Day 320 - A Year to Clear - Look in the Mirror

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Lesson 320: Look in the Mirror

Today we are to look into the mirror for a minute and notice all the commentary you have towards yourself. Let the thoughts come but don’t categorise them into bad or good thoughts. Do not judge them at all. Once the minute is over, notice how you feel.

It’s odd because for some reason a few days ago, I said to myself that I have to stare myself in the mirror and tell myself what I am grateful for, so to have this lesson pop up isn’t a coincidence.

When I looked at myself in the mirror, I noticed my tiredness. I don’t like the imperfections on my face and I notice that I am aging. I notice the oiliness of my face. I see the loneliness in my eyes. I have the thought that I don’t like the look of me at the moment.

I noticed that I need to be less self-critical. I need some more self-love. I feel bad of myself for having such thoughts towards myself. I do not have these thoughts towards my friends and family, so why am I having them towards myself. It makes me sad. I need to believe that I am beautiful the way others see. But I need to truly believe these words. Something to really work on.

This task can be so challenging. It’s time to do away with negative thoughts towards self.

Day 319 - A Year of Spiritual Awakening - It is Possible to Go...

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Lesson 319: It is Possible to Go...

… into the heart of love at any point. You can be in pain and hold the vibration of love if you need to. Today we are to go into love. Close your eyes and imagine pure bliss and love. Shower yourself in this feeling and remember it at the same time.

When I closed my eyes laying down, I could feel myself in a field laying down on grass. I imagine the warm sunlight touching my skin as a subtle wind graced my skin. I was wearing a flower crown and I imagine pink and green light just showing over me. The feeling of love is so overwhelming. I felt like I could cry. There was so much pure joy, that it’s amazing to think you could feel like that always. I was dancing around in this field and just closed my eyes to absorb the love light that was surrounding me. It was an indescribable feeling to be honest. It felt so freeing and uplifting. I think for me I don’t always feel the love because the trivial matters of everyday life get me and then you get so caught up in it. there is nothing stopping me to pause and meditate on love and have that fill my heart but also my whole being.

Try this exercise whenever you need to feel the same bliss you did on this day.

Day 319 - A Year to Clear - Your Reflection

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Lesson 319: Your Reflection

“If you would only switch on the light of awareness and observe yourself and everything around you throughout the day, if you would see yourself reflected in the mirror of awareness the way you see your face reflected in a looking glass, that is, accurately, clearly, exactly as it is without the slightest distortion or addition, and if you observed this reflection without any judgment or condemnation, you would experience all sorts of marvelous changes coming about in you. Only you will not be in control of those changes, or be able to plan them in advance, or decide how and when they are to take place. It is this nonjudgmental awareness alone that heals and changes and makes one grow. But in its own way and at its own time.”

— Anthony DeMello, The Way to Love

Today we are greeted with this quote and nothing else. It’s powerful to notice that in every action we have in the things we do, a piece of us is in every action. A part of us is in everything we touch and do for ourselves. We just aren’t bringing awareness to it. We have the power to heal in any situation because in every action is a part of us slowly taking it’s time to bring about change. If we take away judgement, it allows the uniqueness of you to flow through every situation.

Do you agree as you read this quote over and over? It’s taking time to settle in for me, but I am grateful for the lesson. What I draw from it is that there is beauty in every situation even if you don’t see it. it’s about taking away your own judgement and letting things go, as well as letting them be.

Day 318 - A Year of Spiritual Awakening - Those Who Seek the Dark...

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Lesson 318: Those Who Seek the Dark...

“Those who seek the dark, do so to be in pain. They believe it is easier to stay there; but it is not. If you are in pain, if you are still moving from pain into compassion, take a look at this now.”

— Sara Wiseman

Today is to move some pain into light. That’s where we are all headed in the end right? We can ask ourselves to move pain into compassion right now. There is nothing stopping you from transitioning like this.

I sometimes forget about moving my issues from pain to compassion and then connection. I sometimes have reminders that pop up in my life through subtle angelic messages and synchronicity. I was wallowing in some dark emotions recently but I was reminded by some positive affirmations to think about all the good I have in my life. I watched a facebook video recently that I had seen a year or so before. This video had colour blind people receiving those special glasses to help them see in colour. A lot of these people started crying as they saw colour for the first time. It reminded me of all the things I take for granted. I had been looking at my life of all the things I didn’t have, when right there and then, I had the pleasure of seeing in colour. Something I don’t think about as being a gift and yet some people go every day without this simple pleasure.

I decided there and then to start a gratitude practise of just saying some thing out loud of what I am grateful for. I didn’t need to be in the pain of whatever I was going through – I just needed to change my thinking. I moved from pain to compassion. It’s something to keep up for sure. I am not perfect and don’t always remember these lessons, but I find, there is always something trying to remind me.

What did you overcome today?

Day 318 - A Year to Clear - See Yourself

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Lesson 318: See Yourself

“Seeing takes time.”

— Georgia O'Keeffe

Today we are to take a photo of ourselves and truly look at it. What is it that makes you fond of that photo? What do you see in yourself?

One of my fav pictures of me in this whole world is the time I got to go to Thailand and spend it volunteering in an elephant village. It was to educate the owners that they don’t need to use their elephants for exploitation. That the elephants don’t need to have their spirit broken (phajaan) in order for the owners to use them for entertainment purposes. It’s to try and stop these inhumane practises and teach them that people are happy to visit these elephants without extreme measures taking place.

We get told that we are not to stand in between elephants as they can literally crush you and you would be seriously injured. If you do, it’s at your own risk. I was very new on my spiritual path when I took this solo journey to Thailand. I was having a nice day in the creek washing our elephants when I thought how nice it would be to connect my mind to my elephant. I decided to lay my head against hers and see if we could connect. She murmured as I held my head against hers. It was a really beautiful moment. I threw caution to the wind to share a most memorable moment being loved by this elephant. All I felt was calm and peace. It was magical and I am so grateful. In that moment, one of my friends took this photo of me.

It’s one of the most precious photos I have. I love the stillness in that moment. That my mind was away and free of pain, hurt, stress and darkness. I had been having the roughest time of my life and I wanted to bring more light into it. It’s in this photo that I captured a pure moment and it always reminds me of the love all of us beings can experience. I do want to return to this village to volunteer again. It really was one of the best experiences of my life and I wish I had more time there.

What’s a moment you captured that is your fondest memory?