Motley Mystic Meditation Musings: Recent Episodes
Candace Chellew
Sometimes our best ideas and deepest, most profound thoughts come after we've meditated or when we're out walking the dog and enjoying nature. I'll be sharing my extemporaneous thoughts and ideas on spirituality and transformational growth. I may be out of breath on the walk, but spirit is always breathing through us all. I am the author of "Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians" and the Spiritual Director at Jubilee! Circle in Columbia, SC. Find more of my writings and teachings at motleymystic.substack.com or at jubileecircle.com
I haven't posted a podcast or an article on my Motley Mystic blog in a few weeks, mainly because I really didn't have anything to say. I've been a little anxious about this. I don't want anyone to think I've disappeared. But, as I walked today, I realized that perhaps the Universe tells us to shut up for a little while so we can take the time to deeply listen for new wisdom that the world needs for us to share. Hopefully, today's episode offers some of that new wisdom. Let's go for a walk. If you're interested in working with me as your spiritual director, please email me at candace@motleymystic.com
I'm sure you have noticed that there seems to be an inordinate amount of suffering and division in our world today. Whether it's political unrest, social unrest, disagreements about masks, vaccines or other issues, we seem more divided than ever, and further away from changing our collective consciousness from separation to unity. In this episode, I give you the most powerful tool you have available to you in this moment to end the separation we feel and restore us back to our original unity. Let's go for a walk. Visit my blog at The Motley Mystic.
In this episode, we consider the question of whether we've been pursing our passions all wrong. Instead of "pursuing" them, what if we're supposed to simply "allow" them? What if allowing them means raising our emotional vibration from a place of shame, fear or unworthiness to a place of courage, love, peace and joy? What if instead of pursuing our calling or our passion, we simply lived our lives pursuing higher and higher vibrations – becoming a Holy vibrator – so we can allow ourselves to become exactly who we are called to be in the world?
We've heard of warmongers, hatemongers and fearmongers, because they focus on one negative thing to the exclusion of everything else. The word "monger," however, can have a positive connotation if we combine it with a passion that brings love and joy to the world. In this episode, I challenge you to have such a singular focus on your spiritual growth that you become a spiritualmonger. Want more? Visit my blog at The Motley Mystic
In this episode, I muse about how our ego works overtime to bog down our progress, whether it's spiritual or material, by constantly asking us how our dreams, visions and ideas will come to fruition, and how we can overcome this annoying egoic habit.
In this episode, I invite you to pay attention to what you're paying attention to on a daily basis. So many things compete for our attention during the day, and often, we spend our valuable attention on things that do on expand us, and instead keep us mired in the ego's desire to "do" something or keep us from becoming who we are meant to be. I offer you a practice to help you spend your attention wisely. I hope you enjoy this episode!
In this episode, I muse over one sentence in A Course in Miracles that confused me for a long time. It reads: "I need do nothing." Our society is obsessed with doing and we all think there's something we need to be constantly doing to grow as people, whether it's in our jobs, relationships or our spirituality. In reality, with a capital R, though, all that doing can stunt our growth and keep us trapped in ego. Nonaction, though, as the Tao Te Ching says, ensures that everything gets done. "The way," it says, "is ever without action, yet nothing is left undone." So, sit back and do nothing while you enjoy this episode.
In this episode, I muse about the notion of our "self-saboteur" – that part of us that says we're not good enough, smart enough and no one likes us anyway. We give this part of ourselves the power to undermine our dreams, visions and goals. I have struggled with my own pattern of self-sabotage, so today I had a come-to-Jesus moment with that part of myself, and here's what happened.
We live in many different worlds during our lives including our parents' world, the world of education and the world of work. In this episode, I talk about these many different worlds and how we have a choice to leave old worlds that don't serve us anymore and be constantly creating new and better worlds of peace, love and joy.
In our third episode, I'm exploring what to do when you don't know what to do. We often get panicked when we're in that "I don't know" place – but during my walk with my German Shepherd The Lord today, I argue that this is the best place to be because this is the place of infinite possibilities. I hope you enjoy today's motley mystic meandering.
We often poo-poo the idea of projecting our positive thinking forward – of imagining an exciting and uplifting future for ourselves. But worry is also fantasizing – we're just imagining the worst that could happen. So today, on my walk with Pax, I talk about a real-life example of how fantasizing can bring positive results.
As I walked with my dog Pax the other day, it hit me why I always seem to be playing small in life - my focus is more on doing that being. If we focus on what we're becoming, the "hows" take care of themselves.