Here we are in the first few weeks of Autumn and the Autumnal Equinox (Vernal if you live in the Southern Hemisphere) is already upon us. It’s an opportunity to engage with the beauty of the time of year and to consider opportunities to raise our own vibration as we take time outdoors enjoying the Autumnal sunlight and vibrant colours. A sandwich on a park bench on a warm day in the middle of September is often a great way to make time for some spiritual reflection!.
On the subject of reflection I recently experienced a very difficult situation to deal with. Since this happens to us all from time to time when we have allowed someone else’s behaviour to deeply affect us, for whatever reason, I decided to share a couple of methods of healing with you. No matter who we are and how far we may have travelled along our personal spiritual journey there are times when someone or something will ‘press a button’. How we deal with it is an indicator of whether our spiritual practice is working!
One of my favourite spiritual practices of all time is the method taught by Pierre Pradavand, the Gentle Art of Blessing, in which he suggests that we simply bless each situation and each occurrence in its perfection, and not as we think or feel it ought to be… in other words we simply bless every situation or person in their absolute essence, knowing that in God’s eyes ‘all is well’, and if we combine this theory with teachings from A Course in Miracles we begin to understand that our own perception is often an illusion. Whilst practicing these techniques I, like many of you, call upon the angels to strengthen me and hold me in the Light, that I may also be blessed and that my actions and thoughts towards the person or situation are coming from a place of love.
It never fails to fill me with awe that when we ask God and the angels for help in dealing with our difficulties something crops up and repeats itself in conversation with different people, or shows itself to us in three different ways. The mystical, magical number three is without doubt one of the most powerful ways the angels speak to us, or show a sign that they are guiding us. Three times over the last short while I have been reminded of another beautiful and effective spiritual practice: ‘Ho’oponopono’. I had been discussing the method with a friend who was suffering from a sense of betrayal and looking for a way of dealing with the hurt. Then a second mention was when I was invited to an event where the speaker’s topic was to be Ho’oponopono. Then the third sign came to me in an email from a lovely friend in reference to a future article and book review for a small magazine I edit.
Many of you may already be using this, but for the rest of us here’s a reminder of how it works:
Ho’oponopono is a gentle yet powerful Hawaiian (Huna) method of healing. It is a statement meaning that we are all one and that we are 100% responsible for everything that happens in our lives. In fact, according to Quantum Physics everything we do affects everything else in the universe. Whatever we manifest we must sort out inside of ourselves and not blame the other person, however wrong they may be. When we are negative or judgemental then we are affecting the person who is causing us the problem. But in addition, all the universe will feel it, humans, animals, birds, plants and even what seem to be innate objects like walls and tables and chairs!!
So we begin by bringing the person whom we have had a problem with to mind and say “I’m sorry, Please forgive me.” This clears everything on our side so that we are not feeling resentful and holding on to negative thoughts. Then as our hearts open we can say “I love you” and finally “Thank you” because it has given us the opportunity to clear. It is amazingly powerful and can be practised by using it silently as we meet people. We will feel a lot lighter even though most of the people will not have not done us any harm.
These four phrases clear our reaction to the situation and are just as much for us as the other person as ourselves. The effect spreads lovingly out into the entire energetic and cellular bodies of all those we encounter, the energy of our immediate environment and into the ether beyond. Wow! Every time I really pause to take it in I get a shiver of recognition at the deep truth of yet another amazing spiritual practice that works. One of the real benefits of our age is that all these teachings are available to us. Are we not in the most exciting times?
