Create the Life You Imagine ~ December 2018

The Practice

“Life is a Mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved.”

~ William Butler Yeats

In a world that keeps moving at a faster and faster pace, it has become more and more common for people of all faith traditions to develop a meditation practice. In its most universal form, meditation is simply a practice of quieting down our outer world enough to make contact with our inner world. It may include prayer, breathing meditation, walking in nature, cooking, art, yoga, music or reading spiritual or inspirational texts. When we connect more deeply with our inner life through these practices, our breathing slows, our body chemistry changes, our anxiety dissolves, and we experience a deep sense of inner calm and well-being. If we practice retreating into our inner life with some regularity, we truly develop the ability to enter into a state of peace that can become our true spiritual home. You will note the word practice throughout this paragraph, because cultivating more spiritual awareness and presence takes practice and patience and a daily commitment to walk this path. Some days will be easier than others, but just as we practice to master a sport, or an instrument or a craft, we must practice exercising our spiritual awareness. As our practice deepens our awareness, we will have more and more access to these next spiritual lessons:

Lesson 6: Expand your CONSCIOUSNESS by seeing the journey with symbolic sight.

At this stage of the journey we engage our wisdom mind and our mystic’s eye as we travel more securely along the spiritual path. We start to see our journey with symbolic sight. Symbolic sight is a tool of our spiritual senses. It sees life through the lens of mystery and looks for the spiritual lessons hidden behind all of our life experiences. We let go of our attachments to our pleasures or our pains and we look for the truth behind the curtain of illusion and for the symbols and metaphors that illuminate our everyday experiences. We ask what new truth is emerging and what lies hidden or unseen behind the patterns of our lives. We trust that our journey is guided and that behind every experience is a divine spark of light and an opportunity to grow and unfold in our spiritual consciousness.

The danger of this stage is that we retreat into the magician’s world of magic without taking responsibility to hold our own as we walk along the path. Glinda reminds us that there were no magic tricks that could have moved Dorothy more quickly along her journey home. She needed to walk it on her own power and with her ever-expanding awareness if she was going to find her way home. Deepak Chopra reminds us that at a certain stage “almost anyone who strives spiritually must become his or her own guide.” There is a spiritual maturity that is required to navigate this path. We may begin walking our path as spiritual children waiting for magicians, good witches and wizards to transport us to the destination, but if we do our work along the way, we emerge as wise sages able to traverse the uncertainties and paradoxes of the path with poise and wisdom from our own center. Let your wisdom mind and your mystic’s eye give you clarity about the patterns and symbolic messages of your life and guide you along your way.

Lesson 7: Remember your CONNECTION to all that is.

This is truly the mountaintop experience of our spiritual journey. This awareness is that sense of the numinous and the mystical that emerges during breakthrough moments on our spiritual path. It’s the experience of recognizing that we are all participants in the grand Mystery of life, and that we have never been alone on our journey. At this stage of our process we experience a sacred unity with All That Is. We recognize that the possibilities of the universe flow through us and that we will always receive help if we ask. We resist the story that we are all alone, because we know that we are all one, eternally connected in the sacred Mystery of Life. In this awareness fear dissolves, love permeates our consciousness, and we join effortlessly and joyfully in the cosmic dance. With this sense of purpose and poise we can embody this powerful affirmation by spiritual teacher Louise Hay:

In the infinity of life where I am,

all is perfect, whole and complete.

I believe in a power far greater than I am

that flows through me every moment of the day.

I open myself to the wisdom within,

knowing that there is only One Intelligence in this Universe.

Out of this One Intelligence comes all the answers,

all the solutions, all the healings, all the new creations.

I trust this Power and Intelligence

knowing that whatever I need to know is revealed to me,

and that whatever I need comes to me

in the right time, space and sequence.

All is well in my world.

As you celebrate this sacred season, may you gift yourself with time each day to cultivate your practice, may you be blessed with moments of deep connection with your truest Self, and may you find your way home wherever life leads you.

Wishing you courage, blessings and light as you continue this journey to create the life you imagine.

Tracy