Healing for the Earth, Day 24: The Ways That Programming Hinders Your Spiritual Awareness by Guest Blogger Madeline Hartman

Hello fellow Earthlings!

Today's guest blogger is Madeline Hartman. I'm so lucky to have her on my blog today to share her wisdom. I have attended many classes at her school, Psychic Awakenings,  including an 11-month Clairvoyant Awareness Program. I learned so many amazing tools in these classes that I use each day.  Here is her blog post for today:


The Ways That Programming Hinders Your Spiritual Awareness by Madeline Hartman

We are playing this earthly game to learn how to bring our spiritual awareness into our physical bodies. It's by being in your body that you'll be able to use your spiritual gifts to create a meaningful, satisfying life. 


One of the biggest hindrances to our spiritual growth is our "programming." Being programmed means accepting someone else's ideas and thoughts as your own without thinking about whether or not those ideas and thoughts are really true for you. When you are living a life based on programming, it will be very difficult for you to truly know yourself and your life purpose. Especially if you have programming that spirit is not real. Or if you believe that You the Spirit doesn't even exist. 


Sometimes you are aware of when someone is trying to program you. The most obvious example is when you are out shopping. You know that the salesperson is going to do his or her best to get you to purchase something. You usually already have your guard up to protect yourself from buying something that doesn't really meet your needs. 


There are also many times when you are not aware that you are being programmed. Have you ever done something and then wondered, "Why did I do that? I wasn't intending to do that?" Or "Why did I say that?" What probably happened is that someone jumped right into your head with their thoughts, and you believed the thoughts and acted on them. Thoughts are real and can be very powerful! 


During the course of being socialized into society as a young child, it is natural to accept all kinds of programming. This is all fine and good because we do need some concrete ideas about how to relate to the world around us. Some of this programming is beneficial. For example, we learn how to behave at home, at school and in public. But some of the programming is not so beneficial, especially when the family holds racist or bigoted beliefs. These beliefs are definitely not fact-based. Fortunately, most of us get to the age where we start to question our family's beliefs and programming that do not serve us as well. In the families with healthy dynamics, the children are allowed to develop their own theories based on their own experiences. In dysfunctional families, the children are not allowed to ask questions or to think for themselves. Some parents withhold love, or worse, actually punish their children for trying to individuate. 


The best way separate programming from that which is really true for you is to meditate. Sit in a straight back chair with your feet flat on the floor. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Deliberately send down a strong energy grounding cord from your hips and plant it firmly at the center of the earth. Clear your space by spending at least ten minutes with the intention of releasing some programming down the grounding cord. 


The next step is to start looking at your beliefs. Think about one of them and ask yourself, "How does this belief serve me?" There are different ways to intuit the answer. It may be a thought that just pops up in your head. It may be a feeling of wellness in your heart. Or it may be a feeling of dissonance in your belly. If the belief does not resonate with you, then release it down your grounding cord. If it does resonate, then own it as your own information and keep it. Some of you may already be familiar with trusting your intuition. Others of you may need some practice. 


Meditation and spending quality time communicating with yourself are the essential keys to avoid living a life based on beliefs that don't help you to thrive. Your truths are not the thoughts in your head. Your truths are to be found by using your intuition to discover what resonates with your heart.

Madeline Hartman is the director and owner of Psychic Awakenings in Queen Anne, Seattle. Her extensive experience in both conventional and alternative counseling gives her a unique perspective and a wide range of skills with which she can support you. Since 1980 she has offered spiritual counseling in the form of readings, healings and psychic development classes. Her training began at the Berkeley Psychic Institute/Church of Divine Man where she was ordained as a spiritual minister. While at Berkeley she taught meditation and healing classes for five years. Madeline also holds a Masters in Social Work from the University of Washington.