Friday, November 30, 2018

God Wants Us To Be Happy

Today's A Course in Miracles lesson #74 is titled THERE IS NO WILL BUT GOD'S. 

Seems so simple and yet my mind can create complexity around this basic, true principle. What is God's Will for all of us but that we be happy?  That we trust, know we are cared for, we are eternal, that His Kingdom is within us and not in the seeming world "out there". 

I can testify that reading, contemplating on and practicing each daily lesson in my everyday life has shifted my experience as Savina.

How so?  Well, whenever I become aware of any old ego thought and emotion I'm experiencing (and I can tell by how I'm feeling....crappy), I have the discipline to notice it and remind myself of what I am learning.  It's really an unlearning of those old concepts and applying the new ones.  It may sound like brain-washing, but I don't care what it seems like.  The proof is in how I am feeling. 

Am I happier?  Yes!  Am I experiencing more peace and joy?  Yes! Is there less conflict and drama in my mind and life?  Absolutely. Anxiety?  Minimal.  (I dealt with anxiety and depression for years). I trust God (and myself) way more than I have ever in the past. It all starts right there, in my mind. In my thoughts.

So, I don't doubt the principles anymore because they work.  I still have "stuff" to heal in me. They come up like bubbles in water. Undoing a lifetime of fear-based beliefs is an on-going practice. But I am soooo loving this awakening process. 

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

What Does Forgiveness Mean To You?


I learned through general knowledge (and religion) that forgiveness was a godly trait, and as a “good person” I “should” forgive those that wronged me.  That seemed easy enough….but it wasn’t. 

I was willing to forgive but I still felt the hurt and resentful feelings.  I had no idea what to do about them except stuff them inside of me.  Of course, they would surface in passive ways and create rifts in my relationships. 

Once I started the YOU University work, forgiveness was presented in whole other way. I remember how sweet in my heart it felt to read:  Forgiveness means to GIVE LOVE AS BEFORE.  Yes, I wanted to experience that.

I found healing as I did the work of first acknowledging and honoring my feelings towards those that I believed had hurt me, and then I used the written tools learned in the program to process and express them.  

But I admit I felt resistance in the process because I wanted retribution, I wanted to continue feeling like a victim.  But more than anything I needed to heal….so I wrote many love letters to those I had believed had wronged me in the past.  This allowed me to reach the love and/or understanding that was in my heart for myself and the other person.....and peace. 

Today, when I forgive, I acknowledge my feelings first and then I do my best to understand the other person’s situation.  I do this process with the help of my Higher Self (It helps me see the bigger picture) and sometimes I talk it over with a friend indeed and or write a love letter.  

My understanding of true forgiveness is even deeper now as I learn through my practice of the principles in A Course in Miracles that everyone is doing the best they can with what they know.  That they cannot hurt my True Being because it is invulnerable.  I am not perfect, I am a work in progress; but the more I forgive, the closer I am to reaching my True Being, that state of love, peace and joy.  

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Gentle and Loving Words


Life and spiritual coaches, and all healers and helpers....let our words be gentle and loving with our clients and with the people in our lives, especially ourselves.

Through my 
Pathways of Light Ministerial training, I experienced how gentle, loving and fear-free the Pathways courses are.....based on the principles of A Course in Miracles and I remember the words of my facilitator: “A teacher should never say anything that will produce fear in their students.”  Oh my God, yes.  And A Course in Miracles is all about LOVE.  No guilt, no fear.  We are loved and there is no condemnation. 

I have been so enamored by the message of love and forgiveness in the Course. The message throughout the entire book is that we are guiltless and sinless. As I read the material, I sense God's love and acceptance of me and of all of us, and I practice these principles in my everyday life (to the best of my ability), bringing them to each of my relationships.  Whenever I feel I have failed to embody the principles because I react from my old ego-based nature, my Higher Self gently reminds me that it's ok...I am loved and there is no judgment.  There is no fear!!!!
Whenever we use fear-based words or comments, others automatically raise their defenses, creating separation and the false belief of self-protection.  Let us remember this as we relate with our clients and to all of Life and ourselves.  May our words be empowering, uplifting, honest, and always focused on who we really are!!!

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Our Thoughts Have Power


These are statements from A Course in Miracles workbook lessons.  I’ve read through them many, many times in the past 11 years as a student of this spiritual path.  But it’s now that I am dedicated to practicing them deeply and am experiencing their effects. Good ones!

Living these principles is not the same as knowing them. They really challenge my thought system. I’ve known them but now I am better at living them.  So, whenever I feel uneasy, afraid, unworthy, less than, defensive, any yucky stuff, I am much quicker at catching the thought creating these feelings as soon as it arises.  I remind myself of the truth of my being, and I let it go. Often it takes several times going through this process, but it works the same.  

I know that if I hold on to this thought/belief it will eventually produce some kind of effect in the world I see and affect me directly.  I choose peace.

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Who are We?


Who Am I?  Who are you?  Well, the many spiritual  books I've read on this journey affirm that we are all (in essence) changeless, eternal, love, powerful, and so much more.  What a wonderful, freeing feeling it is to accept this about ourselves.

Because of my self-defeating beliefs learned at an early age,  I believed that I was not enough, that I would never know enough to do and be what I so much desired.  I compared myself with others (always feeling less than, of course) and felt I wasn't worthy of the best in life.

In spite of this feeling of unworthiness, I decided I would find out what my purpose here was.  I was on a quest to discover who I really was. My True Self was not about my roles as a mother, a wife, a professional, a woman nor any of the other labels that had defined me.

Along the way, I experienced abusive relationships that kept me stuck for many years and sort of detached from what I had begun to pursue.  But even this served as a motivator to continue my quest.

I kept on and followed that deep, inner desire to heal.  I chose to study life coaching and also become an ordained minister.  Both life-changing and have served as part of my awakening and healing process. As a result I can testify that I've never been happier, my relationships are healthier, my choices are too!!

As I use what I've learned when the old stuff comes up, I don't allow the self-defeating thoughts to hang around in my head anymore.  I choose now to focus on what is true of me and of us all.  I remind myself consistently that:

  • I am powerful
  • I am loved and loving
  • I am the light of the world
  • I am eternal
  • I am provided for
  • God is always with me; I am never alone
Close your eyes if only for a moment and repeat those words to yourself.  Feel them.  Start your day with this purpose of being who you truly are moment to moment.  When the old stuff comes up, just remind yourself.  It is very freeing and joyful.