Tag Archives: Spiritual Journey

AWAKENING TO A FULL LIFE

Posted on May 8, 2013 | Leave a comment

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”  Mae West

Wamboldtopia

Wamboldtopia

Does your life feel complete?  Is it satisfying and fun?  If not, what is missing and what can you do about it?

Unlike Mae West, I believe we live more than one life, but I like the spirit of her quote.  Just because I believe I may have another shot at this earthly life doesn’t mean I don’t want this time to be great or that I’m willing to stop trying to create the life I want.  Right now, what I’m experiencing is what matters and I want to feel good about it.

A Full Life Is Based On Spiritual Values

What is a full life?  I think of it as a life that is satisfying and full of peace, love, and joy, my three favorite spiritual qualities.  It means I have good friends with whom I can share art, nature and good conversations and know there is a deep connection of love and respect.  It also means that I am following my passion in the work I do, and the activities I engage in bring me joy.

However, we are each on an individual journey and have individual desires and needs.  For example, I would feel deprived if I couldn’t view fine art often.  It touches my soul and lets me see into the soul of the artist.  But there are some people who never view it, who consider it frivolous or uninteresting, and feel no need to have it in their lives.

A Full Life Includes Love

To have a full life, we have to be connected to someone or something that we love, for the things we love feed our souls and expand who we are.  When I am around my nephews and niece and their children, I feel such joy because, not having children of my own, I had the privilege of seeing them become adults and now parents.  I’ve laughed and cried over them through the years and counseled and encouraged.  There is no doubt that my life would be less full without their love and my love for them.  So instead of feeling sorry for myself because I didn’t have children, I created relationships with them.

005

We Must Fill Our Own Lives

We are the only ones who can fill our lives.  We decide what we will let into our lives and what we will reject.  To most people, having a full life is about what we have in terms of security, family, friends, or work, but it is also about how deeply we are willing to live.  What are we willing to do to make our life full?  Are we willing to be the hero or heroine in our own life and take full responsibility for creating the life we want? Or do we choose to be the victim of circumstances?

If your life does not feel full, what is lacking?  What are you ignoring that is too painful to look at?  Over the years, I’ve seen many people who are educated, financially secure, and intelligent who have ignored aspects of their lives that make their lives less than desirable.  I always wonder why they choose not to change what can clearly be changed. Perhaps they feel hopeless or are afraid that making the change would also have negative consequences in other areas of their lives.  There is always a reason why we are not the best we can be, and understanding the root of the problem may require us to look deeper with the help of a therapist or counselor.  It is important that, regardless of what limitations we feel exist, we are willing to take that first small step.

Good Change Requires a Shift in Thinking

Every good thing that has come to me has come after I made a shift in my thinking.  It is how we think about a situation that makes it possible for us to change.  When I was in high school I was fairly shy, despite my involvement in speech and drama.  In my senior year, the Thespian Society members gave me a Best Actress Award.  That was a huge boost to my confidence and led me to believe later, that if I could be that good, maybe I could also be good enough to become a modern dancer and dance with a company.

A few years ago, as a relationship was ending, I suddenly became aware of the fact that this man was so much like my father in his stubbornness and his inability to understand how his unwillingness to compromise created problems between us.  Like my father, he was emotionally shut down.  As I looked at him from this perspective, I saw more negative points of comparison.  It was startling!  How could I be so blind!  I thought I had worked through these issues.

We Can Learn From Positive and Negative Experiences

While winning the Best Actress Award was a positive event that motivated me, the ending of a relationship was a negative event, and yet, it motivated me to heal and let go of an old pattern that was limiting my life.  We can learn from the positive and negative.  Taking the time to heal these old patterns has allowed me to attract a man into my life who has none of my father’s negative characteristics.  The work that I’ve done in the last two years cleared out past issues and opened a space for a more fulfilling love to appear.

Wherever we are in this spiritual journey to experience fullness of life, we must know that we are meant to live in peace, love, and joy.  Our purpose here is to expand our lives through experiencing these qualities, and it is our responsibility to do the work that will take us to a fuller life.  May whatever you need for your journey, show up.

© 2013 Georganne Spruce                                                                 ZQT4PQ5ZN7F5

Related Articles: Nora Ephron’s Advice – Be the Heroine in Your Own Life, Be A Hero: Save Your Own Life, Make Now Count:  How to Live a Fun Life Full of Possibilities, How to Be At Peace:  Eckhart Tolle Seeing the Good in Life 

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Inspirational Posts

Tagged , , , , , , ,

AWAKENING TO COMPASSIONATE COMMUNICATION

Posted on March 13, 2013 | 2 Comments

“Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.”  Arthur Schopenhauer

best of most of group

What do you do when you are offended by what someone says to you?  How often do you stop and think about your response before speaking?  How can you create peace in a conflicted situation?

We can only see what we can see.  When I was four, my world consisted of the house where my parents and I lived, my great aunt’s and great grandmother’s house next door, my grandparents’ garage apartment and my grandfather’s carpentry shop below, and the yard in between.  It was a rich, loving world filled with cats, birds, a boxer dog, and a bureau full of books.

Life Experience Can Broaden Our Vision

Many years later, my world is quite different.  I have lived in urban environments in all four parts of the United States and spent several weeks studying in West Africa.  All those loving people who surrounded me at four have passed.  I am now surrounded by the mountains I love, but the world I know stretches far beyond this hollow.

The more I have been exposed to people who are different from me, the more I have grown in my understanding of human nature.  Part of this is related to my own curious mind.  I love learning about almost anything.  I have always been curious about views that are different from mine and I don’t feel threatened at all by being exposed to new ideas.  I read, explore, and if I feel the idea or practice may be useful, I work with it for a while to determine if it has value for me.

Communication Is The Key To Understanding

Because of my exposure to different cultures, I have become more aware that the way we communicate is the key to understanding each other.  There are many practices that relate to compassionate communication, but I want to look at one specific aspect of communication today.  What is our intention when we speak?

Having tended a number of discussion groups over the last few years, I have observed that there are some people who just want to let off steam.  Others want to prove they are right and turn any discussion into a debate.  Many people want to connect with others in a way that builds community and deep connections.  These are all very different ways of communicating.

Personally, I want to connect in a way that allows me to understand others and that they understand me, for understanding helps me respect the views with which I disagree.  I don’t have to agree with what another believes, but I need to respect it and be compassionate because this can create peace where otherwise there may be conflict.  I want peace in the world and this is one way I can help create it.

Check Within Before We Speak

We can’t control how another person acts, but we can choose to take responsibility for ourselves.  Self-monitoring helps us become more conscious.  For example, a discussion becomes heated and we feel ourselves becoming offended by what is being said.  Before we speak, it is wise to check within.  Are we feeling defensive or angry?  Are we feeling disrespected?  Can we offer our perspective in a way that may calm tempers and shift the tone of the discussion?  When we speak, what is our intention?

Our Choices Reflect Our Intention

 Our intention is reflected in our choice of words.  It is amazing how powerful this choice is.  For example, consider the difference between chatter and rant used as words to describe a comment you’ve made.  Chatter is defined as trivial or idle talk.  Rant is defined as pompous or overblown speech.  Neither word is a compliment.  So, it is important to be mindful enough to choose words that will not insult the other person if what we want is a meaningful dialogue.

The Outer Reflects the Inner

Our choice of words is a reflection of our intention.  The outer expresses the inner and that is why we need to be willing to examine our intention and we need to be willing to listen carefully to the other person and observe their body language and tone of voice.  What they are expressing reflects their inner selves as well.  If we are compassionate, we will try to put aside our ego needs and listen with love.

If what the other person is expressing is negative, we need to remember that behind all negative attitudes, there is fear.  Where there is fear, there is pain.  Perhaps they cling to certain beliefs because their whole world would fall apart if they even considered an alternative. We all experience this, so the question is:  When we are listening to someone who is expressing a view we find irritating or offensive, can we remember that we are hearing their pain and can we also consider that our negative response may be coming from our pain.

Be Open To Learning

Schopenhauer portrait1

Schopenhauer portrait1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Schopenhauer said, “Truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed; Second it is violently opposed; Third, it is accepted as self-evident.”  There was a time when mankind laughed at anyone who suggested the earth was round.  We all evolve and our understanding of life hopefully evolves too. When we find ourselves quickly dismissing another’s ideas, it may be a good idea to explore the possibility that a truth lies hidden beneath what we consider the chatter or the rant.

Setting the intention to listen and speak compassionately primes us to be more mindful and respectful.  Who knows—maybe the next outrageous idea we hear, in six month’s time, will be the answer to a major dilemma in our lives.

© 2013 Georganne Spruce                                                         ZQT4PQ5ZN7F5

Related Articles:  Compassion Is Not Optional, Make Love Your Habit (Wayne Dyer), Compassion Is the Key (audio – Wayne Dyer), Living Peacefully

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Inspirational Posts

Tagged , , , , , , ,

AWAKENING TO OUR DREAMS

Posted on January 30, 2013 | 1 Comment

“There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why…I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?”  Robert Kennedy

Ciudad de Malaga al atardecer con los Montes d...

Ciudad de Malaga al atardecer con los Montes de Africa (Photo credit: carloscASTROweb)

Have many of your dreams come true?  Is there a connection between the dreams you dream at night and the desires you have when you wake?  How can you use those dreams to become more conscious?

Dreams Help Us Envision New Possibilities

Wouldn’t it be great if life progressed in a straight line so that we could always see where we’re going?  Then we’d know ahead what dreams would come true and which wouldn’t, and we wouldn’t waste our time struggling to make things happen that never happen.  But then of course, we wouldn’t experience the joy of rich surprises and miracles that open possibilities we never envisioned.

One day after a job interview, I stood beside the fireplace in a restaurant, watching the snow fall lightly outside.  I turned and he was there, stepping forward to offer me a seat. The dream had suddenly changed shape, wearing wire-rimmed glasses and a mischievous smile, and we both knew life would never be the same.  Although the relationship was not the dream that lasted for a lifetime, it was one that taught me I could be respected for my intelligence and could share a deeply spiritual relationship.

Manifesting A Dream May Be A Mysterious Path

Life is a spiral dance, weaving steps we know and steps we don’t know—a journey that takes us through shadows and sunlight.  There are the dreams we dream and the dreams we don’t dream—the ones we bury along the way because our parents tell us they can’t come true.  Then one day, we are standing on a stage as the lights come up and our hands begin to strum a guitar or the words of Shakespeare pour from our lips, and we cannot even remember where this moment began.  But somewhere, sometime, it was a dream, an image in our souls that was caught on the wind and carried forward through time, materializing despite all obstacles.

002

As a child, I wanted to be a doctor and help Albert Schweitzer heal the lepers in Africa, but after struggling with high school chemistry, I gave up the dream of being a doctor and going to Africa.   Forty years later, in the early morning of a July day, I stepped off an airplane onto African soil.  In that moment, my life changed.  I became a citizen of the world.  I could never have dreamed of the path that led me there.

Each Dream, Even The Dark One, Is A Gift From Spirit

Each dream is a gift from Spirit, whether it is a conscious dream or an unconscious one.  It leads us to places we never dreamed of going or never thought we could reach.  Other dreams may serve a different purpose and may create the illusions where we hide from what we cannot bear to see.  Other times dreams are demonic and rip the illusions away, spiraling us into the darkness of our own depth to find the real answers.

For years, I read New Mexico Magazine, feeling drawn by some powerful force to go there.  When I was almost healed from chronic fatigue, it became clear that I needed to live in a dry environment in order to complete the healing.  A friend invited me to house sit with her that summer in Albuquerque.  Once I was there, I could not leave.  The Native-American culture and art fed my soul.  Then, I found the perfect teaching job right away although it was almost time for school to start.  It all seemed like a dream come true.

But this was the land of enchantment, and what appeared to be magical, within five years, fell apart.  I lost my job, my friends, my spiritual community, my security and all my illusions.  Stripped to the core by following a dream based on illusion, who I really was continued to emerge.  I began to write and discovered a strength and spiritual balance I had never known.

Dreams May Be Profound Spiritual Guides

Those dreams that come in the night, wrapped round with symbols and mystery, may very well hold the answers to the problems in our lives and lead us to the light.  Carl Jung, the famous psychoanalyst, said in his book Man and His Symbols, “The general function of dreams is to restore our psychological balance by producing dream material that re-established, in a subtle way, the total psychic equilibrium.”

Deutsch: Carl Gustav Jung

Deutsch: Carl Gustav Jung (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After my divorce in 1976, I felt unhinged without a job or money.  The grief and anger I felt overwhelmed me.  Then one night, I dreamed I was standing in a plaza with a pool in the center.  A green ladder rose upward and across the pool and into the upper floor of a several story building on the far side.  At the base of the ladder I stood with a young man and a blond-haired woman in a red dress, a version of me that had appeared in other dreams. We performed a ritual, breaking the bread the woman had baked.  Then the man left, and the woman began to climb the ladder, beckoning to me.  Despite my fear, I followed her.

When I awoke, I realized the dream was telling me exactly what I needed to do.  My choice to climb the green ladder was a sacred act. I needed to follow a spiritual path that would lead me to a higher consciousness.  Because the arch led over water, which symbolized emotion, it was also telling me to move beyond just reacting emotionally.  The dream told me how to heal.

There are the dreams we choose to dream and the ones that come to us unexpectedly.  Weaving through our lives with joy and mystery, they are one of Spirit’s greatest transformative gifts.  May you dream well tonight.

What dreams have provided you with important insights? Please comment.

For a more in depth understanding of the value of understanding dreams and how they provide guidance in your life, read my book Awakening to the Dance: A Journey to Wholeness.

©2013 Georganne Spruce                                            ZQT4PQ5ZN7F5

Related Articles: Nightmares, Dreams, and the Ego: a New Earth Video, Spiritual Dream Interpretation: Understanding Your Dreams, Jung Dream Interpretation

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Inspirational Posts

Tagged , , , , , , ,

AWAKENING TO OUR WORLD COMMUNITY

Posted on January 16, 2013 | 4 Comments

“If you want to make peace, don’t talk to your friends.  You talk to your enemies.”  Desmond Tutu

English: Sunday morning sermon delivered by Gr...

English: Sunday morning sermon delivered by Greg Barrett, author of The Gospel of Father Joe: Revolutions & Revelations in the Slums of Bangkok. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What have you done this week to create peace in your heart, your family, or your community?

Spiritually Inspiring Talk

Last night I was mesmerized by Greg Barrett, a Pulitzer-nominated author who spoke about his latest book, The Gospel of Rutba: War, Peace, and the Good Samaritan Story in Iraq.  This is the story of how Rutba, a rural desert town in western Iraq, rescued three American peacemakers during the Shock and Awe bombings of 2003.  Not far from the Jordanian border, the peacemakers’ taxi careened off the road and crashed.  One of the occupants was very seriously injured.  A truckload of Iraqis found them and took them to a small clinic in Rutba where the hospital had recently been destroyed by American Bombs.  Despite the destruction and lack of supplies, the Iraqi doctors saved the men’s lives and refused their money.  The Iraqi’s only request was, “Tell the world.”

Seven years later, despite warnings from the American military and the Iraqis that they would probably be killed, the peacemakers returned to help the town heal.  Greg Barrett accompanied them.  They refused to carry weapons and when the Iraqis discovered their intention for returning, they welcomed them as brothers and sisters.

English: US Marines cook kabobs for Iraqi patr...

English: US Marines cook kabobs for Iraqi patrons on the streets of Al Qaim (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Love Heals All

This story is just another example of how, when we choose to act out of love and peace, we can heal the divide between us.  Seeing the love of humanity that Greg Barrett exudes reminds me how important it is for us to have the courage to reach out in whatever way we can to those who are different.  We must learn to see “the enemy” as humanity.

Respect Cultural Differences

In the discussion after the talk, my favorite story was the one Greg told about the dinner the peacemakers and Iraqis had together on the return trip. Knowing that the Iraqis ate their food with their hands, scooping it up with pita bread, the Americans followed that custom out of respect for their hosts.  There was no interpreter and they did not speak each other’s language.  After they began eating, the Americans looked across the table at the Iraqis to make contact.  What they saw were the Iraqis eating their meal with utensils.  Both sides smiled at each other and burst into laughter.

What more can I say?  Well, I can only say I hope you will visit the book website and Greg’s blog—he’s a wonderful writer and a thinking, caring human being.  He’s on a book tour, sharing this story to open minds and connect us all, and he’s trying to raise money to do a documentary on the story.  Maybe you can help.

Hearing Greg’s story has inspired me and I hope it will inspire you too.  Namaste.

© 2013 Georganne Spruce                                                     ZQT4PQ5ZN7F5

Related Articles:  Gospel of Rutba (on Amazon.com), Muslim Peacemaker Teams, After Nine Years in Iraq: Reflections on Peace, Nonviolence, and Reconciliation

→ 4 Comments

Posted in Inspirational Posts

Tagged , , , , , , ,

AWAKENING TO COMMUNITY

Posted on November 28, 2012 | Leave a comment
Writer's Stop

Writer’s Stop (Photo credit: Stephh922)

“Some people think they are in community, but they are only in proximity.  True community requires commitment and openness.  It is a willingness to extend yourself to encounter and know the other.”  David Spangler

Are you part of a community, personally or professionally?  What does it offer you that you value?

My blog post today is a bit different.  Recently, Brad Swift, a member of my writing community, tagged me for a blog tour, The Next Big Thing—my very first!  The way it works is that a writer answers questions about her/his next book (or one recently published), tags five other writers and passes it on.  The next week those writers do the same thing, so it’s a great way for writers to connect with a larger audience.

I love this idea because it’s about community.  As I’ve often written, one of the major world shifts we need to make is from competition to community.  That’s why I’m grateful to be living in a town where writers are a community and the writers I’ve tagged below are a part of that.  We’re here to support and help each other so that we are all successful.  It’s a great way to live, so check out these special people at the bottom of my answers.

What is the title of your latest book?  Awakening to the Dance:  A  Journey to Wholeness which I published in June 2012.  

Where did the idea come from for the book?  I never planned to write a memoir, but ten years ago when I was out of work and had reached a point with a novel that I couldn’t get past, a woman suggested to me that I’d lived an interesting life in an interesting time and should write about it.  Desperately needing a new project, I began reading my journals from the 1960’s to the present.  As I began writing, the process of exploring my past was spiritually transforming and became part of the story.

What genre does your book fall under?  It’s a memoir.

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?  I’d love for Kiera Knightley to play me.  Kevin Costner would be perfect for Neal.  Judy Dench would be perfect for my mother.  Of course the book spans about 40 years, but I’ll let the director solve that problem.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?  Awakening to the Dance: A Journey to Wholeness is the inspirational story of a woman’s search for her true identity apart from society’s expectations, her commitment to following her passions of dance and writing, her desire to find a soul mate, and the gift she receives by integrating spirituality into her life.

Was your book self-published or represented by an agency?  I published the ebook through  Kindle and Pubit and the paperback through Create Space.  It’s available on all three and on Amazon.com.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?  I took almost ten years to write the book.  I was teaching full-time, and I have no idea how long it took to complete the first draft.  I probably spent at least two years just picking and choosing the most important stories.  Then I had to pare those down and focus the story more on the main theme.  I did extensive rewriting for several years because the book was originally too long.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Every story is unique, but my guess is that any memoir written by a woman who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s would have similar themes.  It’s not about abuse or alcohol and drug addictions as many memoirs are. Of course, part of it could be called a “dance memoir” but even that part focuses on how dance increased my mind/body connection and contributed to my spiritual awareness that we are all One.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?  I realized that I had used many practices, such as meditation, affirmations, chakra balancing, and releasing my fear, that dramatically changed my life for the better.  When I was younger, I had no idea it was possible to live mostly free from fear, so I wanted to inspire others so that they could create the lives they desire and be free from fear.

What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?  During the 1960s and 1970s when I was a modern dancer, the entire art world was experimental, breaking all the old rules and supporting authentic expression.  It was a fascinating time.

In everyday life, men and women were struggling with the male and female stereotypes that no longer served us.

The book also has a strong love theme. I write about several major relationships with men all of whom were very powerful forces in my life.  In one way or another, each helped me grow and explore the nature of love.  But loving oneself and spiritual love are also themes that run throughout my story.

Please take a look at these fascinating writer friends:

Debra Lloyd, Trey Carland, John Waterman ,Celia Miles

What does your community mean to you?  Please comment.

 ©2012 Georganne Spruce                                                                         ZQT4PQ5ZN7F5

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Inspirational Posts

Tagged , , , , , , ,

AWAKENING TO THE FULLNESS OF LIFE

Posted on November 21, 2012 | Leave a comment

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.”     Melody Beattie

When life is difficult, do you take the time to express thanks for what is good in your life?  Do you focus on what you don’t have or what you do have?  How does being grateful enhance your life?

Expanding Life Through Love and Joy

It seems to me that my life has expanded this year.  So much good has come to me.  I’ve been more regular than ever about my gratitude practice, and I’ve felt my heart open and expand.

My dear spiritual teacher Gladys used to say that the reason we are in this physical life is to expand our energy through experiencing love and joy.

So, on this day before Thanksgiving, I want to thank everyone who has helped make my journey rich and rewarding this year.

I Am Thankful For Family

First, I want to thank my brother who has been so supportive in many ways.  Before I published my memoir this year, I sent it to him to read.  I have to admit I was rather nervous about his response.  We may have grown up in the same family, but everyone’s experience is unique.  I was relieved that he accepted what I had written as my story and shared his point of view about it.  Since he is also writing a book, we have become closer as a result of sharing this experience.

I also want to thank my niece for reading the book and sharing her thoughts and feelings about it.  I have valued our discussions so much and they have taken us to a deeper level of understanding our family and relating to each other.

I Am Thankful For Spiritual Friends

Secondly, I want to thank the personal friends who have encouraged me when I was down, celebrated with me when I succeeded, and bought my memoir, Awakening to the Dance: A Journey to Wholeness, the moment it came out.  I also want to thank you for spiritual discussions and hikes in the woods that have calmed my soul.  I am also grateful for those I’ve met through the Jubilee Spiritual Journey Team and the Open Table Discussion Group and the discussions we’ve shared on deep and spiritual topics.  You’ve been an inspiration.

I Am Grateful For Writing Friends and Technical Guides

Thirdly, I want to thank again the members of the networking group, Freelance Fridays, especially Joe D’Agnese and Brad Swift for your wonderful support through every step of the publishing process.  The exchange of ideas about publishing, promoting, and the business of book selling has educated me in ways no books can do.  Thank you for sharing your real life experience.

Fourthly, I want to thank two technical teachers, Sarah Benoit and James Imes, for their wonderful classes in social media marketing, blogging, and ebook publishing.  Their classes were part of AB Tech’s Small Business Incubator headed by the supportive Duane Adams.  Andrew Plyler has also been a great help leading me through the quagmire of computer challenges I’ve faced, and I understand 90% of what he tells me the first time because he knows how to talk to nontechnical people.

I Am Grateful For Readers And Workshop Attendees

Last, but definitely not least, I want to thank everyone who has bought a book, and I’m especially thankful for reviews you’ve put on Amazon.  I also am very grateful to everyone who attended my “Release Your Fear” workshops.  Each time I teach it, I learn more from those who share their fears and concerns.  You are my teachers too and I have learned so much from you.

And of course, I am most grateful for my wonderful blog followers and readers.  Your comments and support and your wonderful blogs have been a source of inspiration to me.

I Am Grateful For the Abundance of Community

With all these gifts coming into my life, my ability to experience love and joy has expanded.  I have released so much fear and learned I can trust the Universe and Spirit to guide me down the right path.  Something huge has shifted too. There was a time when I would have been extremely uncomfortable accepting so much help. I had to do it all myself.  I was afraid of depending on someone else. Now I’m grateful for the community of generous people in my life and have learned that accepting what is given lovingly is as important as giving.

Was it the gratitude practice that made a difference?  I don’t know, but I will continue it for sure. I like what Eckhart Tolle says in A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, “Acknowledging the good you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”

May you have an abundant Thanksgiving.   What are you thankful for this year?  Please comment.

© 2012 Georganne Spruce                                                          ZQT4PQ5ZN7F5

Related Articles:  Eckhart Tolle Quotes, Key to A Happy Life,  The science of being thankful (mnn.com), Eckhart Tolle on Gratitude

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Inspirational Posts

Tagged , , , , , , ,

AWAKENING TO SHADOW’S TREASURE

Posted on November 14, 2012 | Leave a comment

“It is only when we have the courage to face things exactly as they are without any self-deception or illusion that a light will develop out of events by which the path of success may be recognized.”  I-Ching

Do you always avoid negative emotions and stuff them down inside?  Are you comfortable expressing all your concerns and emotions to those you love?  How much of who you really are do you keep hidden?

Finding Treasure in the Darkness

As we move deeper into winter, days grow longer and the darkness envelops us.  For many people, it is an uncomfortable time, but like every season, it may hold hidden treasure if we are willing to look for it.  Deep within our unconscious, we all have what Carl Jung called “the Shadow.”  As the weather pushes us indoors more and the light decreases, it is the perfect time for reflecting on what we need to heal and release.

Scorpio, the Transformer

Beyond the change of seasons, other influences are affecting us.  Scorpio, the astrological sign, urges us to dig deeply and explore the part of ourselves we prefer to deny.  It is a time when the changes we make can be transforming.  Visit www.astrodelight.com,  Belinda Dunn’s website, for some very interesting information on Scorpio’s influence.

Mercury Encourages Reevaluation

In addition, Mercury is in retrograde.  Okay now—don’t leave me.  Trust me—all these influences that appear so negative really are gold if we know what to do with them.  The good news is that Mercury goes direct again on the 26th.  I’ll be glad, believe me, because I’m tiring of all the phone calls it has taken to make one simple appointment.

Mercury is about communication.  When it’s in retrograde, it’s a good time to review and revise what we are doing with our lives.  It’s also a good time to clear out what is no longer useful.  It’s not a time to start something new, but it’s a good time to plan for the future.

Becoming Conscious of  Shadow Issues

While this period and its influences may make us uncomfortable, it’s a time when we can do some serious inner work.  When I read the I-Ching quote above, I immediately thought of Carl Jung whose thinking has always increased my understanding of human psychology.  In his book Psychology and Religion, he said, “Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is.  If inferiority is conscious, one always has a chance to correct it.  Furthermore, it is constantly in contact with other interests, so that it is continually subjected to modifications.  But if it is repressed and isolated from consciousness, it never gets corrected.”

Let’s say that it makes you angry when people are disrespectful to you, but you’ve been taught it’s unacceptable to feel anger.  How do you deal with that?  Most people repress it and keep repressing it.  When we do that, we tend to project the anger onto others in situations that have nothing to do with the situation at hand.  Our reactions to situations become distorted.  The wife who feels her husband spoke disrespectfully one day but said nothing may lash out at him the next day for forgetting an item at the grocery store.

What is kept unconscious will come out in other unhealthy ways or will manifest as illness, for the mind and body connection is very powerful.  Over a long period of time, these repressed feelings poison our physical and mental health.

We Must Release Fear To Become Conscious

If this is true, why do we choose to live so unconsciously?  Because we are afraid.  When we live this way, fear rules our lives, and only when we allow that fear to surface, can we really begin to free ourselves from it and heal.  To do that, we sometimes have to go against cultural norms.

In our Western culture, we emphasize having a positive attitude to an extreme degree; therefore, we are discouraged from looking at our Shadow and its fear content.  But denying our darker side rather than dealing with the related issues only prolongs the damage this dysfunction can do in our lives.  When we allow our buried feelings to become conscious, we can see what is going on, we can heal and release what is limiting us.  We create an opening where the light can come through, where new ideas and ways of living can evolve.

After the Darkness Comes the Light

It took me many years of releasing my fears to come to a point where I could actually publish my memoir Awakening to the Dance: A Journey to Wholeness.  But when I committed to that and faced all the fears that came up, I also committed to a healing journey.  It was very painful sometimes, but it led to a place where I am happier than I’ve ever been, where what is lurking deep inside isn’t scary any more.  And I know now that no matter how uncomfortable dealing with the fear is, releasing it will lead me to more light.

Be willing to go deeper and find the buried treasure within and transform your life.  Peace, Love, and Joy to you on this amazing journey.

If you are in the Asheville, NC area, join us for my “Release Your Fear” workshop at Crystal Visions Bookstore tomorrow night from 7-9:00 pm. $15 at the door.  Releasing your fear is a good way to begin retrieving your Shadow’s treasure.

© 2012 Georganne Spruce                                                     ZQT4PQ5ZN7F5

Related Articles:  The Hidden Value of Mercury Retrograde, Suppression and Repression, Memories, Dreams, and Reflections by Jung

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Inspirational Posts

Tagged , , , , , , ,

AWAKENING TO YOUR HEROISM

Posted on October 31, 2012 | Leave a comment

“Insights from myths, dreams, and intuitions, from glimpses of an invisible reality, and from perennial human wisdom provide us with hints and guesses about the meaning of life and what we are here for. Prayer, observance, discipline, thought and action are the means through which we grow and find meaning.”   Jean Shinoda Bolen

Recently I prepared a presentation on “Are You the Hero or Heroine in Your Own Life.”  I’d been thinking about the hero’s journey as presented in Joseph Campbell’s work, and in many ways I could relate to this archetypal male journey.  I chose not to live a traditional woman’s life in many ways and went out into the world, primarily to become a dancer and follow my passion.

The Heroine’s Journey to Wholeness

But with so many years of living behind me now, I realize that the pattern of my journey was different, and a friend recommended I read A Heroine’s Journey by Maureen Murdock.  I don’t know how I could have missed this book, but it was amazing.  As I read it, I felt I was reading about my own life and particularly my journey as I presented it in my memoir Awakening to the Dance: A Journey to Wholeness.  On the cover of Murdock’s book, it is described as “a woman’s quest for wholeness.”  Well, no wonder I could relate to it.

We Are All Heroes and Heroines In Our Own Lives

The concept that I emphasized in my presentation was the idea that we are all heroes or heroines in our own lives.  In both the male and female journey, we go out into the world at some point and experience a series of trials in trying to achieve our goal.  Both the trials and achievement of the goal (or boon) test us in many ways.  Even when we achieve our goal, we have to face the disconcerting feeling deep inside that makes us ask, “Now what do I do?

Male and Female Journeys Are Different

In Campbell’s masculine journey, the hero must take what he has learned or gained back into the normal world, integrate it into life and share it with the world.  It may be spiritual wisdom, a new technological discovery, or simply a new understanding of some issue in his life.

In Murdock’s description of the feminine journey, the heroine, who may have had to subdue some of her feminine traits, develops her masculine attributes in order to achieve her goal in the world.  This causes the mother/daughter split, which may not be an actual split with her mother but with herself.  She must reconnect her feminine side, heal the masculine within that is also out of balance, and integrate both aspects within.  And to be balanced, she must learn to take care of herself as well as care for others, an aspect of life that challenges many women.

Beyond the Goal Is Integration and Sharing

This ability to learn from life and share what we learn with others is, to me, the key and most important aspect of the journey.  Through our trials we learn valuable lessons.  We expand our lives and our spirits when we share what we have learned and that contributes to the sense of community we so much need to create and grow.

I do believe we are all heroes and heroines when we feel called in some way and follow that call.  Whether or not we meet society’s standard of success is not what is important.  It is what we do with what we learned on the journey that matters.  Does it uplift us or the people around us?  Does it make us more whole?  Even if we have not achieved what we hoped, can we see that our attempt was heroic?

Dealing With “Failure”

After I left my university job in Nebraska because I could not live with the extreme cold, I looked for another full-time university position for several years without finding one.  As each year passed, I felt more and more like a failure although I had limited the places I was willing to live, thereby limiting the possibilities.

In the meantime, I found several studios or colleges where I could teach one or two classes of dance.  It was scary to be self-employed, but it pushed me to learn about publicity and tax issues and to expand the range of what I taught.  I became more creative, teaching a class to help people learn how to see and learn movement and another class created to help musicians develop more body awareness.  I took a part-time job at an art school to create a financial base.

Most of all, I learned I could survive without “a job,” and that tremendously increased my self-confidence.  I learned to take care of myself in a way I never had before. Instead of feeling like a failure, I eventually began to feel like the heroine in my own life because I did something I didn’t know I could do.  Like the hero, I answered a call, overcame the challenges, and became more whole and confident as a result.  In doing so, I was able to share my passion with others and hopefully inspire them.

Every person’s journey is unique.  What seems like a simple task to me may be a huge accomplishment to you.  Every time I see someone without legs competing in a race, I am in awe.  In fact, I am also in awe of most parents.  Helping form another human being is complex, messy, and beautiful.  That much I’ve learned just from teaching.  I certainly think my mother was a hero, for my brother had polio and I had a heart murmur most of my childhood.  Just keeping us alive and growing toward health was an amazing achievement.

So, make a list.  What are all the heroic things you have done and are doing in your life?  What about all the things you’ve done that you didn’t think you could do, but because you had to do them, you did?  And if you can’t find anything you think is heroic, go deeper and give yourself more credit for the things you have done.

© 2012 Georganne Spruce                                                     ZQT4PQ5ZN7F5

Related Articles:  Urgent message to Mother (Earth) – Jean Shinoda Bolen  (video), The Hero, Heroine and Writer’s Journey,  Meet Maureen Murdock

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Inspirational Posts

Tagged , , , , , , ,

AWAKENING TO BE SPECIAL

Posted on October 10, 2012 | 2 Comments

“How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being.”  Oscar Wilde

What do you strive to be:  a “normal” human being or someone special?  Have you started developing your special talent or are you waiting for someone to tell you you’re capable?

We Need To Feel Special

We all want to be special to someone, don’t we?  While I may laugh at Oscar Wilde’s comment about women, I have to admit that in a relationship with a man, I want to be important and special to him.  I think most women feel this way.  We want to be “the One.”

In our families, we want to know that we are valued by our parents and siblings.  We all need to feel important to someone, but the truth is that no matter how many people think we are special, unless we think we are, we won’t experience that we are special.

Children Need To Be Encouraged To Develop Their Talents

Ultimately, we have to see and respect our own specialness and see that it’s a good thing.  As a child I was very creative.  I designed my own paper doll clothes and wrote stories.  At about thirteen, I wanted to be a dress designer, but my mother discouraged me because that would be too competitive.  At fourteen when I took an art class at school, my teacher characterized my latest drawing of a phoenix amid crumbling and fiery Greek columns as unusual (weird, in other words).  I got the message: art wasn’t my thing.

Fortunately, my mother encouraged me to become involved with drama which I enjoyed and which led me to become a modern dancer.  But no matter what I did creatively, in my family it was more important to be practical.  It was okay to have fun with these creative things, but not to take them too seriously despite the fact that my parents had artistic talent.  What mattered was making money, not following your passion.

Don’t Wait For Other People’s Approval

Eventually, I gave up trying to gain their approval and just followed my own path.  Even if others couldn’t see it, I knew how much work and courage it took for me to become a dancer.  I knew I was special even if others didn’t.  I knew in the overall scheme of things I wasn’t a great dancer, but it didn’t matter.  It made me happy.

You see, my ex-husband saw me as an ordinary person.  He thought my dancing was a childish pursuit I would eventually tire of.  My hard work and accomplishment meant nothing to him because again, practicality was all he valued.  It hurt to finally understand how “unspecial” I was to him.  But I learned a valuable lesson.

We Are Each On A Special Journey

We are each special and unique in our own ways.  Our most precious quality may be something no one else can see, but we know about it and must honor ourselves.  To expect the world to see how special we are may not be realistic.  All we can do is express who we are, and if we are true to that, we will eventually draw to us the people who do appreciate who we really are.

This week two people who are reading my spiritual memoir Awakening to the Dance: A Journey to Wholeness told me that they couldn’t put it down.  One man read it in three days.  It’s nice to know that all the hard work I put into the book is paying off because the point to writing is to move and entertain people.   But it would never have happened if I hadn’t believed I was special enough to do it.  Do you know how special you are?

What gifts have you not developed because you are waiting for someone else to tell you that you are good enough?  Why not take the first step today?  Let me know how it goes.  Namaste.

©2012 Georganne Spruce                                                  ZQT4PQ5ZN7F5

Related Articles:  Wayne Dyer Talks About Being Yourself (video), The Path to Unconditional Acceptance, Our Talents Are Our Gifts – Use Them Well

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Inspirational Posts

Tagged , , , , , , ,

AWAKENING TO SPREAD GRATITUDE

Posted on October 3, 2012 | 1 Comment

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”  William Arthur Ward

What are you grateful for this week?  Have you expressed your gratitude to those who have been generous to you?

Accepting Transformation

It is fall again and the sound of acorns falling from the oaks onto my roof is an on-going percussive song.  There are plenty this year, and the squirrels will become so fat they’ll look like the little stuffed animals at the nature store.  The dogwoods and maples are already turning hot pink, red and yellow, foreshadowing the blaze of color that will blanket the mountains in a few weeks.

This is my favorite time of year.  The air cools to the perfect temperature for hiking and art walks.  I begin turning inward preparing for the transformation into winter.  Much is changing in my life and I am so grateful.  The “Releasing Your Fear” workshops that I do are expanding and I now have two more scheduled.  I have posted more information on my workshops page.

Receiving Gratitude Is A Gift

I had a booth at a networking fair last weekend at Crystal Visions and had the opportunity to meet some wonderful people who are light workers and artists.  They raffled off one of my books, and the woman who received it emailed me to say how grateful she was.  She knew receiving it was in Divine Order and she looked forward to what she would learn from it.

Grateful—that is the word that comes to mind today.  I am so grateful that I am at last doing the work I really want to do and that my gifts are helping others.  After spending years working to release my fears and through that process freeing myself to believe what I have to teach will help people, I am now able to facilitate this growth in others.  As I hear the individual stories of the way this work is benefitting those who attend the workshops, I am reminded about why this is so important.  It can remarkably change our individual lives, but it can do more than that.

Releasing Our Fear to Empower Others

It is impossible to ignore the political crisis in this country.  The real crisis is not really the economy.  It is the inability of our leaders to work together because they are afraid that they will give the other side an advantage.  It is their fear of losing their power that undermines their ability to solve the country’s problems in wise and equitable ways.  Because this fear is so dominant in their minds, it blocks their ability to think clearly and act in the best interest of all.

So, the energy we put out into the world can change this.  The more we can release our fears, the more we can experience love and joy and think clearly to find reasonable solutions to our problems.  We need to look around us and support what is good and working well and the people who are making that happen.  Tell them how much you appreciate them.

The Power of Gratitude to Uplift

Among the many things for which I am grateful this week is a letter I received from someone I’ve known for years and who is aware of my workshops, writing and the other work I do within the community of which we are both a part.  Although we have always respected each other, I had no idea that he appreciated the way I think, that he thought my comments in a particular setting were “rich and fertile.”   What a wonderful gift this letter was!

So I encourage you to do what my friend did.  For whom are you grateful?  Write that letter and lay it out in clear language.  Let someone in your life know what you value about them today.  It could transform their life.  It will certainly transform their day.

© 2012 Georganne Spruce                                                     ZQT4PQ5ZN7F5

  Related articles:   Managing Your Fears – Eckhart Tolle Video

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Inspirational Posts

Tagged , , , , , , ,