Claim your Enlightment

Many individuals will turn to Spirit in times of need like; making life changing decisions, for a desired outcome like a new job, relationship, etc. anything that appears beyond one’s “control.” Then when we get that “glimpse of divine intervention, we are overjoyed or consoled and we continue to go about in our normal routine of life. At some point in one’s life some of us may take a moment to think “What is really going on behind that Divine Intervention?” “How do I bring more of these types of experiences into my life?” “How do I get myself connected to Spirit?”

There is an old saying “You reap what you sow.” I think the path to spiritual awareness or spiritual practice is a 4 part interactive, progressive process that involves; 1) taking baby steps, 2) setting intention 3) being persistent 4) being patient 5) and most of all it takes Love.

Taking Baby Steps

Have you ever watched an infant learning how to walk? Struggling to get up on their hands and knees, rocking back and forth building up coordination to crawl and then to stand and take those first steps? There is a lot of trial and error in this learning process filled with frustration and setbacks yet the young child presses on and when success is finally won the toddler is filled with joy. This is how we learn to become spiritual beings, working through our struggles and setbacks, dealing with frustration as we take our baby steps down our chosen paths towards the Light.

Setting Intention

There comes a point when traveling down our spiritual path when we begin to question, “What do I want to accomplish by doing this?” “What do I expect to gain from this effort?” “How do I know when I have arrived?” Whenever we are working on a project around the house or at work or school, we make a plan to get from Point A to Point B. What do we need to get the job done? What is the best approach? How do we know when it’s done? The same thinking can be applied to spiritual practice, setting the intention. It is important to put aside some time in our busy lives for spiritual practice. Creating a method on what works best for us to feel “connected” to our God Source. Since we are all not built the same this is where our creativity comes into play and I mean that term literally. Playing with our intention is very important. Spirituality should be a joyful affair. Some people feel more centered and connected in utter silence and other may feel quite the opposite and need music or chanting. Others are visually stimulated and may use a candle or picture to focus on. The basic idea is not getting connected with “God” but to become connected with yourself and thereby becoming connected with God.

Being Persistent

During the process of becoming centered and connected, there will be a lot of distractions and most of the distractions will come from your own mind, there is where persistence comes into the picture. There is no real trick to silencing the mind, even though many books on the subject state differently. Let the distractions be part of the experience. Look at the distractions objectively and monitor what is going on without getting absorbed into the thoughts. Maybe there are some lessons that are being brought to your attention. Just watch them and let them go keeping in mind the Intention of your spiritual practice. It is all part of the practice.

Being Patient

Spiritual practice takes a lot of adjustments. My earlier attempts at practice are completely different from what it is now. Currently, I have worked and reworked my practice daily basically honestly each day brings in some new awareness into my life. This may sound funny but when I am meditating, being the linear person that I am, I have almost like a checklist of things I want to pray about which I visually see in my mind. For example: Thoughts or attitudes I want to create or improve upon in my life, and old emotional attachments or thought patterns I want to release that no longer serve me. Also, acknowledging all the great lessons that have been brought into my world that have helped me to become the evolved person I am today and the teachers that have blessed my life with these lessons. As we continue in our practice, awakenings like these become part of our practice and we realize how truly blessed we are.

Most of all it takes Love

Love is the greatest part of our practice. Love of Spirit, love of the people that have graced our lives, love of life itself and love of ourselves. Becoming aware of our enormous capacity to give and receive love through our spiritual practice is one of the most humbling experiences we can receive from practice. This makes all the work towards Spirit the biggest reward which motivates me to stay committed to “Claiming my Enlightenment.”

May the Blessings Be

Angel Ascencia