Ascension Tips Many of us are being faced with things we didn’t want. They weren’t a part of our vision boards or our affirmations, and they weren’t goals on the list of things we were trying to manifest in our lives. In Where Did My Path Go (Bellesprit, Jan 2013 http://www.bellesprit.com/asc-tips-jan-2013/), I discussed the idea that we’re always on the path regardless of how far off it we feel. In this article, I’d like to talk about how to deal with those unwanted circumstances we find ourselves in. We’re going to be in them, for a while anyway, so we might as well make the best of it. Two years ago my husband and I were hit with an unanticipated financial situation. We couldn’t sell our old house when we moved, so we rented it. But now our renters had left months ago and we weren’t finding another buyer or renter. I had just published my book, Clear Channel, the year before and was enjoying giving talks on spiritual topics and conducting private healing sessions. I felt fully on purpose. But it wasn’t a consistent, reliable paycheck. I felt forced to go back to my first profession—speech pathology—to guarantee the mortgage could be paid. Having a paycheck would be good, but speech pathology no longer felt on purpose for me. To make matters seemingly worse (or better, from the Universe and my soul’s perspective), I had to take a job in the schools. I had previously worked in brain trauma and loved it, but there were no brain trauma jobs where I lived. When I was in graduate school in NJ, I purposely did not take a course which would have allowed me to work in the schools in that state. I never wanted to be put in the position of having to take a job in the schools and I was doing all I could to make sure it never happened! I could almost hear the Universe laughing at me for thinking I had control. The first day back, I found myself in a windowless, cinderblock walled office that I shared with two other therapists. The office had four doors connecting to other offices, so it was more of a pass-through than a true office. The only thing that stopped me from crying was the thought that someone might walk through one of those doors and I’d die of embarrassment. I knew I had to take my own advice to my clients. I knew there was a greater purpose in my being here. I knew that this was part of my path, too. I was in the right place whether I liked it or not. This was my life and I wanted my life to be happy, and I knew it was up to me to make it that way. Find Something “Not-So-Bad” I also consciously resolved to find something that was not-so-bad in each moment. I wasn’t ready to find something good, so I just looked for something not-so-bad. That was extremely helpful because it kept my focus off of the things I felt I had lost (like my radio show that I became too busy to keep up with). I reminded myself that this wasn’t going to be forever and I could do anything for a while. It was also not lost on me that I had a full time job when many others in the country could not even find that. Check Your Mood I constantly checked my mood. I wanted to be happy. Happy feels good and it has a high vibration. So I constantly checked in. I resolved not to stay in a bad mood. I knew it was my job to control how I felt. There is a lot of choice involved in our mood, even though it sometimes feels like something that happens to us that we can’t control. If I felt badly, I knew it was time to look again for something that was not-so-bad. Soon, I began to be able to identify things that were actually pretty good. Let me be clear. I’m not talking about denying your authentic feelings. There is a time to go into them, feel them fully, and learn the lessons they are trying to teach you, but there is also a time to move back to feeling good. With more time and practice focusing on the good, I actually became excited. The talk track in my head would sound something like, “Yea! Only two weeks until break!” Or “Yea! I’m in my favorite school today!” Yes, I was actually saying “yea” in my head, over and over again and it felt good. Be Alert for the Lessons My belief is that we are here in this incarnation to learn and everything we face is for our benefit, so I’d look for the lesson. I’d look at what was being provoked in me and see what needed to change in me. If nothing else, I’d use this return to work as an opportunity to grow. After four months on the job, there was a personnel change and Mrs. Robins (that’s what we’ll call her anyway) came into my life. She was angry, passive-aggressive and mean. She attempted to violate procedures and make it difficult for those around her. She made me so mad! I wondered how I was going to get through the school year with her around. I felt miserable. That was my key. I knew I didn’t want to be miserable, so I had to find a way to deal with her. Then I had an epiphany and realized that Mrs. Robins was going to be my greatest teacher that year! I did not have anyone in my life that was manipulative enough to push me to that level of frustration. I needed Mrs. Robins! I became so excited to go to her school to see what she would throw at me and to find ways within myself to react only with kindness, assertiveness and compassion. I greeted her with a big, genuine smile every time I saw her. Over time, my compassion grew and I realized that she must have been very hurt in her life to cause her to behave the way she did. As my reactions to her softened, I watched her behavior toward me change as well. I know that my soul grew as a result of having Mrs. Robins in my life and I am thankful for that. Find Something to Hang On To It’s very easy to say, “Have faith that it’s all on purpose,” but it’s hard to only have that to hang on to some days. It becomes easier and easier as I live my life from a spiritual perspective, but it can be tough when things become hard, so it can be helpful to find something to hang on to. My psychic friend, Lizzie, told me there was a little boy at school who needed me. I would impact his life in some way. That kept me going for a while. I looked into the eyes of each male student who came through my door, asking him in my head, “Are you the one?” Focus on Service After a while, I was able to branch out from looking for that boy and realize that I was there to help many—both students and staff—and they were there to help me as well. I was able to show up each day and say to Spirit, “Show me how to serve today.” Truth be told, it started out as, “Well, I’m here anyway, so you might as well use me!” But it ended up a heartfelt dedication to serve each day. There are so many ways we can serve each other, even if we are not in a helping profession. It can be as simple as smiling at everyone you see or holding the door open for the person behind you. It became fun to look for more ways I could serve. I even reframed the things that I hated, like billing and note writing, as service. There were times when doing my billing was the best way I could serve in that moment. Soul Growth I’m happy to say that I’ve left the schools and I’m back to doing my writing and sessions full-time. So many of us are being faced with having to make choices to do things we don’t want to. If you find yourself in a “bad” place, doing something you don’t on a conscious level want to be doing or you are facing apparent struggles you are not happy about, relax. Look for the positive, no matter how small. Notice your emotions and strive to move to better ones. Know there’s something in the situation for you. Help others along the way. Know that even if all you do is bring the highest vibration you can, that you are helping others. Your soul wanted something in this experience, so that’s what you’ve attracted. You might as well enjoy it! Views:]]>