our confidence or experience, at the very least. The challenge is to find “Joy” in each experience, even the most difficult. Life is about taking risks and “Stretching” ourselves. Safely sitting on the couch doing familiar activities does not create the learning experiences which can move us forward. When we learn and “grow” we have more to share and stories which, when shared, makes our lives more interesting. Sure, the successes may be more fun to retell but the difficult experiences can have great, if not greater, value to our witnesses. (Perhaps of what NOT to do…)

Everyday is a miracle! You can wake up in a mundane life and have the possibility of stretching yourself and having a most unusual experience or learning opportunity. Look for the Joy in each day, each moment, each interaction so you can celebrate at the end of your day and bask in these treasures at the end of this life. No regrets, live each day…

Pain is something that happens in living. Your “suffering” is optional and your creation. You CAN make the best of any, and every, difficult situation. You can find the Joy in each experience and celebrate the learning and growth you can find in life’s experiences, particularly in life’s challenges. One personal example, after 19 years of marriage, my wife, and my life’s partner, was diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer. Though I would NOT wish this on anyone, our experience for 8.5 years made us closer and taught me so many important lessons that I cherish these days. It had traumatic moments and incredibly loving moments. The experience made us closer. When my wife finally transitioned from our life together, I discovered a void that I could not have ever known before and learned valuable information which I share when the situation presents itself. My ability to serve has increased tremendously.

I challenge YOU to find the Joy in each experience you are lucky enough to experience. Ask each experience and each interaction, what have I come here to learn and how can I be of service to others from the message I have received?

You are a Miracle! You are a Unique Blessing! Thank you for being you and traveling this path to higher consciousness!

If you are READY and looking for a supportive community where you can share your story, your wisdom, and grow spiritually in a non-religious environment, consider Masters of the Journey.
You are a Blessing! You are a Master! Your wisdom from your life experience can have great value to other pilgrims on the path toward awakening and enlightenment.

The Masters of the Journey has events which are updated on our Facebook page which is found at: www.facebook.com/mastersofthejourney Please comment on this blog and share, if appropriate. More of our blogs are based on spiritual consciousness and can be found at www.dstress.com/blog

Special Relationships vs the Holy Relationship

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If you were born a human being, you were born to have relationships. You required the support, hopefully the Love, of parents, supporters, and caregivers because you could not survive on your own when you were first born. We learn the good, and the bad, about human relationships in our early years. We grow up striving for “ideal” (and so impossible) “perfect” relationships. Many people, including myself, believe, or have believed, that we can not be “whole” unless we can be defined within a relationship. Hopefully, a “healthy” relationship. We strive for great, supportive friends. We look for healthy supportive family members. We attempt to build healthy, supportive communities to join and participate within. (We can often face the disappointment in the imperfect relationships we “settle” into.)

Eventually, we may come to know that “Healthy” relationships with a partner, family, and friends may hold disappointment or at least, some level of incompleteness. In the study of the Course of Miracles (a professed dictation from Jesus,) these Earthly relationships may be referred to as “Special Relationships.” Our minds and our Egos get caught up in believing that these are worth striving for and without the “perfect” special relationships, we can not find happiness or even “safety.” “The Course” goes on the state that the only “true” relationship is the “Holy Relationship” with the Divine Spirit. We may eventually unlearn the “need” for human attachments and replace this with the connection with the Divine Spirit.

Some highly conscious people might say that “Enlightenment” is the understanding and celebration of your “Holy Relationship” with the Divine. I do not believe that this means we do not honor and celebrate imperfect human relationships, communities, and support. We require human interaction to learn our lessons. We also must be in these relationships to share our stories and to serve our fellow human contacts. We can not learn or grow without the “dramas” which play out as we interact with our fellow pilgrims. The love, the loss, and all the “intimate” interactions we have with the people who surround us are the challenges we have in this life to test out how far we have come in our spiritual evolution.

Where would we be without “sharing” a laugh or tears? Where would we be without making love and possibly risking getting “our hearts broken?” If we take responsibility for our lives, and our deaths, we need to love, and to face loss. We need to assist family to learn and to grow. We need to support and hug friends. One profound series of learnings for me has come from my long relationship with my wife. We had about 30 years together to raise a family and live through the trials of human family relationships. Her terminal diagnosis and the 8.5 years of experiencing cancer taught me many lessons. It made us closer. Her “transition” created a large hole in my life and this has been one of the most important learning experiences of my life… I would not wish this experience on anyone else but I would not trade this experience or the lessons or the memories for anything. Even through the “pain,” I appreciate the gift of my guidance moving my life through these moments and know the value I can share from these challenges. (My story is NOT unique but my lessons were unique and special for me and my development.)

In the study of Mindfulness, we come to learn certain principles which hold truth regarding human relationships. We might work to find Equanimity and know the Impermanence of Human relationships. In so doing we learn to appreciate, without being sucked into, the dramas experienced in interactions. We might find the truth that nothing in our world, and so relationships, are permanent and “ever lasting.” The only permanent thing in our Universe is the unconditional Love which pulses within us from the connection we have with the Divine Spirit. When you remember or “know” this imbedded wisdom you will know your “enlightenment” and your place in the higher consciousness termed (by me) the Divine Spirit.

You are a Miracle! You are a Unique Blessing! Thank you for being you and traveling this path to higher consciousness!

If you are READY and looking for a supportive community where you can share your story, your wisdom, and grow spiritually in a non-religious environment, consider Masters of the Journey.
You are a Blessing! You are a Master! Your wisdom from your life experience can have great value to other pilgrims on the path toward awakening and enlightenment.

The Masters of the Journey has events which are updated on our Facebook page which is found at: www.facebook.com/mastersofthejourney Please comment on this blog and share, if appropriate. More of our blogs are based on spiritual consciousness and can be found at www.dstress.com/blog

What Good Comes from Tragedy? Your Perspective and Experience

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Have you ever experienced a Tragedy? Of course you have. Whether a personal tragedy or one you were challenged by as a person in our culture, you have. It is common to be sad, upset, angry, frustrated, emotional, confused, or in denial AND you have been emotionally impacted. A terminal illness and death of a younger friend has triggered the memory for me of the terminal diagnosis given to my wife 15 years ago. We were confused, upset, angry because it was not fair! My wife did not deserve this diagnosis. She had so much to live for. She had lived a “healthy” lifestyle. She was a “good person” dealt a “BAD” hand… She tried everything to alter the outcome and was able to out live the prognosis by a lot however, she did not survive. This difficult challenge brought my wife and I closer together as a team. She learn to trust me in ways impossible prior to this illness. We shared experiences that no couple should have to experience. AND, we learned so much. 6 plus years since her transition from this life, I am left to reflect on what has happened to my wife and to our lives and how I can use this difficult learning.

For a moment, resist the welling emotion you are feeling. Perhaps the feeling of sadness or your fear generated upset. Though I would NOT wish this situation on anyone, or any couple, or any family, or any community of friends, I will say that this was such an important learning challenge for ALL of us that I would find it difficult to wish life had turned out different. I miss my life partner and lover of 28 years… There has been a huge void in my being but I have also known the great gift learned from this tragedy.

I am not alone in having a tragic event in my life. We have all lost friends or family members or relationships or careers or homes… We have all faced these tragedies with a range of emotions AND we have all learned from these experiences. Now realize, that from these tragedies you are a changed person AND you have to now share the knowledge or wisdom you have gained from these difficult events. You can wallow in your grief. You are entitled to a period of adjustment. You must tend to your emotional scars. BUT, you must learn, adjust, and move on into the next phase of your life. Perhaps, you will need to be a mentor or a guide to someone else who is experiencing a similar tragedy or loss. By telling your “story” you offer perspective, information, and support for the witness and YOU benefit from getting greater clarity in the act of sharing this experience. You can be a beacon of light guiding others through a dark time. Remember, we learn more from the “dark” times than we do basking in the light of happiness. This is sad but true. Your perspective and experience can be of service to the community and to the world. Consider this a value for the price you have paid by surviving and learning from your tragedy.

YOU are a Master who has been forged out of the depths difficulties to serve other pilgrims you meet along your path through life… You are a Blessing! Your Gift to the World is YOU!

Are you ready to step up and be the beacon? You can do this in a silent vigil or shouting out to the crowd. As a survivor of a tragedy, you must tell your story. Just as NDE (Near Death Experience) survivors return to re-integrate back into their bodies and their lives with the Purpose to share their experience of the overwhelming Grace from the other side of the “veil,” YOU are returned from the depths to share your story and guide others through their challenging experience.

Thank you in advance for your sharing your story. Consider, if appropriate, sharing this blog with people who are struggling with tragedy.

If you are READY and looking for a supportive community where you can share your story, your wisdom, and grow spiritually in a non-religious environment, consider Masters of the Journey.
You are a Blessing! You are a Master! Your wisdom from your life experience can have great value to other pilgrims on the path toward awakening and enlightenment.

The Masters of the Journey has events which are updated on our Facebook page which is found at: www.facebook.com/mastersofthejourney Please comment on this blog and share, if appropriate. More of our blogs are based on spiritual consciousness and can be found at www.dstress.com/blog

When Will YOU Awaken?

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When will you have an Awakening experience so you can follow your Spiritual Path?

First, what does “Awakening” to follow your Spiritual Path mean? Many people have a “moment” of “awakening” or a spiritual epiphany. This may be an experience where, in an instant, you have an insight into what the “State of Grace” really means. A feeling of Universal connection, “Oneness,” Unconditional Love, Universal Wisdom, Freedom from Time and the three dimensional world we have incarnated into. Maybe we remember God, or Jesus, or Buddha, or the Divine Spirit, or whatever it is that you know and remember as the highest consciousness. Many spiritual teachers will tell you that this requires years of devotion and careful contemplation to achieve. I am not sure that this takes a long time. For many people, this “spiritual awakening” takes but an instant! Your path to “Enlightenment” is yours to travel AND travel there you must!

So, when will it be… for YOU?

Will it happen during a NDE (Near Death Experience?)
You can read many books and articles about this type of “Awakening” and “Remembering.” (I say “Remembering” because when achieved, it is familiar and we realize that we have been there before. It may be the feeling we have when we are between lives AND the feeling that we are working to “remember” in this current lifetime. No matter what your experience, whether you believe me or not, this spiritual wisdom and “knowing” is already within you. You are learning how to recall your connection with the Divine!)

Will your “Enlightenment” or “Spiritual Awakening” be triggered by:
an illness or accident?
or
By the loss of a loved one (and your experience in Death, Dying, Grief and Loss?)
or
By Your Midlife Crisis? (Female or Male Menopause) WHEN, you realize that your goals and plans are not enough. You have to do or be something more. Perhaps, you have yet to finish your search for your “Purpose” in this life!
or
An Epiphany from a Meditation, a Dream, a Spiritual Practice?
or
A drug related experience? (Which shakes you out of your belief and your current “reality.”)
or
A Breathing Technique or Vision Quest?
or
A religious practice?
or
A trauma or a nightmare?
or
The birth of a child?
or
An experience of “Guidance” or other worldly “Protection” (when you were steered in a more positive direction)
Or…???

Yes, what will be your experience which triggers your remembering your connection to the Divine Spirit!

Will this manifest as a single moment in your life or as a series of moments (and experiences?)

Will it be a Clear Message or a vague, to be discovered, feeling or thought?

Will it cause a Dramatic Shift in your life (and way of being in the world) or a slower unfoldment?

Will this come to You alone or in a group?

Who will you tell or share this “Awakening” with?

Will it change your relationships? (Perhaps to be more loving or accepting?)

Is it triggered by being “Old” and/or infirmed? (BUT, young people, even children, can experience this State of Grace!)

Is this experience Dramatic or Subtle? Is it soft and quiet or loud or colorful or Black and White (or even Gray?)

Is this Spiritual awakening taking place in a natural surrounding or in a more mundane environment like your home or a building?

Are you with other people or alone?

Are you in a state of Fear/Anxiety or “Grounded” by a Meditation?

Do you feel like you have drifted out of your body to a higher realm? Do you find this in your heart & soul?

Does this trigger a feeling of “Acceptance” or a violent flight/fight emotion?

Is this happening to you in the: morning or afternoon or at twilight or at night?

Are you in a foreign land or a more familiar (closer to home) place?

Is your insight focused on your physical state or on emotion or thought/mental state or in a spiritual place?

Does your epiphany manifest in feelings of: happiness, joy, confusion, fear, or the relief which comes from finally “Remembering” your deepest Spiritual Nature?

Many people have these Awakenings and never know how to share these experiences. They may even think that there is something wrong or even “crazy” in feeling these “different” wisdoms… But, we all have these moments and these learnings. We sometimes do not appreciate them at the time of the experience, but these will resurface after some other life experience or conversation trigger the remembering… An experience which I had early in my life became an epiphany which has shaped my life is a story available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/bjQuoEK-2SE

No matter what, remember that YOU are a blessing and You have a spiritual Master dwelling within your soul.

If you would like support and a community to share your story of awakening and spiritual development, consider the Masters of the Journey as a place to connect with fellow travelers on the path toward remembering the Divine Spirit within each of us.

The Masters of the Journey has events which are updated on our Facebook page which is found at: www.facebook.com/mastersofthejourney Please comment on this blog and share, if appropriate. More of our blogs are based on spiritual consciousness and can be found at www.dstress.com/blog

Even Random Cats Need Community

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Needing Community! People who are struggling with living life as a means to developing in consciousness and wisdom, may appear different than people who have their heads down and move less vigilantly through life. If you do not “Fit in” with our “normal” cultural experience then maybe you need Masters of the Journey: A Transformational Community.

The concept of “herding cats” comes to my mind when I think of consciousness “seekers” running in every direction for the sake of a life experience which is “out of the normal” range. I sense that the expression, “herding cats,” implies that cats are more difficult to train and seem very independent of what others may “expect” of them. With this said, random cats still require some social connections and the support of larger community. People who may not fit neatly into conventional religious communities still need to “Connect.” “No man is an Island,” suggests that we are all in need of connection. (Written by John Donne in 1624 the full passage includes:

‘No Man is an Island’

No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man’s death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

Some fairly famous quotes come from this writing. My appreciation of these words seem to say for me, that people need to understand their need for interpersonal connection to other people to live in a balanced life. And, that we are all interconnected, so if you see others in struggle this is not a distant event. It is YOUR issue because we are all related. We are ALL connected. (I believe that our main purpose is to support our fellow pilgrims as we all move, ever so slowly, toward higher consciousness AND the remembering of our Divine Perfection.)

So all random Cats need connection and community. Yes, even YOU!

Please consider searching out and finding the community which can support you and your lessons. Then find the best way to connect, within your own ability, to this “tribe.” You are a blessing and you deserve the healthiest support. If your search does not easily find a suitable/appropriate group of like minded “seekers,” consider the Masters of the Journey.

Please take good care of yourself (and look around for any other “random cats” who may be searching for support.)

The Masters of the Journey has events which are updated on our Facebook page which is found at: www.facebook.com/mastersofthejourney Please comment on this blog and share, if appropriate. More of our blogs are based on spiritual consciousness and can be found at www.dstress.com/blog