Let Your Inner Light Shine

Good morning Happy Sunday and Happy Daylight Savings…as always, I am very Happy to be here with all of you today!

So several weeks ago Dan had texted me looking for dates I would be available to serve and I gave him a couple of March dates and knew that I would be chosen for today because I could hear spirit telling me that I needed to talk about light….and since today is daylight savings, what better day for it! Although maybe subconsciously I was hoping everyone would oversleep today!  Just kidding….

As always when I’m scheduled to speak…I know my topic pretty far in advance, but have no idea what I am supposed to discuss about that topic!  It seriously is a lot of pressure, in a good way of course.  For those of you that have been up here, I know you probably understand but for the rest of you….its quite a process actually….I mean, I have a topic but then I have to wait until spirit guides me and tells me what they want me to discuss, ……and unfortunately, I find that spirit works on a very different schedule than me….often times I wake at around 3am with my best inspiration and other times I find that spirit waits until the very last minute to help me…..but I guess if I’m being honest, maybe I have a little something to do with the procrastination…..

So here’s the thing….when I serve the Church and I’m guessing others who have served may share some of the following thoughts and feelings……its not an easy thing to do….. and so here is what happens to me:   First, I agonize about finding a topic of interest and then about finding the right words that will be inspirational to some of you, and maybe if I’m lucky, ALL of you…and for that matter, I want to find words that inspire me as well……but then……then I need to worry about the rest…..about how I look?  Right?  Because I want to be comfortable and be able to properly identify with who I am, but wearing ripped jeans and boots doesn’t quite provide the professional appearance that Church would like to uphold, so I try to find a balance because if I’m not comfortable, then I won’t be able to deliver my lecture and my mediumship messages to the best of my ability?  And then its my hair…because after all, should I wear it curly or straight, should I wear it up or down, or…or….or…… ….oh no, I start to worry about my gray hairs because they are soooo visible….I haven’t had time to get to the hairdresser….so I wonder….maybe I can just tuck the grays under and no one will see them….  Sigh….Next thoughts……I wonder what people will think of me…sure, its my Church family, and I will have plenty of moral support …but the rest of you that don’t know me or have never met me, what will you think?   (Wow she’s short, man does she speak quickly, she’s so hyper….oh my God…..can you see the gray in her hair ….I think you get the idea….

I think we all agree that we are spiritual beings having a human experience.  Nothing new, I’ve said it before, in our human form, we have been conditioned to think and act a certain way, based on what is and isn’t acceptable in society.  I think its pretty accurate to say that at one point or another, every one of us has experienced negative self talk (even the most confident, well spoken individuals have at one point or another experienced this), and I think it is also accurate to say that at one point or another, every one of us has sat in a place of judgment of another….

But wait….I’m supposed to be talking about light right……I’m getting there I promise….

I woke a couple of weeks ago to some freshly fallen snow (not like the crazy heavy snow this past weekend)…this was just a light dusting and it was early morning before the kids were up…..meaning it was quiet in my house… and I wasn’t distracted and so I was able to notice the sun, which had just risen and was shining through the trees in my yard, reflecting beautifully off the snow…. and I remember feeling such a sense of peace, calm, love, a feeling of being connected to something greater…not alone and that got me thinking about how important the role of ”light” is in our lives.  In fact, just about every religion somehow incorporates light in its teachings….we are taught that light represents all that is good and darkness represents evil,  that light is knowledge, darkness is ignorance, light represents hope, darkness despair. We light candles in memory of our loved ones, we send people light and love, we light the darkness during the Winter Solstice. We need light for creation.  People fear the dark.

Light is power (and in case you were unaware, I’m sure the recent storms have reminded you of that). I can honestly say that in the 14 years I have lived in my home, we have never lost power…however, the Nor’easter a couple Fridays ago, in the middle of my cooking, we lost power (I don’t know, maybe spirit was trying to tell me something about my cooking) ….but that of course meant no light!  Well, it really wasn’t a big deal for me but it was the first time my kids experienced it. It was interesting to see their reaction as the house went from being completely lit up (for anyone with young kids, I’m sure you can understand that that means that EVERY SINGLE light was on in my house) to total darkness in a split second.  They actually went into a slight panic mode….fear set in, they could no longer see us, or their surroundings  and immediately they started talking over each other and scrambling until we were able to turn on our phone flashlights (I mean, thank god our phones are always with us huh?) and ultimately was able to light some candles so we could find our way around……that’s what light does for us…..it helps us find our way in the darkness….

I find that throughout my life I have had various moments of self reflection, especially during challenging times…but I have found that the past several months, really since the beginning of the year, I have been pulled into a sort of deep meditative/reflective state of being….and I have to say, I don’t think I’m the only one….seems most people I speak to are in this same sort of contemplative state…feels like a lot of transformation occurring….and I thought that I’d share just a little of what I have been learning, what spirit has been teaching me

First, I have learned that we all have an inner light and that inner light is always present, and its especially important to remember that during the times when you can’t see it or feel it….because that is when we need trust….but will the voices in your head allow you to trust?  Just because our light is always there, doesn’t mean it is shining at its full potential….in fact, often times in our lives, that light barely seems to be flickering…why is that?  Because we allow it…..So ask yourself, what in your life Is making your light dim?  Let’s recall for a moment, how I started off this discussion…. Remember all my negative self talk?  My questions about what people would be thinking about me?  Where does all that come from? It comes from years in our human bodies being taught by others what is and isn’t acceptable, by peer pressure, by criticism, ridicule, judgment or otherwise being ostracized by society…when you are born, your inner light shines so brightly…just look into the eyes of a baby if you don’t believe me…your inner light, your true essence, untainted…just pure love.  And have you even seen two babies meeting for the first time, when you sit them together they both light up, acknowledging that pure light essence in one another.

Second, get off and stay off social media!  I say this half-joking and half serious.  Many of you know that I am pretty active on social media. I try to maintain a positive environment on my page, but there are times when my posts have resulted in some drama or judgment.  Although FB has many great purposes, I find that it is an addiction, and so many people use it to present a false reality, which makes others feel badly about themselves…which perpetuates that negative self talk.. Only go on social media when your inner light is fully lit.

Third, We all have light and dark inside of us, but that’s not something to panic about….we need both because it balances us…like everything else in the universe, that balance of male/female energy, ying and yang, mountains/valleys, the ebb and flow of the ocean.  One of the problems most of us face with respect to our inner light is that we have a difficult time accepting our darkness… but I have found that even some of the more spiritually evolved people in my life, go through periods of darkness too.  It is part of our human experience… However, if we allow that darkness to continue to dim our inner light we can find ourselves in a state of depression.  What I think is important for each of us to remember is that the way we treat or respond to others has only to do with our personal struggle between our inner light and darkness and the balance of the two.  When we engage with others the best way to gauge how brightly your inner light is shining is to acknowledge how you are feeling.  If you find yourself judgmental, angry, jealous, hateful, you can bet your inner light needs some igniting because if your inner light was shining at full capacity, those feelings would’t even enter the equation.  When someone treats you badly, stop and remember that this is merely perception, because when your light is a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10, then anything another person says or does will not effect you in any way.  But if your inner light is dim, then you will feel victimized, hurt or otherwise rejected by that person.

Fourth, I have learned that life is a paradox. (yeah I know your thinking seriously Julie, your just figuring that out now)….I think raising children has made me more aware of this.  I often find myself telling my kids “just be yourself” “be a leader, not a follower”  “stay true to you” “don’t succumb to peer pressure”…..but then, then I tell them how to do things, how they should dress, how they should act, what they should believe in….why?  Because as parents, we think we know what’s best for our kids..it’s up to us to teach them right from wrong. We we worry that if our children don’t dress a certain way, or if they act foolish then they won’t have friends, we want them to fit in, excel even.  We put them in sports and activities and then compare their abilities to other children.  We allow coaches to push our kids…..but let me ask you this…..is it important to have a child that excels in sports if they aren’t happy?  Is it important to have friends simply because you dress or act like them?  I think the true paradox here is like I mentioned above, when we are born our inner light is a 10 , but then we are supposedly “taught” everyting we need to know by parents, teachers, friends, life, and our light dims and then we need to re-learn everything we came here already knowing and work towards keeping that inner light shining at full potential. If each of our inner lights was shining at full capacity, conformity wouldn’t matter, we wouldn’t be embarrassed by our peers, children, family… because none of it would matter…we would simply recognize the light in one another.  We crave acceptance so badly that we often make the biggest sacrifice ever….self acceptance.

We all spend so much time dimming our own light, trusting more in the opinions of others than what we already know at our core to be our own truth. Our soul purpose on this human journey is shine, to feel happy. I’m sure everyone has experienced that feeling of being on cloud 9, you literally walk around without a care in the world….. that’s the feeling we should strive for! Ditch the worry, shame, stigma and go within yourself…. you will be amazed what you find in there! Learn to find the joy and humor in others people’s opinions of you…. each of us is unique and that is a beautiful thing.

I recently brought my kids to the movies to see the Greatest Showman….not sure who here has seen this movie but let me tell you….highly recommend it.  Anyways, funny how Spirit works because I had wanted to see the movie when it first came out, but didn’t end up going until Feb vacation.. don’t want to ruin it for anyone but it is the story of PT Barnum from the circus and is just an amazing uplifting movie and the music is incredible.  There is a scene when the “freaks” (and I use that word only for the dramatic effect of what they were called and how they felt about themselves) of the circus rebel…and they sing a song called This is Me….I want to share these very powerful lyrics with all of you….and I am choosing to read all the lyrics and the repetitive chorus because of how important I feel these lyrics are….and with the hopes that at least one of you really needs to hear them……

I am not a stranger to the dark
Hide away, they say
‘Cause we don’t want your broken parts
I’ve learned to be ashamed of all my scars
Run away, they say
No one’ll love you as you are

But I won’t let them break me down to dust
I know that there’s a place for us
For we are glorious

When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I’m gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out
I am brave, I am bruised
I am who I’m meant to be, this is me
Look out ’cause here I come
And I’m marching on to the beat I drum
I’m not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me

Another round of bullets hits my skin
Well, fire away ’cause today, I won’t let the shame sink in
We are bursting through the barricades and
Reaching for the sun (we are warriors)
Yeah, that’s what we’ve become (yeah, that’s what we’ve become)

I won’t let them break me down to dust
I know that there’s a place for us
For we are glorious

When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I’m gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out
I am brave, I am bruised
I am who I’m meant to be, this is me
Look out ’cause here I come
And I’m marching on to the beat I drum
I’m not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me
This is me

and I know that I deserve your love
’cause there’s nothing I’m not worthy of
When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I’m gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out
This is brave, this is proof
This is who I’m meant to be, this is me

Look out ’cause here I come (look out ’cause here I come)
And I’m marching on to the beat I drum (marching on, marching, marching on)
I’m not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me

When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I’m gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out
I’m gonna send a flood
Gonna drown them out
This is me

See the movie…..at a minimum listen to the song…then I challenge you for approximately 3.5 minutes every day (the length of the song), look yourself in the mirror every morning, with that song cranking in the background…. sing along….I can promise it will ignite your inner light.

Its funny, I always practice my lectures at home in front of the family…my kids absolutely loved the movie and that song.  When I was done practicing, my daughter said, “Mom, you need to sing the song”….I said honey, that would definitely dim some inner lights.

I’d like to conclude with a quote I recently came across (no idea who said it or where it came from), but it said ”We are stars covered in skin”  I think that statement is profound on many levels… just think about the importance of stars….

Stars light up a dark sky..a reminder that our inner light is meant to always shine, especially in the darkness;

People wish on stars, a reminder that with all of our inner lights fully ignited our wish for a greater humanity would be granted;

Stars guide our way,  A reminder that when your inner light is fully ignited, you have the ability to be a guiding force for others

“We are stars covered in skin”….a reminder of our inner light and our human experience…. even on cloudy nights, the stars still shine and they shine at full potential…they do not dim and their light is not affected by their surroundings.  A reminder that our inner light is always present, even when we can’t feel it or see it.  A reminder to keep our light turned all the way up.

Remember this if nothing else, your inner light is YOU, its your true essence, your divine self…it should be honored at all times. Moments of solitude will help you connect with that inner light.   You are solely responsible for this.  Your inner light’s ability to shine should never be contingent upon actions or omissions of others…and like the song says “For we are glorious, I am who I’m meant to be, this is me”

May you always stay true to who you are and who you’re meant to be and may your light always shine brightly!  Thank you.