If you are looking for a way out of despair and hopelessness- hold fast, you got this.
One of our community members shared an amazing article on Facebook this week. shout out to Julie!
What to Do When the World Is Ending, by Yotam Marom check it out here
It’s a beautiful piece of writing that points out that our human realities are really, really easy to be in despair about right now. My guess is you can relate.
But how do you not get stuck in the despair? How do you stay connected to the greater reality of Spirit? Which is EVERYTHING!
It’s a long article and in the section titled, “Taking Agency as the World Ends” he share’s a piece of guidance he was given by a friend while he was deep in despair- “I can let the newspapers tell me how my life will go, or I can decide for myself.” Yassssss!
'Taking agency' is another way of talking about 'being at choice.' Being at choice is a popular phrase in the New Thought spiritual movement. It’s the beautiful practice of returning to your power, your center, your conscious awareness of the divine nature within you, or what some call your highest Self. This is a power that can never be taken from us, can never be destroyed or diminished. This is 'Spirit IN you,' and it is everything you need to meet the harrowing circumstances of life.
And still, we all get stuck... All...Of...Us. The trick is not staying stuck. (not really a trick but a practice ;) We all lose touch with our higher Self, our Divine nature. The whole range of human experiences and emotions are available to all of us as part of the beauty and richness of life. It’s actually one of the most wondrous aspects of being alive, our ability to feel and experience. A numb robotic existence is not living and it is surely not spiritual living, and neither is getting stuck in any of it.
So how do you get unstuck?
One of my favorite parts of the article is when after a lot of venting and complaining his wife tells him- “Ok. It’s time to move on. It’s ok to be sad, it’s ok to be angry. But this happens to many people, this and much worse. You’re special, but not that special. Eventually you have to accept this and adjust.” In my opinion, her words are an act of love. Having beloveds in our lives who will call us back to our Self is one of the ways we can get unstuck.
Another way to get unstuck is to practice self awareness. To challenge yourself by asking, “what’s keeping me stuck? What in my life/thoughts/habits/unconscious choices is distracting me from my Self?”
When you can get honest with yourself about the ways you may be distracting or numbing yourself you can take your agency back, you can return to being at choice. This is the first step to reconnecting to your Self. This is what getting unstuck looks like. Then it is pretty simple- stop it...stop whatever is holding you hostage. I know, it’s easier said than done.
This is where the ancient spiritual practice of fasting comes in.
From last weeks blog post: “Whether you celebrate Lent, Ramadan, the Baha’i fast or none of the above, consider what is your greatest distraction from your divine nature? Whatever your answer is, it is the perfect choice for your custom designed fast.” (if you missed it, find it here.)
If you want to get unstuck and stay more unstuck- Fast... Fast from whatever is your greatest barrier to your Self and then hold fast. Hold fast to your agency, to your choice, to your beautiful, joyous, peaceful, emotional, harmonious Divine Self.
You got this,
Rev. Amani