Spirit Emerging: A Guide to Nurture Your Spirit

By Bonnie Bayly

Have you ever had the urge to do something but did not? This could have been a gentle nudge from your Spirit to take action. Spirit is here to give us guidance and direction, but it has mostly been ignored. We have allowed voices outside ourselves to have a greater influence on us than our inner voice. It is time to bring your inner world back into balance with your outer world. It is time to have equal respect for your intuition and urgings as you do for your intellect and logic. It is time to honor that which is within you.

Learn to:
find your inner voice of Spirit
trust the guidance you are given
act on your intuition
overcome the fears that hold you back
bring more of your Spirit into the world

Spirit is calling. You are being invited to walk with your Spirit every moment of the day. How will you respond to the invitation and answer the call?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Sep 22, 2011
• ISBN: 9781452538624

Bonnie Bayly

Bonnie Bayly has led meditation classes for more than ten years to help others become more aware of their inner guidance.     Bonnie was a founding board member of Phoenix North, a metaphysical, spiritual organization in Pittsburgh, a branch of the Phoenix Institute. She regularly attends Phoenix Institute events and attends a biweekly Wisdom Circle in Pensacola that discusses different spiritual topics each week.  She was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but currently resides in Pensacola, Florida. She loves to cook and graduated from the Natural Gourmet Institute’s Chef Training Program.  She is the president of the Pensacola Vegetarian Society and president of the West Florida Literary Federation.  You can contact her through www.spirit-emerging.com.

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Copyright © 2011 by Bonnie Bayly.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Cover painting by Kathleen Morey Bailey

Photo of artwork by Courtland William Richards

Author photo by Michael Kovach

Library Of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Bayly, Bonnie S., 1958-

Spirit Emerging

1. Spirituality 2. Bayly, Bonnie 3. Self Help

Balboa Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

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ISBN: 978-1-4525-3863-1 (soft cover)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-3861-7 (hardback cover)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-3862-4 (ebook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011915135

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Printed in the United States of America

Balboa Press rev. date: 10/07/2011

Contents

Advanced Praise

Dedication

Preface

Spirit is Calling

Understanding Your Inner Connection

Spirit Connects

How Connected Are You?

Spirit Comes in Silence

Spending Time in Inner Silence

Spirit Listens

Paying Attention to Inner Dialogue

Spirit is Guiding

Following Your Inner Voice

Spirit Co-Creates

Choosing Your Inner Intentions

Spirit Knows Your Purpose

Spirit Has a Purpose

Spirit Free

Facing Your Inner Fears

Spirit Aligned

Eliminating Inner Distractions

A Word of Thanks

Giving Thanks

Spirit in Action

Taking Inner Action

About the Author

Advanced Praise

Bonnie Bayly in her new book, Spirit Emerging, has done a beautiful job synthesizing a wide range of material for the serious spiritual seeker. Her ability to make accessible many important and timeless concepts makes this offering an excellent contribution to the world of personal and spiritual growth. I highly recommend this book and am sure it will find a warm place within the heart of anyone who takes its wise, thoughtful and gentle council.

—Michael Brant DeMaria, Ph.D., Psychologist, Author, Speaker

and Two-Time Grammy nominated Musician

Spirit Emerging is skillfully crafted. Ms. Bayly strips away denominational constraints that too often blind us to our commonalities. The result, Spirit Emerging has universality in presenting the desire we have to connect with a supreme being and the gift available to all of us to be guided through life. The examples Ms. Bayly gives of her own experiences leave the reader thirsty for this connection. She does not disappoint; the reader is provided with a participatory workbook to develop his or her own spiritual discipline wherein Spirit emerges.

—Melissa K. Webster, MSN, RN,

Deacon, Presbyterian Church (USA)

If you’re ready for a positive transformation in your life, you’ll love Spirit Emerging by Bonnie Bayly. Weaving inspiring and instructive personal stories with time-tested universal spiritual principles, she reveals the practical steps you can take every day to raise your consciousness and your life to a higher and happier level. This book is a treasure.

Will Tuttle, Ph.D., pianist, composer, and former Zen monk,

is author of the acclaimed best-seller, The World Peace Diet,

and a recipient of the Courage of Conscience Award.

Dedication

To all who have helped me see

that which is within me.

I would like to thank all those who have helped in the creation of this book. In the past, I skipped reading the dedication. Now that I know how much time and effort goes into a book, I always read them to share in the understanding of those who contributed to the project.

I would like to thank Beth who scheduled my first class before I even finished writing the first version of book. Deadlines always help me stay focused. I thank those who took my first few classes and gave me input to improve the book and workbook pages: Nancy, Bill, Will, Lisa, Carol, John, Chandan, Anne, Pauline, Lesia, Ed, David, and Ren.

I thank Steve for his review which gave me better guidelines for directing the intent of the book. I thank Mary Claire for sharing with me her wisdom and knowledge in publishing a book, particularly sending me to Dan Pointer’s Self Publishing Manual. I thank my editor, Christian de Quincey, for his patience and his probing questions letting me know I needed more explanation somewhere because he had to ask a question. I thank Melissa KirkIand Webster for her review, her attention to detail, and her comments on the organization of the book. I thank Kathleen Morey Bailey for the artwork that was used for the cover. I thank Courtland William Richards who so graciously took the picture of Kathleen’s painting. I thank Lisa and Elanor for taking the time to go through the class with the rewrite of the book. I appreciate their review and honest input on their perception of certain ideas and the comments on the workbook pages.

I thank Lea, Frank, and Stuart and all those who come to share in Samuel’s work. I appreciate the example Lea is and the depth of understanding Frank and Stuart have of Samuel’s teachings. I am grateful for my Phoenix family who are truly my spiritual family and there to support me on my spiritual path.

I thank my family—my parents, Kay and Joe, my sisters, Mary, Joy, and Carol, my brother-in-laws, Craig, Doug, and Jeff, my brother, Greg, and my nieces and nephew: Christina, Melissa, Jennifer, Nikki, Danny, and Shannon. Our teachers and friends play such an important role in our lives and I would like to thank: Lois, Judy, Katie, Steverino, Mary Kay, Reba, Sandy, Jane, Elaine, Donna, Betty, Debbie, Peggy, Liz, Jerry, Sharalee, and Michael. I particularly want to thank Diane who attended my meditation classes for over 7 years and has been a dear friend.

I thank all those in Unity who have been an inspiration to me, especially the minister at Unity of Pensacola, Jamie Sanders, and those who attended my meditation classes.

I thank the Wisdom Circle of Northwest Florida for pushing the edges of my thinking on spiritual topics in addition to their continued love and support.

I thank those in the West Florida Literary Federation who shared their wisdom and knowledge, particularly Joe Hefti who reviewed my poems.

And I would be remiss if I did not thank my four-legged, furry friends who have been with me while I wrote: Merlin, who was with me while I wrote the first version of the book, The Thirty Day Spiritual Diet, nine years ago, then Mitzi, Magic, and Mercury while I began this version, and Mitzi who is here as I finish the book. Their love and unconditional acceptance of me no matter what I am going through has been a gift.

I am very grateful and appreciative of all your love and support.

Preface

I grew up with a sense of knowing there was more to life than what I see with my eyes but I did not know what more could be. I could look at my life as an impartial bystander and observe what was going on around me. I sensed a connection to something beyond the physical body. My mother was a devout Catholic and my dad converted from Episcopalian to marry her. We attended church every Sunday and celebrated all the church holy days. My mom was active on church committees, and still is today. I was very familiar with the rituals of the church, but I felt something was missing.

I got my first taste of spirituality—not just religion—after college. I remember attending a class called Tapping Your Powers by Lois Perelman. Her upbringing was Jewish, but she had a wide range of knowledge on many religions and spiritual teachings. She emphasized getting in touch with our own creative powers. She mentioned books during class, and I read them by the next class. I absorbed information like a sponge. I was lovingly referred to as the book mobile or the bag lady because I brought the bag of books I had read during the previous week with me to class.

About this time, I decided to start meditating and also heard I could have a clearer connection if I adopted a vegetarian diet. I figured I might as well try it. It couldn’t hurt. I practiced a five-minute meditation daily—a practice I still follow most days and I felt lighter and healthier on the vegetarian diet.

Not long after my awakening to meditation and vegetarianism, I moved to Pensacola, Florida. The first two things I looked for were a metaphysical book store and a health food store. I discovered a metaphysical book store in the basement of the Unity Church of Christianity. I did not know they included a meditation during the Sunday service but when I found out I started to attend regularly. I loved how it gave me time to reflect inward. I started leading meditation classes at Unity for several years, and later hosted weekly sessions at my house for more than seven years. They say we teach best that which we need to know, and I loved how meditation allowed me to see more clearly what was going on inside.

In the beginning, I remember having to sit and work to clear my mind. I gradually learned to relax enough to receive information easily. Then, one day, many years later, I noticed that as I meditated I didn’t feel any difference from my state of being during the meditation than before meditation. It dawned on me that the calm I usually felt during meditation had spilled over into my life, and I no longer had to do anything particular to create the calm to meditate and receive information. Meditation served as my training wheels until I learned to create a sense of peace in my day-to-day moments, and opened up to receive guidance. That was a significant turning point for me. I now believe we are all connected to the Source through our Spirit and that each of us can receive our own guidance.

Food was another big part of my life growing up. My mother and grandmother made everything from scratch. I loved eating slices of warm cinnamon raisin bread right out of the oven, freshly baked by my grandmother. I also loved helping my mother make my favorite recipe—lasagna. She would start in the morning making homemade spaghetti sauce, and by evening we had a pan of lasagna layered with three cheeses and miniature sausage meatballs. At college, I started out in Food and Nutrition because I loved being in the kitchen so much. Later on, I changed my major to Management Information Systems (MIS), but my love of food remained with me, and eventually I studied at the Natural Gourmet Institute’s Chef Training program. After I graduated, I wondered If you can go on a physical diet for the body, could there also be a diet for the Spirit? If a food diet nourishes us physically, are there ways to nourish us spiritually? And, if so, what would be our spiritual nourishment?

I thought back over my life to determine what helped nourish my Spirit and allow it to emerge into my everyday life. I know I am a much calmer, happier, healthier, trusting, fun-loving, and a more purposeful person because of the practices I chose to incorporate in my life. I have a better understanding and ability to discern the difference between my mind gnawing over an issue and true