Things I'm beginning to understand....

I haven't made an entry here in a while. I've just been too busy living, learning, and growing! Life has been great since I last wrote, great because so much is going on with me, internally and externally. I've been journaling like mad, because for me journaling is an on-going dialogue with my higher self and the way that I process everything that comes up. I finally feel ready to share what's been coming up for me, thinking that possibly these "learnings" might resonate with others out there.

Things I'm beginning to understand....

1. "When you are ready, the teacher will appear." Teachers come in all shapes and forms. When I ask for guidance, it will appear, but I have to be open, awake and aware enough to receive it.

2. We were all born innocent, pure love, light and joy. Interact with any child younger than 5 and you can see this. They are so pure, saying exactly what they are feeling and thinking, no censorship, yet filled with love. We have learned to be afraid, and all our misery stems from this....our challenge in this life is to un-learn it.

3. I have choices in life, and the most important one is my thoughts. I can learn to identify the negative ones and choose to replace them with positive ones. When I do this I am so much happier and more at peace.

4. Daily meditation and prayer is essential for me. By plugging into that higher energy source, I am re-charged and reminded of who I truly am, a being of light, love and joy. Who we ALL truly are, for we are all connected, all One. Like rays of light emanating from the same sun. When I send positive energy and love to you, my brother, my sister, I am sending it to myself as well. When I bless you, I bless myself.

5. What people really want most is to have their light reflected back to them.

6. If you want love, become love.

7. Things actually run much more smoothly in my life if I stop trying to control every detail. I set my intentions, ask for help and guidance, do my part, then trust, let go and leave the rest to Spirit.

8. As I learn that I am not my physical body, it's merely a flesh-suit I've chosen to wear for this period of years, I become much less fixated on it's appearance, especially with regards to the ageing process. I've discovered that the people who are truly able to "see" me, see with their soul not their eyes. And when they look at me, they see my light and my heart, not my lines and wrinkles.

9. Relationships are to be viewed not as opportunities to lose ourselves in someone else, but to find ourselves instead. Relationships are assignments, each one divinely chosen, for what we can help each other to heal and to learn. They hold up a mirror in which we have the chance to see where our wounds are, and to heal them together, in the spirit of love.

10. We spend a lot of time and energy trying to get what we think we need from other people. This is actually a form of abuse! Most of us look outside ourselves, for satisfaction of all our emotional needs. We look to jobs, accomplishments, and our supervisors for validation that we are "good" and "successful" beings. We look to our romantic partners to validate us as "lovable" and "worthy", and to make us feel loved. Particularly in the romantic arena, this is a huge burden to put on another person! How can that person (who is humanly-flawed as well) possibly know what we are feeling and what we need, at every moment of the day? The only person who will always be there for us, 24/7, and who understands our most intimate needs, is ourselves. I've been working hard to learn to satisfy my own emotional needs, and to release my expectations around how others "should" interact with me. I have to say it's been incredibly freeing. It's not easy, by any stretch of the imagination, but it is so rewarding and worth it.

By letting go of the idea that I "need" anything from anyone else, I am setting them free to be exactly who they are, and to give me only what they feel moved to give, not what I think they "should" be giving me, or even more convoluted, what they think they should be giving me! It really opens up relationships to be completely authentic, and based on nothing but love. Through positive affirmations, meditation, and prayer, I am learning to nurture, love, and fulfill my own emotional needs. I am coming to understand that self-love is the key to peace. Once you truly accept and love yourself, you discover that you have an unlimited well-spring of love bubbling up inside you for this is our true nature, at our core. Then you can begin to channel that love to everyone around you.

I know I am only beginning to understand these concepts, with my "beginners' mind", but sharing it with others helps it to become more real for me.

Wishing you love and light on your journey, thanks for sharing in mine.