Happy All Saints’ Day! While there’s very few people that could be called saints, we can all choose to see something good in every person to remember them by. I’m Hannah Telluselle and this is The Source Podcast, your source of inspiration and good things. Today’s episode is inspired by All Saints’ Day. A day when we commemorate those who have gone before us.
Who do you think of as a person that you look up to for his or her forgiving heart and dedication to help others? Do you even have a favorite saint that you pray to?
All Saints’ Day can sometimes be referred to as All Souls Day too. In Sweden, the evening before, according to tradition, we gather at the cemetery where our loved ones are buried, to light candles at their graves, and to pray for their souls.
While it’s easy to grieve the loss of a loved one, or even a beloved pet, something I like to remind myself of, is to think of a happy time, or find a photo of your loved one exuberating happiness, rather than to think of the devastating moment when the person passed. I soon realized when my mother passed away more than 20 years ago, that the depth of our grief can be recognized as the depth of our love. We wouldn’t grieve, if we hadn’t loved. And in this recognition, we can find some solace.
We often remember who they were, but we can also remember who we were, how we used to be with them. While we can choose to move on without being like that anymore and thus liberate ourselves from the conditioning of our past, we can also miss both the other person, what we used to do together and how we used to be in their company. To work through your grief, you can think of things you’ve learned from that person or how he or she has inspired you. Through this finding, it’s easy to feel grateful and appreciative of the relationship you’ve had. Then the next time, an occasion arises that remind you of how it used to be with your loved one, you can use your insights and improve the new situation with. This way, their wisdom can live on. What have you learned from your passed, loved ones?
In the Hawaiian culture, it’s important to honor our ancestors and there’s a common belief that they continue to guard us from the other side, often through an animal like a shark or an owl, referred to as ‘aumakuas. Meeting a shark, an owl or other significant animal, is said to be a warning, or a blessing, for the situation or question at hand. Animals live closer to the spirit world than we do, since they don’t have any egos. This in turn is why it’s so much easier to connect and feel love with an animal in comparison to a person, that often displays a multitude of layers and can change their disposition overnight. It’s a certain type of compassion that becomes transferred in between our souls. If you get to look into an animal’s eyes, you can see theirs, just like you can see a human’s soul in another person. But sometimes, a human, lives disconnected from his or her own spirit and soul. It might live through them of course, but they might not be aware of it, or able to differentiate it, from their own self all entangled with their personality and ego.
To sense your soul, you can find it in your own creative expressions when they are stemming from within and peeled off from the desires of others. Who are you when you are alone? There’s your soul.
Your spirit is your connection to the Divine and to God, and the emotion carrying it. We can lift someone’s spirit it’s said. This means to bring forward that inner light and joy in a welcoming and supportive way, in a space that feels safe. What lights you up? There’s your spirit.
Whenever I’ve sensed my mother’s presence, the last three years or so, it usually feels a bit scary and definitely like a warning about threats against me. I’ve also had her visit me in a dream once, showing how where I live, is a dead-end street. There are some kind of romanticized beliefs about signs and communicating with people who have passed on. That soon changes, when the loss is real. But sometimes, we find clues that remind us of the other, which can be comforting and even like a mystery. For example, several of the apartments I’ve lived in, in Stockholm, have had furniture, books or records the same as, or even the actual ones, that my mother or I have had before. Like a string of invisible energy to hold on to. To me, that is the spirit world communicating and supporting.
Our memories can be sacred moments to remind and strengthen us in our choices and decisions. And experiencing loss, enable us to value life more, to live more, and to love more.
So, who can you light a candle for today?
The next episode of The Source Podcast is published on November the 13th, to celebrate World Kindness Day. Tune in on November the 13th, to receive a life coaching tip about growing kindness.
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