Moving to the Post-New Age Paradigm of Consciousness

After running across an article about the New Age Movement, I had to give some serious thought to the broader concepts expressed.  In the article, the author expressed understandable frustration with some factions of the New Age Movement for some of its darker lessons.  These frustrations have been expressed by many related to the New Age Movement, primarily, the over-stated ego of the professed ego-less, money for nothing and abundance of the monetary focus only.  I took in the article and focused not on the words used but the feeling behind it and I have to say, I get the frustration.  As a qualified practitioner in the discipline of Metaphysics, I work in the realm of what the New Age has brought us.  As I continue to look within the realms of my own discipline, the New Age Movement, The Secret pushers and Law of Attraction for Mansions and Sports Cars Success Promoters, one does have to scratch her head for a moment and think, “Wait a minute.  Abundance is good but when you use spiritual principals for egotistical gains only, what is the point and how will that bring you the kind of growth you leave here with?"  Okay, that’s my own ego talking and on the ego, there’s more.

In my book, The Ego is the Veil, I explained the concept of the ego as that point where consciousness meets physical reality. This is not a new concept.  It is one written about by Sigmund Freud.  I take the point in a bit of a different direction in that while we have a conscious focus in the Third-Dimensional reality, we must understand that the ego is here because we are physically here.  I posit that we cannot exist here in 3-D without the ego.  The arguments of frustration expressed in the article I ran across sort of proves my point in a way.  You see, so many of us consider those in the enlightened New Age Movement to be above ego.  Some may even profess it.  Then, as we get closer to these folks and see that they too have within them the little “c” egoic consciousness just like we do, we are instantly disenchanted and likely very disappointed.  Is the problem with the New Age Movement and its proponents and practitioners having an ego or is it the misconception held by those seeking services from those in the New Age movement being ego-less that is the problem?  I do not intend to blame any victims here. There are those who claim to be egoless and are out to gather followers and the money of those followers.  There are also those truly beautiful souls with great integrity just interested in helping humanity by providing a service.  Neither faction is without ego.  If those seeking services or guidance understood this point, perhaps they could make more educated decisions about how they follow and financially support others.

In reality, there are just bad apples in every movement whether you are observing a political, religious or other movement.  Those bad apples are just human beings trying to find a way to deal with the Malware they unconsciously hold and get by. They may do things judged unsavory by others but those who judge and judge harshly merely perpetuate their own Malware in psychological transference and projection.  So, where does that leave any of us who feel a higher calling, a call to help, a call to educate or those seeking help and education from the purportedly educated?  Well, for starters you have to level-set your understanding.  There is no conscious human being here that does not have an ego.  The ego represents our physical focus here in 3-D.  Everyone has an ego and those that tell you the loudest that they are egoless are quite honestly proving my point that they are in fact, not egoless.  I don’t discount the fact that there may very well be Avatars among us who seem real but are not.  I’ve had some rather interesting experiences as have many others.  The Avatars or those appearing here but are not really here may be the only one’s not possessing an ego.  But they are projecting here ethereally and not physically and, therefore, they can escape the need for ego, perhaps? They remain more closely tied to the Cosmic Consciousness and the void of creation or no-thing which is truly Everything.

If you are seeking to expand your consciousness, I suggest that you find someone that you work well with.  Don’t worry so much about the path you take or calling all trees bad because one had some bad apples.  Instead, use your energy for greater conscious knowledge and understanding.  We all have an ego.  We are all here to learn and grow.  Look for a teacher that is more in line with your personality, your morals, your goals and your beliefs--never mind which path they hold onto.  It is truly time to embrace the Post-New Age Movement where dogma is not needed to embrace our own consciousness and better understand the true self that remains always and ever connected to the Source Consciousness of All That Is.  This world is an amazing place of dichotomy for us to learn from. There are good apples and there are bad apples.  The New Age Movement, as any other, has brought us some amazing light and it has also brought us some darkness.  How perfect is that for humanity that some times learns best by stark contrast?!  Reach for deeper meaning within your own being and you will learn what is in resonance with you and your purpose here.  Those who don’t resonate with you are just those who don’t resonate with you.  Those paths that don’t resonate with you are not paths that you must choose or destroy.  There are plenty of folks who will sell you snake oil with huge promises of false returns.  They exist in every facet of humanity.  We all have egos and most are infected with all manner of Malware.  I also wrote in my book, Exploring the Conscious Self that we are all subject to Malware which is the frame work from which we engage in our learning while living here.  No path is a bad path and no one’s Malware is worse than another’s.  Each is different and serves no lesser or greater purpose.

When we can let go of the paradigm of rigid, limited and dogmatic thinking, let go of blame and finger pointing and seek that which moves us most from the center of the core of the true heart of our being, we will find enlightenment…enlightenment of our own path.  We’re all unique in terms of what we are learning and how we will learn.  Be an aware consumer of those things you choose to consume.  Embrace your conscious journey with hope, stamina, determination and so much love for the beauty of the journey.  That’s all that matters.

© 2014, J.L. Harter

Rev. J.L. Harter, PhD, M.Msc., B.Msc., Author, Blogger, and Spiritual Counselor, Editor of the JMCC.  See Bio section for more information.

The Senses Re-Defined

We think of our senses as existing merely in the physical but there are many more for you to explore within your consciousness.  I present to you a few new concepts, some you may already be familiar with.  Explore your consciousness and come to your senses!

Rev. J.L. Harter, PhD, M.Msc., B.Msc., Author, Blogger, and Spiritual Counselor, Editor of the JMCC.  See Bio section for more information.

Dream Interpretation with Rory

 “I am watching a girl and boy. The girl looks really happy and the boy is sad.  She goes up to him and tells him to take off his sad pants and put on happy pants like her.  The boy doesn’t want to at first, but the girl doesn’t stop pestering him.  He finally stops being grumpy and gets his own happy pants and they start dancing together.”  Female, 25

Well now, this is a great dream! The dreamer should pat herself on the back, or more appropriately for her personality, she should do a little dance to celebrate a shift in her consciousness. Yes, as silly as this dream sounds, it is a spiritual dream (I don't have to tell you that since you already sense this, but for all the naysayers, let them (obviously you said “em” on purpose and that’s fine, this is just a suggestion;) know this dream shows the power of positive thinking that some attribute to naivety). In any case, this dream is significant. Why? Well, first off, the kids represent parts of one’s self that are developing and growing. In fact, one part of her feels so good about being herself she wears happy pants, or expresses a bubbly personality that can spread like wildfire.

In the dream, another more grumpy part of herself is reluctant at first, but follows suit soon enough by essentially choosing to enjoy life! And what is greater than that? Perhaps what happens next is --harmony and expression – which manifests itself within the dream as dancing. 

To the dreamer, I say keep it up, continue on this path and remember to keep spreading happiness. The next dance dream should have the whole world dancing, and then you'll know you're at one of the most beautiful levels of happiness -- the level when it has spread to your whole self.  I would suggest maybe starting at a dance party with a few hundred people and then from there, grow organically to the whole world. Or, maybe just shoot for the stars and land on the moon.  I know most people say it the other way, but let’s be real -- the moon is a lot closer than the closest star!  Keep dreaming Ms. Happy.

Repetitive Frustration

“There is this theme in my dreams.  I am trying to get something done but all these ridiculous, impossible obstacles get in my way and I never complete the task.  I am sweaty and extremely frustrated in the last part of the dream.  What do you think about that?”   Female, 40

Ah, yes, almost all of us can relate with you here! This dream indicates that there is a deeper part of the mind, an unconscious part that is essentially sabotaging your objectives, causing frustration.  Does that make sense?  If so, then I have a few suggestions.  

            First off, start doing a concentration exercise.  With most of the students I teach, I suggest that they concentrate daily for ten minutes, building a stronger control over their mind.  Those who do this tend to "uncover" different layers of their mind being active.  They basically become conscious of an unconscious thought pattern.  Secondly, I recommend breathing consciously anytime your mind starts to tell you why something “can't be done."  The conscious breathing will short circuit the ego-talk. Third, I want to let you know that having a mentor in this pursuit tends to be a "make or break" movement, so I am here for you if you would like me to help you in this transition from self-sabotage to self-empowerment.

To submit a dream please submit it to innerhealthtoday@gmail.com

Rory reserves the right to publish any or all of the dream.  Rory cannot guarantee a submitted dream is interpreted as this fluctuates on the number of submissions.

Names will be confidential, and if your dream is selected for this column you will get an email notification.

 

© 2014 Rory Colgan

Rory Colgan is a dream interpreter, metaphysics teacher, writer, speaker, and a spiritual, mental, and emotional balancing teacher.  Rory is a graduate of the School of Metaphysics.  He lives South of Corydon, Indiana, and teaches people in the Louisville area and throughout the United States and the world via phone and skype.  Visit Rory at innerhealthtoday.com and dreamprograms.com

Divine Authority

This spiritual topic is about our potential, our spiritual gifts, and how to obtain what we want by simply focusing on our Spiritual Authority. We, all of us, have several innate gifts one of which is Divine Authority. This Divine Authority is a spiritual innate, infinite, Force that no bodily muscle can reckon with.

I will make an attempt to break down the term Divine Authority. Divine, examples may be Wonderful, Great, Blissful, and Lovely. Thus far no religion is inferred right? Synonyms for Authority may include Power, Conviction, Confidence, and Authorization. Therefore I am a Wonderful and Powerful expression of… of what?

There lay a great void or abyss to be filled with respective beliefs. One such belief I grew up with was… “Someone died for my sins and I am a sinner headed for hell.”

The Principle of Divine Authority is the spiritual practice of communing with our innate, infinite, Force that no bodily muscle can reckon with.

Therefore the question I propose is “What would be your spiritual vibratory outcome if you practiced the principle of Divine Authority?

When I was a child I attended Sunday school. I was taught that although I had yet to commit a “sin” someone gave their life for me and just in case I, in the future, commit a “sin” someone already “paid a price.” Being a child I had no concept of what “sin” was. I had no idea that it was to include – something I might do that may be so horrendous that someone had to die for me.

I remember asking the Sunday school teachers questions pertaining to the lessons counting on answers and yet I found that I was usually belittled by the Sunday school teachers, and more often than not cited as “being fresh at the mouth,” (a cultural colloquialism which translated to“stay in your place Barbara Jene you are a child”). Simply put, my unanswered inquiries often resulted in feelings of hollowness. Therefore, the opportunity for spiritual self-esteem building was lost, and the void was filled with fear and guilt because someone died for something I, as a child, knew nothing about.

Every Sunday there were three teachers and approximately thirty or more of the same students in our class ages 6-10 years old. My friend Beverly, at 8 years old would say to me “stop asking so many questions it only makes them (the teachers) mad.” “Do you see anyone else asking questions?” At that point embarrassment became entrenched in my being as I found I was unable to reduce my prying. To my recollection, there was never a mention of harnessing our Greatness with the use of our spiritual gifts. There was neither an overture towards nor a broaching of the concept of us students possessing any Divine Authority. There was never as much as an inference or a mention that we even had spiritual gifts.

For years the weekly ritual facilitated by the instructors with students as a captive audience left every one of us learning the “truth” that we were “shaped in iniquity.” I researched the word “iniquity,” which means evil, wickedness and nastiness to name a few. The bottom line so it seems is that we were told by reliable sources (our teachers) that we children were resolutely molded as evil and unworthy and that some one important to humanity was executed for us and our sins.

Given that I had neither a concept of spiritual affluence nor was I offered a rational understanding of a ‘how to’ map or coloring book for the purpose of learning prosperity principles or better yet what is a Principle? My continually experienced barrenness was filled with a fear-based, egotistical, self-centered pride. This attitude by no means captured the authenticity of Blissful Confidence.

It was not until many years later into my adulthood that exposure to spiritual concepts, self-help books, listening to self-help audio, reading inspirational empowerment workbooks, and taking classes that these tools placed me firmly on my path to enlightenment.

I became open to respecting offered suggestions that were in my best interest, understanding how to establish together with maintaining a sense of empowerment, which offers a realization of Divine Authority.

Introducing the concept of Divine Authority to children may be one of many possible alternatives to elevate the spiritual esteem of youths with an intention of teaching them to be accepting of their uniqueness and giving themselves permission to begin exerting their muscles of Divine Authority.

It is part of the human growth and developmental schematic process that the imprint of their role, can and will influence the quality of their participation in the grander design of life.

When we are, at best, introduced to the paradigm or concept of our vastness at a younger age this may establish the groundwork of knowing that within us all lays the nucleuses of Divine Authority.

© 2014 Rev. Barbara Williams, M.Msc.

Rev. Barbara Williams provides services in the areas of premarital counseling, facilitating addiction workshops aimed at the progressive benefits of holistic counseling, officiating of weddings or civil ceremonies, christenings, baptism’s, baby naming interpretations, home blessings, transitional or home going ceremonies also known as funeral services and the reading of the Tarot. Rev. Barbara Williams currently resides in Poughkeepsie, New York.  See the Bio section for more information.

Experiential Reality

 

What precisely is the basis of your experiential reality?  Do you know? As I consider my own experiential reality, I have to consider what comprises its component parts:

The 5 Physical Senses:  What I see, hear, smell, touch and taste.

    The 6^th Partially Physical Sense:  What I instinctively know (auto-biological, genetic and intuition).

    The 7^th Sense:  This is really a refined aspect of 1. And 2. Above but it comprises the less tangible but no less important concepts of sensing energy and vibration.

The 8^th Sense:  This is a further refinement of all of the above but can be compartmentalized in alternate states of consciousness and is more dimensionally oriented and not necessarily just in the physical.  I consider this sense more in tune with the level of the Spirit which is closer to the One Consciousness or Cosmic Consciousness (or 9^th Sense and there are more).

So, all of the above “senses” are part of my experiential reality but based on how I perceive what my senses are taking in and then further how I objectively or subjectively label or judge what I perceive what my senses are taking in, I have established my Experiential Reality.  Is everyone’s experiential reality the same, you might wonder?  Well, the way we humans sometimes act, it seems at some level we must believe that everyone’s experiential reality is in fact the same because we are very quick to attack someone who slights us in some way for not acting or behaving as kindly or thoughtfully as we do.  But, as you can begin to see (or will see shortly), the truth is we don’t all perceive everything exactly the same way because we can’t.  We can share some perceptions and observations but part of the way we experience the world comes from our senses and how we filter and store the data.  We sense or open to receiving data and then the mind runs its processes to look throughout our experience here in this lifetime (or even others) to find something similar with which it may come to know what it is sensing.  Based on a person’s very individualized experience, the sensory data that comes in will be compared to data taken in at some point in our past.  Simulations of the mind are then run as a result of the comparison processes in order to determine what something is that we have sensed in our experience.  This means that we can have the same inputs but our resulting findings based on our experience won’t always be the same.

I find this an interesting series of thought particularly in light of the conflict of human interactions.  We assume because hubby didn’t take out the trash that hubby doesn’t think very much of us.  We also might assume based on our mind’s findings post-simulation and analysis of data, memories, etc. that when Suzie doesn’t call us when we want her too, she doesn’t like us any more.  Okay, you get the basic idea here, right?  Not everyone comes to the same conclusion after taking in the same data sets.  What further complicates the comparison process from one human being to another is that our senses are different at various levels.  If you just take the first sense, sight.  Not everyone can see 20/20 or see with color.  So, how do you determine the same data taken in but different outputs in thought results?

You see, the data we take in is first filtered by our senses and then further filtered by our memories, perceptions, judgments and beliefs and then we determine the outcome of the data set, (e.g., because of “x” in my memory banks, this is what “this” is).  Now, to further my point lets take Vera, Chuck and Dave.  Vera’s hearing isn’t perfect  but her vision is 20/20.  Chuck is color blind but has exceptional hearing.  Dave is neither color blind nor hard of hearing.  All 3 are standing on the sidewalk at a parade.  Marching directly in front of them a brightly costumed float followed by a band is playing some kind of song loud enough for the crowd to hear.  Later, all 3 of my imaginary friends get together and compare notes on the marching band and parade.  An argument ensues about how loud the music was, how drab the costumes seemed, etc.  Each asserts his or her perception is right.  But, consider, who is really right and who is wrong?  Each can argue from their perspective just on the first physical sense alone.  But what if each also has another trigger-filter inside.  The last parade Vera attended, the man next to her had a heart-attack and died leaving her her a bit apprehensive of parades.  The last parade Dave was at, he was with his friends having the time of his life.  The last parade Chuck was at, someone launched a bag of popcorn that landed squarely on his head leaving him a bit annoyed.  How might these experiences further shape their perceptions of the parade and marching band?  Again, who would be right and who would be wrong in their experience?

Now, take this concept and look at life.  Through the first 5 senses and the mind’s operating processes, we’ve already run data through multiple filters, first physical and then mental.  We can argue on the labels that result from these filters but who is right and who is wrong?  How can you tell?  Well, the 6^th and 7^th senses can help if you are attuned to them but what if you are not?  How could you tell who is right and who is wrong?  What if the 8^th sense kicks in for one of the three and leaves one of them with a knowing that the whole event, parade, music, costumes, being there together watching it and then arguing it afterwards was just a way in which folks might better learn to understand how we take in information and experience this world? What if the 8^th sense, residing more at the level of the Spirit is very in tune with all that is and sees things not in terms of right and wrong but rather in what is beneficial and what is not to a particular person’s life path?

The more you dig into this and analyze it, the more questions arise for the careful and open observer.  When you dig in you start to realize the common conflicts humanity suffers is all based on the same data taken in but sensed and then filtered differently forming individuals aspects of experiential reality.  But, if our experiential reality is not the whole truth then what is the truth?  THAT is THE Million Dollar question and one worth asking, not others, but of the self and only the self.  For only in the still and quiet moments of reflection and understanding can we ever hope to comprehend that there exists a truth of reality beyond the limits of our Experiential Reality.  Arguing for the rightness of our Experiential Reality and, therefore, negating someone else’s Experiential Reality comes down to a choice of how much energy one is willing to expend on something potentially irrelevant and illusory.  On the other hand, through the sharing of the various Experiential Realities with the understanding of the various filters and perceptions, we could stand to gain much knowledge rather than belief based on perception alone.  This theme is key to awareness of our larger conscious existence.  It takes effort but is by far more worthy of our efforts to seek understanding that to fight to be right.

 

© 2014 J.L. Harter

Rev. J.L. Harter, PhD, M.Msc., B.Msc., Author, Blogger, and Spiritual Counselor, Editor of the JMCC.  See Bio section for more information.

Destroy the Ego? Why?

If you’ve wandered through any spiritual or new age works either recent or reportedly ancient, you may have encountered the concept of ego destruction.  As with many other ancient concepts or ideas, I cannot help but wonder if this is yet another epic misinterpretation.  Forgive me, as I mean no disrespect to any person, faith or practice as I write.  I merely wish to paint the picture of an alternative perspective and one that I think is sorely needed for much greater understanding.  In my book,  Exploring the Conscious Self for Growth and Understanding, I explored the ego and consciousness and came to the beginnings of some conclusions as follows: 

From my exploration into the topic of consciousness, the ego as the veil, I begin to come to the conclusion that the life we experience here on Earth is the result of a conscious individuation from the Cosmic Mind or One Mind in the form of ego for the purpose of a physical experience in an individuated focal point of existence in a specific time.  The ego is the veil that separates humanity from the Cosmic Mind or that, to us, which is unconscious or simply, not yet known.  The veil does not separate us from our Source or sever the connection to that Cosmic Mind but rather obscures it through the existence of the ego.  We remain part of the entirety of the cosmos, our cells, molecules and particles gathered as a density intentionally collected in a point of focus here in this now as are all entities in existence within this frame or dimension.

The ego exists as learned scholars and wise spiritual teachers will in unison agree.  Where they all may diverge is on the purpose of the ego and understanding its related consciousness.  In my dissertation, I posit that it is because of the ego that we have individuated from the One Mind or Cosmic Consciousness and this intentionally formed the veil between the physical conscious world and the world of unconsciousness, ether or the ethereal realms of the spirit.  It is through the process of choosing individual experience that seems to separate us from our Source at a purely physical or conscious level.  We did so in order to experience creating and the receiving of the gift and the use of free will from whatever Source or Force in this universe that created us.  As a unified whole, we still exist, I think, as everything in creation is interconnected as well as interdependent.  Others are beginning to join this body of thought.  (117)

In another of my works, So It’s Over, Now What, I explored another concept I wish to share with you, Malware:

Part of the brain’s simulation process is taking in data from the outside and bumping it up against the various memories we have stored within our minds.  By comparing the data the mind makes assumptions about the data it has perceived, runs its simulations, comes up with assessments or conclusions, which then trigger various biological processes which can help keep us safe.  Without memory and the ability to recall it, we might forget about that time fire burned our fingers and reach blindly into a flame without any caution.  One of the challenges with memories is that they are not always exact and we sometimes store the memories of our resulting judgments from our mind’s simulation processes negatively.  If we emotionally charge events such as those that are painful to us, those memories will be a bit easier to find during our mind’s simulation processes.  The problem with the mind’s simulation processes it that the mind automatically assumes the data it takes in is correct, especially if within the memory it finds a similar painful outcome to a process.  A painful memory may be distorted over time.  Such memories may cause us to become triggered over an emotional landmine (read, unhealed psychological wound) that was based on an assumption not validated.

I refer to this as malware or a virus being introduced into our mental processing system.  With malware or a virus in place in our mental processes, we may jump to conclusions without accurate data and decide that vengeance or revenge is the appropriate course of action given the data the mind has taken in, simulated, judged through the filters of all kinds of psychologically tainted experiences and then resulting in illusory emotion that seem real making someone feel a dire urge to strike out to preserve the ego or the body.

If your operating system is not in perfect health, you’ve let your emotional landmine blow somebody up but primarily, it’s you also that is hurt the worst by the blast because you were unaware of the psychological virus or malware unconsciously installed somewhere in your memory or emotions attached to a memory in your thought processing system. (47)

So, in two separate explorations shared, I’ve outlined a concept of the ego as that part of our Consciousness (Big “C” – Cosmic Consciousness) that has pointed its focus in this physical reality.  I’ve also introduced the concept of malware in regard to the mental operating systems via beliefs and psychology in two of my separate works quoted above.  Now think for just a moment.  If we were to destroy the ego in an effort to spiritually advance, would we still be here in this third-dimensional reality?  I don’t know the answer to that and I don’t know how we get to the answer of that.  If you were to take a person and destroy their ego in quite literal terms, where would the “I” of them go?  They’d still be here which means their individuation still exists and then, so would their ego.  What I put forth is the idea that it is not bad to have an ego, it is not wrong to think in terms of “I” and it is not wrong to be an “I” in this frame.  You can still progress in this frame spiritually by maintaining the “I” or the “Ego” or any of its component parts or aspects of consciousness.  My explorations have led me to a path of consideration that it is actually not "the ego that must be destroyed in order for humanity to be awakened" but that it is the malware that must be discovered, rooted out or otherwise healed in order for an individual here in this frame with an “I” focus (what other focus can individuated consciousness have here in this frame?) to grow into greater awareness and improve health and well-being.

It is not the ego that must be destroyed or any part of your being that you should dislike or seek to destroy.  In fact, it is the opposite.  The “I” that is you is perfect in design.  What is imperfect (or really, rather the challenge) is what you have within the concept of “I” that isn’t necessarily what you came here with, “Malware” in your mental operating processes.  Now, I think in some cases that there is past-life residue that can permeate the “I” but even that is separate from the “I” that is you or the Ego.  Even with malware operating in your consciousness, you can still step outside of it and observe it in action and experience the vast peaceful connectedness of the Cosmic Consciousness as Eckhart Tolle outlines in his work, The Power of Now.  I think that we exist exactly as we are meant to.  Our consciousness is never not connected (forgive me the double negative) to the Cosmic Consciousness but that we just have an individuated focus for the purpose of gaining experience.  To me, this logically explains the variations of perception and belief from human to human.  To me this logically unites many theories in a way that I can understand and that build a logical and necessary framework for me of complete compassion for every individuated aspect of consciousness here existing in the physical at this time.

So, the Ego is a part of you.  To want to destroy a part of yourself, I think, is one of the most harmful concepts in existence.  To understand any virus or malware existing within your mental operating system so that you can heal it and unite fragmented aspects of your consciousness into a loving, accepting, understanding and compassionate wholeness makes much more sense to me than destroying or surrendering the ego.  You cannot be other than who you are.  The true self is always there no matter what mental virus or malware has seeped into your consciousness.  The true self can always observe, experience, understand, learn and grow even with the malware.  Discovering the psychological wounds that are the "malware" and striving to transcend them brings greater understanding and a deeper sense of connectedness and awareness.  You don’t have to destroy any part of you for that.  You need only be open to understanding the framework within which you operate.  Trust in your truest nature it is there right along with the “I” and the “We” of individuated as well as united Consciousness.

© 2014 Rev. Dr. J.L. Harter

Rev. J.L. Harter, PhD, M.Msc., B.Msc., Author, Blogger, and Spiritual Counselor, Editor of the JMCC.  See Bio section for more information.

The Courage to Leave Shore

What is your individual purpose or role as you see it? Why do you feel or think you are here? What are our individual expectations of self?  I’ll use an analogy of ships or other vessels. The craft is expected to transport safely its staff, and cargo from one point to another. The ship, crew and collective volume are invaluable, priceless and in most cases cannot be replaced. Ships were not built to remain in the berth or port. Thus far can we agree in order for the ship and staff to satisfy their respective roles and purpose that they must at least leave shore? 

And so it is with us. Leaving the shore of doubt and disbelief involves the process of faith in one’s own competence. Trusting in ones innate gifts. Our role is to courageously set sail in the yet uncultivated waters of life. Naturally it provokes a bit of fear to enter the unfamiliar yet in order to satisfy our position we choose movement instead of the stagnation of remaining tied up, bound and wrapped in dread, as well as apprehension. 

The mere knowing we have the power to alter or improve our lives can add an element of fear. Fear of responsibility, failure, or maybe even transformation. 

You may ask, “what do I do with this conversion? What does transformation look like? What does renovation feel like? Can I maintain this makeover?” Notice I did not use the word change as this word strikes shear distress in some of us. We were neither created to be afraid of nor to be intimidated by or reluctant towards the expression of Love of ourselves. Leaving the shore of hesitation as well as arranged doubts about our talents is long overdue. 

The quest to courageously forge ahead towards an opportunity offers the chance to utilize such gifts as the authority of expression, acknowledging crucial learning experiences that add to the development of character, integrity, to ignite the fire of passion and desire for the vision to reach fruition.  The very idea that “yes its possible that I can leave shore” will in time supersede any origin of fear imaginable. But only if one allows that.

Learning to love one’s self is a process that is worth the continued journey of work.  There are required ports-of-call on our ship’s manifest.  Ships dock in the  course of voyages to load or unload cargo, obtain supplies, or undergo repairs. Making the decision to leave life’s  various shores encountered will allow an opportunity to unload the cargo which weighed us down, acquire the provisions of optimism and assurance, secure associations of like-minded sojourners to inspire the development of audacity, as well as to restore areas of our life.

Our tapping into our potential is one of many requirements as travelers with an itinerary. Our ability to access our genius is available to all of us but we’ll never know if we don’t set sail and explore. 

Spirituality is a Powerful gift, which produces itself from the inside to reflect its quality outwardly. Our inner world carries a seal of the Divine. Perception and Power are just a few of our immutable undeniable faculties, talents which we discover as we come to visit each port. There is triumph during the adventure once we develop the Courage to Leave Shore.

 

 

Rev. Barbara Williams provides services in the areas of premarital counseling, facilitating addiction workshops aimed at the progressive benefits of holistic counseling, officiating of weddings or civil ceremonies, christenings, baptism’s, baby naming interpretations, home blessings, transitional or home going ceremonies also known as funeral services and the reading of the Tarot. Rev. Barbara Williams currently resides in Poughkeepsie, New York and can be reached at either bwilliamsmmsc@yahoo.com or (845) 392-2909. See her Bio for further information.

© 2014 Rev. Barbara Williams