I have been on the road heading to the west coast and moving into a new life.  My first step away from Toledo included several challenges with a car that I purchased that had some issues that are still being resolved.

There were moments of upset and struggle and there were moments of surrender to a higher good that was not always clear and apparent to me.  I did feel the Presence was with me through it all.  Every situation has brought forth the mirror of my current capacity to handle stress and my ability to release my plans and expectations.

My plans included being at my destination already.  The circumstances have kept me in Chicago waiting for the latest report on what is happening with my car.  When I will leave is still unknown.

So how do I remain centered and move beyond the issues at hand.  While stressed my toolbox full of great spiritual tools momentarily seemed inadequate to handle my mental block.  Once I naturally gravitated to deep breathing, practiced my meditation and used the spiritual life skills that I know work, my anxiety was lowered and I became much more available to clear thinking and saw more than the dark clouds that were blocking my awareness.

Making decisions from an unbalanced place won’t ever turn out well.  So I am grateful for the daily spiritual practice that I have kept up with for so many years, that even when I have no clarity in the moment, I do have the practices so ingrained within myself that I naturally went to those skills in an urgent moment of stress and struggle.

Daily spiritual practice pays off especially in moments like I just described.  They are jewels that we have within ourselves that take us beyond the circumstances that come up in our lives that we are not expecting.

One of my favorite practices is “Hong Sau,” and it is taught on the Ananda.org site under meditation techniques.  Ananda is filled with many great resources so enjoy the website.

Know that you are loved,  Rev. Barb Walley