Shayla's blog

Mirrors

I was listening in on a conversation the other day (I couldn’t help but overhearing) and was amazed at how bitter and choked this person’s words and energy were.

The complaint was about a lack of space, time and money for a project. Now the project was sparked primarily by a big purchase of items for a hobby; a very expensive purchase of items for a hobby and one which was precipitating the financial crunch. These items were now cluttering up the area in which the hobby space was to be built and causing an issue with physical space as well as ineffectiveness of labor. The question begged to be asked, why would you put yourself in that place to begin with? The other thing that hit me was this person was indulging heavily in the blame game, pointing fingers at other people’s expenditures and habits in order to deflect the responsibility. It just had to be someone else’s fault.

Instead of going into a state of judgment, this time I allowed the universe to show me how many times I had done similar things. How often I had created chaos in order to gain sympathy, support or just to try to handle the crushing weight of the emotion bottled inside me. It was an act of rebellion, an act of stepping into a complete place of control as no one could stop me or tell me not to do it. I was my own person and I DESERVED these things! Likewise, I refused to take responsibility for the problems that it generated down the line. It was someone else’s fault entirely because I’d been deprived or that I had to now handle the weight of my decisions and work with what I had.

How often had I counted on money that had not yet reached my hands? How often had I created a situation where the Universe had to bail me out and yet it wasn’t within the boundaries of what I had agreed to? How often had I realized too late that I had assumed something that was not held in truth at all? As my mind spun, I began to see the simple patterns form before me and they resonated within my soul. The lesson was learned.

The simple truth is that every overheard conversation, every situation, every story we hear about someone else can be a learning experience for us. It can lead to insights into how we function ourselves and demonstrate those patterns of behavior that we would steadfastly deny otherwise.

Don’t ever underestimate the Universe’s power to teach you through example. When you are going through something yourself, often you’re blinded to the overall lesson held within. As you step back, it becomes clearer until you can identify the reasons why and then release it with love.

I intend to pay attention was one of my 2010 intentions. Someone asked me “to what?”, and I simply smiled.

Oneness

 
I often receive forwards from friends who belong to various mailing lists with articles that I may be interested in. I’m fortunate because it keeps my inbox and junk mail folders from becoming cluttered and gives me something new to discuss with them.

I couldn’t help but notice the recent trend is to discuss “Oneness with the Universe”.

My only question is how does anyone hope to accomplish this when you are not at one with yourself?

If you are not harmonious with your own spirit how do you accomplish harmony with the Universe?

Simple answer, you can’t. The laws governing energy and vibration according to my understanding prevent it.

If that’s the case, what keeps you from getting to your desired state? Well everyone I know speaks of having an issue. Whether it be an issue with their bodies, an issue with their character, an issue with their psyche, an issue with their soul contract; there is an issue that plagues them. Their energy is sporadic and choppy, they feel almost as if there is an inner surge of rebellion and their words are defensive and controlling. On the flip side, they say they want to be in the flow and adhere to the laws of attraction. Their words, intentions and soul are at odds. It’s that inner turmoil and war that keep them from the flow.

So how do you accomplish your goal?

It’s a simple step but one of the hardest that you will ever face, you need to accept yourself with all of your flaws and pieces. A good book and one that I recommend is Caroline Myss’ Sacred Contracts which discusses “archetypes” which have both positive and shadow attributes. For the layperson, it’s really about what different roles we have chosen to play in this lifetime. They all have names and descriptions that are too detailed for this email but are worth exploring because along with the good always comes the not-so-acceptable. Chances are that you’ll be surprised at what you’ve chosen to teach you life lessons and how it has played out in your life. As an example, I chose “prostitute” and no, it has nothing to do with selling myself on the street but rather to do with my boundaries and money; what will I subject myself to in order to be able to support myself. Literally years of my life were spent at positions where I subjected myself to abuse in order to collect a paycheck. I felt that in order to survive, I had to stand in servitude (another archetype) and stay out of a place of power. As you can see, it’s not always pleasant to explore but I’ve found that once you begin to understand how this forms who you are, it’s a lot easier to embrace and find peace.

Once you’ve begun to open the doors to acceptance, you’ll find it’s a lot easier to stop trying to control situations, people, places and things. There comes a new found sense of “it is what it is” and the moment you surrender that controlling instinct, things begin to become far easier.

Will you ever accomplish “oneness”? The answer is yes, if you choose to follow that path you will. It may take some time, some soul-searching and some sacrifice but one day you will realize that things are falling into place rapidly and without effort. You will have found your zone, your flow, your oneness and with it the overwhelming love of the Universe.

In the meantime, take the articles that storm you with a grain of salt and embrace the positive message within. Much like your spam filter protects your inbox, let your soul provide the filter for the overwhelming message that there’s something wrong with you because you’re not in the flow. That thought alone will be damaging to your journey.

Remember oneness requires participation not observation. Anything worth accomplishing is worth the work.

Sunday's Thought

For those of you who are like me, you may be sitting infront of a window staring out at the power of Winter. There's a storm out there which has gentle lulls and more gusting moments; a storm that has snowflakes blowing and swirling, wind howling and slapping and trees dancing. It's a day to stay indoors, eat comfort food and meditate. It's a day to celebrate the force that is the Universe.
 
I was sitting at my kitchen table working on tomorrow's thought when I heard the voice inside my head say "why are you writing for tomorrow?". My eyes glanced down at my intentions list for 2010 and I realized that it was three days into the New Year and I was already breaking one of my own intentions.
 
I intend to act on good ideas.
 
That doesn't mean that I intend to put off good ideas until tomorrow. I don't intend to analyze good ideas to death. I don't intend to elaborately plan good ideas so that I never actually can accomplish them.  I don't need to cloak my ideas in prettily coached concepts or work them until they no longer resemble the original thought. I don't intend to find excuses, point fingers of blame or fear putting my idea out there.
 
I intend to act on good ideas.
 
In acting on my intentions, my daily email is born in the middle of a winter storm. The words are given to me as I sit huddled beside a fire. As I hit "send" it flows from my computer through the cold winter air, joining the snowflakes swirling and whirling until it finds its way to you.
 
Maybe today you will be inspired to put one of your good ideas into motion?