Steady Progress

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! This is your card reading for Friday, October 31st/14.  Your card today was drawn from the 'Saints & Angels' deck, authored by Doreen Virtue.  Your card is the 'Steady Progress' card, which is aligned with the Saint, St. Therese of Lisieux (Little Flower).
Doreen's message for the card is this:
"You've been making steady progress, and it's important for you to recognize that this progress (not perfection) is what's important.  This is a message for you to appreciate how much you've already achieved and how many people you've helped along the way.  Keep your focus away from any lapses that you think you've made.  Guilt and regrets never helped anyone, so let them go today.
You're also asked to forgive yourself for what you think you've done or not done.  St. Therese didn't live a life of spiritual perfection (she often fell asleep or was distracted during her prayers, for example).  Yet, she insisted that it's 'the little way' of steady progression that connects us with God and Heaven.  She wrote:  'Learn and grow from your challenges, but don't let them stop you from your devotion or spiritual path."
St. Therese was born in Lisieux, France, in 1873 and became a Carmelite nun along with two of her sisters.  Therese began having mystical experiences, which she wrote about (only because her mother superior ordered her to do so) in an autobiography called 'The Story of a Soul'. Many miraculous of ailments, such as ulcers, tuberculosis, and arthritis are attributed to St. Therese's intercession.  Upon her deathbed, she promised to send roses as a sign of her presence and devotion, so she's often referred to as 'Little Flower'."

My message for you today is this:
At times in our life---and on our spiritual path---we will experience periods of accelerated growth and progress.  Awesome!  Yet, we sometimes have the expectation that this period of accelerated growth must CONTINUE in the same way, in order to be effective or 'worthwhile'.  Not true!  Periods of accelerated growth and progress are most effective when followed up by a period of 'integration', as I call it.  Slow down, integrate and adjust to the shift that you have experienced; so that you can best incorporate the positive changes that have occurred.  In this physical existence, it is impossible to maintain a CONSTANT rapid trajectory of transition, without incorporating periods of lull, or rest, or adjustment. Simply said, you can not be moving forward at 'mach one' constantly!  You only need to observe Mother Nature to see the truth in this.  Trees that grow too quickly or plants that bloom to prolifically tend to 'burn themselves out' and do not survive.  
Panache Desai, whom I had the privilege of learning from at an Immersion on Vancouver Island last August, admitted to having gone into a 'tailspin' of sorts following his world-wide interview with Oprah Winfrey on Super Soul Sunday.  The exposure that this televised interview brought to him and to his spiritual work, hugely impacted his world and sent him reeling for a time---even with his advanced understanding of energy and what he calls our 'Soul Signature'.  As an acclaimed spiritual mentor/teacher; or rather, 'energetic catalyst' as he defines himself; Panache was still 'off-kilter' and required a period of adjustment and integration to the huge shift that followed his global interview experience.  The point in this is that we are MEANT to have periods of rest and integration, in order to enjoy STEADY PROGRESS, in our lives and on our spiritual path. 
St. Therese has presented to remind us of that today.  Take the pressure off!  Celebrate the periods of rapid growth and ALSO the perceived 'steps backward' that have brought you to where you are.  It is ALL GOOD!  We are not MEANT to be PERFECT here in this physical experience.  When you choose to live your life CONSCIOUSLY, however, you will find that the growth and periods of integration flow with greater ease and grace; that the steps 'backward' will be seen as progress in their own way, also; and you will understand that you are so supported by the Divine as you make your journey here on Earth!
Blessed be...