You Are In Complete Control Of Your Life

One of the most interesting things I have discovered on my spiritual journey is that each and everyone of us are in complete control of our own lives.  Before we are even born, we have decided what type of person we are going to be, what family we will be born to, the type of career that we will choose, the color of our skin, our sexuality, our social status and every detail that entails who we are as a person.  We choose difficult, as well as not so difficult, occurrences in our lives.  All of these choices are made in order to progress our souls, to further us spiritually.  We are in fact spirits in a temporary world.  How tall we are, the color of our eyes, the color of our hair, our skin texture, our physique and how tall or big we are merely temporary.  These are our physical aspects and are not a complete picture of who we truly are.  It is only 1/3 of the equation, with the mind and the soul making up the other components.  These three components must be in balance in order for us, as human beings, to be whole.  For example, a person who does not feed their soul will feel empty, without purpose or even lost and this affects the mind, causing bouts of depression or anxiety, and affects the physical body, causing illness, obesity, etc.  This works in all directions.  When the components are in balance, you are clear about who you are (the soul), you can make choices based on the way you feel (body) and you are able to connect the way you feel to who you are and make conscience choices (mind).

We choose how we are born into this world and we choose how we exit this world.  We choose the basic components, such as the people we interact with, the part of the world we live, our social status, etc.  It is up to us, individually, what road, or path, we take to get from point A to point B.  The best way to illustrate what this means is to present a hypothetical person and how different choices can change that person's life path.  Let's say a boy named Bill was born to a poor white family on a farm in the southeastern part of the United States.  

• In the first scenario, Bill grows up resenting the fact that he was poor.  He accepts that it is his fate to be poor and never really amount to more than a poor white boy.  He goes through life bitter, unhappy and resentful.  He eventually moves to the city and becomes a businessman.  Most of his adult years are spent dreading having to go to work, wishing he made more money, drinking away the misery and basking in his pain.  His wife of 15 years dies of cancer.  He is unable to be there for her during her last days because he is too busy feeling sorry for himself.  He believes that this is just another blow to him and a clear indication that he was doomed to be miserable and he falls into a deep depression.  He somehow manages to pull himself together long enough to start a business of his own.  He employs over 100 people and makes a good living until he is forced to retire due to old age and several health issues.  Not long after his retirement, Bill passes away from a sudden heart attack.  He died a bitter, restless man.  

• In the second scenario, Bill grows up appreciating his roots.  He dismisses the idea that his fate is to be nothing more than a poor white boy.  He goes through life appreciating the people around him, happy for the things he has and grateful that he has another day to enjoy the beauty of the world.  He eventually moves to the city and becomes a businessman.  Most of his adult years are spent being thankful that he has a job to go to everyday, being grateful that he has the opportunity to earn a steady income, and learning from the mistakes he has made in the past.  His wife of 15 years dies of cancer.  He was by her bedside each and every day, telling her how he loved her and how he cherished each and every moment they had together.  He held her hand when she took her last breath.  He somehow manages to pull himself together long enough to start a business of his own.  He employs over 100 people and makes a good living until he is forced to retire due to old age and several health issues.  Not long after retirement, Bill passes away from a sudden heart attack.  He died a peaceful, loving man.

In both scenarios, Bill’s life is identical.  In the first scenario, there is an upset in the balance of mind, body and soul and Bill's path is a difficult one.  In the second scenario, the mind, body and soul is balanced and the path is more fulfilling and much easier.  Regardless of which path he chose, he still experienced the same trials and tribulations.  He still learned the lessons and he still "grew".

One of the biggest questions I have heard people ask is "Why me?  Why are all of these bad things happening to me?"  I hope that this has helped to answer that question for you or at least hope that it got you to step back and take a look at your own life.  Perhaps there is an easier path for you to take!

Good bye for now!

Leslie :)

Spiritual Awakening

Hello everyone!  My name is Leslie Gaddy and this is my first blog.  I decided to start this blog in order to reach like-minded people and to share my spiritual stories, experiences and views.  I grew up in a Southern Baptist home and held on to Christian views/beliefs for most of my life until about seven years ago when I experienced, what I call, a spiritual awakening.  This spiritual awakening happened not long after my father passed away.  Both my older and younger sister also experienced this awakening at the same time.  I can not attest to the reason they had this experience, but only to my own.  I can tell you, though, that it was a much better experience for me not to have to go through this alone.  Without the support and input from my sisters I might have kept it all to myself and possibly not grown or matured spiritually.

I had always secretly questioned some of the dogma associated with Christianity, but never dared speak of it.  I held on to the belief that if you committed a sin, then you were doomed for hell.  I lived in fear, carried feelings of guilt, believed in a jealous, angry God, and rather than thinking for myself,  I chose to trust the church wholeheartedly and without question.  It would be hypocritical and unfair for me to say that the Christian views/beliefs are wrong.  I am not here to downplay nor to discredit anyone's religious views/beliefs.  I am simply speaking for myself and my own personal experiences, views and beliefs and bringing light how and why they changed.  

My awakening began, like I said, not long after my father passed away.  I was torn and confused about how to feel.  I was extremely sad that he died and that he suffered for weeks prior to his death.  I felt guilty for my feeling, for lack of better words, relieved that he would be out of my life for good.  Our relationship was strained at best.  I had a difficult childhood and some difficult times during my adulthood due to his cruelty and abusiveness, so his being gone would eliminate the stress of having him in my life.  So basically, I was happy that he would not be able to cause discontent in my life anymore, but on the other hand, he was still my father and I did love him, so I felt very sad and at times very depressed.

Within just a day or two of his passing, we (my siblings and I) could all feel his presence.  The TV would turn on and off by itself, things would move, water would run, balls of light would bounce off the pictures on the walls and we constantly heard unexplained noises and even voices.  Even though none of us saw him, we could all feel that it was him.  It felt as if he were physically there.  It was strange and bizarre and unexplainable.   This all took place at his apartment while we were making funeral arrangements and quickly sorting through his things.  (We only had two days to clean out his stuff and make arrangements, so there were some moments that things got hectic.) During this process my younger sister shared a book by Sylvia Browne called The Other Side and Back.  I found her book to be intriguing.  She had an explanation for who we are, why we are here, what her truth about life and living is, plus much more.  This book made a huge impact on me.  There were so many things that she explained that made more sense to me than what I had always believed.  It made more sense to me than Christianity.  I can honestly say that there were some things that I didn't necessarily "buy into", but most of it made complete sense to me and I became curious.  This became the beginning of my spiritual awakening and my life has not been the same since.

This intent of my blog is to share my spiritual journey with you.  I will post my progress, share ideas, books articles and look forward to any comments, experiences or interaction you may want to share as well.

Goodbye for now!
Leslie :)