With spring around the corner many people take to cleaning up and sprucing up their homes. It's almost as if with the birth of spring there is a desire to get rid of things that no longer serve us. There is something that drives us to renew our surroundings. Feeling clean outwardly, planting pretty flowers, all those things seem to generate a feeling of health and well being.

What came to my mind concerning this, is that spring is also a good time to do a spring cleaning of our soul. It's interesting that while we take pains to clean the outward surroundings, often we forget to cleanse the inner self.

Take the time to sit down, meditate, and breath. Ask yourself, what is there in my life that needs cleansing emotionally, spiritually or mentally? What can I let go of that no longer serves me? Where have I been spinning my wheels, and how can I regain some traction in my life?

Letting go of all those extraneous things that we either can't control or fix releases energetic resources that can be better spent elsewhere. In that light here are some spring cleaning exercises for the soul:

1) Find a calm place somewhere around or near nature. Sit near a tree, a lake, or on a rock and allow your mind to still itself. Breath deeply in through your mouth and out of your nose. Listen to the sounds around you and begin to deliberately relax your muscles. Start with your feet and go all the way up to your head. Breath in Universal Light, (God), or whatever your particular belief system happens to be.
2) Create a diary. Ask yourself what you need to let go of, and make a set of goals for yourself. Envision the things that no longer serve you as dead leaves. Watch them blow away in your minds eye all the while breathing deeply. With each outward breath you blow away the hinderances in your life. Remember not to pick them up again. If you do repeat this exercise and be patient with yourself.
3) Find daily positive things to focus on. There are all sorts of positive intentions, prayers, and even rns feeds with daily meditations.
4) Do some sort of daily exercise. This releases endorphans and helps your mind and body to let go of stressors.

Pig in a Waller

I was praying last night about forgiveness, and what to do when someone refuses to respect your boundaries, or continues to insult you with their actions or deeds.  What came to me is the analogy of a pig in a waller:

A pig by nature loves it's waller.  In fact a pig is not happy unless it is literally immersed in mud and guck.  They eat the garbage and refuse no one will touch and are perfectly content in doing so.  They are the most innately perfectly unclean animals that we've domesticated. 

Now can you imagine if we got angry at the pig for its nature?  What if we held anger, bitterness, resentment against the pig for wanting to live in a waller?  Taking it further, some have even tried to create a pet out of the pig.  They dress it up, clean it, train it, even potty train the thing especially the small little asian pot bellied pigs.  Talk about making a silk purse out of sow's ear!  No matter what you do, a pig is still a pig.  Either you live with its nature in harmony and forgiveness for what it is, or move on to another animal.

By the same token those who continue in shameful or despicable actions in my mind is equivalent to a pig in a waller.  This has absolutely nothing to do with me or anything we have done, or will do in the future.  Their desires are their own.  What they do, and what they choose to fill their soul and spirit with is not something we need to take responsibility for.  While it's normal at first to be upset and angry at the disrespect, I've come to the conclusion that the person most disrespected in this is not me, but the person themselves. 

We are what we feed ourselves through our minds, our eyes, and our body and spirit.  If someone wishes to feed themselves dirt and muck, or continue fill their soul with that, then we do not need to take that to heart as a personal affront. Their choices will lead to consequences emotionally and spiritually not to mention psychologically. 

In short we need to just walk the path in forgiveness recognizing that such a soul is just being true to their nature.  These are their choices to evolve out of the waller, or remain in it.  Our job is not to be dragged down into it with them.  Creator made it clear, channel the Light, be the Light, walk the path you are called to walk, and let Creator deal with that particular soul and their waller.