Change is a beautiful thing.

Or so we have heard.

Actually change, while not always easy, fires things up a bit. Recently our family lost power for 4 days after a significant snowstorm.  We huddled around our fireplace for warmth and I continually got a visual of this lesson.  When the fire seemed ready to go out– with only some glowing embers left– a simple readjustment of the logs with the poker got it abalaze quickly. Just moving things around fired it up.  Desiring change, planning for change, and implementing a plan for change, is worth our attention. But it requires more from us that just “wanting it”.

Effective, successful changes require more than thought, planning and goals. You have to visualize life with this change and how it will positively impact your life. Secondly, YOU must really want the change, or all the thinking, planning and goal setting in the world won’t get you to your desired outcome. It is like the difference between reading a how-to book and then actually implementing it.

When we try to make changes in our life, even things that are really good for us, we may find resistance rears up. It may seem that sometimes, things get worse before they get better. If you are trying to stop smoking, you may feel you are placed in situations where everyone around you is smoking. Or a crisis may arise that taxes your nerves and has you craving your nicotine fix.

If you are trying to get fit, heal from an illness, get your financial world in order, whatever it is; if it gets worse before it gets better, that is great. This is a good sign simply because this blip is evidence of a shift. If there is an energy shift, an attitude shift– even as small as the flutter of a butterfly wing, you are stepping toward change and the universe is responding, first with what appears to be resistance, but it is really part of the re-org.

Please don’t be afraid to commit to a change until you feel you are fully prepared, you know all the answers and have choreographed it to the point that you are sure you cannot fail. Sometimes, change takes FAITH and a first step. Then FAITH and a second step…. and then a third step and so on….

You do not kneed to know all of the answers. Just simply know that you want freedom from the past way of doing, being, or believing and be willing to recreate things. Your faith and your willingness to act are two ingredients the universe uses to guide you through the How-To’s of the change you seek.

What can you control? Well, actually a lot. You can control your thoughts and what you choose in this moment. This moment is all any of us has, really. Once you are clear on the change you seek, you can ask yourself as moments arise, “Will this choice bring me closer to or further from my goal?” Moment to moment, choice by choice we will find we have arrived at the very place, or even a better place than we dreamed of.

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All the best!

Rena Reese
Founder, Soul Salon International

For the seeker, it is not unusual to reach points in life when we call, “Uncle”. Uncle refers to the game we use to play as kids when someone would twist your arm behind your back until you could not take it any further. Yelling “uncle” meant they’d release your arm.

In my experience “the seeker” is looking for three things:

1. Real truth-This encompasses all things from religion, government, personal, and world history all the way up to the meaning of life.

2. To be an agent of positive change- This usually plays out with the seeker using their greatest talents in service of humanity. This can mean using skills as an orator, writer, leader or a business person channeling financial resources to do enlightened works.  (Think of the newly launched Oprah Winfrey Network)

3. Divine Connection/Inspiration- Feeling a connection to a Divine Source –God– is what encourages the seeker to stay the course.  Oftentimes you read stories of enlightened people in history who persevered despite so much adversity because the Divine connection fortified them.  This allowed them to continue to do #1 and #2 above.

But what happens periodically in a seekers journey is what I call Spiritual Saturation. You may feel like a sponge that simply cannot absorb anymore.  Some feel that this means that they have been on the “wrong path” or that they are not being encouraged to continue.  Some may wonder if they are really not all that special after all, and offer nothing of value to a largely unconscious world.  Others may just feel tired or uninspired.  THIS IS NORMAL.

Anyone who has ever pursued a weight training program with zeal knows you cannot work the same muscle group day after day without your body screaming at you.  If you do not listen, your body will absolutely quit and the level of soreness you experience will actually stop you from training (or getting out of bed!) because you did not honor what you intuitively knew, which was that it was time to take a break and allow for muscle repair.

The same is true with your spiritual muscles. When you have immersed yourself in your work, whether that is reading, writing, teaching, researching, or another form of creation– your spirit will holler “Uncle!” when it requires a break.  And just like in weight training, allowing those days of “recovery” for your spiritual muscles actually makes them stronger.  It is not the act of lifting weights that builds muscles; that actually breaks them down.  The magic actually happens after when you are at rest and enjoying proper nutrition. Your muscles rebuild making you stronger.

So, if you are in a place of Spiritual Saturation right now you must honor it. Allow time for muscle recovery and when you do you’ll come back stronger than ever. My suggestion to clients who are in this place is to focus on the opposite realm.  So if you are physically taxed from exercise, take a few days off and dive into a good spiritual text. If you are Spiritually Saturated, put your copy of Eckart Tolle’s book away and get physical. Step away from your desk and exercise, hike, get near a body of water, meditate at a sacred place for you.

Things will right themselves soon and you will find yourself more inspired, more aligned and more focused than ever before.

If you believe someone would enjoy and benefit from this post, please share it. Just click on the + Share button and you will see lots of options for sharing it with friends including email, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Thanks!

All the best!

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

Rena M. Reese is the founder of Soul Salon International, an inspirational multimedia company. She is the author of several inspirational titles, a professional speaker and coach as well as the host of a weekly radio program, The Soul Salon. For more inspiration and information, please visit www.SoulSalonInternational.com and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter @TheSoulSalon.