A Head Start on 365 Days of Inspiration!

I just picked up my copy of "365 Days of Inspiration: Joyous Living Journal" by Petra Weldes and Christian Sorensen, and I am so excited! Seriously. It may seem a little odd to get worked up about a book of daily inspirations/quotes. After all, don't most of us have at least a dozen of them floating around our homes, cars and offices? If you've seen one, you've likely seen them all - the formula doesn't vary much...

This book, however, is special... Perhaps that is why Dr. Heather selected it as the book to take us through the year.

From the carefully selected monthly themes, that seem to flow effortlessly into each other, to the daily quotes, the book is well-aligned to the Centers for Spiritual Living philosophy. Considering the rather broad chorus of voices the authors assembled for the daily quotes, (ranging from Ernest Holmes to Friedrich Nietzsche, Mae West and Lao Tzu) it was refreshing to note the harmony that resulted from that combination.

I particularly love the Contemplation/Reflection prompt at the end of each daily message. It is an opportunity for the reader to reflect on what has been presented, to go within and see what bubbles up. A small space is allotted on the page, but Dr. Heather made the brilliant suggestion of using a separate journal to write your daily response. I love this idea. I allows you to share this book with family members without worrying about sharing your private thoughts, and it preserves the book in case you want to visit the pages again in a few years.

Though the passages are brief, if you open yourself to the process, and take a few minutes each day, the act of journaling can have powerful results.

Anyway, the bookstore just received another shipment, so they are well-stocked. I encourage you to stop by the Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley and pick up your copy while they still have them.

I look forward to hearing Dr. Heather's insights each Sunday as she goes through this journal, and I look forward to revealing my own. It is going to be an amazing year.

What Do You Give a Great Spirit Who Already Has Everything?

The Joyous Living Journal 

"Spirit has given you the greatest gift; it is the gift of your life.  What you make of it is the gift you give back to Spirit!"

This is the first sentence I read on January 2 in the Joyous Living Journal, our reading for 2014.

Pretty powerful words, aren't they?

I have always understood my life being a gift.

But what these words made me contemplate was that what I make of my life is a gift BACK to Spirit.

That isn't an idea that has ever become present to me and, for some reason, it packed a punch.

Am I making my life into a gift back to spirit?

My answer brought peace to my heart and a smile to my face.

If I would have been presented with this same question six years ago, the question would have brought sadness and maybe even anger.

Six years ago,  I certainly wasn't making my  life into something I would have viewed as a gift back to Spirit.

I was living for other people.  Doing what I thought would make others happy.  I was working a job I hated.  I was "buying" a life so, on the outside, my life looked happy and successful.

But, I was so sad and so unfulfilled on the inside.

It took a major, and heartbreaking, life event for me to take a true, honest look at my life and from what I saw, things needed to change.

Change they did and as I contemplated this idea in my morning reading six years later, I was pleasantly surprised by my answer.

I am living a life, that I believe is a gift to Spirit, and, it's getting more and more of a gift every day.

Why?

Because six years ago, I started living for ME...not from a selfish standpoint, but from the place of living from my inner Spirit.

That part of Spirit that lives within me.

I dedicated myself to being One with it and following the thread of joy everyday...not someone else's joy, not even my kids' joy, but mine.

It took me some time to get to that place.

As they say, it's a journey!

And, a journey it certainly has been!

Following my heartbreaking life event, I had to heal first.

I had to forgive.

I had to decide to live differently.

I had to  decide to let go of everyone else's happiness and choose my own.

I had to decide  to let the old me (and all her beliefs, paradigms, and thoughts) die and allow my soul to emerge from the dark depths I had buried it to.

...as my soul emerged,  I had to step aside and allow Spirit to express Itself through me  and as a result, I have found peace and more joy within than I have ever known.

The results of my spiritual emergence is still unfolding, but I can definitively say that I am a better mom because of it.  I'm a better person because of it, and I am certainly living as if my life is the gift I know it to be.

And because of that, I am making my life into a life that I know is a gift back to Spirit.

For that, I am living in joy!

Already two days in to 2014, and working through this daily "Joyous Living" Journal, I feel pretty certain that 2014 will be the best gift I have to give back to Spirit!

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What about you?  Contemplate the words:  "Spirit has given you the greatest gift; it is the gift of your life.  What you make of it is the gift you give back to Spirit!"

Are you making your life into a gift that Spirit would be proud of?

No matter what your answer is, every day is an opportunity to decide to live life and give your gift back to Spirit!