Growing Our Souls
Learning How to Handle Life's Lessons with Grace and Ease
Learning How to Handle Life's Lessons with Grace and Ease
by Josephine Laing
It is often said that life is a school. Everyone has their own lessons to learn. Some struggle with financial instability. Others can't seem to successfully maneuver permanent relationships. Too many of us are plagued by injury and disease. We all have our own particular teachers. However, when we succeed in moving through our lessons, we discover that the adversities in our life become our greatest blessings. They are the source of our spiritual growth.
In my work as clairvoyant healer and spiritual mentor, I have seen that sometimes we can get mired in the lessons of life. We can become stuck or feel overwhelmed or get bogged down in emotional pain. I am no exception, but now, for me, life's hills and valleys have become much easier to traverse. This is largely due to five very specific spiritual practices which I have been fortunate enough to come across and embrace. I share them with you now, not only because they have worked so well for me, but because they have proven themselves, over these many long years, to help others that I have known, bringing grace and ease to all.
The first of these foundational practices is Staying In Our Joy. Joy is the compass that holds us unerringly on the course of our greatest spiritual development. Joy is different from happiness. Happiness is more externally sourced, like receiving a compliment or finding the right pair of shoes. Whereas joy comes from deep inside. It wells up from within us despite external circumstances. We find our joy when we are inspired and are following our deeper purpose in life. It comes from doing just exactly what we would love to do.
Sometimes it's hard to free ourselves from all of our responsibilities and from the daily tasks of life in order to pursue what brings us joy. But our lives become so much more graceful if we take the time to give our joy our top priority. It's a good idea to find and follow your joy as often as you can, even if it is for just a few minutes, right at the start of your day.
The second spiritual practice is Self-Love, loving ourselves just exactly the way we are. Self love is not selfishness. It is not based in the ego; rather, it springs from the realization that we are all of the divine. When we love ourselves, we love and honor all of creation. Love is why we are here. It is the main lesson of our lives. We cannot fully love anything else until we first give ourselves the gift of our own self-love.
I wrote an article on the practice of self love in the January 2014, edition of this magazine. There I give ten simple steps that you can follow. If this is something you have trouble with, there is a simple and very effective way to learn how to love yourself. Every morning, when you go to the bathroom mirror, look deeply into your own eyes. Say your name out loud and then say, “I love you, I really love you, just exactly as you are.” (I first learned this exercise thirty years ago from the late, great Louise Hay and it serves me to this day.)
The third foundational practice has been embraced by almost every spiritual tradition of the world in one form or another. This is The Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” We all dwell in the one body of humanity. To harm another is to harm a part of ourselves. Gossip, deceit, betrayal, all fall away as this practice is engaged. One way that I check for harmony here is by looking at my own motivation for whatever it is that I am doing. I ask myself, “Am I doing this for the ego-based desires of position or control? Or is it coming from love?” When faced with a choice we can check to see if the motivation for our actions is coming out of a genuine desire to truly help others. It never hurts to ask, “Is this how I would like to be treated? Would somebody else like this if it was done to them?” If the answer is, “Yes,” then go with it.
The fourth practice is Gratitude. When I look for what I am grateful for, my whole countenance changes. Gratitude always showers us with more blessings. These ease the way as we leap over the hurdles of life. Sometimes we need to work on forgiveness before we can achieve gratitude for our life lessons. This does not mean that we condone the bad things that have happened to us. It just means that we free ourselves to let the greater truth of our lives be made known. Our forgiveness eases the pain and opens us to growth.
There is a Hawaiian spiritual tradition which encourages us to see everything as beautiful. When we see beauty everywhere, we become more grateful. One of my daily prayers is, "Thank you everything for everything." Try this out. See if you can find a way to make it fit for you.
The fifth practice is Being Mindful of Our Thoughts and our Imaginations. Thought patterns are habits and they guide our lives whether we are aware of them or not. A runaway mind is very creative. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. So, we need to pay attention to our intentions and direct our thoughts positively and wisely. We can ask: “What are my thoughts dwelling on? Do I need to forgive? Am I choosing to be offended? Am I playing a broken record over and over in my mind.” If I am, then I need to ask myself, “What can I do to fix it? How can I engage my imagination to find the brighter side?” If I find that I can not easily accomplish this on my own, I seek inspirational words or someone else's good counsel. Perhaps a good friend can help me through. When I find that I am really pressed, I look for something that I can do to help someone else. Helping others always changes my outlook and orients my thoughts along a more positive line. You may want to give this a try.
We are born into our bodies as wee little ones with very specific spiritual goals in mind. It is our job to grow our souls and we each have a curriculum. Our challenges are our teachers. They focus our attention and fine tune our awareness. They stimulate awakenings and initiate change. They help us to find the truth of who we are and guide us to our purpose. When we heed our lessons, we grow. Our weaknesses become our strengths and our tears become our joys. This is the silver lining behind every cloud.
We are never given more than we can accomplish, but we are often pushed to our uppermost edges as we move through our lessons. This is the ever-changing chrysalis from which we all emerge as we constantly free ourselves to a new and better way of being. These daily challenges mold us into who we are meant to be.
Every sculptor has her blade and every painter his brush. My foundational spiritual practices: Staying in my joy, Loving myself, Treating others as I'd like to be treated, Being grateful and Being mindful of my thoughts are the tools that bring me blessings and ease as I traverse the obstacles of my life. May they bring to you as much grace and growth as they have brought me.
© 2014 Josephine Laing
It is often said that life is a school. Everyone has their own lessons to learn. Some struggle with financial instability. Others can't seem to successfully maneuver permanent relationships. Too many of us are plagued by injury and disease. We all have our own particular teachers. However, when we succeed in moving through our lessons, we discover that the adversities in our life become our greatest blessings. They are the source of our spiritual growth.
In my work as clairvoyant healer and spiritual mentor, I have seen that sometimes we can get mired in the lessons of life. We can become stuck or feel overwhelmed or get bogged down in emotional pain. I am no exception, but now, for me, life's hills and valleys have become much easier to traverse. This is largely due to five very specific spiritual practices which I have been fortunate enough to come across and embrace. I share them with you now, not only because they have worked so well for me, but because they have proven themselves, over these many long years, to help others that I have known, bringing grace and ease to all.
The first of these foundational practices is Staying In Our Joy. Joy is the compass that holds us unerringly on the course of our greatest spiritual development. Joy is different from happiness. Happiness is more externally sourced, like receiving a compliment or finding the right pair of shoes. Whereas joy comes from deep inside. It wells up from within us despite external circumstances. We find our joy when we are inspired and are following our deeper purpose in life. It comes from doing just exactly what we would love to do.
Sometimes it's hard to free ourselves from all of our responsibilities and from the daily tasks of life in order to pursue what brings us joy. But our lives become so much more graceful if we take the time to give our joy our top priority. It's a good idea to find and follow your joy as often as you can, even if it is for just a few minutes, right at the start of your day.
The second spiritual practice is Self-Love, loving ourselves just exactly the way we are. Self love is not selfishness. It is not based in the ego; rather, it springs from the realization that we are all of the divine. When we love ourselves, we love and honor all of creation. Love is why we are here. It is the main lesson of our lives. We cannot fully love anything else until we first give ourselves the gift of our own self-love.
I wrote an article on the practice of self love in the January 2014, edition of this magazine. There I give ten simple steps that you can follow. If this is something you have trouble with, there is a simple and very effective way to learn how to love yourself. Every morning, when you go to the bathroom mirror, look deeply into your own eyes. Say your name out loud and then say, “I love you, I really love you, just exactly as you are.” (I first learned this exercise thirty years ago from the late, great Louise Hay and it serves me to this day.)
The third foundational practice has been embraced by almost every spiritual tradition of the world in one form or another. This is The Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” We all dwell in the one body of humanity. To harm another is to harm a part of ourselves. Gossip, deceit, betrayal, all fall away as this practice is engaged. One way that I check for harmony here is by looking at my own motivation for whatever it is that I am doing. I ask myself, “Am I doing this for the ego-based desires of position or control? Or is it coming from love?” When faced with a choice we can check to see if the motivation for our actions is coming out of a genuine desire to truly help others. It never hurts to ask, “Is this how I would like to be treated? Would somebody else like this if it was done to them?” If the answer is, “Yes,” then go with it.
The fourth practice is Gratitude. When I look for what I am grateful for, my whole countenance changes. Gratitude always showers us with more blessings. These ease the way as we leap over the hurdles of life. Sometimes we need to work on forgiveness before we can achieve gratitude for our life lessons. This does not mean that we condone the bad things that have happened to us. It just means that we free ourselves to let the greater truth of our lives be made known. Our forgiveness eases the pain and opens us to growth.
There is a Hawaiian spiritual tradition which encourages us to see everything as beautiful. When we see beauty everywhere, we become more grateful. One of my daily prayers is, "Thank you everything for everything." Try this out. See if you can find a way to make it fit for you.
The fifth practice is Being Mindful of Our Thoughts and our Imaginations. Thought patterns are habits and they guide our lives whether we are aware of them or not. A runaway mind is very creative. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. So, we need to pay attention to our intentions and direct our thoughts positively and wisely. We can ask: “What are my thoughts dwelling on? Do I need to forgive? Am I choosing to be offended? Am I playing a broken record over and over in my mind.” If I am, then I need to ask myself, “What can I do to fix it? How can I engage my imagination to find the brighter side?” If I find that I can not easily accomplish this on my own, I seek inspirational words or someone else's good counsel. Perhaps a good friend can help me through. When I find that I am really pressed, I look for something that I can do to help someone else. Helping others always changes my outlook and orients my thoughts along a more positive line. You may want to give this a try.
We are born into our bodies as wee little ones with very specific spiritual goals in mind. It is our job to grow our souls and we each have a curriculum. Our challenges are our teachers. They focus our attention and fine tune our awareness. They stimulate awakenings and initiate change. They help us to find the truth of who we are and guide us to our purpose. When we heed our lessons, we grow. Our weaknesses become our strengths and our tears become our joys. This is the silver lining behind every cloud.
We are never given more than we can accomplish, but we are often pushed to our uppermost edges as we move through our lessons. This is the ever-changing chrysalis from which we all emerge as we constantly free ourselves to a new and better way of being. These daily challenges mold us into who we are meant to be.
Every sculptor has her blade and every painter his brush. My foundational spiritual practices: Staying in my joy, Loving myself, Treating others as I'd like to be treated, Being grateful and Being mindful of my thoughts are the tools that bring me blessings and ease as I traverse the obstacles of my life. May they bring to you as much grace and growth as they have brought me.
© 2014 Josephine Laing