Cleaning Out The Closet of Your Mind with Debbie Friedman

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For information on Debbie's Cleaning Out the Closet of Your Mind
CDs and books, click here.

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To improve the golden moment of opportunity, and catch the good that is within our reach, is the great art of life."

- Samuel Johnson

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SCHOOL'S IN SESSION & THE LESSON IS LOVE

2007 was a very challenging year for many - full of testing, going to deep, dark, and sometimes depressing places to excavate and explore our beliefs and finally clear them out, then moving at last to a place of greater clarity and peace.

As a planet, as a people, we are moving to the next level in our evolution and this has been an intense, challenging and, often, uncomfortable time of preparation for what lies ahead.

On my way through a journey that felt at times like I was going to the depths of hell and back, I have come out the other side with a deep and profound epiphany - I am absolutely certain that this entire journey in this lifetime on earth is all about love.

We've probably all heard the phrase that we are spiritual beings having a human experience.

With that idea in mind, we may also have heard the idea that we have volunteered and been chosen to experience this great classroom of Life for the great transformation that is taking place. And, ultimately there is only one lesson to learn: Love.

It's ALL about Love.

Maybe this isn't a particularly earth-shattering or enlightening idea for many of you. For me, somehow, the message has come through more strongly than ever before and I feel that I might finally be getting it at last.

Imagine for just a moment that you are sitting in the planning session meeting before you came to Earth. Surrounded by loving beings, you begin to map out what you choose to experience and how you choose to learn. Your guides and elders, along with other spiritual beings, are there with you to plan your curriculum as certain souls volunteer to participate in helping you advance in your personal evolution on this journey around the sun.

Danny may volunteer to play the part of your wicked stepmother. Ginger may volunteer to be your best friend. Marco steps up to be your boss at work. Heather agrees to be your lover.

You get the idea. Everyone you meet has volunteered to play a part in the great drama you have created for this lifetime experience.

Now, in truth this is not an original idea of mine and there's plenty of documentation out there to support it. For more information on life between lives, check out Dr. Michael Newton's book Journey of Souls.

But let's carry it further. In this school of Life, some of us are in nursery school, some are in elementary, some in high school, some are in college, and some are here to get their Ph.D.

We're all learning our lessons in our own way. Every one you meet is a teacher.

When you operate from this understanding, it is impossible to hate or be angry or even be upset with someone who is simply doing what they came here to do - learn to love.

More than that, you can allow yourself to be really grateful for anyone who gives you an opportunity to move forward in your lessons. So, the person who hits your "hot buttons" - you know, the things that trigger fear, rage, outrage, low self-esteem, a lack of self-worth - has actually taken time out of their curriculum to help you advance in yours. They have generously volunteered to step aside from their own rigorous course of study to benefit you.

They have given you a profound and priceless gift - an opportunity to become a master on this journey and to move closer to graduation. As you excavate and grow beyond your core issues, you are set free to experience new lessons.

So, as circumstances and experiences have come up, I found myself asking each person in my mind's eye: "Have you learned how to love?"

And, then, of course I turned the question to myself: "Have you learned how to love?"

Each and every time I've done this, I've gotten a huge epiphany of understanding and felt refreshed with a new sense of joy and appreciation.

I have felt full of Love.

And in this intense joy of appreciation, seeing the perfection of Life with new eyes, there has been a certain freedom. The pain, the hurt, the anger, the fear, the feelings of rejection and disappointment simply disappear.

So, as you set yourself free from the illusions of the past, the drama that has kept you entertained and yet often distracted, the stories that you've been telling and then creating and recreating time and time again, you can have the incredible sense of being free to truly embrace and live the life you've always desired - full of all the really great, abundant, and prosperous joy that makes life so juicy and rich.

And you can give yourself permission to release and let go of any judgment, fear, worry, anger or regret, surrendering all that does not serve or support you. It's all been perfect and it is perfect. You're on the right train and it's moving away from the station on to a new destination.

With this new way of seeing, this new perspective, we can truly embrace and love our life as it is. From a practical level as a conscious creator, this makes great sense. When we determine and focus on what is wrong with our life and the people around us, or even the ideas of not enough or not good enough, we are magnets attacting more of those experiences into our reality. When we are filled with appreciation, love and expressing gratitude, we are open and receptive for even more in great measure.

Now, I'll be honest here and let you know that I have not yet mastered this lesson of Love, but I'm on my way. There are times when I've been drawn back sharply, as if I'm in a remedial class or going through a final exam, to make sure I've gotten it.

Before I get any irate emails or outraged phone calls, I ask you to keep an open mind and begin to hold this idea in your daily vision. As you go out in the world see, feel, know, expect and embrace that everyone in your life has come bearing a precious gift - the opportunity for you to learn how to love.

Maybe the lesson today is to learn to love yourself. Maybe it's to learn to love the challenges we face as spiritual beings in a physical body. Maybe it's to learn to have compassion for one of your fellow students and reach out to them in love. Maybe it's to learn to be detached and no longer engage in self-defeating behaviors as you give your fellow students the space and the grace to learn the lesson they're working on in the moment.

There is always an opportunity to make a choice in how we respond.

And when we choose Love we choose Life and a joyful, prosperous, abundant journey.

So, my question to you today is: Have you learned how to love?

If not, perhaps your silent daily walking prayer can become "Help me remember how to Love".

Love the magnificence of you - your special talents, gifts, and abilities. Love your body - your physical presence. Love your home. Love your car. Love your work. Love the people around you. Love the clouds in the sky. Love the opportunities to grow. Love every single aspect of your life.

As you do, your vibration, your experiences, and your world will change to one of excitement and delightment, filled with magic and miracles every day!

With love and gratitude,

Debbie Friedman, C.Ht.