Tag Archives: Transformation

AWAKENING TO RELATIONSHIPS: EMPATHY, Part 1

Posted on March 20, 2013 | Leave a comment

“No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Theodore Roosevelt

Intimate relationship

Intimate relationship (Photo credit: Masashi Mochida)

How do you feel when you are able to empathize with one you love?  Does having someone empathize with you draw you closer?  How important is empathy in your life?  Is it a part of love?

It’s spring again and the days grow longer and the light becomes more intense.  On winter’s cold days, I enjoyed curling up under a blanket to read, writing in my journal, or watching a few televisions programs.  But with the Spring Equinox, something shifts, and although March can’t decide whether it’s winter or spring, a few flowers are beginning to blossom.

The light pulls at me and I want to be outside.  Something opens in me—my heart feels exposed and touched by the blossoms and the song of new birds returning to the area.  I want to be the light spreading through the forest.

Edith Wharton said, “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or to be the mirror that reflects it.”  One way I can spread light is through my words, and today the word that compels me to speak is empathy because I’ve decided to write a series of blogs on relationships and feel it is the most essential quality in a loving or caring relationship.

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Empathy In Healthy Relationships

We have many kinds of relationships with friends, family, lovers, or co-workers, and the quality of those relationships involves several aspects: empathy, intimacy, integrity, and commitment.  In healthy relationships, all these aspects function in a positive way.  They create a meaningful connection, but the lack of empathy always creates separation.  When a therapist friend of mine stated that the main reason for divorce in this country is lack of empathy, I wasn’t surprised.

Empathy is the deep emotional understanding of another’s feelings or problems.  We may feel what the other person is feeling because we’ve had a similar experience or we may be emotionally sensitive enough that we can imagine how they feel.  It is a deeper understanding than sympathy which is merely an intellectual understanding of what the other person feels.

Parents Must Teach Children Empathy

In any kind of relationship, empathy makes it possible for two people to bond in a caring way.  Empathy comes from a loving and spiritual place within us, and it is a skill we hopefully learn as children from our parents’ behavior.  Parents must teach children to identify what they feel and encourage them to talk about what bothers them and makes them happy or angry.  Otherwise, they may withdraw or develop dysfunctional ways, such as bullying, to express their frustration.

I have had the experience of talking with an adult, expressing my anger about a situation, and had them pull away.  One friend even asked me why I was angry at her when I was talking about a situation that had nothing to do with her and where she wasn’t even present.  I came to understand that when people, like my friend, have been reared to believe it isn’t acceptable to feel negative emotion or to express it, they withdraw when those feelings are expressed by others.  They may have the ability to empathize only when acceptable emotions are expressed.

Lack Of Empathy May Damage Relationships

This withdrawal can be damaging to a love relationship.  I had a similar experience with a man who was unable to see how some of his behaviors were hurtful to me and this caused on-going conflict.  He had learned in childhood that the way to be safe when there was conflict was not to express feelings and to physically withdraw.  This behavior may have protected him as a child, but as an adult, his inability to empathize with my feelings prevented us from having a deeper emotional connection.

Empathy Is Essential To Community

I am fortunate to live in a beautiful mountain community where spiritual awareness is at a high level.  Still, I meet people who are so stuck on being right that their narrow-mindedness separates them from the group or community. They don’t see how disrespectful they are.  The problem isn’t that their thoughts or beliefs are too different from the groups’ ideas, but that they have to prove theirs is the only right idea. They create separation rather than connection. They clearly lack empathy.

Adults Can Learn To Be Empathetic

Expressing empathy says, “I care,” and we all want to know someone cares.  It is deeply hurtful when those we love are not empathetic.  Even when we reach adulthood without this vital skill, it is still possible to learn how to empathize through therapy or just retraining ourselves, not only to listen to others, but to listen to ourselves.  We can go inside and learn to identify what we are really feeling and set our intention to become more aware.  Peter Gerlach says that emotions point to a need that needs filling.  If we don’t know what we’re feeling, we can’t fill our own needs, much less someone else’s.

I think Roosevelt was right, “No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”  Take the time to listen and be empathetic.  This is one of the deepest and most loving ways we may connect with other people, letting them know we understand their pain and frustration.  When we can risk sharing more intimate thoughts and feelings, we may come to know and love each other in profound ways.  Expressing empathy in a relationship may transform it.  We are all One after all.

© 2013 Georganne Spruce                                                           ZQT4PQ5ZN7F5

Related Articles:  Empathy in Leadership: Ten Reasons Why It Matters, Living in Patience with Your Emotional Pain Body – Eckhart Tolle, 5 Barriers to Empathy in Marriage (and How to Overcome Them)

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AWAKENING TO SPIRITUAL SURRENDER

Posted on February 27, 2013 | 3 Comments

“When one approaches any effort with the energy of reluctance or half-heartedness, the result will not be satisfying.  When you choose a spiritual path because your mind tells you that you should, you can expect to be disappointed.  When you practice a spiritual discipline begrudgingly, enduring the repetitions, rather than savoring them, the method will prove fruitless.  For the vibrancy of any approach is based not on the mechanics of the practice but upon one’s total surrender to the direction in which the practice leads you.”  Oneness

Biltmore Estate 2011 015

How do you deal with your frustration when your meditation or other spiritual practice does not give you the peace you seek?  What expectations do you have about the spiritual path you follow?

Has your spiritual practice always led you in the direction you expected?  Mine hasn’t.  In fact, I would describe my spiritual journey as a spiral dance, often changing direction and going where I least expected.  At times, my life has felt stuck in an uncomfortable and unpleasant place, and it has taken me many years to understand that, in most instances, my resistance was keeping me stuck because I wanted the experience to be what I wanted it to be, not what it actually was.

Living  With Traditional “Shoulds” and Should Nots”

Growing up, my family attended a traditional Protestant church and I learned many “shoulds” and “should nots.”  That, along with my perfectionist tendencies, made me a person who was comfortable with a situation only when it was the way I thought it should be.  But as time went by, it seemed that too many things happened that shouldn’t have.  My brother shouldn’t have had polio.  I shouldn’t have had rheumatic fever.  We were good kids and our parents were good people.  Why was this happening?

Eventually, as a young adult, I realized this spiritual path wasn’t working for me.  I knew I was supposed to be religious, but I gave up and allowed myself to find the inspiration I sought in the fine arts where each creation I experienced was a glimpse into the artist’s soul.

Perfectionism Limits Freedom

I was so conditioned with “shoulds” that they continued to haunt me.  Early in my modern dance training, I was so focused on not falling and doing every movement perfectly that I was always tense.  As I became more confident and skilled, I finally surrendered and let myself become one with the movement, choosing the exhilaration over the perfection.  I felt free for the first time. That’s when I really began to dance and dance began to feed me spiritually.

Learning to Savor the Moment

When I learned to meditate, I tried so hard to do it correctly.  I judged myself for not being able to be calmer more quickly until my teacher finally said, “You don’t have to do it perfectly, you just need to sit there.  Just notice your thoughts and let them go.”  Eventually, I learned to “savor” the stillness and quiet of sitting.  I saw it as a vacation from my busy life.  Like lying on the beach listening to the ocean waves brush the shore, I let my thoughts flow through my mind without judging them.

Exploring Spiritual Practices

Exploring Spiritual Practices (Photo credit: robinsan)

Surrender Opens Us To A Spiritual Connection

As Oneness points out, the only way we can move forward with our spiritual practice is to “surrender to the direction in which the practice leads you.”  As we practice, a feeling of peace may come over us with guidance that helps us take a step forward in our life process.  It may seem strange, but we have to learn not to pay attention in order to notice what really matters.

Having Courage To Follow The Path

When the direction the practice leads us is one we like, we look forward to practicing because we envision a positive and refreshing experience.  But if we truly practice, we do not control what appears and it may be darker rather than light.  It is human to want to avoid the unpleasant; yet we cannot grow and expand without acknowledging the negative aspects of our thoughts.  These are often the moments when our fears appear, flooding us with despair or anger, and we have to acknowledge them and then let them go.

Often, in being able to see and feel the fear, we are able to understand what to do about the problem that created it.  It’s not unusual for so much clutter to be cleared out during mediation or other practices that we can finally see a solution that comes from our spiritual self rather than the ego that is so busy trying to be right.  The solutions that include the deeper aspects of a problem are the most satisfying ones, for they don’t just gloss over the problem, they expose it so it can be solved.

Savoring each repetition and moment of silence in our practice centers us and raises our vibration, allowing Spirit to guide us to what we most need to experience.

What is your most meaningful spiritual practice?

© 2013 Georganne Spruce                                                            ZQT4PQ5ZN7F5

Related Articles:  Yoga, A Spiritual Path, Enlightened Beings: Secrets to Walking A Spiritual Path, Wayne Dyer – There Is a Solution, What Is the Meaning of Surrender in Spiritual Practice

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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.

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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

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AWAKENING TO OUR CHOICES

Posted on November 7, 2012 | 3 Comments

“If we really want to be full and generous in spirit, we have no choice but to trust at some level.” Rita Dove

When you make a choice, do you think about the consequences?  Do you think about how your choices will impact those around you?  What do you expect our country’s leaders to base their choices on?

The Balance of Power Has Shifted

Yesterday was a game-changing day for the United States.  Barack Obama was re-elected as president, but who elected him is as significant as the victory itself.  Something is shifting in this country.  Ninety-three percent of African-American voters voted for him.  Seventy-one percent of Hispanic voters voted for him, and fifty-five percent of women voted for Obama.

These groups of people, who during my lifetime have struggled for equality in the system, are finally stepping into their own power.  Now the numbers are great enough to influence change in this country, and I think that’s a good thing.  Their choices count in a way they never have before.

We are fortunate to live in a country where we have a system that allows us to choose the people who run the country.  The choices we make on Election Day are significant, but the choices we make each day of our lives can also bring about huge changes.  The diversity in this country will not go away.  We have only one choice—learn to live with people who are different from us.

We Must Choose To Trust One Another

To be the spiritual beings we truly are, we must be willing to trust.  To do that, we have to give up the need to be “right” all the time.  Our need to be “right” keeps us attached to issues that need to be released.  In Rasha’s Oneness, Oneness says “When you are able to let go of the need for ego validation on the issues that help define the history of this lifetime, you have taken the tentative first steps toward liberation from those patterns.”  This is how we become unstuck.

Fear Beneath the Need To Be Right

Have you ever made a decision to prove you were right only to have it blow up in your face?  When we let our egos run our lives, we often miss making the wisest choices.  When we feel the urge to prove we are right, we need to look for the fear beneath that need and deal with that first.  Releasing the fear frees us to act from a deeper place and calms the ego.

Likewise, our leaders need to stop worrying about whether the vote on an issue is won by the Republicans or the Democrats.  This isn’t a football game.  The only thing that matters is did they do what is best for the majority of the people?  Will this decision help people to live better lives?  Our leaders must choose to be trustworthy so that they can trust each other and the people can trust them.  Too often, good ideas have been dropped because one side couldn’t stand to see the other “win” and blocked the law’s passage.

Act For the Highest Good Of All

The question then is not “Am I right?  Did I win?”  The only question we ever need to ask when making a decision is “Is this for the highest good of all?”  If it isn’t, the decision isn’t the right one.  Our decisions are energy flowing into the cosmic ocean to support its life or to pollute it.  When we act out of love and generosity, our spiritual energy feeds the whole.  We should expect no less from our leaders.

As Oneness says, “All the rules are changing now.  Your world, as you have been schooled to understand it, has already ceased to be.  The cellular structure of every life form on your planet has been altered.  The resonant vibration of every living thing has been augmented.  And the attunement of all consciousness to heightened levels has been achieved.  As a race, the human population has opened itself to receive the gift of Grace.  And even though precious few are aware of that shift, all are manifesting the result, in one form or another.” (Page 104)  One result of this shift is that we are no longer in control.  Resistance to the change taking place is pointless.

Those who are creating the positive changes in our society are the ones who are aware and are leading the way for the rest of us.  Because of these changes, we need to make better choices in our own lives and insist that our leaders make better choices that will create a life that will uplift and enrich us all.  We all deserve a life that is “full and generous in spirit.”

© 2012 Georganne Spruce                                                                  ZQT4PQ5ZN7F5

Related Articles:  Is Being Compassionate Healthy? Freedom Is Accepting Our Consequences, Leaders Who Work Most Effectively

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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

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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

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AWAKENING FROM THE HEART

Posted on August 9, 2012 | Leave a comment

“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart.  Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”   Carl Jung

Where are you looking when you envision creating something new in your life?  Where does the vision start?  What is your secret to manifesting it?

Dreaming From Outside

We all have dreams about what we want in life, but what happens when we try to manifest them?  And what does it take for us to bring them into reality?  According to Jung, it all starts in the heart.  In many instances, we “dream” of what we want.  We envision how our external lives would look with more money, our own business, a new relationship, or a different house.  We may imagine how we would look behind a lovely mahogany desk in a powerful managerial position, or standing in the midst of a major gallery with people all around us adoring our paintings.

But on a deeper plane, what is the core of this dream?  Does it fit with who we really are?  We may not even be conscious of the source of the dream or whether it originates from ego’s needs or from our spiritual source.  When I began studying dance years ago, I wanted to be beautiful like the dancers I saw, and I wanted to stop feeling weak.  Because we had to also create dances in the classes, I discovered it was also a way to be creative.  It fulfilled several needs for me, but most were external.

The Value of Going Deeper

As time went by and my body strengthened, I became more confident moving.  I was able to let go and dance from the heart, and when I did this, an uplifting energy and joy flowed through me.  I was operating from a deeper level.  I began to see the mind and body were connected and how they influenced each other.  The stress from daily life created tension in the body.  The tension blocked my movement and interfered with the flow that was so pleasant.  At this point, I was forced to look inside and awakened to realize the blocks were emotional and mental.  It was this awakening that led me to explore the spiritual practices that would release these blocks at the deepest level.

On the other hand, my experience as a writer has been quite different.  The desire to write tugged at my heart from an early age.  It was not a rational thing.  In fact, most of the poetry I wrote was about the love of nature or love relationships.  The essays I write now are almost always inspirational and initially flow from my trust that what comes from my heart will benefit others.

Creating from the Heart

Whatever we create from the heart level is more authentic because it comes from our spiritual core.  For example, following our passion is a heart activity. It awakens us to all possibilities.   We are most expansive when we open at the heart level where we can envision more than what we are able to view through the rational mind.

The heart has no hidden agenda, unlike the ego.  What we envision from the heart will have a clarity that will enable us to see what we really want to manifest because, unless our vision is clear, we will not be able to manifest what we really want.  It’s much like planting flowers or corn.  We wouldn’t just lay the seeds on top of the ground and expect them to sprout new plants.  We know we must dig into the soil and place the seeds there in that rich, dark place where they will germinate.  In order for our vision to grow out into the world, we must go to the heart where we connect with rich spiritual energy.   When we operate from this awakened place, the emotion that we use to manifest this vision will be genuine and focused and more likely produce what we want in a way that is also for the highest good of all.

Have any of your recent visions originated from your heart?  Were you able to manifest them?

© 2012 Georganne Spruce                                                            ZQT4PQ5ZN7F5

Related Articles: Prologue to Awakening to the Dance: A Journey to Wholeness, Was Carl Jung A Buddhist?, The Spiritual Heart:  Your Inner Treasure, Manifesting Abundance Through the Magnet of the Heart

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AWAKENING TO NONRESISTANCE

Posted on August 1, 2012 | 5 Comments

“Nonresistance is the key to the greatest power in the universe.  Through it, consciousness (spirit) is freed from its imprisonment in form.”  Eckhart Tolle

When something happens that you don’t like, how do you respond?  Do you react?  Withdraw?  Consider multiple options for response?

Why Do We Choose Doing Rather Than Being?

The other day as I worked on my computer, the screen went black and a brief message appeared telling me there was a threat to the system, and it was shutting down to protect my data.  It happened so suddenly that my only response was stunned silence.  Then I thought, “What am I supposed to do?”  I had no idea.  This had never happened before.  I waited a few minutes and then brought up the computer in “safe mode,” and it was fine.  Then I shut it down and brought it up in “normal mode,” and it was fine.

In reflecting on this event, I found it interesting that I asked, “What am I supposed to do?” not “How am I supposed to be?”  Actually, the computer had taken care of the doing and all I could do was to be with it.  When something unexpected happens, why do I always think of what action to take first?

Transcending Limitations

In this physical life, one of our challenges is learning how to transcend our limitations and create a life that is rewarding and uplifting.  Tolle and many other spiritual teachers would tell us the secret is to be in the moment and not to resist what we experience.  Reading A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, changed my life.  Tolle covered this topic so completely that I was unable to ignore the power of what he suggested.

When we are able to be in the moment, feel what we are experiencing, and let go of what is negative, it opens an entirely new path for us.  We are able to see more clearly, we are able to go deeper, and we more easily find joy.  On pages 210-211 of A New Earth, Tolle says, “When you are present, when your attention is fully in the Now, that Presence will flow into and transform what you do.  There will be quality and power in it.  You are present when what you are doing is not primarily a means to an end (money, prestige, winning) but fulfilling in itself, when there is joy and aliveness in what you do.”

Releasing Resistance

Living a life where we try to stay in the moment, doesn’t mean we don’t take action.  It just means we become aware, then choose action. It may even mean we choose to do nothing.  In being present, there is no resistance; there is no fear because it is fear that creates the resistance to begin with.  We are so conditioned in this society to do, to produce, to accomplish, and to do it quickly that we are skipping the most important step.  If we make decisions about our lives from a place of being in the moment rather than from a place of fearing and resisting, we will make more beneficial choices.

Being Spiritually Present in the Moment

The learning curve in my life this year has been so overwhelming that I can’t imagine how I would have dealt with it had I not been exposed to the many nuances in Tolle’s teachings.  Knowing how to meditate helped, but it wasn’t enough.  Now I can sit in front of my extremely long “to do” list, prioritize it, and calmly begin working with the first item.  Working with a deadline is more challenging, but the more I focus in the moment and choose not to become attached to distractions, the more I accomplish.  When I encounter a difficulty and find myself resisting it, I stop to remember how nicely things go when I don’t resist. I sit quietly for a moment, giving my mind time to process what I need, and wait for the solution to show up.  Sometimes the answer shows up right away; other times it’s clear I need to go on and what I need shows up later.

Staying in the moment is empowering because it connects us with Spirit and that gives us access to deeper and richer places within.  New ideas spring forth because we do not allow conditioned ideas from our past to create resistance and stop us from experimenting.  What we do is filled with joy because it comes from our spiritual core.  The true expression of who we are fills our lives with satisfaction and excitement.  Ego calms down and our spirit leads the way.  Without resistance, life flows like a mountain stream.

©2012 Georganne Spruce                                                             ZQT4PQ5ZN7F5

Related Articles:  On finding Balance – Tolle, Being in the Moment – Tolle (video), 5 Ways to Let Go of Resistance

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DANCING TO AWARDS

Posted on July 25, 2012 | 1 Comment

(Please look in the side bar for the image awards.  They disappeared today from this space due to technical problems beyond my comprehension)

Over the last year, I received three blogger awards which I haven’t posted or followed through with.  I apologize for taking so long to reach this point, but I had to make finishing my book and publishing it the priority in my life.  I just didn’t have time to answer the questions and find so many other bloggers to link with.  So, in order to avoid delaying any further, today I will respond to all three.

I was excited to receive these awards and each time this recognition really gave me a lift.  I still don’t have a huge number of followers, but the ones I have are so inspiring, and I love their comments.  Some are close friends here in the mountains; others are hundreds of miles or continents away, but we are connected in a spiritual way and learn from each other.

First, I want to thank Dimitie Kendall who is a coach and writer with many positive thoughts.  She nominated me for both the Liebster and Sunshine Awards. Secondly,Yoga Leigh at Notes from the Bluegrass, who nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award, is a constant inspiration because she is so good at going deeply into major themes. Thank you both for thinking of me.

The Sunshine Award is given to blogs that positively and creatively inspire others.  As a winner one has to:

  1. Thank the person who gave you the award and write a post about it.
  2. Answer the questions on favorites.
  3. Pass the award to 10 inspiring bloggers, link their blogs, and let them know you awarded them.

Favorite Color – Green

Favorite Animal – Cats of all kinds

Favorite Number – 6

Favorite Drink – Mango juice

I’m on Facebook, but not Twitter yet

My Passion – anything that is creative

Getting or Giving Presents – I like both

Favorite Day – Saturday

Flowers – Daisies (I like their smiling faces)

In addition I am passing on the award to the following 10 bloggers.  Here are their links so you can visit and enjoy.  In addition to spirituality, I’m also interested in mythology, psychology and health.  You’ll see them all reflected in my choices.

1. Jeremiah, http://knowthesphere.wordpress.com/

2. Debbie, http://dailymuse.spiritlightinsight.com/

3. It’s A Jung World http://sycofx.wordpress.com/

4. Hand in Hand With Spirit  http://handinhandwithspirit.com/

5. Yvonne Serocki,  http://newheavenonearth.wordpress.com/

6. Alpha Miguel-Sanford, Aspire, Motivate, Succeed  http://amsdaily.net/

7. Artist of the Everyday http://artistoftheeveryday.wordpress.com/

8. Michael Clark, Earthpages  http://epages.wordpress.com/

9. Nadine Marie, Aligning with Truth, http://mytruthsetsmefree.wordpress.com/

10. SSHenry, Redefining Reality: A Metaphysical Odyssey  http://sshenry.com/

Now, on to the Liebster Award which is give to bloggers who have less than 200 followers.  I have no idea how to determine this, so I’m just choosing to award 5 more sites that I like.

1. I am to thank the person who gave me the award and link back to her blog

2. Copy and paste the award icon onto my post (at beginning of post

3. Pass the award on to 5 fellow bloggers and notify them

I will forward this award to:

1. Enlightened Living  http://iiriaa.wordpress.com/

2. Juanita, The Oneness Channeling, http://theonenesschannelings.wordpress.com/

3. Sara Morgan, http://workonmyterms.com/

4. Working Purposely, http://workingpurposely.wordpress.com/

5. Coaching Mary, http://coachingmary.wordpress.com/

And now to the third award, The Versatile Blogger, given to me by Leigh at Notes from the Bluegrass.  Thank you so much.  I have already linked to her site at the beginning of the blog.

The requirements for this award are similar to the others: thank the person who nominated me and link to them and tell the person who nominated me 7 things about myself:

I love to read Michael Connelly mysteries, my favorite fiction writer is Barbara Kingsolver, I rarely listen to music except for birdsongs, my favorite nuts are almonds, I like the daily readings in Science of Mind Magazine, my favorite vegetable is broccoli, I always wear earrings.

I must nominate 15 bloggers and link to them.  I’m sorry I can’t come up with 15 new ones so some will be repeats from other awards, but there are many good blogs.  Nominees:

  1. Health Demystified, http://healthdemystified.wordpress.com/about/
  2. Lori Deschene, Tiny Buddha http://tinybuddha.com/
  3. Muse Vault, http://musevault.wordpress.com/
  4. Hand in Hand With Spirit http://handinhandwithspirit.com/
  5. Three Well Beings, http://breathelighter.wordpress.com/
  6. Walter Smith, Newdigitalscapes , http://walterwsmith.wordpress.com/
  7. Yvonne Serocki, http://newheavenonearth.wordpress.com/
  8. Steffini Lum, Meta Body Mind http://newheavenonearth.wordpress.com/
  9. Enlightened Living  http://iiriaa.wordpress.com/
  10. Artist of the Everyday http://artistoftheeveryday.wordpress.com/
  11. Michael Clark, Earthpages http://epages.wordpress.com/
  12. Trish, Absolute Awareness, http://absoluteawareness.wordpress.com/
  13. The Inner Revolution, http://khatijadadabhoy.wordpress.com/
  14. Juanita, The Oneness Channeling, http://theonenesschannelings.wordpress.com/
  15. It’s A Jung World http://sycofx.wordpress.com/

I know this is a lot to absorb at once, but please try to take a look at some of the sites and save the page to look at more later.  I’ve learned so much from all these writers and I hope you will find them helpful too.  Again, many thanks to Leigh and Dimitie for this recognition.  Next week I’ll be back to my usual musings.  Namaste.

© 2012 Georganne Spruce                                                        ZQT4PQ5ZN7F5

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AWAKENING TO THE DANCE – THE BOOK IS HERE!

Posted on February 22, 2012 | 1 Comment

Design by Leslie Shaw Design

Is there some project you keep planning to do that will ignite your passion?  Are you willing to share what you’ve learned in life with others?  What has inspired you lately or who have you inspired?  How are you part of the One?

As many of you know from reading this blog, I’ve been working on a spiritual memoir for ten years.  Finally, I have completed it and it is available as an eBook on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  A paperback will be available in a few weeks.

What a journey this has been! I spent years going through the journals I’d kept since the 1960s.  I cried, laughed, relived events, pondered how I had changed through the years, and healed in many ways.  In addition to the personal healing that occurred, I started learning to write.  I took classes, joined writer’s critique groups, and asked endless questions of every writer I met.

The Real Story

What is the content of the book?  Basically, it’s about what it was like to be a woman trying to find an authentic identity in a time when women were narrowly defined by society’s stereotypes.  It’s about the years when I was a dancer and taught dance.  It’s about relationships and how the men I knew also struggled with society’s male stereotypes.  It’s about trying to balance creativity and practicality.  It’s about the challenges of working in school systems that were inadequate and the contrast between them and private schools.  It’s about the spiritual journey at the core of all of this and all the spiritual practices that helped me become the person I wanted to be.

Why Me?

I never thought I would write a memoir.  After all, I’m not a celebrity.  I haven’t been addicted to drugs or alcohol or been a victim of abuse—the subject of so many memoirs.  But at a very critical moment in my life, a woman suggested to me that there was value in sharing my journey—that other’s might benefit from it.  At that moment, I needed to believe something positive would come from my suffering.

I’ve also experienced great joy in life, and I wanted to share that too.  For me, there is nothing quite as transcendent as dance or love.  I experienced healing and growth through my career and personal life.  I accomplished my greatest dream.  I found my way to a wonderful life in the mountains of western North Carolina.  If sharing my journey with you will guide, entertain or enlighten you, then I know the years of work were worth it.  I guess I won’t ever really give up being a teacher.  Now, rather than being in a classroom, I teach through sharing my thoughts.

We Are All One

We’re all One, but each journey is unique.  I’ve learned so much from every person who has ever been in my life, and I’m eternally grateful for the lessons I’ve learned.  It is my greatest hope that this book will be inspiring or helpful to my readers in some way.  May you be blessed.

For more information on the book, click here or visit Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Next week, I will return to the theme of “Awakening to the World,” including some experiences from my trip to West Africa.

© 2012 Georganne Spruce

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