| Depression: A Tool for
Personal and Collective Growth by Doreen Stewart It seems that as the earth's energies become more in conflict, our ability to adapt to and overcome the negativity that exists within them wanes. Depression isn't an unusual condition within out current time. More and more people are seeking help with feelings and emotions that they don't understand. Never before has the medical profession prescribed more anti-depressant medications as they have been in our recent past. On a metaphysical level, it comes as no surprise, these emotions of sadness, hopelessness and being lost in the multitudes. One only has to watch the news to witness what happens when these negatives energies display themselves. People become out of control, and the loss of respect for life is frightening. It becomes increasingly easy to forget who we are within the chaos of everyday life. Between jobs, deadlines, grades and maintaining familial responsibilities, we forget who we really are: spiritual beings sent from the creator to manifest our purpose on this earth. It took a along time for me to realize how wrapped up I would get in outward expressions of who I am. Instead of embracing the path I have been on for years, I would focus on a seeming lack of time, grades, classes and respect from others that really didn't matter in the greater scheme of things. I also focused on my role as mother, daughter, friend, etc., feeling that I was inadequate in all of the above, as I let myself get lost in the mainstream mindset of success and control. It's of the greatest importance that we not lose our sense of who we really are, no matter how busy and fragmented our lives become. We need a very strong sense of our own values and how we define success and failure in our lives. Without these strengths, it becomes too easy to fall into socially defined patterns of thought that might not be in our best interests spiritually to follow. Our hearts and souls know what defines success for us. As long as we listen, we won't stray too far from our path. We live in a world of diversion, no matter what device or substance is claimed as the tool. Many of us have spent numerous amounts of energy trying to avoid or forget who we are: Divine beings who were sent of love, to generously disperse that same love unconditionally here on earth. This is the foundation for the civilization that is to come. I myself have found diversion in many ways when I have tried to avoid my real life's work. Alcohol was a strong one in my life. Some choose endless hours of television, no matter the topic for viewing. Drugs, shopping, eating, even excessive exercise can be used. Anything can be utilized to divert the mind and energy away from the soul, and the message that lies within it. I have found that the remedy can be found for the sadness and depression within the soul. Without the worldly diversions, the light is strong and can emanate within and around me, making my path more visible. It does, however, take an enormous amount of strength to remain connected to our true callings when the world is pulling at us from all sides. The expectation from family, friends and lovers to conform to social codes is a huge nuisance to those on a spiritual path. It is a delicate balance to try and maintain relationships while staying on our true path of spiritual growth. Balance can be reached, however, even if we occasionally find ourselves stumbling. There are many times when one feels misunderstood, and saddened by the isolation that our sacred education creates. But it is through that silence that the message is given, and that peace is found. Those who remain in diversion hear the whispers, without the benefit of hearing the whole message and finding the peace and contentment that are held within it. Through the state of depression, we find ourselves whole and at peace on the other side. Without the pain and sadness the world creates within us, we would not grow and move ahead spiritually. We would remain in the internal chaos that we started in, and the future of our world would be sure to perish. Souls cycle through trials and tribulations, growing and strengthening through the process. We all takes turns, lending a hand to others when they feel the most vulnerable, only to find that down the road, the tables have turned and that same hand is reaching out to comfort us when it is our turn in the cycle. On the other side of our pain and suffering is a stronger, more enlightened soul, more than we were before sadness found us for our place in the rotation. Depression is never an easy thing to overcome, but if we hold onto the knowledge that it is only through our suffering that we grow as individuals, it becomes a great comfort. Through our hardest times, and as we grow stronger and more grounded, the world grows stronger and more ready for its destined evolution into a divine paradise. Doreen Stewart received a B.S. degree from Black Hills State University in American Indian studies. She has studied spirituality and sacred philosophies for the last 20 years, and she is now working on master's degree in counseling to counsel spiritually, and serve others as a life coach. Contact her at enigma1021@excite.com Copyright © 2004 Doreen Stewart |
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Feb 2004 |
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