Spiritual Workout
(taken from Topic Chat presented 7/17/98)
Do you have some aches and pains somewhere?
Does your life on occasion throw you a real curve ball?
Do you sometimes wonder just what this "journey called life" is?
Welcome to your own spiritual workshop..
You are the one in the front of the room, in a leotard...
Sweating to beat the band..
Jumping to the music... step up step up step up....
Yes, you are experiencing a spiritual work out, every day of
your life, even when you may * think * that it's just some
earthbound "thing" that got you working...
In truth you wanted to sweat a bit, wanted to play a bit...
wanted to struggle some more...
when you realize that you created the situation that lead you
to this work-out... there may be a moment of panic...
or...
guilt-placing...
As you try desperately to cancel out your "role" in this life.
THAT is where you will find the aches and pains... the nagging
backache... the problems that re-occur time after time...
When we are threatened with growth... we may tighten up.
We may feel that it's "too big a load to carry"...
But spiritual growth doesn't like to be divided into smaller parts
and carried bit by bit to be reassembled later.
it's "HOW we distribute the load" that will determine the joy
level in our spirit path.
Heavy stuff should be loaded first... towards the front of our "truck".
It will prevent us from overturning if we start to speed up.
What do I mean by heavy stuff?
Well, on a spirit journey... I mean.....
. Trust. Of Self and our Higher Power.
. A core belief system. One that is flexible and based on experience
rather than reading or listening to someone speak on it.
. Courage... yes it takes courage to live a spiritual path
for our instincts say to let the ego rule the living self
and to challenge ones' OWN ego... it is going to require courage.
So with Trust and a belief system and some courage...
loaded in the front of our moving truck into our spiritual self...
we are ready for a work out of faith.
Trusting... is not the easier thing to do, as we all well know.
We throw "yeah buts" at trust all the time..
"yeah, well it sounds good, but ... what if it doesn't work?"
"Yeah, I want to be a more spiritual being, working in the light, BUT it's hard"
"Yeah, I know that I need to be in touch with my Source, BUT
I have so many other things to do first... I'll get to it later"
And later... and later...
til we find ourselves thru a huge chunk of our lives
wondering if "now" will ever come.
Trust is one of the first gifts of the newborn to be lost.
And we carry that loss of trust very deep -- and very near the surface
at the same time...
Right now... you are having a "feeling"... an emotion of some kind
And the first thing that will stir will be that trust factor.
Questioning your Self time after time... you become trained
to doubt that you have any strengths at all.
You may feel that you are getting exactly the life you "deserve"
when you are struggling without trust...
And you will continue to repeat failure patterns in your life
as long as there is no trust.
Trust issues... have control issues bordering them.
And we all know how fun control issues can be in our lives.
right? : )
Trusting that we have the right to make our lives new...
Trusting that we have the ability to change
Trusting that we are not alone in this spiritual workout...
Trustign that we are free to explore new depths or the surface
anytime we want to.
Trusting that we are getting it "right"... even when it may not
feel so right at the time...
Ever quit a job without another job waiting for you?
Ever move a great distance, without having a house waiting for you?
Ever speak to a stranger who intriques you, without an agenda?
Ever act of trust... is climbing the stairs to the top of a mountain...
and leaping off : )
some of our mountains are really anthills... and others are
Pikes Peak :- )
* it's not the size of the mountain, it's the action of trusting *
Leaps of faith are something that many people gave up
rather than do the work out.
Some people have conditioned themselves to absorb the faith
without taking the leap.
This is what happens when we fall into traps...
When we just allow the rest of the world to dictate to us
what is "right" for us
or even...
what is "wrong" for us.
It doesn't feel right when someone else is trying to become
our trust.
We will develop physical symptoms or live in a world of doubt
turning over our personal power to trust that we have
the ability to achieve
ALL
is a common control issue that most will face -- often repeatedly
in our lifetimes.
We find a charismatic "leader" and turn sheeplike...
Wanting only that THEY take the leap of faith... so that we may follow.
Yet... we are all born leaders.
loss of trust has hidden that truth from us.
Yet, when we do not trust our Self, we are turning away from our
Source, that which may be called * God * or * Creator *
For who put that ability to trust SELF within us to begin with?
Next, a core belief system.
There is NOTHING more personal than what we come to believe in.
And yet... the bandwagon feeling... of finding like souls
who can identify
and show us what our own belief system is...
Has a long history of bringing together "like minded folk".
but is it * your * CORE BELIEF SYSTEM?
There is a huge difference between living your core belief
and finding others who share
a similar experience...
and becoming a part of a cult-like mind that dictates to it's
"members" what is real and what is false...
THE CULT TAKES AWAY THE INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCE
AND KEEPS YOU IN THE TRIBAL EXPERIENCE.
THIS IS SIMILAR TO GIVING UP YOUR SOUL.
The human spirit is a strong living being...
but when trusting another has become stronger than ones
own spiritual self...
we may find ourselves turning over our core belief system
to let another do the interpretation of that.
that is where "cults" come from.
From giving away ones truth to live another.
As you do your daily spiritual work out....
. remember frequently...
. That weak spiritual leaders are going to be trying
to use others
for their own benefit...
Become your OWN spiritual leader... and you cannot become
a victim....
Listening to your own inner voice... allowing that voice
to be heard
can become a daily work out all by itself, as you learn
that you already have
the answers... you are just NOW coming up with the questions...
What does your inner voice sound like?
Is it God speaking thru you?
Is it your conscious?
Is it a voice from the past coming back?
Is it a guide speaking to us?
It's a root....
It's the root of our own soul..
That has experienced all living and dying
and yet does not fear.
It is the part of each person
that * knows * the truth
and lives it.
We have spent a lot of time trying to silence this inner voice
We have done everything possible to pretend that it is not there.
We all have an inner voice, that is connected to the Universal Truth
yet.... our in body experiences will try to keep it quiet
so that we may stay
within the fear and doubt that there is more to being alive
than being in a body.
The inner voice doesn't sound like someone from our past.
The inner voice doesn't nag.
The inner voice doesn't shout.
It simply --- lives within you --- waiting to be heard.
And it requests only a bit of time each day in our work-out
to become a Voice that can be heard around the world....
Trusting.. that your inner voice is your SELF at the end
of time
having experienced all that you feared, doubted, questioned
loved, celebrated... cheered....
is another work out that will take you beyond the stars.
The inner voice knows what has been...from the perspective
of all time.
it's connected to the Universal Mind that has no concept of time
It's you... Friends....
it's You without the armor.
It's you
with the blinders off.
It's you
with all the experiences intact.
It's you
with all the blessings that we begin life with.
It's you
with all that ever was or will be.
And it --- is alive within you right now.
Takes a lot of courage to live a spiritual work out...
Courage that says
I can do what I have already done
I can BE what I was before I came to body
I can Experience living as a spiritual self rather than as an
earthbound body.
I can LIVE this life fully and with passion.
I can forgive myself for that which I have done/been/felt.
I can forgive those around me who have pulled me down to their level
and I can grow from each experience that I have invited into
my life.
I can be glad for the sweat of the daily work out...
For it is fine-tuning my life thru experience.
Courage... is another leap of faith taken when there is no
"reason"
to leap, other than it's the right thing to do for you.
Courage... is loving your connection to the Universe so throroughly...
That you can accept the rough terrain that accompanies living
and even.... "decorate" it with your own special stamp
that says..
. "I WAS HERE"
It is a part of each of us... how many times have you
found your courage...
at the last possible moment?
Bring it to the front of the truck.... and it will help balance
out the rest of the load... you pack on your spiritual journey...
Trusting... Self, and our Source...
Living your own truth -- your core belief system
And
Courage.... all are there within you...
Waiting to be worked out....
you will notice them ALL more... when they are sweating...
for they GLOW with your own personal truth and power.
A Spiritual Work Out Program
Before I face today
I need to stretch a bit and work on a plan
That will give me maximum growth
for this day...
Reach for a star
and pull it close to my heart
and hold it there...
make a wish and cast it out
to the heavens
where I may share it with the Universe
A twinkling reminder of the work I have done
Stretch... stretch again
and taste that which is juicy
and delicious and sweet...
Work outs do not have to be about deep knee bends
nor about sit ups...
they can be about stretching out my trust
and toning up my core beliefs
and then running around the track with courage
and laughing...
oh my yes, Laughing is a work out
when the world seems humorless and dull.
Getting the load properly distributed...
at the beginning of each day...
Heavy stuff to the front...
before my eyes have cleared to see the light of day
then allowing others
to help me pack the little stuff...
Lightens the load
and gives reason to celebrate the work out.
Opening up the truck at the new destination...
is what a daybreak is all about...
Each day... I move... I move forward...
and each time...
I will find... I need a smaller truck...
For I have trust and I have my beliefs...
and I have courage to lighten the load...
By the end of this journey....
It will just be me and my Maker...
Walking along, holding hands...
and knowing that each moment was a treasured memory.
* end copyright 1998 by Susan Holm *
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