The Essence of Spiritual Awakening E-Book

Judy White-Artz

• Herausgeber: Fresh Ink Group
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Seitenzahl: 114

Beschreibung

Our mistakes do not define us. All of our experiences and challenges, especially the most painful, serve a greater purpose.  A lifelong journey of profound experiences and personal sacrifices led Judy White-Artz to discover her destiny and connect with her true authentic self.  Judy shares her story and divine "pearls of wisdom" in this memoir that is equal parts inspiration, insight, and self-help. The Essence of Spirtual Awakening: Enlightenment, Inspiration, and Insights that Illuminate the Path to Divinely Guided Wisdom is beautifully illustrated with full-color photos and a journal in the back for recording your personal thoughts. Discover your true authentic self through The Essence of Spiritual Awakening as you journey toward your path to self-enlightenment.

Leseprobe

The Essence of Spiritual Awakening

Enlightenment, Inspiration, and Insights that Illuminate the Path to Divinely Guided Wisdom

Copyright © 2023

by Judy White-Artz

All rights reserved

Fresh Ink Group

An Imprint of:

The Fresh Ink Group, LLC

1021 Blount Avenue #931

Guntersville, AL 35976

Email: [email protected]

FreshInkGroup.com

Edition 1.0 2023

Cover design by Stephen Geez / FIG

Cover art by Anik / FIG

Book design by Amit Dey / FIG

Associate publisher Beem Weeks / FIG

Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976 and except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, no portion of this book’s content may be stored in any medium, transmitted in any form, used in whole or part, or sourced for derivative works such as videos, television, and motion pictures, without prior written permission from the publisher.

Cataloging-in-Publication Recommendations:

SEL004000 SELF-HELP / Affirmations

SEL016000 SELF-HELP / Personal Growth / Happiness

REL036000 RELIGION / Inspirational

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023920665

ISBN-13: 978-1-958922-56-9 Papercover

ISBN-13: 978-1-958922-57-6 Hardcover

ISBN-13: 978-1-958922-58-3 Ebooks

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my two beautiful granddaughters, Alexandra Jade and Brianna Caitlyn, whose bright light has graced my life with immense joy and love. I treasure the endless hours of “girl chat” we have shared laughing, talking, and reminiscing about all the experiences and memories we share and how all experiences in life lead us on a journey of discovering our true authentic self, as we evolve and embrace all of what life has to offer.

If I were to impart one gem of wisdom as guidance, it would be to remember that life flows like a river, bringing us new experiences and opportunities around every bend. Life is not defined by those moments in which we experience great sadness and disappointment. A new day will dawn and new opportunities for joy and happiness awaits us on the other side of those moments of challenge and crisis. All experiences in life serve a greater purpose to learn and grow in wisdom, strength, and courage along our path to enlightenment.

Let your light shine bright! I will always be with you to celebrate your milestones and accomplishments and encourage you in times of need.

I would like to give special recognition and gratitude to Sherry and Brian Rohr, Jan Sikes, and Deborah Allen. This book coming to fruition would not have been possible without the love, support, and encouragement of these loving souls.

My special connection to Sherry and Brian Rohr spans over twenty years. We have shared many life changing events together over the years, including their wedding, the birth of my granddaughters, the birth of their two children, and the passing of my husband, to name a few. There are no words to describe all the ways in which they have blessed my life or how much love I have for them. Without their abiding love and support, I would not have been able to fulfill my life purpose, which I believe includes the writing of this book. They are, and always will be, an integral part of my life and a cherished part of my heart.

My friend, Jan Sikes, was introduced to me by a mutual friend at the beginning stages of the creation of my book. Jan is the author of 17 books and her creative abilities continue to be revealed to me as our amazing friendship grows and evolves. I believe that God blesses us with special people in our lives that help guide us and enlighten us on our path to fulfill our purpose. Jan’s knowledge, wisdom, and mentoring has been an integral part of the successful completion of this book and I am immeasurably blessed that she has graced my life.

My friendship with Deborah Allen blossomed over ten years ago. Deborah is an Accredited Life Coach and Tutor to young people, or adults, when the opportunity presents itself. Deborah is a very special soul and she has been such an amazing blessing in my life in so many ways. We, too, have shared many life changing events. Deborah and I share a passion for mentoring young people, giving them a voice, encouraging them, and helping them discover their unique and authentic self. Deborah has been my biggest cheerleader throughout the process of creating this book. She has generously given her time, energy, and support, without which the successful completion of this book would not have been possible.

I often marvel at all the amazing people that have graced my life and I am forever grateful for all the ways in which they have enriched my life.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Preface Healing your Life with Divine Wisdom

Introduction

Prologue Reflections of Life as a Child

Vignette 1 My Story Begins

Vignette 2 An Epiphany, An Aha Moment

Vignette 3 The Power of the Mind

Vignette 4 An Experience in Enlightenment

Vignette 5 A Lesson in Inner Strength

Vignette 6 Trusting your Intuition; Death at my Door

Vignette 7 Perseverance; Sustaining Balance in Life

Vignette 8 Elements of a Healthy Relationship

Vignette 9 The Power of Words

Vignette 10 A Divine Blessing

Vignette 11 An Extraordinary Life

Vignette 12 A Divine Gift

Vignette 13 Messages of Love

Vignette 14 Energy; The Gift of Life

Vignette 15 Reflections of Love

Vignette 16 Garden of Inspiration

About Judy White-Artz

My Journal Intentions, Gratitude, Thoughts, and Reflections

PREFACE

Healing Your Life

Transforming your painful life experiences into steppingstones will move you forward on your life path by adding value, wisdom, and depth to your being. These experiences will then serve a meaningful purpose. We have the power to consciously shift our perception, which effectively shifts the pain of an experience into purpose. Now, we have something tangible to work with. Wisdom guides us not to focus our thoughts only on the negative aspects of an experience. Thoughts are powerful and what we seek, we will find. If we choose to focus all of our energy into the pain, we limit the possibility of expanding our perception and viewpoint to look at how this experience can bless our life and how we can “receive the lesson”. The goal is to move forward in life, learn, and grow. Not to swirl around in a chaotic state of mind and stay stuck in that mindset. Use the value of your life experience to add wisdom and knowledge to become a more enlightened being. No one lives a life free from suffering. Sometimes, suffering comes from choices we have made and sometimes from choices our loved ones make that directly affect our life.

We all make mistakes. That is one of the ways we learn and grow. The hope is to “learn the lesson” it teaches us and not recreate the mistake. Learn, grow in wisdom, and move forward on our life path. Sometimes life events beyond our control occur, stemming from mother nature disasters, war, illnesses (such as the COVID pandemic), and these painful experiences affect millions of lives.

If we must suffer anguish and pain, I believe valuable life lessons will be learned and blessings will emerge as a result.

Introduction

My name is Judy. I was born in Southern California, which is an environment rich in people from many cultural backgrounds. Being raised in Southern California gave me the opportunity to meet and socialize with people from cultures all around the world.

I was raised in a middle-class home, so I didn’t come from privileged, rich, or extraordinary means. This story reflects on some of the events that shaped my character, philosophies, and beliefs. I believe nothing in life happens by accident and all experiences add meaning and value to our life journey. If you are reading my story, perhaps you will find inspiration, a new perspective, or perhaps you can connect in a spiritual way to my story and recognize how many things happen in our daily life that shapes who we become. If I can touch one life or one heart with my story, it will add value and enrichment to my life and yours.

“Life isn’t about where we live, what we are doing, and where we are going. The essence of life is “who we are”, our authentic self. “Who we are” goes with us wherever we are, whatever we are doing”.

—Judy White-Artz

Your unique being and gifts are a blessing from God and the Universe. What you do with these blessings and gifts is up to you.

The magic of life is in the journey of discovery. A gradual process of discovering our true authentic self. This process is a collection of our experiences, like pieces of a puzzle, that we piece together to form a unique work of art, years in the making.

PROLOGUE

Reflections of Life as A Child

Fill your senses with the beauty the world has to offer. It is not necessary to be financially abundant to live a life rich with blessings and experiences. Since I am now at the senior stage of my life, I find great joy in reflecting on how the experiences over my lifetime shaped my character and the values that I respect, honor, and live life by today. If I were asked what I am “most grateful for” in my years growing up as a young child, I would give great esteem to my family for teaching us how to find so much joy in small things. Teaching us how to use all our senses and “tune in” to the blessings and beauty that surround us every day. Beauty and joy are all around us, if we learn how to open our hearts and embrace the world using all our senses; sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch. Engaging our senses brings profound joy to our life. Our senses are a gift from God. Engaging our senses is a learned skill, as we are not born with this knowledge or appreciation. I am also eternally grateful that I was not taught prejudice, so I was free to find joy in learning how different cultures around the world live, the foods they cook, and the traditions they celebrate that warm their heart and honor their heritage.

At the time I grew up there were no electronic devices and we did not have a television until I was 10 years old. Telephones were on a “party line” system, so we shared a telephone line with other families. If you picked up the phone and someone else was on the line, you had to wait until they finished their conversation to use the phone. As dismal as that may sound by today’s standards, in hindsight, I can see that this was a huge blessing to my life.

In my formative years, we were a family of modest means and didn’t have a budget allotted for entertainment purposes. However, we never felt that we missed out of fun activities. We, instead, developed and used our creativity; there was no shortage of this element in our lives.

The joy of music was a part of our everyday life. Although we didn’t have a television until my early teen years, we always had a radio. Music was such a joy in my home. We listened to all genres of music and everyone would sing-along. I always marveled at how beautifully my mother could sing harmony. Music and singing is always so joyful and uplifting. My grandparents had an old piano and both grandparents played the piano. When company visited, we would gather around the piano and sing together. As a young woman, my grandmother sang “on air” at a local radio station. Music was a huge part of our lives and remains so to this day.

My husband spoke seven languages and I discovered that there are two things in life that supercede language barriers and touch people’s heart and soul, and is universal to all cultures; recognizing love and kindness and having an appreciation and joy of music. All people find joy in the expression of love, kindness, and the rhythm of music even if they speak a different language. Both gestures touch the heart and soul with no interpretation required.

In the 1950s when I was a young child, people had gardens and large front porches. People would go for a walk, sit on the porch to enjoy a chat with neighbors, swap stories and share a cup of coffee. We always felt a connection to our neighborhood and community. As a kid, we did simple things that were so much fun and no budget was required. We played hopscotch, jacks, marbles, and on hot days, we would run through the sprinklers while watering the lawn. Families played croquet in their front yards. Activities brought people together to share time with one another. We would go to the park, take a Sunday drive, and play a game in the car such as “I spy with my little eyes”. We would look for any object that was a certain color, like all things blue; it could be a house, car, flower, sign, etcetera. The object was to see how many things we could find collectively. It was so much fun and taught us to be keenly observant of the world around us.