Creating Our Own Reality

I've been thinking a lot lately about the impact I have on the entirety of my life experience.  That we create our own reality is not a new idea, but it is fascinating, and powerful, to consider just how much agency we have over how life shows up for us.

Co-creating with Spirit can only begin when we become clear about what is true for us, what we stand for, and what we want.   Spirit cannot meet us in the dance of creative partnership if we don't know what we want.  Even more powerful than focusing on physical things is to identify how we want to feel.  How we want to feel in our ideal job, or relationship, or world will guide us more accurately to our heart's desires.

Sometimes what I want concerns another person, and I cannot push my truth onto another's truth or path (as much as I'd like to sometimes, especially with my kids:).  At these times, I've learned that I can participate with Spirit in affirming that "the best and highest outcome" will come to pass, and then releasing the issue to Spirit to manage in its perfect way.  

Because we are co-creators in this life with Spirit, we can't identify a goal or dream and then just sit back, waiting for it to show up for us.  Spirit meets us in motion.  Taking steps, both small and large, signals to the universe that we are ready and engaged in the creative process.  That's been an interesting puzzle for me in my life, discovering where my work ends and where I need to step back and allow Spirit to carry my dream forward.

I believe that allowing is the hardest part.  So many things can thwart our confidence or enthusiasm or trust in our vision.  We often face roadblocks and setbacks, or feel unsupported or just plain tired of trying.  We can feel like we need to push or try harder.  But feeling like we've lost our way is part of the process of growth.  Roadblocks may redirect us toward something even more aligned to our vision.  Lack of support can help us bolster our trust in our vision and in ourselves.  Self-doubt often signals that we're getting ready to take a big step in consciousness.  And fatigue can be a sign that we need to pause and allow Spirit to carry more of the load.

I especially love the idea that if I can hold a vision, do what I can to make it happen, and then release the "how" and "when" to Spirit, Spirit creates the perfect path and outcome not just for me but for all involved, and ultimately the entire world.  We are, more than anything, infinitely creative beings.

Choosing to be the creator of our own reality as much as possible is a very conscious act.  We choose.  Then we choose again, and again, the truth of what is real for us and what we want to make manifest in the world.  So I choose acceptance in the face of the unacceptable, to mirror trust amid much fear, and to see the divine and holy purpose in very perplexing human situations.

We live in a sane and ordered universe.  And every experience points us in some way toward love.  These are some of the truths that I hold, and the dreams that I co-create with Spirit in making them manifest in the world.

What are you dreaming to co-create with Spirit?  

Knowing Our Own Truth

As humanity continues to evolve at an accelerating rate, our lessons (both personal and collective) become more urgent and demanding.  We're faced with so much more input and it can be challenging to determine what is true for ourselves in the middle of all of it.  

During the years I spent at the Berkeley Psychic Institute I learned a lot about the need to determine what is true for me.  As humans we're strongly conditioned to "match" the energy around us, to fit in so that we operate more comfortably in the world.  I learned tools that helped me know what my own truth is and what I had accepted as truth from outside myself.  I'm grateful for those tools, and can tell you that it's still difficult at times to distill my own truth from the many competing perceptions, expectations and ways of seeing things.  

Being clear about our own truth and using it as a guidepost as often as possible is so important, because what we hold true is what we manifest in our lives.  The Spiritual Law of Attraction tells us that we magnetize to ourselves whatever we focus energy on; what we expect to see we create in our experience.

Our deepest truths are not always easy to keep in mind when life is messy (which is most of the time!), because we get pulled away by the sheer volume of it all.  Still, we can always lean in to the quiet truth that our soul is whispering.  

Some of my deepest truths have taken decades to explore and even longer to trust.  They also sometimes feel like wishful thinking.  That we live in a sane and ordered universe, that everything happens for a divine purpose, that I am co-creating everything in my experience with God for the purpose of bringing Love and Light into the darkness all seem impossible from within this dense human experience.  But every time we consciously choose to re-align with a deeply-held truth, we pull more of its energy to ourselves and into the world.

I believe that truth comes from our inner experience and our soul's unique path, so only we can know what is right and true for us.   Seeking to know our own truth is an extremely personal, lifelong journey.

I dearly love the idea of all the different ways that Divine Wisdom chooses to speak truth to us.  They are individual, countless and sometimes quite amusing!

For me, sometimes truth is a faint whisper that barely makes it to my awareness because I'm busy doing other things, but it somehow does and I think "Oh.... yes!" and am instantly joy-filled with the rightness of how this life works.  Sometimes it's a loud, directive voice that talks to me but also is me, telling me something from out of left field that changes my life in a profound way, like "I WILL GET A DEGREE IN NUTRITION."

Truth can show up as serendipity, when I realize that a series of seemingly random things has led to a situation that I know is right for me because getting there had been so unintentional on my part but obviously very carefully orchestrated by the Universe😊.

Sometimes truth comes in a book that presents a new idea to me that makes me feel like I have come home, and my soul says "yesss....." as I breathe it in.

Other times truth can come as a nagging "no" feeling that I just can't push down no matter how hard I try because my mind really wants to move forward with something.

Writing letters to God has for a long time been a favorite way of accessing my truth.  I write "Dear God," then let my confusion and concern spill out of me onto the page, and I sign it "Sherry."  Then I write "Dear Sherry," and just allow what comes next.  God speaks her elegant truth to me in ways that are sometimes directive, sometimes comforting.  Sometimes I laugh and she laughs along with me.  

Last night deep truth came in an Oracle card that I pulled for a painful question I faced.  In an instant my emotional space shifted as I knew the perfection of the answer, and that even in darkness Divine Truth is always there in me and in everything.

How do you hear the voice of truth speaking to you?

May you continue to open to its ever-present wisdom, and may this tool be a blessing.

Beyond Seeking

Many of us are drawn to seek a deeper meaning for our existence, to find a higher purpose for the things that happen.  In this world we witness an infinite number of choices and outcomes, from the most dismal acts of inhumanity to the very highest expressions of human goodness.  Circumstances can feel quite random at times.  We wonder why things happen as they do, and why we are here now in the enormous complexity of being human.

 

Like many others, I’ve spent decades seeking - in meditation, in therapy, in clairvoyant training, in teaching, and in contemplating the perspectives of others.  Finding my truth has been a long, winding road indeed.  Reality is enormously complicated and infinitely nuanced.  

 

It is said that we don’t find truth, we remember it.  Every time I remember that I Am Love it fills my awareness, and it feels impossible that I could ever forget.  But I do, usually within a few minutes.  I get busy managing my life’s stuff, always trying to get it right. 

 

It’s so easy to forget in all of life’s demands my own good intentions, my loving heart, and the perfection of this path that my soul has chosen.  Amid the noise I forget that I am already what I seek, that all that happens is done in the name of love, and that I could never get life wrong.  On a soul level the seeking is unnecessary, but in this human form it helps me find myself again and again.  

 

More often now I choose to pull my attention back from worry or doubt and simply allow Truth to be present in whatever I’m in the middle of.  I stop, take a few deep breaths, and feel myself soften.  It’s a form of surrender, and of saying yes to what is.  I allow everything in my experience to be an expression of Divine Love, and it is.  There’s no need to struggle to get back to Truth because we have never left it.  All we need do is stop, breathe, and allow.

 

What do you do when you feel disconnected from truth?  I’d love to hear from you.

 

May you know the Truth that you are, and may this tool be a blessing.

 

The Light That Never Leaves

 

Hello dear friends--

How can we trust that there is a light of Divine Wisdom and purpose underlying everything that happens in this life?  There are times when trusting that light comes easily, maybe on days when I haven't scanned the headlines on my computer, when I'm not worrying about anything, and when I feel like who I am in the world is enough to manage whatever comes.  

It's much harder to hold on to trust when our open hearts close down, shaken by the reality of a world that can feel entirely broken and unacceptable.  The loud voices of fear override the quiet voice of the soul.  This happens most noticeably in the middle of the  night, when my defenses are down.

I've realized that fear will always be here.  It's part of our curriculum in these physical bodies that are the perfect vehicles for our souls' evolution.  Fear is a difficult part of our experience, to be sure, but it always exists within and as a part of the light.  Fear serves a holy purpose, which is another important topic I'd like to explore in a future post.

The very first spiritual book I read was Emmanuel's Book by Pat Rodegast, which very generously set me on my path over three decades ago.  I remember Emmanuel suggesting that "the challenge is to sit in the darkness and believe in the light."  Yes and yes!   

When I'm reeling from life's painful things and the fear is loud, I remind myself that I can believe in the light, I can trust the light, even when it feels far away.   I remember that I can stay right here where I know light is, even though I can't touch the light right now.  That choice to own the light, the Divine Wisdom underlying everything, while in the midst of fear is probably the most creative, powerful choice that we can ever make. 

I would love to hear about the strategies you turn to for connecting with Divine Wisdom and your soul's truth.  Thanks for being here.

Many blessings,

Sherry  

 

A New Chapter

Hello, dear friends—

It’s been a while since I posted here on Daily Spiritual Tools, and I want to say thank you. Whether you’ve been here since the early days or found your way here more recently, I’m so grateful for your presence.

This blog was a sacred space for me for many years. It grew into four self-published books, and it helped me connect with beautiful souls like you, who are also seeking truth, clarity, and a deeper relationship with Spirit.

Over time, life moved forward. My spiritual path continued to unfold. I’ve been doing clairvoyant readings, spiritual healings, and coaching—but always with the same intention: to help others reconnect with what is already whole and wise within them.

I’ve recently created a new space where I’ll be sharing insights and hopefully also hearing your perspectives. It feels like a return—and a beginning.

You can now find me at:

www.sherrywoodcock.com

I’ll be posting new writing and offering sessions to those called to go deeper. I may even revisit some favorite spiritual tools and add some new ones, too.

If you’ve ever found value here, I hope you’ll join me in this next chapter.  I'd love to welcome you here.

As always, may these tools be a blessing.

With gratitude,  
Sherry

Breathing Life's Breath

I've found that there is a very big difference between knowing something to be true in my head, and living it as truth.

I've known for a long time that I am God in expression, and I'm grateful for that awareness because it took quite awhile for me to be able to accept that gift.  Although my intellect had been able to wrap itself around the idea, it took my body much longer to grasp it as truth.

Awareness of the truth that I am God in expression came from a lifetime of seeking to know who I am.  That God lives in me and as me is a deeply certain and heartfelt belief that is central to how I perceive existence.

In looking back I can see that the yearning to recognize the divine within myself was fueled in large part by an intense amount of resistance to who I thought I was, but didn't want to be.  I wasn't aware of it at the time, but I was deeply terrified to be me.  I didn't want to be my body with its imperfections, or the painful void that was left when my grandmother died.  I didn't want to be the pain that I carried for my birth family so that it wouldn't fall apart, or the shame that I felt at being so vulnerable.  I felt that if I kept seeking, I could find out how to be content and brave, articulate and powerful.  I could finally stop being so afraid.

So I lived and learned, as we all do.  I continued seeking because I had to, and came to a place finally where I knew that God lived in me and in all things.  I was very grateful for that, and still am.  I felt that nothing could happen that could rattle me too badly because I knew that God was in all of it.

But divine wisdom, in her infinite ability to set us toward our true north, shook my perspective.  She led me to the hermit's path so that I could slow down to listen more carefully to what I'd been unconscious to.  Questions came up for me that I'd never faced before.  I still believed with all of my being that everything that happened is God, but I found that I hadn't really been living that belief.  In my head I believed that I was an expression of God, but realized that I had become very adept at ignoring where my experience in my body didn't feel like that at all.  I realized how much I was burying feelings that didn't fit into my previously held belief system.  I'd tried to create a good life and succeeded, but hadn't even realized that in trying to put my experience into a box and tie it up neatly into a bow, I had been causing my own deepest emotions and motivations to be hidden from myself.

It was an unsettling time, to say the least, because I had spent so many years seeking what was uplifting and hopeful that the angry, shameful, scared person who lived in me whose voice had been silenced for so long was a very unknown and unwelcome presence.

Meditation in particular brought me face to face with these conflicting sides of myself, and so meditation went from being something that had been very positive for me for many years to an often uncomfortable experience.  I sometimes felt in meditation as if I were dying, and I guess in a way I was, to the need to see myself in a particularly one-sided way.  I truthfully hadn't been sure that I'd be able to shift enough within myself to be able to recognize God in all of those angry, scared and shameful parts of myself that I'd been afraid to see.

And so this brings me to breathing life's breath, and the point that I began with, which is that there's been a lot I've known in my head that my body didn't know at all.

I was sitting in meditation a few weeks ago, noticing how stirred up my emotions were, and how familiar it felt being niggled by anxious thoughts about something that I should have done differently or better.  I sat and noticed the turmoil, and didn't deny or distract myself from my feelings, because I try really hard not to do that anymore.

I noticed how fragile and sensitive I felt, and at the same time also noticed the truth I've held in my head about being an embodiment of God, and I sat with the immense contradiction of that.  I became aware then of my breath, and that the Life that God breathed into existence is the very same breath that was moving in and out of my own body.  I breathed deeply into all parts of myself, knowing that the Life I Am is wise, perfect and never ending in a way that my mind could never comprehend in all of its seeking.  My body was able to come home then, to know herself as an expression of an absolute and joyful perfection that transcends death.  I recognized myself breathing life's breath along with every other expression of miraculous creation.  Just as the Sierra pines that I love so much have their time in the sun, expressing life in their unique way, being nourished and experiencing hardship, expressing their own beauty, and then moving into another cycle of eternal creation, so do I.

And so now, just beneath my thinking mind's awareness of the too-early alarm clock and freeway traffic, calendars and to do lists, aspirations and disappointments and all of life's details, is my body's awareness of the constant hum of life's breath breathing in me.  I Am, and my body dances!

Honoring the Hermit

I am happy to be back to blogging after a rather long hiatus.  I spent a couple of years honoring the hermit within me, and in upcoming blog posts I look forward to sharing how the process affected my perspective.

I was surprised when I began to recognize the strong need that was growing within me to pull back from many of the relationships and activities that had defined me for a long time.  It wasn't that I wanted to permanently step away from all of these things, but rather that I felt an increasing lack of energy and drive for them.

At the time I had been active and busy, feeling successful enough, enjoying my work and relationships and all of the trappings of the life and identity I had crafted.  I began to have very little desire to socialize or work on hobbies and activities that I had enjoyed, and felt very unmotivated.  I went to work every day and took part in a minimum of activities, and even those were a chore. I didn't even want to write.  Thank goodness that my husband and I have had almost thirty years of witnessing each others' processes and learning to trust them, or I think he would have been wondering who this new person was and where his wife had gone. 

I started hearing the word "hermit" in my head because that is what I was beginning to feel like, and it felt foreign and negative, mostly because I thought a hermit was someone who couldn't deal with people and was forced to isolate himself from life.  I didn't want to be a hermit; I wanted to be me in my familiar life with its typical interactions and responses, anxieties and validations.  I wanted to be comfortable in "my place," secure in where I fit in to the big picture.

In looking back I can see the wisdom in pulling back from what I thought I knew about who I am, but at the time it was very disconcerting because I had no idea where it would take me.  I was afraid to stop interacting in the world as I was, and getting the responses that I was used to getting, because those responses from others proved to me that I exist, and that who I have become would be allowed to stay.

I got to a point where I recognized the wisdom of this urging to slow down and pull back into myself as the same quiet but insistent voice that has guided me many times in my life in a direction that I had no conscious awareness of wanting or needing to go.  I only know that it speaks to my heart and I must follow, and it is not always comfortable.

And so I sat with the discomfort of feeling like what I thought was important maybe wasn't, that the characteristics that made me me probably didn't, uncertain about my own deepest needs and priorities and fears beyond the persona that I had thought was all of me.

I allowed the hermit within me to express as fully as possible and spent a lot of time alone.  I tried to listen carefully to my feelings and what my body needed.  I tried to give myself as much compassion and space as I possibly could through the process.  I tried to find a way to just be with myself in the middle of all of it, and not try to escape into busyness or distraction.  I realized just how loud the doubts and fears were when I stopped being so busy.  And I managed to mostly stay with it, not gently and peacefully, but with an ever growing amount of awareness.

I recognize the gifts that this time has brought.  In tarot the hermit card means introspection and looking for answers within, a solitary quest in which answers do not lie in the material world but within us. 

It allowed me to explore the question of who I am, if I'm not my personal tendencies and habits, my relationships, my trappings, the way I look, my job, my particular abilities and handicaps, my loves and prejudices, my fears and hates and hopes.  It allowed me to find that place where I am all of these things and none of them, and where I can hold that dichotomy as the truth of myself.

Honoring the hermit within me helped me increase my ability to honor myself in all of my parts and shifting shades; a spectrum of color living in me and as me, the full range of darkness to light.

Finding the Gift in Endings

We generally welcome new beginnings, looking forward to the possibilities inherent in a fresh start or in novel experiences that we feel will be good for us.  Endings, on the other hand, often aren’t perceived as positive.  When something important in our lives ends there can be feelings of failure or regret, even if we are relieved about being finished.

In order to create in this life we must also be able to destroy, and therein lies the grace in endings.  When we hold on to something that no longer serves us, the message that we give to this infinitely-creative universe is that we intend to stay right where we are.  If we instead choose to end what it is that no longer serves us, even if the ending is painful, it makes room for what we are meant to grow into.

Endings can be a vast gift to the spirit.  Although we may not see them this way in the moment, endings allow us to collect our energy from the past and bring ourselves squarely into the present, which is important because creation always occurs in the Now.

I’ve noticed for myself that I’d really rather avoid endings.  I hold on, at least on an energetic level, to the person or situation whose time in my life has past.  Endings can feel like a death, and in a very real way they are.  Truly letting go of something means the death of the person we used to be, whose roles, priorities and perspectives defined us in a certain way.  Letting go forces us to evolve, and can be scary because it requires moving into as-yet-unknown parts of ourselves. 

I’m learning that I need to fully experience the meaning and emotion surrounding the endings in my life, rather than try to bury my feelings and quickly move on.  Whether the ending was full of conflict or felt appropriate and supported, we need to take the time to process the life experience we’ve just been through so that we can own the gifts it has provided. 

Endings can bring us more awareness of our capacity for love or understanding or of our own power, make clear our need to set firm boundaries, help find our areas of resistance to what is, or countless other steps in our continuing evolution.   

We can sit in meditation or prayer and allow our understanding to come to us.  We can spend quiet, undistracted time just feeling our emotions and letting ourselves acknowledge them.  We can process our experience through journaling or writing poetry.  In whatever way we choose to connect with the infinite wisdom that lives within us, it’s important to take the time to find and assimilate the lessons and the growth so that we can carry them into our future.

May you take time to gather the gifts that come when something ends, and may this tool be a blessing.  

Staying the Course

I wrote a post a while ago called “Stepping Off the Path of Least Resistance,” and I’ve had quite a bit of opportunity lately to revisit that concept. I’ve been able to continue recognizing the gifts that come when we commit to something that tests our mettle, and helps us grow into the people we are meant to be.

Growth for the most part is not easy. It comes with all kinds of resistance from others, self-doubt, and rethinking everything about who we thought we were. We can feel as if everything we’re doing is futile, or the new ways in which we’re expressing ourselves are certain to leave us alone and wondering why we thought ourselves capable of that level of expression in the first place.

I spent a large amount of my life playing it safe. I changed and grew, but I did it quietly. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, I was trying to evolve into my best self while trying to make sure no one around me became uncomfortable. And I got to a point when that strategy didn't work anymore.

We can spend a lifetime attempting to make decisions that keep us safe and comfortable, but the urgings of spirit will make that uncomfortable, too. I’ve found that after spending an amount of time trying to rest easily and avoid challenges, my spirit pushes me to say yes to something that stirs up all kinds of discomfort.

It reminds me of something I read by Anais Nin, “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” I love that.

And so, we blossom. When we could decide to say no to something difficult, when we could just pull our energy out and move on to more enjoyable pursuits, we stay the course. We recognize that it’s only in the long haul that the fruits of our intention will be gained. We turn our attention to the still, small voice of pure knowing that lives in our hearts, which urges us to take the steps that will help us realize our own greatness. We focus on that voice when everything we’re doing that is different from how we’ve always done things feels just plain wrong.

May you trust the Divine Wisdom that guides you in being more than you thought you were, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Letting Life Live Itself Through You

In an ongoing attempt to feel safe, our human egos strive to feel in control of what’s happening in our day-to-day experience. Our level of comfort is directly proportional to how much mastery we feel over the events that impact us.

Studies have shown that people feel happy in relation to how much control they feel in their lives, which makes sense because none of us enjoys feeling at the whim of something outside of us, and unable to create our own outcome.

This speaks to the interesting paradox of control: how much do we really control, and does control actually create a happier and more fulfilling life? William Martin in his book, A Path and a Practice, states that “Attempting to control external events will never keep us safe. Control is an illusion.”   Life lives itself through us in its own way, and on its own terms.

He goes on to say that “Our life is an expression of life itself. Our true nature expresses itself in everything we do. Success and failure are seen as part of a seamless, joyful whole. Each is accepted and fully lived… It seems natural to avoid loss and seek gain, but on this path such distinctions are not helpful. There is no gain without loss. There is no fullness without deprivation. Who knows how or when one gives way to another. So we remain at the center and trust events instead of forcing them. This is the heart of all spiritual paths.”

How do we trust events instead of forcing them, when this human experience fairly demands that we make choices and take actions that further our own agendas and perspectives? How can we not choose to step in to right a wrong or clarify a misunderstanding or push for an outcome that feels right to us?

My dear and very wise husband navigates this paradox by focusing on his ability to influence an outcome, rather than control it. At the end of the day we are really never able to control outcomes. We have no control over other people’s priorities or perspectives, but we can contribute our influence in creating the best outcome we are able to envision. We can state our opinions clearly and even forcefully if we need to, knowing that we can’t control the outcome but we can let our unique voice be involved in the situation. We can take actions that feel right to us, knowing that we have done our best for all involved, and that what happens after that is up to Divine Wisdom. We can live as an expression of our best selves, while allowing life to live itself through us.  We can let go of outcome.

I had the pleasure of hearing a speaker at Unity last weekend who said a few times that no matter what she thinks or how much she resists, life is going to happen anyway. How true. We can choose our own expression and who we want to be in response to everything that happens, but how each individual expression interacts and contributes to the whole is in the hands of ongoing Creation in all its perfection.

May you know the joy that comes from letting life live itself through you in its own perfect way, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Allowing Others Their Hero's Journey

In order to fully experience our own hero’s journey, we must allow others to walk their own sacred path. As a mother, wife, teacher and generally concerned member of society, focusing on my own stuff and leaving others to theirs is not always easy to do.

My children are adults now, and it takes a great deal of talking to myself to remember that when they’re having money issues or health concerns, or whatever else it might be, they don’t need me to jump in with all of my motherly advice. It’s amazing how hard it is for me to stop myself in those moments. I feel literally pulled to help, and to fix, because I don’t want them to hurt in any way.

As much as I see them as smart and infinitely capable human beings, and know them without question as perfect expressions of God, still, in my forgetting, I feel pulled to intervene. Honestly, I do this a lot, at home and at work, with family, friends, and patients.

When I look back over my own life’s challenges, I see without exception that getting through the biggest ones made me who I am today, and nurtured in me the things that I am most proud of. Each of us creates just the right obstacles that we need to move us along on our soul’s purpose of knowing God within us.

I know that my forgetting is a part of me that is separated from truth, and mistakenly believes that my loved ones, or anyone else, can be separated from their highest good. It is a part of myself that mistakenly believes that I can run things better than God can, or that somehow maybe God forgot just this one thing, and needs my help. Silly, I know, but that really is the heart of it.

When I jump in and try to impose my opinions onto someone else’s process, I am making the assumption that they are unable to handle it on their own, and I am helping promote that belief in them also.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Directing another’s path not only perpetuates the false belief that they are unable to manage on their own, but it keeps me from my own path as well. Sometimes we use staying busy with other people’s issues to keep us from being fully present and responsible for what we’re creating on our own hero’s journey. I’d much rather be here for my own life.

So once again, in my remembering, I choose to release my concerns for anyone else’s creations, and allow them the space to walk their hero’s journey in grace. And I give myself permission to be joyfully present and engaged in my own.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Giving Life to Your Dreams

The new year is a time of hope for our dreams.  Every January, we step into that time when the slate feels more clear, even if conditions are mostly the same as they had been in December.  People feel drawn to create resolutions to do things better, or to make the new year more meaningful or fulfilling in some way.  It is at this time more than at any other time of year that many feel inspired to take a step up in what they can do or have.  I love the holiday season and the new year for many reasons, but mostly because we are more open to possibilities.

People may or may not follow through with their resolutions, but the important part is the dream itself.  Just being open to the possibility that we can create what we envision for ourselves is a very powerful consciousness.  

When we are even slightly open to manifesting our good, even if we previously hadn't been able to figure out how to make it happen, we trust in a universe that always delivers what we expect.  The divine consciousness that we embody is just waiting to provide all of our heart's desires.  We just need to find the place in our heart that is open to the possibility, know it is done, and then do our active part in moving toward it.

I'm finding on my own path, as I glimpse in tiny pieces and in fits and starts the possibility of myself as God, that taking action toward my dreams is the easier part.  Staying connected to the quiet voice within that knows without any doubt what I want and need, what's mine to do in every situation to create the highest outcome for myself and everyone involved, and my inherent capacity to do all of it (and knows this with completely peaceful and joyful ease), is more challenging!

Life is busy, and for me hearing God within means making time to create a relationship with her.  She is always here, but I can't know her quiet, powerful, resonant presence if I don't stop every day and be alone with her, without any distractions.  I can say hello to her quickly in the midst of my day, just to say, "Thank you, God, I am here!"  And that is wonderful.  But I also need to gift myself with the precious time I need to stop and really listen.

When I spend time with the God of my heart my dreams come alive, because all things are possible.  I see my dreams as joyful possibilities that are already complete in spirit, but that I have the amazing opportunity to watch unfold on this physical plane.  The world, and my life, are my playground, and I am born again as a child to myself.

May you stop to hear the God in your heart that is your dreams, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

A Small Correction

In all the excitement of my book debut, the free promo date for my book Daily Spiritual Tools, Healing the World, was pushed back a day.  You can buy it today for $5.99 or get if for Free on my Author Page on January 8th; sorry for the inconvenience.

My Latest Book is Now Available!

I'm excited to say that my latest book, Daily Spiritual Tools, Healing the World, is now available as an e-book on Amazon.  Normally priced at $5.99 there is a promotion happening to herald its debut.  

On Monday, January 7th,  follow the link in this post or just visit Amazon.com and you can get my book for free!

I wrote this book because I believe that people around the world are connecting in their hearts with hope, aware at a very deep level that we are healing, personally and globally.  At this point in our human evolution, healing our world and all who inhabit it is the most important and sacred thing that we can do.  On the surface the task seems too vast to even consider, and we literally do not know how to begin.  But as humanity moves forward in its unavoidable evolution to knowing ourselves as the beings of light that we truly are, we get closer to knowing the true power we have in creating a world that works for all.

The tools contained in Daily Spiritual Tools, Healing the World, are meant to help the reader become more aware of their true identity as a being of light and love.  

May you know yourself as a person of good intentions, compassion and peace and allow these tools to nurture and support our collective path as we heal the world.

Please share this book with friends in order to spread the message that the best is yet to come.

Blessings,

Sherry

Healing the World in 2013

December 21, 2012 is behind us, and the world is, not surprisingly, still intact.  There will always be periods when fear takes up a good deal of our collective awareness, and that is as it should be, because large-scale fears of doom provide very potent opportunities for us to choose even more intentionally what truth we will serve.

I remember another period of fear that happened not too very long ago; it was called “Y2K.”  My son was 10 at the time, and worried about all of the predictions he was hearing.  On New Year’s Eve I remember telling him that throughout history people have predicted the end of the world, but we are still here.  And I explained to him that when people confront their fears and walk out the other side they are better for it, because they grow in their awareness of what is true.  He understood that, in his way, even then.

I work in healthcare and interact with many people every day, and I am struck by how many people in the past month have said, “2013 is going to be a really good year.”  Collectively, we recognize the energy and know it to be true.  The end-of-the-world hopelessness that has affected us, even though it was mostly unconscious for the majority of us, has past, and people recognize a new beginning, which is exactly what the Mayan calendar was all about – the end of one period, and the beginning of an entirely new and different one.

I believe that people are connecting in their hearts with hope, aware at a very deep level that we are healing, personally and globally.  At this point in our human evolution, healing our world and all who inhabit it is the most important and sacred thing that we can do.  On the surface the task seems too vast to even consider, and we literally do not know how to begin.  But as humanity moves forward in its unavoidable evolution to knowing ourselves as the beings of light that we truly are, we get closer to knowing the true power we have in creating a world that works for all.

I write this on December 31 2012, the 27^th Annual International World Healing Day.  It began on December 31, 1986, at noon Greenwich Mean Time, when 500 million people on 7 continents, in 70 countries, from 500 spiritual and peace-related organizations, took part in the most comprehensive prayer in history, creating a global mind link aimed at reversing negativity on many levels (taken from the website).  Our Unity Church took part in this worldwide prayer this morning, as we do every year.

Some time after the 1986 beginning the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reported “remarkable progress toward a peaceful world,” manifesting as a “break in the pattern of a constant increase in the number of major conflicts with which the world had grown accustomed.”

From our limited individual perspectives, this may not seem like truth at all.  It often seems as if conflict continues to increase in both frequency and severity, but in looking back over just my lifetime I see that that is not the case.  We are definitely more bombarded by it via the Internet and our immediate access to information.

Regardless of appearances to the contrary, we can, and we are, using the power of our collective intention for good to move without error toward the truth of who we are, Divine Creators made in God’s image, manifesting through the physical.

I leave you with a world healing meditation used by many on December 31 every year.  Click here to view the meditation.

May you hold the light of your intention on healing yourself, our world and all of humanity, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

The Perfection Underlying All

In the midst of all of the joy and challenge of our world, may you know in the coming year the inevitable, inescapable truth of Divine Good in all things.  This post, from last year, remains my wish for you.

During this time of year, as many are honoring the growing light of God consciousness being born within each of us, I offer up my humble blessing.

May you find more of those moments where in the middle of whatever is happening your mind is content and your heart is full because you know that all is well.

May you trust more, and laugh more, as you turn over your expectations about how things are supposed to be and make more room to just enjoy the ride.

May you know the peace of being born of a perfection so absolute that all you need ever do in this life is rest in it.

May you move ever closer to that sacred but tricky balance of knowing your own eternal divinity within this precious, bumbling and often chaotic human life.

May you notice the blessing that you are and the blessings that you receive in the year to come.

And may you stand tall and be peace on earth as you remember who you are, and may the bright beacon of your remembering shine brightly over those around you.

You are the light of the world!

Being God in Otherwise Ordinary Moments

My feelings often turn to awe when I remember the precious gift that is this life. Along with those feelings, I end up wondering what is mine to do to best honor the gift I’ve been given. Like many others, I yearn to fully express the light of God that shines within me.

While at the same time realizing that all that happens is right and perfect and definitely enough, I am also aware of wanting to do more to share the greatness of my experience of being spirit in a body. And so today I am again left wondering, what is my spirit’s next step in expressing myself as God?

When I take the time to ask the question and then stop to hear the answer that wells up from deep within me, the answer always comes through different words but the essence is the same.

I am reminded that I have shared the many gifts I’ve been given not so much through the bigger, life-altering moments that I will probably remember for a lifetime, but in each and every small moment of my life.

I share the profound gift of divine wisdom living through me in every sacred moment that I live, when I consciously choose who I want to be, and then be that person.

It is through every small thought and action of each ordinary day that I choose to express the light that is always there shining brightly within me.

In any moment, I can choose the kindest possible interpretation of another’s actions, recognizing that I never have the complete story about someone else’s experience. I can speak clearly and truthfully, allowing the vibration of my truth to affect a situation.

In any moment I can consciously let go of fear by turning a situation over to God, allowing myself to be fully and joyfully present, knowing that all is unfolding for good. I can take an extra moment to smile at or hold a door for a stranger. Or I can stop often and acknowledge my deep gratitude, saying thank you for the light that lives in my heart.

All we need do is ask, as often as we’re aware enough to do it, “What would God within me do now? And now? What about now?” Our awareness of ourselves as God allows God full expression in the world. In every small moment that we are aware of this, we add ripples of ever-expanding light to our human experience. We make each moment extraordinary.

May you remember the God of your heart in your everyday experience, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Being Open

I am at a time in my life when my choices, both conscious and unconscious, are guiding me toward being more open. To do that I’ve had to see how fear keeps me closed down in resistance to what is. How automatic but unrealistic it is to assume that by resisting something we can keep it from happening, or control it somehow! Things unfold as they will, and I appreciate the opportunity I’m getting to see just how tiring and unproductive my struggling really is.

In this vast, amazing world we know that every combination of circumstances can, and does, occur to help us remember the truth. I know this, but it doesn’t stop me from digging my heels in when the situation is happening in my life, and causing me to worry over an outcome that might not go the way I want it to. Some things just feel like a problem when I’m looking at them from my human perspective.

I think I’m finally beginning to find the blessed happy medium, where I can step up in action toward a goal or outcome that I believe in, but not need to hold on so tightly to the outcome.  It is important to remember that my perspective is valuable, and that my efforts in pursuing them are good enough regardless of the outcome.

As worthy as I may feel a direction is, there is so much more in the mix in the form of all of the other people who I share my experience with, and what is helpful to them in their growth and remembering.

We all see things through our own unique lenses, and our opinions shift. Sometimes we’re clear, but at other times we’re afraid. People get sick. Finances change. Even with the best laid plans, stuff happens.

We never really know what’s coming around the bend because it’s dependent on what will serve our collective good, and that’s an awful lot of variables. But the one thing that we can trust is that it is all working for our good, and because of that we can learn to let go. We can do our active part to the best of our ability, and then let the outcome unfold as only divine wisdom can orchestrate.

In trusting that the outcome is never in question, we can be fully open to our path, knowing that however it unfolds, we can fearlessly express the divine within. We can also be open to others’ experience, acknowledging the divine expressing in them, also.  That is a precious gift, to live in open, joyful expression of ourselves, without concern about the outcome.

May you trust enough to stay open to what comes, and sing the song in your heart through it all. And may this tool be a blessing. . .

Trusting the Process

I saw this recently on the internet, source unknown, and it spoke to my heart.

What you seek is far greater than anything you have ever known.
There is nothing in the past that can possibly describe where you are going.
No past experience will explain the new person you will soon discover within yourself.
You are learning.
Keep that in mind as you stumble and fall; you are learning.
Keep in mind when you are tempted and become distracted from your truth that you are learning.
Give yourself the gift of compassion.
Give yourself a sense of grace.
Remind yourself that you have chosen this way and you have the power to accomplish it.

May you always trust the perfect process that you embody, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Surrendering, Again

And again, and again. We’ve probably all heard the term “sweet surrender,” and there are times when I am acutely aware of just how sweet it really is.

How easy it is for me to take on the weight of the universe, or at least the weight of the situations playing out in my little corner of the world. Sometimes it feels like I need to act, to help, to fix, or to contribute what I hope will turn out to be a bit of light in the darkness. And when the situation of the moment is a particularly challenging one, heavy with the conflicting agendas, perspectives and fears of other people, my energy gears up to try to manage all of it.

Although I am not fighting, it feels like a battle to my body and my spirit. My contribution to the situation becomes a huge burden, fraught with responsibility and the feeling that there is simply no way to win.

But most gratefully time and life experience are very effective teachers. I remembered this morning that I have been here before, more than once. I have faced times when I felt at a loss about how to bring about the best outcome, and when I felt that I lacked the resources I needed to keep going. In those times, the most important and effective thing that I did was very consciously choose to surrender.

I remembered difficult times in the past, when my frequent, simple prayer to God was, “May the best happen for all.” It was my mantra, an affirmation of what I wanted and what eventually came to pass.

Rather than get caught up in the “how” of a situation’s best resolution and struggle to make it happen, I can surrender. By turning the “how” over to God, I create so much more space for myself to just move forward as the best me I know how to be, without fighting against anyone else’s choices or expression. Not only do I bring peace to myself, but I open the door for a more profound wisdom to play out.

In letting go I experience the sweet truth that I really never walk alone, and that all I need do is my best. As long as I’m doing that, God within me guides the rest, and all is well.

May you know the peace and clarity that come with surrender, and may this tool be a blessing. . .