There's a lot of ideological principles out there these days that try to explain how to become more of a spiritual person, and how to tap into a power that will allow us to heal ourselves emotionally and physically by virtue of an intelligent energy that manifest itself through acts of metaphysical occurrences.nnHere are some defintions; Main Entry: 1spir•i•tu•al Pronunciation: Ãspir-i-chY-wYl, -i-chYl, -ich-wYl etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French espirital, spiritual, from Late Latin spiritualis, from Latin, of breathing, of wind, from spiritus Date: 14th century 1: of, relating to, consisting of, or affecting the spirit: incorporeal2 a: of or relating to sacred matters b: ecclesiastical rather than lay or temporal 3: concerned with religious values.nn Wow! That's a mouthful, aint it? Here's mine: Spiritual: The awareness of ones connection to an energy that is invisible and all knowing. The idea that an intelligent omniscient power manifests material changes by desire, request or intention is becoming more and more an acceptable belief of many. Some people call these acts, miracles or acts of synchronicity. Carl Jung coined the term synchronicity. nnWhat it basically means is that if someone is in need of something, a physical manifestation will occur that coincides with what that person needed. He called it "Meaningful Coincidences." Don't let the terminology shake you. If you believe in a God or energy that can help you, then you most likely believe that this energy can manifest itself by means of physical and emotional healing. And if you are accepting all or part of what I'm saying, then you probably also believe that if you connect with this energy then the acts of synchronicity/miracles can occur more often. nnSo why then, and especially with all of the significant increases of spiritual teachings, tapes books and seminars, are we not growing significantly more spiritual? Well, based on what I call Flowing Spiritual Logic, the answer has to be because we are not connecting well enough to the energy source. And why is this? Well, with all the spiritual tools we have such as more and more spiritual teaching. herbal remedies, meditation groups, yoga groups, spiritual seminars, and help from the richer and richer westernized spiritual gurus, how can we find the better way to connect to SPIRIT? Our brains are wired to accept new information as just that, new information, and will not process it as the same old repetitive stuff we keep digesting. There is nothing new, and there is no SECRET to staying connected to SPIRIT. nnPlease don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong in and of itself in going to seminars or reading the next new great spiritually relevant book. The problem with it all is that we need to stick with a system that works initially and then continue growing with that system. Our mind tells us we need to have more, and it tells us we need to rely on the teachers and tools. The tools, such as meditation, prayer, And groups are ways to get to the source, not the source itself. Use what works and try to stick with that. nnMy main point is this Spirit/God/Energy/ Whatever you call it, is in the PRESENT MOMENT, and by staying in the present moment with Spirit (as I more often call it), we continue to grow quicker and with permanent results. Once here, what happens is a gap begins to be created that gives us the opportunity to heal conditioned hurts from our past. There is no need to work hard at looking into the past or thinking about the future. As you remain present, your thinking becomes clearer, you are able to plan better for your future, you have more energy and motivation, and the hurts from the past begin to more and more reveal themselves, giving you the opportunity to release them. And that's the last piece. nnThe releasing needs to be a process of allowing the hurts to surface in the form of emotions, and not so much thoughts, and releasing the hurts. You do this by being aware of the emotions, and then releasing them. I have found what I believe is a simple and extremely effective way to release negative emotions, and I do use the word negative. Some of the gurus would insist that using the word negative is not a good thing to do. Again, as I said early don't let the terminology shake you. nnKeep it simple, try it for yourself, and judge everything for yourself. Our thinking processes are so complex it can be very difficult to maintain control over all of the thoughts our brain generates. Emotions on the other hand are more specific and we can more easily tap into them. A feeling of anger is just that. A feeling of fear is also just that. And you don't have to give a specific name to the emotion. In other words if it makes you feel bad, then practice releasing it. And don't worry; you cannot release positive spiritual awareness. nnSpirit generates peace love and positive feelings and emotions. I say this because sometimes our selfish ego can be so deceptive that we might develop the belief that we have overcome our selfish ego, and are as spiritual as we need to be. That's not being spiritual. That's being deceived. Be careful that you are growing genuinely, and not making you selfish ego even stronger. If you're truly connected to source and experiencing the present moment, you will continue to grow rapidly, and true love peace, happiness, and manifestation will surround all aspects of your life. nnA good way to judge this is that if you relate better to all people. You have less and less negative judgment, you find yourself not debating much, thinking as much, needing to be right, having good positive relationships, financial stability, etc. I use words like better and less. Remember that we will always have a mind and body, and will have positive and negative experiences all of lives. We will only be perfect when we leave these bodies. So enjoy the moments. The presence and the releasing techniques I will show you will help you get closer to peace in a shorter period of time. And if you do not attain all of these things, your humble attempt is the most important factor. The genuine positive emotions and feelings will reveal themselves as you practice presence and releasing. nnYou have a Spirit inside of you, and it only generates love. It cannot get ride of itself. So no matter what you release, love and peace will remain. So here is the specific tools for releasing. When a negative emotion arises, say the following directly to the emotion or feeling. I am aware of you. I acknowledge you, and I release now and forever. Continue repeating this until you feel better. And if you don't feel better immediately, you will over a short period of time. nnThe next simple step to do is to put a positive feeling in place of the released emotion. And please don't let what I call the selfish ego say things like, "is this my ego or my spirit self that is filling this space?" Who cares? By practicing presence and releasing, the answers become clearer and clearer and if you are operating in some error, you will see it and more readily be able to correct it. Try not to force or worry about the results. That's it. This incorporates what I believe is the best of the best of what you will find from the teachings that are out there. And to repeat more concisely, the steps to truer healing are these: nnPractice being present/in the here and now.nLearn to become more and more aware of negative emotions/feeling.nLearn to full acknowledge/accept (not like it necessarily), the emotion or feeling.nRelease the emotion.nReplace the emotion with generalized positive feelings (they don't have to be specific). nnThat's it. You really don't need all the books, teaching, etc. And if you are using them, make sure that as much as you are using tools, make sure you are practicing much more-so being in the presence of LOVE/GOD/SPIRIT/SOURCE/IT/YOU, ETC. nnPeace and Love, nRon Figueroa, M.A., Licensed Mental Heath Counselor. Spiritual Counselor. Ron Figueroa has been in the healing field for over thirty years. He is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Hypnotist and has expertise in various energy and holistic healing techniques. You can contact Ron at: 845-399-2098 or
www.centerforwholelifehealing.com