The Reflection in the Mirror

It seems funny that when we take a really good look at relationships we often find ourselves reflected in the other person. Sometimes this can be an amazing experience and other times it can be downright annoying. To some degree when we are in a relationships we lose ourselves and the other person within the perimeter of our emotional attachments which can feel like it is flowing into a heavy fog. If the relationship is going well this is may not be a problem but if there is a ripple in the connection it can become hard to sort it out as the lines are blurred in knowing who's personal baggage belongs to whom.

If you find yourself in an uncomfortable position while in a relationship with someone it is best to find a place where you are able to sort out your own actions and feelings. With a little practice you can tap into yourself to disconnect from the other person just long enough to identify why your buttons are being pushed or why your feelings are hurt. By learning how to do this simple process you can be more subjective of what is happening in those uncomfortable moments where you can then see what is really going on and why there is a misunderstanding.

For those who are  a little more emotionally sensitive it is a really good practice to take a deep breath to center yourself while taking a small step backwards to move into your own energy. Remember, when we are in close proximity with someone we are sharing our energy fields and stepping back helps us distinguish what is our ours. Just a little note that this holds true for long distant relationships as when we are thinking about someone or even talking to them on the phone our energy is reaching out over the distance.

For those who are more comfortable at feeling into someones else's energy stepping back may not be the answer. In this case it is a little more tricky as it is important not to get too caught up in the emotions but to be mindful in making a couscous decision to discern what is yours emotionally and separating the reactions. Once this is achieved you can see the whole disagreement on a lager scale and decide what your own role played in the disagreement.

Taking these few steps allows us to separate ourselves from the emotional attachment of defending or pushing back in order to change focus to reevaluating the situation. From there we then have the choice to work on owning our own stuff while allowing the other person to work on themselves if they choose too. What we need to be most mindful of is that working on ourselves changes who and what we attract into our lives and frees us up from having to repeat a particular pattern.  A definition for insanity is continuing to repeat a pattern over and over.

The beauty of relationships is that they come into our lives as a reflection of what we already see in the mirror. Those who resonate with our energy will be attracted to us and we to them. So it is really up to us to make the changes if we don't like what we see or to sit back and enjoy it when we do.

Photographs by Steve - Italy - Tuscany

Soul Agreements

Spiritual release is an amazing process as it allows a person to learn to recognize old triggers in their life that catapult the physical brain and body into reenacting old behaviors that no longer serve that person's highest good. I like to call these old patterns Soul Agreements as they are apart of a process that is imprinted upon a person soul from an experience that they believe is now a truth for them as they walk through life. With these soul agreements a trigger is then formed to help hold that truth in place.

These triggers hold a program that influences a certain behavior pattern as a device to help a person survive or even make it through their day at one time. Then as time moves on these old patterns are no longer needed but the person still carries the old baggage and still enforces the behavior that comes with it. An example of that would be a childhood experience where the parent is always sick and the child grows up taking care of the parent. Now as an adult the child becomes a care giver to others whether they are in need of help or not. This behavior was needed when the child was growing up but now as an adult they gravitate towards relationships where they are always the caregiver because that is what they know how to do, making a once healthy relationship unbalanced.

So I guess the next question is, "How do we go through the process of releasing these kinds of old soul agreements that have become baggage around our necks?" One step is to recognize that a trigger can be disguised as an old fear or belief so that when we are thrown into a situation that brings a soul agreement up we must become aware of our own actions. It is when we are in those experiences that we are able to look to see if the reaction to the trigger is necessary or even true to where we are in life. This process allows us to really analyze what we are doing and decided for ourselves if it is time to break our soul agreement with ourself.

One thing that is important to mention when working with spiritual release and clearing out old soul agreements is that when we ask for help to clear an old pattern the Universe will open up and dole out many opportunities to work on ourselves. This reminds me of a television commercial where a man finds a genie in a bottle and the genie offers to grant him a wish. The man thinks and then asks for a million bucks. The genie agrees, nods his head, and gives him a million bucks in deer form. The irony in the commercial holds true to reality. Our higher selves and the workings of the universe are not always congruent with what we think we want in our lives so it is up to us to make sure we are Clear in what we are asking for. Remember, to the rest of the universe we are only having an experience where to us it is a big deal. Therefore we must stay conscious of this connection when we ask to release an old patten and not feel victimized because we get what we asked for.

After some practice in breaking a soul agreement we can then release ourselves from holding ourselves accountable to repeat an old pattern that no longer serves it's purpose on a physical, mental and soul level. Then when we are confronted with the same situation we see other ways to maneuver through it without the triggers releasing old reactions as we move on to other things that take precedence in our lives.

Photos by Steve Noyce - Arkansas

Beyond the Physical MInd

Years ago, when I was attending college, my roommate was taking a class in which she gained a revelation. She came back to our dorm room one day to report that she had learned that when the physical mind dies, we no longer exist. I remember being very disturbed about this information and for months afterwards I used to turn it over in my mind thinking about it trying to analyze it. I have to say that the whole idea was downright depressing at the time. Not able to prove or disprove it, though, I filed it away in my memory bank to investigate at a later date. As it happened it wasn't until years later when I was married with two lovely children that I had my own personal experience that disproved this line of thinking without any room for question. It was what I now call the knitting experience. At the time, I was knitting when I lifted out of my body to where my own consciousness detached from my physical form only to merge into the All and into one consciousness.

From this experience I learned that consciousness beyond the physical mind does exist. Not only does it exist on an individual level, it also is a part of a greater consciousness comprised of everything that exists in the universe on a physical and energetic level. The term that most are familiar with is the universal mind or what others may call the mind of God. What is fascinating is that even what most call primitive cultures know about its existence. So why then, are we as an advanced society still questioning it from a scientific  perspective?

I believe it is because we try to think or rationalize everything we know within the limits of our physical brains. But then the question comes up, how else are we to know or investigate it if we don't use our mind? This is when we have to remember that we are multidimensional beings with other abilities that are well beyond the physical experience. Yes, there are those who have faith, but faith can still be blind when we have more then ample opportunities to move forward into knowing that there is more to our own existence then just flesh and bone.

Photographs by Ana

Twilighting

These days twilighting has many different connotations to it but when i use the word twilight I mean that time period when you are about to fall asleep yet you are still awake. You are still very aware of your surroundings and in enough of a relaxed state to access information that has by passed you during the busy day. It is here when the magic happens.

For those who are wanting to get in touch with their super subconscious or even wanting to do some astral traveling this is where it all happens.  By practicing either through mediation or relaxing your body you can access this state but the real trick is not to fall asleep. If you can stay conscious you can actively ask questions getting answers to things that we block ourselves from.

The funny part is that everyone can reach this point of existence as we all come in and out of sleep when we go to bed or wake up. But it is in this place of twilight that we can work on ourselves, change old habits, or even go deeper with what we want to know about. 

Something I would recommend to anyone who is working on themselves is to spend a little time holding this space so that later, as you master it, you can move into a twilight stage for a deeper release and healing. In my own life I find that when I am bombarded with so much stimulation from the world and can't see the forest for the trees, I will go into a twilight stage and there I can access information that I seek. Also when I am in twilight I can see a broader picture of what I am trying to accomplish which gives me more options as I am working on something or talking with someone.

Again, for anyone who is developing their own natural abilities,  twilighting is an amazing tool to work with.

Photographs by Ana - Taos, NM