Spiritual Detox - Cleansing and Purification for the Soul

There is a weird sense of anticipation when you let go of something and yet, haven't yet taken hold of the thing that you desire. This is what 31st December feels like. To many, it's filled with excitement for the "new", hope for change, trust that things will be better. Yet for others, it's still laden-ed with the weight of unfinished business, tiredness from doing too much over the festive season, confusion regarding readiness to launch into the deep.

No matter what end of the spectrum you find yourself, i find it helpful to engage in some rituals that bring about alignment. For the intellectually-inclined, this may sound like mumbo-jumbo but i encourage it to go beyond the faculty of reasoning and see if your soul may say "YES", even in a small way. Can i get a nod?

I find it extremely helpful to go through a detox routine. I wrote about this last year. However, this year i found a fascinating tool when i started engaging my time of silence and solitude. I want to share my exeperience here with you and my goal is that you find something that works for you.

In my time of prayer, i felt led by God to engage in a process of "Purification and Cleansing". I saw a picture of a pipe that needed a strong water to pass through it. This water forced out residue, clogs and rusty pieces out of the pipe. I understood that to mean unhealthy and unwholesome things that have latched on to my soul in process of living life in 2012.

I began my ritual by cleansing my ears with the water. I prayed and cleansed things that i have heard or entertained that are unwholesome. Then i moved to my eyes. Things i allowed myself to see both i the natural and in the mind's eye - defeating and distracting images of myself and how i perceived others. Then moved to my nose. I prayed over foul smell and things that felt "off" but i allowed. Then the next one was my mouth. This needed a lot of cleansing! I had spoken and uttered words that were not life-giving, i cleansed myself of the negative statements and hurtful things i have said to myself and others. I moved to my hands - things i've done or failed to do, then my feet - places i shouldn't have been, things i should have walked away from.
The intensity kept growing as i moved to my heart. Boy, the seat of my emotions, thoughts and will. I prayed against the clutter that have taken residence in my imagination, i cleansed myself of negative emotion and energy. I prayed psalms of cleansing and renewal.

The next step was to ask for an "in-filling". It is dangerous to empty one's self and not replace the bad with good, death with life. I asked God till "fill my cup" with love, life, goodness, joy, abundance.

At the end of my ritual, i felt lighter in my spirit, but tired in my body. I knew i needed more rest and restoration. It's like coming out of the theatre, you are not going to the sports field immediately. You will need to rest and recover.

Well, this is what 31st December feels like to me. It's peaceful, soft and tender. I am slowly starting to feel strength arise for the next chapter. Here's what i recommend to you: 

31st December 2012 - Aim to be "clear". Be in the place of releasing 2012, but ready to take hold of 2013. Carve out space in your soul, empty your hands, lift up your head, open your eyes wide and gaze into the not-so- distant horizon of 2013.  

Life is a Risk

RISKS
To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams, before a crowd is
to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk despair.
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard
in life is to risk nothing.
They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they
cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live.
Chained by their attitudes, they are a slave, they
have forfeited their freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.
   (Author: Unknown)

The Mystical Challenge for the Number 12

When you see the number 12, what comes to mind?

The first word that drops in my mind is… SPAN... When I think of 12, I think of the spanning of time or event. The number 12 in the natural represents space and time. I think of how our day is divided into 12 hours day time and 12 hours night time, our year divided into 12 months, which help give us a grid for the passage of time. Some 12’s that immediately come to mind:

12 Midnight.

12 signs of the Zodiac.

12 Chinese Animal signs.

12 stars in the flag of the European Union.

12 people on a Jury.
12 steps program.
12 months in 2012.



But there's more that comes with the number...

Numbers are very important in various Religious and Spiritual Systems. The bible is layered with the use of the number 12 in significant and symbolic ways. According to many scholars, the number 12 denote governmental perfection. This has been shown many times in the bible through both the government of heaven and earth. The number 12 has to do with laying foundations for organizations, systems, protocol, procedures and accountability. Let's look at some biblical instances:

• 12 Sons of Jacob in Genesis who later became the 12 tribes of Israel.
• In the New Testament, Jesus had 12 Disciples, who later became the 12 Apostles. Interesting that when Judas killed himself, his spot had to be filled.
• 12 Gates of the temple
• 12 Gates in the Book of Revelation.

There’s just something about God’s order through numbers.

Has it occurred to you that there are 12 months in the year 2012?

Pause and think about that for a minute.

Is there something in it for reflection? Is there a code to be deciphered? Is there a message in it?

Ok, let's not be too deep here. Let's move to a more practical approach.
As the first of twelve months wraps up today and hope not too late, I want to challenge you to draw up 12 things you’d like to journey towards. This is very different from New Year’s Resolution. This has to do with the significance of the power of the number 12 as revealed. It could be more system, government or leadership in your life this year. It could be a Study you’d like to do, setting clear steps for your life vision, 12 challenges to overcome obstacles in your relationships. 12 Steps to Financial Freedom etc My 12 challenge is to read 12 Books in 2012.

If you do decide, I’d love to hear about your 12 Steps.

2012 - Right in Step With The Full Moon

I do not claim to have any magic stick or spiritual powers, but what I’m about to share is simply my fascination. I love synchronicities and “appointments with destiny” thrill me. I pay attention to the encounters where my personal moments suddenly seem orchestrated by the grand designer of life.
Let me set the stage. From my last post entry, you would notice that I went through some time of reflection, soul-searching and meditation at the end of 2011. Well, that is my end-of-year ritual. I do that every year to close it.
However, this ending was different in 2011. After the spiritual detox and reflection, I felt led to do a physical detox. I was feeling quite unhealthy, bloated and blocked physically, so I embarked in what I know how to do, a crash detox (which i highly un-recommend but will probably do again). It felt great only at the end of my very scary procedure and hence, no further details will be provided.
Even after that, It felt like there was something else still calling for my attention. I intuitively moved into a time of a space detox. I cleaned the house with my husband, removed clothes and shoes that were no longer needed etc. Then I moved on to Electronic/Digital Detox. I rearranged folders on my computer, deleted old information, assembled all scattered documents to the same place , deleted email addresses that were no longer helpful or useful to me at this season of my life, went through my audio and also did an audio detox, sorting out old CDs to be given away, and keeping the ones I would still listen to.
Now all of this has been taking place between 20 December 2011 to 9 January 2012. It has been a fairly intentional and long days of just aligning my spirit, soul and body. This morning (10 January 2012), I woke up with such a sense to research the “Full Moon” of 9 January 2012 (I have been fascinated and passionate about full moons for many years). It suddenly dawned on me that “Full Moon is a time of purification, purging and getting rid of things that are no longer serving us. It is also a time of spiritual and emotional detox.
I realized that I have been in some weird way connected to the rhythm and movement of life. I am now feeling a new energy, a great attunement and a readiness to take on my goals and head in the direction of my life, more powerfully.