Your Journey to Healing

Regions of the cerebral cortex associated with pain. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Self-knowledge is frightening.  Which means that for many people, healing is frightening.  When we look around ourselves and see just how dominant entertainment has become in our society, we must keep in mind the basic reason for which we love entertainment– because it allows us to pass time without reflecting on who we are, what we are, what we want, what we believe.  When we keep ourselves entertained by outside sources–movies and music and sports and video games–we don’t have to reflect, and we don’t have to look into our hearts.  And so many people wonder why healing is so difficult sometimes.

If my heart has been broken, the only way that I can heal is to get in touch with how I really feel inside, and why.  It’s very similar to having to heal a broken bone–we need to know where the pain is located, what caused the break, and what shape the bone is in right now.  If I’ve done something that’s hurt me deeply, like causing another person pain or doing something that violates my moral principles, then I need to look inside and find the source of my discomfort and then deal with it on its terms, not necessarily the terms that are the easiest for me to handle.

“Expanding our awareness of who we are.”  Frightening words, aren’t they?  One of the reasons for which people find these words so frightening is that they’re afraid that as they learn more about themselves, they’ll lose much of what they find comfortable now.  As I’ve grown in my life, I’ve given up things like television, and I know plenty of people who are completely unwilling to do something like that.  To me, though, it’s not a loss–it’s a gain of plenty of free time to do things that are much more important to me.

We’re all hurting.  But healing doesn’t necessarily come from a prescription or a trip to the doctor’s office.  Much healing comes from looking inside and recognizing the stress, the negative feelings and attitudes, the sorrow, the pain, the hopelessness that we keep locked up inside ourselves and that continues to gnaw away at us from the inside, causing much of our physical pain and discomfort.  We need to heal the spirit by knowing the spirit, and then our bodies will follow suit.

Healing in its fullest
sense requires looking into
our heart and expanding our
awareness of who we are.

Mitchell Gaynor

Healing is the journey.  The destination is yourself.  The full recognition of all the different aspects of yourself—your joy, your sorrow, your pain, your pleasure—all lead you to the source of who you are.  Only by having intimate contact with this source can you experience the fullness of your life.  Only by fearlessly looking within can you embrace the landscape of your life and open yourself completely to all the love and compassion that lives inside you.

Philip Berk

An Angel Poem

Image via Wikipedia

AN ANGEL POEM

This beautiful angel poem describes in a small way, how it feels to be guided by angels.

The Angels May angels rest beside your door,
May you hear their voices sing.
May you feel their loving care for you,
May you hear their peace bells ring.
May angels always care for you,
And not let you trip and fall,
May they bear you up on angel’s wings,
May they keep you standing tall.
May they whisper wisdom in your ear,
May they touch you when you need,
May they remove from you each trace of fear,
May they keep you from feeling greed.
May they fill you with their presence,
May they show you love untold,
May they always stand beside you
And make you ever bold.
May they teach you what you need to know
About life here and here-after.
May they fill you always with their love
And give you the gift of laughter

Heaven’s Grocery Store

Heaven’s Grocery Store
As I walked down life’s highway, feeling weary and sore
I came upon a sign that said ‘Heaven’s Grocery Store’
When I drew a little closer, the doors opened wide
And before I knew it, I found myself inside

I saw a host of angels – they were standing everywhere
One handed me a basket and said “My child, shop with care
Everything you ever need is in this Grocery Store
And what you cannot carry, you can just come back for more”

First I got some Patience, then Love in the same row,
Further down the aisle, some Understanding and Inner Glow
I found a box of Wisdom, and Faith a bag or two
And Charity, of course, because that is needed too.

I couldn’t miss the Holy Spirit, which was all over the place
And then some Strength and Courage, to help me run this race
My basketful was growing, but there had to be some space
For that necessity of living, a large amount of Grace.

I then chose Salvation, for Salvation was for free.
I tried to get enough of it, for my friends and me.
Then I headed for the checkout, to settle up my bill
For I thought I’d got everything, to do the Master’s Will.

As I turned back up the aisle, I saw Prayer and put it in
For I knew that when I left here, that I’d soon need help again
Peace and Joy were plentiful, the last things on the shelf
Song and Praise were hanging near, and so I helped myself.

When I said to the Angel, “Tell me what I owe?”
He just smiled and said “Share them everywhere you go”
Again I asked, “Really now, how much do I owe?”
“My child” he said “God paid your bill a long long time ago”

Our Deepest Fear

Image by drp via Flickr

OUR DEEPEST FEAR

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is
within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously
give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

by Marianne
Williamson

20 Words That Are Life Changing

BEGIN

Take charge of your life by beginning something you’ve always wanted to do.  If your goal seems overwhelming, start small.

IMAGINE

Your imagination has no boundaries…”dreaming about something is the first step towards achieving it.”

LAUGH

“Laughter is a direct route to the soul.  It broadens your perspective, keeps you healthy, and makes an unbearable situation easier to deal with.”

BELIEVE

Set your mind to predict success.  Tell yourself you will succeed at whatever you’re doing  at the moment.

SEEK

Allow yourself to grow by exposing your vulnerability and insecurity.  Don’t live strictly inside your comfort zone-don’t always play it safe.

PLAY

We can always find something that “needs to be done” and we forget how to have fun.  Make a conscious effort to take time off-you’ll feel refreshed and able to think more clearly afterwards.

TRUST

“…being paralyzed by indecision is worse than making the wrong decision.”  You can’t grow if you don’t trust your inner voice.

LISTEN

Try listening carefully to the other person’s point of view first, without being preoccupied or distracted.  You’ll really hear what is being said and the other person is more likely to pay attention to your views.

CREATE

Creativity maintains the balance in our lives.  The more we use our creativity, the more it develops.

CONNECT

Relationships are what pulls us through the hard times, and make the good times meaningful.  Take time to nurture the connections that uplift you.

TOUCH

Humans need touch to survive and thrive.  Don’t forget to hug your loved ones.  Pat your friends on the back, literally and figuratively.

FORGIVE

Forgiveness is life-giving because it puts you in charge.  You become empowered.

PRAY

 

“Prayer is asking God to transform the situation and become the heart of your life.”  Take time each day to nurture this connection.

HOPE

“Hope is the knowledge that even in the worst of times we can triumph over hardship and sorrow and grow in spirit.”  Hope is what sustains humanity.

CHOOSE

“We can’t always choose our circumstances, but we can choose our attitudes towards them.”

APPRECIATE

Admire the good in yourself and in those around you.

GIVE

Happiness involves giving freely to others and not necessarily wanting something in return.

READ

Reading removes boundaries.

WRITE

Words are Freedom.  Words are Power.

RELEASE

Avoid doing something just because everyone thinks you should.  Give yourself permission to relax.

Producer Butterfly 2729

Unashamed of the Scars of Living

O God,

through the image of a woman crucified on the cross

I understand at last.

 

For over half my life I have been ashamed of the scars I bear.

These scars tell an ugly story, a common story,

about a girl who is the victim of sexual abuse.

 

In the warmth, peace, and sunlight of your presence

I was able to uncurl the tightly clenched fists.

For the first time I felt your suffering presence

with me in that event.

 

I have know you as a vulnerable baby,

as a brother, and as a father.

Now I know you as a woman.

You were there with me

as the violated girl caught in helpless suffering.

 

The chains of fear no longer bind my heart and body.

A slow fire of compassion and forgiveness is kindled.

My tears fall now for man as well as woman.

 

You were not ashamed of your wounds.

You showed them to Thomas

as marks of your ordeal and death.

I will no longer hide these wounds of mine.

I will bear them gracefully.

They will tell a resurrection story.

 

Anonymous, inspired by the figure of a woman, arms out-stretched as if crucified, hung below the cross in a chapel in Toronto, Canada

Course in Miracles

This is just simply a post to encourage each and every One to reach higher to what you were meant to be in Him
Blessings

Another Year is Dawning

Another year is dawning:Dear Father, let it be,
In working or in waiting, another year with Thee;
Another year of progress, another year of praise,
Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.

Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace,
Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;
Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast,
Another year of trusting of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of service, of witness for Thy love;
Another year of training for holier work above;
Another year is dawning:Dear Father, let it be,
On earth or else in heaven, another year for Thee.

by Frances Ridley Havergal

True Acceptance

TRUE ACCEPTANCE

ROSES & THORNS

A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully, and before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw the bud that would soon blossom and also the thorns. And he thought, “How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns?” Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and before it was ready to bloom, it died.

So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose. The God-like qualities planted in us at birth grow amid the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects. We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential.

Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them.

One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns and find the rose within others. This is the characteristic of LOVE, to look at a person, and knowing his faults, recognize the nobility in his soul, and help him realize that he can overcome his faults. If we show him the rose, he will conquer the thorns.

Our duty in this world is to help others by showing them their roses and not their thorns. Only then can we achieve the love we should feel for each other; only then can we bloom in our own garden.

– Author Unknown