November 2011: The Awakening

Download the November 2011 Mandala of the month

I receive Vernon Howard’s Daily “Secrets of Life” emails. The posting for November 1 ties in nicely with the message of this month’s MotM: The Awakening.

“The reason a human being feels fear is because he has allowed himself, carelessly allowed himself to be invaded. It’s like a man sleeping in his home during the day. He’s supposed to be up and alert and looking around during the daylight, but he isn’t. He’s napping and vandals sneak and toss and tear and break, and he suffers the consequences of his own sleeping state. Now, you can learn how to stay awake so that when the psychic vandals plan to invade you, they will know they’re not going to get in the doors because your state of consciousness, of spiritual alertness is the lock. They cannot penetrate beyond the door that is locked by your understanding of yourself, of how fear operates.”
                      from a talk given 1/11/1986 AM
Vernon Howard’s Higher World – MP3 CD Volume 1, talk 6, track 6

Essentially what he’s saying is that when we maintain diligent awareness/consciousness, old programming, fears and the like are less likely to invade our space and take over our lives.

Speaking for myself,  I have lived mostly a knee-jerk reaction life; without really being aware of what I’m doing or saying, I just go about my day and then wonder how I arrived home or where I left my keys or wonder if I fed the dogs. And in relationships, I tend towards knee-jerk reactions if I think my state of being is under attack; I end up saying regrettable things before I realize I’m even talking.

It’s time to break away from old patterns that have stopped serving us anymore, that prevent us from reaching our fully potential. The more we pay attention, the more we take an extra moment before saying/doing/reacting, the more likely we will be able to live a more conscious/awake life.

So what does it mean to live a conscious life. It means that when we become fully present, in each moment we know exactly how we feel and think AND, more importantly, we have the option to choose again. In any given moment we have the option to choose peace, to choose joy, to choose love, to choose happiness.  The secret is, this can only be done by being fully aware, by being fully awake and in the moment.

The simplest way to reprogram ourselves, is to remember to take a breath before taking any action or before saying anything. Take that extra moment to process what’s really going on in that moment. Am I watching where I’m driving or am I rehashing my grocery list in my head? Did I really hear what someone said or am I already formulating what I’m going to say next? Am I really hungry or am I eating that cookie because it’s there in front of me?

One of my favorite lessons from “A Course in Miracles” is “I can see peace instead of this.” You can also change it to state “I can see joy instead of this” or any state of being you want.

On another level, we’re also being ask to awaken to our true spiritual selves. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” It’s easy to forget this and become lost in believing that we are human beings trying to be spiritual. Through being still, calming the mind, coloring mandalas, being creative, breath work, dreams, journaling and the like, we connect more deeply and directly with our higher selves, that part of ourselves that knows the truth, that knows we are all one, that loves and accepts us on all levels for who we really are…spiritual beings having a human experience.

Ponder this as you color this month’s Mandala of the Month.

Be sure to check out this month’s section of the 2011 Mandala of the Year.

Happy Coloring!

joyfully, Maureen, The Mandala Lady