Spiritual Growth

Spiritual growth is like childbirth.

You dilate, then you contract, you dilate, then you contract again.

As painful as it all feels, it’s the necessary rhythm

for reaching the ultimate goal of total openness.

 Marianne Williamson

 Our experience tells us that spiritual growth never proceeds in a straight line. For both of us it comes and goes. Like the moon, it waxes and wanes, and at points it appears that growth is no longer proceeding. The truth is that it is always happening, every day, every night. But the feelings that you experience depend on what phase of the process you are in. We are the ones that are not listening sometimes to source energy – to the God energy – within us and around us. God is always there. We have found that “going within” via meditation and prayer has made all the difference in the world.

 Seeds Germinated

 By Marj

Seed sprouting

 Seeds, that had been planted perhaps as early as my birth or before, lie in waiting for the “rich soil” or the “right circumstances” to allow them to germinate. This process has been going on my whole life, but I did not recognize the extent of the possibilities.

*At the death of our daughter Anne, I was in my kitchen talking on the phone, when I was consumed by Light. At this point, a whole new awareness of the process of growing spiritually began. I was catapulted into contrasts – despair and joy – that were beyond my understanding of what was possible.
The summer after Anne’s death occurred, I had another experience that sent me into the “high flying” category. I found myself hiking in the rain forest wilderness in Peru, near a village of hunters and gatherers, and observing hand-sized tarantulas. As we hiked, our accompanying Botanist, Cabeto, was describing the eco-system we were exploring. He was explaining the life cycle of the familiar Philodendron plant. It is a vine. In the rain forest, the seeds fall to the ground. On the floor of the forest there is very little light. Once it sprouts, the tiny little vine has to grow toward a tree, with limited time to make it to the light. So it grows up the dark side to conserve energy. It has tiny little seed leaves that don’t even look like the Philodendron that we know.

But when it reaches enough light, it grows the huge leaves that we all can recognize.   Cabeto reached down and picked up the tiny little traveling vine and hung it on the bark of a tree as high as he could reach. I was struck with understanding – literally like the light bulb going on! Energy was streaming through my body. It lasted for hours.Cabeto

Large philodendron

I had been living life at the level of this little vine, wandering around looking for the tree to climb to the Light. But now that the seeds had been “planted,” I no longer felt that I was wandering or that I was not in the Light. Major challenges still abound. Set backs definitely still occur. I am still dealing with fear sometimes. But, I know how to get back to balance. I start over again, keeping the discipline of meditation at the beginning of each day. It gets me to a higher vibration. From there, I can see more clearly. The song says it well, “On a clear day, rise and look around you. And you’ll see who you are…”

What were the “seeds” that began to germinate within me?

  •  A knowing that life goes on. There is no such thing as death as I had thought earlier. I had believed earlier in life after death, but now I know without a doubt, we go on somehow, somewhere, living.
  • A knowing I did not have life defined right. I have experienced something I had thought impossible. What else do I not know that is right in front of me?
  • The seed of openness to new beliefs emerged. A new, and much stronger desire to find out how this world really works, germinated! In fact, it has been a continuous search like portrayed in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I HAVE TO FIND OUT! It is a wonderful journey.

So how can this help you?

  •  One key is to “listen” to your feelings.   Feelings are the language of the soul.[1] Feelings let you know if you are on the right path. If you are feeling scattered, you may be slightly off the path you want to be on.
  • Pay attention to your intuition. When our daughter Anne was a baby, I was warned that I was being prepared for the death of a family member three different times. It was not a voice – it was more like a thought. No one died. So I put this message in the category of “just” thoughts. Intuition and slightly different “thoughts” are two of the ways you can “hear” God speaking to you.
  • There is no such thing as coincidence.[2] Listen to the “friends” you have not yet met, that are right there with you. They may seem like strangers, but they have messages for you embedded in your conversations. There are signs everywhere.

* For more detail, look under OUR BOOK – Marj’s Light Story

[1] Walsch, Neale Donald, Conversations with God.

[2] Walsch, Neale Donald, Conversations with God.

Neale Donald Walsch wrote his first book Conversations with God Book 1 when he was a totally broken man and began asking God questions. LOTS of questions. He began receiving answers. If you have never read any of his books, the first two books are a great place to begin! His answers may seem unusual to you, but you may find they really help develop your own questions. You may find that God’s answers resonate with you.  We were meant to question, ask God and grow.

Conversations With God Book 1           Conversations with God Book 2           Conversations With God Book 3

Book 1                              Book 2                            Book 3

If you are looking for one of his books that will challenge your thinking about the future, you might try reading Tomorrow’s God. Both Marj and Terry found this book to be very thought provoking and great for us to read given today’s troubled world.

 Neale Donald Walsch - Tomorrow's God