Not So Gentle Reminders

So I made a few deals, promises if you will, with Spirit* recently. I have certain things I want to achieve and I know that these sacrifices will help me made strides in my personal and spiritual growth. By offering and sacrificing certain things, Spirit agreed to help me along.

For several reasons, one of the sacrifices I made was to not drink alcohol, except for celebrations and ritual/spiritual work and on these occasions I would have only one and share with my guides--trust me, my Spirits like the spirits!

Last Saturday it was a friend's birthday, which would qualify as a celebration. There was only one problem, at dinner there were three different kinds of sangria. You know I had to try them all and I did. And then, I picked a favorite and I had one more. That's when I started to have stomach pains and discomfort. Nothing too disrupting, but enough to make me uncomfortable. Later, I went home to bed and was asleep by 11 or so. At 3AM, I awoke with one the most painful non-migraine headaches of my life. I looked like I was in pain, bloodshot eyes and dark circles and all. There was no relief--pills, cold pack, pressure--nothing. At some point fell asleep again and woke up feeling just fine. The only evidence that the pain was not a dream was the bottle of ibuprofen and the eye pillow I had curled up with during the night.

After going through the whole: "I must be getting old" and "They must have used REALLY cheap wine" scenarios. It dawned on me...duh! I broke a promise, a vow, and I got a reminder. I thanked my lucky stars it was actually a relatively gentle reminder and wasn't something more disruptive or having permanence. It basically just sucked.

One thing I did notice was, after this happened, it's much easier for me to adhere to my all my promises without even thinking about it. I wasn't thinking when I had that last glass of sangria and now I don't have to think when I prepare my meals or try to find time to exercise or make sure I go to bed before 11PM--it just happens. My spiritual body had made the agreement and my body was following suit, but the mind was not with the program. It needed the reminder to get in line. Further proof that our bodies, mind, and spirit, all need to work together. And when they do, life is so much easier.

Oh, and in case you didn't get this point...Spirit means business!

*We all work with different gods and guides. This is just catch-all term I tend to use.