Hello, everyone! I hope you have all been enjoying this beautiful weather we are having lately! With warmer, dryer days we have more and more opportunities to get out and about and interact with one another. With that in mind, today Spirit would like for us to talk about how we are conducting ourselves in our day-to-day lives.
We are all on this quest for spiritual enlightenment and self-improvement. We go to various spiritual gatherings, such as meditation groups or church functions, we take classes on energy healing, developing spiritual awareness, manifesting… and this is good, very good! It is time, however, for some of us to bump it up a notch.
You’ve learned to talk the talk. Now, Spirit poses the question, have you learned to walk the walk?
It is easy to live in love and kindness when you’re in a controlled environment, surrounded by like-minded people and not dealing with the struggles of day-to-day life, but have you begun to put into daily practice those things you’ve learned in classes and meditations? How do you behave when no one is looking? Do you curse at the guy who cuts you off in traffic? Do you get impatient with the cashier for moving slower than you think she should? Do you snap at your loved ones for no valid reason? I must admit, I’m guilty of all these reactions.
Spirit showed me that I needed to reevaluate how I am walking the walk. I do a pretty good job of finding the positive in every situation and not focusing on the negatives in life… that is until something catches me off guard and I have ‘one of those days’ and I find myself behaving in a less than spiritual manner. Spirit wants to make it clear, however, that the purpose of this message is not to admonish us for being human, but rather to help us find ways, even if subtle ways, to improve our overall human experience and not get caught off guard and distracted by the negatives in live. Then, subtly but surely, we will raise our vibration to the point that those everyday human issues do not illicit reactions that are not born from love.
So how are we to do this; how are we to put the talk into motion and walk the walk? There are two ways that Spirit would like for us to explore today, both of which are designed to bring us back to center when something has triggered us to deviate from the path of loving responses. One way is to simply prepare ahead of time for the bad days. The other way is also simple in nature, it is to change how we begin and end each day.
First let’s look at preparing ahead of time for the bad days. Just as a warrior does not go into battle without the proper weapons, we need to be equipped and prepared for the negativity that will arise in our day-to-day lives. So how can we prepare for these bad days? We can begin by simply being mindful and acknowledging that there will be situations that arise on a daily basis that have the potential to provoke a less than loving or spiritual reaction from you. I struggled with this for a while, as I perceived that acknowledging the negative would diminish my focus on the positive. Spirit soon showed me, however, that my approach was exhausting and not completely effective. Of course the goal is to remain calm in the midst of chaos, but first we need to be prepared and sometimes it takes more than just a positive outlook that can be shaken when we are caught off guard.
Now that we’ve begun our preparations by acknowledging the bad, we now need to diffuse it. Just as our minds react to negative triggers, we also react to positive ones and they can serve as a means to snap us out of a lower vibration reaction. One way to trigger your mind to return to a calm and positive state is to leave notes for yourself in places where you know it will have the most impact. In the past I have gotten discouraged easily. Now I have a saying hanging on my wall that reads ‘believe in what you want so much that it has no choice but to materialize’. I see this each day and it helps me to keep the faith and to maintain a positive attitude on those days when it seems I will never reach a particular goal. It helps me to not hang out in that lower vibration associated with failure. Then, on the days that I’m not actively involved in a struggle, it reminds me of all that I have accomplished and overcome.
Another idea that is helpful is to set alarms on your phone for several times during the day with a happy, encouraging or inspirational tune. These can be random times, just as a special treat to yourself, or if you have specific times during the day when you know you usually struggle, use this as a tool to help prompt yourself to not give in to the your normal responses.
Also, place little reminders for yourself in your car. It is so easy to get caught up in anger and frustration when you are in traffic. It may not even be your anger and frustration you’re picking up on, but it still has the same effect. Hang something positive and inspirational from your rearview mirror, pick a couple of favorite crystals to leave in your cup holder, tape a sticky note to your steering wheel… anything that will help snap you back to a peaceful state and remind you not to get caught up in the drama of traffic. I have a little hippie, tie-dye sticker in my car that says ‘da U.P. is my happy place’. I cannot look at it without smiling and it reminds me that the traffic I’m in is only a temporary frustration and it enables me to mentally go to that happy place while everything around me seems to be in chaos.
I’m sure you can come up with countless other creative ways to keep yourself operating at a higher vibration rather than reacting with anything less than love. Additionally, it is always a good idea to minimize negative input as much as possible and eliminate words such as don’t, won’t and can’t. Reduce your exposure to violence on TV as this allows a very low vibration to occupy your mind and then subtly influences your reactions to other situations.
Now that we’ve talked about counteracting some of our negative triggers with positive ones, let’s talk about how to change the way we begin and end each day, thus setting the tone for our day and preparing us to come from a place of love.
If you do not already carry out some form of morning meditation, I highly recommend that you begin to do so. This does not have to be complicated. Set your alarm just 5 minutes early and take those few minutes to just lay there and appreciate the moments between sleep and wakefulness. Stretch your body, slowly coax it into movement. Be gentle with yourself, don’t wake up in chaos and running late. Give yourself plenty of time to take plenty of time. Then extend this to your shower, visualize the water clearing away not only physical debris, but also spiritual and emotional things you may be holding on to. Let the water be a form of purification for you on a spiritual level as well as a physical one. Connect with your creator before you go out into the world.
Next, nourish your body and soul. Get a book of daily quotes and inspirations or find an oracle deck that you are drawn to. As you have your morning coffee and breakfast, (yes, you need to eat breakfast) turn to a random page or pull a card, then meditate a moment on its meaning. Carry these thoughts forward with you into your day. Reflect on this message again in the evening and notice how it played out in your day.
Finally, end each day with gratitude… even if it’s been ‘one of those days’. Be thankful for the lessons and for the opportunity to grow spiritually from your daily encounters. Perhaps journal about your experiences for future reflection.
Along my journey to becoming a Reiki Practitioner, I learned The Reiki Principles, which are all about daily mindfulness. Mikao Usui, the founder of the Usui Reiki Treatment for the improvement of body and mind, thought this practice so important that he made it part of his Reiki system. This is such practical advice, however, that it can apply to everyone, whether they are Reiki practitioners or not. So, in closing, I leave you with these 5 Reiki Principles listed below as yet another tool to help you as you step fully into walking the walk.
Namaste
DeAnna
The Reiki Principles
The secret art of inviting happiness
the miraculous medicine of all diseases
Just for today,
do not anger
do not worry
be filled with gratitude
devote yourself to your work
be kind to all living things
every morning and evening
join your hands in prayer
pray these words to your heart
and chant these words with your mouth
– Mikao Usui, the founder of Usui Reiki Treatment for the improvement of body and mind