Dedication

Just as the Sun rises new every day, every moment is an opportunity to experience a new beginning.  To start all over again. Clean slate. Yet as we mature, habits and memory, and even familiarity, comfort, qualities that create stability, can stymy that new day feeling.

I have mental habits that prevent me from being fresh, in my practices. I can get sidetracked and distracted by the inner voices of complaint, doubt, worry. As I gently acknowledge these, I notice that by going back to dedication all of that stuff tends to sort itself out.

The “what if I can’t…?” becomes “well, I’ll keep trying anyhow.”

The “what if this thing I am experiencing, this thing I don’t like and feels bad, lasts forever…?” becomes “well, then, I’m going to be extra compassionate and kind towards myself.”

With dedication, even answers to questions like “what should I do…?” and “how will I figure this out…?” soon becomes intuitively obvious.

In a very matter-of-fact-approach, as I allow the energy of dedication to lead me, over time the intention behind my Dedication becomes the dominant reality (not the voices). That’s progress!

Truly, sometimes we are faced with situations where all we have is our commitment to an intention. No joke. Sometimes we simply cannot see a way forward or through. Dedication offers a sense of empowerment. As with many practices, it takes a little time to take root and see results from. But it can be instant, too. A client was trying to figure out how to approach a no-win situation, and so was in self-doubt around the many decisions she faced. I suggested she define her highest commitment and then allow all of her decisions to organize around this. When she felt doubt or wobbly, I suggested she just return to this intention. Soon, at every pivot point she “just knew” what to do, feeling a solidity and sureness, within, that hadn’t before existed.

In Oahu, beautiful white egrets occasionally grace us with their elegant presence. I began noticing them popping up more and more around the start of the New Year. January was filled with so many egret sightings and synchronous egret occurrences, that I took notice. Egrets, symbolically, represent the dedication it takes to begin each day anew. Life. It really does take dedication, doesn’t it? What better time to pull on the energy of Dedication than this start of 2021?

The Dedication card from my forthcoming Intuitive Energy Deck:

30.    Dedication
There comes a point in one’s spiritual development where the trajectory of growth and evolution wholly arises from what we choose to dedicate our time, attention, energy, and ultimately our life to. This is how we feel purposeful and on mission. Whom do you serve? The duality of the Mind, or the knowing of the Soul? Fear or Love? Others’ desires, or your own? Are you more interested in engaging the mental chatter of old habits of attitude and thought, or the quieter, deeper subtleties, connection, flow, and wisdom that arises from living in your Soul and felt energy body? You have free will. You get to choose where to put your attention and focus.

The appearance of this card suggests the current issue you are struggling with can be answered by affirming your dedication to a higher calling, mission, or values, and allowing that affirmation of devotion to lead you through any learning curves, self-doubt, or confusion you are experiencing. Whether working on a new skill, in a wholly new playing field, wondering if you will ever reach the level of mastery and manifestation you want to experience in your life, or attempting to put your wants, needs, desires first (after spending a long while putting others first), it is human and natural to stumble, doubt, question. In those moments, pull on the energy of dedication. Whom or what do you most love, serve, stand for? This is the moment to consciously affirm and reaffirm your deepest principles, your most cherished hopes and desires for yourself, and your life. Say your commitment mentally or aloud, now, write it down if you need to, but most importantly, decide to dedicate yourself to this. Feel the energy of dedication as you would a command – a strong, solid, reliable note from within the core of your energy body. Once defined, check every decision that arises against this dedication. Notice how as you hold the energy of devotion/dedication in your heart, every single choice that comes into your field of awareness will either easily and beautifully unfold around this deepest devotion like the opening of a flower, or if a mismatch, fall away. Remember: you are not here to be perfect, but to keep rising to the challenges of your life, again and again and again.  Truly, the only thing you ever need to dedicate yourself to is Presence—inner listening to your Divinity.

Symbol: Egret on beach surrounded by flowers in different stages of bloom. Ancient cultures gave this bird great import; in Egypt, egret/heron announced the very beginning of time and so is associated with new beginnings. Symbolically, egret holds the self-determination we need to begin each day anew, and the wisdom of flying with our highest aspirations. Knowing what you are dedicated/devoted to offers simplicity. You no longer have to weigh each decision individually, since your highest commitment sorts it out for you. Just as the flower bud moves to blossom to bloom, when you embody the devotion of the egret, allowing only your highest dedication to guide your every move, watch the ease and elegance with which your life unfolds!

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