Category Archives: Spiritual articles

Blessed Independence

Posted on by

In the United States today, we celebrate our independence. But how independent are we? The following questions are meant for personal reflection. Because only when we reflect personally can we accurately reflect on our country, and our world. Fortunately, it follows that when we have personal realizations, Ah! Ha! moments, and positive changes within ourselves, they also come to fruition in our world… Even if they don’t seem to!

Take a few moments to answer these questions for yourself. Answer intuitively – don’t “think” about the answer. These immediate answers, your very first thoughts about the question, are the answers that are really true for you.

1. Are you free? Or are you in bondage?

2. Do you feel free? Or is something holding you back from being who and what you desire?

3. Are you independent? Do you consciously, knowingly express your free will and ability to choose what you want? Or do you choose things unconsciously, or because others think you should?

4. How does it feel to be truly free?

5. Is freedom a gift? Why?

6. Do you celebrate your freedom? Or has it lost its luster? Why?

7. If you knew you were free in every way, how would you feel? What would you do? Who would be in your life? What kind of life experiences would you desire?

8. What can you do to make freedom a personal reality in your life?

Some ideas:
* Positive affirmations
* Visualization of the life you deserve
* Lovingly releasing what you don’t need in your life
* Accepting that, yes, you do deserve only good in your life
* Overcoming guilt
* Giving yourself love and being willing to receive it from yourself, rather than the approval of others

Don’t you think it’s time to make true freedom a reality? If so, then start with yourself, because yours is the only life you have the power to create. And what you create in your life, moves outward from you and touches the world around you.

Create discord, and you share discord. But create freedom, and you share a priceless blessing that, in its purest form, not the definitions we give it, can never be taken from you or anyone else.

Shuttle: A Tool for Change

Posted on by

As a weaver, I really value my shuttles. They make weaving easier and faster by carrying yarn or thread across the width of the cloth, and they can pack the yarn in place. But it strikes me that shuttles are a symbolic tool for change, not just in weaving, but also in life. Here’s why.

Organize colors. If a piece has many colors, shuttles keep each one neatly wound until it’s needed.

Like emotions, different colors can tangle easily. But when the shuttle holds them – when we step back and look at all our colors-emotions, then we can decide which one we want to weave-feel next. We can lift ourselves from one color, from one emotion to the next, until the cloth is as beautiful as we imagine it.

Carry threads. The shuttle carries threads back and forth through the warp, creating cloth. Back and forth, back and forth. Sometimes it’s monotonous, but with each pass of the shuttle, we’re moving upward. With each pass, another tiny amount of cloth is created.

In the same way, we sometimes feel like we’re experiencing the same things day after day after day, or year after year… But really, we’re moving upward. With each experience, we learn, grow and change, creating more life, adding to the tapestry of our own journey in this lifetime.

Beat cloth. There should really be another term for this… Beating is simply pressing threads into place after the shuttle carries them across the cloth. Though some looms have beaters just for this, shuttles can beat as well. When the beat is even, the cloth has a smooth, balanced texture and the same drape throughout. Otherwise, there may be thinner or thicker sections, unstable areas, or other differences.

It’s important to have a balanced life, like a balanced cloth. If we focus too much on career, for instance, we may not experience the fullness of a picnic, spending time with friends, or just learning something new. Balance isn’t always easy to achieve, but it’s worth the effort to create a fulfilling life – not just a few pleasant areas.

Who knew we could learn so much from a simple notched stick? Well, they don’t call it weaving for nothing. It’s called weaving because everything, in cloth and in life, is inter-connected. And whether we like it or not, it always will be. So use the shuttles of your thoughts, words, actions and choices to weave the best life you can right now.

BIG: Lessons from my Yarn Stash

Posted on by

“I weave.”

“I knit.”

“I crochet.”

“I spin.”

And even…

“I sew.”

These creative crafters have something in common, other than their penchant for making things. I should know – I weave. 😀

What do we have in common? A yarn stash.

This yarn stash gets used up, to a certain extent. But more often than not, we keep it around. We like to look at it. We enjoy touching the yarn. We love the way the fibers feel running through our fingers. And most of all, we relish the yarn’s untapped potential. What might we make with it? Our imaginations run wild with limitless possibilities!

We can learn a lot from yarn stash. Remember that limitless potential? It’s within each of us, just waiting for us to bring it forth into our lives! And here are 3 more truths. I call them BIG.

Begin!

A very good place to start… Acknowledge that you have a yarn stash. Enjoy it. Release any guilt you feel for having it. Don’t worry about what you’ll actually make with it, if you make anything visible at all. And while you’re at it, forget about what others think of the stash. Throw that right out the window, because only your thoughts create for you – someone else’s thoughts create for them, not for you. Just love the stash! I think we can all do that.

The hard part might be loving yourself. Everything you have, everything you do, everything you see is here for a purpose. Love it. You don’t have to like it, but begin by acknowledging where you are. Only then can you move forward and actually feel like you’re making progress.

Begin! Now!

Inspire!

How do you feel when you look at your yarn stash? I’m just guessing here… But I bet the word awesome isn’t awesome enough! Is it beautiful? Is it soft? Functional? Bright? DO you have lots of fibers, or maybe a few favorites? Get inspired! Because unless you feel that joyous wow feeling about something, your stash, and your life, will be boring to you. No one wants to create boring things… Or live a boring life.

Inspire! Today!

Give!

You thought I would say grow, didn’t you? Well, I’m not saying don’t grow, if that’s any consolation. You can “grow” all the stash you want! But to receive new yarn stash, whether it’s given to you or you buy it, spin it yourself or by some other means, you first need to give some away. And it doesn’t have to be yarn, either. You could give away something you’ve made. Or spend time teaching someone your craft. You could even buy yarn from a company whose ethical, business or recycling practices you admire.

The idea here is to give, with a cheerful heart. That feeling of inspiration we all seek? Feel it, then give from that place. The law of the Universe is flawless – when you give, you have no choice but to receive in return!

Begin, inspire, give – and you will be rewarded, in yarn stash and in life!

What is ZPoint?: Part 2

Posted on by

ZPoint is relaxing, meditative, authentic and manifesting. What is ZPoint? Part 1 explains these points. But ZPoint is even more than that.

5. ZPoint is non-judgmental.

In ZPoint we learn not to judge our thoughts and feelings. We learn not to see things as good or bad, but just to observe them. If we don’t like how they
are, we have the chance to clear and change them. But initially we let go of all judgements about our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and circumstances. This
is very freeing.

6. ZPoint is allowing.

ZPoint is all about allowing. We learn to allow our desires into our lives. ZPoint will never bring us harm or negativity. And it won’t take anything away
that we need. It always works in our best interest. However, in order to see results, we need to allow ZPoint to work for us.

Even though ZPoint works subconsciously, we can still resist it. Our only job is to repeat the cue word and to allow the process to work. Maybe this is
why Grant Connolly suggests “yes” as a cue word. This way we say yes to the process and allow it to work for us.

7. ZPoint means letting go.

ZPoint helps us let go of and clear away the things that don’t feel good in our lives. In clearing and releasing negative feelings, we also release all
thoughts, beliefs, emotions, assumptions, memories, attitudes, etc. that are attached to them.

We keep our memories, but they no longer have a negative effect on how we see ourselves and our lives. By letting go, we allow ourselves to experience life
as good – very good.

ZPoint is very simple. It’s so simple that some people find it boring or too good to be true. However, ZPoint works for everyone who is willing to try it
and who persists in believing they can have something better than what they’re feeling now.

For more information from Grant Connolly, the creator of ZPoint, please visit ZPoint for Peace at
www.zpointforpeace.com

What is ZPoint?: Part 1

Posted on by

ZPoint is not a brand new process. However, it may be unfamiliar to many. This article will briefly explain what ZPoint is.

1. ZPoint is self-awareness.

ZPoint means becoming self-aware. To practice ZPoint, we need to be aware of how we really feel about things. We don’t need to become aware of that truth
on our own. The process brings out our true feelings. ZPoint promotes authentic self-awareness.

2. ZPoint is meditation.

ZPoint is a meditative process. It’s been said that prayer is talking; meditation is listening. Assuming that’s true, ZPoint puts us into a receptive and
meditative state.

This is not a hypnotic state. We stay awake and aware throughout ZPoint, unless we fall asleep. But it is a meditative, listening way of being. We simply
observe what’s going on within and around us.

This is meditation at its finest. It can take years of practicing traditional meditation techniques to achieve this observant state. But with ZPoint it’s
possible in a matter of minutes.

3. ZPoint is manifestation.

ZPoint helps us let our desires take shape in our world. Manifestation means making the invisible or imagined, visible. ZPoint involves manifestation because
it brings positive things into our lives.

When we learn ZPoint, we use the healing program. This is just a series of statements that tell our subconscious mind how to respond to ZPoint. In this
program, we tell the subconscious mind to “affect the highest possible outcome by this clearing.” This means ZPoint will manifest only the best for us.

4. ZPoint is relaxing.

ZPoint is a wonderful way to relax. It naturally slows down the mind, releases stress, and increases feelings of well-being. When we feel good, we’re relaxed.
And when we’re relaxed, we feel good. ZPoint is a simple and effective way to truly relax.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this article! Meanwhile, please visit Grant Connolly’s ZPoint for Peace website at
www.zpointforpeace.com