Category: Words To Live By

Sometimes it feels as if a war has waged on between my spirit and my brain for most of my life. It’s almost as if I have had two completely separate entities living within me and all too often, they weren’t in agreement with each other on things. And lately, I’ve been realizing that all the work I’ve been doing has been helping them to operate much better as a unified team.

To help explain this better, I would like to portray my spirit and my brain as two completely independent people with different wants and needs. For my spirit, I compare it to that of a wise old man who’s lived way beyond his years. And for my brain, I compare it to that of a rebellious teenage boy who is very restless and impatient in life. Think for a moment what you could probably see happening when the two of these polar opposite people are placed in a room with each other. The main scenario I always saw playing out for years was the one that became that growing war within me. It’s where the wise old man was often trying to provide some words of wisdom to help that rebellious teenage boy to grow. But that boy never wanted to listen and instead would just roll his eyes, call the old man a geezer, and proceed to do whatever he wanted.

I see now how my old spirit has been trying to send my impatient brain messages for as long as I have lived. But sadly, my brain refused to listen until the pain got great enough. I look back at my life and realize my addictions to alcohol and drugs, gambling, sex and love, caffeine, shopping, and whatever else I chased after, were all tied to my restless and impatient brain that wished to have immediate gratification in life. Throughout all of that time where my brain was engaging in these addictions and more of the one in control, I can still remember those messages that were coming to me from my spirit. Usually they came in these quiet voices that preceded each time I acted out in one of those addictions. Sometimes I could almost hear the words going on from deep within me saying something like “That’s not really going to be good for you Andrew…” But my brain rarely, if ever, listened.

If you still aren’t getting what I mean, here’s a simple example for you. Take a person who just had a heart attack and is now on a mandatory diet by their doctor. Picture them walking down some main street and looking in all the shop windows they pass by. They soon come upon a bakery they once visited with great frequency and see in the window all its delicious pastries. It’s then that their spirit says very quietly, “You don’t need any of those as they will only cause you greater health issues right now, it’s best if you just keep on walking ok?” But the brain starts screaming, “GO IN THERE AND BUY JUST ONE! IT’S OK. IT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL A LOT BETTER RIGHT NOW!” And that’s when that internal war starts raging between the brain and the spirit. In my case, my brain always won out in those situations. That lasted for several decades in this way until my health began to fall apart completely a few years ago.

While these past few years have been a great source of frustration for my brain, the truth is that they’ve given the upper hand to my spirit to making many more of the day to day decisions in life. My brain hasn’t been very happy about this either. But it has been learning, as time has been moving forward, that my life is getting much less complicated then all those days when it was more in control. Little by little, my brain seems to be conceding its control, which is allowing my spirit to make much healthier decisions in life than my brain was ever was able to do. The war appears to be raging less and less within me and I am feeling a lot more peaceful with every step I am taking these days.

I think my rebellious teenage brain is actually growing up and realizing that it’s restless and impatient based life did nothing more than cause me great pain. And that wise old spirit within me, who was extremely patient with my brain for all those years, somehow knew through its wisdom that this would eventually happen. I’m happy to say that I’m starting to visualize a different picture now in that room with that teenage boy and old man. It’s one where I can see the boy sitting there intently and listening to the old man’s stories now. And it’s also one where I can see the old man playing some of the teenage boy’s favorite games with him now. Both seem to be finding great joy in each other’s company, but even better, it’s also allowing God to help them become that unified team with one sole purpose…to fill this world with a lot more love and light.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Have you ever wondered what it means when a specific type of bird flies directly in front of you and it happens more than once over a short period of time? Or have you ever wondered what it means when you have a reoccurring dream of something such as a snake or a spider? I definitely have and I’ve come to learn through my studies of Native American culture, that there are messages for my spiritual self in all of them.

Native Americans believe each person is connected with nine different animals that will accompany them through life, acting as guides. It is said in their culture that different animal guides will come in and out of one’s life, depending on the direction the person is headed and the tasks that are needed to be competed along their journey. Another belief that Native Americans have is that there is one totem animal that’s with a person for life, both in the physical and spiritual world. So while there may be many animal guides that accompany a person throughout their life, there’s only one totem animal that acts as the main guardian spirit.

Animal guides and totems can appear in many different forms including those of birds, insects, arachnids, mammals, reptiles, sea creatures, and more. It’s also important to note that an animal guide does not necessarily mean that it’s someone’s pet or something they will spend time with. Rather, it’s more about when the presence of that animal shows up and how it’s there for the person to become open to learning its lessons.

The main reason why I became so interested in pursuing this subject is that sometimes the signs we ask our Higher Power to send us, come in ways that aren’t so prevalent like the burning bush we often hope to see. Instead, they sometimes come in things as simple as an animal reappearing again and again in our lives.

I’m sure by now you may be thinking what I once did too, when I started learning about all of this. How does one identify the presence of an animal guide or totem to learn those lessons and receive those signs it may trying to provide? Here are some of the questions you can ask yourself to finding that answer:

1. Have you ever felt drawn to one animal or another without being able to explain why?

2. Does a certain kind of animal keep appearing in your daily life? (such as in the movies you see, the television shows you watch, or in correspondence sent to you)

3. When you go to a zoo, a park, a wildlife area, or walk into a forest, what are you most interested in seeing?

4. Are there any animals that you find to be extremely frightening or intriguing?

5. Is there a particular animal you frequently are seeing when you’re out and about?

6. Have you ever been attacked by an animal that was unprovoked by you?

7. Have you ever had a reoccurring dream about a certain animal, or a dream from years ago about one that you haven’t forgotten?

8. Are you being drawn to figurines or paintings of a specific animal?

It’s probably best that I provide an example now from my own life to show how I have used these questions to identify one of my own animal guides. I once was spending time with this guy who was quite devious in life. He gossiped greatly and spread lies about many people. He also liked to talk behind people’s backs more than not. I knew on some level he was unhealthy for me, but I was extremely attracted to him physically and stayed closely to his life because of it. My life began to experience a tremendous amount of ups and downs and often, this man brought me great pain. I started asking God for help and one night I had a dream of a spider crawling on me and it startled me awake. Over the course of a few weeks, I kept having variations of spider dreams until I finally decided to do a Google search on the Internet using “Animal Guide – Spider” as the keywords. And here’s what I found from doing that search.

“Spiders are a prime symbol for manipulation. It is telling you that you’re worried treachery is afoot somewhere in you’re life. Just think how spiders lure flies into the web, or how the black widow spider kills her mate right after mating with him. Someone is being manipulative on a grand scale, and you’re sensing it. You feel ‘caught’ in somebody’s web of lies and deceit. Perhaps like that helpless fly, you feel trapped and entangled…”

I was amazed when I first read this and it it provided confirmation to me of several things. One, God was trying to answer my prayer for help with dealing with that man, but in a way I didn’t expect. Two, I began to see how there really was great symbolism in animals through things such as dreams. And three, my spirit was trying to tell me to get away from that man, which eventually I did.

So if by some chance you are having your own repeated encounters in life with any type of animal, I encourage you to take a moment, breathe, and realize it may be a message coming to you from the spiritual realm. Humor yourself, even if you don’t believe it, by going on the Internet and doing a search on the words  “Animal Guide” or “Animal Totem” with your specific animal following them. You might just be surprised on what you find, as it may be exactly what you need for something you’re currently facing in life.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Have you ever faced serious sexual temptation with someone else while you were already in a monogamous relationship? If you answered with a yes, then my real question for you is how did you handle it when it happened?

Facing temptation is unfortunately, a fact of living life. I wrote about this recently with some of the unhealthy temptations I have already faced in life. But most recently, I met someone who was the first real test to the stability and strength of not only the relationship I have with my current partner, but especially the one I have with myself. And I believe how I handled it showed my Higher Power that I finally have learned the lesson, as the first time I ever faced it, I didn’t fare so well. That was thirteen years ago.

Back then, I began a seven year relationship with someone who I thought I was going to marry and spend the rest of my life with. One day though, several years into that relationship, I met someone else I was very attracted to, who had similar qualities to that partner. I thought it would be harmless to establish a friendship with them as long as I kept certain boundaries. Occasionally I would flirt and have sexual banter with them through random e-mails and phone calls. And for a short while, this went on where I thought nothing bad was coming of it. What I didn’t realize was how much this was totally undermining the relationship I was already in. Each time any differences or arguments arose between that partner and me, I would run to this other person I was smitten with to talk about what happened and receive their comfort. Eventually, all of that drove me one day to leaving that partner for this other person. And sadly, that new relationship only lasted two months. When the former partner took me back in shortly after that, things were never the same and we parted ways for good only a year later.

I’m convinced that there are dark forces at work out there in this world that we can’t necessarily see, which like to tempt us and tear apart anything we have that’s filled with love and light. I believe that’s what happened all those years ago when I attempted to juggle the friendship with that person I was seriously attracted to, while being in a monogamous relationship. The connection I have with my Higher Power today has helped me to see how I never should have opened the door in the first place and created a friendship like that outside the monogamous relationship.

I think it’s relatively easy though to find oneself getting into this type of a situation. Take two people who have been together for awhile. Usually they don’t have the huge sparks and pheromones raging like when they first met. And one day someone else comes along who catches the eye of one of these two people. They then discover the attraction is mutual and suddenly there are sparks and pheromones raging again reminding the person how it once felt. Suddenly they remember they’re already in a relationship and that’s the precise moment they realize they have two choices. They could (1) establish a boundary right off the bat by saying they’re already in a relationship and walk away. Or they could (2) engage in conversation with that person allowing themselves to be drawn further into those pheromones. The unfortunate demise for someone who takes the second choice is that it becomes harder and harder to walk away from that level of intensity the more they engage in it. I am a walking example of someone who took that second choice one too many times in life and paid its consequences. Somehow I just kept avoiding learning this lesson.

Whether people agree with me or not, I believe the Universe tests us to see if we have learned the lessons we have faced previously in life. I also believe that we continue to face those lessons again and again until we pass the test. In my case, as I mentioned earlier, I met someone recently where there were definitely some sparks and pheromones raging. While I wasn’t perfect in how I handled it, as I engaged in that connection for just under 48 hours, I knew what needed to be done so that I could show the Universe I’ve learned this lesson. After asking God for the strength to not make the same mistake again, I found the courage to take action. It was then I sent an e-mail to this person and explained how it would be unhealthy to continue developing a friendship with them. I wished them well on their journey in life and closed the door on that connection. And in doing so, I definitely felt much lighter.

You see, life is really all about choices. While I know there are some out there who might say it’s all about self-restraint, I’ve never had much luck in that department nor am I willing to take that chance again. The love I have for my partner today is something special and God-given and I’m not going to risk losing that again like I did with my ex so many years ago. Facing sexual temptation while in a monogamous relationship and walking away from it can be a very hard thing to do, especially for a person recovering from an addiction based life. But I know now I’ve chosen the right path as it’s the one that will continue to lead me closer to my Higher Power, to myself, and to a life filled with a lot more light and love.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson