Teen Spirituality
Away from home for the very first time this year, has been an experience. It has been a time of a lot of change, and people trying to change me. For this year, is the first time I have had the following told to me:
I can’t do this.
I don’t deserve to be here.
I shouldn’t have even thought that I ever had a chance.
Before this year, I had never faced so much difficulty from the world on the physical, mental, social, emotional or spiritual level.
I’ve learned that when it comes to really being out on your own, you don’t have all the answers. You don’t always know what the best choice is. You don’t even have the slightest idea of how you are going to survive this, if you survive at all. And you can’t listen to everyone else.
For the first time, I have lived with uncertainty. That accumulated into insecurity. That accumulated into anxiety. That accumulated into the worst of them all: fear.
At first, I tried looking for security in other people. I’ve looked for support in others to prop me up, to get through these times. But, at the end of the day, there’s only one person that’s going to get you through it all:
YOU.
When I realized this, I knew that if I was going go on this journey, I was going to have to do it on my own two feet. I had to support myself. I had to look to myself in times of trouble.
I had to believe in myself.
With no doubt. With no disbelief. I had to devote myself to knowing that I CAN DO THIS. I had to fully recognize that I TRUST MYSELF to be able to get through anything that came my way. And, if all these things are coming from the universal plane and entering my physical plane, then I realized I also had to START BELIEVING IN THE UNIVERSE.
For belief in yourself is just an extension of belief in the universe.
We all know and have been told that things happen for a reason. But do we really believe it? For a very, very, very long time, I thought I understood this. But when I saw what happens when you don’t, I’ve realized just how very important this statement is. Even if it seems like whatever obstacles you are facing will set you back, they were sent directly to you to send you directly forward. Once I saw that EVERYTHING THAT ENTERS MY LIFE IS HERE TO PROGRESS MY ONENESS AND AWARENESS, life changed.
With only the greatest trust in the universe, I have become more spiritually aware than I ever have before. As hard, as challenging, and as difficult as this has been, I am grateful that this has, by its own means, brought me closer to Being than anything else could ever have. I now understand so much more about the human experience: love, loss, pain, grief, fear, sorrow, and determination.
So yes, this year, I’ve stumbled. I’ve tripped.
But I’ve gotten right back up. And I keep going on.
With love for the universe, and love for myself, I now understand far more about the wonderful experience and incredible journey called life. We, in the grandest of sense, are here to experience it all, even if it hurts more than can be handled, even if it’s harder than deemed possible. But when we experience it, we become more connected to ourselves and to each other on levels we can’t even fathom.
Once we recognize this, we start to see the greatness in ourselves. And once we see that, we are the miracles that we wish for. For belief, at the end of the day, is what separates a good life from a full life.
As long as you have your belief in whatever you are passionate about, in whatever you know to be, and in the very essence of you, you have what it takes. Now go out there and show it.
(Lauren Rourk is a Feature Editor at The Global Conversation and attends Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. She can be contacted at Lauren@TheGlobalConversation.com)
In life, we grow. We grow to learn things about the world, about each other, and about ourselves. Sometimes, most of the time, we don’t like to learn these things. But, for seeing them as what they were, what they are, and what they can be is what makes all the difference.
*Note: I know that everything is comparative in experience. I know that what may seem challenging now will be looked back on as the easiest thing I’ve ever had to get through in my life. But….I know that I’m not the only one going through this. I’m certainly not the first one to go through it. And I’m definitely not the last one.*
So what I have grown through in the past few months…
I’ve started that “all-too-real” reality of growing up. Through it all, I’ve begun to see people worked, hard and tirelessly, beyond their limits. People, who were kids, get beaten down by a system that doesn’t care and won’t care. And as a result of this system, I see people losing themselves. I see them being told to believe that they can’t be their greatest version of themselves, that because they have failed they don’t deserve to be the grandest vision of themselves.
And why? Because it’s not enough. And it will never be enough. No matter how much time, how much effort, how much energy we put into what we are doing. When we are feeding a system, we are NOT creating anything, we are NOT exerting our divine godness and goddessness into the core of our actions.
And so, many enter the survival stage. Because all their time and energy is consumed into this seemingly endless stream of work, many just go for maintaining what is. Their dreams seem too grand, too great for them to ever even dream of achieving. Like a candle being snuffed out, these dreams get suffocated by the darkness of inadequacy. Looking only forward to the next submission, they lose sight of the big picture, the great design, the grand illusion.
We lose sight of the universe within us, and the potential for us to be everything in that universe.
When focused in soo small, we lose ourselves to our physical form – the form bounded by the laws of time, space, pain, and fear. The physical body and the physical mind are linked in the fear of inadequacy, failure, and disappointment. Limited by the hours of the clock and the length of the path, our physical bodies can only do so much. And so, we feel as though we can only do so much.
But….we can be more. Because, we are way, way more than this form.
We are gods. We are infinite beings. We are pure light itself.
Stepping back, looking at the grand canvas of the universe, is what transcends us from the physical form to the spiritual form. We are the artists, we are the architects, we are the designers of WHAT, and HOW we experience life itself. Life transforms itself into so much we only can do. If we remember Who We Truly Are, then we are awakened out of the haze of quiet desperation felt by so many around us.
The nature of what we experience will NOT change. But, Who We Are experiencing it and How We Are experiencing it will. When seen in such a greater perspective, we remove our dis-ease : our worries, our anxieties, our fears. The journey is challenging – but it doesn’t need to be a struggle. Stepping back and stepping out of consument opens ourselves to greater success. This success could be in school, in relationships, in meditation, or whatever you may be aspiring or pursuing. Remember: no picture is small enough to not include your dream.
Inevitably, we will all grow as the days, months, and years roll past. But, the choice of growing down into the depths of our fears or growing up into the light of Oneness remains entirely up to us. We can join the masses in the continual cycle of work, fear, worry, work. Or, we can remember our higher selves, our deeper selves, to remind us of how life can be enjoyed instead overstressed. By becoming Who We Truly Are, there is no such thing as deserving or adequacy. There is life as a creative force, and as the creative dream. Step forward, and step up to your freedom from your mental suffocations. The time is now, the life is now, the choice is NOW.
(Lauren Rourk is a Feature Editor at The Global Conversation and attends Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. She can be contacted at Lauren@TheGlobalConversation.com)
What specific word will spur a child to a life of discovery? What influence, person or otherwise, will cement the ideas by which a child will formulate his or her worldview? What subject in school will lead a child to be a “success?” By what standard do we measure success?
The meanings of questions change as we become more aware of our individual spiritual purpose, our reason for Being. Conversations with God encourages us to embrace a new way of measuring success. In the Old Cultural Story, success was measured by how much stuff you accumulated, often at the expense of another. Scarcity was used as a motivational factor and competition was encouraged.
In the New Spirituality, we learn that Our purpose is to recreate ourselves anew every day in the next grandest version of the greatest vision we ever held about ourselves. Instead of glorifying the scarcity and “do anything to get ahead” mentality, we come to understand that There is enough, Human beings do not have to struggle with each other to get what they want, and The wonderful ways to be are truthful, aware and responsible. In fact, Conversations with God even says that No human being is superior to another. And this is just a retelling of just a few of the core concepts from the CwG body of work.
I recently watched an enlightened young man, Logan LaPlante’s, TEDx University Talk about his ideas about home school education. You can watch it here: http://youtu.be/h11u3vtcpaY
Logan’s parents have allowed him, to a certain degree, to direct his own education based on his interests. When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, his answer is simple: He wants to be happy.
He says adults ask the wrong questions. He is unsure what career he will pursue, although he is leaning toward designing outdoors sports and recreation equipment. He thinks focusing on what to be or do in the future is a mistake. He is, instead, choosing to focus on what to be and do now. He believes that the only way to have a fulfilled life is to start by having a happy and fulfilled childhood. So he pursues his interests now, focusing on being happy and learning the things that are interesting. He calls this “hacking” his education.
While I watched, I couldn’t help but see similarities between his ideas about growing up, his education, and his ideas about the future and people on a spiritual path. (That’s not to say that I assume he has read CwG or would agree with its messages.) It shows that children, when allowed to have some self-direction will flourish; that once we remove the walls and restrictions their own ideas and creativity can flourish. This, contrary to old ideas, will not lead to uncontrolled hedonism, it actually leads to growth.
After watching Logan and really listening to what he had to say, I reevaluated my own approach to my daughter’s homeschooling. I noticed that I had gotten into a rut, and honestly, taken some of the fun out of our schooling because I felt pressure to get through and finish tasks. Logan’s enthusiasm, courage and innovative ideas inspired me. I have rededicated myself to giving her more control in directing her education because I know that she will enjoy, and thereby learn, more. It will also, allow her to Be Happy now, rather than waiting for her to become something in the future.
Children like Logan know the answers to the questions above about success, inspiration and discovery can be answered in many ways. They don’t have to be tied to how many good grades a child gets, if they get into certain colleges, or how much money they make. They can be about enjoyment, finding inspiration and value in things that make them happy, lead them to think, and give them a reason to feel passionate about a subject.
Thank you for the pep talk, Logan!
(Emily A. Filmore is the Creative Co-Director of www.cwgforparents.com. She is also the author/illustrator of the “With My Child” Series of books about bonding with your child through everyday activities. Her books are available at www.withmychildseries.com. To contact Emily, please email her at Emily@cwgforparents.com.)
Your Name Will Be Forgotten, But your life will never be.
Your Trophy Will Rust, But your esteem will remain completely stainless.
Your Resume Will Yellow, But your growth will go far beyond the page.
Your Job Will Be Cut, But your worth will forever increase in value.
Your Bank Account Will Empty, But your abundance will still flow from you.
Your House Will Crumble, But your heart will ever welcome friends and strangers alike.
Your Lover Will Leave, But your soul mates will resonate your love forever.
Your Body Will Decay, But your youth will spring ever ahead.
Your Brain Will Slow, But your mind will ceaselessly sharpen with wit.
Your Hands Will Wrinkle, But your touch will be felt through the generations.
Your Career Here Will End, But your journey of the spirit will begin anew every day.
Your Worldly State Will Be Forgotten, But your being will always be remembered.
Your life makes the difference, Now and Always.
Happy Holidays!
(Lauren Rourk is a Feature Editor at The Global Conversation and attends Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. She can be contacted at Lauren@TheGlobalConversation.com)
The first of December. ‘Tis the season for college and high school realizing that they might just survive first semester. As this is truly a great accomplishment, I congratulate all of you for bringing more light and awareness into the world.
But, with the end of the term, and the beginning of another, it’s time for a moment of reflection. To see where you are at, and where you desire to be.
So now, looking back at your first semester, think to yourself:
“Do I like what I see in my life???”
If the answer is NO, then be comforted by one thought alone:
You, right now, completely have the ability to change that answer to a YES.
On some level, whether it be the conscious, sub-conscious, or unconscious, you have manifested everything that has come into your life. Your friends, your ‘enemies’; everything has come directly to you from your highest intentions of who you are. Whatever you are “seeing” in your life right now, is something that you have chosen. Since this is a choice, you possess the ability to change your choices, and change your reality. Impossible? Not with the Law of Attraction.
In the New Age Movement, the Law of Attraction is a very simple statement with an incredibly powerful message: like energies attract like energies. Proven scientifically through the incredible capacity of the brain’s neurological systems, it has been found that energies surrounding thoughts, emotions, and actions can mirror and intensify itself over time. If you devote enough energy on a certain topic, object, or state of mind, it will be created in your direct reality.
In the most causal sense, the Law of Attraction is putting a mirror of yourself to the world. If you are sending out negative energy into the world, then that is exactly what you will receive back.
So…what is manifested inwardly is also manifested outwardly. If you don’t like what you see on the outside, start to look at inwards at what YOU are sending out to the world. If you demonstrate hate-driven or fear-driven thoughts and behavior, then you are going to attract even more hate-driven and fear-driven behavior into your life.
As the Law of Attraction does not only apply to thoughts, but also to people, the same message still applies: positive thoughts bring positive people. For whatever type of people you wish to bring into your life, you must BE that person internally. If you desire to attract ambitious and motivated people in your life, you must first BE that ambitious and motivated person. If you desire to attract easy-going and fun-loving people in your life, you must first BE that easy-going and fun-loving person. Because once you feel it, everyone else will too. Simple as that.
With the end of the first semester and the beginning of second semester, we will all soon be getting new schedules and new perspectives. If you do want to see “something new” and “something better”, then, with the Law of Attraction, you CAN choose to make it happen. To attract that state, be IN that state. People WILL notice that energy, and they WILL be attracted to you. If you like your life, others will too. And then the whole world is just that much better next semester.
(Lauren Rourk is a Feature Editor at The Global Conversation and attends Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. She can be contacted at Lauren@TheGlobalConversation.com)
Namaste, Global Conversation Community. As we approach our thirteenth month since the launching of the site, we have seen our numbers grow substantially. BUT…as our site continues to grow, we still see the same problems in the world, repeating over and over and over again. Why, may you ask?
The problem is that we are sitting back. Being CONTENT and being PASSIVE. Reading, writing, and…..moving on with our lives.
I must admit that I am just as much a part of this as everyone else. For the past year or so, I have written my articles, submitted them, and have gone about my daily business. I have NOT added enough comments to our other delightful editors, I have NOT delved fully into getting discussion about my own articles going, and I certainly have NOT created as much spiritual change in the world as I desire to make.
BUT…things ARE about to change. A new version of my grandest vision is manifesting itself. As I’ve grown and changed, I’ve seen just how much I can be – and I can do. No more ‘self-imposed limitations’. No more ‘I can’t’. No more ‘I don’t have time for this’. Because, honestly, what could be more important?
As the current banner for The Global Conversation says, “When an entire culture refuses to believe that it has anything to do with what is occurring, it cannot do anything about what is occurring.” What we think is clearly not meshing with what we are doing – and NOW is the time to change that. IF we start thinking, acting, and being spiritual not just internally, but EXTERNALLY and INTERPERSONALLY, the world will feel the difference. For when we share, we grow. And when we grow, we thrive.
Let’s BE the difference makers. Let’s BE that thriving energy of the moment. Let’s BE that soul in Oneness – moving closer and closer together. Instead of day in, day out, my post, my article – share you voice, EVEN if you don’t think you have anything exceptional to contribute. Every moment spent invested in spiritual discussion and conversation is another moment of light shining upon the entire universe. And who doesn’t want more of that?
So yes, I WILL respond to every comment on my posts, every email I receive, and (guess who finally created a Facebook!) every friend request in my inbox.
Hit me up for some seriously amazing spiritual discussion. I’m here and ready to change the world. Ready to join me?
(Lauren Rourk is a Feature Editor at The Global Conversation and attends Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. She can be contacted at Lauren@TheGlobalConversation.com)
Hello Global Conversation Community. It is wonderful to be back into writing. Through all the chaos of the transition into college, my body, mind, and spirit certainly have not been in all the same state of Oneness. But now, there is more harmony in my life. There is more peace, there is more wellness, and there is more wholeness. And I am grateful for every moment I have of it.
But my story is not unique. It may be personal, but it’s incredibly far from original. Every second of every minute of every hour, people around the world are forgetting the path and finding it back again. In retrospect, it is impossible to lose the path, because every step of your journey is a part of it. But yet somehow we seem to lose our consciousness of that journey, and awareness of why we are on the journey at all. So, for me in the past month and for the rest of the world, I only ask, “Why do we lose the path?”
In the past, I would have said that the reason why is because society has told us to run away from the truth, to hide under the covers, to bury our heads in the sand. Yet now, being on my own, I’ve realized there’s far more to it than that.
It’s been easy to ‘pull the blame card on society’ all these years. We’ve been in a state where we have seemingly very little control over our lives. So when things are wrong, and we don’t like them, we point to our family, our friends, our state, country and government as the source of our problem. They said it wasn’t allowed, they said it was the wrong thing to do, they said that it would be a disappointment. With an accumulation of these thoughts, it has become a stigma of control loss. And yet, once we finally do get into that state of freedom, we realize that the choice is completely ours. Society may tell attempt to tell us what to do, but at the end of the day, we know that are the ones making the final decision. On love, on life, on everything. It’s our internal choice.
Whatever we have decided has manifested our reality. IF we have decided fear, then we have CREATED fear. If we have decided guilt, then we have CREATED guilt. This is nothing new, nothing that is groundbreaking. However, it’s about being aware of those decisions. For the majority of the planet, the answer to the “why” question above is the external societal distractions. But now, look for that answer to the “why” internally.
At the very least, ask yourself daily:
Why did I choose to manifest this in my life?
IF you do this, you WILL learn A LOT about yourself. You will find things you don’t like. You will find things that you have attempted to hide or dissociate from. But being aware of these mental blocks, being conscious of these ego pitfalls, is what makes the difference. It’s what makes us remember the path that we are on. And knowing why, we can choose to bring back love, peace, and joy into those spots of chaos, confusion, and turmoil. And who doesn’t want that?
So, in retrospect, always understand your reason, and always understand your choice. When we stop asking, we lose ourselves, and we stumble in the dark. To walk so blindly is to live the ‘society’ way, and what has that led to but more loss of self? But to ask why is to always look at our purpose, at our meaning, at our very reason for life itself. And that is what I’ve discovered, and that is why I’m back for good.
(Lauren Rourk is a Feature Editor at The Global Conversation and attends Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. She can be contacted at Lauren@TheGlobalConversation.com)
Teenagers, blessings and congratulations for making your voice heard. By commenting and submitting your messages to me, we are another step closer to Oneness and Beingness. So to bring forward that light into our world, here is our first teenage conversation, lovingly thought out and created:
From iamlife iam~
I have a subject I would love to hear your thoughts about. Do you perceive the dark images in the video gaming industry, the movie industry, actually, in much of the imaging of the whole entertainment industry as somehow impactful on culture? Some argue that these dark images do not impact youth, the perceiver, in any way, while others say they must. What are your thoughts?
Dear iamllife iam,
In culture, many things are perceived as light, dark, good, bad, right, and wrong. What one person can describe to be a wonderful contribution to society another can disclaim as a major setback to the entirety of the human race. So just to note, dark, bad, and wrong are HIGHLY suggestive terms that are solely determined by individual values and beliefs. Though it may seem as though these are collective labels, they are still determined on an individual basis. And through the choice of free will, YOU get to make that decision.
So to go right along with that….
These images – and the impact that they have on us – are determined by us alone. Society is full of artists (those who create and spread ideas and consciousness), and their messages they send to the world. In such a matter, we are all artists, trying to express ourselves on the largest canvas available. What images we send out into the world may not even be understood by us – but it’s something that needed an outlook, that needed to be shared. Basically, it’s an energy pattern that needed to be resonated.
So, sometimes, when we encounter images (sometimes even created by ourselves) that we don’t initially like or understand, we at least can know that those images are someone’s way to express themselves in their highest understanding possible. It may seem dark, and it may seem dreary, but it is still an expression that can be related to. As a part of our human condition seems to be the need to share our stories and our experiences, sharing these images and messages only seems to be a natural extension of who we are.
So the next time you see something in film, in video games, in the entertainment industry, know that it’s all art. And just like art, we chose how much it moves us or inspires us. So if something in the entertainment industry does resonate with you, let yourself explore that impact and understand why you have that impact. Perhaps your own journey, unbeknownst to your mind, is actually resonating in the same energy, and is able to make that larger connection of understanding. Your understanding is your choice, but you must be open to that understanding, regardless of whatever lightness or darkness you have heard about the subject before.
So in a nutshell…
There are many people out in the world with many ideas and visions to express. Though we may not fully understand all of them and initially perceive them as bad, dark, or evil, we must consciously understand that it is still someone’s highest understanding of themselves. How much we let this impact us is left up to us to decide. It can change your world, but only if you chose it to resonate ever so deeply within you.
Thank you, iamlife iam. If this message makes conscious sense at all, I would love to hear your response. If this message still doesn’t make any sense at all, I would love to continue this conversation next week to clarify anything that needs further explanation.
So, teenagers of the world, let’s continue our discussions next week. Leave a comment, send an email, or just put that energy of conversation out into the universe to be received. I can’t wait to get your messages!
(Lauren is a Feature Editor of The Global Conversation. She lives in Wood Dale, IL, and can be reached at Lauren@TheGlobalConversation.com)
For the official record, next week will be my 50th article here on The Global Conversation.
We’ve had conversation about a wide variety of topics. Relationships, The Middle East, bullying, and even time itself. However, through months and months of articles, I realize that there is something very important I have not done yet.
I have been talking to you all, and have made the call to a more peaceful and more unified society. What I haven’t done yet is respond – I haven’t let you respond to my messages about what YOU think, what YOU believe, and what YOU envision for the future. So, to change this way of thinking, I’m opening this post up to YOU. People have heard plenty of my voice, so now it is time for them to hear yours.
I’m letting YOU make the call – YOU choose whatever topic you wish to extend your highest spiritual beliefs towards. Write to me what your highest vision of the truth about whatever topic of your choosing is, and I will respond to it.
So, if you want your incredible teenage spiritual views to be a part of The Global Conversation, just do the following:
-Choose a topic you feel as though I haven’t addressed or one that truly inspires you.
-In a paragraph or two (or longer), express your views on that topic, and (if you feel ever so inclined) ask questions about the topic as well.
-Email this paragraph to me at lauren@theglobalconversation.com.
-Within the next few weeks, your views and my responses to your paragraph will be my articles. So, if you want to have your views featured, know that you can!
As teenagers, we have a voice that deserves to be heard. The world deserves to see that its youngest generation is truly aware of all that they are and all that there is. I am giving you the chance to use that voice, and I can’t wait to see just how elevated your consciousnesses are!
(Lauren is a Feature Editor of The Global Conversation. She lives in Wood Dale, IL, and can be reached at Lauren@TheGlobalConversation.com)
No matter if you are in college, high school, or even middle school, there is one thing that you will find in every one of these fine educational institutions. It’s not a library, a gym, or a cafeteria, but it’s a student doing something on their cellphone. Consider it the most basic cultural norm for our generation.
From our generation’s perspective, cellphones have simply become a way of life. Whether it’s a productive or destructive use of time, our phones have become a part of Who We Are. Just think about leaving your phone at home for a single day. If you think or know you would feel lost or confused, then you have officially experienced the twenty-first century. With a cellphone, friendships are being made across the world. With instant access to quick communication, friendships never got closer.
While cellphones have brought the world closer and ever more connected, they have also helped to drive us apart. With such fixation on our phones, we seem to forget everything else that is around us. This has become such an issue in society that even our popular culture has coined a term for it. On UrbanDictionary.com (in the true spirit of being a teen), the word “Nocializing” literally means “the act of being out in a social public setting and only spending time on your mobile device, not the people with or around you.” But why is this?
Why is it that we need to always seem as though we are busy in communication, or at least pretend to be? Are our egos so insecure that we can’t look vulnerable to new people and new ideas? Our fear to be alone, or at least look alone in such a connected world of today, is actually driving us apart. Through our egos, we desire to look like we have friends, and look like we belong in something. But, by using that façade, we actually stop ourselves from getting to know that random person on the bus or waiting in line ahead of you for lunch. Chances are that you have more in common with them than you think. So, maybe try and put down your phone for three minutes. The texts WILL still be there.
Through campus and beyond, it’s become very clear to understand just how our cellphones – which have, basically overnight become instantaneously infused in our schedules – have made an impact on our lives. Finding security in your own beliefs, not in other people’s impressions of your statuses, will work for you whether you are always on your phone or barley even touch it at all. Whether you are a phone fanatic or an avid texter, don’t stop what you are doing because an older generation tells you it is ‘bad’. BUT, just remember that there are more ways to make connections in life. So, whether you choose Facetime or actually talking face to face, make it aligned to your style.
(Lauren is a Feature Editor of The Global Conversation. She lives in Wood Dale, IL, and can be reached at Lauren@TheGlobalConversation.com)
