06 | April | 2012 | Tending the mystery

One word that you will hear a lot in religious and spiritual circles is “grace”. If you look up the word grace you’ll find a multitude of definitions ranging from how we move to blessings bestowed from the divine. I feel that grace transcends definition. It is more like a state of being rather than something that can be lock into words. In our practice we connect not just to ourselves but to the world around us. When we extend compassion to those that hurt us we are moving into a state of grace. When we love the shadows in our past, we are loving ourselves gracefully. One of my teachers always taught me about the importance of leaving situations gracefully. When we do we do not take with us any of the anger or resentment. You could almost say that grace is a form of compassion. It goes to the core of our being, and becomes a deep extension of our soul’s light and energy. We can see aspects of grace in a ballerina’s movement, can we extend the same into how we connect with those around us and even to ourselves? To move with mercy. To look at one another and to see the soul reflected back. Practicing being in a state of grace is important for bringing the soul into alignment. The soul is perfect divine light. When we look at one another typically we only see the shell, the third dimensional self. If we were to look at the world through the soul’s eyes? To see only the shining light of God Herself that rests in everything. When we engage in our spiritual practice and path work it is important for us to see where we might be holding on to limiting emotions. Where are we holding our anger, resentment, guilt? Breathing into those areas of our life that need love, embracing the depths of our darkness, and loving ourselves fully. In yoga we talk about Ahimsa. The action of living a non-violent life. In Wicca the rede “and harm ye none” is one of the core statements. The thing we forget to do is turn this internal. Many of us are in a constant state of judging ourselves. We have to take our practice “within” so that we won’t be “without”. This can be difficult to do, but it is an important part of the journey. We can’t just strive to see God Herself in the world around us, but we must also see her in our reflection in the mirror. When we show mercy to ourselves, we are in turn showing mercy to the divine within us. Grace then becomes the extension of mercy out into this sometimes chaotic world. We each get to choose how we embrace grace and mercy. How do you extend these concepts into your practice? Into your life? and into the relationships that you carry?