Go With Joy

I was reading this channeled message called "Brenda's Blog" and I came across this sentence. It screamed at me. I thought I would share it just in case someone else needs to read it too...

The only paths that will delay your progress is to deny your joy by only meeting the needs of others or to punish yourself for something you believe you did wrong in this life or any other manifestation of your being in the Universes. www.LifeTapestryCreations.com: ”Burst into Bloom With This Solstice”

We all have things we believe we could have done better. I am a champion at second guessing myself. Could I have done this better? Could I have been a better mom and my daughter would not have had to experience such a challenging young life? Could I have done better at that reading, journey, message, class? Could I have been a better listener? Did I do enough to help that person? Did I hear that message correctly? Was that really a message from my ex-mother-in-law or did I imagine that?

Or, how about this scenario? I really don't want to do... (this or that) but I am expected to or I am worried about what so and so might think if I say I really don't want to do this. I will be expected to give a reason for saying no.

Of course I want to live a life of service to others. But not so much that I stop enjoying my life. When I get to the place that I am constantly giving to others and I am not taking any time to enjoy my life, then I have failed.

Today I spent time with a friend who was telling me about her triumph this past year of being able  for the first time  to say "no thanks" to what she had felt was her obligatory presence at holiday events. It gave her such joy to say, "I am sorry, I will not be coming over for Thanksgiving and Christmas," and not to feel obligated to come up with a reason why she was not attending. This was very freeing for her, and rightly so. How many times do we show up at events because we feel we are expected to? And if we don't, how many of us come up with shoddy reasons why we cannot attend?  What is wrong with saying, "no thanks" and not having to come up with some reason why?

The best way to tell if you are on the right path is to notice whether or not the particular path you are on is giving you joy. If it does not, then maybe it is time to rethink that path. I received a message years ago that I turned into a chapter in my book, Whispers of Joy, called "Supposed To's" in which I come to the conclusion that the only thing we are supposed to do is have joy. Over and over again when I ask my Guides which is the best path to choose or what decision should I make, they ALWAYS tell me that they will never tell me what to do. The feeling I get when I think of a decision is the guidance I am given. Does this decision give me joy?

I would like to encourage you today to think about joy.  Think about what gives you joy and what does not. If you are not able to make a big decision like deciding not to go to Aunt Mary's for Christmas, or not to take a particular job even though the pay is twice what you are making now just because it does not give you joy, then think about something small.

I will qualify this challenge by saying that sometimes unhealthy addictive behavior seems to give us joy for the time being. This is a different issue. Some things that are unhealthy or destructive could masquerade as joy. But true joy is deep inside and makes our heart sing. This is the joy I am talking about.

Just for today, do one thing that gives you joy. Don't allow your sense of obligation or duty dictate to you what decision you should make. Go with the joy. And then just see what happens.

The Boogie Man

A few days ago I decided to do my daily meditation in the backyard. We were having a particularly beautiful day and I couldn't resist the urge to enjoy it while also connecting with Spirit. I had just gotten home from the gym and a forty five minute stint on the elliptical machine, my favorite tool for connecting with Spirit as well so this was just a continuation of an ongoing conversation I was having with Spirit. I have to write down what Spirit tells me quickly or it is lost forever in the recesses of my memory (or lack of it) so here goes.

I was visioning myself on an elevator to the upper realms and when I got to the upper realms I was met by a group of Beings. They were all dressed in white and greeted me kindly. My habit is to always ask if the Beings I am connecting with are of the Light and I did so, even though it appeared that they were. They assured me that they were of the Light. For some reason I asked them about the ones who were not of the light. It had never occurred to me before to ask about them. My upbringing in the church I was raised in talked a little too much about the devil and demons and since my departure from that belief system I had not ventured into any thoughts of darkness or demons and I found this suited me well. I found it interesting what they told me so I thought I would share our conversation.

The Beings of Love and Light told me that the Universe is very large and to think that there were not any beings who were not of the light would be foolish. "Of course there are," they told me. "However, the laws of the Universe are true anywhere in the Universe, not just on earth, so they have to abide by those laws anywhere they are." I wondered what laws They were referring to and They told me.." the law of attraction of course."

These Beings of Love and Light told me that as long as I intended to keep my vibration level high and committed myself to being a person of integrity and love, that the beings of darkness would not bother me much. "You are too much work," They laughingly said. "They prefer to prey on those whose energy is low or who live their lives in default, and earth is filled with people like that." In other words, people who drift along with every breeze and allow life to pull them around by the nose are easier targets than those who live their life with intention. Also those who focus on darkness or see a boogie man around every corner is an easy target as well. Energy attracts like energy.

The Light Beings I spoke with assured me that as long as I focused on light and love that things would continue to go well for me. If I was to come across any energy that was not of the light, it was because that energy was looking for help. I could rest assured that I would not be harmed.

I asked the Light Beings why is it,then, that bad things happen to good people? Why do our cars or houses get robbed, why do we have identity theft? Why do we get sick? Most sicknesses, they replied, is not a result of an attack of a lower level entity, they replied. It is a result of the heavy energy of the earth, environmental factors, agreements that souls make before they incarnate, or a number of other factors. On occasion it is a result of an attack of a dark entity, but not commonly. A lot of the other things that happen to good people are a result of faulty boundaries, a belief that something bad would happen, negative relationships that as a result draw the bad experiences, or self imposed karmic repercussions. Many times, they said, good people live with a lot of subconscious guilt, which in turn releases a message that they have a need to be punished. Subconsciously they draw to themselves these experiences as a form of punishment.

I will save some of the other things They told me for another blog, but I will end with this. I asked the Beings of Love and Light if there was a name They would like to be called, because the name I was using was a bit long. They told me I could call them The Watchers, because They were always watching and would never interfere unless called upon. I like that name, so from here on I will refer to them this way. They have been around before, They said, and I have referred to them by this name before. I am not much for complicated or Angelic sounding names, so the Watchers seems like a good fit.

Thanks so much to the Watchers for the message and the information. I am looking forward to future connections with them.