Some History of my Childhood and what this Chapter in my life has taught me about Sin and the impact of Repetition. 

 

Growing up the youngest of four girls to immigrant parents, I learned to just follow suite. Traditions and rituals where already set into motion by the time I came around.

My beautiful family has gone through a lot in our past. All of it was filled with blessings, even if it didn't feel like it at the time. When things get tough for my family unit, we tend to turn to our faith. My family practiced Baptist Christianity - actually my entire family still does,  very fervently. This childhood meant I attended many church events and outings to encourage me in this faith and teach me more about it. A large portion of the purpose of this was in hopes that I may share this message with the world and save souls from damnation, so I was taught.

 

One day during Sunday School/a Youth Group event, one of our leaders mentioned the actual translations for the word sin. The one of focus and one of the most commonly mentioned in the Bible is "Chata," meaning to "miss the mark." It's a term used in archery, indicating you missed your target.

This has stayed with me ever since. If that is was sin truly is, we must sin on a daily basis, several times a day. To aim for perfection requires extremely conscious skill. But what are we missing? What is perfection? Is perfection about not doing good enough? Good enough doing what?!

Through my years of existence since then, I have come to some new realizations. I truly feel that when we don’t do the things our soul is asking of us, WE miss the mark in life. We sin or transgress against our self and our higher good. We disregard what we are here for and do a disservice to God/Universe/Divine Love. We get in the way of what we are inspired to do (what God//Universe asks of us and how we share our gifts) by dumbing things down, by not acknowledging our worth and birthrights.

And, boy, have I sinned!

 

Now knowing all of this, what I would like to remind myself is that God/Universe/Divine Love is here to guide us. It is up to us to listen to the voice inside us (so be it, the Holy Ghost) and take the action asked of us. I want to stop missing the mark. I want to be conscious. I want to take action and remind myself of the truth of who I am.The truths that many wise people have come and tried to remind us.Truths that are already inside us, waiting for us to tap in, so that when life gets tough or distracting, we can move past it. Move towards our soul's calling and sharing our sacred gifts that the world needs. The guarding we need to do, is against our self, our ego. The voice inside us that tries to convince that we can't, that we are not good enough, that it's already been done... These are not our truths.

So, where does repetition come into play?

When I was 4/5 years old, my parents took me to a Christian kids club every Friday evening; I even continued going all the way into my teenage years to be a leader.

I really enjoyed it there. The whole premise of this club was to have little ones memorize bible verses. In the Christian Bible, we are asked to hold tight to God’s word so that, when the Devil/Temptations/Evil One strikes, we are ready with the armor of God - the scriptures.

To prepare of our Friday Night kids club came lots of repetition. I will never forget sitting in front of our tape deck player in the living room (that’s right, a TAPE deck! Not a CD of MP3 file. I have just aged myself). My mother would record herself saying the verse I had to memorize and it was my job to listen, one word at a time. Each word recorded I had to repeat 10 times, as many fingers as I had. (I’m sure if I had 100 fingers I would have to repeat it 100 times.) When I was done the 10 times for that word, I would rewind the tape and start again and listen for that first word and then for the second. This new combination of words required a repetition of 10 all over again. This kept up until I was done the verse and the 3 other verses to follow. I repeated each word over a hundred times. I can tell you, many of those verses still sit with me and are written on my heart:

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son...

Be still and know that I am God...

He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it...

 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God....

These have all stuck with me for over 20 years!!!! They are etched into my being.

 

And so, as I sit and think of the importance of repetition of words that enrich and brighten us up, I say Yes! This is important! There is purpose to this. These Mantras, Intentions and Affirmations will remind us, after we have repeated them and repeated them, that we are all of these beautiful and powerful phrases. It increases our vibration and calls it forward. We tell God/the Universe the desires of our heart! May this tool help you etch into your heart all the goodness that is available to you. All that Love has given to you and be reminded that this is your birth right!