Wind of the Soul

Over the years, as I have worked to explore my total-self, I’ve discovered an occasional tendency to try and ignore or hide certain emotions and experiences. If something didn’t feel “proper” or if it didn’t seem to fit into a so called sublime spiritual state of being, then I found the need to repress or ignore it. And when I wasn’t forcing it back into the abyss where it came from, then I was feeling guilt or shame for thinking the thoughts and for taking the specific actions related to the thoughts.

For me, coming into a better understanding of my spiritual side has been amazing; however, it has also caused me to place a lot of undue, unnecessary stress and pressure upon myself. I think anyone that’s engaged in self-exploration and growth will eventually encounter some form of self-condemnation or judgment. As we tune into what we feel is a more aware, connected, conscientious state, it’s not uncommon to hold ourselves to an even higher standard than ever before regarding our past and present emotional responses and actions.
(Read the rest of Honoring Your Emotions & Experiences…)

As we come in contact with our real values and begin to recognize what truly matters, to us in life, we may find ourselves questioning things like materialism and wealth. There’s little doubt why those in pursuit of their own truths become disenchanted with the ideologies found in capitalistic societies. Consumerism and gluttony are encouraged from the time we are old enough to comprehend words and sentences.

As small children we were completely inundated by these concepts; from the television to the playground. And even if we lived in a household which heavily monitored how we spent our time; we were quickly brought up to speed once we enrolled in the public school system. These “lessons” always managed to find us by way of peer pressure, judgment and downright cruelty.
(Read the rest of Abundance or Scarcity?…)

A prerequisite or at least co-requisite of persistence (for goal achievement) is an unshakable belief in ourselves and the projects we undertake. Yet, how do we develop and maintain this foundation of belief, in a world which seems so determined to undermine our self-confidence? There’s no single magic bullet for answering that question. Building confidence, if we’ve allowed it to be stripped from us, or if we feel we never truly had “it” to begin with is something that takes consistent work.

I’ve mentioned in previous posts I used to suffer severely from depression and other issues. After spending many years succumbing to that state of mind, I found myself in a void regarding self-esteem and lacking confidence in my abilities. It’s only been through consistently working with the techniques in this post (as well as many of the other techniques found throughout this site) that I have been able to develop a stronger belief in myself, my ideas and my dreams.
(Read the rest of Believing in Yourself…)

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” – Calvin Coolidge

The eleven letter word, titling this post, may appear to move against the grain of many spiritual teachings. There’s no denying, however, it’s one of the most important components for achieving the changes we desire in our lives. A form of consistent persistence, both of thought and action, is required to get the ball rolling on desired manifestation, and ensure it continues gaining speed.
(Read the rest of Perseverance…)

Out of all the emotions that lend themselves to self-sabotage, perhaps none are as potent as guilt. When we carry a heavy heart, burdened by something we’ve done that’s deemed wrong or improper, we constrict the expansion of our being. Guilt has the potential to shut us down in so many ways.

Often times, I have looked to my past and thought, “Why on earth did I do that?” Usually this thought is laced with heavy doses of gut wrenching judgment. The more I dwell on condemning my past actions (actions which cannot be physically changed anyway), the more I can feel myself undermining my potential.

Somewhere along the way, many of us have adopted the illogical attitude we aren’t a good person if we don’t carry around regrets from our past. We grow up believing we should be disgusted with ourselves for making certain choices. After all, no person of good moral standings would dare do something like that (insert any unfavorable action here) and not feel bad about it until the day they die, right?
(Read the rest of Freeing Ourselves of Guilt…)