Blog 13: The Blessed Life: Not a Life of Ease
November 27, 2024
Edited by Carol Hubbard
Is Your Life Blessed?
The Oxford dictionary defines “blessing” as “God’s [the Creator’s [1] ] favor and protection.” This definition implies that nothing is truly blessed that the Creator does not sanction as a blessing. In other words, the Creator—rather than you or I—defines what a blessing is. No human can define a blessing. We can only receive, act as a conduit for, or see the effects of a blessing.
This does not prevent us from trying to define what a blessed life is. Having been raised as a Christian, I often encountered those who promoted the notion of living the “blessed life.” They then went further and defined the rules, behaviors, and circumstances that would qualify as a blessed life. If you struggled in life or if a tragedy occurred, then—by their standards—you were, at best, being tested. At worst, you were not in concert with the Creator and, instead, were undergoing the Creator’s discipline or punishment.
This worldview is a trap that many fall into, myself included. As a young man, I imagined a wonderful, adoring wife; marital bliss; and well-behaved kids who floated effortlessly into adulthood—followed by material wealth, a comfortable retirement, and relatively few illnesses until my wife and I died quietly in our sleep at an old age. For me, these were the attributes that defined a blessed life. However, I believed in a fairytale.
Outwardly, some seem to be living the aforementioned definition of the blessed life. But beneath the surface of what their ego allows them to present to the world lies reality—a mixture of happiness, pain, and turmoil.
We conceal the dark portions of our inner life, at least partially, attempting to hide what we are ashamed of. Whether or not we allow our ego to be in charge, the odds of living a completely idealized or blessed life are nil.
The Classroom of Life: Changing Our Perspective About Physical Life
In educational settings, the instructor sets up a problem or series of problems to be solved. Learning entails finding solutions to the problems. Mastering solutions and achieving proficiency occurs through practice (defined as performing or working at something repeatedly so as to become proficient).
Life is a classroom. I view a single life as a one in a series of numerous lifetimes rather than a single event. More precisely, I view these lifetimes as a series of classrooms—each one containing complex problems to be solved, whereupon one practices the solutions across many lifetimes.
Framing lives in this way shifts our spiritual perspective from a fatalistic “one-and-done” vision to one grounded in the infinite love of the Creator who loves the entirety of the Creation. The Creator wants us to explore and expand our knowledge of what has been created. The Creator, the Creation, and our souls are infinite. The idea of one life that either rewards us with the grand prize of eternal life or damns us to oblivion makes little sense.
So, in a particular life moment, rather than asking “Why is this (the particular event) happening to me?” it’s better to reframe the question as “What am I learning from this moment, and how can I tap into what I have already learned in this life? Also, what can I bring forward from past-life lessons learned?”
Am I Blessed?
“To solve the problem, you must first set up the problem.”
We often attempt to emulate and recreate what our parents and other influential people demonstrate to us. This is not without spiritual purpose. In pre-incarnation planning, we select our parents, relatives, acquaintances, and overarching life circumstances. Early in childhood, these comprise the foundation that shapes our initial character, behaviors, and social experiences. We define the initial setup for the problems presented in our spiritual classroom and set in motion our current life plan.
As an example, my mom and dad modeled the “ideal” marriage. From the outside, you would say it was nearly perfect. They lived what I considered to be an ideal life, so I embraced this model and set about emulating it. But I was viewing my parents through rose-colored glasses, and their life path was not mine. Indeed, they were not perfect; they were human.
A problem had been set up for me to attempt to solve. Every time a life expectation was not met, or I realized an imperfection in my parents, I experienced a sense of profound disappointment. Then I stuffed each disappointment into my metaphorical bag of disappointments. Over time, the weight became unbearable.
Fast forward ahead. At the age of 54 (I’m now nearly 64)—standing in the wreckage of two marriages, estrangement from my two daughters, a distant relationship with my brother, profound financial loss, poor health, a volatile temper, depression, the early loss of my parents, and suicidal thoughts—was I blessed? Absolutely! And here’s why …
The Purveyor of Blessing—The Creator’s Favor and Protection
We all suffer. Suffering—spiritual, emotional, and physical—is baked into the human condition. So, here’s a question: Is true blessing what we gain in a fleeting moment in time, or is it the spiritual growth that our soul experiences through eternity in relationship with our Creator?
Recall that the Creator is the definer and source of blessings. There are no blessings without the Creator.
You might argue that your employer conveys the blessing of monetary wealth upon you, You may argue further that your parents provided the blessings of physical and emotional support, the means of obtaining an education, or you may say an uncle or aunt blessed you with something of value; but the employer, parent, or any other benefactor is not the source of blessings. They are only the conduit through which blessings flow. The source of all blessings is the Creator.
How, when, and why the Creator conveys blessings is mysterious. There are the obvious blessings of a financial windfall, wealth, physical or emotional healing of a loved one, reconciliation with an estranged relative, a purchase of a wonderful home, or landing a dream job. Let’s call these tangible blessings.
Tangible blessings are the identifiable forms of blessing. There seems to be a direct link between the blessing and another human. But remembering that the source is the Creator means the Creator will convey blessings in ways that are consistent with and in support of our life plan.
There are also intangible blessings which come through challenges and/or suffering. In their natural state, rubies and sapphires are encased in a hard outer shell of nondescript, colorless stone. These raw gems have imperfections. Through rigorous processes of pressure, heat, cutting, shaping, and polishing, highly sought after, beautiful gems of high monetary value emerge. The overall process requires extreme patience and focused attention to detail to avoid damaging or even destroying the gem.
In much the same way, emotional and physical suffering often encapsulates our spiritual gems in a tough, almost impenetrable, energetic cocoon. To discover the gem requires us to be willing to examine, embrace, and accept our suffering and imperfections. Like exposing a precious gemstone, the process is extreme and requires patience and time, but the result is precious. The process, the growth, and the raising of our energetic consciousness are the blessings.
When we understand the purpose of blessings, we understand that blessings are—in their pure essence—spiritual gifts. Blessings are not about emotion and euphoria. Blessings do not protect us from death, illness, life tragedies, or difficulties. From the human perspective, a blessing can seem unpleasant and painful (spiritually, emotionally, and/or physically).
A blessing is not the tangible gift or event. True blessing is the manifestation of spiritual growth that drives us deeper into love and connection with our fellow human beings (fellow souls) and the Creator.
We Are to Be the Aspen Grove
A blessing may seem to be bestowed on us personally. In reality, some blessings have very little to do with us individually. While individual blessings may be asked for, fulfilled, and appreciated, all blessings are meant to flow energetically through us and outward to our surrounding community. Many of our personal blessings are meant to be shared. Blessings are how we connect and feed other souls, whether they are incarnate or not.
I recently was reminded of how an aspen grove functions. It can serve as an analogy for us of connected souls. Above ground, aspen trees present themselves as separate individuals. Below ground, however, the entire grove shares a common root system—all individuals connected one to another. The community of aspens communicates through the root system. Healthy trees nurture sick trees, and older trees care for younger trees. Aspens exist as an interconnected collective society that expresses itself as both a community and as individuals.
Expression of Blessing
Ultimately, blessing is about how we love and connect — as a soul to other created souls and as a soul to the Creator.
The two axioms for professing infinite love for the Creator and infinite love for one another are the “two great commandments” and the “Golden Rule.” These are the commnds by which we demonstrate our gratefulness for our blessings and how we master (and manifest) infinite love.
Yeshua (Jesus) defined the spiritual destination of our souls in the “two great commandments”:
“… ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ …” (Matthew 22:36-40, NIV)
and in the “Golden Rule”:
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Matthew 7:12, NIV)
These simple statements describe what is needed to achieve perfect love. The words are simple and concise. They are beautiful and infinitely powerful. Paradoxically, they are also complex. These three spiritual commandments can easily be described as the Three Great Blessings. These are soul-level commandments calling us to pure love. Spiritual mastery eventually results from practicing these three commandments. Achieving perfect love raises us to the highest level of spiritual energy,
The Creator is the totality of all that is seen and unseen and all that is and is not. In other words, I am a part of (contained within) the Creator. The first great commandment—to love the Creator with one’s entire being (heart, soul, and mind), when achieved, makes us spiritually whole with the Creator.
The second great commandment and the Golden Rule highlight the truth that we (the entire community of souls) are all a part of the Creator. Mastery of the Golden Rule and the second great commandment flows naturally from mastery of the first great commandment. Mastery allows us to have individual soul autonomy while grounding and binding us communally, one to another.
In short, we are to be the aspen grove.
Blessings to all,
Ken Kyzer – The Spiritual Engineer
For further information on reincarnation, visit the website:
Reincarnation Truth
[1] When I refer to the Creator, I am referring to the totality of all that is seen and unseen and all that is and is not. In other words, I am a part of (contained within) the Creator, I am not the Creator. The Creator is boundless, alive, loving, and ever expanding.
Likewise, when I refer to “Spirit” I am referring to everything that emanates from the Creator—who the Bible (1 John 4:7) characterizes as pure love—and, more specifically as we navigate our life paths, the spirit guides (deceased loved ones, more advanced souls, ascended masters, angels, etc.—however you view them) who guide us. The number and names of the spirit guides can vary according to what is being addressed. I rarely know whom these guides are when I receive guidance from Spirit. So, on occasion, I will refer to Spirit as them.
[2] Past life regression (PLR) is a type of hypnotherapy that aims to help people access memories of their past lives. The goal is to help people find information that can explain or improve their current life.
Rich Stamler, Ph.D - Past Life Regressionist