Late Summer Sweetness

Posted on August 21, 2020 by admin

It’s getting to be late summer in the Pacific Northwest. As the days are beginning to grow shorter it is also time to find the ripening berries. It is time to pick the ripened raspberries and blackberries. In my life, it is getting to be the late summer and fall of this incarnation for me. It is time to pick The ripened berries of my life. Their sweetness and my wisdom gained from all of my years is now time to share.

I do not look for the future with the optimism of youth. I look much more into the present moment rather than looking into the what is possible and what could be. Though I am aware of lessons learned from my past, I attempt to mitigate the anxiety from most past trauma in ways to see the present without the filters born from past difficult learnings. I find Gratitude for all the lessons… Past Joys and Sorrows can be equally Blessed.

These days with less judgment, I enjoy the sweetness of my life and of the world that surrounds me. It is a time to reflect on lessons learned, even with sour taste or the bitterness of certain life challenges. It is time to find the joy in working through the lessons that I have experienced and the things that I have accomplished. Not every ripe looking berry picked is sweet. The Joy which can be found in sour life experiences can find sweetness as shared wisdom.

There are times when I have to put my head down and walk into the breeze which my day presents. It is refreshing and yet requires extra effort to weather any storm or any headwind that I may encounter. It is also time for me to share value from my lessons in a way that may save some of the time and energy for the witnesses of these conversations. In sharing, I am acting in service from the perspective of my current incarnation. As a possible guide or beacon, my learnings may light the way and offer perspective to those souls I am lucky enough to connect with.

Without the metaphors, this past Wednesday, August 19th, I celebrated what would have been my 36th wedding anniversary. My bride passed into her next life over 8 years ago but the sweetness and the joy of our lives together still vibrates within me. The difficult lessons We learned, I learned, are ever present and awaiting any appropriate chance to share, with gratitude, my memories and learnings. That is what life masters attempt to offer when appropriate. I no longer need to force my grief on others. I can share when the time is correct for a soul whose life buzzes close to what I encountered. The richness of learning from difficulties can be of service and give me a sense of value… (In sharing I also find perspective and value in my “old” story.)

It is not that I do not care about the future. The future of the world. The future of my children and family. It is that I am not as attached to the outcomes. I am not living with the expectations that the world is going to be easier or better. My lessons have taught me that the struggles have been the most valuable thing in my learning. And it is time to acknowledge that everyone must work through their difficulties as these are the lessons that they have come to learn from in this life.

It has come time to acknowledge that if I were to die today, I would have no regrets. I have found a level of acceptance of myself and of the accomplishments that I have made which allow me to find peace. One of the goals in life is to learn about oneself. To develop deep self knowledge. And to find a way of accepting even the flaws I may find as tools for mastering or changing my life and then living in the most positive ways.

Living your life is a miracle. It is a treasure. But to be too attached or anxious about your life seems to me to be an unwise use of time and energy. Self-love and self acceptance seem so important to me as I near the end of my seventh decade. There are adventures and appreciations in life yet to be AND I honor all that has been presented to me along my way…

You are a Miracle! Thank you for being you.

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

Self-Acceptance

Posted on August 14, 2020 by admin

Self-Confidence & Self-Acceptance

Many of us struggle with confidence and self-acceptance. This may be born from our early learnings in this life or possibly as an inherited trait from our family. Our culture tends to control our behaviors as we grow by magnifying our “flaws” which are judged by our supervising adults and competitive, and insecure, peers. We begin to strive to “fit in” even if this is the antithesis of our individual natures. We can lose ourselves. We can begin to advance our feelings of inadequacy or insecurity. We often feel that we do not fit in and so reduce our levels of self-acceptance.

What we may have to learn or remember is that we are perfect even with our imperfections. Re-learning to love ourselves and to accept ourselves even with our flaws is one of the great learnings of our lives. We have to love ourselves and accept ourselves if we wish to make the changes that we may feel would be appropriate. (If we want to improve our “flaws” we must first embrace these and then experiment with alternative behaviors to change these parts of our human incarnation.) To learn our lessons in this life, we are tested or challenged by our weaknesses or imperfections and we then have the free choice to choose to do things (our lives) differently. We test out new or “better” behaviors. Dealing with our insecurities is one of the lessons that we have.

As a general perspective, if we can’t love ourselves it is very difficult for us to love others and to be most fully present in our lives and to live in service. It seems that one of our goals is to live the dramas and have the struggles of our body’s imperfections in our own mortal lives. We learn our lessons through this struggle as we move through these dramas and hopefully find that Joy is the great beauty in our struggles with our imperfections. (Yes, maybe even learn to laugh at ourselves and our foibles.)

As we said in the most recent blog, we’ve created mountains between us and other people. We have also created a mountain between ourselves and the acceptance and self-love of ourselves. Do you realize that you are a miracle and that you as a soul are a unique fingerprint? You are unique like a snowflake. You are a perfect and necessary part of the Divine and the Universe cannot exist without the wisdom and energy of your soul and spirit. It is with your uniqueness, as a miracle, that you must find the acceptance and then the self-love of who you are, where you’re going, and your purpose. You are a blessing.

Other people may judge you as less than who you really are. That is their drama. That is their lesson and you have to respond to that by knowing that you are much more perfect than they might know or imagine. Other people’s judgment and expectations are not under your control. You can not argue with them. This is a test for you to hold true to who you are and know the strength of your self-love and acceptance. Be the role model of self-knowledge and self-acceptance. Show your confidence and strength in your strong posture of self-acceptance!

Your self-confidence and self-acceptance are born out of self-knowledge. Know your strengths and weaknesses and accept both. Do not use personal flaws as an excuse. Find a way to accept and change any identified flaws if you feel this is a necessary goal in this life.

You are a Miracle! Thank you for being you.

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

Spiritual Self-Acceptance

Posted on July 22, 2019 by admin

Spiritual Self-Acceptance has come up again. For me, this resurfaced when my mentor Brother Bob Trask spoke about the Power of Acceptance. It seems that it is difficult to find Acceptance of others without knowing yourself and finding the highest levels of self-acceptance. It is not just finding a way to accept some of your minor (or major) flaws of personality or physical features. It is much bigger and more challenging. You must find a way to know and then to accept, your real self. Your real perfection and Divinity.

Before we get to that, I want to tell you a story from my personal “out of the body” experience when I was 19 years old. I was blessed to have had an STE (Spiritually Transformative Experience) when I was guided in a visualization to leave my body and go into the higher realms to discover what our final transition, death, was about. I was innocent and naive so I was able to do what was asked of me by the meditation’s guide. I had no pre-conceptions or resistance or expectations. As I floated up and away, I stopped “half way to death.” Some how I “Knew” I was half way there. There was a dark horizon in front of me and I knew death was over this horizon. I was not concerned or scared. A warmth surrounded and enveloped me. It was the Divine warmth of unconditional love. It was unique, though in some form this is what everyone will experience. Along with love was pure “Acceptance.” I was perfect and loved. There was a calmness, a sense of deep peace, and a feeling of Universal “Connection.” I would never be alone. I was a part of something much greater. I felt freedom with no limitation of time and space. I felt “Joy!” It was perfect and 100% inviting.

I did not want to leave this feeling… EVER! And, I was told I had to return to my body and my life. I refused because I did not want to return to my life. I was told I was not done doing what I had come to do, though they did not tell me what I was supposed to do. I was told I could return, and would return, when it was my time to return. So, I grudgingly returned to my body and my life with no fear of the transition of dying. AND, how does this fit with this blog, you ask? I found out that I AND EVERYBODY ELSE, are Divine Spirits and PERFECT. We all have our unique lessons and purposes. We all have unique personalities but we are all connected and Perfect in our imperfections. We are all perfect holograms of the Divine Spirit manifested in our unique, seemingly imperfect incarnations. Stop me if I am wrong, BUT, this is where YOU doubt me for saying that YOU are Perfect! This is what you must ACCEPT! And, you must also love and accept every being, soul, or spirit you bump into. You must Know, and say, AND MEAN, “Namaste” whenever you gaze into every the eyes of every other pilgrim you meet. We have lessons to share and we must support every other spirit in whatever way we can. Maybe by just loving and accepting these incarnated souls.

AND, you have to START with yourself. You are Perfect! You are a Blessing! You are a Gift to this world and YOU need to take responsibility for your Perfection. You are so much bigger than you allow yourself to know or believe. This is so much easier said than done but no one said this was to be easy! This is your awareness, your challenge, and a major part of your purpose. (And, you have choice! You can choose to do life differently and to live in your Divine self.)

You may not feel ready. It may not be your time to fully awaken to your power and your light. But, you have read these words and your consciousness will NEVER BE THE SAME! You can not go back into the darkness without knowing your acknowledged or unacknowledged Divine Perfection. You can not unsee this Signpost! You are getting closer to your conscious “Enlightenment.” You are a Master and you have your stories to share for the benefit of the “witnesses.” Your time to KNOW your Spiritual Perfection and have Acceptance of your place in the Divine, is now.

Keys to Developing Self-confidence

Posted on June 2, 2015 by admin

Self-confidence is related to feelings of self-worth and self-regard. It suggests that a person has confidence in their abilities and how they present themselves to the world and that these abilities are born out of oneself. People who project self-confidence often find it easier to attract success and to gain support for their endeavors. If you have it, you use it. If you do not have “it,” you may desire it.

The keys to developing self-confidence can come from the inside through self-awareness and self-acceptance or you can learn to project it outwardly and do so until it soaks in to your emotional fiber.

One of the accepted self-confidence practices is the “fake it until you make it” behavior. This behavioral technique asks that you project yourself as a self-confident person would and as your external self demonstrates this attitude, your internal self will begin to adopt this external portrayal. To do this, consider dressing well and enhance your appearance as best you can. Many people require coaching advice on how to do this because it does not always come naturally, and can be done incorrectly. This does not have to be financially expensive but does require some coordinated efforts. Project yourself as confident by having good posture, standing up as straight and as tall as you can. Smile warmly and easily. Give sincere compliments and look for the “GOOD” in other people to build them up and do not dwell in the negative. Avoid gossip and negativity. Walk faster and with intention. Make eye contact. Speak up, do not mumble. You do not have to speak fast or talk just for the sake of talking. (Unnecessary talking can sound desperate.) Learn to really listen and respectfully reflect back the understanding, or lack of understanding, that you may have of your communication partner. (Let them finish. Be patient.) Use a firm handshake when you greet people. Demonstrate your positive excitement about learning new things and about life in general. Look for what is good and do not dwell, too much, on what is missing.

Internal self-confidence takes more effort and time. Your motivation to be self-confident will be tested. But a deep core of self-confidence can last a lifetime. To accomplish the ability to dwell in internal self-confidence begins with a demonstration of self-love and self-care. To do this you must put time and effort into taking good care of yourself. You will benefit from regular exercise and stress management. In fact, it is difficult to hold on to your self-confidence without regular demonstrations of self-care. Deep relaxation can also lead to a type of self-control that allows you to control your fears, anxiety, anger, and sadness. You can minimize the fears and maximize your solid emotional foundation through regular stress management practices. Even when you become self-aware of a possible weakness or flaw in yourself, you will better able accept these as lessons rather than be a victim to any of your imperfections. We ALL HAVE IMPERFECTIONS and we must learn and adapt new ways of “being” to help us move past any of these discovered flaws. This is sometimes easier said than done and counseling or coaching may help expedite your process of moving through the insight of any imperfections. “We are perfect because of our imperfections.”

Focus on your strengths, your gifts, your creativity, and your positive contributions. By dwelling on these, you allow the positive light of self-confidence to begin to burn more brightly from your inside, out. And, though difficult, learn to accept and appreciate any sincere compliments that come your way. Build, brick by brick, the feelings of self-worth and self-regard that come from demonstrations of your positive contributions to your family, friends, work, and to the world. Give gifts of yourself freely and without expectations but maintain healthy boundaries (do not emotionally bankrupt yourself.) Find “positive” people to support you. Negative or desperately needy people will drain you if you do set limits, and honor these limits.

Finally, demonstrate gratitude. Self-confident who are healthy will understand that this is a blessing and will find ways to show how grateful they are for feeling their self-confidence.

For coaching support, consider the Stress Education Center at www.dstress.com and please take GOOD care of yourself.

Basking in the Light of Self-Acceptance

Posted on January 22, 2015 by admin

Can you allow yourself to bask in the light of Self-Love and Self-Acceptance? Can you see and accept both your strengths and your flaws? Can you find a way to break from being a “victim” of your challenges and your lessons?

Life would be easy if the answers to these questions was “Yes.” For most of us, we are in the struggle called “living” and can not find the time and energy to even ask these questions, let alone, develop the answers. These are questions that people have asked and struggled to answer since the first humans had enough consciousness to realize that they were more than just animals attempting to survive in a difficult, dangerous world. The lessons of consciousness that we historically struggle with are often ones like: What is my purpose? or Why am I alive? or Is there a God? or What happens when I die? or How can I find Love? or How can I keep the faith even as the storm of humiliation and disappointment surround me? There are no easy answers… but for each of us the process of discovery along the path to finding these answers is what our lives are all about.

I believe that each one of us is connected to a higher consciousness and our goal in life is to learn from our flaws/challenges so we can get a less filtered view of this pure consciousness. We are trying to connect with the God within us and to bask in the light of unconditional love and consciousness.

At some point, we must acknowledge our imperfections and find a way to accept these challenges as the lessons we have to learn. By accepting these flaws and giving up the “fight against them,” we can free our energy to find a better way to our life’s purpose and our goals. By giving up being a victim to our weaknesses or imperfections, we can invest our time and energy in moving more freely to the light of higher consciousness. Why is it easier to accept other people and their imperfections, than it is to accept our own? Accept and celebrate your flaws, especially if you wish to find a way to move in more positive directions.

Along the way, find and celebrate the God within you. You may be surprised to find how surprisingly familiar this supreme consciousness really is. (For me, God is not a religious term. It is a word that symbolizes unconditional love in the purest form and the highest consciousness that connects all living things.)