You Are Not Your Mistakes

We have all been taught to believe mistakes are bad things. Mistakes are learning things. They are tools we use to learn about the world around us, nothing more. The shame and guilt we are trained to hold on to because of our mistakes only serve to keep us trapped in blocked, stagnant energy. Mistakes can bring awareness and even healing if we allow ourselves to gain the benefits of them.

You are a divine BEing of light and love. Don't allow your mistakes to define who you are and where you can go in life. Instead, allow your mistakes to grow you. Your life will never be the same!

~CSE

Supplying The Contrast

It never ceases to amaze me how many people cling to their politics--particularly spiritual people. If you mention anything that goes against what they believe and/or is something they don't want to hear they immediately react and have to argue why you're wrong. I have to confess, there are times when I rise to the bait even though I know better. Politics consistently supply the contrast we came to discover in this world of duality.

What does supplying the contrast mean exactly? Contrast is the play and pull between two seemingly different or even opposite things. Supplying the contrast means encountering a situation that places something new or different directly in our path. We then use these encounters to learn and grow. At least, that is the ultimate goal of the contrast.

We don't always choose to learn. On many occasions the contrast is so disturbing for us that we first get angry and then we shut down. We deny there is anything new for us to learn--we know it all and there is nothing here left to see. Of course, that is far from the truth. Anything that sets us off in such an extreme way is a valuable clue we have an issue that needs to be resolved.

My personal belief is that we come to this three-dimensional world to study this contrast and learn from it. We come from a place I like to call Oneness, where we are all connected and everything works together for the good of the whole. Because duality was created by separating out individual things (darkness from light, heavens from water, plants from animals from people, etc.) we are able to look at these pieces in new and interesting ways.

We have made the contrasts about separation itself. We look at those people and things that are different from us, and we push them away. It is too scary to accept those things we do not know and understand. The irony is, when we take the time to try to understand something different from ourselves, we end up learning that, deep down, we are truly one and the same.

The next time you encounter something you vehemently feel is wrong, sit back and ask yourself why you feel this way. Explore it. Ask different questions about it. Learn why it is important to someone else. You may just gain a whole new way of thinking that will expand and grow who you are in the world.

~CSE

   

Learning The Lesson

Have you ever wondered why the same situations--the same dramas--play out over and over again in your life? Even when you have successfully gotten rid of one tormentor, does a new tormentor come along to take his/her place? Instead of fighting the person or situation off or running away, try asking the Universe what this situation is trying to teach you. There just might be a lesson you need to learn!

Maybe you have a habit of picking out relationships that start out great, but end up verbally or physically abusive. Maybe you find yourself attracting needy people who end up taking up the majority of your time and energy. Eventually you manage to get out of the relationships, but the next time around it happens all over again.

The patterns don't even have to be about other people. You might have a habit of investing in bad business deals or jumping into exciting new hobbies only to discover down the road none of them lived up to your expectations.

Do these repeating circumstances mean you're doomed to failure? Absolutely not! It just means you need to begin asking questions and study out the details of the situations.

The best place to get answers is in your heart. In your quiet meditation time, ask yourself questions like, "What do these situations have in common?" and "What do I feel at the beginning of these relationships that I should be taking notice of?" Answers will come as you learn to listen to the voice that comes in the silence.

After I divorced my first husband, I found myself in two very similar relationships--both where trust and mistreatment were issues. It took about two months in each of these relationships for me to understand the similarities to my failed marriage and to break things off. It took quite a while longer for me to find the relationship I now have with a very supportive and caring husband because I was so used to being treated poorly it felt strange when someone actually treated me well! I had to change how I thought of myself as well as change what I was willing to accept.

Asking questions is key because asking questions allows you to begin seeing the same situations from different perspectives. When you have a more well-rounded picture of what is going on, you can approach the situation differently. You can change your energy/frequency and BEcome something new!

The more you begin to understand that life here on Earth is a school of sorts, the more quickly you will learn to work through your lessons. Life becomes easier as you shed the cocoon that has enslaved you and free yourself to soar to new heights.

~CSE

  

The Willingness To Allow

I always find it intriguing when I set off other people's trigger points. I don't do things with the goal of setting people off, although I do admit there are many occasions where I give out information for people to consider. I have no problem when they think about the issue and still come to the same conclusion. I believe that is part of their journey and part of their BEing. We all have different things we want to explore and learn about in this 3D existence.

This time I posed a question on Facebook. My post reads as follows:

I am curious. For those of you who have changed your profile pictures to French flag colors, how do you want to support the French people? Are you planning on bringing peace, or are you ready to go to war (which is the goal of world leadership and corporations)? If peace, how are YOU going to promote it?

This was just after the horrible events that took place in Paris on Friday the 13th (Nov. 13, 2015).My overall goal with the post was to get people to think about how they could support the concepts of peace instead of those of war. I believe the people who planned this attack desire the world go to war, and I want to do what I can to foil those plans. For me, focusing on peace is the way.

Most of the people who responded to my post did post about peace. However, one person was set off to the point where they first told me that if I believed this was a false flag attack I should unfriend them immediately. I then asked them to define what a false flag attack was and gave them my definition. I also told them it was up to them to unfriend me if they still felt that way. They did unfriend me, and that's okay. It is not for me to change them.

I wish this person would have responded to the question specifically posed to them. I really do want to understand where they are coming from--thoughts, emotions, rationale, etc. As it is, I can only read/feel into it. What I feel (or what my heart tells me) is that they were so threatened by the idea this attack was planned by something bigger than religious extremists they had to lash out at the person who made them consider the thought (me).

Lately when I get triggered in a big way, I try to look at the situation from many angles. I start by asking questions such as, "What about this situation intimidates me?" or "What emotion am I feeling and what do I need to learn from this situation?" This is where I will sit with the information and allow it to sink in. This is where I consciously connect to my heart and search for answers. It is my process for healing and growth and an approach that allows me to quickly work through the energetic blocks in my life.

It is important to understand it is possible to embrace differences. We all experience different things, like different things, believe different things. There is no way we are going to convince all people that what we believe is right, correct or even true. Life is not about changing others. It is about growing and learning. It is about becoming better than you were before. It's about changing self.

The willingness to allow involves both allowing others to BE who they are and allowing ourselves to learn from those experiences we might consider negative. It is in these ways we overcome our own problems to create a better world.

To the person who unfriended me: I still love you. May peace accompany you on your continued journey.

~CSE

Why Beat Yourself Up?

I spent way too many years beating myself up. Whenever I made a mistake or did something wrong, I would fixate on it, condemning myself and vowing it would never happen again. At those times when it did happen again, my self-condemnation would take me so low I would be powerless to do anything.

As I look back on my life, I understand how programmed I was. I grew up in a Christian home, which brings its own forms of misery. One of the worst is growing up with the idea you need to hold yourself to perfect standards (aka be like Jesus), understanding the whole time that you are an imperfect sinner! How is that supposed to work exactly? It is inevitable you will screw up, being the imperfect human you are. Is life just meant to be full of self incrimination and punishment?

Yes, I am imperfect. Yes, I makes mistakes, and you know what? THAT IS OKAY WITH ME!!! The fact of the matter is, in those moments I have done everything right I have not learned much. I may have a fleeting moment of pride in myself that quickly fades with my next mistake.

As I look back on my life, I understand my mistakes have allowed me to learn. My mistakes have allowed me to grow. My mistakes motivate me toward new solutions. Mistakes are not the problems. Believing mistakes make you somehow bad or wrong is the problem! Dwelling on mistakes you've made only serves to waste valuable time you could be using to work out solutions!

You are a beautiful, wonderful and powerful being of light and love! You deserve to be treated so much better than what the world has provided for you until this point! Learn to accept that beauty and use it to BE the light that you are in the world!

~CSE

Enjoy The Journey

When I was ten, the world was a wonderful and exciting place. School came pretty easily to me, although I'll admit I was much more focused on friends and on having fun than on academics. I was well-liked by people my own age as well as adults. I was not afraid to be myself (very much the lion I was born to be). I smiled a lot, and I found it easy to use this gift to put a smile on the face of those I came into contact with.

When I was twenty, I met the man I believed to be the love of my life and got married. I was wrapping up a bachelor's degree in psychology with plans to go on to higher education and the counseling field. My adolescent years had been spent creating self doubt, and I had worked hard to overcome my self esteem issues. Several summers during my college career were spent tour guiding--the job I still think of as my best job ever. They also put me into contact with a cult leader named Jeff Lundgren (which is a whole story in and of itself).

When I was thirty, my marriage was falling apart, although I didn't really know it at the time. I was a shell of my former self, wholly devoted to my role of wife and stay-at-home mom with three very young children. Looking back, I understand that even though I was happy playing the wife and mother role, I allowed it to take a huge toll on who I was. I was so enmeshed in my identity as wife and mother that it was hard to tell where my husband left off and where I began. I was fully engaged in giving. I did very little to receive.

When I was forty, I was not very happy with my life. I had fallen into a career as a daycare teacher years before when I suddenly found myself to be a single mom. While it gave me the opportunity I craved to raise my children the way I wanted, it was not particularly fulfilling for me. I was also very lonely. I had dated on and off since my divorce, but I was still not quite whole enough to understand what I truly deserved in a relationship.

Today, I am fifty, and I feel as though I have come full circle. I've spent the last couple of years planning where I wanted to go and who I wanted to be as my children have left the nest. For the first time in a long time, I've had the opportunity to think about myself and what I really wanted. I no longer feel unworthy as I allow my voice to be expressed in the world. I am no longer lonely as I have found a companion who treats me well and whose company I enjoy.

As I look back at my life, I can see the progress I have made. My course has not been steady. In fact, it's been much more of a roller coaster ride. Although I have dedicated my life to others, I understand now my journey has never been about others. It has always been about me. My choices. My actions. Lessons learned. My own personal happiness depends on the consideration I give myself. I am finally at a place in life where I can allow myself to be who I am, unafraid of the consequences. I know that whatever happens, it's all part of the growth process.

Life is not about perfection. It's about learning to be human, flaws and all. Allowing ourselves to make mistakes enables us to grow in profound ways. The most magnificent treasures we acquire are the lessons we learn when life is most difficult. Enjoy the journey, bumps and all.

~CSE