YourSpiritualWorld.com

As we enter the New Year wondering what life has in store for us – will it be a better year? – have my troubles ended? We sometimes feel disillusionment about our way forward.

Francis Fenelon wrote: “Do not think of disillusionment as a sad thing, we think this state is terrible – we are mistaken. It is there that we find peace and liberty.”

It is important for our spiritual growth to let go of the past and live in the present. A man called Anon once said: “living in yesterday is a cancelled cheque – tomorrow is a promissory note and today is cash in hand, spend it wisely.”

The New Year is a good time to let go of the past to be able to move forward. There is an affirmation you can say to do this.

“My intention is to forgive everyone in my past, and to thank them for the wisdom and the knowledge that I now have. I cannot know the full purpose and implication of all the experiences at this time, but I place my trust in the greater plan for this planet and my role within it. I am letting go of the past now, releasing negativity from my cellulary memory and moving forward taking only the positive knowledge, wisdom and experience, which I will use for the highest good of all concerned, my new way of being. I am now free and detached from old negative thought patterns, and able to view the past with unconditional love.”

There is a need to move forward with only positive thoughts.

There is also another way which is called “The Sacred Rite”. This is used for releasing anger, hurt and emotions through the written word. This is also a therapeutic method of clearing mind, body and spirit.

Write a letter to the individual or parties concerned (for your eyes only – not to be given too them or even posted. ) Fully express your innermost feelings, explaining why you are hurt, angry and distraught and so on. Write only your true feelings, not seeking revenge. When you have finished, set up your sacred rite, burning the letter in a heat resistant dish or open fire. As the letter burns, visualise your mind and body purified by the release of these emotions, stating your desire to move forward in your life – Give Thanks.

Harbouring thoughts of revenge and bearing grudges anchor us firmly in the past, clouding our visions of the future. To move on, these thought patterns will eventually have to be released.

So start the New Year by letting go and allow yourself to be free to move on - bringing in an inner calm and knowing that the future will be brighter.

Happy New Year to everyone. May your New Year bring you happiness and joy.

Patricia

Your doctor can give you tablets and advice but there are alternative ways of dealing with stress:

Yoga

Yoga will help you relax physically and counteract stress by helping limber up the spine. By carrying out the movements gently, slowly and as smoothly as possible, you create a healing stretch through the entire length of the back, which encourages the circulation of blood from the base of the spine to the head. At the same time, it has a calming influence on the mind.

Meditation

Meditation is good for stilling the mind and calming your energies.

Amino Acids

L-Carnitine supplements help regulate heart arrhythmias, increase resistance to stress and supply greater physical stamina.

Flower Remedies

There are a great number of flower remedies on the market: Bach Flower Remedy Cherry Plum is for those who fear losing control of their body, mind or emotions and expressing uncontrollable anger and other impulses, which may cause them to harm themselves or others, including suicidal tendencies.

Aromatherapy Oils

Aromatherapy or “essential oils” are particularly beneficial for treating stress-related problems. They don’t just exert their beneficial effect on the body, but also reach the brain and the nervous system as you inhale them. When we breathe in the aroma of the oils, we stimulate nerve endings in the upper part of the nose, which in turn carry nerve impulses to the brain. As the oils are inhaled, tiny molecules are also taken into the lungs and absorbed into the bloodstream.

Similarly, when an aromatherapy oil is rubbed into the skin, this relays messages to the underlying tissues and muscles, which in turn has an effect on the nervous system and especially the pituitary gland which regulates the action of all other endocrine glands. This is why aromatherapy oils can substantially help hormonal problems as well as relieve stress and further relaxation.

Successful Stress Management

Although stress is not something we usually welcome into our life, it can nevertheless have a very positive function in that it helps us grow as a person.

Hearing how to deal with lifes ups and downs in a constructive way is an ongoing process.

Successful stress management is not something handed down to you by a benign celestial force – it is a result of taking positive action.

In the end it is your responsibility whether you get your stress sorted out or not.

No one else can do it for you.

Taking that responsibility can be one of the best things you have ever done in your life.

Stress may affect you on a physical, mental or emotional level. The area that is your weakest link will be where you will notice the overload effects first, depending on your personal disposition.

When unforeseen events or overload situations arise that put a strain on your ability to cope, you can start feeling out of control. It is this feeling of not being in charge of a particular situation that creates what we perceive as stress.

It now becomes very important to know how to deal with this stress so that you can handle the situation constructively and feel back in control. If you end up feeling that you were not able to successfully deal with the situation, you will begin to become nervous about the same or similar situation arising again in the future.

In this respect, it does not matter what the situation was – it may have been something simple as a casual remark that hurt you, but as long as it made you feel physically or emotionally out of control, a vicious circle will have been set up.

Once you start to get afraid of the same situation occurring again, you tense up, you think about what happened and go over it again and again in your mind. The stress has now extended into the non-stress areas of your lifer, simple because you can’t stop thinking about it, even though the situation has passed.

By way of self-protection, you now begin to fear or avoid similar situation. And when you find yourself in a similar place, when you experience similar body sensations or when similar events occur you will feel stressed. This can sometimes happen, even if you have not thought about the original stressful event for a long time. The moment your subconscious mind perceives an upcoming event as potentially threatening, it

switches you in stress-mode.

There are many symptoms of stress:

-mood swings

- being overly aggressive, angry or weepy

- feeling anxious or suffering from a feeling of panic.

- losing your sense of humour

- feeling down or depressed

- withdrawing from social life

- blaming yourself

- assuming others will let you down

- blaming life in general

- drinking excessively

- smoking excessively

- change of personality

and many more.

Does anything sound familiar?

There have been cases where people have experienced spontaneous healing or have overcome something that was considered to be impossible, the

individual went through a complete reversal of personality,” states Dr Wayne. “They actually rewrote their own agreement with reality. To experience Godlike spontaneous miracles, you must have a sense of yourself as Godlike. The scripture say “With God all things are possible.” Now tell me what does that leave out? A mind that’s open to everything means being peaceful, radiating love, practicing forgiveness, being generous, respecting all life, and most important, visualizing yourself as capable of doing anything that you can conceive of in you mind and heart - open your mind to all possibilities.

If someone suggests that crystals can cure hemorrhoids, or that herbs can lower cholesterol, listen and be curious – don’t say “that’s ridiculous”. Have an open mind, because whether you believe something is possible or impossible, either way you’ll be right. How can that be true? Your agreement with reality

and all that’s possible determines what you’ll become. If you’re convinced that you can’t become wealthy, famous, artistic, a professional athlete, a great singer or whatever, you will act upon the inner conviction that prevents you from manifesting what you’d really like. All that you will get from your efforts -is the satisfaction of being right.

Another step toward inner peace is to have the miracle mind-set.

Refuse to allow yourself to have low expectations about what you’re capable of creating. As Michelangelo suggested, the greater danger is not that your hopes are too high and you fail to reach them; it’s that they’re too low.

Have within you an imaginary candle flame that burns brightly regardless of what goes before you. Let the inner flame represent for you the idea that you’re capable of manifesting miracles in your life.

There’s never a day goes by that I don’t think about God, but more than thinking, I experience the presence of God in my waking moments. This gives me a feeling of contentment and satisfaction that’s beyond anything I might ever convey.

I’ve come to know the peace of spirit in my life and because of this knowing, all my concerns, problems accomplishments, and accumulations, diminish in importance.

We have all been conditioned in our lives and influenced by our parents with our values and standards. It is important to find our inner peace by:

• Having a mind that is open to everything and attached to nothing. When we can watch a drop of rain fall on the window pain and run down the glass and not think of anything else, your mind is still.

• Finding an opportunity to observe a tiny green sprout emerging from a seed. When you do, allow yourself to feel the awe of what you’re seeing. A famous poet named Rumi observed: “Sell your cleverness and purchase bewilderment.” The scene of an emerging sprout represents the beginning of life.