Your soul is your inner life, the light that shines within you; it is the part of you that links your spiritual being to your earthly body and it is my belief that to become who you are truly meant to be, you need to grow your soul. There is a spiritual element to this discussion around the soul but I do not believe that you have to hold strong faith to develop your soul. You may find your faith along your journey but it need not be there to start the first step on the path to growing your soul. You could say our souls are linked to the universe, some people feel more comfortable with this rather than the word ‘God’; use whatever you feel comfortable with. I personally hold spiritual faith in the universe and, if it is God at the head of this, then I have no problem with that. The main thing is that you have faith. When faith begins to grow, what name you give it is up to you but you will feel it inside and from this you will begin to grow your own soul.
When you begin to take notice of your inner self, your soul, I believe that certain things could begin to happen. You could feel more at peace; you could see things differently. Others may sense your calmness and react differently towards you and a beginning of self-discovery could start. It is an exciting time; it can open many doors if you let it. Nourish your soul through words, kind acts, kind thoughts and healthy living and it will blossom. With such nurture and attention, you will feel like you are being massaged from the inside out. A ‘soul massage’ would be a good way to describe the process. At first it may be difficult, as to start the process you need to give yourself some time each day where you can reflect. Be alone with your thoughts or think nothing. Clear your mind, as those who meditate do. Begin to listen to that which is inside of you; as you progress with this aspect of growing your soul, you may begin to sense answers or even questions to situations within your life. Your soul is your friend, the real part of you that is born like a blank canvas to be written on in your lifetime with opportunities and experiences that come your way. They will be good and bad, as life will not always be fair: that is the way of the world. Your soul is here to learn and grow and you are the physical guide that will lead this growth, but to be able to do this you have to develop your inner knowing, your understanding of your soul and the path that it needs to take, so that you can both become all you were meant to be whilst on this earth. It is my belief that we all come to earth with a purpose, lessons to be learnt and questions to be answered. We are not aware of this purpose; we just believe we are here to live our life. But there is more and your soul is your guide: feel it, embrace it and encourage it to lead you to your destiny. This inner life you carry does not require complex things or complex nurture, just simple things like kindness, mindfulness, peacefulness, being listened to and spiritual nourishment. It basically needs you to take care of it, to nurture its talents and in turn it will nurture your body and your mind, for a healthy soul makes for a healthy human being. It all sounds easy but it isn’t. You have to truly want to acknowledge your soul and begin to understand your inner self to enable it to grow so that it can support you in becoming at one with yourself. It doesn’t mean that you can’t be materially successful or have abundance in your life, or aspire to be successful, but by growing your soul as well, it will mean that you will radiate goodness into the world. You will have the true experiences that you are meant to have and you will be given the strength to deal with situations that may come your way. For all the human race, their individual experiences will be unique to them; we all have choices and, depending on the choices we make, is where the next road appears that we have to walk on. Your soul will not demand, nor tell you where to go, as you were born free and with freedom of choice. If your soul grows within you and you listen and feel, guidance will be obtained to inform the choices of your life.
By neglecting our souls and distancing ourselves from spiritual understanding, we are losing sight of our role to protect, nurture and grow the planet on which we live. We have lost touch with our spiritual growth and developed our western world on commodity-driven societies, to the detriment of not only the planet but also the third world. Life will never be equal, it is not meant to be that way, but we all do have a duty to protect the planet so that it can provide for all the species that inhabit it, wherever they may be. It needs a collective approach and not the individualistic approach that has been forthcoming from the modernity of the western world. We have to understand that what we do as individuals here will at some point affect someone else over there. The development of the collective consciousness (all souls coming together to support the planet) needs to be a priority for all of us, to ensure that the resources of the planet can continue to provide for us all, both now and for generations to come.
If we are, as I have suggested, protectors of the soul of the Earth and we have not or do not grow our own souls within, how can we develop the insight and the solutions to mend the physical world we live in and our planet Earth? It is important that each person begins a relationship with his or her soul. Many have already started on this path, some are further along than others, but the path is wide and is ready to accommodate more, for on this path is where the collective consciousness will grow and begin to change the course of our world. The soul is powerful. If grown within a person, it can change a life; if grown as a collective, it can change a lifetime. If we all nurture our souls, then in turn we will, by changing our ways, our thinking, our expectations, our wants, our needs and our desires, build our faith and come together and be the collective consciousness that will protect the Earth. Just as our soul will protect us if we love, care, feed and nurture, listen and respect it, we will protect the Earth’s soul through the protection of resources, development of peace and a collective understanding and unity of cultures and respectfulness of faiths.
This sounds immense, enormous and an impossible task, but don’t forget, one revived soul can touch others who will touch others, so give it a go! The first main difference you could see will be in you and for you. I do believe that we can build a collective energy that could change the future of the world in which we live and for generations to come. I believe in you; reach for your potential and believe in yourself!
As I said this last sentence I jumped up in the boat and it rocked from side to side, Miriam sat completely still with no expression and certainly no fear of the boat turning over, (which I have to say I felt was a possibility at this point). I slowly sat down and waited, listening to the water lap the side of our boat as we continued along the river. The boat began to slow and move towards a small jetty, which was engulfed by a rainbow. The colours shone like I have never seen before. We moved slowly forward and then stopped just at the perfect moment to disembark from our little boat. I found myself being helped out of the boat by Miriam; she had jumped out onto the jetty as quick as a flash and as supple as a youngster.
Miriam gestured to the path ahead and we started to walk towards some woods. As we got nearer, I could see that there was a cabin situated on the edge of the woods and smoke was coming from the chimney. A welcome sight as I was tired, and the temperature was beginning to fall. As I looked at Miriam, far from looking tired she appeared to have a bounce to her stride which I had not encountered before and she looked younger and fresher in the face. The open fire greeted us and on the table the tea was brewing. I looked at Miriam with questioning eyes, as there appeared to be no one else in the cabin. She just smiled and gestured for me to sit down “White with one sugar dear”, she said. “Yes please. That would be very welcome”.
I embraced my tea with both hands and sighed at the comfort it provided me. “A mirror you walk through, a boat with no oars and a cabin with a ready made fire and warm tea: it is all beginning to seem a bit like a dream” I said to Miriam. She looked up from her cup and with that knowing smile that I was becoming to love said, “Well, if you truly grow your soul, then you will know that all you need will be provided and if you find your faith, then anything is possible”. We both returned to our tea and once again sat in comfortable silence with each other. Warm soup t
hat had been cooking on the stove when we arrived was now ready, which we were grateful for: so with a good deep bowl and a chunk of newly made bread we ate well. The night was pulling in by the time we had finished our meal, the embers from the fire gave a warm glow and I laid my weary body down on one of the beds and drifted off to sleep.
I woke at dawn and Miriam was already busying herself with the fire and breakfast. As always, we ate well: warm porridge and excellent tea would set us up well for our next journey. Once finished, Miriam said “It is time to go into the mountains now, a place where you can look back as well as forward”. She handed me a rucksack and a blanket made of many different threads and colours, “This will keep you warm and safe if you use it wisely”. At this point she wrapped her blanket around her and headed for the door, I stood with my mouth open for her blanket lit the cabin up as if it were a rainbow. She turned, smiled and said “Tell me about your understanding of the Tapestry of Life, Angela”. With that, from under her blanket she threw her golden dust into the air and as it settled on the floor before me the verse read,
Take words from here, understandings too
Adapt them into whatever you do
For the one who weaves in light and love
Hears the guidance from above
Just as I was about to close the cabin door the golden dust flew past me and once again returned to Miriam’s velvet pouch. As the door shut and I followed Miriam towards the mountain path, I began talking about the ‘Tapestry of Life’