Edification: Intellectual, moral, or spiritual improvement; enlightenment.
Sometimes for me, life seems to be a never-ending cycle of making peace within myself over things beyond my control. It’s the same for all of us, really. Who among us doesn’t experience frustration in one form or another? It’s a natural feeling that rises up when something doesn’t click correctly within our hearts. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the source of our frustration is wrong; it simply means that it isn’t aligning with our own personal truth.
Lately I find myself back in the ebb and flow of life. For a couple of weeks I’m flowing gracefully and then poof, I’m back in the proverbial ebb scratching my head. For the most part I’m able to make the choices I need to in order to continue on with my joy, but there are times when I’m sailing along on shear will power. I understand that in AA they call this “white-nuckling” and it’s not considered to be a good thing. What it means is that you may not be drinking, (which is always a good thing for an alcoholic), but it’s dangerous because not drinking without treating the actual disease typically means a relapse is on the way.
In regular life the same applies.
If there is a situation causing us frustration and we “whitenuckle it” – it really means we aren’t doing much to correct the negative feelings we’re carrying within. For instance, lately I find myself biting my tongue a lot. I liken this habit to white knuckling. Biting the tongue tends to be a good thing most of the time, but it does little to eradicate the feelings that are living beneath the surface.
When I finally realize I’m “white knuckling” my way through my days, I know it’s time to find the proper balance again. I have to explore the root cause of my discomfort and do something spiritually uplifting to fix it. I may not always be able to do something to fix situations over which I have no control, but I can certainly find a place within my heart to work on other things that will bring forth the same result.
What are some of the things you are “white-knuckling” lately? What works for you to find your spiritual balance again?
Here is a page out of one of my all-time-used-to-be favorite books, “Angel Wisdom”. It speaks to exactly what I’m talking about here.
“EDIFYING
An Angelic Reminder: An edifying moment has an everlasting angelic place in your mind.
Edification is one of those noble concepts from the angels that seems to have little importance in society today. When something is edifying, it encourages moral improvement and has an uplifting influence on our minds. Unfortunately, edification today has been increasingly overlooked in favor of quick and easy escapes from the boredom and emptiness of un-edified lives. How often do you feel edified by reading a newspaper or watching TV? Where disaster, triviality, and materialism abound, few opportunities exist to be edified. So it’s important to create uplifting and enlightening experiences for ourselves. Reading good, thought-provoking books, listening to good music, watching an inspiring movie, discussing spiritual ideas with a friend, meditating, creating things of beauty, helping others to seek out the truly edifying aspects of life–these are just a few of the ways in which we can improve our connection to the angels, who are always seeking to provide us with natural and spiritual inspiration.
How does your environment contribute to or detract from edification? How can you change or improve your environment–the people you choose to associate with, the activities you engage in, the priorities you have or haven’t set? Ask the angels to help you spend at least one hour a day edifying your life.
An Angelic Reflection: I am able to make behavior choices that are comfortable and positive for me and beneficial to the world.”
(©Angel Wisdom: Terry Lynn Taylor & Mary Beth Crain. 1994 Harper-Collins)
Please. Oh Please SHARE this!
