What room are you living in?

This quote is speaking to me today.

"There is an Indian Belief that everyone is in a house of four rooms: A physical, a mental, an emotional and a spiritual. Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time, but unless we go into every room everyday, even if only to keep it aired, we are not complete."    -- Rumer Godden

Lately I've been paying more attention to which "room" I am living in and have realized that I am sometimes afraid to leave that room and venture into another.

The emotional room seems to have been one that I visit less frequently and it all depends on the emotions that are waiting for me there.
 
I find lately it's becoming easier and easier to show my happy emotions and harder and harder to show my not so happy emotions.
 
Anyone who knows me well knows that I can't hide my emotions.  I wear them on my face and carry them in my body.  Expressing them verbally is another issue altogether. 
 
Every once in a while I wake up in a mood that is quite edgy, sometimes sarcastic and always witty.  And if I'm being honest here, it is a really fun mood to be in.  Personally, it's the mood I feel most creative in, it's the mood where I get more accomplished and appreciate myself more. 
 
And yet, there is a small piece of me that says "you can't show this to other people, this is not who you want them to see.  This personality is not cute, calm and inviting.  Stay home and don't talk to anyone while you are like this". 
 
That's the voice of the person inside of me that isn't comfortable with her authentic power. 
 
Authentic power is when you are living in all 4 of those rooms and you are comfortable with each of them.  Authentic power is never hiding who you are whether you think it's good or bad, it's important to show the world your many wonderful facets of being human.
 
If only to inspire someone else to do the same.
 
It's a myth that "spiritually conscious" people never experience anger, resentment, jealousy, shame and have to be loving and kind every moment of every day (Mother Teresa was an extremely special woman, we weren't all cut out to be just like her).  Each of us is here to experience all of life, every emotion, every challenge for the sake of our own personal growth.

The point of the spiritual journey is to walk through all of our experiences and learn from them, and that means feeling the emotions that come up throughout the experience. 

We rarely learn a lesson of great importance while walking on cloud 9 with a smile on our face and a spring in our step!

So, this quote is a reminder to me to visit my emotional room every day, check in, take a look around and see what needs to be addressed without judgement, without fear.

Have a little faith

There's a saying that goes something like "you can please some of the people some of the time, and most of the people most of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time".

I thought of this saying this morning as I was checking my facebook account. As I was reading a quote from a good friend I noticed someone had placed a message in the comment section that stated how they were appalled at the amount of attention that the people of Haiti are receiving right now. This woman went on to say how it was basically unfair that there are people who are living in our own country who need our assistance as they too are poor, hungry and without homes.

And not long ago I had come across a comment left by someone that had read my blog that stated how he was irritated at the way people living in this country and the US complain about their life situations when there was extreme devastation in Haiti and all of our focus should be on them. He went on to say that the people without food, shelter and money in Western countries are unmotivated to change their situation.

I'm not quite sure that ranting and raving about either of these arguments accomplishes much of anything in the long run. Except that it puts a lot of negative, useless attention on the situations at hand.

I understand the frustration of not being able to help more than offering donations here and there throughout the day. Some people have stepped up and gone over to Haiti to help and some people in our community step up every day to manage programs for the homeless in our cities. And beyond that all that the rest of us can do is offer our prayers and understand that nothing is in vain, that in every thing there is a purpose.

There are many worldly events to be cranked up about, however if we dwell only on what is not being done either here or there, we are only fueling that confusion and as a collective consciousness we send out to the Universe that not enough is being done and so more of that happens.

I don't read a lot of news, I don't watch a lot of tv. And I believe by doing this and limiting the visuals of the devastation I can focus my heart on sending love and not getting over anxious about a situation I can not physically do anything about. I can and do however offer my prayers and healing energy to those circumstances, sending out a ripple effect into the world.

So, let's instead focus our attention on what IS being done in every circumstance.

We are human's learning how to create peace in this world, there was not a manual written to tell us step by step how to go about changing all the things we believe need to be changed. We will stumble, and we will make mistakes so that we can learn more, for the next opportunity will surely come to us to try again.

We just need to breathe and have faith that all that is being done now will one day lead us to a life of heaven on earth.

I spoke to a woman the other night who was so excited about what was being done for Haiti. The television programs that have raised countless millions of dollars to assist in rebuilding what was lost. She thought it was absolutely fabulous all that was being done. Her enthusiasm was infectious.

The devastation in Haiti opened the hearts of millions of people around the world.

Something that might not have otherwise happened.

There's a blessing somewhere in that.

One Choice

Oprah Winfrey once said "Right now you are one choice away from a new beginning".

I believe this statement to be incredibly empowering.

In your life you are facing new choices each and every moment of each and every day.  There are opportunities all around us to guide us into the next phases of our lives.  The choice between bacon & eggs or fresh fruits and whole grain toast for breakfast.  The choice between watching the morning tv or taking a drive to the gym (where by the way they have tv's for you to watch WHILE you workout).  Taking a different route to the grocery store, maybe it will save you time so you can stop for a visit with a friend, maybe you will run into an opportunity to help someone out along the way, maybe that slight change of direction brings you past the house of your dreams and sparks a long lost goal inside of you.  Maybe?

There are times when a big choice needs to be made to set you in a new direction, but for the most part I believe it is just a matter of making a different choice daily that can bring you to a different life.

Taking a different route each time you go somewhere also keeps you aware of your surroundings.  I know I have caught myself driving on "auto pilot", not paying attention to my surroundings at all and realize once I've reached my destination that I don't recall the journey to get there.  The choice I make to take the same route over and over again bores the brain and stifles creativity.  And if the joy is in the journey, what kind of journey is it if we aren't aware of it at all?

Is this how you're living your life?  Did you know you were one choice away from a new beginning?

Think of all the times you have seen situations arise that look exactly alike.  Disagreements with co-workers, children, spouse, parent, sibling, etc.  It's frustrating isn't it?  You think you're doing everything right, however it always ends the same, in a resentful and angry situation.  This is one of those times you need to search your mind for the other choice that needs to be made.  Quite possibly the choices you have been making so far have been the same choice each time.  Just one time try a different perspective and make a different choice and see where it takes you.


Here's where you need to resist the urge to be fearful of what the change will be.  None of us knows what tomorrow is going to bring us.  We need to live where our feet are and be aware of the moment we are currently living in so that we can make the choices that are in line with our divine inner self.  You will know you are on the right track when you receive a feeling of enjoyment, fulfillment, purpose.

If you are feeling upset, angry, resentful you are most assuredly in the wrong place!

It's all about the choices we make.  You choose for YOU!

Opening yourself to seeing the truth in a situation allows you to shift your perspective and make a new choice in the situation.  This choice however large or small it is changes EVERYTHING!

Jennifer Merritt
State of Being
www.stateofbeing.ca
info@stateofbeing.ca