Off Balance But Correctable (from the looking back series - 12/31/16)

Several days ago, when I asked God*, "God, what else should I know?" the meditation cards I picked (from The Sacred Journey Cards by Cheryl Thiele) included the words integrity and courage. The phrases included "even in chaos (find) balance" and "stay steady through uncertainty."  I had no idea what this was about because I felt grounded on this day. The next day I felt confused and uncertain. On this day, when I opened my journal to find the next available open page, I first came upon the previous journal entry and found the messages of integrity and courage. It's exactly what I needed to hear!

God* wants me to know that prayer and gratitude help immensely during times of chaos and uncertainty.
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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, the community and I would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else.  Most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.
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Reflective questions:
1.  Do you feel balanced today?  Why or why not?

2. What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, "God, what do you want me to know?")

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, Sensibility, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.

Photo by MH

Note:  These posts are part of a broader call to do spiritual journaling (read more at CardinalTouch.net).

Finding Hidden Talents (from the looking back series - 12/26/16)

"You're an angel," is a saying often heard after an act of kindness.  If the defining quality of an angel is an act of kindness, then I have more angels in my life than I can count!  For me, recent angels include those who invite me to showcase my writing or art, people who improve their own craft or skills in order to help others, including helping others find their hidden talents.  This last type really helped me to find a new career in 2009.

At that time, I had left the corporate world to pursue life.  I could not see talents outside those I used in the business world, and I didn't want to use those talents anymore anyway.  One of the angels in my life, a woman retiring from the place I was leaving, had had so many varied careers that she knew I must have talents that were not evident to me.  That's when I began a skills list for myself and I included the gift of touch (my sisters and I scratched each other's backs when we were little).  In 2010 I graduated from massage school.

Now, new hidden talents have been popping out. One is writing poetry.One of the angels I mentioned above wrote "I LOVE your poems!  Very simple and unpretentious."
 
God* wants me to know that I have a strong sense of self that comes from doing the work of spiritual journaling.  To that, I say, "Thank you, God!"
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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, the community and I would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else.  Most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.
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Reflective questions:
1.  Do you recognize "angels" when you see them??

2.  What are your hidden talents?

3. What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, "God, what do you want me to know?")

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, Sensibility, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.

Photo by MH

Note:  These posts are part of a broader call to do spiritual journaling (read more at CardinalTouch.net).

Why Pray or Meditate (You Know Because It Makes Your Heart Sing)

What I'm feeling right now is gratitude because my headache is gone.  My heart is singing because I know how to get rid of a headache fast.  I didn't always know how to do this, but thanks to a variety of teachers, I can do this myself through a combination of hydrating, utilizing essential oils, massaging my neck and scalp, stretching and being still (praying and meditating).

What's also on my heart is that my sister-in-law texted me over several days to tell me that her sons had been talking about me all week while they were at the beach.  They said things like, "Aunt Marie would know what bird this is," and "We have to get the watermelon beach umbrella because that's what Aunt Marie uses."

God* wants me to know that sitting still, meditating and praying, leads me to setting intentions to be the best I can be, including being present when I interact with others. God also wants me to know that I often receive gifts from others, that I need to recognize these gifts more often, and that I need to make good on my promises, such as to my nephews and friends.
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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, the community and I would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else.  Most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.
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Reflective questions:
1.  What's on your heart right now?

2. What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, "God, what do you want me to know?")

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, Sensibility, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.

Photo by MH, Hanging Lake 

Note:  These posts are part of a broader call to do spiritual journaling (read more at CardinalTouch.net).

What's Makes Your Heart Sing?

In the summer, my work environment (my home) changes dramatically because, instead of just me there during the daytime, my husband and two young adult children are back to greatly utilizing the space alongside me.

I treasure this time because they, and their friends, come and go, and it is in the in-between spaces where we have some great conversations.

What I have learned is to let go of some things over the summer, such as art and big writing projects, as well as piano lessons and all the practice time that goes with it.  Letting go allows me to really sink into and take a healthy bite out of summer.

Going with the flow doesn't mean that I ignore the call of these other pieces that make my heart sing. It's just that I might do these other things on a smaller basis such as write a poem or sit down to play the piano when I feel called to do so.

When I ask God* what else I should know what I hear is that this is a balanced approach to living.
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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, the community and I would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else.  Most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.
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Reflective questions:
1.  What makes your heart sing?

2. What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, "God, what do you want me to know?")

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, Sensibility, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.

Photo by MH, Hanging Lake 

Note:  These posts are part of a broader call to do spiritual journaling (read more at CardinalTouch.net).

God* What Should I Do?

This August will be the two year mark of starting this blog.  It was a slow start.  I did one post and then let it sit for about six months.  By then I had figured out the structure of the blog and I've been faithfully posting once or twice a week ever since. Recently I've been wondering if the blog had run its course because it seemed as if I was repeating themes.  One idea that came to me then was this: should I answer the reflective questions that I pose to the readers? In considering this, I went back to the first post that hadn't yet been archived, read it, and I considered the reflective questions from that post.  They seemed really, really hard.

As a result, while still sitting with this dilemma during my journaling time, I asked the question, "God, what should I do?"  The answer I got (the first immediate thing I thought of after asking this question) was Sleep On This.  So that's what I did.   

The next morning I moved into my journaling space thinking "I'd like to write something creatively, like a poem."  But nothing came so I thought about my process which is this:  generally, I write poems from looking back in my journals and reading an old gratitude list or a nighttime dream. My process is to read the list or dream one day and then write a poem the next day after I HAD SLEPT ON IT.

This was my God moment!!!!  As a result, I knew I needed to look at that old post now that I had SLEPT ON IT and see if there had been a change.  The answer is YES!  These same questions didn't seem so hard and I had answers for them right away.  

That old post was from December 17, 2016 and these are the questions and my answers:
Questions:  What are your every day struggles?  How about the shape of your mental, physical or spiritual weight?

Answers:  If I am struggling, which means I have anxieties about something, it is generally because I am not staying grounded in the present.  The best way for me to get away from worrisome thoughts or just general unease is to look outdoors or go outside.  My mental, physical and spiritual weights are healthy because I continue to do the things that I feel God has led me to do:  meditate with a sangha and alone, stretch my body, utilize the holistic services of others (massage, Reike, chiropractic, medical care), enjoy the foods of the earth, eat something such as sweets when my body wants them, get outside often (alone and with others), journal, and ask God questions directly when I am stuck.
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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, the community and I would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else.  Most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.
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Reflective questions:
1.  What are your every day struggles?  How about the shape of your mental, physical or spiritual weight?

2. What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, "God, what do you want me to know?")

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, Sensibility, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.

Photo by MH (field of clover, Genesee Park)

Note:  These posts are part of a broader call to do spiritual journaling (read more at CardinalTouch.net).

Developing Your Inner Spirit Wisdom (A Reminder)

I thought today would be a good day to remind you about what I am teaching.  Specifically it is a way to use journaling to develop your inner spirit wisdom.  It's quite simple really in terms of the steps:

1.  Use a journal and write down whatever is on your heart on a regular basis.  I do this almost daily now but when I started years and years ago it was something I did every once in a while, then once or twice a week, and now I hate to miss it.  I am a morning person so I do it first thing or after a few chores.  It often starts off with what I did the day before or what's coming today but then I also get into what's bothering me or what's making my heart sing.  I might also write my gratitude list in my journal but not always.  You decide what time of day is best for you and what you include in your journal.

2.  When you think you have written out what's most pressing on your heart, write out the question "God*, what do you want me to know?"  

3.  Then write down what comes to you.  If you feel compelled to use a tool, use a tool.  Tools include things like meditation cards (I like the ones with one word on them), a book that you open up randomly and read what's on that page (I often use the Bible or Psalms for Praying by Nan Merrill but nonreligious books work too). If you're not sure what tool to use, let the Spirit* guide you.

This is the daily practice.  It can take as much or as little time as you have.  Doing it often provides value because it gives the opportunity to look back over your journey.  You can look back over a period of time to see what was happening in your life and what your Higher Power* was telling you, often repeatedly.  Maybe you want to look at the last week, the same week from a year ago, the last whole journal.  Whatever time frame is on your heart is right for you.  Be a pattern hunter:  was the same thing on your heart last year, have you pulled the same meditation card 3 times in the last month, did you write about the same place or person?  Write down what you uncover.

The hard part is making the time to do the work.  For me, it has made a significant difference in that I have found an easier way to live, allowing the Great Spirit* to be my guide..  

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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, the community and I would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else.  Most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.

Reflective questions:
1.  If spiritual journaling is not a call for you, what are being called to do to nourish your spiritual self?

2.  What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, God, what do you want me to know?)

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.

Photo of Fireworks LB, DE
Note:  These posts are part of a broader call to do spiritual journaling (read more at CardinalTouch.net)