Jennifer Hoffman – You probably do not think about being self indulgent as part of our spiritual path but it is one of the most important aspects of our spiritual growth that we overlook and even avoid. Being indulgent is seen as engaging in acts that are selfish excessive, and exorbitant.

But indulgence actually means to be lenient, permissive, soothing, and having mercy. How does this fit into the intention process? Let’s look at the whole process and all of its steps because you cannot single out one aspect without seeing how it fits in with all of the other aspects.

In the intention process we have to first look at the inner work that is necessary, I call this in-vision because you have to have an inner vision of what you’re intending and the outcome you’re creating in order to be fully engaged in and on board with what you’re doing. If you have ever put flat pack furniture together, like anything from IKEA, you know that you cannot do it without the picture (or it is not very easy to do). That picture on the instructions gives your mind the vision of what the finished product is supposed to look like.

Then with the vision firmly in our minds we can set the intention. You cannot set an intention without a vision or an idea of what your outcome is going to be. How many of you order from a menu based on the picture or something you have seen another diner order? I know I have. In fact, why do you think restaurants put pictures on their menu or in their advertisements? Remember the saying ‘A picture is worth 1000 words’?

Then we have to be inspired to maintain the momentum towards the outcome and the flow of energy. The word ‘inspire’ literally means ‘in spirit’. When we are inspired we are acting from our spirit, engaging spiritually and using our energy resources to empower our intention. It doesn’t happen any other way. Anyone who tells you that it’s as easy as setting an intention and sitting back and waiting for it to happen is not being honest and they’re deliberately sabotaging the process. Nothing happens without your engagement and continuous inspiration.

And finally we have indulgence, which is the process of allowing yourself to receive your blessings. What happens if you do not let this final step happen? You’re setting intentions for things you will never allow to manifest for you. You are limiting the flow of energy into your life and you will never manifest what you want. You’re creating blocks around receiving for reasons that you may not even be aware of. What are some of them?

♦ You do not want to share (or to be forced to share)
♦ You do not want to have more than others
♦ You’re afraid of persecution, shame, and guilt
♦ You have worthiness issues but that’s more about guilt and shame than actually believing you should not have something
♦ You are afraid of how your life will change
♦ You are afraid someone will take your blessings away from you
♦ You would rather wish for something than know the joy of having it and then the pain of having someone take it away from you
♦ You are afraid that once your dreams manifest you won’t be able to have other dreams

What are your reasons for limitation? I encourage you to explore them and you might be surprised at what you come up with.

Now on to indulgence. We cannot have an inner vision – in-vision – without indulgence because this is where the process begins. We start with a desire for something new and different and then we either turn it off and stop it or we allow it to become a new portal of potential for us. If we don’t indulge our dreams we don’t give ourselves permission to dream and without that we are forever stuck in cycles of regret, wishfulness, hoping, and feeling powerless to make changes.

We cannot have intention without indulgence because that’s how we give ourselves permission to acknowledge that this is what we want and accept into our lives. Without indulgence we aren’t going to be able to integrate – create energetic space for – whatever we are intending.

We cannot have inspiration without indulgence because being inspired is being in spirit, this is where we create the energy that is going to give power to our intention. Feeling hopeless, helpless, weak, and ineffective isn’t going to create fabulous new beginnings and power new potentials. Instead we will look longingly at what we hope will happen and think it will never happen for us. Or we look at other people who are doing exactly what we want to do and feel that it will never be our turn.

We cannot have indulgence without being indulgent and that isn’t being selfish or self centered, gluttonous, or engaging in pure self interest. It is about allowing ourselves to receive our blessings, to be loving towards ourselves, to respect our dreams, visions, and needs, and to give ourselves access to the same level of support and guidance that we so freely give to others.

Without indulgence we never allow ourselves to know joy, love, abundance, peace, and the satisfaction and fulfillment of seeing our visions become our reality. Indulge yourself, allow yourself to receive your blessings, surrender to your own ascension process and know the joy of completion, closure, and moving on. Without indulgence you will engage in a lot of wishful thinking, help others achieve their dreams, and wonder when it’s time for you.

That’s why surrender is a path of self indulgence. Surrender does not mean to give up it means to stop fighting and to stop resisting.

When we allow indulgence to become part of our intention and manifestation process we are telling ourselves that we are important, deserving, and we are allowed to be blessed too. We are empowering our visions, creating a joyful reality, and acknowledging the importance of our own being. We are engaging in self care and setting energy boundaries to ensure that we receive as well as give.

Let indulgence be a word that you use to ensure that you’re empowering your dreams, serving your needs, being willing to receive the results of your intentions and allowing your in-visions to become your reality.

The Surrender Course – learn more at this link

Copyright (c) 2004-2022 by Jennifer Hoffman. All rights reserved.

SF Source Enlightening Life Jan 2022