Category: Daily Reflection

“Gentleness is strength under control. It is the ability to stay calm, no matter what happens.” (Elizabeth George)

I’ve had the tendency for a very long time to think there’s something I need to do, something I need to change, or something I need to work on when things aren’t where my mind wants them to be. And I’ve often searched quite diligently and used every bit of my strength to push myself in whatever direction I need to, hoping it will help me find the answer on how to ease my mind. But what I’ve been learning recently is that this type of programming doesn’t work for me anymore, as it only causes me to be extremely tense, to beat myself up, and to think I’m not doing well enough in some aspect of my life. The reality is that I’m already doing plenty and instead need to be much kinder with myself because in doing so, I’ve noticed it helps to soothe my mind and remain calm, no matter what it is I’m going through. But even better, it also seems to help lessen some of my pain, which is precisely why I plan on being more gentle with myself the next time I find my mind trying to tell me I’m not doing enough in some area of my life.

I pray that I may become gentler with myself in every area of my life and that I remember that the next time my mind tries convincing me I’m not doing good enough because I am. 

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

“We gain the strength of the temptation we resist.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Temptation is something that can come our way at any point in time. In my case, is always seems to show up at those precise moments when my ego really wants to have a little ease and comfort. Just the other day in fact, this very thing happened. I was feeling extremely frustrated and blue about where my life was at when I went on Skype to chat with my sister. It’s then I noticed I had missed an incoming call from someone else a day earlier. Lo and behold it was from a person I had engaged in far too many sexual addiction-based behaviors with many years ago. At first my hands went into autopilot mode, as I began typing a hello message to this individual. But then, my spirit quite loudly said from within, “WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING ANDREW?” My ego then attempted to take control and tell me it was totally ok to have a casual friendship with this person again. For a minute I allowed myself to think about that and even went so far as to momentarily look at this person’s Facebook page. I’m happy to report that I ended up listening to my spirit and completely resisted all of that temptation to reconnect with them and instead deleted their contact and logged out for the day. I have to say that I felt a lot stronger because of it and I know that if, or when, any temptation may happen again, I have even greater strength now to resist it. Thank God for that.

I pray I resist any and all temptation to engage in behaviors that are not of my highest, greatest good and I pray I become stronger with each one I resist.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

“Meditation is a lifelong process. Give it a try. As you get deeper and more disciplined into the process, you’ll get deeper and more disciplined in your mind and life.” (Brendon Burchard)

Many people pray on a regular basis, but so many never take the time to meditate. I learned a long time ago that if I wanted to live a healthy spiritual life, I needed to do both. Prayer being the action of communicating to my Higher Power, while meditation being that of listening for my Higher Power’s guidance and direction. Praying was usually the easier of the two for me, probably because I’ve spent so much time throughout my life asking my Higher Power for help with any number of things. But sitting still and becoming mindful of my thoughts always seemed far more difficult. Over the years I came to understand that the only way it would ever get any easier was if I practiced it on a daily basis. Initially I attempted to meditate in extremes, spending hours at a time trying to achieve some state of bliss and direct connection to my Higher Power. While I had some early on success with that, eventually I found I wasn’t able to recreate the experience. That only led me to sheer frustration and head in the opposite direction, putting aside next to no time for the practice. Ironically during that period I was quite far from feeling the presence of my Higher Power and my life fell to shambles. In recent years though, I’ve regularly returned to the practice, spending 45 minutes every day sitting in silence. Some days I’ve found this very challenging to do, especially when my thoughts run rampant or my body hurts incredibly. But on other days I’ve found myself having much greater success with meditation, feeling my Higher Power’s peace and serenity during a session. Regardless, practicing meditation regularly now has led to a far more stable life. That’s why I know I must keep on meditating in moderation, day in and day out. Because in the long run, it will not only continue to discipline my mind and body, it will also keep me become a much more open channel to receive and understand what my Higher Power’s will is for me.

I pray I continue setting time aside on a daily basis to meditate, no matter how I may feel when doing so. Because I know if I do, it will keep guiding me to a much more disciplined life and one that’s far closer to my Higher Power.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson