It is time to wake up. No matter how old you are, now is the exact and perfect time. Even if you have been unconscious for what seems like centuries, as soon as you decide to awaken, Spirit will be at your service. You will rub your eyes and stretch and notice the perfection that surrounds you. The world will look brighter. Your step will be lighter. It will feel like a new day, filled with opportunity and possibility.

Let’s get started.

Do you ever wonder when you wake up in the morning if your life isn’t just a continuation of last night’s dream? The day may be sweet or sour, fair or foul. It may seem somewhat unpredictable and out of your conscious control. It could start out great and turn weird or even nightmarish. And then it’s over and you go back to sleep, only to dream and wake up again to another day.

Ask yourself, why would I be afraid to truly wake up? If God is Love, why would I choose fear as the answer to life’s challenges? What would keep me from aligning with Spirit and being guided fully and totally by the will of God?

For one thing there is the attachment to the “story” that includes all that we have told ourselves for years about our limitations that keep us stuck. This story keeps us “special” and separated from God. We don’t know why we seem to be so committed to our “story” for this denies us access to all that God would have for us.

Well, it is time to wake up. We know where fear has gotten us and we are ready to release it in favor of love. This is what God wants for us. It is only the habit of an old, fearful thought pattern that would make us want to press the snooze button on the alarm and go back to sleep. Meanwhile, God is patiently waiting for us to wake up and enjoy the fruits of the Kingdom of Heaven.

So today, let’s set the love alarm. We consciously and deliberately wake up to God’s love. As we awaken to Love, we see it everywhere. As a result, we are both expressing and receiving love all day long. What an awakening!

Affirmation:
Today I wake up to God’s Love. I see it and feel it everywhere.

Love everything by releasing fear.

1. Just Notice…

Without spending too much time or giving it too much power, just notice what you are afraid of. First answer the question ‘What about aging am I afraid of?’ You can make a list. What is on your mind that may be a drain on your energy and a distraction away from Love? If you can, be specific. If the fear is regarding your health, what is it? If the fear is financial, name it. If it is relational, who is it and what is it about?

2. What is the core belief that this specific problem is triggering?

Such as, “Life is hard, I have to struggle to succeed, I am not enough (smart, prosperous, good looking, happy, kind), I am un-loveable, the world is an unsafe place, I never get what I want, I am a mistake, I can’t do anything right, I am destined to be poor, the universe is limited.”

We all have core beliefs. The ego created them way back when we were very, very young. And that small but seemingly powerful part of us still feeds off these beliefs as much as it can when we allow it to do so. These beliefs have run us in so many areas of our lives… for most of our lives. The older we are, the deeper the groove. Now is the time to identify them and release them so they no longer feel as if they have power over us.

When you listen to your mind chatter, you will be able to identify these core issues. They are the very thoughts that keep you imprisoned in a victim mentality. Whether you express these thoughts to others or keep them to yourself, they are toxic and extremely unhelpful. (However, now, with a little light shining on them, it is easier to see them for what they are and use your tools to release them) That is what this exercise is about.

So, when something specific is going on, like you are worried about a particular expense coming up and you don’t know how you will pay it, this single event can trigger a whole conversation in your head that is now completely blown out of proportion. It takes you out of this moment of now and brings you down so low that there is no positive energy to actually address the ‘problem’.

3. Now notice what feelings this belief brings up.

Do you feel it in your body? Where? What does it feel like? Maybe it shows up as tightness in your throat or chest, or a feeing of nausea in your gut. Maybe it is a pounding in your head or heart. Whatever it is, at least a part of you (your Higher Self) will be able to see it for what it is and embrace the feeling in order to allow it to gently release. By embrace I mean, not make it (you) wrong for the feeling but just expand to include it as a part of the All. As part of the All it has no positive or negative charge. It is harmless.

4. Are there specific emotions attached to the ‘issue’?

When you scanned your body, you may have noticed a feeling of sadness or heaviness, or anger or fear. Again, without giving them too much attention, just notice what they are. Simply by noticing and naming, something begins to change. The energy starts to move.

5. You have done your investigation. Now it is time to release.

Begin with a breath. Always begin with a breath. You may close your eyes and breathe in slowly and deeply.  Your breath is such a powerful tool.  You have it with you every single day of your life.  It is yours to use in a conscious way in any moment.  Choose to use it now.

Notice how every small step makes a huge difference. Your breath will give you information. Is it shallow or deep, slow or fast? Make a conscious connection with the breath and sit with it for a moment or two.

I have found that within the breath itself there is a ‘thank you’. Life, breathing itself, is always in gratitude. Somehow settling down and being quiet for a moment is a way to connect to that ‘thank you’. The ‘thank you’ connects you to the very Source that is breathing you in the first place.

When you turn within, and allow the breath to still the chilly waters of your distress, you are almost home.

6. Connect to Source.

‘God Is. I Am’. This is the most powerful prayer. These four short words hold the key to your Love, Joy, Abundance and Peace of mind.

As you turn away from the ‘story’ for a moment and turn within, with the assistance of the breath, to the sacred space within you, you discover a feeling very different from the fear. If even for a split second you feel the Presence, then you know it is there. You can feel a glimpse of the Love and the Peace.

If you notice that you take back the fear a moment later, you still know that there is a place within you where you are connected to the Source energy that is Love. It is only the ego that disconnects you from it in order to feed the fear. The more you give the story power, the more powerful it becomes. The more conscious you become of the pain it causes you, the more you will be motivated to use your spiritual tools to turn your back on it.

Now you can begin a practice of deliberately choosing your connection to Spirit over the shenanigans of the ego. It takes great vigilance and practice but it is well worth the effort.

Notice…choose…notice…choose…notice…choose. Choose what? Choose Spirit!

7. Expand the prayer.

Although God Is, I Am is really enough, sometimes it helps to fill out the prayer with the specific qualities you are calling forth and those you are releasing. So, if it is a financial woe that is distressing you, then you want to know the quality of Abundance. You want to know at your very core that all your needs are met and that in God’s mind ‘It is done’. You also want to release all old negative thought patterns that no longer serve you, therefore releasing all fear about the specific issue.

What a relief! God is the answer. Thank you! Breath. Smile.

Now that it is done, see if you can stay surrendered. Let God take care of it. Of course there may be some actual real-life steps you need to take in order to address the issue but the most important part is that you stay surrendered. You can follow your internal guidance system, which like your GPS will tell you which way to go. Follow it, trust it and allow yourself to acknowledge the increasing awareness of Peace as a more predominant state of mind. Where did the fear go? … Back to the nothingness from which it came!

And with a thankful heart, we simply say Amen!!

How exciting it is to discover the peace of mind that is available right in the midst of a challenging situation. If you can do it once, you can do it again…and again. So, no matter how much baggage you may have accumulated over time, and no matter how many challenges you appear to be facing, you can wake up right now to Love and Peace and Joy because that is who you are.

© 2008 Marsha Straubing