I have found a truth.

I’ve been MIA for a few days, mostly because the week was quite busy. My husband has been off work this week, so it’s taken away a bit of my writing time, and meditating time. I’ll get back into the groove of writing, meditating and doing readings next week. In the meantime, I thought I’d pop in here because I read another good meditation in Holy Shift and I thought, hey, that might be a good launch for a blog post about grace and fear.

I liked the quote on grace I found by William Hazlitt. A state of grace really is achieved living from a soul level and outwardly projecting your higher self rather than your physical self. Approach others with love and curiosity rather than judgement and blame. When we are at one with our should, we are harmonious and we can roll with he punches. We can accept that everything that happens to us, happens in accordance with the will of the Universe. We are better equipped to see the big picture rather than the miniscule details. In living this way, we can separate ourselves from the fear based world that we inhabit.

Today’s quote from Holy Shift is this:

Grace is acceptance
of the love of God within
a world of seeming
hate and fear.

By grace alone
the hate and fear are gone
for grace presents a state so opposite
to everything the world contains,
that those whose minds are lighted
by the gift of grace can not
believe the world of fear is real.

Workbook p 1. Lesson 169 2:1-2

While it’s not putting on rose coloured glasses and sticking your head in the sand, living in a state of grace is about having faith, and choosing to see the illusion that is the physical world we inhabit. I think that Kahlil Gibran says it well in The Prophet:

Say not, “I have found the truth”, but rather, “I have found a truth.”

Say not, “I have found the path of the soul.” Say rather, “I have met the soul walking upon my path.”

For the soul walks upon all paths.

The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.

The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals.

The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran P. 76

The soul is complex and walks upon all paths. We get to determine our own reality and accept our own truth. Whatever it is that you regard as “truth” shapes your life experience. Project the harmony of your soul into the world. You’ll receive abundance, peace and harmony and put all things into perspective.

Card of the Day: Remember Who You are

  
It’s easy to forget that in this world we are spirits having a human experience. We often get caught up in things which don’t matter. 

When you remember that you are an eternal, divine being and that you are wise, the little things won’t matter so much. You’ll remember that we are not finite, but have been here many times and likely will come back again to live many more lifetimes to continue learning and contributing to the collective consciousness. 

Don’t forget that the body is just a temporary home for your eternal soul. Remember who you are. 

Walking in Beauty

  
Today’s card of the day is from Denise Linn’s Native Spirit deck. Today’s card is walking in beauty.

This card is about embracing your own beauty. Often in the culture that we live in, only negative body stereotypes are reinforced, especially for women. We are quick to forget that we are beautiful as we are in this moment. We are held to an unattainable standard which traps most of us in feelings of despair and unworthiness.

I actually have a good example of this. Today, a mechanic came into my office and told me that I was looking good. Instead of graciously accepting a complement and saying thank you, I looked at him somewhat quizzically. He asked me if I was doing my make up differently. I said that I did and then thanked him for the compliment. I guess I’m just not used to receiving compliments. 

I mentioned the mechanics comment to someone and she told me she knew I was beautiful all along and that she was surprised that people didn’t tell me more often. I thought that that was really nice. We’re so wrapped up in everything else, that we forget to acknowledge our own beauty as we are in this moment. And, what I thought was especially scary, is that when someone paid me a compliment I was quick to jump on the defensive, rather than to simply thank the person. That tells me that I am affected by these societal pressures to look and act a certain way. 

I’m not made of stone, but I do consider myself fairly self-aware and empowered and I love myself. I’m not waiting to lose 20 pounds to be happy.  I’m not waiting to fit into size 8 jeans.  That does not fulfill me. I fulfill myself by being who I am and impressing myself; not others. 

The more time we take to an acknowledge our own beauty, or to beautify the space around us, maybe with a vase of pretty flowers, the more beauty we draw to ourselves.

I actually had another coworker a few months ago ask me what I was doing differently because she said I was looking better and better every day. I stated that I run 20 km a week and that I’ve been practising meditation often. I guess that is making a difference in my appearance. 

Take some time while you are running around the world doing your daily chores to acknowledge and appreciate the beauty that surrounds us in nature. See the trees as your respiratory system and the rivers as your circulatory system and acknowlwdge the interconnectedness of all things. 

We are all beautiful. 

We are all individual. 

We are all eternal.

 We are all divine.  

We are all powerful.