Forgiveness.

Forgiveness is an never ending process that we can use to let go of negative emotions that arise when someone causes us harm.  Forgiveness isn't something that we wait for in relationships.  When you practice forgiveness it becomes fluid and as a result you will feel lighter.  Nobody likes the feeling of being burdened by feeling blame or any other negative feeling.  You don't have to go there.  When you free yourself from the shackles of others oppressive behaviors while staying in your own power and positive thoughts.

"The minds job is to doubt," a famous spiritual teacher once said.  Once you are able to clear your heart and live from the realm of love you will no longer be ruled by the mind.  The mind will follow the heart.  Forgiveness is an aspect of love and love conquers all!  Where love is the opposite cannot coexist.  This way of living takes time to develop and you will find that the more time you spend in the realm of love the more you will want to stay there.  The practice of meditation is key to clearing all negativity and connecting you with your soul or true self.  I have been fortunate enough in my own life to have spent many years with two Indian spiritual Master's who have led me on the spiritual journey.

For me the choice to take the journey was one that was made easy because I didn't want to exist in the arid realm of the mind and materialism.  I knew that the Saints and Sages could lead me to the experience that they so willingly and lovingly shared.  I spend time in the evening and early morning hours in meditation since I have been initiated in Sound and Light Meditation.  When I meditate I immediately feel free of any burdens or negativity.  It is just me and God and that is felt in my heart as Love.  You will benefit from finding a spiritual Master who can initiate you on the spiritual journey and direct you through life.  Each person experiences something different because under the guidance of a Master your life will unfold in whatever way is perfect for you to learn.  There are many things that you will learn and your purpose will be revealed to you through a process that I have found repeats itself in different forms.  I knew in my heart when I was in graduate school at The Catholic University of America that my life wasn't just about me and I willingly have allowed my life to be of service to God for whatever He wishes.

Forgiveness is an aspect of love and it doesn't mean that you become a target for others abuse.  You can forgive others while making sure that you take responsibility for your own life and the impact of their behaviors on you.  You can still draw boundaries and say no.  Be clear and be certain.  A clergyman wrote "You can't blow an uncertain trumpet!"  It's okay to be strong.  Tyrants are usually cowards inside.  Just like some of those candies that have a hard shell and gooey stuff on the inside when you bite down.  Except there is nothing sweet about cowards.  Learn to identify them and learn how to deal with them.  Don't become a victim like so many kids I have been reading and hearing about in schools.  Read books by Carlos Castaneda whose stories involve tyrants and examples of how to deal with them.  The main lesson is to remain impeccable according to Carlos.

So many things to master in life and the first place of course to start is within your own heart.  Learn how to connect with your soul and God.  Be a blessing in this life to those who need you to show them the way and like the title of a book said  "How to swim with sharks!"  Nothing is impossible when you decide to keep making breakthroughs.  You will not get anywhere at times and in that still time learn to control the doubts that the mind uses to discourage you.  Keep pressing in to the situation and eventually when the time is right there will be a breakthrough and you will emerge on the other side of your problem.  Wait on the other side of that opening you created and help others through.

I am a Professional Life Coach and welcome you to contact me at lawrencerita511@gmail.com  I require individuals to meditate on a regular schedule and eat a vegetarian diet.  I also promote antioxidants and you can check Rain Nutrition at http://MyRain.me/Rita

Will and determination

I wrote about having strong will and intention and from a Christian perspective I aroused speculation about the validity of having a strong will as part of a spiritual person.  I have always had a strong will and since I have been on the spiritual path I can center inside when I need to stand firm in highly charge emotional situations.  Having been brought up by a mother who was raised in a typical Victorian middle class manner in the early 1900's.  My mother was a competitive athlete who in her twenties became the Thames Champion for rowing.  Perhaps finding a way to mend bridges with me she described herself to me as "harsh" in the same way her mother had been.  Although my mother was strong she always became frustrated with me when I was able to keep my cool when punished.  Punishment could come in the form of scoldings which was an emotional abuse, to spanking and one time washing my mouth out with carbolic soap after she heard me repeat words that my brother was telling me to do, which was physical abuse.  I would have become a fragmented person had I taken her intrusions into my personal space and attacks at my integrity to heart.  I learned to resist and regroup emotionally and psychologically inside.  The centering that I am talking about takes place from the throat clear down to the lower abdomen to describe the anatomy of our psyche or soul.  No one ever taught me this directly but I had the natural instincts for survival early on in life.

Each trip to England to visit with my mother had the potential for abuse and I learned to cut short the visit and return to the US as an adult.  My oldest brother was sentenced to prison for a year after he was arrested and convicted of storing a suit case full of Marijuana in the attic of our mother's home where they lived together.  I returned to England to visit him in Wandsworth Prison which dates back to Dickens time and fits with the dark and miserable past rather than today.  The visit started inside a small cottage outside the walls of the prison where I was able to get registered to visit then proceeded through a sequence of check points and waiting areas before we finally reached the designated communal meeting area.

After the visit my sister took my mother and I to her home in St. George's Hill where she and her husband lived in a mansion inside a gated community.  It was a stark contrast to the sooty black old brick walls of Wandsworth Prison.  My brother was the first of four children born to my parents who lived in a region in Uganda where my father had worked for an Italian mine after WWII.  My mother lacked experience with infants and was visited by Catholic nun in their home to help her cope with the new baby.  She was told by the nuns that he was "lazy."  As a nurse I have heard the term used to describe an infant who lacks the necessary buccal muscle movements necessary to successfully feed from a nipple.  She applied the label out of context to account for where my brother's life had taken him.  I responded to her assertion by informing her about the real meaning of the term which triggered her rage toward me.  She seethed anger and shouted at me before abruptly leaving, telling my sister that she didn't want to see me anymore.  I recalled in that moment how I had felt as a child when I was shouted at and emotionally attacked by her.  I recalled how it felt as a child, like a shattering of my psyche.  Now as an adult I could immediately turn to a picture of my spiritual teacher that my sister had out in her living room and center my energy inside in one coherent and strong energetic mass.  I stayed calm and didn't get pulled in by the situation and the hysteria that followed from my sister about my having caused the reaction in my mother.  Even going so far as to accuse me of not being sensitive to her because as she went on to explain our mother felt that she had failed in her role with both our brothers as the younger brother had been murdered.

From a Christian perspective of will it is in context of applying God's will is in our lives.  God's will is always for divine order.  Even thought there is chaos in the universe and on this planet in terms of the destructive physical forces of nature there is also a reordering.  No matter how much we misuse the earth's resources the earth will restore its balance.  Someone said "We can be shaken off like a bunch of fleas!"  It is a common experience that people have wondering what is the right thing to do in any given situation or with our purpose for life and choices we make.  What you have to know is that God wants you to follow His moral commands and teachings.  I read books by my own spiritual teacher and have read many throughout the years I was with my first teacher.  You will learn how to develop your own good qualities and virtues.  There is a quality of living from a space of love.  My teacher emphasizes ethics in our lives and positive thinking and striving to become free from any negative thoughts or malintentions toward others.  When you are doing the right thing in context of being within the framework of your religious and spiritual teachings added to the ethical principles that you can apply in life you will align with the will of God. 

When I spoke about my own will I mean that I am strong in my will be aligning my soul with God and closely following the teachings of my particular path and inner guide.

I am a Professional Life Coach and welcome comments from readers.  I am available to work with individuals who wish to change their lives through first connecting with their spiritual self and following a chosen spiritual path.

I promote vegetarianism, meditation and introspection.  The following links may be helpful to you.
www.rainnutrition.com
www.SweetestVegan.com
www.sos.org