twistedcatmeow

[twistedcatmeow]

If you love someone from a pure and clean place, you will allow them their freedom to make mistakes, to do what they need to do, to be human; you will want only the best for them, naturally, but you will understand that they need to have their own experiences, and that they are not perfect. This is the love of the Divine. It allows for free will and is there for us, no matter what.

 It is only when the negative ego gets involved that we start to experience selfish love and feel the need to control what the people we love do. The negative ego makes us think that we know what is best for the other, that we have better information, that we can see the big picture. The negative ego also causes the insecurity that we feel sometimes, that causes us to cling to the other and generates jealousy. Both impulses should be resisted, as they both take us out of the light.

 #LettingGo #Releasing #Separation #Love #UnconditionalLove #Freedom #Ego #NegativeEgo #ConsciousLove #PracticalSpirituality #PersonalGrowth #SelfImprovement #DailyMessage #365DaysToEnlightenment #Ayamanatara #GriffithObservatory #MaxfieldParrishClouds #LosAngeles

[twistedcatmeow]

Knowledge is empowering

[twistedcatmeow]

Faith is important. Knowing you are taken care of by the Universe is important. Being able to visualize your success is important. But doing the footwork willingly, that is key.

 

There is a wonderful meditation that you can do, when you are wanting to bring a project into reality. Feel the spark of the idea. Roll it around a little bit. Ground yourself, and follow the stream of energy upward, into the heart of the Universe, taking the spark of the idea with you. Allow it to be filled with the light of the Divine. Drop your vibration ever so slightly, so that you can see light beings around you, and hold the spark of the idea, now full of white light, up for them to behold. Let them play with it and give it shape. When they are done, drop your vibration just a bit more, and look at the idea energetically yourself. See its form and function. Follow the threads that form off of it, to see what it is attached to. When you are ready, drop your vibration a little bit more, so that you are almost back, and let the idea itself tell you what you need to do in order to bring it into the material. When you are ready, open your eyes. Be prepared to write down your notes so you don’t forget what the idea told you to do.

Now, follow through. You could do this meditation all day, but if you never followed through, you would never get anything accomplished. Action is important when you exist on the physical plane.

 

#Preparation #Action #DoTheWork #Manifestation #MakingThingsHappen #Meditation #DoThis #PracticalSpirituality #PersonalGrowth #SelfImprovement #DailyMessage #365DaysToEnlightenment #Ayamanatara #CurlyTailedLizard #LeiocephalusCarinatus

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We all present masks to the world. We are taught to do so at a very early age. Those masks are not who we truly are. If we were able to just simply be who we are, all the time, we might find that we had a lot of energy freed up to do other things. Somehow, this has been made into a very scary prospect.Our egos tell us that people will not like us for who we are (when, really, they probably know us for who we are already, no matter how we think we present ourselves to the world). It is easier for us, in our minds, to be rejected for who we portray ourselves to be than for who we truly are (when rejection is always about the other person and never about us).

Allow yourself to just be. Stop worrying about what people will think. Stop worrying about keeping up with the trends, the Joneses, or even the standards set forth for you by your parents. Just be. If you lived alone, and no one else were ever going to see the inside of your bedroom, what color would you paint it? If you lived in a cave on the mountain, what music would you listen to? What fabrics and styles are you comfortable wearing? What are your core values? What makes your heart sing? What are the parts of yourself that you really like, that you might never have acknowledged before? What are the aspects of the people in your life that really resonate for you? What parts of yourself do you want to change (because they make you uncomfortable, not because they don’t “measure up”)? 

Just be. Be you. The people who are supposed to be in your life will continue to be in your life and will continue to enjoy you for who you truly are. The last thing that you should have to struggle with is who you innately are. Just be.

#Authenticity #JustBe #Masks #ImportantQuestions #PracticalSpirituality #PersonalGrowth #SelfImprovement #DailyMessage #365DaysToEnlightenment #Ayamanatara #ViewFromTheAir #LittlePuffyClouds #TheCaymans

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When you can differentiate between those things that you need and those things that you want, you will start to see the true nature of the blessings in your life. A human being needs only three things -- sustenance, air and human contact -- in order to survive. Anything beyond those needs is gravy.

 

When was the last time you prioritized your wants? Are your wants things or qualities of life? If they are things, do you want them because of the quality of life they will bring you (or you think that they will bring you) (in which case it is really the quality of life that you want)? Out of the things that you want, do you know why you want them? What you really, truly want from life? Not what other people tell you to want, not things that would just be kind of nice to have. What do you really want?

Qualities of life, emotions, feelings, and the like can all be created without the assistance of things. Make a decision to be happy, to experience joy, to be pleased, to love. Create those qualities for yourself. You may find that, the more you do this, the more of those things that you thought would bring you those qualities suddenly appear in your life. Or not. Either way, you will have what it is you truly wanted to begin with.

 

#Independence #WantVsNeed #Blessings #Gratitude #ImportantQuestions #Happiness #QualityOfLife #Empowerment #PracticalSpirituality #PersonalGrowth #SelfImprovement #DailyMessage #365DaysToEnlightenment #Ayamanatara #Sunset #CaymanBracBeachResort

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Outside restrictions and institutions are not nearly as effective in regulating people’s efforts as personal ethics and beliefs. As long as you seek to have something outside of yourself dictate the boundaries of what is right and what is wrong, you will feel unsure of what is expected of you, and you might even feel as if you were up against an impossible task.

 You know, within your heart, how to be a good person. There are variations in how that looks for different people, but it is likely to include being of service, and the values of compassion, kindness, generosity, thoughtfulness, gentleness, tolerance, patience, and hard work or dedication. When you can tap into those internal guides, your path becomes clear. When your path is clear, you are more at peace and are more likely to act in peaceful cooperation with those around you, regardless of societal parameters.

 #Peace #Cooperation #Community #Society #Trust #RightAndWrong #Values #Ethics #PersonalBeliefs #PracticalSpirituality #PersonalGrowth #SelfImprovement #DailyMessage #365DaysToEnlightenment #Ayamanatara #Water #CaribbeanOcean #CaymanBrac #TheBrac

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How do you define yourself? When people ask you about yourself, do you tell them about what makes your heart sing, your hobbies, how you were raised? Do you tell them about your job? Do you tell them about your faith, the charities you volunteer for, your political affiliation? What do you tell them?

 

People are most often remembered for what they have done out in the world. Not their jobs, but their passions and how those passions are acted out. Essentially, your effect on others is most likely what will be remembered long after you are done with this lifetime. How do you want to be remembered?

More to the point, how do you want to feel on a daily basis? If you want to feel good about yourself, consider how you act out in the world. Self-esteem comes from estimable acts.  If you know someone that you hold in high regard, emulate their actions. 

Make sure that you are giving back, within the circle of your loved ones, and also within your community. Obviously, being there for the people who are there for you is important. Find something that matches your skill set and temperament that you can do on a regular basis, where you are volunteering in your community. If there is a group that gathers regularly, doing something you enjoy, don’t just join them, offer to help out – nothing will make you feel like a part of the group faster, and it gives people a chance to get to know you.

 

#Generosity #Definitions #Passion #GivingBack #BeingOfService #DoThis #PracticalSpirituality #PersonalGrowth #SelfImprovement #DailyMessage #365DaysToEnlightenment #Ayamanatara #Beach #CaymanBrac #TheBrac

[twistedcatmeow]

#vacationmode

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What do you most deeply want to happen?

At your core, what would you like the Universe to bring you?

What does your heart song ask for?

 

Most people don’t know. They’ve never taken the time to think about it, or their answers are generated by the negative ego and are materialistic in nature. But they don’t know.

Take a moment, right now, to close your eyes and breathe. Allow the flow of your breath to take you inward, into that space at the center of your chest. Bring all of your attention and all of your focus into that space. Ask the question: what is it I most deeply want to happen?

Accept whatever comes back to you without analysis and without judgment. That is the answer of your heart song. Now that you know what it is, what will you do about it?

#HeartSong #GettingAnswers #Meditation #DoThis #PracticalSpirituality #PersonalGrowth #SelfImprovement #DailyMessage #365DaysToEnlightenment #Ayamanatara #TigerEye

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Where are the harsh edges in your life? Where do you find that you are unbending or rigid? Where have you cut people out of your life? Where have you not allowed yourself the freedom to be who you truly are?

 

Rigidity comes most often from fear. If you find that there is a lot of severity in your life, perhaps it is time to take a look at your fears in the light of day. Every time you come across an absolute in your thinking (‘always,” “never, “I can’t,” etc), stop and examine what the fear is behind that thought form. Where does that thought come from? Whose voice is it in? What was the first time you remember having that exact thought? Take a deep breath. Is that thought realistic? Is the fear behind it realistic? Can you let it go? What would it take for you to let it go? When you get to the end of your life, will you regret this rigidity, or will you be at peace with it?

If you can identify the fear, and you want to be rid of it, but you are having difficulty doing so on your own, there is no shame in seeking help. Find a spiritual advisor, a counselor, a support group, a regression therapist, or a healer to help you work through the fear.

 #Fear #Severity #Regret #SeekHelp #ImportantQuestions #LettingGo #releasing #practice #DoThis #PracticalSpirituality #PersonalGrowth #SelfImprovement #DailyMessage #365DaysToEnlightenment #Ayamanatara #NaplesCA #HolidayLights #NaplesCanals

[twistedcatmeow]

One of my favorite ways to visualize the thoughts that are generated by the negative ego is a circus marching by me. I don’t have to participate in it, I can watch it and marvel in it, and I don’t have to take any of it personally. I have yet to find a way to shut it up, but I sure can keep it from having control of my life.

 

The next time something bothers you, whether it’s an offhand comment by a loved one, how someone looks at you, or the political situation, try this: take the thought that is niggling at you and bothering you, you know, the one that’s telling you to be offended or hurt, and put it outside of yourself. Envision it in front of you, marching by like a circus parade. Now bring your attention into your heart center, in your chest, and ask yourself, “What is the truth here?” The truth is likely to be that the person is going through their own process, or that it had nothing to actually do with you, or that the ego is bringing this up now to distract you from your growth and progress. 

It’s going to require practice. It’s incredibly rare that anyone ever does this perfectly, especially the first time. But, over time, you will find yourself taking fewer things personally, being offended less, and generally feeling more peaceful. Truth is like that, you just need to find it.

 #Circus #GettingOutOfEgo #DonTakeItSeriously #DontTakeItPersonally #NotPersonal #LettingGo #Releasing #Practice #DoThis #PracticalSpirituality #PersonalGrowth #SelfImprovement #DailyMessage #365DaysToEnlightenment #Ayamanatara #LargeScaleArt #Collage

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What do you regret? Make a written list. Date each instance, as best you can. How long have you been carrying these things around with you? Have you allowed yourself to learn from those experiences, or have you repeated them? If you have learned from them, let them go! They served their purpose. Write them each on their own piece of paper and burn them, feeling the release.

Or you can picture yourself giving them to an angel, and feel them removed. If you haven’t learned from them, why not? What can you do differently moving forward? How can you stop repeating that particular past mistake? Take the blessed lesson for what it is, and let go of the regret.

Continue to release them every time they come up – the ego is a nurturer of habit, and will try to get you to pick them back up. 

You might even consider using “release” statements, such as “I release my attachment to that particular incident,” or “I release my attachment to regret,” or even “I release the pattern of behavior.”

You may find, especially at first, that you pick up new regrets. Let those go as well. Live free and unfettered by things you cannot change and focus on changing those things that you can, which are all in the here-and-now.  Take your power back from the past.

 #Regret #Past #LettingGo #Releasing #DoThis #PracticalSpirituality #PersonalGrowth #SelfImprovement #DailyMessage #365DaysToEnlightenment #Ayamanatara #MauiHighlands

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How often do you give of yourself with no thought of return? And, when you do, are you aware that your life flows more smoothly, that you feel better about yourself, that you no longer seem to be beset by troubles and challenges in the same way?

 

Energy has a flow to it. When you pull your energy in, an action of lack, you stop the flow and create more lack. When you give of your energy freely, an act of abundance, you assist the flow and create more abundance.  There is a limitless supply of energy in the Universe, why do you buy into the illusion of lack? Any lack you experience in your life was created by you. You chose that lack, whether you realize it or not.

Offer to help out an elderly neighbor. Watch your best friend’s kids. Volunteer at a soup kitchen once a month. Phone bank for a local charity. Help out at an elementary school or library. Collect and deliver Christmas presents for disadvantaged children. Recycle. Listen when someone needs a friendly ear. Donate a work of art to a charity auction. Take your neglected clothing to a shelter. Donate blood. Pray over polluted bodies of water or crime-ridden areas. Open a door for someone carrying packages. Take the farther parking space. 

There are many levels of giving. Give to the best of your ability.

#Generosity #Allowing #Flow #Opening #Harvest #AbundanceConsciousness #DoThis #Action #Practice #ImportantQuestions #BeingOfService #PracticalSpirituality #PersonalGrowth #SelfImprovement #DailyMessage #365DaysToEnlightenment  #Ayamanatara #PiKitty

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If you want to make a difference in the world, or even in your own life, you need to be conscious about your motivation and your actions. Even if you don’t use the words good and evil in your vocabulary, you do need to think about your actions, what they mean, who they benefit, and whether they serve for the betterment of humanity or the detriment of humanity.

Do not use the idea that you are an insignificant human being as an excuse to do things just for your own benefit, or because you want to. Every action has repercussions, no matter who does them. Claiming that your actions do not affect others is as much ego as thinking your actions are of the greatest importance to the planet. It merely allows you to go about your life without thinking of others.

#ConsciousChoices #Alignment #ConsciousDecisions #StandForSomething #PracticalSpirituality #PersonalGrowth #SelfImprovement #DailyMessage #365DaysToEnlightenment #Ayamanatara #lichen

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If you have had a transcendental experience and felt a spontaneous awareness of All That Is, you may be struggling to get back to that feeling. The thing is, the struggle pushes it farther away. You can’t fight to get there, because you are already there. You are a part of All That Is, remember?

 

Breathe. Pay attention to the flow of your breath. Feel your muscles relaxing. Let go of the struggle. Allow yourself to be in the moment. Any thoughts that pop into your head, just let them go, to the best of your ability, without participating in them. Any redirection of your focus that you need to do should be done gently. Spend some time in this space, just breathing.

Now go about your day. Participate in life. Know that you are a part of All That Is.

 #StopStruggling #Participation #Meditation #Awareness #BeHereNow #BeingPresent #DoThis #Practice #PracticalSpirituality #PersonalGrowth #SelfImprovement #DailyMessage #365DaysToEnlightenment #Ayamanatara #Sunset #Roatan #Caribbean #Ocean #Clouds

[twistedcatmeow]

Are you in control of your present? Do you go through life grounded? Do you give those things that pop up in your face your full attention?  Do you love those beings in your life with full focus? Do you savor every moment?  Do you allow yourself to receive the beauty, charm and magic of every second as it happens?

 

Here’s a little secret: If you do these things, if you approach your life fully present, you are no longer controlled by your past. You will find that your past doesn’t even matter. You’ll stop worrying. You will no longer be reactive, you get to be responsive.

If you don’t like your past, work at being more present.

 #BeHereNow #BeingPresent #Worry #Fear #DoThis #PracticalSpirituality #PersonalGrowth #SelfImprovement #DailyMessage #365DaysToEnlightenment #Ayamanatara #DesertGarden #FlagstonePath #ThisAlwaysPutsRageAgainstTheMachineInMyHead

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Hope is not a calculation. Hope is a choice, a choice for action. It may or not be logical, but logic is not necessary for hope.

 

When you are hopeless, do you act? No. You sit around, feeling hopeless. There is no sense in acting, because you have no hope that things will change, or work out, or whatever you’re feeling hopeless about. Frequently, a sense of hopelessness will taint everything in your life. It’s rare that people feel hopeless about just one thing.

Make a choice to act. Pick an action and go with it. It doesn’t matter which direction you go, just pick one. The action will bring you out of hopelessness and into hope. Just do something. Stop thinking about it and do it. Even if you don’t think it’s going to work.

 #Hope #Choices #Action #MakeAChoice #DoSomething #DoThis #PracticalSpirituality #PersonalGrowth #SelfImprovement #DailyMessage #365DaysToEnlightenment #Ayamanatara #TheHuntington #Winter #Streambed