THE CORONAVIRUS: WHAT CAN WE DO SPIRITUALLY?

SUCH IS THE WORK OF ANGELS

(Please note: This article has nothing to do with being pro-vaccination or anti-vax, nor does it pertain to any attitude regarding Covid-19, masks, the medical community, etc. Those are personal choices. This is about rising above the polarities that divide us rather than an attempt to sway people to our point of view, and broadcasting what light and love we are able.)

 

Many of you have felt in recent months, either consciously or unconsciously, that something adverse was coming our way that was going to affect humanity. With the advent of the COVID-19, the first stage of what we were awaiting arrived, almost overnight.

We have a growing abundance of sound advice on what to do physically and socially to cope with this pandemic. But what can we do spiritually? Some simple steps follow, along with an easy eyes-open meditation at the end.

Mass consciousness, that collective cloud which is a mixture of the feelings and thoughts of every human being, is currently in shock. We are on pause. Nobody knows what is coming or agrees upon what to do.

When people go into shock from an accident or injury, they also go into a state of hypnosis, which means that they are highly suggestible. The critical, discerning mind of those who are in shock turns off, and anything that they are told they are likely to accept without question. If, for instance, someone who has just been injured in a serious car accident is told, “Help is on the way,” he is not likely to question that statement.


Our mass consciousness at this point in time is not unlike that of an accident victim, and is similarly in a state of high suggestibility.

That suggestibility is a wide-open corridor for those who feel called to inject more Light into humanity. [The term “Light” is a catchall, since readers are of many faiths. Feel free to change this word to whatever of a high order may be in your belief system.]

Many of you who are reading this are ready, willing, and eager to do exactly that. Following are some guidelines that you may find helpful.


STEP ONE


Avoid getting sucked into the lower vibrations of the mass consciousness.

Although we refer to it as consciousness, it is largely unconscious. Mass consciousness is an amplification of what has been termed mob mentality and consists of the collected thoughts and emotions of all people. Think of it as being like a cloud covering the planet; the heavier and darker the frequencies, the nearer it clings to the planet’s surface and the easier it is to access. Right now the mass consciousness is at a low point, for there are elements of fear, insecurity, and restlessness occurring throughout humanity.

This zombie-like cloud  is strangely appealing and magnetic. Lower frequencies take less work to generate, and tend to draw us in. Think of being in a room with  someone who is angry or depressed. The angry or depressed individual does not usually snap out of it and rise up to our level; rather, we are often dragged into a state of negativity simply by proximity. Mass consciousness works in the same way as being in the room with the unhappy person. It is curiously tempting to become swept into the lower, negative vibrations. It takes less effort on our part, and, as bleak as it may be, there is a strange and almost irresistible comfort in joining with another person or with a group where all are thinking or believing in the same way, even if those thoughts or beliefs are damaging.

How can one avoid being strangled by such dark mass thought forms? Several ideas will follow. Since we are all different in our emotional and mental make-up, there is no universal solution. What works for you might not be the answer for another, just as the music or menu choices you love might not suit someone else. Simply use these suggestions as guidelines, and tweak them to fit you and your style.

Realize that your soul has been preparing for this aspect of your journey for some time now, and you have been collecting many tools to help you change your consciousness, whether it has been through prayer and meditation, reading, attending workshops, listening to podcasts, sharing with friends, or in some other way. You now possess an extensive tool chest. It is time to utilize whatever is in it. The work that lies before you is far more important than manifesting a new car or lifting yourself out of the blues or even sending positive energy to another; while that had its place, much of it was just practice for these times and the days that will follow.

Some of you are best able to rise above mass consciousness by monitoring your thoughts and emotions constantly. Should despair or darker feelings enter–and this is guaranteed to happen from time to time, no matter how noble we like to think we are–you can rise above such discouraging ruminations by forming the clear desire  to move to a higher level of thinking and feeling. Those of you who have a belief in any form of spiritual guidance may ask for help in being elevated from grim thoughts and suffocating emotions to a place of compassion, kindness, and unselfishness.

Another option is to ask this question of your spiritual guidance: What can I do to help? While the answer will probably not appear before you as a blazing marquee, and for most will not even be evident at all, you may trust implicitly that you will be used in the best way possible, depending upon your current state of development.
 After you put forth such a request, realize that there is a waiting period where it may not seem as if you have been heard, and it feels as though nothing is happening at all. Be patient. We do not see our own hair grow, and yet it is always growing!

Shifting away from negative thoughts and feelings does not mean turning a blind eye to what is. For many people, it is vital to stay informed and acquire facts, provided such information does not drown them in darkness. Some of you who are more fragile may need to take time out from that kind of information, although personal sensitivity is never an excuse to bury our heads in the sand and enter into magical thinking where we pretend there is no problem when it is, in fact, surrounding us.

It can take a great deal of willpower to keep our eyes wide open and still avoid getting mired in dark thoughts at this time, for focusing repeatedly on the negative drags us into lower frequencies. Here's why it is so difficult to do. Part of us gets a rush, a fix of excitement, from sensationalism, no matter how awful it may be. An example of this is the popularity of television shows that investigate horrific crimes. Another instance occurs when we drive past the site of a bad accident; we feel curiously compelled to stare at the scene, even though what we see might be tragic indeed. This innate appeal of sensationalism is similar to being addicted to a drug. To achieve the high, we sometimes return over and over to darker stories about what is happening, many of which involve fear or even hatred on some level. It takes discipline to step away. While we need to be well informed, any more than that has no value if it is going to draw us down into the whirlpool of negative mass consciousness.

STEP TWO

Put on your own oxygen mask first.

While there is a deep desire in many of you to be unselfish and of service (or you wouldn’t have read this far!), you will be of little help if you yourself are struggling. You must look after your own needs before you can attend to that of others.



STEP THREE

Take every positive, uplifting, practical action that presents itself.


Some of you are best suited to help by doing physical deeds of service. Most of us are not front-line workers or heroes, so the majority of these deeds will be humble ones. Do not get caught up in glamour, and believe that what you have to offer is not of worth. The artist who paints the ceiling of the cathedral could not do so if someone hadn’t quarried the stone for its foundation. 
If such deeds are accompanied by thoughts of love and compassion, they will have a powerful impact, no matter how insignificant they may seem.

STEP FOUR

Broadcast loving, uplifting vibes for as long and as often as possible.

Enter into a quiet, calm state, focus on your breathing, raise your thoughts and emotions to the highest possible frequency, and then transmit them. Even a brief minute of broadcasting loving thoughts will have an effect, so if you are only able to do a little bit, it is still significant. Of course, the more nonjudgmental, loving Light you are able to send into the mass consciousness, the more you will assist in our collective transformation.

A meditation for emanating such Light can be found at the end of this message.

Humanity is shifting rapidly. While there is suffering and fear, there are also enormous strands of unexpected sweetness, softness, and Light arising, due in part to you. Thank you.

EYES-OPEN MEDITATION

Sit or lie down in a comfortable position, and take several deep, cleansing breaths. Breathe into the bottom of your rib cage, and exhale with the intent of releasing anything that is negative or limiting.

With your eyes focused gently on these written words, let your shoulders drop. Your arms can feel pleasantly, comfortably warmer and pleasantly, comfortably heavier. Let your chewing muscles go, and loosen all the muscles under the skin of your face and around your eyes.

Imagine a beam of light entering through the top of your head, spilling into your body, and filling you. You might visualize it happening, feel it like a glow, hear it like a note of music, or simply go along without seeing, feeling, or hearing anything. However you perceive it is fine.

Focus your intent now on what it is that you choose to broadcast, such as nonjudgmental, compassionate love. It could be healing, respect for the earth and her creatures, or profound peace. It could be joy, truth, or laughter. It could be the essence of a spiritual figure. It could be strength, serenity, an end to suffering, or anything you wish. Whatever positive energy you choose, allow it to rise through your body, blending with your heart and your mind.

If you have a belief in or sense of the energy centers that some call chakras, (places near important glands or organs where we tend to store emotion, such as in our solar plexus), you might take a moment now and breathe the positive spiritual frequency you desire to broadcast into each of your chakras, one at a time, starting at the base and moving upward.

See or sense this energy, like a light, or a warm glow, or a note of music, filling your feet and toes, and beginning to swell upward through your body until it reaches the top of your head. Invite any spiritual guidance to be your helper and companion during this important process.
 
When you are filled with this positive radiance, imagine that with each inhalation, it grows stronger and brighter, and that with each exhalation it expands further outward. Perceive it now beginning to radiate out through your skin. Take all the time you want. Let it fill your aura—the inches surrounding your body—and then visualize, sense, hear, or simply know that you are extending and stretching this glorious energy even further, broadcasting it like starlight or sunlight. The further out your energy reaches, the more powerful and Light-filled it becomes.

Other people, through prayer, meditation, or intent, may be relaying an energy similar to the one you have chosen. As you continue to shine your Light, you may discover that you find and connect with their Lights, combining your transmissions.

Whether you have an actual visual or palpable sense of this occurring or whether you are simply following along makes no difference. Do your best to keep your focus, continue to radiate the energy you choose to broadcast, and do so for as short or as long of a time as you want.

Realize that you may return to the state of sending forth whatever positive energy you choose at any time, in any situation…while you are driving, waiting somewhere, working, moving, or being still. You may broadcast almost continuously throughout the day, or in little droplets. Whatever you offer, big or small, is much greater than you could possibly realize.

Thank you.

© 2020, M. E. Raines

Author and Teacher Mary Elizabeth Raines lives in Sedona, Arizona, where she is founder of the Academy for Professional Hypnosis Training. Her books and articles, including both fiction and non-fiction, can be found on Amazon and Amazon Kindle.

Copying or reproducing this material in whole or in part in any form is not permitted. You are asked to uphold copyright law and contact the author for permission if you wish to do so. Please, however, feel free to link to this article.

THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF SEX

THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF SEX

by Mary Elizabeth (Leach) Raines

©M. E. Raines, 2018

Promiscuity, casual sex, and even adultery are mainstream fare in our society. It is time, however, to take a second look at it.

It is possible that some of the early religions on our planet understood this when they put prohibitions on sex outside of sanctioned unions. Unfortunately, these once-wise recommendations evolved into pursed-lips restrictions against which many still rebel.

Here's the scoop: When you have sex with someone, your spirits enter into a sacred contract, whether you are consciously aware of this or not. You take not just part of their physical essence into your body; you also take their energy, their emotions, and their patterns into your very soul, for we are wide open and vulnerable during this act. Intimate emotional and spiritual blending take place. There is a merger of souls into one being.

Because we take on the essence of those with whom we have intercourse (or other such acts), casual sexual union without love can wreak havoc and create much misery. The imprints it leaves are long-lasting, perhaps even life-long. One spiritual teacher puts it this way: “Do not have sex with anyone you wouldn’t want to be.”

In partnership, this contract extends even further. You share the spiritual destiny of the other. Another broad term for this is karma. If one partner has karma that necessitates being robbed, both will experience the robbery. If, on the other hand, one of the couple receives honor and recognition, the other partner will also benefit from this. Our souls, in the intimacy and passion of sex, do not differentiate between incidental or promiscuous sexual behavior, and that which is accompanied by deep love and commitment. It doesn’t sort out our sexual acts and put one group into isolation, while allowing the other group to be open to the larger implications of intimacy.

Another law, then, might be: “Do not have sex with anyone whose karma you do not want to share.”

NO, BUT I'M RIGHT!

NO, BUT I'M RIGHT
by Mary Elizabeth Raines

Throughout time, clashes over spiritual beliefs have been responsible for more cruelty, suffering and murder than anything else. It is baffling that people are willing to hurt and butcher one another simply to prove that their concept of God is the right one!

I had always thought that I was different, and considered myself to be a tolerant and fair person who was above such nonsense...until a time some years ago when I found myself swept up into a disagreement with a friend about some differences in our spiritual beliefs and practices. We argued via email. It was a sad and stupid disagreement that probably destroyed a beautiful friendship.
Curiously, my friend and I actually hold spiritual beliefs that are nearly identical. It turns out that this isn't unusual.

The folks we love to hate in the name of God are often those who have beliefs that are close to our own. For the most part, we don't waste our time rampaging against people with religious views that are alien and weird compared to ours. No suicide bomber is going to try to prove his point by blowing himself up in the marketplace of an obscure New Guinea tribe who worships tree gods.
No, we turn to our neighbors when we want to wage religious wars. The most horrific acts of violence are inflicted upon people who almost believe the same things we do. That's when we really get upset. Look at the conflicts between the Shiites and Sunnis in the Middle East, or the bloodshed throughout European history between Protestants and Catholics.

Christians, Jews and Muslims, who have battled one another for centuries, share many core beliefs and even honor some of the same spiritual figures, like Abraham and Moses.
Back to my friend: I was furious that something as sacred as my connection to that which I choose to call God had been judged and found lacking. Even after our e-conversation ended, my mental chatter continued. Loudly. A tape-loop in my mind replayed the specifics of our differences over and over again. I defended myself mentally against what I perceived as his attack and, in my imagination, let him know, point by point, precisely how wrong he was. How dare he criticize my relationship to the divine??!!??
I was the one who was RIGHT, doggone it! My thoughts churned faster and faster with all the reasons I was right. My spinning mind kept me awake that night, and continued pestering me the following day, driving me to distraction.

And then I remembered a little saying I heard once:

The mental hospitals are full of people who were RIGHT!

Oh. Oops. Wait a minute.

There seems to be something inbred that demands that we win at all costs, especially when it concerns our spiritual beliefs; perhaps it's a survival technique dating back to our hominid days on the savannahs, or a way of determining who is the alpha of the pack. Hoping, however, to be vindicated and proven right is definitely not a path that leads to security or peace of mind in today's world.

One of my friends, who has since crossed over, had a motto. She used to be a long-distance truck driver, and she learned this on the highway. She was an amazing, loving person who lives by her motto. It is a great motto. Think of the suffering, both on an international and a personal level, that could be escaped by adopting it:

"I would rather be kind than be right."

     (c) 2011, Mary Elizabeth Raines

See Mary Elizabeth Raines' newest novel, UNA, available in paperback or Kindle.