__________________________________________________

WHEN YOU FEEL DIFFERENTLY ABOUT YOURSELF, IT'S TIME TO GET BACK TO THE 'YOU' THAT JESUS SEES

It is a time of special evil attack and so we should always find precautions and joy despite the turmoil and darkness, despite harassment. How frequent it is these days! You can feel it in the air, cut it with a knife. Disturbances: at work, in the home, out there driving where road rage is all the rage. Only with inner equilibrium do we fare well from assault -- and even gain points with the Lord. Patience, patience, and more patience. It's a wonderful difficult test! The goal (though it's virtually impossible, in all circumstances, but very worth the attempt): to remain in peace without anger in the face of attack, which usually comes through other people (or what's around them).

When you do react -- when tempers flare -- instead of allowing the matter to spiral out of control, causing hours or perhaps days of regret and anguish, clear the air with humility and get right back to feeling the real "you," the good you, the innermost you: don't let the enemy, through others, and their misconceptions, take that from you. Get back to feeling right about yourself; right your boat in troubled waters.

Have you ever noticed how when you're around certain people your personality seems to alter, to change, feel differently, and not even familiar (that is, the very way you perceive yourself); or, that you take on the characteristics of the person you are around? Suddenly, and perhaps sullenly, you may become or at least begin to feel as negative or antagonistic as the person you're with (or -- on the plus side -- more positive, in the cases when a person is positive.).

But let's stay on the topic of spiritual attack: brushes with evil that get you down on yourself, that make you feel differently about your true being, as well as others. 

Sometimes, in a  subconscious way, we blend with or imitate a person's negative characteristics. We assume part of their persona. Their emotions are transferred, like a virus. There is transmission of spirits. Sudden hostility? Anxiety? Oppression? Flashpoints? A feeling of despair that's not like you?

The devil wants us to view ourselves through a prism, darkly: an emotional version of a distorted funhouse mirror.  Beware sudden change in how you feel about yourself and don't let transference become transformation.

Too often -- to repeat -- it's in a way we don't desire. Suddenly, we shift into a frame of mind that's dour and unloving, that's depressive, contrary. Suddenly we don't have the love or joy or optimism and compassion we had before being around a person or situation. Take note of quick shifts in mood. Monitor your emotions. Control them. Discipline is a key to happiness. Take good heed of times when your outlook suddenly changes. Take note of where and when empathy for others seems to drain from you. Be on guard for things that make you feel less loving or at least that give you the notion that you are not loving.

For your truest essence is potent, pure love. This is the core of who God created. Don't lose touch with it. It's the devil who seeks to rob this. He's pure hate and tries to rub off on us. He wants to get us hating. Confusion, anxiety, and lack of love are three prime markers of the enemy. If suddenly you don't feel like who you are, you aren't supposed to be where you are.

As one wise woman said, we need to protect the energy of our souls from those who consume it and place us at risk for spiritual and health problems. Re-energize through self-forgiveness. Guilt is one of the deepest and darkest emotions. Clear the air. Forgive yourself when you fail or think you have failed and pray for the forgiveness of others and for God to guide you. All we have to do is believe.

Frequently, we don't like the way we perceive ourselves because we're "picking up" how a negative person we are around perceives "who we are" and casts us into a mold -- their distorted view -- that's unfair, makes us feel guilty. This often comes after a disturbance initiated by darkness. After anger, there is the feeling of being an ogre, when you are not an ogre.

Spot it. Reverse it. Doing so can halt a rotten day. Shield yourself by praying for others, when the wrong "vibes" transfer. Shake it off and console yourself by resolving to do the right thing the rest of the day. Just move on. Just move forward. And be "true to thine own true self." Don't let others define you. Don't see yourself through the eyes of another person. Don't take on their characteristics. Don't let others mold you. Be who you really are, not who others think you are or should be. If you're going to view yourself, ask to see with the Eyes of Jesus.

You are wonderfully made and wonderful it is to discover that.

Mary Undoer of Knots plus The Holy Cloak novena, $7.25

Michael Brown's books on Kindle or Nook

Return to home page www.spiritdaily.com