Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
A Sacred Blessing as You Begin Your Journey
May you have faith that your future is safe.
May you find self-acceptance.
May you see only the reflection of your beautiful inner light.
May you release resentment from your heart and find restful peace.
Awaken
Feel the stirring of your soul.
Every day, I would drive alongside a field where an abandoned, crumbling old cottage sat surrounded by a mass of dark, gnarly trees. It reminded me of a scene from a horror movie.
I wondered how the cottage would have looked in its youth. I tried to imagine the stonework in perfect order, creamy in colour and clean. I would see the tin roof and wooden windows in order, keeping the elements at bay. I imagined a long driveway leading to the place someone had once called home. However, the trees would always cut short my vision. They stood out for all the wrong reasons, and I wondered for a long time why they hadn't been cut down. That was before I witnessed their incredible springtime transformation for the first time.
Every one of the dead, dark, gnarly trees suddenly burst into life with a magical display of the most beautiful, delicate pink blossoms. Not one failed to bloom. The field was instantly transformed with a mammoth flurry of pink blossom petals.
All it took was the right conditions for the trees to bloom. They had sat there dormant, innocently and patiently waiting for spring. Did they realise their dead look could have been enough for them to be cut down and their beauty lost forever?
Sometimes, we too have to retreat into a dormant state, where we patiently await our own spring to come around in order for us to bloom again. Just like the trees, being in this dormant state preserves and protects our inner sanctum from the harsh life elements that surround us. It is a necessary function in order to survive while we wait for the return of the right conditions that will see us bloom again. It is a natural process to go through and one that all too often we are denied, due to demands placed upon us to always be and look "happy".
Nature has many lessons to teach us: lessons of survival, of restraint, and of unbridled regenerative power.
If we feel as if we are in a current state of dormancy, or heading there, a walk in nature will quickly nurture our soul. A walk among a pine forest after a rain storm, or along a windswept beach, will quickly remind us of our own fragility and delicacy. It will also remind us of the innate strength and regenerative ability that lies within. It will show us the yin and yang of life, which we are, of course, a great part of. It will teach us that dormancy is a natural survival tactic and a successful one.
If you are experiencing "dead wood" syndrome at the moment, take time and be gentle with yourself. Let nature remind you how to achieve balance and harmony through rest and renewal and connection with the elements.
When the time is right, you will bloom magnificently and shower the world in your very own cotton candy-coloured blossoms.
Sacred Renewal Ritual
Awaken to Your Dreams
It is time to plant dreams.
This ritual will aid in the manifestation of your heart's desires.
Creating Sacred Space
Create a sacred space with red flowers for passion. Add four candles to represent fire and rebirth. Their light represents the very energy you wish to attune to. As you light each candle, call upon the elemental forces of the earth to activate your ritual:
• north: the element of earth for strength
• east: the element of air to carry away your troubles
• south: the element of fire for purification
• west: the element of water for cleansing
Adding fragrance in an oil burner or to a bowl of water heightens the power of the ritual.
You may use patchouli oil, which is a stimulating aphrodisiac, or sandalwood to evoke a meditative atmosphere. Whatever you choose will be right for you.
As you pour droplets of the essential oil, give thanks to their over soul in acknowledgement of their gift to you. Sit quietly and take a few deep breaths. Look at the beautiful sacred space you have created. Listen to the sounds around you. Breathe in the fragrance you have chosen, the scent of the flowers, and the warm molten candle wax. Be aware of whatever taste you have in your mouth. Be aware of the touch of the clothes on your skin. Be grateful for the gift of your senses.
Let your focus fall on your breath. With each in breath, welcome in peace. With each out breath, send out love.
Feeling safe and relaxed, let your attention go to the centre of your heart. You see the glow of a soft green light. Focus on the light and see it become more intense. The green becomes deeper in colour and intensity. The middle of your chest is glowing in iridescent light.
Soon you notice the light from your heart centre has completely surrounded you.
The entire room is now glowing with emerald magnificence. In front of you, a green door appears. It is an old door made from ancient timbers. Step towards the door and pull on the solid latch. As you open the door, you see a meadow before you. It stretches as far as your eyes can see. Step through the door. You have nothing to fear.
Feel your feet plant themselves firmly on the ground as you pass through the door into the meadow. Feel lush green grass under your bare feet. You have entered a sacred meadow. Wriggle your toes; feel the softness of the grass underfoot. Take a deep breath and devour the scent of fresh green grass.
The meadow is covered in beautiful, delicate flowers of every colour of the rainbow. In one quick moment, wild flowers surround you. They reach out to touch you as you pass. They beckon you to lay down and spend time in their loving embrace. Their easy motion and sweet perfume lull you into a state of deep peace. Lay down for a moment.
Let the meadow flowers wrap around you like a beautiful blanket, keeping you warm and safe. Looking into the sky, you see a butterfly gently fluttering towards you. Its wings are vivid blue. It lands upon your nose to rest.
Smile at this blissful encounter with such an innocent creature. Notice there is something attached to this butterfly. It is a tiny ribbon of a colour that only you know. On the ribbon, you see written in tiny words "Tell me your wish".
You whisper your innermost heart's desire to the butterfly and watch as your spoken words appear on the ribbon, as if by magic. They are written in delicate silver thread. Your butterfly takes flight and heads for a nearby tree. As you look closer at the tree, you see it is covered in ribbons of every colour, embellished with silver threads. Your ribbon has found its place on the tree.
This is the sacred desire tree, tended by the guardians of the meadow for those of pure heart. It is only as the delicate flowers unfurl around you that you notice butterflies in their millions, flying across the meadow to the tree and then back into the clear blue sky.
Feel blessed for this remarkable encounter. Give thanks to the butterfly, the ancient tree, the beautiful flowers, and the soft green grass. Inhale the scent of the sacred meadow one last time. Then step back through the ancient door. You are home.
Relax in your sacred space for as long as you feel necessary. When you are ready, give thanks to Mother Earth and the elements for their life force.
You may wish to write down your desires and gently tie them to a favourite tree with coloured ribbons. Or you may simply record them in your affirmation journal.
Discovery
Catch the wind.
Have you ever arrived at a destination, only to think, I don't remember getting here? As we go through the motions of our day, we are generally on autopilot. We move through throngs of people, looking, but not really seeing. We hear them, but we are not listening. We respond automatically, without thinking.
Our heads are so full of thoughts of things we desire or need in order to get to where we want to be in life.
We move through life, searching for things to acquire because of what we feel they do for us and how much better we perceive we will feel when we have them. We are glitter seekers. But what are we missing if we focus only on these things, which we expect will add some glitter to our lives?
I regularly walked along the same path from my home, which ran parallel to a busy main road. The footpath was in pretty bad shape, and ultimately, I became uninspired with this route. It was not pleasant to the eye, and my mind was always full of chatter; I fell out of rhythm with walking altogether.
One day, I decided to walk the route again, but I made a commitment to myself to look at it with fresh eyes. I decided I would not look at the condition of the road or footpath, or the number of cars and homes along the way. Instead, I would look for things that I probably passed by a million times and never took notice of, and I would cease my mind chatter by running a commentary in my head.
I discovered an olive tree at the start of the footpath, not too far from my home. It was in full bloom, with tiny olives on every branch. Tiny white, pink, lilac, and ruby flowers dotted the footpath with beautiful bursts of colour. Fat bees sat upon the tiniest of flowers, bending in the breeze. Gorgeous bamboo shoots lined the creek bed. With greatness and strength, the mature shoots protected the fresh young green shoots as they flourished and found their way upwards towards the sky. At a glade, a beautiful kangaroo and her joey stood together in the long grass. How many times had I missed these things? Tiny balls of flowers and tiny white trumpet flowers grew in places where it seemed impossible ... and then I reached the ocean at the end of the footpath. It never ceases to take my breath away.
The colours are even more beautiful when the sand mixes with the whitewash, and the sky blends smoothly into the horizon. I realised just how blessed I was to be there in the moment, to see such beauty, to hear the ocean, to feel the wind on my face and the sand beneath my feet. The scent of the seawater was incredible, as was the unexpected nudge from the wet nose of a beautiful dog that stopped to say hello. I couldn't resist saying hello right back.
From my one conscious decision to approach something differently, I had a completely new and amazing experience. It made me think. What if I could go back to the day before and instead of moving through it on autopilot, I had the chance to relive it consciously? Would I see just how many opportunities I missed, where I could have thanked someone, smiled, touched them with kindness, looked them in the eye as they spoke to me? Would I see how many times I missed the opportunity to help another? What beauty had I missed by being so distracted?
I had become so aware of the stunning amount of abundance that surrounded me, just by looking at one part of one day in a different way. I saw the solid gold that is underneath all of the glittery distractions we are so mesmerised by, and from that moment on, I chose consciousness.
A Divine Gift for You
The universe sends love to soothe your cares.
Acceptance
Close your eyes and breathe.
If you saw the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, you may remember Veruca Salt. Veruca was one of the lucky children who found a golden ticket and entered the magical chocolate factory. Veruca was famous for her "I want it now." tantrums. She was a demanding child, to the say the least.
The movie was released in 1971, when life was considerably calmer. Today, we live in a world where everything is delivered in an instant and expected in an instant. Goods, services, work demands, home demands, and replies to texts, emails, Facebook messages, tweets ... they never stop. The list is endless, and the pressure to produce and receive on demand is increasing.
All of us want something: success; peace; a new job; a new partner; to be slimmer, fitter, healthier, wealthier; to go on vacation; to get back from vacation; to catch up with everything we've fallen behind with; for it to be Friday again when it's only Monday morning; to win the lottery and never have to work again. Do we want to wait for any of that? No, we want it now. Admit it: We all have a piece of Veruca Salt in us.
Okay, so we may not scream out our demands like Veruca, but we sure do internalise them. So, is it okay to internalise rather than verbalise our demands? If nobody hears our demands, is that okay? On the face of it, yes, but someone always hears our demands: We do. Our soul hears them, and the universe hears them.
The universe listens to all of our demands: every single one of them. To make things worse, we make double-sided demands such as, "I really want the job, but I know I won't get it." or "I want to win the lottery, but I never will." Sound familiar? Just what is the universe meant to do with double-sided demands like that?
When we send out double-sided demands to the universe (vocally or internally), we remain in a state of stasis. We may ultimately get what we want, but it will not come to us easily.
Instead of sending out double-sided demands, we should have a clear intention of what we desire and why. Clarity is the key because we may uncover something about ourselves along the way. The next step is to really feel into the desire. Feel like we already have the end result. Imagine it, dream it, see it, feel it. Don't let any negative thoughts get in the way; otherwise, we will lose our creative momentum. The more we practice, the easier it will become; our desire can and will come to us. It is the natural law of attraction. Remember: This is our creative process, so no blaming anyone or anything if we don't get what we want, when we want it. Just get back on track and focus, focus, focus.
Is this easy? Hell no! Especially when we have a million other thoughts pushing for pole position in our head. It takes practice, like anything new, and may require a whole new way of thinking, as we are so conditioned into believing that we are not worthy and only the lucky ones or the rich ones get what they want.
Creation requires letting go of double-sided demands and taking responsibility for our thoughts. To do that, we have to let in some peace and allow ourselves some space in which creation can grow. It means slowing down and shutting off the internal noise of our own demands. So next time our inner Veruca Salt shows up, demanding results while stamping her impatient feet at us, tell her what millions of kids, adults, and Willy Wonka have wanted to tell her since 1971: "Shut the hell up, Veruca!"
Sacred Acceptance Mantra
I choose this path from a place of love.
I am blessed with the knowledge that who I am has nothing to do with success or failure.
I walk this path, knowing a beautiful life is in store for me.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "A Jar Full of Fireflies"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Sharon Spence.
Excerpted by permission of Balboa Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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