As we move into and through the month of December 2021, with opportunities for joy-filled activities and connections being experienced under very different conditions than just a year ago, we are also being presented with a chance to release whatever it is that remains in the way of our ability to celebrate a renewal of this precious gift of LIFE.
So I invite you to join with me and the thousands of other spiritual beings across the globe that are also focusing on this fundamental Power throughout the month of December, a power which is within each of us through the Grace of God. The spiritual power of LIFE.
LIFE is the ability to energize, vitalize, enliven, and invigorate. To fully experience a renewed life, we must ready ourselves to release what no longer serves us in order to make room for us to see and know what our heart-center aches to have manifested in our lives. It’s a process a bit like cleaning house; we look around and make some choices—what to keep and what to release (what still serves us and what doesn’t)—and then experience a sense of completion. Things look refreshed and we feel refreshed. Isn’t that how we all want to feel as we end 2021 and have a new vision of what may be in store for us in this world in 2022?
What steps can we take to experience a “new lease on life”? Well, here are the ones that come to mind for me:
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Get still for a while and spend some uninterrupted time in prayer and contemplation, asking God or the Spirit within (or whatever word best serves your capacity to realize and experience God’s Presence) to bring into your conscious awareness those beliefs and behaviors that truly no longer serve you, that are getting in the way of you feeling connected with yourself and the world around you.
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Having allowed these previously hidden or ignored thoughts and beliefs to surface and now “owning” them, write them down in a notebook. There they are for you to really look at and see them, in the light of compassionate curiosity and unconditional love, for what they are.
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And in that Light, they are transformed into mere history, part of an older story we can leave in the past as we choose to recognize and own the real truth of who we are: spiritual beings, made in the image of God, given LIFE, a purpose we begin to hear and understand as we spend more time listening to that still, small voice of God that whispers to us all we need to know in order to fulfill our life purpose.
Also consider these additional areas for self-reflection and assessment which are the basis for Spirit Groups, study groups that support people wishing to establish stronger connections with themselves and with others:
1. Communion – the spiritual practices which heighten our awareness of our sacred calling and personal relationship with a higher power.
2. Connection – How we are at developing friendships with people who uplift and support us in an environment of unity and equality.
3. Compassion – This spiritual practice empowers us to bless others in their times of need, to be a light in the world and to purposely seek ways to share our spiritual gifts with others in our lives.
4. Community – This discipline challenges us to boldly express our beliefs through service, even when confronted with opposing viewpoints. It allows us to expand what we know to be true and to dare to live with spiritual authenticity.
5. Challenge – This discipline involves our willingness to stretch and grow while consistently and proactively expanding our awareness of all these spiritual principles.
These are my suggestions as steps to incorporate into whatever spiritual practices you may already be making in an effort to deal with the baggage of “stuff” we’ve all been dealing with over the past year. I don’t need to list them, for you know what they are for you.
Know this, however: Whatever has surfaced is happening because we are ready to address them, to really bring them into the Light and, in that Light, discover just how magnificent and beautiful we are. It is, for each of us, our opportunity to let the rest of the world see and know “who we have come here to be!”
May the month of December be your time to RELEASE and RENEW!
Love & Light, Steven