With this in mind, each of us comes into the world with a life plan, which is kind of like a road map for this life. There are people we intend to meet and things we hope to accomplish. Sometimes we catch glimpses of how the plan is unfolding in our daily lives. When we have strange feelings upon meeting another person that something significant is occurring, it probably is. For a moment, we have connected with a broader perspective where there are no accidents. Every detail of your life has its place in the plan.

As we prepare for each life, we make agreements to meet other individuals for specific reasons. An agreement may involve a single seemingly chance meeting between two people where they share a piece of information that changes the direction of one or both of their lives. On the other end of the scale, two souls may agree to come together to create a deep friendship and a lifetime of mutual support. Through these agreements and interactions, the plan takes form. We provide ourselves with lessons we need to learn to accomplish our goals.

As we all know, coming up with a plan is one thing; accomplishing it is another matter. If we miss our cues, fail to meet key people, or understand what we need to learn from our experiences, adjustments have to made in the plan to keep us on course. And most of us feel so disconnected from the part of ourselves that devised the plan in place in the first place, we have little or no idea of where we are going in our lives.

In last month’s newsletter, we provided a way to connect with your soul that can help tremendously. If you missed it, you can find the article entitled Remembering The Soul at http://www.gettingthru.org/sn0599.htm. Fortunately, each of us also has a form of radar that will help us to stay on our set course. It is so simple and painless, most people fail to recognize it. The gauge is our excitement. Whatever direction brings us more joy and excitement is the direction to take. Any direction that brings less joy and excitement is a direction to avoid. When we follow our excitement, we are filled with life. We look forward to starting each day, and feel fulfilled as we expand and grow in unexpected ways.

The opposite experience is depression, wherein one’s joyful expression has been completely suppressed. This is much like giving up all hope for fulfillment. From our radar’s point of view, feeling the suppression of our joyful expression tells us that we have gone off course. The way to get back on course is to find what brings us joy again. The reason this works so easily is that each person has come into this life with gifts to share that are in alignment with their soul’s purpose. Sharing these gifts is joyful.

By the way, for all the roller coaster lovers out there, joy is not the same as thrill-seeking. This is not to say that there is anything wrong with going on a roller coaster. The point is that relying on thrills to give life significance is not the same as following your excitement. What you get from thrill seeking is an adrenaline rush that quickly subsides, leaving you right where you were before. The same is true of seeking happiness outside yourself in a sporty car, a new outfit, alcohol or drugs. True joy wells up from deep within you, much the way fresh spring water bubbles up from deep within the earth. Your soul’s joy is your heart’s desire. Your heart knows which way to go. When you follow your heart, life becomes more and more exciting.

The first step in creating a joyful life is to connect with your heart and soul’s desire is. Since we are multi-dimensional, it is not just one thing. We humans have desires on all levels of our beings: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. A fun way to decide which way to go is to write a list of your heart’s desire in all of these areas of your life. If you are in a relationship or have a family, all involved should complete this exercise individually, then share the results. This way, you can set out in a direction that will support each person on his or her path.

To give you some ideas, we put together a format for you to use on our web site at http://www.gettingthru.org/sn0699a.htm. This is a good place to start. We have used this process ourselves many times over the last 10 years and have created ever-expanding levels of joy and excitement. In the process, we have created joy, love and freedom on all levels. We did this by pointing ourselves in the direction we wanted to go, so that we could incorporate more and more of the things our hearts desired in our lives. We decided that we wanted to travel to different places, find supportive friends with common interests and goals, and to share methods for healing and achieving wholeness through classes and work with individuals. After a decade, our lives have been transformed.

A MESSAGE FROM MY GUIDES

“Each of you has been provided with a path that leads to expanding levels of love and joy, if you choose to follow it. As we observe you from a broader perspective, we are often surprised to see how many deviate from this path into dense underbrush or deep mud where every step forward is a struggle. We stand back on the path, whistling loudly and waving wildly to catch their attention, only to find them fighting the undergrowth with renewed determination. Your guides are whistling and waving at each one of you now. We hope that you will see the opportunity you have before you and move forward into the love and joy that are your true birthright. We are with you every step of the way.”

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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

How can I reconcile my desire to experience more joy and excitement with my need to fulfill the responsibilities I have for my family, my debts and so on?   - Joseph; Sacramento, California

This is another message from my guides: “We see your civilization on a continuum, where most of the people on your planet have small amounts of joy, some have a moderate amount and others have a lot. Each of you fits somewhere on this continuum and, through the decisions you make each day, you are moving closer or further from having a joyful life. We do not recommend ignoring your responsibilities; just looking at your possibilities in a new way. If you set your course tomorrow in a direction that can bring more joy than you have today, you will be on your way. If you continue to do this each day, over time you will find yourself moving along the continuum towards an increasingly joyful life.”

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SOULFUL THOUGHTS

“There cannot be too much joy.”   – Benedict de Spinoza

“One life; a little gleam of time between two eternities.”   – Carlyle

“The important thing is not to stop questioning.”   – Albert Einstein

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SHARING

The genuine and permanent solution to the complex problems we face as a society and as a planet lies in shifting our consciousness and focusing on unconditional love and unity instead of hatred and separation. To assist in reaching this goal, we invite you to share this newsletter with your friends. We welcome all who want to join us in a life focused on joy, love and freedom. Surely, this will put the end to famine, war, devastation of the environment, hatred, and violence of all kinds as humanity unites in a common goal.

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ABOUT THE CREATORS OF SOUL NEWS

Drs.Phillip Mountrose and Jane Mountrose, the creators of this newsletter and the gettingthru.org website, are Ministers of Holistic Healing with Awakenings Institute. The Mountroses co-direct  Awakenings, a non-profit organization devoted to helping individuals to open to the full expression of their true divine selves in all aspects of their lives. Their holistic approach is the way of the future, integrating the body, emotions, mind, and spirit. 

Through Awakenings, the Mountroses conduct presentations, classes, certification courses, and seminars. They also offer individual counseling, in person or by phone, with individuals throughout the United States and in some foreign countries. Holistic Communications, the publishing branch of Awakenings, extends their reach worldwide with books, audio tapes, and video tapes, along with these newsletters. 

Awakenings is non-denominational and welcomes participation from all interested individuals with joy, love, and blessings. For more information about Awakenings' offerings, you can download the Awakenings E-catalog at www.gettingthru.org/acatalog.pdf.

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NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES

If you missed any of the previous issues of this newsletter, they are all available on our Web site at
http://www.gettingthru.org/sarchive.htm.

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YOUR INPUT

We hope that you find this newsletter of value on your spiritual journey. We want to provide a forum for the expression of those who are focusing on soul awareness and unconditional love, so we are interested in having questions, as well as short inspirational poems, stories, articles and thoughts to share with our readers. We would also appreciate your comments and suggestions on the newsletter and the information we provide. Please send any of the above to soul@gettingthru.org, with your name, city and state, and phone number.

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Copyright 2005, Phillip and Jane Mountrose
joy@gettingthru.org