Category: Soul + Grace + Comfort

Lessons from my MRI: 6 Tips to Help You Stay Centred During an Uncomfortable Experience

The dreaded moment had arrived. For over a week, I’d avoided thinking about it. I didn’t want feed any feelings of anxiety. Here I was, lying on my back, my body slowly being transferred into a big machine. I was halfway in when sudden panic set in. I knew that I was entering into a confined space, but I had not anticipated just how narrow and confined that space actually was. For a moment, I considered squeezing the little device in my hand to notify the nurses of my emotional discomfort so that they could take me out. Instead, I kept my big girl panties on and decided to take a few deep breathes.

I am the hole on the flute that Gods breath flows through.  ~ Eckhart Tolle

I’m sure that many people who have been for an MRI would agree that it’s no fun. It can be a nerve wracking experience. I’m not exactly claustrophobic, but being inside a tight warm space with all its banging and loud sounds while the scans were under way for close to an hour definitely required a concerted effort to remain composed.

However, as soon as I focused on breathing, a sense of calm washed over me. As I breathed, I reminded myself not to resist the situation, but to accept it. For a few months now, my hormones have been out of sync. I’d been for a series of tests and needed to have the MRI to see if there was a growth or tumour that could be the cause of this. Fortunately my situation is not life threatening. It has awakened me to the underlying patterns and shadows I still need to work on healing. I’ve witnessed Divine Spirit intervene every step of the way, guiding me to the right information, health practitioners and an amazing spiritual healer at the right time. So by reminding myself of this, I knew that I was protected, safe and exactly where I was meant to be.

To talk myself out of fear, I recalled some of the lessons that I’ve learnt from A Course in Miracles – that love did not create this, fear did and that I could choose to see my situation differently through the eyes of love. When I released my anxiety, surrendering to what was, I felt my angelic guides with me. Soon enough, it was all over. I am grateful that I could apply these spiritual tools to help me through the process.

 Place your faith and trust in the essence of love rather than give power to the fear, anxiety and negativity associated with your perceived challenges.

A Course in Miracles describes miracles as a shift in one’s perception from fear to the awareness of love. Making this shift almost always requires the choice to place your faith and trust in the essence of love rather than give power to the fear, anxiety and negativity associated with your perceived challenges. My recent experiences have reminded me that our tough moments are when we need to apply this understanding the most. We also need to find ways of remaining open to the soul lessons and blessings that accompany the difficulty we go through.

That said, here are a few tips from my lessons of dealing with an MRI. Some of these tips can also be applied in other situations as well:

  1. The Power of Healing Energy – The love and light of healing energy has a powerful effect in every situation. Since Distance Reiki can transcend the barriers of time and space, I sent Reiki energy to myself in advance so that I would receive it during the MRI. I feel that the calm that descended upon me when I began to focus on my breathing was partly due to the Reiki energy coming through at that point.
  2. Acceptance – Often most of our stress comes from resisting the situation that we are facing. We may not like it or want to be where we are, but accepting our reality is the first step to moving out of the situation. Make peace with what is. This relieves some of the anxiety and frees up your energy to focus on your healing.
  4. Breathe – When we are stressed or anxious we restrict our breathing. Taking deep breaths fills your lungs and gets more oxygen to the brain. This helps the body to relax and be at ease.
  5. Make use of Remote Sensing – If you struggle with confined spaces then put your imagination to use and expand your senses. During the MRI, I visualised the room outside me where I could see my husband sitting and waiting for me. I visualised the hospital, the area and the parks outside of the hospital. I could also see the sky above me and my favourite nature spots around the city. This way, I didn’t feel so trapped.
  6. Call on your guides – The angels and your spirit guides are there to help you through all kinds of situations. Call on them for help. Ask the angels for extra support. Archangel Raphael and Michael are great companions during medical situations when you feel you need healing and protection.
  7. Use Positive Affirmations – Maintaining a positive outlook and optimism is an important part of healing. Don’t give power to negative thoughts of fear, anger, blame or guilt. Instead, draw on your mental and emotional resources to foster positivity to assist you with your recovered.

Spiritual Inspiration: Boxes and Jars

What do boxes and jars have to do with Soul Therapy or Spirituality? These are two ordinary things that can be utilized for various every day uses. However, like most things, the meaning and function that you give them can transform their purpose completely.

 

Here are a few fun, yet purposeful ways that you can use boxes and jars for spiritual inspiration:

 

Reiki Box – This is a great tool to assist with manifestation or healing. To create a Reiki box, you basically use any small box. Write down a dream or goal that you would like to manifest or an area in your life where you need healing on a piece of paper. Place this paper in the box. You can also add crystals or small objects of spiritual significance into the box if you like. Then send Reiki and positive intentions into the box.

According to Reiki Rays: “… whenever you want, you just send Reiki to the box, intending that it goes to the situations identified by the pieces of paper in the box. This works very well, because the energy is guided by your intent. And when you added the requests, you intended that the healing you send to the box goes to them.” (www.reikirays.com)

 

Calming Glitter Jar – A Calming Glitter Jar is a meditation tool. It can be used for both adults and children. Many people use them whenever a child feels stressed, overwhelmed, upset or as a time out. I made one for myself a while ago to use it in stressful moments. It’s amazing how watching the sparks of light reflecting from the glitter as it floats through the fluid helps me focus my thoughts and come back to the present moment. See how to make one here:

“Imagine the glitter as your thoughts. When you shake the jar, imagine your head full of whirling thoughts, then watch them slowly settle while you calm down.” ~ Angie Yingst

Find out how to make a Calming Glitter/Mind Jar –http://www.dumpyourfrump.com/2011/09/29/use-a-mind-jar-to-calm-yourself/

 

box

Pic via Pinterest

God Box – God Box is one of my favourite angel oracles in Doreen Virtue’s Angel Therapy Oracle Card deck. The angel message that accompanies this card asks you to write your worries, concerns or desires on a piece of paper. You then place this piece of paper into a special box, referred to as a God Box. This is meant to be a way of letting go of your concerns and allowing Divine Spirit to help you.

 

Dear Universe Jar – I came across this idea in the lovely Jen Sauders’ blog – My Smiling Heart. Jen created her Dear Universe jar as a way to help her focus on her gratitude and goals more. For this, all you need is an empty jar. You can paint it or decorate it however you like. Place this jar at your bedside or in your sacred space. Then when the inspiration arises, write little gratitude notes or requests to the Universe and place them in the jar. On days when you feel down or unfocused, you can also pull a note to two out to reread them to remind yourself of what you have to be grateful for or what is important to you.

jar

 

Pic via Pinterest

Becoming Empty

Winter has set in here in the Southern hemisphere. Although the part of South Africa where I live is blessed with sunny winters – the mornings, late afternoon and evenings are still chilly by our standards. For comfort, I light candles in the afternoon, burn warm cinnamon scents in my oil burner and of course drink hot cups of tea more frequently throughout the day.

Over the years, having a cup of tea has become a part of my spiritual practice. I love the variety, exotic aromas and adventure that every new flavour and type of tea brings. I love that it can be healing, soothing or energising depending on what you need. But most importantly, it offers me an opportunity to be present and mindful.

tea

pic via Pinterest

Fellow tea essayist, Frank Hadley Murphy, described the ceremony of drinking tea beautifully when he said that: “We make tea in an empty vessel and then we become a vessel to receive it. The practice of maintaining this emptiness runs through all the world’s mystical traditions.”

Zen philosophy uses the empty bowl in a similar analogy. In Zen, the empty bowl is a powerful symbol used to describe the state of emptying yourself and your mind of the things that present barriers to your connection with your inner world and Divine Spirit.

tea2

Pic via Pinterest

Adopting this idea has thus allowed each cup of tea to become a form of meditation. To allow spirit to flow through you, one must first become empty by releasing all preconceived ideas, thoughts and charged emotions. Each time I prepare to do a reading, healing session or meditate I allow myself to become empty. Whenever I have a cuppa I am reminded of that. Bringing meaning to ordinary activities in my day has a lovely way of grounding me in the present. It helps to take me away from busy thoughts or activities and to just shift my consciousness back into a soulful state of peace and love.