Author: admin

When things feel tight, it’s easy to panic or want to act in some way to ease the feeling of constriction, but sometimes our lives contract before they expand. We may be working hard on ourselves spiritually, performing good works in the world, following our dreams, but somehow still faced with constrictions of all kinds. They may be financial, emotional, or physical. We may even feel as if we’ve lost our connection to spirit. All of these challenges can leave us confused and discouraged by what appears to be a lack of progress. Sometimes we might also spin our wheels mentally, trying to understand why things are the way they are. However, there is nothing we need to do at this time other than to be patient and persevere, because sometimes this is the way life unfolds. We are experiencing the darkness before the dawn. Think of the caterpillar that is confined into a tiny cocoon before it grows wings and flies. Holding on to the awareness that we are processing the shift from one stage to another, the more we surrender to the experience, the more quickly we will move through the tightness into the opening on the other side. I liken this process to childbirth, because just like a baby making its way through the birth canal, we may feel squeezed and pushed and very uncomfortable, but if we remember that we are on our way to being born into a new reality, we find the strength to carry on. Just look to the natural world for inspiration and see that all beings surrender to the process of being born. In the center of our own hearts that surrender is a willingness to trust in the unknown as we make our way through the opening. We can then find peace within ourselves even as we endure the contractions.

Heart to Heart,
Rev. Addae

Most of you remember the line from the Beatle’s song, “I’ll get by with a little help from my friend.” However, despite the true meaning of the song’s reference to drugs, we all can use a little help from “someone” at some time in our life. As members of a faith community, we place great emphasis on sharing both joys and sorrows, reassuring each other that we are not alone as we travel this road of life. Because sharing sorrows as well as joys is what a life through friendship is about. But when we are going through a difficult time, we may hesitate to call even our best friends because we don’t want to burden them with our troubles. This can be especially true if we’ve been going through a series of challenges, and we’re beginning to feel as if we sound like a broken record. However, it is at our lowest points that we really need to rely on our friends without worrying that we are a burden. Moreover, it is important to remember that at times like these our friends sincerely want to be there for us whenever they can, because friends don’t want each other to suffer alone when someone is just a telephone call away. Chances are your friend will reassure you that they are happy to be there for you. Without our friends, we would be hard pressed to get through the tough times and celebrate the good ones. If we leave our friends out of our process when things get tough, friendships begin to feel shallow. On the other hand, if we include our friends in the full story of our lives, the good, bad and ugly, we invite them to bring their whole selves to the relationship as well. When we include friends in the full story of our lives, we are able to build an authentic relationship together.

Heart to Heart,
Rev. Addae

It isn’t always easy to meet the expectations we hold ourselves to, and just because we are devoted to following a spiritual path, attaining inner peace, or living a specific ideology doesn’t mean we should expect to achieve perfection. Each life experience is individual and dissimilar to another. Behaviors are shaped by these experiences, and we may never stop reacting strongly to the challenging situations encountered. A long line at the store, slow-moving traffic, or any other stressful situation can be unnerving and leave one wondering why the tranquility and spiritual equilibrium cultivated can so quickly dissipate. You may feel guilty at yourself or even feel like a hypocrite for not being able to maintain control after practicing being centered. However, being patient with yourself will help you more in your soul’s journey than frustration at your perceived lack of progress. It is possible to gradually let negative thoughts come to mind, recognize them, and then let them go. By just simply being aware of experiences and recognizing that feelings are temporary, is the beginning to taking the necessary steps to regaining internal balance. Accepting that difficult situations will arise from time to time and treating reactions to them as if they are passing events rather than a part of who we are can help move us past them. Practicing this form of acceptance and paying attention to reactions to learn from them will make it easier for you to return to your center quicker in the future.

Doing the best you can in your quest for spiritual growth is vastly more important than striving for perfection. Even if we never reach a place of perfect peace, we can find serenity in having done our best.

Heart to Heart,
Rev. Addae

It is the everyday aspects of our lives that bring us the most joy, even if at first it may seem natural to expect our feelings of happiness to come from the larger events in our lives. By noticing how small things can fill our days with delight, we are more likely to experience the wonder of living. Taking in the small joys of each day expands our feeling of being connected with the world, especially once we become more attuned to them. Once we take the time to look around and witness the beauty  that envelop us, what may seem like the ordinary things of everyday become filled with the extraordinary detail of each individual moment. If we bring this sense of awareness to our lives for even a few minutes each day, we will begin to see just how blessed we truly are. Beholding the joy that surrounds us may take a conscious effort for some to make it a part of a daily routine, although it initially seems easy. But when you wake up in the morning and set the intention to notice more joy in the world, you will see how your day and eventually your life is filled with more joy. The more we do this the more apt we are to notice the sounds of children laughing or the sparkle of dewdrops on a flower petal. With each passing day, we will find that these small delights will bring a deeper level of appreciation for everything the universe has given to our lives. Allow this joy to fill your heart fully, and from there it will naturally expand to your entire body and then spread to others, giving them joy as well.

Heart to Heart, 
Rev. Addae

     We will always encounter individuals throughout our lives who presume to know what is best for us. However, the insights they offer cannot compare with the powers of awareness and discernment that already exist within us. Whether or not we acknowledge it, we are blessed from birth with wisdom that cannot be learned or unlearned. It is a gift given to us by a loving universe before we chose to experience existence on the earthly plane, and it is vital that we value and honor this incredible element of the self. When we do not use our inborn wisdom, we doubt our personal truths because of fear and are driven to outside sources of information. Inner wisdom is not subject to the influences of the outside world.

     When we are unsure of who to trust, how to respond and what we require, the answers lie inside our inner wisdom, because it is the source of our discernment. What we know to be true in our hearts is invariably true, and we discover how intensely useful self-trust can be when we recognize the power of our wisdom. When we open ourselves to it and let go of the false notion that we are less qualified than others to determine our fate, we benefit from this inspiration.

Heart to Heart,
Rev. Addae

When we begin to bring consciousness to what we are making things mean, we may be surprised at the messages we have been sending ourselves over the years. The meaning we assign to our experiences, whether positive or negative, is a very powerful factor in determining the quality of our lives. What we imagine events to mean will have an effect on the way we feel about ourselves, the people in our lives, and about the world at large. However, if we want to encourage a positive outlook and a sense of self-confidence and trust in the universe, we can begin by assigning more peaceful, loving meanings to what we experience. Imagine, for example, that a friend fails to show up to a lunch date. You have a choice as to what you will make this experience mean for you. You could begin to mentally attack your friend’s character, or you could assume that something big must have happened to cause them to miss the date — then, you might open yourself up to enjoying some relaxing time alone. If you were recently laid off and are having difficulty finding a new job, the universe might simply be moving you in a more fulfilling direction. Consider that you might have hidden talents or passions that were untapped in your regular career that you are now available to explore. If you have recently lost money, gained weight or lost a loved one, see if you can infuse the experience with meaning that feels empowering and opens a door for you to embrace life and the world a bit more. How we attach meaning to events in our lives has a large influence on the quality of our life. Therefore, by taking the reins and beginning to assign a kinder meaning to the events in your life, you will likely find yourself on a much more pleasant ride.

Heart to Heart,
Rev. Addae

Purpose gives our life meaning, but most humans are not consciously born knowing what their purpose is. Most living things belong to a particular soul group and are born knowing their purpose in life. An animal will spend its day foraging for food, taking care of itself and its young, and creating a home. No one has to tell an animal to do this, because it instinctively knows how. However, humans, for the most part, are not born consciously knowing what their purpose is. Finding our purpose is not always easy, because it must be found through exploration; but when purpose is discovered, life can then be lived with intention. Moreover, choices can be made that serve our objective for why we’re here on the planet. We allow ourselves to grow by embracing life wholeheartedly and exploring many different pathways. Our purpose is as unique as we are individual and will continue to evolve as we move through life, because finding and fulfilling our purpose can be a lifelong endeavor. However, no one can tell another what that purpose is, and no one needs another’s permission to fulfill that purpose. To figure out what your purpose is, I suggest that you ask yourself what drives you, what makes you glad to be alive, not what forces you out of bed in the morning. Make a list of activities that you wish you were involved in or thinking about as a career path that you would love to embark upon. Picture yourself devoting your time to projects that spark your imagination, inspire, excite, and satisfy you. These are endeavors that can help one fulfill their purpose and bring about the most satisfaction. Time spent on these endeavors will never feel like a waste. Living this way each day will make you feel significant and capable because each choice made and every action taken will have meaning to it.

Heart to Heart,
Rev. Addae

Though it is human to evaluate people we encounter based on first impressions, our judgments are frequently incomplete, because the conclusions we come to are affected by our own preconceptions.  For example, poverty can be seen as a signifier of uneducated or laziness and wealth can seem like proof that an individual is ruthless or self-absorbed, neither of which may be true. At the heart of the tendency to criticize, we often find insecurity. But overcoming our need to set ourselves apart from what we fear comes with understanding the root of judgment and then reaffirming our commitment to tolerance. When we find ourselves being judgmental, we should ask ourselves where these judgments come from. To acknowledge to ourselves that we have judged, and that we have identified the root of our judgments, is the first step to a path of compassion. Recognizing that we limit our awareness byassessing others critically can make moving past our initial impressions much easier. When we regain our center, we can reinforce our open-mindedness by putting our feelings into words. Mother Teresa said, “If you judge people, you don’t have time to love them.” Judgments seldom leave room for alternate possibilities, and by being quick to pass judgment on others, we forget that they are human beings just like us. We should always give those we meet the gift of an open heart, because we don’t know what roads people have traveled before or why they have come into our lives. In doing so, we allow our fear-based criticism to be replaced with appreciation and then we can focus wholeheartedly on the spark of divinity that burns in all human souls.

Heart to Heart,
Rev. Addae