What an interesting journey I went on via this morning’s contemplations. A journey to the world inside ourselves that reflects outwardly into a glorious macrocosm.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.” II Corinthians 1:3-7

The first words jumping out at me were “patient endurance.” That sums up our journey this year pretty well, hasn’t it? We are so much stronger and resilient. Looking back, it is as if we have been to the gym and have been working out, breaking down and rebuilding muscle. Shedding our masks and letting the insulating fat of our old selves just fall off as we raise our presence in the world.

Wisdom. We’ve been journeying toward the divine light of wisdom inside of us and been practicing to see it clearly. Through the footsteps of our journey, we’ve amassed a knowledge bank of experience. We can have a dear grandparent impart valuable wisdom to us, but some things we just have to learn by doing the work, by making the mistakes, and doing our best to correct them. Yes, we know it is hard and we see how many struggle on their own journey toward wholeness.

“The heavy is the root of the light. The still is the master of unrest. Realizing this, the successful person is poised and centered in the midst of all activities; although surrounded by opulence, he is not swayed. Why should the lord of the country flit about like a fool? If you let ourself be blown to and fro, you lose touch with your root. To be restless is to lose one’s self-mastery.” The Tao, Laio-tzu, Verse 26

This verse of The Tao directs us to go inward for our patient endurance. To stay centered and balanced in the midst of many things that could sway us. But then I had to ask my guidance, what is the thing most blocking us from reaching that place of poised centeredness within us? The answer I received was that the fear and discomfort of vulnerability is what keeps us from reaching our divine center. One has no idea, unless they have made the attempt, how much courage it takes to face the things about ourselves with which we are most afraid. But to reach the other side of the bridge to our destiny, we must.

“David also said to Solomon his son, ‘Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.’” (NIV) 1Chronicles 28:20

The temple is the divine peace at the core of our being, Our Light, and it does take conscious work to get there. Nothing about this journey is typical or normal. We must be willing to be vulnerable, that is, to be strong enough to be vulnerable and honest enough to face buried pain and unprocessed negative experiences. It is to turn over the soil of where we are most raw and tender. While we do so, we plant seeds for others to do the same for themselves. Employing the self-love to do this for oneself and then aiding others is one of our greatest personal achievements. In order to get to the divine wisdom inside, the light that radiates from our hearts, we need to flex our muscles to summon our strength, go inward, get past our walls and blockages by being willing to be vulnerable and hold our fears up and out into the light. The tendency is to protect our hearts with armour fearing they are delicate. But to truly empower ourselves in this journey, we need to realize the incredible power of a fully open heart. When we have cleared these core woundings with the light of self-love and compassion, we stand more firmly on a foundation of integrity and kindness, our choices are ethical, we radiate warmth and hold compassionate space for others, inspiring them to carry it forward.

A tool we can use to get answers here is to ask our higher selves and our guides to show us the answer before we fall asleep. I’ve used this many times and it works. Set the intention to be given the answer or guidance during our sleep in the form of a dream or message. Keep a notebook and pen by the bed so you can write it down right away (trust me on this.) You will have the answer either during a dream, when you first wake up or while waking up. Another tool is to see yourself cleaning out any muck and darkness until your innermost self is sparkling clean and shining brightly on the inside. Visualize this before going to sleep, in that in-between stage of wakefulness and sleep, or several times during the day. Lock it in by being already thankful for it.

The next important phase of this incredible process is that of gracious receptivity. One of the most potent parts of this process is feeling gratitude for all that you are going through, the good and the bad. We may even realize that in order to get in shape, we must tear down old muscle in order to grow stronger and healthier. When we shift our perspective from what we are lacking, needing and desiring, we replace being in survival mode with thriving mode. Clearing the blockages to our inner light gives us the gift of resonance with peace inside and the library of divine wisdom that is there for us.

When we’ve wrestled our alligators, and reach the flow of thriving, we can acknowledge how we’ve come and be grateful for the divine process and all the assistance that brought us here. Being in that flow feels like an abundant overflowing from inside. We realize that receiving is not selfish like we’ve been taught, but rather being an integral part of the natural flow of things. Since like attracts like, more blessings flow to us and we feel anchored in appreciation. Patient endurance is an expression of love for ourselves, for eachother and for the miracle of life.

See related post: As We Manifest