January Writer's Challenge - Week 4

Spirituality

Welcome Back

This is it, the final week!

Thank you all for participating and giving this challenge your very best. I absolutely love creating these for you.

If you have simply been reading along and haven’t found the time or courage yet to write your own poems, that’s okay. You still have time. I want to invite you to go through the exercises and just see what comes up. Don’t worry about it being like anyone else’s writing. What you put into it, you’ll get out of it. So invest the time in yourself and allow your own creativity to surprise you.

You got this.

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Week 4 - Spirituality

This week is my favourite topic as it is so difficult to use words for that which exists beyond the mind and language. God, Divine, Higher Power or Universe. However you refer to that which brings the magic and blessings into your life, I want you to know that I respect you and acknowledge your own journey and practice.

For our final week of this amazing writing challenge I was inspired to give you all a focal point that has been deeply meaningful to me, Spiritual Strength.

I will clarify this topic as best I can with examples and personal experiences so you can have the best writing session for this week. Then I will give you an exercise to cultivate all your own visions, feelings and vibrations to write your poem.

Sound good? Great, let’s get to it.

Photo by Yuheng Ouyang

Spiritual Strength

We have all had moments in our life that were challenging for us. The death of a loved one, an accident or illness. Bankruptcy or betrayal. For many people the last four years of COVID caused significant stress and loss. Yet I bet you can remember a challenge that you overcame that cultivated a new found inner strength, a spiritual strength.

• Think of a time where you overcame a difficult situation and are now stronger internally and spiritually because of it. There are no wrong answers.

Our focus for this week is going to be writing a poem that we can use to anchor us in this spiritual strength.

Strong Foundation

A quick backstory to expand the depth of this week’s topic for you.

I was reading a book by Helene Hadsell, “The Name It & Claim It Game” and I was presented with a question about future goals. It was the first time in my life I couldn’t fully articulate a goal of mine in a way that felt authentic. I wanted to focus on a goal for the exercise in the book but I was sensing something deeper was missing. It perplexed me as I could list of a number of goals and things I wanted to accomplish but in that moment none of them felt aligned. I felt like there was something much bigger that wanted my attention and focus but I wasn’t yet aware of it.

I decided to lie down for a nap with my book on my chest and allow myself to drift into the half sleep state. It was in this restful and yet still aware state I was given a gift of an insight.

I wanted all these goals and dreams in my life to come true but I was also secretly afraid of this expansion and growth. Would I be able to handle a new cruising altitude? Would I self sabotage or be unable to handle the next level of challenge?

It was in that moment I became aware of what I was truly seeking, Spiritual Strength. I wondered what it would be like to consciously choose to deepen my spiritual strength. How might I step into this directly so I could build more inner strength to take on these goals and dreams I wanted to create?

This week’s writing exercise is my offering of an answer to you.

Exercise

Grab your pen and paper and make sure you have at least 20 minutes of focused time to go through this process.

1. Write out the most significant life challenge that you’ve overcome so far.

For me it was leaving my previous relationship while also departing from the most successful acting job I had to date.

2. Choose a moment from this challenging time that truly reflects the difficulty and impact of this circumstance.

I was standing in front of the bathroom mirror after my shower and thought I was going to die from cancer in less than a year. I immediately knew I needed make a dramatic change in my life’s direction.

3. Now we are going to take 5 to 10 minutes with our eyes closed to revisit this past version of ourselves. My invitation to you is to begin by closing your eyes and envisioning yourself floating above this difficult moment. Allow yourself to feel a loving compassion for this past version of yourself while you just witness them for the first minute. Next, I invite you to feel whatever needs to be said, done or witnessed that would bring more support for your past self at that moment. Feel it come through you and experience it in your imagination. Use some music if it helps you!

I can’t tell you why this is happening Graham but I will tell you that you need to go through this. It’s not because you are being punished or are unloved. You did nothing wrong. You need to know how much goodness you have within you. You have a powerful heart and are a loving soul. I know this is scary. I know this feels like you won’t be able to survive. I get it. You need to know that you will make it and you will thrive. We are here for you. You are loved. Ask us for help. We are your guardians, we are your helpers. Give yourself the space to honour your journey and what you’re feeling. You’re growing into a new dimension and will be blessed beyond what you thought possible. Stay connected to your heart so you can feel God’s presence and guidance. We love you, God’s love surrounds you always and you love yourself enough to get through this. We are always here to support you. We are here if you need us. Keep going.

4. Use this visualization to then craft a poem of this support you felt and shared with this past version of yourself.

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Angels, Guides and Helpers

You may experience a sense that there are others with you when you return to this previous moment of struggle. I was surprised when this happened for me as I was not expecting this to be the case. If you don’t believe in Angels, Guides or Helpers you may experience a spirit animal or simply extra love and support. I share this with you so that you are aware of and open to the possibility of extra loving care being there for you.

As I was doing this exercise for myself I made a profound connection that I hope will inspire your own.

I realized that the loving guides that were with me when I was doing this exercise were also the exact same beings that I was working with during my first float tank experience. I’ve always believed in my guides but hadn’t yet discovered a way to connect with them on a regular basis and feel their love and support.

My first time encountering my guides was during my a float tank experience where I spent 90 minutes in a salt water tank in complete darkness and silence. It was after relaxing myself and surrendering to love that I was able to leave my physical body and join my guides who appeared as beings of light and love. They were all focused on healing and supporting the soul journey of Graham. This experience then led me to an expanded state of cosmic love which later became the basis for all existence. It always has been and always will be.

After doing this week’s writing exercise for myself, I realized these guides have always been with me. They have always been supporting me even when I am unaware or afraid. I’ve come to the conclusion they will always be here for me and I can open myself to their support along with God’s love at anytime. All I need to do is open my heart and ask for their support.

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Integration

This writing challenge has been profound for me to experience along with you all. I now see how my yearning for growth in these four areas of my life has led me to a deeper sense of peace, love, support and enthusiasm. My intention is that you will also find a deeper sense of appreciation and sacredness in your life after investing your time to craft these four poems.

I invite you to see this as a new beginning for your writing journey. Continue exploring yourself and your desires. Envisioning your future life while making peace with your past. Writing for love, for peace and for inspiration.

You can return to these exercises and journal prompts in the future to recalibrate and align yourself again.

Anchoring the Vision

Once you’re finished your poem, place it somewhere meaningful. Take a moment to reflect and give thanks for this new found depth of your spiritual strength and support.

If you’re open to sharing your experience or your poem, I encourage you to post it in a comment. Your words might inspire someone else to take a leap of faith of their own.

Celebration

Wednesday, February 5th we are going to do a Group Chat here on Time Has Come where you can share your experience with this writing challenge and even read one of your poems if you so choose. Look for an email next Wednesday with the details!

Continued Blessings,

Graham

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(AI was not used for this post)