Freeing Our Spirit....

[Dr. SohiniBen Shukla]

How do you nurture the growing light?
You keep believing it will continue to grow.

 

Before we can have true freedom we have to be able to learn from our experiences. This means that we stop repeating the same behavior that has been causing us discomfort, and instead, change our attitudes and actions. This is how we achieve a different result, one that serves us and everyone around us better.

As our light seeks for its fullest radiance we will gradually slide out from under the shadows of others who would continue to control us as long as we let them, and step into our own sovereign power, independent and strong in the knowledge that each and every one of us is free to create to our heart's content, that we are helped every step of the way, and that nothing can stop us unless we allow it.

We can have it all. But first we must be ready to make some changes in our lives.


For the past two years I've taken daily walks around the lake near where I live. It's my favorite form of exercise and, at the same time, the magnificent vistas of the surrounding mountains provide me with a perfect environment for opening up to new creative ideas. 

As is my custom, I walk steadily, never stopping along the way except to take occasional notes and to pet a friendly, reddish-brown dog who guards a house by the lake. I call him Rusty, although I doubt that that's what his owners named him. He's a part collie, part chow cross, and he's chained alone to a small doghouse that sits away from the owner's house, out in the middle of the yard. Snow, rain or shine, day in and day out, one thing never changed on my walks: Rusty was always there. 

When I first moved into the neighborhood Rusty was younger, and he would bark and jump and run wildly toward me until the chain jerked him to a sudden halt. That didn't stop him though. Back then, Rusty was lively and full of Spirit. But over the last couple of years something inside him shifted. Now, he's no longer as lively. It's as if he's been beaten down by the boredom and he's resigned himself to living his days at the end of a chain. His Spirit only comes to life in the evening when, for a brief moment, his owner delivers a bowl of food and a few pats on the head before going back into the house. 

One day about four months ago, something interesting happened. Just before sunset on a chilly spring evening. I was walking by in my usual way, admiring the last of the season's snow that still whitened the peaks in the distance, when Rusty's owner came out with his nightly bowl of food. Rusty jumped up and ran to the length of the chain, only this time, instead of jerking him back into place, it broke. 

I watched from a distance as Rusty pranced and danced like never before, free as a bird! At first he stayed well out of the range of his owner who called and cajoled him for several minutes, all the while cussing the chilly wind and the situation in general. He just wanted to get the dog fed and get back into his toasty, warm house. 

Rusty, on the other hand, ran and played around like a young pup, enjoying his first feeling of freedom in years. His eyes, usually so sullen and sad, sparkled now with a newfound brightness. His Spirit was returning; he had come back to life, and I whispered a silent prayer that he would run away and take his chances out in the world. You see, I'm always trusting that the Universe takes care of us, as long as we intend it for ourselves. To me. it looked like anything would be better than going back to living on a chain. 

It was starting to get darker, and as I rounded the end of the lake and turned back toward home, I watched as the owner went back into the house and came out a minute later holding a bag of special treats high in the air and shaking them loudly. Within moments Rusty was back on the chain. He was unable to resist the temptation of the tasty nuggets. 

The following day Rusty was there as usual. The sparkle was gone as he lay there in the dirt with those sad, expressive eyes. Attached to his collar was a new chain, shorter and stronger than the first. He looked horrible, but at the same time there was something different in him, like he hadn't completely forgotten how good it felt to be free the day before. I went up to give him a rub behind the ears, and I was talking to him like I talk to all the animals, (Hi guy! How's it going etc, etc?), only this time my curiosity got the best of me and I asked him why he gave up his freedom to live his life chained in the yard, just for the sake of a few treats? 

In an instant, his Spirit, which seemed so faraway only moments before, lit up, and his answer shot telepathically through my mind. He said, "Hey Ton, no one's home yet. How about if you undo this heavy chain and we'll see if I fall for that same old trick again?" 

I'd better not tell you what I did.

My Intention for today is:
  I Intend that I am learning from my experiences so that I am only repeating the ones that bring me happiness.

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[Dr. SohiniBen Shukla]

[Ishema, Carol Suchecki]

I especially love this story!

May all spirits be free.

Ishema