Lightening the Load

7/28/2010

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By Mayuri Gonzalez
Volume I- Issue V       Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Often we are more concerned with what else we need and want when searching for what we think we need. This leaves us constantly unsatisfied. If we could shift this subtly within our consciousness, I believe that the results would be dramatic. We have to turn our attention inward and understand that we are the only thing standing in the way of our own happiness and contentment; nothing externally keeps us from experiencing joy in the present. To experience greater peace in our lives, we have to begin to sift through the contents of our mind, body, environment and spirit and release the contents that no longer serve our highest good. We have to consider what we need to pack for the journey back home to self, and what we need to leave along the roadside.

When "packing" for the journey to self, the lighter the better. Often, it becomes evident that leaving behind what we CANNOT take with us on the path to evolution becomes more important than considering what we CAN take. This begins a process of purging and casting aside the patterns, cycles, and tendencies that no longer serve our higher selves and the highest good.

The battle becomes one between our self and our own ego. The ego tells us to stand up and take the actions of others personally. The ego tells to feed into the stereotypes and milestones fed to us by society. The ego tells us that it is more important to be loved then than to love our self. The ego steals from us our moments of greatest wisdom and enlightenment. It is its job.

In order to ascend, we have to cut the strings that are binding us to the earthly realm, illusion and the stagnation brought to us by the ego.
 
Take a moment to consider these questions through meditation or journaling:
What is holding you back from evolving?
What is holding you back from really loving?
What is holding you back from experiencing joy and contentment in the present moment?

Some major themes------Fears, disappointment, control, lack, and expectations.

One major clue!!----------Ascension and evolution comes with less "doing" and more "letting go". Keep your vision on your higher purpose and cut the ties that bind you to your past or an old paradigm. In order to evolve, by definition, you cannot stay the same as you are now. So, move forward in every moment. Let go of all that causes you grief, stagnation, confusion, and doubt. Let go of the fears, insecurities, expectations, and control. Let go of the attachments and desires to possess. Let go of all of this, for it has no part in the path to ascension. Surrender and trust in the divine order of the universe and be whole. Do not resonate with vibrations of lack and chose to align with higher vibrations of peace, love, light, and gratitude.

This week, if you find yourself stressed or burdened, take a moment to remember that there is NOTHING keeping you from experiencing joy, peace, and trust in the divine. As the thoughts or fears stir up, observe them and cast the down along the roadside. Close your eyes and redirect your attention to the simple words “Light and Love”. Inhale “Light” and exhale “Love”. Inhale “Light” and exhale “Love”. Repeat them on the breath for as long as it takes to change your internal state. After changing your state, don’t return back to try to understand what was happening right before the exercise. Just move forward and leave what was in the past in the past….at the last bend in the road. Don’t carry the burden of them on your shoulders as you walk the path.

Lighten the Load! Keep it moving!

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Struggle, Surrender, and Freedom

7/21/2010

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by Mayuri Gonzalez
Volume I- Issue IV      Tuesday, July 20, 2010

What does it mean to struggle? Is struggle necessary for evolution, whether of the spiritual, emotional, or intellectual nature?

Evolution and growth doesn’t have to be painful or a struggle, however if we identify with it in that manner, so it will be. We can learn through acceptance and faith, just as we can learn by struggle. Struggle is a way to keep us trapped in our self and our own inner drama. The illusion of struggle keeps us in an emotionally charged state where we are running around in circles, outwardly grasping for the solutions to our current “problem.”  In struggle, we become consumed with our emotions and feel the need to fight for what we want, rather than surrendering to what is presented. Struggle is often driven by the mourning of the past, or the desire to control the future for it is impossible for struggle to exist in the present moment.

I’ve come to realize how the ideas of struggle and surrender beautifully balance one another out.  If we can really surrender to the present moment, we are able to quiet the mind and access our faith and divine connection. We’re able to transcend past the grasps of need, lack, and pain and find a space where we maneuver freely through this world and yet understand that we aren’t of this world; our very being transcends the human experience.  We can observe and refuse to fight with ourselves----to peacefully refuse the battle.

“Don't seek God in temples. He is close to you. He is within you. Only you should surrender to Him and you will rise above happiness and unhappiness.” ~ Tolstoy, I loved these words. You see, there is a beautiful space that exists that transcends our emotional attachment to this world. We only struggle when we feel like our expectations or desires haven’t been met. If we surrender and trust in something greater, we don’t take actions of others personally. We are able to compassionately understand that their actions, behaviors and choices are part of their personal journey.  When we constantly look outside of ourselves for the answers or blame others for our states, we leave ourselves powerless and doubting. If we constantly ask ourselves the “what if” questions, and plague ourselves with the disease of “if only I had” or “why me” thoughts; we will find ourselves caught in the torrential storm of struggle, a never ending and dangerous battle with ourselves.

God exists for every creature in the temple of their very own heart.  God exists within you, as you. This is a beautiful teaching that is at the core of many spiritual traditions. There is a god-like essence within every human on this planet. This piece of the human being is completely whole, filled with infinite wisdom, compassion, understanding, and divinity. This is the real weapon needed to combat struggle and emotional pain.  If we are able to undoubtedly know this truth, we are always connected to the divine in each and every moment; then we are able to soar and fly freely through this world, leaping over the emotional drama and internal dialogue.  We are able to declare loudly to the universe that we are lovingly finished with the current cycle (not struggle) at hand and prepare ourselves for the beauty that awaits us around the bend, if we only step out of the way of ourselves.  

We can learn lovingly and peacefully.

We can leap exponentially.

We can live completely.

Affirmation/ Prayer:

On this day, I release my expectations.

I surrender and remember that I am whole.

I breathe in contentment, stillness and light and understand that there is no other option for the present moment.

I lovingly and gently bring myself back home into the now, no longer pained by the past or concerned with the future.

On this day, I simply AM.
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"Spiritual Responsibility"

7/12/2010

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by Mayuri Gonzalez
Volume I- Issue III Monday July 12, 2010

The words 'spiritual responsibility' have been vibrating within my consciousness for the past few days. We all know by now that all of our thoughts, energies, emotions, and actions effect the cosmic blueprint. We all know that we have to be the light in this world that we've all contracted to be. We all know that our being matters.

What does it mean for one to be spiritually responsible?

In meditation, the answer came very clearly and quite strongly.

To be spiritually responsible, one must look within. We are always searching for the answers outside of ourselves. We must find time to be in fellowship with ourselves. To enjoy our own company and spend time quietly engaged in the spiritual practices that feed our souls the real nourishment it craves. We have to be the witness and look at ourselves and take notice, especially to our thoughts, without judgment. What sort of internal drama are we engaging with? What emotions are we dancing with? What patterns are we surrendering to? Where is our personal power? Are we acting from a fear or lack space? To courageously go within, we believe and trust in our own connection, our own light, our own truth.

To be spiritually responsible, we must listen. We must delve deeper than the surface world around us and ask ourselves the questions that challenge us. Then we must sit in stillness and hear the answers without judgment. The answers can be to take a walk, to keep it moving, or to treat ourselves more sweetly. Sometimes we aren't meant to understand. Sometimes it isn't to learn some great lesson, but simply to test the grounds to see if we can hold onto our self. The answers are sometimes to confront and sometimes to simply let it go. We are always wanting others to hear us and often the deeper message is to hear our self. To have faith and trust our own inner wisdom.

To be spiritually responsible is to BE. To be in the present moment and trust what comes into our path. To have faith that our needs will be met and we may even discover some beauty and adventure in the NOW. To be content and grateful for all we have been given and all we will experience.We must cherish the simple joys and beauty of the natural world, being spiritually awake, rather than sleep walking through this magnificent experience.

To be spiritually responsible is to
      Look within.
           Listen
             And
               BE!!

What will you be on this day? ----- Happy…. Elated……connected………grateful…….. healed………. Passionate………..silent…………rejuvenated……….inspired....  You fill in the space.

It’s all ours for the taking.

To participate in this online blog-----please visit

http://bethelight4all.weebly.com/conversations--a-blog.html

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A New Kind of Freedom

7/5/2010

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By Mayuri Gonzalez
Volume I- Issue II        Monday July 5, 2010

Every year, on July 4th we celebrate the freedom and independence of America. But do we really understand what freedom means? I have asked myself if I really think that I am a free woman. The answer was yes……and honestly no. I have to acknowledge the immense freedom that I have compared to my brothers and sisters across the globe. I can dress the way that I would like to, and I have the freedom to express myself regardless of the judgments that may or may not follow. I am able to work and own property if I so choose, and travel to see new faces and places. With this American definition of freedom however, I also have the freedom to bear arms and the freedom to say hurtful things. I have the freedom to use my words for negative as well and positive, and people chose this option every day. I have the freedom to consume unnecessarily and the freedom to pollute the earth.  So you see dear ones, this freedom comes with great responsibility. The responsibility to make the right choices, for we creatures have the great gift of free will.

True freedom starts will freedom from oneself; freedom from the thoughts, fears, insecurities, and emotional strains that we put on ourselves every day. Freedom comes from surrendering control to a higher force and having faith in the divine order of things. Freedom means moving freely throughout the earthly and divine realms and allowing the moment to carry us where the winds of destiny are directed.  Freedom means to rediscover moments and experience life from a fresh perspective. Freedom means making your own rules; rules that serve humanity and your higher good and are created from your own intellect and beyond.

“To live completely, wholly, every day as if it were a new loveliness, there must be dying to everything of yesterday, otherwise you live mechanically, and a mechanical mind can never know what love is or what freedom is.” ~Jiddu Krishnamurti

Freedom means being the vehicles of grace and compassion that we were meant to be. Freedom means to be intensely unattached and yet completely connected.

Protective spirits, guardian angels, divine beings, wise ancestors, and light energy: I pray that you open the doors to true freedom for each and every one of us at this present moment. I ask that you remove the external obstacles we face and the internal obstacles within ourselves so that we can more powerfully surrender to the present moment and live more completely.  I ask that this freedom brings us all love, truth, understanding, and joy; so we may be the light that this planet needs.

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