by Ginger | Jul 4, 2015 | Blog
As we celebrate our nation’s independence this month, I have been reflecting on the spiritual meaning of the word “freedom.” The concept of freedom is often filled with images focused on what we get out of it- personal freedom, financial freedom, religious freedom and freedom in our relationships. Freedom has taken on the connotation of not being answerable to anyone or anything. I am free to do what I want. So, how does freedom fit into Oneness? Where is the “we” in “free”?
The founding fathers of this nation created a unique document guaranteeing each citizen a number of freedoms. But we are also free to discern which freedoms to exercise and in what way. I may be free by law to draw any satirical cartoons I desire, including ones picturing certain religious prophets, but does that mean it is in the highest good of all that I exercise that particular freedom? Does drawing such cartoons come from the genuine belief that it is the best way to support other oppressed groups in being free, or is it done just to prove the right to do it? How we choose to express our freedom is as significant and precious as the freedom itself.
In order to be a citizen of this nation, we agree to give up certain personal preferences in the name of what benefits the community. It might be personally expedient to drive as fast as I want when I’m late to work, but I don’t because it is against the law and is not safe for those on the road. It might benefit an industrial company to be able to use certain cheaper chemicals, but that company doesn’t do so because they are banned and would do far greater environmental harm. We surrender certain personal freedoms, but we do so in the name of the greater good and because it allows us to enjoy far greater freedoms that come from being part of a larger community.
True spiritual Freedom requires true Surrender. In order to be free to be in Oneness, we must first be free of our old selves, our separate selves. We must allow ourselves to be free of “me” in order to enjoy the greater spiritual freedom of the “we.”
The Spiritual Hierarchy might take Kennedy’s famous quote, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” and kick it up a notch with “Ask not what the God/Goddess can do for you, but what you can do for the God/Goddess.” In other words, rather than looking at all the benefits of freedom to ourselves, let’s start focusing on gifts we’re able to give because of the freedom we enjoy.
by Ginger | Jun 2, 2015 | Blog
Ever notice how a smile instantly lights up someone’s face? Details of physical appearance fade away and you just see the light within shining through. Definitions of physical attractiveness may vary between cultures, but smiles are universally beautiful. That’s because the love and joy from that person is reflecting out.
Recently, I was gifted with a very nice spa package. I’d never experienced a spa day, but I looked forward to the experience. When I arrived, the facility was beautiful, and I could tell that attention had been put into every detail of physical comfort. Later, sitting on a sun-covered porch, I listened to the soft sounds of a waterfall, watched the hummingbirds play around me, and took in the expansive view of a mountainside. I realized that everything I saw matched how I felt. Everything seemed so peaceful.
Yet, if I wasn’t relaxed and at ease on that sun porch, the tinkling sounds of the waterfall could easily have been annoying, the activity of the hummingbirds distracting, and the view of the mountain would likely have seemed not nearly so spectacular. But feeling beauty inside, I looked out and saw…more beauty.
I used to frequent a massage place that was located in an older building. It didn’t have the latest décor or all of the frills, and could easily have been termed “quirky” in its general appearance. But everyone there truly loved their work, and they were dedicated to supporting inner healing as well as physical healing. I loved going there because it felt so good. I saw beauty because that’s what was reflecting from the inside. So, what if we spent as much time polishing our inner selves as we spend polishing the outer? What if we focused on the beautiful mountain view within each of us?
Maybe it’s time to schedule yourself an inner “spa day.” Take some time to reflect on where you are in your life and what is beautiful about it. Make a list of what is beautiful about you (and let it be a long list). Then allow yourself to really feel the truth of that beauty and you’ll find that it’s reflected everywhere you look.
by Ginger | May 3, 2015 | Blog
Most of us have a lot of ideas about what makes us successful. Some are more concrete markers, and others are more intangible. Whether we’re conscious of all of them or not, those thoughts guide our direction and choices in life so that we can meet those goalposts.
I’ve recently experienced some successes in several areas of my life, meeting several milestones which I’ve been working toward for quite some time. At first I allowed myself a pause for some celebration. It’s perfectly divine to acknowledge our accomplishments! And then I got back into the flow of my life, encouraging the momentum of my accomplishments as they continued to unfold. I was really enjoying myself and the ease with which everything flowed.
However, after a while I began to feel a sense of anxiety and pressure. The joy in my successes was fading. The momentum seemed to be ebbing. I felt a little directionless and unsure of my next steps. I realized that I’d been operating by the old goalposts for so long, I hadn’t really taken time to set up any new ones. My mind began to race about future possibilities, new projects I felt that I should be working on. But that didn’t relieve the anxiety or bring back the joy. Instead of inviting creativity, it just created pressure.
As always, the key was to go within for guidance. The answer is always there when we open up to our inner wisdom. And my answer to the question of what my new goalpost should be: there is no new goalpost. My new goal is to let go of my need to have a new goal and allow myself to enjoy the flow!
There will come a time when it is appropriate for me to have a little more structure about my direction again and follow some concrete action steps. But if I try to force that now, it will come from a place of frustration and it won’t take me forward. In truth, the real success all along was the joy and flow I was feeling. The goalposts were just a means to get me there. And from that continued place of joy and flow, my new vision will naturally take shape and carry me forward to new successes.
by Ginger | Mar 29, 2015 | Blog
Got projects? These days, it seems like most of us are juggling several balls in the air in various areas of our lives almost constantly. The reality is that with nearly instant communication available 24/7, the pace of modern life is just fast. So how do we, as Lightworkers, balance the need to still operate in this world without getting caught up in it?
I recently took a trip to downtown Denver on the I-25 corridor and that gives new meaning to the word fast. The road twists and turns through the center of the city with at least four lanes of traffic all jammed next to each other and just about everyone seems to be traveling at least 10mph over the speed limit. I don’t make the trip often, but it’s a great opportunity for me to practice being slow while traveling really fast.
As I drove, I noted my tension rising (and my grip on the steering wheel tightening!) I kept wanting to drift over into the right lane where the entrance and exit ramps were slowing down traffic. But a little voice suggested that I didn’t need to go slow, just to feel slow. So, I did some deep breathing and re-focused, so that I cleared my mind of anxious chatter. The inner peace and calm became my experience, and the speed of life around me became mere blips on my radar screen. I no longer felt fast (even traveling at 70 mph) and the pace of life felt calm and relaxed because what I was feeling came from within.
My little car trip reminded me that I can apply this same principle anywhere else in my life. I realized that I had allowed all of the projects that I am currently working on to create feelings of stress and a desire to constantly put on the brakes by delaying and even canceling some of my projects. But the projects weren’t the problem. By getting caught up in my anxiety over deadlines, I had allowed my inner speed to match the outer speed of life, which felt too fast. I was trying to slow down the outer by putting on the brakes instead of focusing on the inner.
Once I began approaching my projects from a place of inner slowness, I found I could still work through them very quickly and make rapid progress. I was able to get back in the fast lane, while still experiencing life from the slow lane. I still feel as if I have all the time in the world, while outside life is speeding up all around me. Now I’m back to asking my Soul with confidence, “Got projects?”
by Ginger | Mar 8, 2015 | Blog
Many Lightworkers hold a vision for achieving Oneness, but have you ever asked what that really looks and feels like? Recently, I’ve been involved in group projects in several areas of my life, each requiring all participants to come into consensus before we move forward to the next step. Working on these group projects has really just been practice for coming into Oneness! I’ve enjoyed the camaraderie and community spirit of collaboration, but I have also struggled with differences of opinion on how to work together to accomplish a project. How do you move forward when you don’t agree?
During this process, I’ve realized that one of my greatest fears about coming together in Oneness is that we’ll all end up being the same; that in order to work in unity, we’ll have to meld together into a bland, cohesive blob without creativity or originality. And yet, the ocean of Oneness is not a lifeless blob at all. Each drop in the ocean is indistinguishable from the others when merged as one body, and yet they are expressing very differently. Drops at the bottom of the ocean express themselves as slow motion in the cold and dark, while drops near the top are often dancing around in a frenzy of activity. They all carry the same properties of the ocean, while manifesting those properties in unique ways.
So, the question of how to be “we” and also be “me” is best answered by looking within to the “why.” If you ask a group of people the best way to get to the top of a mountain, one person might say Route A since it’s the most scenic, while another might suggest Route B as the most direct, and a third might prefer Route C because it’s the safest. When we are working toward the same goal, such as reaching the top of the mountain, we can see that how we get there is really a matter of stylistic difference. Attachments to how we do it fall away when we focus on why we do it. Because in the end, the “why” is what really matters.
True consensus is about following a common inner vision. That common goal still allows for creativity in how to express the vision on the outer. Android is currently showing a fun television ad campaign that illustrates this concept. One ad shows unusual pairings of animals who have become close buddies- such as a dog and an orangutan hanging out together. Another ad shows people of very different backgrounds giving each other versions of a “high-5.” They are all celebrating their originality while honoring their commonality. When we work together in Divine Consensus, we can work in harmony and cooperation while still being unique. As the tag line for the ad campaign says, “be together. not the same.”
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