I heard the word penance whispered multiple times during sessions this week, which demanded my attention by capturing my interest. Guides communicate spiritual messages instead of religion, in my experience. Penance is a voluntary self-punishment inflicted as an outward expression of repentance for having done wrong. The message was regarding the way people can subconsciously create their own suffering out of a perception of wrongdoing. A person who detests their own actions might easily accept their self-imposed suffering. Paying a penance can be painful and burdensome, because it demands a punishment.
What was also communicated from the loving light was a focus on the positive side of paying a penance. A person can exercise a virtue in response to their dislike or even hatred around their last behavior. That virtue could include humility, which is the antidote to shame. I’m sure paying a penance is a major part of my transformation (tee hee). But as I reflected on the subject, it appears to be part of a pattern of self-sabotage just prior to my greatest awakening. Experiencing a brokenness as the lead-up to an awakening doesn’t seem fair, according to one client, yet there seems to be a message related to the big picture around this subject. It’s time to gather more impressions on the subject of penance:
Paying a penance can provide the motivation needed to modify behavior. Reaching a low point in life is often the catalyst for the Great Change, an internal energy that demands the soul get to work and work hard. Internal conflict represents that impending renewal is possible and movement is occurring toward a greater potential.
An unsettled soul is often experiencing a review of the karma accumulated in this lifetime. The person subconsciously seeking renewal can feel unsettled when things are smooth. They are fighting against the need for self-discipline, the process of learning, integrating the lessons leading to growth and the quality of perseverance.
It is challenging to start over, yet cleansing occurs when the past is left behind and acceptance of one’s faults and behavior has been conceded. The process of purification is connected to the rising energy known as an awakening. When one feels broken, they have the choice to break the mold of the past to step into their true role as a student on the Earth. The planet of restrictions is a place where the Great Change occurs and the soul can get a fresh start.
Noticing the pattern of behavior, taking responsibility for actions, and the subsequent dismantling of the ego can balance karmic energy. It may not seem fair, but giving the soul a new start was never promised to be restful, smooth, and easy. The soul must be tested to rise above perceived capacity.
When self-awareness brings insights around penance, a sacrament is being called forward. The sacrament can be as simple as an action that procrastination has prevented, or anything found to represents a new beginning. It’s not difficult, but simply requires intent from the heart, the energy of love, and a distancing from the machinations of the mind.
Bring joy, ease suffering and create beauty, then dance like you mean it!
Blessings, Russell
“But there are some born to do penance by nature. Maybe they lift the load for some of us who take it quite comfortably that we’re humankind, and not angels.”
Ellis Peters
