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(Publication #5 - November -
December, 1996)
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This month's issue deals with grieving and some possible ways of centering ourselves in Joy in the midst of that process by acknowledging and accepting
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" GOD'S PRESENT BLESSING "
© Dr. Carolyn
Bereavement causes a terrible pain. It's like a gigantic hole is left in our heart where our loved one once held a special place, and nothing seems adequate to fill it. The heaviness seems such that we just simply cannot sigh deep enough to relieve it. Yet we know we must continue to go on in life. I think the reason we are reluctant to let go has more to do with our own fear of being left alone. It is the feeling of helplessness that seems to overwhelm us in such times as these, when we are confronted with what seem to be insurmountable odds against us.
Then someone simply appears in our experience to let us know that God loves us, that Holy Spirit is there to comfort us, that Jesus will show us the way home. God has promised never to leave us comfortless. If we just relax a bit and allow what is - to be, we begin to experience the present blessing of God's Love surrounding us.
I would like to share an insight that helped me tremendously in my grieving. It is offered with the hopes that it will help with your issue as well:
Merging Self
I often get a vision of walking along a Path - a lonely traveler. As I tread the path I encounter other souls along the way, yet there seems to be only me on the path. Before I came to understand this, I used to feel so isolated and alone. I have since come to realize that each soul that I encounter doesn't disappear or go another way, but rather merges with my own. So as I continue walking, I walk with all as one traveler. (many travelers merged into one Soul)
This is how I have often experienced myself on the Path - my journey home. I have met many travelers on the way, had wonderful conversations and experiences that have taught me great lessons. Then they seem to disappear from my experience and I am left traveling alone (or so it appeared to me).
The experience that I gain and the lessons that I learn from each encounter with another soul becomes a part of my awakening to who I Am. We are in a learning/teaching experience to be a reflection for one another. So as we look into the eyes of another and see a reflection of ourselves, we grow closer to that awareness. When the person who housed that soul is no longer in our experience, we cannot say the soul is not. He/she in fact is the experience that brought us to where we are this very moment. We have merged into ONE.
This understanding has helped me to heal and to keep returning to the Center of my Joy where God abides. Our greatest teachers are those with whom we have merged. This joining recognizes and honors ourselves as One Soul and not separate illusions of being. We carry our loved ones as part of who we are this very moment , because they are part of the experience that has shaped us in this life.
It is accepting God's Present Blessing, and experiencing the peace and love of God surrounding us in the moment that brings us comfort. Once we are able to internalize this we know that there is a Light in each of us that cannot die. The Light of our life is who and what we are in truth.
#1 We can always start by counting our blessings. In spite of all the seeming turmoil of life, there is always a blessing somewhere to be found. Just the fact that we are able to look for a blessing is a sure sign that there is one. There is something inherent within the act of counting blessings that guarantees that as long as you keep counting, you will never run out of blessings to count.
#2 Sing. Sing a joyful song. Sing to your heart’s content. It does not matter whether you sound like an opera singer or a mouse. What matters is that your heart is filled with Joy. Start singing a joyful song, and don’t stop until your heart is singing with you!
#3 Share your talent to the delight of others. Whatever gift God has given you, give likewise to humanity. If you are a writer, write a message to inspire and uplift someone. If your are an artist, create a work of beauty that gladdens the heart of others. If you are a composer or musician, create or play a musical composition which makes the heart thrill. If you have the gift of gab, gab with kindness and joy so that others will be encouraged and inspired by your words. If you are a comedian, create wholesome laughter without obscenity. If your gift is healing, keep your own heart merry.“A merry heart does good like a medicine.”
#4 Work with Joy. Whatever work you do, do it with delight, knowing that it is an important function in the overall service to humanity.
#5 Live in the center of your Joy, and watch how contagious your joy becomes.
Center of Joy is the monthly publication of the Lifestream Center for Creative Living. It is devoted to disseminating "Good News" that gives testimony to the positive application of the principles of living in the flow of the Lifestream. A new article will be presented each month. We invite you to apply these simple principles in your life and share your joyful results in a brief message ( seventy-five words or less) with the world via this forum.
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© 1996 - Carolyn Odom Burleson, Ph.D.
Although this article is copyrighted, it may be used by anyone to help spread JOY and Light. The following restrictions apply:
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