By Lori Lines

​Grief, a multifaceted and widespread feeling, forms a complex web interwoven within the very essence of our journey. It represents an unavoidable aspect of our existence, yet frequently remains misconstrued and seldom openly discussed.

Journeying through life, we encounter the many faces of loss – the passing of loved ones, the end of relationships, the loss of a job, the death of a dream, the closing of chapters we held dear. In these moments, we face the challenge of unraveling the tangled threads of cognition, spirituality, and emotion.
 
Grief has the power to shape us, transform us, and ultimately lead us to a higher state of being. There is a profound connection between grief and enlightenment and how embracing the process of mourning can become a catalyst for our ascension.

Beyond the Veil: A Soul's Journey

Some philosophers, poets, shamans, religious leaders, and spiritualists have devoted their lives to understanding the soul’s transition upon passing. Many of these thinkers can agree that the end of this life leads to a new phase of the spiritual journey, meaning death is not an ending but a transitional phase and a continuation. As many awaken, we are coming to realize that it is the individual soul who chooses to depart into the liminality of death, a new state of being. When we look at the passing of our loved ones from this perspective, it allows us to see their departure as a purposeful and conscious choice they have made to progress on their spiritual path.

Death and its timing are a choice made by the soul in its highest form and consciousness to depart from the school of humanity to a new phase of higher learning orchestrated according to Divine timing and the soul’s planning. Similarly, when people leave our lives but not the earthly plane, this is also a matter of destiny and Divine intervention. The same can be said about circumstances such as the loss of a job, the forfeiture of a dream, or the absence of an opportunity.

Just as a caterpillar sheds its cocoon to become a butterfly, we, too, must release those people and situations that hinder our growth.

Grief is a transitional state between the past and the future, allowing us to honor what was, mourn what could not be, and embrace what can be. It is a process that, while painful, is necessary for our spiritual evolution.
 
Growing Through Grief

Grief, in its true essence, is a fertile foundation for self-realization, emotional growth, and soulful transformation. It invites us to confront our vulnerabilities and encounter the depths of our emotions.
 
I remember undergoing a profound experience of grief several years ago, during which a wise friend, who had navigated a similar journey, offered me valuable counsel. She shared the insight that embracing the opportunity to shed tears could be incredibly healing. Her advice wasn't about forcing emotions, but rather allowing them to surface naturally whenever they needed to. While I initially met her guidance with some doubt, the high level of trust I had in her encouraged me to put her words into practice.

I discovered that I was most at ease releasing my tears when I was alone, as solitude seemed to create an environment where my emotions could freely emerge. Across the span of several months, I cried a river of tears, until one day I noticed a significant shift—I realized I hadn't cried in quite some time. This realization marked a pivotal moment in my journey through grief. Although occasional pangs of sorrow still touched me, the profound intensity of my experience had gradually faded away, allowing me the freedom to move on by learning through my grief and growing into the person I am today.

When we avoid grief, we deny ourselves the opportunity for release, introspection, self-discovery, and self-actualization. The pain and sorrow we experience are not merely obstacles to be overcome or burdens to repress; they are the fruitful soil that cultivates spiritual expansion from the seeds of suffering.
 
By genuinely and fully grieving, we can honor what was lost, gained, and learned, celebrating the meaningfulness of the pleasure we once felt, the pain we are feeling, and the process we must undergo.
 
In allowing ourselves to feel the full spectrum of our emotions, we engage in a sacred act of self-realization, self-discovery, and self-actualization. By embracing grief, we find the courage to confront our shadow aspects and emerge into the light of self-awareness and spiritual transformation.

The Grand Canvas of Reality

Much like grief, ascension and awakening are not destinations; They are soulful journeys and certainly not linear processes. To pass through grief and reach these elevated states of consciousness, we must navigate the cycles of life, waves of emotions, and mental obstacles. Grief is a landmark with a sprawling view of the landscape of the human experience and a summit from which you can catch a glimpse of the expansiveness of higher consciousness.
 
Being fully present as your authentic self in the mourning process means transcending the boundary between the human experience and the dimensions of enlightenment. From the vantage point of grief, you can better understand the earthly plane and the realm of higher consciousness and gain a clearer vision of the path that unifies them.

To heal is to open yourself to the teachings that grief provides. As you become aware of your pain, you uncover your soul. Ascension is not about forsaking your past but integrating your soul’s journey with your human experience into the continuum of existence. Each thread represents a lesson learned, a memory cherished, a love treasured, and a wound healed.
 
Rebirth From Darkness

Grief is a profound act of self-care, self-discovery, and self-actualization, and recognizing that it is not a detour from the path to enlightenment but an integral part of it will give you the strength to endure the painful nature of the journey, just like a mother going through labor.

When approached with intention and reverence, grief is like a birth that requires you to surrender to the rhythm of your emotional body and waves of emotional pains with patience and acceptance. During this process, both your humanity and spirituality are born again, renewed. There is pain, but there is also joy as we are reborn from the darkness of grief.

Final Thoughts…

Grief, an intricate thread woven into the fabric of human experience, is often misunderstood and overlooked but is an essential stitch linking the human experience with the soul’s journey.
 
As we integrate life's losses with joys, we untangle the threads of limiting beliefs, emotional blockages, and spiritual tethers. Weaving mourning into the fabric of our lives incorporates the lessons of pleasure, pain, loss, and actualization into our experience. With every thread of grief, we knit a ladder, allowing us to climb out of the darkness, renewed, ascending to the light. 

In Love and Truth,
Lori Lines

By Lori Lines

This was written during my darkest moments of my Dark Night of the Soul. Never to return. 

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By Lori Lines

Your voice, tender and inviting,
In matters of love, clichés are known, no denying.
Yet here, a novelty, a fervor,
I can't set aside,
After that wave engulfed me, turning the tide,

After the struggle to emerge, to breathe,
In the calm that followed, I did perceive,
My own reflection, like an island, so clear,
In the boundless water, my solitude drew near.
With the next wave's embrace,
I understood, Regrets.

Though a subsequent wave may have me misunderstood,
For am I concussed or in self-deceit, I've stood?
I find no reason to rue the past's bitter lore,
No room for regrets now, or evermore.

What weighs so heavy, you cannot foresee,
A future to redeem, a heart set free,
Settle it today, release the binding chain,
Freedom to embrace, not from but to gain.

In this moment, regret should find no place,
For gravity draws two souls to embrace,
From distant corners, they converge, and unite,
In the cosmic depths, their stars ignite.

No regrets linger, no burden to bear,
Every cell alive, a thrill in the air,
An anticipation, yet undefined,
The purpose unknown, the path unlined.

Do you sense it too, this stirring inside,
​A journey unfolding, where hearts collide?

© Lori Lines, 2015

Dark Night of the Soul Poem

By Lori Lines

Despite what we thought after our first childhood or teenage experience with unrequited love, rejection won’t kill you! Yes, the blend of shame, self-loathing, loss, and alienation can make rejection extremely painful, but the only thing that may die as a result is the ego’s comparative compulsions. We’ve all been rejected in our lives, and we have lived to tell the harrowing tale- but does rejection always have to be so painful, profound, or personal?

The Truth is a Double-Edged Sword
You see, rejection is a double-edged sword. It is manifested interpersonally (between two people) but is often an intrapersonal (within oneself) expression and experience.  This double-edged sword is usually wielded by those who are triggered by ego comparison, but they are blindly swinging with no personal vendetta.
 
For example, the “mean girl” who gets laughed at for her reading skills and, in turn, won’t let the student with straight A’s sit with the group at lunch.  Or the colleague who is used to being the boss’s “go-to-guy” and starts belittling the new employee who has also garnered the boss’s favor. In these cases, the people whose egos are threatened don’t have interpersonal issues with those they reject; they are indiscriminately lashing out at the discomforting ego comparison.

How is rejection a double-edged sword? When we are on the receiving end of its blade, it can cut to the core of an ego wound, and when we are brave enough to examine this wound, we can genuinely heal, gaining self-discovery, self-acceptance, and self-worth. For example, the student who, at their parent’s urging, applies and is rejected by all the schools they reached out to discovers their true passion is culinary arts. Or the man seeking love who is in a depressing cycle of romantic rejection and finally realizes he is not ready for love until he heals his codependent tendencies.

Power is the Ability to Achieve Purpose
The truth is that rejection isn’t all bad; it can also be rather beautiful, purposeful, and powerful when you think about it. Sometimes rejection is a Divine gift of protection or postponement for something better. For example, the woman who desperately wants the man she is casually dating to commit. But Spirit has other plans, and instead, he rejects her. She is heartbroken over the abandonment. What she doesn’t realize is that he is a narcissist who would have emotionally abused her, but Spirit wouldn’t allow it; this woman’s destiny is to meet her soulmate six months later…

Rejection may also be a Divine intervention to steer us towards our greatest good and highest purpose- the ultimate path of ascension. Imagine a new graduate getting rejected for all the teaching jobs in his area. So, he journeys abroad and takes a teaching job in China. He learns about Traditional Chinese Medicine, Reiki, and QI Jong in his spare time and discovers his purpose as a holistic energy healer. Sometimes the slammed door of rejection is a necessary redirection!

Just as we must learn to accept our own rejection, we must be willing to reject others when circumstances call for it. Many people struggle with dispensing rejection because of their experience and emotions towards receiving it. When we view being rejected as personal, it can trigger thoughts and feelings of unworthiness, shame, abandonment, loneliness, inferiority, and ridicule. This makes it difficult for someone, with any modicum of compassion, to dole this pain out to anyone else- understandably!

However, when we understand that rejection is intrapersonal and rarely interpersonal, malicious, or targeted, we can use rejection as a healing tool, enabling us to protect ourselves and our boundaries. What’s more, when we are comfortable rejecting who and what is not meant for us, doesn’t, or no longer serve our purpose, we are better able to accept and move on after being rebuffed, allowing us to process, learn, and progress quicker and with greater ease. 

Rejection is Divine Redirection
In all these ways, rejection can be a powerful and painless tool for 
Divine Guidance
Divine Protection
Ending Ego Comparisons
Finding Purpose
Self-Discovery
Self-Worth
Setting Boundaries
Shadow Work
Trauma Recovery

Depending on your point of view, rejection can become a key to unlocking a better you, a better path, and a better future.  What changes it from a weapon into a key? Quite simply, how you perceive it. How you feel about rejection plays an influential role regarding how much you can benefit from it, whether on the giving or receiving end. 

A willingness to see rejection for what it truly is, be it a lesson, opportunity, Divine protection, or emotional intervention, can create opportunities for growth, empowerment, evolution, and abundance.
 
Often, when rejection closes a door, it is because it no longer leads anywhere; honor rejection as a doorway to the path of enlightenment and ascension! 

In love and truth,
Lori Lines
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By Lori Lines

Effects of stress, as a result of bad memories and experiences, grief and loss, are devastating. We cannot underestimate the need to let go of old baggage, old relationships, outdated belief systems, and people who have hurt us in the past.  The majority of people have something that bogs them down emotionally, something that takes toll  of their lives mentally and physically, and when we have not dealt with it, the consequences can lead to devastating effects. Old emotional baggage can be a result of several factors, it could be a nasty situation or a person which you encountered in life that hurt you terribly,  it could be plans that you were holding onto that suddenly went awry, it could be a trauma that you faced while you were young and possibly this trauma has somehow not been released from your energy field.  Perhaps you have tried many methods and none has helped.  I'm here to tell you that  one should not lose hope because there are many ways to release.  One of the services I provide is to guide people with emotional baggage through guided meditation coupled with essential oils to help identify and release that which weighs you down from moving forward in life.  
 
Essential oils have been proven, in my healing practice, to work and eventually empower my client(s) to lead happy, more fulfilling lives. But it's a process.  A very rewarding process.

For my clients who value full body and full emotional wellness, a chance to deal with a problem or a belief system which keeps one stuck that  might have taken its toll in one's life has been gratefully accepted and welcomed.  We are all aware that there is no greater wealth than good health and most people  would do anything in their capacity to ensure that they achieve optimal health. Essential oils are meant to do just that: to help us in attaining our best form by raising our vibrational frequencies. Aromatherapy (therapeutic use of essential oils) is something that has been around for many years and has  been tried and found to be effective.   Those who have used these products have  learned of their intense power and a special kind of energy that can only be found in these kinds of oils.

Therapeutic grade essential oils are extracted directly from the plant , so those who may be having thoughts of being harmed by the oil need not worry as they are suitable for human consumption. The fact that they are obtained in their natural form means that they have life force energy that can be used for certain intentions. Conventional wisdom concurs that the amount of energy contained in the oils is high enough to release all the negative energy stored in our bodies. Here's how it works on a spiritual, energetic level:  Basically, everything is alive, everything is constantly changing and everything has a meaning.  Our bodies are a dense culmination of Karmic energy and, therefore, each of us "vibrates" at our own frequency based on all that we have accumulated and released up to now.  Therefore, certain organs in our bodies carry certain emotions through our energy systems called chakras.  The way essential oils work is they seep into the emotions and can change our frequencies for the better.   They are known to be transmitted directly to the part of the brain which is known as the emotional control center. This is the point where the decision on where emotions are to be stored in our bodies are made. This may seem like a very complex process but understanding it is easy especially when this has been part of life experiences.

When it comes to the application of the essential oils, you need to do it in the recommended way which ensures that you achieve the desired result. Be sure to follow the instructions and be assured you are on a journey to achieve full and balanced positive energy. When done in the right way, under the right regime  you are assured that the feelings will be awakened, you will feel those feelings as you release them, and then you can be left with a feeling of courage, excitement, well-being and even joy.

It is also important to make sure you inhale by diffusing the essential oils appropriate for release, allowing the therapeutic aroma to massage your inner spirit.  It is important to stay aware and allow your emotions to surface without attempting to distract yourself from them, to stay present with them - because the more you do this the quicker you will release negativity.  Otherwise, this process will draw out very long and you may be discouraged to continue on.    Note that this one process will not be wiping your slate completely clean, but will be making yourself ready to start afresh, once again, by clearing the way for new and better to come into your life.

If you have been carrying old baggage, it is high time you let it go, they will continue weighing you down unless you do something about it. Most clients say it is so refreshing to let the dead weight off their shoulders.  Essential oils have been tried and tested and found to be very effective along these lines as you will not only feel energized but also feel like a part of some huge load that has been weighing you down has been lifted. There is so much joy in doing this as the quality of your life will be truly enhanced.

Applying essential oils for release will help you open the inner self as you will feel traumatic and negative past experiences melting right away.  When this happens your inner voice will slowly come back, giving you the energy that has been hidden inside and, based on my own experiences with essential oils,  it is an experience that has positively changed my life for the better. The sweet fragrance will stimulate your memories helping in reconnecting with authentic self. Once you have managed to open the true self , you will have successfully completed an important step in finding the emotional balance that perhaps has been so evasive.

What oils are best to use for release?  Young Living Essential Oils offers several - however, it needs to be said that this is a very simplistic guideline for "letting go," releasing, and allowing the uplifting feeling of peace and emotional freedom to root into your psyche.  Emotional health is a precious gift to our well-being because without it we are simply not living a life of fulfillment.

1. Valor - is a Young Living Essential Oil blend that is used when we need to prepare for an emotional release.  It helps balance energies within the body and helps to give courage, self-esteem and confidence.  
2. Harmony - is a great blend that promotes physical and emotional healing through harmonic balance of the energy centers of the body, enabling energy to flow more efficiently. It helps reduce stress which, in itself, creates an overall sense of well-being.
3. Sacred Frankincense - helps to regulate emotions, reduces feelings of stress, and is calming.  It eases depression around the traumatic experiences of life, whether in times of divorce, bereavement, or other emotional losses.  Promotes confidence and purpose as the feelings of negativity disappear.  It also stimulates the body's immune system.
4. 3 Wise Men - this blend was formulated to open the subconscious mind through pineal stimulation to release deep-seated trauma encoded in our DNA.  It opens the crown chakra and stimulates the limbic system, bringing a sense of grounding and uplifting through positive memory recall.
5. Release - this blend helps a person let go of the energy that comes from anger and hate held within the cells of the liver in order to create emotional peace and well-being.  Freedom comes from being at peace rather than from harboring negative emotions.
6. Idaho Balsam Fir - is a wonderful aroma that is very grounding and relaxing to the body.  It helps with the effects of seasonally affective disorders (which I have suffered from), lifting depression.  This oil stimulates the immune system, creating an increase of energy and a sense of well-being. Breathing in this aroma brings in the feeling of security.
7. Inner Child - is a blend that may stimulate childhood memory.  When children experience abuse or trauma, they can become "disconnected" from the inner child or identity.  This disconnection may not be apparent until many years later, manifesting itself as a "midlife crisis."  The Inner child fragrance may stimulate memory response, helping one reconnect with his or her fundamental identity. This is an essential step to achieving emotional balance.
8. Forgiveness - has a very high electrical frequency that can help release negative memories to facilitate forgiveness, letting go, and moving on.
9. Grounding - is helpful in situations where one is overexcited about new ideas or wants to escape into a protective fantasy.  In this kind of mental state, it is easy to make choices that lead to bad relationships, bad business decisions, and other unfortunate circumstances.  We seek for an escape because we have no anchor to know how to deal with negative emotions.  This EO helps restore confidence and peace, enabling us to deal logically and peacefully with life's decisions.
10. Hope - is a formula that helps to reconnect with a feeling of strength and optimism for the future.  Hope must be in place in order to move forward in life.  Hopelessness can cause a loss of vision of goals and dreams, making it impossible to release emotional blocks.  This may help in overcoming tendencies toward depression.
11. Joy - is a wonderful exotic blend of Ylang Ylang, Bergamot, and pure Bulgarian Rose oil and produces a magnetic energy to attract love and enhance self-love, bringing joy to the heart.
12. Present Time - this fragrance has an empowering effect that gives a feeling of being "in the moment."  It's a wonderful blend that helps those who are practicing mindfulness or "presence" and are in need of a little staying present.  One can only progress through emotional release when in the present time.
13. SARA - is an essential oils blend formulated specifically for opening the limbic system to release the memories of serious trauma connected with Sexual and/or Ritual Abuse.
14. White Angelica - is an amazing blend (men usually like this better than the EO, Joy) of 18 different oils, some of which were used during ancient times to increase the aura around the body, bringing a delicate sense of strength and protection.  Its frequency protects against negative energies and helps to create a feeling of wholeness and oneness with the Creator.
15. Take Time - while in a quiet, meditative space choose an oil of your choice to enhance this process, reflect on your goals, your dreams, and on the positive things in your life, along with the things that you are choosing to change in your life.

If you need help, I am available for consultations for the proper use of essential oils for release. I will also recommend that, if you are diligently working on releasing traumas from the past, you see a mental health professional.  Seeing a mental health professional will ensure you receive the proper support during this time of transformation.  Remember, oils may continue to work on an emotional level for several days. So, be careful not to use them too frequently because release should be gentle and handled with ease and care.

To purchase any the above product(s) you may click here and decide if you want to be a retail customer or to take advantage of the wholesale prices.  Click here if you are not already a Young Living Essential Oils member.

In my opinion through extensive research and intuitive experience, these oils are of the highest vibrational frequency available on the planet.

*Always consult a qualified medical professional before using any natural product and seek the advice of your physician with any questions you may have regarding any medical condition.  The information contained in this article as well as all Essential Oils articles in this blog is for educational and informational purposes only, and it is not meant to replace medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment in any manner.  Never delay or disregard professional medical advice,  Use the information solely at your own risk; the author accepts no responsibility for the use thereof.  The information and materials are not meant to diagnose, prescribe, or treat any disease, condition, illness or injury.


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By Lori Lines

This may, at first, appear inconsequential to those of you who have suffered great loss but I begin this article by telling this true story as a basis for where I was in my own spiritual evolution several years ago. Read on.

Many years ago, I came across this beautiful unique and expensive leather sofa when I was decorating my new home in Colorado.  I fell in love with this sofa and it was delivered the next day.  Over time, I lovingly cleaned it with leather cleaner and then spent hours conditioning the leather. It was gleaming in our family room as I admired it so.  At the time, my daughter was about three years old, I told her never to get near the furniture with her art supplies. I kept a special place in our basement just for her, all set up with an easel, paper, play doh, paints and chalk...just waiting for her future masterpieces.  One day, she found one of my big permanent markers that we used to label our moving boxes.  You know, those really big fat pens with black permanent ink?  And, as I was preparing lunch for her I noticed how suddenly the house seemed quiet.  I looked around for my daughter but I couldn't find her.  I called out her name and I heard nothing. Then I saw her. She was happily drawing a new masterpiece, with that black pen, all over my new light tan sofa!  

Our beloved leather sofa was ruined. I immediately went into denial thinking it could be cleaned and returned to it's pristine status.  Then I became angry.  And, then I was crushed.  The beautiful sofa in my elegant, newly decorated family room, was a massive piece of three year old graffiti.

Fortunately, and it took all I could muster, I had the presence of mind not to take my anger out on her.  But I was LIVID, to say the least.  And, I felt loss.  It took a bit of time to recover my equanimity but of course, I did.  Once again, I recognized the irony of my attachment to an image that that sofa portrayed.  I had to remind myself, as the Buddha said, "All compounded things are impermanent."  This leather sofa was most certainly a compounded thing as was clear by the vision of graffiti by my then 3 year old.   Sometimes we give away possessions, say, to a friend, that we are attached to and we feel loss.  But that is different.  I had given away that possession voluntarily.  But, this time, the loss came against my will. When giving something way, we have the time to relinquish an attachment before letting it go.  The leather sofa, however, was gone before I was prepared.  And. It. Hurt.  Now I had to relinquish my attachment after the fact.  In other words, I had to grieve.  

Grieving is the process of coming to terms with loss in our lives.  Almost from the very moment we are born, we are having to deal with loss.  Newborns come into the world having to deal with the loss of the warmth and comfort of the mother's womb.  And, from that instant onward, life can seem like a stream of losses.  Some losses, of course, are greater than others.  Losing a loved one to death is more significant and more distressing, for most people, than losing a mere material object like a leather sofa.  But, the loss of anything can cause suffering and can require the process of grieving to help us to adjust.

I invite you to take a moment to reflect on the losses in your own life.  Almost certainly you've lost someone close to you to death.  You may have lost a parent, a grandparent, a spouse, a friend, a relative.  My own grandmother died a few years ago at the age of 94 and I wondered how many people she lost in her lifetime.  Certainly the difficult aspects of a long life would have to be witnessing and coping with the loss of so many loved ones.

We endure loss through other means than death, of course...