Have you hoped, wished and prayed with the best intentions for guidance or certain answers, and nothing seems to be happening? Sometimes what appears to be a problem or inaction is actually an answered prayer in disguise. When we ask for help, God may dismantle the old to make room for the new. Or maybe it is just not the right time to proceed with deep seeded longings. Always ask for divine will and timing, and for guidance as you act upon wisdom given to your heart and soul. Ask the Spirit to make transitions smooth and harmonious for yourself and everyone involved. Pray for the highest good for everyone, always and in all ways.
Four Types of Answered Prayers
If the request is off target — God says “NO.” You’ve got to be kidding!
If the timing is wrong — God says “SLOW.” Wait…
If you are not ready — God says “GROW.”
If the request is on target, the timing is right, and you are ready — God says “It’s a GO!”
Sometimes delay has to be. Our lives are so interconnected, so bound by circumstances that to let our desire have instant fulfillment might, in many cases, cause another to go unanswered.
But think for a moment of the divine love and thoughtful care that seek to harmonize and reconcile all of our desires and longings and prayers; delay is not denial, not even withholding. It is the opportunity for God to work out our unique purposes and accomplish our desires in the most wonderful way possible for all of us. Yes, all is well.
Is your deepest longing and prayer currently a NO, a SLOW, a GROW, or a GO? Trust divine timing and will always and in all ways. Be still and seek God’s presence; listen and receive wisdom and guidance for your prayers and petitions.
Pour out your heart.
Realize God hears.
Always believe.
Yield to what God says to you.
Rely on My leading. Nothing is impossible to Me. Unlimited expectancy yours. Unlimited power Mine.
Mandala is a Sanskrit word meaning circle or spirit. The mandala appears in all aspects of life: the celestial circles we call earth, sun, and moon, as well as conceptual circles of friends, family, and community. “Each person’s life is like a mandala, a vast limitless circle. We stand in the center of our own circle, and everything we see, hear and think forms the mandala of our life. Everything that shows up in your mandala is a vehicle for your awakening. From this point of view, awakening is right at your fingertips continually. But it’s up to you whether your life is a mandala of neurosis or a mandala of sanity.” ~Pema Chodran
Our intention for this week is to invite more interconnectedness, compassion and wholeness into our lives. Yoga Sutra lll.24 (maitryadisu balani) teaches the cultivation of friendliness creates inner strength. Experiencing healthy compassion and lovingkindness toward ourselves and others strengthens our interconnectedness and sense of well-being. I love this passage from The Message, “So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.” (Colossians 3:12-14, MSG)
“We typically think of our emotional range as something that is fixed and unchanging, a reflection of the personality we’re born with. But research is revealing the possibility that we may be able to cultivate and increase our ability to feel the emotional state of compassion. Researchers have found that feeling connected to others is as learnable as any other skill.” ~ Kelly McGonigal
💮 Where and with whom in your life can you experience more interconnectedness and wholeness, lovingkindness and compassion?
💮 Personal transformation occurs in circles, not rows. Who’s in your inner circle, supporting you, yet challenging you to grow?
Awakening Compassion Guided Meditation
Gently close your eyes. Roll the shoulders up, back and down. Take 3 deep breaths. Place your hands in a comfortable position. Settle in.
Imagine the horizon spanning through your chest with a radiant sun rising in your innermost center—your heart. As though being melted by the solar warmth, release tension in your shoulders and across your throat. Soften your forehead and rest your attention inward on the light deep within. Take 3 smooth, even breaths. As you inhale, invite the glow from your heart to expand toward the inner surface of the body. With each exhale, let the light recede. Take another 3 peaceful breaths.
Attuning deeply to your heart center, offer compassion to yourself, honoring your journey wholeheartedly, dissolving all self-judgment, shame and guilt naturally.
As you embrace yourself compassionately, you enhance your ability to offer lovingkindness to those you care for deeply, embracing both their positive and challenging qualities.
Bring into your heart the image of someone you care for deeply, releasing any expectation of how they should be, creating a space of openness in which their transformation, and yours, can occur more easily. Take a full, deep breath.
As you offer compassion to yourself and to those you care for deeply, you gradually develop the ability to offer compassion to those with whom you experience separation or difficulty.
Bring into your heart the image of someone you find challenging, perceiving their authentic being rather than focusing on their actions and beliefs. Take a full, deep breath.
As you hold this person within your heart of compassion, clearly see that all of their actions are based on a need for love, support and security, even if those needs are expressed inappropriately.
By seeing this person compassionately, your feelings of judgment, anger and resentment are released more easily, allowing you to see this person and yourself more objectively, while creating safe and appropriate boundaries. Take a deep, cleansing breath.
Now, open your heart of compassion to all beings, honoring each person’s journey, recognizing that all of us are moving, within the limits our our understanding, toward a vision of love, peace, freedom and joy.
Affirm your growing compassion, repeating the following intention 3 times, aloud or silently: With a heart of compassion, I clearly see that we all share a journey toward love, peace, freedom and joy.
Take a full, deep breath. When you are ready, open your eyes, returning slowly and gently, sensing your heart of compassion guiding your journey.
~ Adapted from Mudras for Healing and Transformation by Joseph and Lilian Le Page
💮 Continue to radiate love and compassion, expanding your life mandala. 💮
Life is a constant ebb and flow. Challenges attempt to disrupt our ease and peace, but as we intentionally cultivate joy, our energy steadies and positively shifts.
JOY = A source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something exceptionally festive or satisfying.
What brings you joy in this moment?
What are you looking forward to that makes you smile? 😊
Take a minute to daydream and plan for joy. Allow yourself to be light and free.
“Let go of heaviness. Seek that which is light. Gravitate toward joy. Your soul and body will lead you, if only you will listen. Walk lightly. Speak and laugh lightly, as much as possible. Go lightly along your way.” ~ Melody Beattie
“…when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” James 1:2-4 New Living Translation
I ______ to cultivate more joy into my life. No matter my circumstances, I choose to be joyful. Divine joy fills my soul.
JOY Meditation
Think of a time you experienced COMPLETE JOY. It may be a recent happening, or from the past. Picture it clearly in your heart and mind.
Feel all the emotions.
What sensations do you feel in the body?
Where do you feel these sensations?
Label your emotions with one word.
Label the sensations felt with one word.
Tuck these words deep into your memory account of joy.
May the peace of your being leap from heart to heart and mind to mind like a wildfire in dry grass. Through the simple act of being present here and now, may the peace that passes all understanding be fanned from spark to flame to true illumination.
“Wait quietly in my presence while My thoughts form silently in the depths of your being. Do not rush this process, because hurry keeps your heart earthbound. I am the Creator of the entire universe, yet I choose to make my humble home in your heart. It is there where you know me most intimately; it is there where I speak to you in holy whispers. Ask My Spirit to quiet your mind so that you can hear my still small voice within you. I am speaking to you continually. . . words of JOY. Tune your heart to receive these messages of abundant blessing. Lay your requests before Me, and wait in expectation.”
(Adapted from Jesus Calling, September 21, by Sarah Young)
Today we practice SIMPLIFYING — looking at our daily life, our priorities, possessions, activities, commitments, habits, thoughts and actions — and taking the time to reevaluate, gracefully letting go of what no longer serves us and establishing new intentions. When we simplify, we release unwanted expectations and stress and open up to increased freedom, joy, and inner peace. As Steve Maraboli states, “The greatest step towards a life of simplicity is to learn to let go.” What, where and how can you simplify? What would make your life lighter and easier? What can you get rid of? Where can you make adjustments to allow for more breathing room?
Take a minute to personally reflect.
Here are 3 practical tips to help prioritize and simplify:
❦ Look for soul stops. Even on your busiest days, set aside several 5 minute breaks to pause, tune-in, pray, and meditate. This helps redirect thoughts, feelings, and actions — even in the midst of the craziest schedule. Try bookending your day with longer spirit-filling stops.
❦ Be keenly aware. Ask God to get your attention. Look for Divine appointments — a text from a friend at just the right time, a song that speaks directly to your heart, a random opportunity to help someone, a funny situation that turns your day around for the best.
❦ Set limits. Pick a time your distractions begin, and tell them when they end. During those hours, do the phone thing, and computer thing, and every other thing you pour your soul into, but when that time comes to an end, shut it down. Disconnect to connect personally and spiritually.
How will these changes add to your freedom, joy, and inner peace?
“Beloved Spirit of God: Teach me the way of simplicity and surrender so that in this world of consumption, noise, and endless choices I might model joy, peace, and freedom. Amen.” ~ Peter Traben Haas
The Weight of Objects, Clearing a Space for Change, by Madisyn Taylor
In life, we tend to have an easier time acquiring possessions than we do getting rid of them. Just as we harbor emotional baggage that is difficult to let go of, our lives can tend to be filled with material objects that we may feel compelled to hold on to. Most people are not conscious of how much they own and how many of their possessions are no longer adding value to their life. They fiercely hold on to material objects because this makes them feel secure or comfortable. While it’s true that the ownership of “stuff” can make you feel good for awhile, it seldom satisfies the deep inner longings that nearly everyone has for fulfillment and satisfaction. It is only when we are ready to let go of our baggage and be vulnerable that it becomes possible to recognize the emotional hold that our possessions can have on us.
It’s not uncommon to hold on to material objects because we are attached to them or fear the empty spaces that will remain if we get rid of them. Giving away the souvenirs from a beloved voyage may feel like we are erasing the memory of that time in our life. We may also worry that our loved ones will feel hurt if we don’t keep the gifts they’ve given us. It’s easy to convince ourselves that unused possessions might come in handy someday or that parting with them will cause you emotional pain. However, when your personal space is filled with objects, there is no room for anything new to enter and stay in your life. Your collection of belongings may “protect” you from the uncertainties of an unknown future while keeping you stuck in the past. Holding on to unnecessary possessions often goes hand in hand with holding on to pain, anger, and resentment, and letting go of your material possessions may help you release emotional baggage.
When you make a conscious decision to fill your personal space with only the objects that you need or bring you joy, your energy level will soar. Clearing your personal space can lead to mental clarity and an improved memory. As you learn to have a more practical and temporary relationship to objects, positive changes will happen, and you’ll have space to create the life that you desire.
“Each of us has favorite items and places that help to calm and quiet us. What stills our mind? A walk in the park, a special place in the city, a quiet room? A rock, a cross, a picture, a lit candle? Use these places and things to find that place of stillness in yourself. Find the power in stillness. It’s a power that comes gently like the morning sunrise or the evening stars. Take time each day to seek out stillness, to find that sacred spot. Let your mind and soul be at ease. Don’t grasp and grab for the magic and miracles. When you reside in that place of stillness, the joy, miracles, and magic you’re seeking will find you.” ❤︎ ~ Melody Beattie
“Let go of something, somewhere. Use yoga to become aware, to touch what lies beneath the surface of the skin. Is there tension longing for release, a knot of fear so deep and familiar that you believe its part of who you are? Ease into dark corners, locked rooms, unexplored hallways. Gain entry not by force of will, but only by softness. Enter on the wings of breath, and turn the key of self-acceptance to let go of something, somewhere.” ~ Danna Faulds
This week’s theme and intention for yoga classes is to encourage healing and harmony within our bodies. A quote from B.K.S. Iyengar, “Yoga is like music. The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind and the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life.” Think for just a minute. What is troubling you about your physical, emotional, or spiritual health? See it. Feel it. Now begin to create a positive, healing intention around your concern. May today’s guidance invite the healing and harmony you desire.
Let us H.E.A.L. ♡ H = Heed: pay attention to—tune into body, mind & spirit E = Experience: encounter, undergo—allow everything to surface without judgement A = Awaken: evoke, kindle—what do I need to sense, feel, and know in this moment? L = Life: the ability to grow and change, the experience of being alive—awareness of, and openness to personal transformation
“Some of us don’t know how tired we are until we try to relax. Then we realize we’re exhausted. We may have lived with exhaustion and stress so long it’s become habitual. That doesn’t mean we’re bad or wrong, or even off track. Many of us are deeply involved in activities, work, projects, and relationships we enjoy. We like our lives and the things we’re doing. But sometimes we’ve pushed too hard or too long. Sometimes we haven’t given our bodies adequate time to relax, to rest, to really let go. It’s all right to take time out. Relax. Refresh. Regroup. It’s all right to rest even if we’re busy, rest often enough to keep ourselves replenished. Get in touch with your body, then stay in touch with yourself. Find out how tired you are. Then let your body tell you what it needs to come back to life and love.” ~ Melody Beattie
As I gradually learned to be true to myself and succeeded in admitting my own feelings, the language of my body spoke out more and more clearly and guided me toward decisions that did it good and helped it to express its natural needs…repressed, disassociated emotions can make us ill but not conscious feelings that we can give expression to. ~ Alice Miller, The Body Never Lies
“Our bellies can be wonderful monitors of our emotional health and the truth can always be found there. So often, emotions that we long to express get stored in our bodies instead. The space where this most often happens is in our bellies. Rather than telling people, or even ourselves, the way we truly feel, we may stuff our true feelings deep inside of us, where they take up space until we are ready to let them go. Stuffing our feelings in our bellies may feel like the safe response, since we then don’t really have to deal with our emotions. Yet, doing so can actually be detrimental to our emotional well-being and physical health. One way to connect with and release your emotions is to do a focused exercise with your stomach area. Take a moment to center yourself with some deep breathing and quiet meditation, relaxing your body fully and turning off the chatter in your brain. With your right hand on your stomach, tell yourself three times: Please reveal to me my true emotions. Listen for the answers. Repeat the exercise as many times as you would like, allowing yourself to drop deeper into your body each time. Notice any physical response in the stomach area, whether you have a warm, relaxed feeling in the middle of your body or if you feel tight knots in response to any emotions that do come up. You may even want to write down any answers that come to you. Remember that the body doesn’t lie.” ~ Madisyn Taylor, DailyOM: In Touch with True Emotions
Witness the elemental motion of emotion: Fire burning, illuminating Water gushing, cleansing Air inspiring, soothing Earth supporting, holding Space expanding, embracing ~ Radiance Sutras, Yukti Verse 101
You Can’t Rush Your Healing Darkness has its teachings Love is never leaving You can’t rush your healing Your healing
Mama, well she told me time is such a wonderful gift You’re not running out You’re really running in Confusion clouds the heart but it also points the way Quiet down the mind The more the song will play So You can’t rush your healing Darkness has its teachings Love is never leaving You can’t rush your healing Your healing ~ Trevor Hall
“A breath of desire and My Spirit is there—to replenish and renew. Sometimes weariness and exhaustion are not signs of lack of spirit but of the guiding of the Spirit.” ♡ ~ God Calling, Exhaustion
No Mistake Holding my tension close is exhausting. I don’t know why I do it– habit I guess–but when I let it go, the sense of relaxation and release is immediate. My whole body sighs as ease and healing bathe each cell in light. Once the truth of me has space and energy to shine forth, it’s clear that the alchemy of humanity and divinity is no mistake. ~ Danna Faulds
Proverbs 3:5-6 (MSG) 5 Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. 6 Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track.
✨Love ~ Serve ~ Inspire✨ 