Glinda says it so it must be true.
“You’ve always had the power my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself.”
- Glinda the Good Witch to Dorothy
The Wizard of Oz
I think with all the Spiritual Teachings saturating our world these days, we have forgotten that we’ve always had the power. It’s wonderful that there are all sorts of teachings, practices, and philosophies but we must remember that the deep knowing lies within.
How much is too much? How much devotion to teachers, mentors, and gurus is too much? At what point does their influence impact our ability to discern? We come into this world with intuition. But like all gifts, it needs to be used; the more we use it, the more fine-tuned it becomes. Very rarely as children are we prompted to use our intuition; more often children are prompted to use logic, problem solving skills, more ego-centered, dense, 3rd dimensional skills. While it’s necessary to acquire these skills, I’d venture a guess that our honed skill of relying on our intuition ranks right up there as number one in terms of importance.
I listened to a podcast featuring Neale Donald Walsch, author of Conversations with God. In it, he talks about how we come into this world perfect, not needing to learn anything. Imagine believing, embracing, and living from that place of knowing we have everything we need, seeking only the opportunity to experience. What happens to us that we get so far from there? Lost, searching externally, spending buckets of money buying into someone we believe knows more than we do. Guess what? That's so far from the truth. No one knows more about you than you!
What we must listen to is our inner wisdom, the beating of our hearts, the whispers only nature can provide. The answers are there, quietly waiting for you.
Does it help to seek outside of ourselves? Of course it does, but discernment is paramount. Knowing that the truth you seek is a compilation of varying thoughts you hear, read, interpret and form as your truth. Take what makes sense and leave the rest. Above all, don't drink anyone’s Kool-aid, even when it may taste good and feel right. I am going to bet you have all the answers you seek. You have the emotional, spiritual, and innate intelligence to know that it’s always right there, just waiting.
We must clear out the voices that swirl uncontrollably around in our heads saying the same things:
I don’t know.
This is never going to get better.
I am not enough.
I am not worthy.
While situations may be less than desirable, our perception certainly impacts how we move through this life. Keeping an open and optimistic heart, a sense of childlike curiosity, and compassion can do nothing but help. Above all, we must truly love ourselves, with all our bumps and bruises. After all, they just contribute to our uniqueness, help us to be accepting of others, understanding that we are all one - connected by the thread of the Divine.
Keep the spark, know that you are perfect, and clear out the mucky muck. Reframe these situations as just experiences, not bad, not good. Just experiences.
I’ve just had to do this myself and I can say it wasn’t fun. My ego was bruised and my feelings were hurt. I allowed myself time to sit with all of the emotions, but now it's time to switch the paradigm of that experience to something more neutral; I don’t need to judge myself or the situation. The only way I know to do this is to get quiet and listen for my deepest knowing to heal me, love me. This allows me to surrender, almost like a reboot. Shake it off. Take what will serve me, leave the rest, and kiss it good-bye. Just another experience.
Time to sing, dance, smell the flowers, and above all: continue to participate, connect, and experience all this awesome life has in store for me.
Please understand, this is not to take lightly that some situations are truly dire and require more than a walk in the woods. Know thyself, listen to thyself, and act from there. Seek out help. Mainstream and alternative modalities can provide help and support through the darkest of times.
