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Be Ready for Light
Times
by Victoria Moran |
Part of connecting with our
inner light is to be on the lookout for glory days and
rise to the occasion.
Light times are when you get so much inner wealth,
you can store some for later. These periods are the
spiritual equivalent of a bonus or a dividend check: you
don't get one every day, so when you do it's special.
Generally speaking, light times are when things go so
well it's as if you're in a bubble of goodness that
nothing less can penetrate. But sometimes they come in
the midst of crisis, when even with despair all around
you, you know you're protected, safe, and in divine
company. These states of grace can be spiritual
experiences or earthly adventures. Either way, you get
some exuberance out of them.
You've had light times already and remembering them
will help you to be available when the next one shows
up. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I had nine
months of light time. Morning sickness notwithstanding,
the mingled feelings of humility and pride put a sunny
spin on almost every aspect of my life. Seven years
later I went hiking with this child in the Na Pali
Cliffs on Kauai. It was like being in God's living room.
The light lasted weeks. And meeting my present husband
six years after that, even though I was a widow in my
forties and supposedly too mature for the giddy elements
of romance, put me in light mode for a year.
Bring some of your light times to mind. Maybe it was
when you went to college or got your first apartment or
took a special trip. Maybe it was when you discovered
some new truth for yourself or about yourself, when you
broke away from a limiting life choice into a broader
one, or when you met the lover or teacher or friend who
opened up your world as effortlessly as you open the
shades in the morning.
The timing and frequency of these experiences depend
on a combination of factors that probably range from the
positions of the stars to the chemicals in your brain.
Some light times you earn through past actions, and
others you attract by vibrating at a frequency that
draws them to you. However such phases enter your life,
they are only of value when you realize what you've got.
Otherwise, they're diverted elsewhere or diluted down to
a nice day instead of a magical interlude.
The sad fact is that all of us have let light times
pass us by because we weren't receptive to them. Part of
connecting with our inner light is to be on the lookout
for these glory days and rise to the occasion. You do
this by (1) expecting them, (2) preparing for them, and
(3) showing gratitude in advance. Expect light times by
remembering that you are a light being and understanding
that you can only do what you came here for with a
little help from heaven. You're not asking to be singled
out for favors; you're simply acknowledging that you
need some light times to get your work done, the way a
mechanic needs a wrench or a carpenter needs a saw.
Prepare for light times by being ready physically,
mentally, and spiritually. When purifying your body,
elevating your thoughts, and acknowledging your spirit
become a matter of course in your daily life, you'll be
able to see light times coming and never miss another
one.
Be grateful for the intervals when you're touched
with an extra light. Your gratitude causes them to
proliferate. Even if it feels that your last light time
was ages ago, appreciate that one, and the one that is
sure to come. Say thanks for every day that's dazzling,
every day that's good enough, and every day that you
just make it through. Something else is always on the
way. Life is composed of circles and cycles. Your
spiritual practice and every snippet of wisdom you
collect along the way direct your life in an upward
spiral, even when setbacks make it seem otherwise. Light
times are coming. Be there for them.
Excerpted from Lit from Within:
Tending the Soul for Lifelong Beauty, by Victoria
Moran. Reprinted with permission of
HarperSanFrancisco, 2001.
Victoria Moran is the author of Lit from Within,
from which this essay is an excerpt, and other books
including Creating a Charmed Life, Shelter for
the Spirit, and Love Yourself Thin. She is a
national speaker, has appeared on Oprah! twice, and has
written articles for magazines including Ladies' Home
Journal, Woman's Day, Yoga Journal, Vegetarian Times,
and New Age Journal. Her academic background includes a
degree in comparative religions from North Central
College and study of the spirituality of everyday life
as far afield as India and Tibet. She is married to
lawyer/musician, and is the mother of an
eighteen-year-old daughter, homeschooled since
kindergarten and now a working actor in New York City.
Moran herself divides her time between New York and
Kansas City, Missouri. She will speak this fall at the
Whole Life Expos in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Chicago.
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