Learning the Truth About You!

We are born as innocents, knowing only love and joy. Up until the age of 5 or 6, you were like a little sponge, watching, learning, coming to conclusions about the way the world functioned, and your place in it. You knew nothing about anything, so you instinctively and automatically looked to the "grown ups" in your life for instruction. You observed the way they acted, listened to the things they said, watched the way they interacted with each other. And likely you modeled yourself and your actions on them, as it was the only way you knew to do it. The problem with this method of learning is that our parents, siblings, and the other "grown ups" in our lives were humans, and therefore less than perfect examples. (In some cases, far less than perfect!)

In this same way your beliefs about yourself, your worth and value were born of your experiences with these same people, and the messages they gave you, both spoken and, by how they treated you, unspoken. But again, being flawed by nature, they made mistakes. They have their own fears, their own negative beliefs about themselves too. It's likely they love you very much in their own way, and did the best they knew how at the time. Parenting is one of the most important responsibilities in life, but unfortunately there is no hand book or training class! Chances are their behavior towards you was based, for better or worse, on how their parents, siblings, and families treated them, and so it goes, on and on. In this way, while growing up chances are you may have had experiences that taught you, directly or indirectly that you are "bad" or "not good enough" in some way. Know that this is universal among humans! Most of us have some degree of "I'm not good enough" and/or "I'm not worthy" in our belief system. Once this is ingrained in us this belief then transforms into "I don't deserve anything good" and/or "I don't deserve to be loved".

So the image you hold of yourself, your value in the world, your worthiness of being loved is likely very flawed, and possibly extremely flawed. Know that those decisions and conclusions you reached by age 5 or 6 are likely incorrect, and could be based on information that was completely misinterpreted by your child's innocent mind and limited experience. No matter what you may have been taught to believe, you are a good person, you have value and deserve to be loved and respected. It's important to understand this, and to really integrate it into your thinking because it colors how you see everything.

Here is the truth:

You are a "God-spark", a star-bright being of pure light and divine love. Spirit created you in it's own divine image therefore you are divine! You came to this earthly dimension as Spirit, incarnated as a human being wearing a temporary suit made of flesh in order to experience the world of the physical senses. (I love director Ron Howard's image above, from the movie "Cocoon" as a great illustration of who we really are!) If you watch any baby or small child under the age of 4, you can see that they are pure love and spontaneous delight in the world around them. Babies and young children are so pure, saying exactly what they are feeling and thinking with no filters, and filled with love and joy. When you were a child there was no such thing as a "stranger", you loved everyone and everything! You had to be taught to be cautious, to be afraid. Fear is learned, it is not our true nature. 

You are not your body. You are not even your mind, or your thoughts, or feelings. You are the one inside this body, looking out through these eyes. You are the one observing your thoughts passing through your mind, like clouds floating across a blue sky. "You" are your soul, the "higher self", the part of you that remains the same as it was the day you were born, a being of pure light, love, and joy.

Once you fully understand and integrate this concept into your core thinking, you will become aware of the areas where your old self-limiting beliefs conflict with the truth. The secret to real peace and happiness is "unlearning" these deeply ingrained beliefs, uncovering them for what they truly are, mis-perceptions that your EGO-centric child's mind created, and mistook for "truth". We must uncover and heal those old wounds that taught us to think falsely about our divine, brilliant selves. We have learned to be afraid, and in doing so were separated from love. All our misery stems from this, our challenge in this life is to un-learn it. Our challenge is to leave the state of fear, and return to a state of love.

Sending love from my divine, light-filled being to yours!

https://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=tn_tnmn#!/TheSpiritualGirlsGuideToLoveAndTheUniverse 


 

Your Life is Not About You

Your life is not actually about you. It's about the lives you touch, the energy you put out. There's a ripple effect that reaches far beyond what you can see. I believe we come into this world with a divine purpose, or a "soul-assignment" for this particular life-class. The way to determine your soul-assignment is to pay attention to what brings you joy, to your daydreams, to that small voice inside that guides you. If you choose to listen and follow, life flows more easily, doors swing open, miracles happen. If we choose to not listen and to turn away life is harder, filled with challenges and difficulties. When things get hard you are either learning a valuable lesson that is to prepare you for bigger things to come, or you've gotten "off track" somehow and the Universe is trying to guide you back. If you stray and get lost, the Universe acts like a giant sheep-dog, bumping and blocking you, trying to herd you back onto your path! It's constructed to help you become the highest version of yourself and supports you in every way when you move in that direction.

 When you are taking steps towards your divine purpose, "following your bliss", not only will your life unfold more smoothly but your actions will automatically have a positive effect on everyone around you. The closer the person, the more positive and powerful the effect will be. By choosing to walk your path you will be directly or indirectly assisting and inspiring them to find their own divine destiny, helping them to walk their path.

We are all in this together, all joined, all One. Whatever you put out ripples far away through the hearts of others, and eventually comes back to you magnified. Follow your divine purpose, walk in love, and live in peace and joy all of your days.

Namaste'

The Power of A Circle

A circle is a powerful thing. An unbroken line with no beginning, no end, going on and on within itself for infinity. The old ones knew this, as evidenced by the remains of ancient stone circles all over the British Isles. It cannot be known for certain what these circles were used for, but theory suggests they were the sites of rituals: welcoming and celebrating the changing seasons, marking births and deaths. All part of the cycles of life, all never-ending circles. These same cultures knew the power of women, which is why the male-dominated religions, especially Christianity, banned these types of gatherings in the early days of the church. But women need to gather together. We are the keepers of the emotional flames of life and love. We have a deep-seated need to share our joys, our pain, our knowledge, and our hard-won wisdom, to pass it down to those to come after us. In today's world, we no longer meet by the river to wash our clothes, or gather together to spin and weave, so we have grown apart and our collective power diminished. But I believe the need to gather and to share still exists deep within us, and it is up to us to find new ways to satisfy these ancient longings.

I attended my first "women's circle" yesterday, a wonderful event titled "Women, Intuition, and Relationships." It was led and organized by two beautiful (both physically, and spiritually) and amazing women, Nancy Kerner and Anne Valeron. I felt the radiance of their beings, so much love, as they mirrored and reflected my own light back to me. Over and over again through the day Spirit affirmed to me the things already known to my soul, but doubted by my rational mind. I was reminded that I have the power of deep knowing, as my Celtic ancestors did, it is only my modern-day mind, my ego that refutes. Spending a day in that incredible environment, I was filled to over-flowing with love and inspiration, and emerged feeling empowered to step into my highest truth, and to fulfill my highest purpose and destiny.

The power of a circle is that a space is created to be filled. Yesterday Spirit filled that circle and created the environment for many miracles, both large and small to take place. It was such a powerful, fantastic experience to stand and to share in the incredible space that was held by love. Love in it's purest form is POWER, it is MAGIC. Women know this in our hearts. There is no question in my mind that everyone who participated yesterday was transformed, possibly even more than we are presently aware, after spending time in that magical circle.

Much love and light to all the powerful women out there!

For information on having your own amazing circle, please see http://nancykerner.com/home/

Developing Your Intuitive Powers

I have read the Tarot for people for many years, but recently my readings have become more like spiritual counseling sessions, with the cards acting as indicators for where the client's blocks and issues lie. So in addition to information about the future, they are receiving practical advice on how to prepare for what is coming, and how to achieve their heart's desires. It's been such a joy to be able to be of service this way! (For more information on my readings, please see my FB page "Hokulani Spiritual Alignments" and click "about", on the upper left side. https://www.facebook.com/HokulaniTarot?ref=hl)

 Recently I was speaking with a client who talked about her own intuitive powers, and that she would like to know how to develop them further. I believe that we all have intuitive or "psychic" powers. I believe that there was a time in the history of man that we used those powers, or the "sixth sense" just like we currently use the other five. But somewhere along the line, as we came out of the wild and into "civilization" we began to lose touch with that integral part of ourselves. If you look at ancient cultures that still survive in some form today, such as the Native Americans, Polynesians, Celts etc. you find that they still very much believe in a world beyond the physical and have their own ways of being in touch with it. It's a very natural part of their culture.

I think what we call "intuition" is actually the voice of our higher self, or soul, that part of us that is eternal, and as such remembers and knows all things since the beginning of time. It is the "God-spark", that piece of the divine that exists in all of us, and as such is all-knowing, and all-powerful. (See Dr. Wayne Dyer's book "Wishes Fulfilled" for an excellent treatment of this concept.) So if you wish to develop your intuitive connection further, you simply must learn to pay closer attention to this part of yourself. It's always present, but you have likely been ignoring it for so long, you may have to really listen to find it.

Here are the techniques that have helped me to deepen my awareness:

1. Make note of Divine synchronicities. To begin learning to be in tune with your intuition or your higher self, start by paying attention to the little coincidences in your everyday life. When you have a "feeling" and it turns out to be right, or you suddenly think of someone you haven't spoken to in a long time, and then the phone rings and they are on the line. Begin observing these "divine synchronicities", and start to write them down. Making entries in your journal is a perfect way to record your "intuitive hits". The more you notice and document them, the more often they will happen. By becoming more conscious of the occurrences, you are exercising and strengthening your intuitive muscle. By collecting "evidence" that you are able to know things intuitively, you are building a sense of trust in that inner voice.

2. Make time on a regular basis to connect to Spirit. Which is the same thing as connecting to your higher self. Meditation, prayer, sitting quietly in nature, whatever makes you feel connected to your higher power, and thus your soul. By doing this on a regular basis, you are opening the "channel" to allow the information to flow.

3. Make the mind/body/spirit connection. I've found that taking proper care of my body is an important part of cultivating my internal spiritual guidance system. By eating "clean", mostly healthy, organic fruits and vegetables, and eliminating sugar, caffeine and alcohol, I am able to drop into meditation much more quickly and easily, and I am able to "hear" the voice of my inner guide much more clearly.  

4. Buy some kind of intuitive card deck. The Tarot is not easy to learn and according to legend, if you are "meant" to read the Tarot, the cards will find their way to you. But there are many wonderful, more simple cards out there now that are usually accompanied by a book that helps translate the meanings. I began with "Rune cards" based on the old Nordic Runes, and my readings (only for myself) were simple, usually either a single card or sometimes 3 cards, for showing the "past, present, future" of a situation. There are angel and archangel cards, Native American spirit guide cards, Goddess cards, etc. The best thing to do is go to a store where they are sold and see which ones you feel drawn to, then take them home and play with them. This is a great way to continue learning and strengthening your abilities.

5. Learn to trust your inner voice. While following these steps you will learn which voice is your intuition, and which is your so-called "rational" mind. When I first began to pay attention to my sense of "knowing", my rational voice would immediately try to over-ride anything my intuition would tell me by shouting "You can't know that!" and "Don't be ridiculous! That's crazy!" Observe this for a while, and then as you start to see that your intuition is ALWAYS right, you can start to say to the rational voice "OK, thanks for your input, now SIT DOWN!"

6. Pay attention to dreams. Particularly very vivid dreams that seem "different" than your usual ones. These are strong messages from your higher self, via your subconscious. I think often this is the way our soul chooses to communicate with us in the beginning, because it is somewhat more acceptable to the rational mind. Immediately upon waking try to remember what you dreamt about, before it slips away. If you are not sure about the meaning, try journaling about it, and start with "The message of this dream was______." Your higher self will help you to fill in the blanks.

7. Watch for signs. I believe signs from Spirit/God/The Universe/Source are all around us. We must open our eyes to them in order to receive. I find heart-shaped things everywhere I go, leafs, clouds, rocks, even spray-painted on the side-walk. Each one serves as a message to reaffirm my belief that Love is the only thing that is real. (I have devoted a whole post to the subject of signs and their many forms- please click here if you're interested:
http://livelaughloveinla.blogspot.com/2010/02/black-cats-and-seeing-signs.html)

8. Find like-minded people to talk to. It's important while you are growing your confidence in your intuitive powers that you find other people who think the same way, who have similar experiences to compare notes and to share with. The last thing you need is to talk to some "practical, scientific" type who wants to discourage you from trusting yourself. These people are usually quite fearful of their own inner voices, and will discount yours as a way of denying their own.

9. Learn to journal. Writing your thoughts and feelings down in a private journal, one that you know no one will ever read can be a very therapeutic experience, especially with regards to developing your psychic abilities. Unusual things that occur, and even our thoughts, are not "real" until we either tell someone else, or write it down. Journaling at it's best can be an on-going conversation with our higher self, and with Spirit. If you have never journaled, or need fresh inspiration to get you going, please check out Charlene Geiss, a fantastic diarist and journaling teacher, as well as her book:
http://www.charlenegeiss.com/index.php/book-shop.html

10. Read books about intuition and other's experiences with it. Understanding how other people have received information can help you open your own "channel". Here are a couple of good ones:
"Angel Watch- Goosebumps, Signs, Dreams, and Other Divine Nudges" by Catherine Lanigan and "When God Winks at You" by Squire Rushnell.

I truly believe intuition can lead you and guide you, to make decisions, to walk your path, to do the right thing for yourself, and ultimately for everyone whose life you touch. I think we should nurture this voice, encourage it to speak, by carving out some quiet time in our busy lives so we're able to hear it. The bottom line is that we all have these so-called "powers" because we all have souls. It's just a matter of awareness and trust, and those things can be developed!

Much love and light to you on your journey.