Style and Spirituality

My mother sewed most of my clothes when I was a child.  We may have been "poor farmers" but I never realized it or felt it because I always had food on the table and nice, new clothes for special occasions.  My clothes were original and unique, and I actually think about certain items quite often.

There was my white shift.  It had a beautiful texture to it, and it had a large embroidered blush pink rose on one side of the lap area.  It had a matching pink lace short-sleeved jacket that buttoned at the back.  Absolutely gorgeous.

Another favourite was a soft blue, grey and cream plaid dress with - get this - large, blue fur-covered buttons below the throat area.  So cute!

One of the prettiest was a pantsuit made of lined turquoise lace with long sheer-lace sleeves, elasticized at the wrists.  The top was a shift, mini-dress length, with matching bell-bottoms.  I wore this to my grandparents' fiftieth wedding anniversary party.  I loved all these outfits.

Unfortunately, there are after-effects.  Often when I shop, I go into an unconscious nostalgic trance, and buy clothes that are reminiscent of my childhood.  It might be the colour, pattern or texture that speaks to my unconscious mind, and I forget to consider the cut, fit and appropriateness of the piece.

One day several years ago, I was visiting my sister in Vancouver and saw a new tv show called What Not to Wear.  I found it amusing, as they took a witchy-looking woman dressed in huge black layers and with a frizzy mop for hair and transformed her.  I eventually ended up watching the show at home and I began to see what it was really about.  Under the layers of "I don't care what people think", "This is comfortable", and "People should like me for me, not my clothes", I saw that it was really about self-esteem, hiding, putting a distance between self and the rest of the world, and deservability.

It's not about high-fashion; it's about accepting our exterior as a valuable part of the whole package.  How I present myself to the world says something about how I see myself.  On the tv show, time after time I see women cry over their past self-criticism, break through their walls, and take new-found pride in themselves on all levels.

Yes, of course we want people to accept us for our inner beauty.  But you know that we all make snap judgments as well; it's part of the human process.  Let's stop making excuses for neglecting ourselves and instead, embrace our outer beauty as well.

It's been said our body is our temple; it houses our spirit.  Therefore, the body is sacred and must be treated as such.  That is why it is time to go within, find the hurt places that need acceptance and healing, and then shine our glorious light to the world.

No need to jump on the bandwagon of trends.  We can all find a personal style by paying attention to what makes us feel good and also to these warning signs:  keeping a collection of "fat" clothes, having ill-fitting hand-me-downs as a staple in our wardrobe, hanging onto our youth by wearing "young" or outdated favourites from twenty-five years ago.  What does your outward appearance say about you and how you value yourself?  What would you like it to say? 

Some of us have already made decisions on how to express our personal style, and some of us have not given it any thought.  Some of us have given up.  Take some time this week to consider this topic.  Pay attention to the bristly objections that come up!  Justifications.  Excuses.  Good old-fashioned denial.

Ask the beautiful feminine Archangel Jophiel to surround you and bring beauty to you on all levels.  I know from personal experience that when I am dressed well, I feel better, smile more and walk with more confidence, and by watching What Not to Wear, I know that this is a common if not universal experience.  This is not being "unspiritual" or "superficial".  It is acknowledging the value of our own temple, and taking exquisite care of it.

I think the following quote addresses our beauty on all levels, and our insecurity in expressing it.  Today, dear angels, choose to shine!

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

-Marianne Williamson (erroneously attributed to Nelson Mandela)

If you like this blog, please recommend it to your friends!