What spirituality means to me

Spirituality is a very personal experience. For me it is the belief in a power greater than I, a sense of inter connected- ness, awareness of your purpose, the meaning of life and the continual development of the authentic self. Transcending into the person you were meant to be. Let's make one thing clear I absolutely love God but I prefer not to engage in religion. I honestly prefer to  trust my own experience of God's love as apposed to settling for someone else's idea of God's love. One of the reason I decided to be more focused on spirituality as apposed to religion is because I see so much hyprocracy around me and double standards when it comes to gender as well as  realising that love doesn't last because way to many people don't even know how to love themselves let alone express that love to another. The thing about love is no one can complete you, you must be so full of love and life that it is spilling over and it transforms everyone you come into contact with. The  person you truly fall in love with is not the one that ''completes you'' but the one who ''complements you''.  When I say truly fall in love I mean that anything but someone truly complementing you is but a mere illusion of love and not love itself. This other part is important someone who complements you will recognise the need for your continual growth. I think its stupid to think that people get divorced over someone changing. (Not that I am saying it's not ok to get divorced I am totally down for it if one or both parties are hindering each others spiritual energies.) People's personalities are not constant, people have the capacity to change at any point in time. I honestly hope that I will not be exactly as I am today. Yes I absolutely adore me but to me even the slightest thought that I will remain where I am makes me cringe. Who in there right mind would settle for stagnation. I believe that life is constantly evolving but we as humans are so stuck in the mind set that pain is bad and that we should avoid it at all costs. Let me tell you it cannot be stressed enough that embracing pain is the best way to fulfil your fullest potential on this Earth. Resisting change is the quickest and stupidest reason  to suffer ! How can you say you love someone yet you do not invest in them to be better than they are now? If you do not help them grow you are helping them suffer and what kind of a human being does that? You cannot choose who you love but you can choose who you want to continue to love. Love is the one this that does not cause suffering. Any love that does is a mere illusion of love. The purpose of love I think is to fulfil our highest calling , our spiritual enlightenment. Any love that doesn't inspire , challenge you and more importantly promote your continual growth is not love. This person has not learnt to love himself truly yet.  A man who really loves himself cannot permit the suffering of another. You do not destroy who you love .Examine yourself honestly and realise that the emptiness within you cannot be filled with another person. Heal yourself before you wreck another person.

xoxoxo

Heart Follower

Pivoting

Anytime you feel negative emotion, stop and say: Something is important here; otherwise, I would not be feeling this negative emotion. What is it that I want? And then simply turn your attention to what you do want. . . . In the moment you turn your attention to what you want, the negative attraction will stop; and in the moment the negative attraction stops, the positive attraction will begin. And—in that moment—your feeling will change from not feeling good to feeling good. That is the Process of Pivoting. -Abraham

I have begun to practise this in my every day life. Whenever I am engaging in something challenging and I notice negative thoughts begin to arise. I stop, take a breathe and pivot to a new thought or action. Sometimes the best way we can continue is to stop and take a breather. There is no point to over-extend yourself at the cost of your sanity. Your health is your wealth! Yes persistence is of the utmost importance. But each individual is different and once you know yourself  and you know that this is not you quitting you can confidently stop for a breather as opposed to defeatedly giving up.

Here's the thing though, can you honestly say you know what you are capable of? Have you ever pushed past the limits you previously thought you had? Can you say that you know when you are  confidently take a break or quitting?  Do you even know the difference?

I cannot stress more that knowledge of yourself is the one  thing that  ignites your path to success. When you truly know who you are, you will undoubtedly notice something beautifully amazing about you. When you realise this unending potential within you, this sudden realisation will not be denied and so you would not be able to fathom even the slightest  idea of letting such an overwhelming abundance of  awesomeness die within you. The questions still remains; Can you pivot yourself from this life you are drudging along now living into the life you were destined for? You are destined for greatness. Won't you accept this challenge of pivoting yourself into that legendary mind set?

xoxoxo
Heart Follower

Humility

True merit like a mirror, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes.- Edward F. Halifax

Do not be do quick to confuse timidity and humility. Time  and time  again people have  confused  the  two. Sure  there  will be times  when  the two over lap because no one  is one  thing  at every single waking moment. But generally speaking humility is thoroughly over looked . It's one of my favourite qualities in a person . It's so refreshing to find someone who is  larger than life ,successful and doesn't feel the need to draw attention to it. It's that one quality that draws me to my knees. Humility  also lends itself to authenticity because one can not be humble without being authentic. Very few people are actually authentic. They run around wearing masks. Honestly why do you do this? You do realise that the only way to be human is to be vulnerable thereby   connecting  better with people. The more meaningful connections you have, the more you and the ones you care about see just how awesome you are. Therefore the  more you will act in ways that signifies that you are a person of significance. Only the confident are humble.  There is no need to proclaim  your brilliance if it actually exists- ain't that right?

Don't confuse someone's loudness or boldness for confidence either. You can certainly tell when someone is truly confident the pace of their speech is not slow or too fast nor is it too loud or too soft, they have found the happy middle ground. They are avid at swerving the conversation from being the listener and being the responder. There is ample give and take in this convo. Watch out for this. A truly confident person does not shut people up. He allows for everyone to be heard because he is not conceited nor does he believe there is only  one way to do something.

Humility is that quality that exemplifies true leadership as well as a profound mastery of skills. Humility is not insecurity, quite the opposite it is the complete security of oneself that is unbounded in the opinions of others.


xoxoxo
Heart Follower

Respect

If they respect you, respect them.  

If they disrespect you, respect them.

Do not allow the actions of others to change your attitude.

You represent you and your ideals, it has nothing to do with them.

If you respect you, that respect will flow constantly and consistently onto others.

May respect follow you.

I have thought a lot about this. Someone's respect for you has nothing to do with you and everything to do with how much they value themselves. Someone who values themselves values the time they have and so will not waste it on people who do not recognise their unshakable and un-bounding worthiness. I have come to believe that it does not matter if someone else respects you, all that truly matters is whether or not you respect you. See if you can see just how amazing you really are you would act in ways that signify this respect you have for yourself. People will gravitate towards you and be amazed by the standards you have set up for yourself. But this does not mean that everyone will respect you. And you know what it really does not matter! Because if you respect you someone else's disrespect for you is unmistakeably  inconsequential.

Sometimes no matter how much you change your ways and respect yourself more, you cannot force people to respect you. In time they may but you must allow people to come to terms with this new you in their own time. Remember that everyone is battling their own battles don't take it personally when someone disrespects you.

Take what you need, take what you can and forgive the rest!

Sometimes it is in our best interest to not hold on to these people too tightly, don't  internalise and over-analyse what they say . Draw a line in the sand and state your boundaries. It's ok to have your own rules and regulations for playing. Don't ever be ashamed of having boundaries. Use what you can from what they are giving you, give your utmost best but do not feel like you are giving more than them . Because from their perspective that is the most they can possibly give. It's your choice whether to accept it or not. Always remember that no one can satisfy all your needs so don't be to harsh. Forgive them and move on if you must.

xoxoxo

Heart Follower

There is no right or wrong path

There is no RIGHT way to grow. On a spiritual journey it is common to want everyone to be on the same path as you. But you have to honor people's differences and allow them their given-born right to live as they so desire to. Be intrusive and loving, look beyond the form of people's beliefs to the essence. There is a right way for each individual but that right way is different for everyone. So trust that they do in fact know what they are doing and trust that God has a plan for them. Do not pressure people into living life your way. Sometimes the best way to show people the way is not to say anything at all just let your actions speak for itself. If you walk a path of authenticity there is no need to use a loud speaker to draw attention to it. Your actions will always speak louder than words. When you show up authentic you make space for others to follow suit.

It is a fact that sometimes it pain, depression or some traumatic event for people to realise that they have ignored the spirit. But it takes the deeps of despair to reveal ourselves to ourselves. It takes this darkness to expose our true strength. Without the ups and downs in life we wouldn't be alive.

Sometimes when we look at someone, even given all the facts and draw conclusions on how someone else should have acted in certain situations we lose out. Even given all the facts on how they  experience what they are experiencing  is absolutely  not how you would experience what they are experiencing. Fact! Let's try to understand people instead of judging their actions. Every response to a situation someone makes is in line with their current awareness level. So don't judge. There was a time when even you were not as aware as you are now. So quit the judging! ONLY you have to love your own path. You don't have to love someone else's path just focus on your own and mind your own path.

''To judge someone by their weakest attribute is like judging the ocean by 'one' wave.''-Elvis Presley

xoxoxo

Heart Followers

The spiritual journey is hard

The spiritual journey can be especially hard when your companions are few. The road feels all the more lonely and even worse at times when it's like your not even on your side. When you first decide to make that first step you will think this will be absolutely amazing. Truthfully that is not the case! You will have plenty of massive leaps into the abyss. You will forget at times who you really are and will at on point or more than once want to give it up and just go back to the way things were. But you can't go back now. You have come thus far!

I know it's hard to drop the ego. To give the formed identity you have of yourself, to let go of attachment, to reprogramme your mind, drop hatred, anxiety, shyness, to conquer your fears as well as your limiting beliefs. To become the kind, compassionate, assertive, intuitive, intellectual, fearless, dedicated, forgiving person you so desire to become, you have got to let it go. The ego can be  so conniving and tricky that it can hide itself in subtle ways. But you were not meant to be this way. Yes you are spirit but never forget that you are human too! So don't be afraid to feel what you feel as the feeling arises. There is nothing wrong with experiencing the bad, the ugly, the unforgivable, the heart-breaking, the numbing  pain of betrayal. Absolutely nothing wrong with going through this. You gottta feel it to heal it! Many times people who experience the deepest pains also experience post-traumatic growth. Which simply means immense personal development after experiencing something traumatic.

In many ways pain is not meant to break you but to reveal your true strength and unshakable capacity to survive, adapt and thrive. It is meant to uncover a part of you that was hidden when the ego was in control. Once you check the ego at the door it makes it that much easier to delve deeper into your greatness! Every time life presents a new challenge, rise to the plate, and swing.

xoxoxo
Heart Follower