I have received St. Theresa’s prayer in email form a few times in my life, always when most needed. This morning, when a community member forwarded it to me, it sparked a different level of reflection, one that encouraged me to enter into the silence of my soul and ask some fairly deep questions. Opening the doorway to Source, I inquired, “Am I at peace?” “Am I trusting that I am exactly where am I am to be?” “Do I have complete faith in myself, my direction and in my higher power to support me?” As I gave breath to the inner dialogue, I became aware of the existence of contrast, in particular between my heart and soul and my head; between what I know and what I see, between what I desire and what I am currently experiencing.
Faith and trust can be challenging to hold to when the world around you is looking less like you desire and more as you fear. Yet, the contrast is what truly reveals the immensity of blessings in our lives. After all, how can we know love if we have not experienced the void in our heart that accompanies heartbreak or longing? How can we understand the power of faith when we have not leaned into it, fully surrendering to that which is unseen and untouched? How can we know trust if we have not experienced doubt? How can we know miracles when we have not experienced the pain of the unwanted?
Our greatest challenges reveal the gifts in our lives, most often exposed in the form of people with and through whom we have experienced the blessings of love. It can often be a struggle to remember how blessed you truly are. We have come to believe that absent of worldly worries we would be better able to appreciate the immense beauty that is accessible to us. Yet, we can always choose to see magnificence by merely opening our eyes and being present to the love that surrounds us, the beauty that graces our surroundings, and the lives we so often take for granted until we are faced with those happenings that cause us to open our eyes and take notice of how fortunate we truly are.
Confusion, fear and doubt may have come to feel “normal” in the human realm. Yet, the most sacred teachings remind us that ultimately, no matter the path we take, we will be graced with becoming, once again, fully conscious of truth. We will be released into a freedom and love beyond comprehension, a peace that surpasses all understanding, and an awareness of the inherent divinity that empowers us to love, accept, forgive and heal as is promised when we see ourselves as part of the One Power; the shared spark of life that exists within. This is the uniting force that binds us, energizes us, nourishes us and embraces us when we are willing to flow in and out of the natural rhythms of our lives. Yet, we push, we pull, and we struggle to fight against the natural currents, all the while wondering why we feel breathless, uninspired, tired and out of control.
In many ways the last year has been one of the most challenging and painful years of my life. I have questioned my path, my purpose and asked many questions of my Creator. Questions such as “When does faith become irresponsible?” and “Why me, why now?” have poked through the very fabric of my faith. As I have shared final moments with several family members and friends this year, sat in hospital waiting rooms, prayed with loved ones for a gentle passing and felt their presence in my heart even after they journeyed home, I have come to see that one thing and only one thing truly matters. It is not the status of our bank accounts, the size of our car or home, or the possessions we so want to own. Rather, it is the love we give and receive that truly defines the quality of our experience here on earth.
Unfortunately, the level of resistance we bring to the journey is usually a match to the level of pain we experience. The gifts we have been given are given to be shared. Our capacity for love is much stronger than we can usually imagine and forgiveness and gratitude always open us to an intensity of love that heals, expands and sustains us in all moments of our lives.
I do not know what tomorrow may bring but today I choose to see the world with eyes tuned to beauty and I feel with a heart open to love. I seek the higher truth in all situations and serve my purpose as if I am serving the One mind, power and energy that is present within all things in creation. I relate to all peoples as members of my global family and seek to understand as opposed to judge. As is depicted on The Power of Our Way Medicine Wheel (which can be veiwed at www.powerofourway.com), I am reminded that compassion guides me to truth, empathy guides me to forgive, love opens me to heal, gratitude opens me to the promise of peace, and faith and unity guide me into my power; the innate, inborn, pre-infused power to share my passions and purpose in many physical expressions. And, this sharing is the one act that always guarantees a sense of service, connection and flow.
These are the promises that are gifted to us when we embrace the wisdom of the wheel; a symbolic representation of all that is contained within the Universe. The wheel has gifted me with a path to incredible transformation on both the individual and global levels. It may not always seem as if we are supported by the world or the people around us, yet we are always embraced by the love of the Divine.
Neale Donald Walsch, in his Conversations with God series, reminds us of the one and only question that truly matters; “What would love do?” Just imagine if we were more able to allow the answers that come in response to this question guide us at all times? Imagine the wounds uncreated, the resentments unfelt, the conflicts unexperienced.
As we become that which we desire and are meant to become, we must also unbecome that which no longer serves us and the whole of humanity. It is in this unbecoming that we emerge into a higher truth of who we are, why we came and what our purpose is. I believe that it is through this unbecoming that we shed the collections of human influenced perceptions that have conditioned us to move further from the higher reality of who we are at our core. The process is not always comfortable but it certainly opens us to see and experience our potentiality. Like vessels for the delivery of wisdom, we give birth to a realization of the truth of who we are beyond the illusions, comparisons, and insecurities that we have collected like souvenirs or, worse yet, as badges of honor that we skillfully use to shield us from being intimate with ourselves, our creator and the people and experiences that arrive into our lives for a mighty and holy reason.
It is in the untangling of our human conditioning that we are liberated into an experience of true freedom, divine expression and the joy and bliss that arrives into our awareness when we simply surrender to the flow that transcends the ebb. The in-between moments of our lives reveal the faith that is hidden behind fear, the wisdom that exists within, and the grace that is gifted to us when we arrive at a higher truth that has patiently awaited our perceiving. Truth, peace and wisdom is always accessible when we just simply get quiet, lay down the weaponry of our beliefs, release ourselves from the past and instead choose to open to the mysteries of the Universe and become truly present to what is in our presence.
As we shed the collections of past hurts and woundings we truly open to the immense beauty that is always present in our lives. Yet, we resist, we fight, we struggle and we hold onto the stories that can only stay alive when we feed them through a retelling. And in the retelling we relive. We look to others for approval, love and validation and in doing so we often subordinate our resonance so that we may feel the illusion of safety and security, albeit temporarily. In spite of the humanly influenced differences we may perceive ourselves to have, in particular as it relates to our faiths and personal choices, we have story after story of our greatest teachers going against the grain of commonly held views. This may in fact be the greatest wisdom provided to us through their examples. Pushing past the limitations of our beliefs may truly be the one and only path to salvation, peace and the greater potential that is ours for the choosing.
It is of course the starting place for all change, and the first dimension we face on the wheel. It is also where we find ourselves in greatest conflict and resistance. Yet, it is the beginning place and one that warrants our exploration; a rediscovery of our inknown wisdom and truth, a blissful resonance that resides deeply within and is only waiting to be remembered. And, it is in this remembering that we emerge into the purist sense of our wholeness. It is from this place that we choose to consciously connect to our source of wisdom, love and power.
Go straight to Source and ask the questions that are begging to be asked. Access your intuitive voice, your vision, your heart, and the divine knowledge that exists within. Breathe, get quiet, close your eyes and give thanks for the entirety of your life. Feel, embrace and allow yourself to be vulnerable. You know who you are and who you are meant to become, to remember and to honor in your choices. And in the moment of this acceptance, you find the path that is yours to take, one that has been laid out before you every step of the way. This is the path to peace. It is the power of your way. And the more of us who choose to live the power of our way, the more others will be inspired to do the same. And together, one mind, one heart and one soul at a time, we can change the world.
Anita Pathik Law is the founder of The Power of Our Way Community at www.powerofmyway.com and www.powerofourway.com. Her purpose is "to raise consciousness and build bridges of higher understanding." She serves this purpose through her coaching, writing and music and her facilitation of numerous groups, programs and retreats.
Join Anita at an upcoming retreat at www.metaphysicalmasterminds.com/sts/ and in her groups at www.powerofourway.com and www.unitedforhealing.com and enjoy the many movies and audios she co-creates with her husband and songwriting partner, Brent Law.
Copyright 2007, Anita Pathik Law
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