REALIGNMENT
By: Reverend Rosanne Crago
(You may listen to an MP3 recording of this talk by following this link.)
Happy New Year and thank you for sharing this time with us today.
I went to the chiropractor this week and got an adjustment. It had been about six months since my last adjustment, and my alignment was definitely out of whack. After the adjustment, I felt kind of sore for a little while. It took some time for my body to feel comfortable with being realigned correctly, even though, in the long run, being aligned correctly feels better and is healthier for me. I notice that in the process of getting adjusted, sometimes I tense up a little bit more and have to remind myself to just relax and breathe and then everything falls into place more easily. I still have all the same parts – muscles, bones, nerves, etc. It’s just that they’re lined up a little differently now.
I notice the same thing with spiritual alignment. When I’m in the process of forming new habits, or realigning in ways that are healthier for me, I feel uncomfortable for a while. It takes time to adjust to new habits. Even though I have everything it takes to develop in healthy ways already inside me, sometimes I have to realign things so that they function more effectively. When I stand up to give messages, I wonder whether the words I say will be accurate and useful to the person receiving the message. As I develop, I become more and more confident in this process. Sometimes, people come up to me after getting a message to affirm that I’m on the right track. That helps with my realignment, also.
At this time of year, I like to take stock of what might be useful for me to realign. Once again, it appears that I am choosing to learn lessons in patience. It seems that I still get easily frustrated and feel impatient at times. My parents have come to stay in Tucson for the winter and this provides me with many opportunities to practice being patient. The more I stay mindful of love and gratitude, the more I am able to be patient.
Breathing helps. Allowing myself enough time to accomplish what I want to accomplish helps, too. Being realistic in my expectations is also important. I’ve been doing a dance called West Coast Swing for almost nine years. These days, it’s easy and comfortable for me to do this dance. The other night, I went to an Argentine tango class for the first time. This is not a dance that I’m very familiar with. I like the music. I understand about moving on the beat. No problem. But the body position and the way to move and follow what’s being lead are totally different and really unfamiliar to me. I felt so uncomfortable. My tendency is to want to give up and just stay with doing what I already know and what already feels comfortable. On another level, though, I understand that if I’m patient with myself and give myself some time, I may grow to enjoy this new dance as much as I enjoy West Coast Swing. I may grow to feel just as comfortable. It helps to remember that when I first started doing West Coast Swing, I felt like Lucille Ball in her husband Desi’s chorus line, completely out of place, out of sync, and out of my element. I remember after about six months of taking classes in West Coast Swing, things finally started to click for me, and I “got it” about what I was supposed to be doing. I started to feel more and more comfortable after that.
This is the same process that I go through with spiritual development. When I first started meditating, not much happened that I was aware of. I think I fell asleep more often than not. As time went on, I started receiving more images and “knowings” that made more and more sense to me, and were things I could use on my path of spiritual unfoldment. I’ve gotten better and better at allowing information to come through to me. I continue to do affirmations on a daily basis. The more “out of alignment” I feel, the more I do my affirmations. That helps with my spiritual realignment. One thing I feel consistently good about is paying attention to my thoughts, words, and actions. I often find myself noticing what other people say, also.
I was talking to a friend of mine the other day, and he said that one of the things he appreciated about me was the way that I made the metaphysical principles applicable to daily life. Keeping them somewhere out in the stratosphere doesn’t seem that useful to me. What works for me is to understand them and put them into practice on a daily basis.
Last week, Toni was talking about how her mother instinctively knew the metaphysical principles. I had a similar experience in my family – I often heard my mother say, “Mama used to say…” and then she would relate adages from my little Italian grandmother for every occasion. One that I distinctly remember was, “Che ti manie, ti ingrida,” which loosely translates, “Whatever you put your hands in, you get full of.” The first time I remember hearing my mother say this to me, I was making a lemon meringue pie. What I now realize is that this is the distillation of the law of attraction: what you think, what you say and what you do is what you draw more of to you. Apparently, my grandma was able to verbalize that very clearly and instinctively.
Going back to paying attention to words, I have a friend who uses the expression, “I love him to death.” That always struck me as strange, and finally, I said something the other day. Why would you possibly want to love someone or something to “death?” Why would you want to create that experience in your life? Doesn’t it make much more sense to love someone so much, or just the way they are, or to the ends of the earth, or love them to heaven – or anything other than loving them to death? I have another friend who uses the expression, “It was such a kill,” when she has an experience that is really positive and/or exciting for her. That’s another one that makes no sense to me. And on one of the dance shows on television, the judge will sometimes say, “You killed that,” to indicate that the performance was spectacular. What words are you saying that reflect what you want to be creating in your life and what words could use some adjustment and realignment?
I’ve been asking myself: What do I want to create in this new year and new decade? The word mindfulness has come to my attention several times recently. One of my best friends gave me a book about mindfulness, and I’ve been reading a page from it each day, and pondering the concept. How do I form the habit of being more mindful on a day to day basis? Breathing helps. When I take a breath before thinking, saying or doing anything, I am able to be more present and more mindful. I know that my tendency is to multi-task, and I’m certainly good at that, so I do my best to give my attention to one thing at a time and be more present and mindful of what I’m doing in each moment.
From time to time, my sister will call and say, “Can you talk me down?” What she means by this is: can I remind her of what is healthy and positive for her to be thinking, saying and doing at that moment. Can I remind her of who she really is and who she aspires to be. Can I help her realign herself in ways that are healthy and pleasant, and for her highest and best good. I was describing this to a friend recently, and he asked me who “talks me down” when I’m feeling that way. I told him that I have some very good friends that I rely on to do just that. I also told him that much of the time, I’m able to “talk myself down.” The reason for this is because of all that I have learned through studying the metaphysical principles. I know that what I think, say and do is what I draw more of to myself. If I want to feel happy and positive, I focus on what I am most grateful for and all the love that is in my life. I know that when I’m feeling a little “out of whack,” doing affirmations helps me to realign myself.
What kinds of things can you do to remind yourself of who you truly are? I believe that we are spiritual beings having a physical, human experience. The more I connect with that notion, the better I feel. I understand that everything that happens is transitory and that every experience – positive and negative – comes under the heading of, “This too shall pass.” I also know that I create all of my experiences and that I always have a choice in how I respond to any situation.
I’ve also been thinking about the concept of perspective. Just like using a camera, we have a choice of which lens to use when we focus our attention. Do I want to use the wide angle lens or the telephoto lens in any given situation? It’s not a right or wrong answer, but more a matter of choice. We are always free to choose our response to any event or situation or encounter. How do we frame it? How do we react or respond to it? What do we choose to think, say or do? Do I want to focus on the details or step back and see the bigger picture? Whichever lens I choose, I do my best to choose love, gratitude, and forgiveness as often as possible. In doing that, I consistently realign myself for my highest and best good.
