If we are not fully alert and aware, it is easy to get caught up in the flip side of the holidays that is more like a frenzy than a joyous celebration.  If we are not centered in spirit or a higher power, it is easy to catch a down pulling attitude and like a virus, it  invades our well being with thoughts of shoulda, coulda, I ought to be, I better do this or buy that for this one, all generated out of an intention to do what we think will make them happy and it is a sure fire way to fail miserably.  It might provide a moments satisfaction, but the end result will not support wholeness.  It is a trap of traditions and family patterns that hooks us year after year and distracts us from the real joy of the holidays.

The holidays always mirrors what is and has been moving within us.  If we are paying attention we can see what is working and what is out of balance and what absolutely has to change.  Our family ties are very strong whether they work well or not, we can get caught up in the family dynamics and it might feel energizing and joyful or it can be stressful, confusing and upsetting.  We all have patterns in our relationships that are there to challenge us to move up the spiritual ladder toward the Divine within us.  We all have a higher nature, the Buddah or Christ Consciousness within us and we have a great opportunity at this time of year to attune more easily to that higher vibration than we do at other times of the year.

You are not your DNA.  Whatever patterns we inherited, they were a part of that which we were meant to transcend and move beyond.  Patterns that came with us from previous incarnations that are usually family emotional patterns that our parents and their parents also carried.  It’s an energy field that we carry until we take responsibility for the drama that our patterns create in our lives and the lives of others.  Once we realize the patterns that we have and decide to bring these emotional blind spots to the light in our own lives we grow in wonderful new ways.  When we handle the emotional states that are present, a healing begins that will bring forth clarity, integrity and a freeing of that energy to be used more creatively.

These shadow patterns are learning vehicles that might be centered in fear that had been repressed for centuries and projected on to others, causing family feuds and wars that are endless.  There is wisdom waiting to be discovered in the awareness we find hidden in the very core of the dynamics.  Perhaps it was a feeling of being powerless or a need to overpower others.  Some people felt compelled to be in positions of power over others and they might have developed habits of deception, coersion or manipulation.  It might have come through abusive natures and limiting communication systems. Many of us had fear of not having enough or being enough.  It could have shown up as sexual confusion, repression or abuse.  It could have been a sense of being lost and unloved.  There are so many ways this can be played it is mind boggling and unique to each person and family system.  Whatever the pattern, you have seen it and experienced it many times in your life.

The one thing that we can count on is that we have family dynamics that we must rise above that will eventually be left behind if we intend to grow deeply and express the divinity within us.  The good news is that you have an emotional intelligence within you that can and will help you establish a greater wisdom and balance than you have ever believed is possible.

We are living in exciting times when spiritual masters are available to help us transcend the beliefs and habits of generations who lived in the darkness of separation from the light.  I invite you to ask spirit, what do I need to know to continue to grow on my spiritual path and be willing to receive the answer.

I love you, I believe in you, and I know that you are precious in God’s Eyes!

Rev. Barb