How Do We "Know"? (Developing Inner Spirit Wisdom)

So how do we KNOW it's God* that is with us and directing us? This is a question I've gotten in response to the content of my book, Sprouting Spiritual Growth.  As is usual for me, I don't have an answer right away (I'm one of those people who has the right answer hours after the conversation is done).  The good news is the question wasn't forgotten.  I've been collecting my thoughts because it's a tough question.  Today, when looking back in my journal, I found another nugget to help me formulate an answer. 

The answer I have today is that as we develop a deeper relationship with God (we sit in the stillness, we ask for direction, we ask questions), we come to KNOW by taking notice.  Here are things to notice:

• Our body gives us signals.  Our bodies were made to move back to equilibrium, to homeostasis.   We are not meant to stay at the edges of the continuum that is flight or fight at one end and total lethargy at the other.  Because I believe God created man, I believe that God made our bodies in a way that keeps us in relationship with God.  
• Our minds notice when a thought is good and when a thought is wasteful.  When we move towards the good, we come into a space of self-acceptance and self-love, of God.    
• Our hearts/souls repel from certain activities.   If we are doing activities that have been thrust upon us as "you have to do this", and "to be successful, you must do that, and they don't make our hearts sing, it's time to stop those activities.  Moving away from the activities which repel our heart will God will give us direction.  The right people and ideas will be on our path.  If we are drawn to it, we can KNOW that it is good.  If we repel from it, it is not right for us.

This is not to say that it's easy to stay in this space.  It requires action on our part.  It requires faith. This is not easy for me!  That's why I'm grateful for the reminders of the body, mind and soul.  Lately my shoulders have been tense, I've noticed it and I've journaled about it.  My heart has not been singing because I am rushing (to write another book, to follow through on too many marketing ideas).  I sometimes find it hard to not jump on what others who have been successful tell me I should do.  When I do follow my heart's desires, like in the last two days, there is a KNOWING that it's all I need to do because God is in these very simple desires (enjoy the people who are in front of you, who have asked for a relationship, who are drawn to you). 

When I recognized that my body was talking back and I asked God* what I should know about this, God reminded me to stop pushing so hard (I'm getting off the November National Novel Writing Month train), enjoy what's in the every day (look out my windows at the birds, the more I do, the more likely I'll see a migrant), come back to stillness (God waits for me here).

If this repels you, it is not your niche.  Shelley Hitz, author and speaker, said to me and other conference attendees recently, "Your niche should repel the wrong reader."  If the idea of journaling, giving consideration to your body, mind and soul is repelling to you, move into the direction that you KNOW.  
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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 do you KNOW?

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 which is simply journaling what's on your heart and mind and then asking God* what else you should know (read more at CardinalTouch.net).

Allowing Your Story to Unfold of its Own Making

I'm not done yet.  I like that I probably still have more time on this earth to play, to learn, to grow.  I also like to watch the days unfold of their own accord.  I can fathom some of it from the outset simply because of the intentions I set.  They're not goals, really, but the way that I want to feel when I go to bed at night.

Last night I went to bed content that I didn't over-manage my day.  I considered rearranging my dinner plans so that I would not have to wait for my companion and so that I could be closer to home at the end of the evening.

If I had done that, I would have spent time texting to change the plans and phoning for a new reservation.  Instead I enjoyed the person who was driving as I was the passenger.

When I ask God* what else I should know, God reminded me that I still need to get outside today and that daylight is fading.  What a simple request.  They usually are!
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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 goals for today?

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 which is simply journaling what's on your heart and mind and then asking God* what else you should know (read more at CardinalTouch.net).

Nature for Nature's Sake, a Turning Point

My current journal is a lovely hardbound one with the title Nature Notebook from Northwind Press, Inc.  I found it in a stack of free stuff from a gardening club and I am thankful to be the benefactor.  It has loads of lovely printed animal and plant drawings as well as quotes about nature.  The one that stays with me today is by Khalil Gibran:

Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet 

and the winds long to play with your hair.

It's a reminder of something I don't remember learning until well into my forties; that is, that it's not all about me in a man versus nature sense.  Sure, I can delight in nature, but I also need to remember that nature can delight in me.  For example, the great blue heron which eyed me as I stood at my window was possibly delighting in me, too.  I know he saw me because its neck turned as I moved from one window to another.  I wonder how long before I am able to recognize that it is the same or a different heron returning to my yard.  I wonder how long, if it is the same heron, before it recognizes it's the same eyes looking at it?  I wonder if it will sense that I am wary of it eating all the frogs and fish.  I wonder if it will be surprised when I let go of my man versus nature instinct and trust that not all will be taken?  When I ask God* what else I should know, God tells me that the heron will drop some of its feathers and leave me with beautiful memories if I let it.
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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.  How do you delight in nature?

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 which is simply journaling what's on your heart and mind and then asking God* what else you should know (read more at CardinalTouch.net).

Slow Down Said the Apparition

Hi Readers, I'm back!  I've done the work to self-promote my book and now I'm releasing my energies to get back to writing (the blog, just once per week, and my next book) and letting God* get to work to have the right people find it.  Thanks for all your support and please enjoy the blog again. Post a response when you feel moved to do so and happy journaling.
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SLOW DOWN SAID THE APPARITION:  This morning I was having a late breakfast, looking out into my backyard.  Behind a five-foot blue spruce moved a whitish figure that appeared to be doing tai chi.  I was mesmerized and also so excited when I realized it was a great blue heron moving very slowly and deliberately.  I was so grateful to have been sitting there at just the right moment to see it.
This sighting and slow pace fit right in with what is missing in the world for many right now.  I see, read and hear it all around me.  Examples:

1. People don't have time to read books anymore.  "I'm still reading my summer beach read," one person said to me this week.  It's the third week of October.
2. The New York Times just published an article about a young thirty-something journalist who died from sleep deprivation and heart issues attributed to the amount of overtime she chose to work (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/world/asia/japan-death-overwork.html). 
3. In between periods at the pro hockey game yesterday, everyone around me was on their cell and one woman even had an iPad with her.  Sadly, some people were plugged in to their phones the entire game, including children.  In these cases, they were missing out on opportunities to slow down and at the same time, be an active participant in their own lives.

As I type this, I see a hawk alight on a branch up high, two frolicking blue jays and many morning doves.  I sit still as I reflect on what to write. 
I hope I can convince people to stillness.  It's hard because when it comes to specifics, I don't have answers for each individual person, but it's because I don't need to know.  I only know to put my own desires on my heart and be very watchful for things in front of me, including a ghostly-looking great blue heron, to give me hints at the right direction. Fortunately, I can say that it takes very little time which seems to be exactly what people say they have.  But don't ask me, ask 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.  Are you being called to unplug from this blog site or to follow the prompts?

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 which is simply journaling what's on your heart and mind and then asking God* what else you should know (read more at CardinalTouch.net).

The Gift of Having Been Lost

Hi Readers, I'm back!  I've done the work to self-promote my book and now I'm releasing my energies to get back to writing (the blog, just once per week, and my next book) and letting God* get to work to have the right people find it.  Thanks for all your support and please enjoy the blog again.  Post a response when you feel moved to do so and happy journaling.
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THE GIFT OF HAVING BEEN LOST:  What I am finding from my clients is that since having left corporate America in 2009, people have more work responsibilities than ever - ever greater numbers of direct reports, unending emails, routine task management once done by secretaries (scheduling, coordinating, responding to routine tasks).  People are getting lost in carrying through the to-dos.
What God* wants me to know is that getting to the top of the mountain after having been lost is so much sweeter because we can appreciate the struggles.  I wrote this after writing about my meditation experience.  Part of that experience is I teach meditation to people who are seeking peace from their chaotic worlds.  Meditation is a perfect way to help us find ourselves (to recognize our thoughts).  It's a way for us, in the words of Gautama Buddha, to find enlightenment.  Enlightenment, more specifically, is recognizing that we can experience peace and joy even amidst suffering and dissatisfaction and then experiencing the joy amidst the suffering and dissatisfaction.  The first part is simply acknowledgement.  The second part is by putting it into practice.  Meditation is one way to do this.  Spiritual Journaling is another. 
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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 is your definition of joy?

2.  What helps you to feel the joy amidst the dissatisfaction and suffering?

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 which is simply journaling what's on your heart and mind and then asking God* what else you should know (read more at CardinalTouch.net).

The Gift of Community

Hi Readers, I'm back!  I've done the work to self-promote my book and now I'm releasing my energies to get back to writing (the blog, just once per week, and my next book) and letting God* get to work to have the right people find my writing.  Thanks for all your support and please enjoy the blog again.  Post a response when you feel moved to do so and happy journaling.
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THE GIFT OF COMMUNITY:  For city dwellers, not having a car may not be as much of a problem as for suburban dwellers.  For suburbans, given the right dynamics, it is doable, but still sometimes presents a challenge.  For me and my husband, we decided not to buy a fourth car so that each driver in our household could have a car.  We also decided that we'd give each of our children a car for this school year and then evaluate what should happen at the end of these ten months.
This means that my husband and I must communicate our schedules and be flexible because we are sharing a car.  We've done this before - when we first married.  What it means is that we are back to sometimes needing to be dropped off and picked back up, sometimes using our bikes, walking or taking the train, and sometimes we rely on other people.
The beauty of it is that it allows us to be in community with each other and others.  When he and I drop each other off somewhere it gives us time in the car together.  When we ask a friend for a ride, we get extra time with that friend.  When we are in a pickle (spouse goes away for the weekend and the homebody still needs a car), it always works out that someone has a car to lend us.
When I ask God* what else I should know about this, what I hear is that my community is dependable and generous.  For that, I am thankful.
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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.  Are you as dependable as you could be?

2.  Who do you depend upon?

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 and artwork by MH

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

Called

This morning I wrote one paragraph in my journal and thought, "Is this is all I have to write today? What am I going to do with this extra space?" After all, it's only 5am and I don't need to leave for chair massage until 8:15.  

I guess I just don't have a lot to write today. Maybe it's because I wrote a total of 10 pages in my journal between yesterday and the day before. Usually it's about two to three pages per day.

I've never done this before, but I feel called to give you an example of one of my journal entries. It makes sense to be called today because it's so short:

I'm still doing lots of book stuff/marketing  Next week is a short week with the holiday and New York (for a day) so the week of September 11 is the week I get back to writing my novel.  I don't have much else to tell You today.  

God,* what else should I know?  Use your book today to get a message from one of your poems and use the extra time to stretch.

So I opened to to a page in the back of the book and rested on page 146, the last two stanzas of Coming and Going.  The last stanza speaks to me and so I write in my journal:

This is the creation story, isn't it?  The beauty of ...delights and struggles - the comings and goings. Do a blog post today.  

It's now 5:15am.  Time to stretch!
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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.  How do you utilize your extra space?

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).