As we head into spring after a long and dreary winter, we feel a renewed energy.  With the days longer, the sun shining and the birds singing, we all feel the need to sing along.  Our spirit yearns for escape from the confines that the winter season has placed upon us.  It isn’t coincidence that all creatures on this planet seek companionship at this time of year.  We all seek out new relationships for procreation, animals and birds – for the purpose of extending their species, and for people it is for the purpose of expanding our creative capabilities.  The dictionary defines the word procreate as “to produce or create; originate”.  Therefore, procreation is steeped deep in our DNA.

Every one of us feels an all consuming need to purge ourselves of “junk” as spring enters.  We start cleaning out our closets, washing walls, cleaning rugs, and tossing out the winter debris.  We go through the piles of paper that have stacked up around us and throw away the old catalogues to make room for the various seed catalogues that appear in our mailboxes.  We feel the need to get things in tip top shape for the coming summer so that we can take those much needed vacations.  We begin to rearrange the furniture in an effort to make our surroundings feel new.

What about your inner life?  The desire for renewal is an ingrained need from the Divine.  Spring is a checkpoint that comes to us from our Source, a chance to use our new found energy to reconnect to the spirit that is within us.  Many of us tend to feel a little lost at the beginning of the spring season.  We have a sense that we should be doing something, but we are not quite sure what it is.  We tend to turn this energy outwards instead of taking a look within ourselves to see what things have become stagnant on our life path and our spiritual journeys.  We are experiencing a yearning for connection at a level that most people do not see on a regular basis.  We need to take advantage of this wonderful energetic gift from Source, and make the changes that we need to experience our lives to our fullest potential.

Take a few hours out of your busy schedule to do some spiritual spring cleaning.  Spend some time alone in nature; whether you go for a walk, sit on your patio or clean the leaves out of your flower beds.  Quiet your mind of all thoughts of what you should be doing, and invite the Divine to enter in their place.  Meditate, pray or contemplate…whatever makes you the most comfortable.  Completely lose yourself in the natural world around you and allow spirit to fill you with new ideas, answers, and solutions.  Put these thoughts into action in the coming days, as they have come to you directly from Source.  If nothing new comes to you, that is OK too.  At least your mind has had some time to connect with the Divine and renew your spirit.

Learn something new!  Spend some time learning about different spiritual practices to see if there is anything that resonates within you.  You don’t need to completely change your religion, or spiritual beliefs; but incorporating some small changes helps to kick start your spiritual energy and renews your connection to the Divine.  When we spend too much time following the same routines over and over again, we tend to lose sight of the meaning these routines once brought to us.  Clear out some of the old beliefs that may have become stagnant.  It is only harmful to our spiritual evolution to hang onto “junk” that no longer speaks to us.

As you purge out the old, invite in the new, and meet new people along your path; you will shine your newfound light on the paths of others and strengthen your connection to the Divine.  We are all connected, and the stirrings of the spring season serve to remind us of that.

Please remember that this article is copyrighted material written by Vicki J. Lund for ‘Spirit Haven’.  You may share the words expressed here as long as you include my byline.  No part of this may be reproduced for the purpose of making money, other than by the author.

For those of you who do not know me, I have a very loud mind.  It is constantly working, thinking, imagining and talking.  If I do not have thoughts going through my head, I have music playing over the loud speakers of my mind.  Even though I practise meditation daily, and lead others in meditation, I have a very hard time quietening my mind! 

A few years ago, the constant chaos in my head started over powering that voice that I needed to hear, that special voice that we all need to hear.  My ego had started drowning out my Spirit.  I lost that part of me that was as essential to my Being as breath and nourishment.  When things are not going the way you think they should be going, you tend to lose faith in that inner voice that leads your intuition.  At that time, I had been feeling restless – perhaps a bit bored, and ended up taking myself down a path that I wasn’t meant to be on.  Don’t get me wrong – I have met people that I wouldn’t otherwise have met, and I have learned some valuable life lessons.  However, I did not listen to my intuition, to the little voice that said, “Put on the brakes!  You’re heading down the wrong road!”  I let my ego get in the way.  My ego said, “Well, this path might be less bumpy, so let’s head in that direction instead.”  What my ego didn’t know was that the pavement was missing halfway down the road, and the detour would be long and rough.

In the last few months I have once again started feeling that little worm inside my tummy, the one that starts wriggling around when it’s time for a huge life change.  I have gone through periods of intense anxiety wondering when this chapter in my life will close so that I can finally be travelling the right path.  I have spent time studying, meditating and praying hoping that all of my preparation would be enough to close this book and finally learn what my new path would entail.  Each time that I thought that I finally understood what the lesson was that I was supposed to learn from my trials, I would once again spin my tires.  Time after time after time after time.

I failed to see what was right in front of me the whole time.  I was not quieting the chatter of my ego enough to listen to what my Spirit had been trying to tell me.  I was not letting go of my materialistic expectations.  I was not allowing God and the Universe to work on my behalf towards what is best for me.  I was “waiting” for my new path to reveal itself to me, and it took a very wise woman in my life to point out that I am already travelling the path that I am meant to be on.  The part of my life that I feel is in the way was blinding me and testing me, and I was failing the tests by my own ego fed reactions.

My life has changed dramatically since I finally “got it”.  My big AHA moment did not come to me in a loud booming voice from outside of myself, but from a gentle whisper in my ear – my Spirit saying, “I’m glad you finally listened.  All we expect is that you listen to us – and let go!”  When you let go of all of those things that you think are standing in your way, even if you have to endure them for just a little while longer, you find out that the little worm inside your tummy has morphed into a beautiful butterfly ready to lead you on the wonderful journey of life.

I look forward to sharing this new journey in my life with all of you.  May we learn and grow together, and may you all learn how to quiet your mind so your spirit can speak!

Please remember that this article is copyrighted material written by Vicki J. Lund for ‘Spirit Haven’.  You may share the words expressed here as long as you include my byline.  No part of this may be reproduced for the purpose of making money, other than by the author.