For many of us Women Spiritual Leaders, we are familiar with the word “epiphany” in its colloquial meaning… “a sudden understanding, or insight, especially into the meaning of something”. As we honor the celebration of the “Epiphany” of the Christian tradition which this year occurs on January 6th, we would invite you to discover, or reaffirm, ways in which we might invite epiphanies in order to help with our ministries, our practices, and our day to day living.

I suggest that they are not unusual, and for spiritual women, may be quite common.

January 6th marks the celebration of “Epiphany” which to Christians of the Eastern and Western churches commemorates the arrival of the Magi and, for some, the baptism of Jesus. Both acknowledge the ‘Epiphany’ as the “manifestation of Christ to the world”.

‘Epiphany’ is also intertwined with the twelve days of Christmas, the twelfth also known as “three kings day” in honor of the Magi who, biblical and historical scholars think, may have traveled many months and over many miles to visit Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, who by then, had left the manger and had created their home. Once there, they honored the baby Jesus with gold, frankincense, and myrrh each having its own mystical meaning.

How many times have you experienced an ‘epiphany’ after struggling with a problem or a challenge that had you tied in knots?

Do you remember when the ‘epiphany’ occurred?

What was it that the ‘epiphany’ provided?

If you implemented the solution that the ‘epiphany’ presented, what were the results?

I ask these questions because I believe all of us as women spiritual leaders have had ‘epiphanies’ that could help us answer these questions.

How, then, can we invite those experiences of insights, revelations, and sudden realizations into our everyday lives?

1. Spend time in reading, study, prayer, meditation, and contemplation which provide the discipline to counteract the distractions which cause the ‘static’ we all experience which interrupts the clear signal which is often searching for our ‘receiver’

2. Commit to the practice of being in the state of ‘awareness’…

3. Be cognizant of our thoughts and resultant emotions by allowing and exercising the ‘observer’; that part of us who is constant, unchanging, and not rocked by our thoughts, feelings, and actions…

4. Practice letting the past and the future go… the present which is all we have, will provide the answers we are searching for…

5. When preparing for sleep, offer your problem, challenge, or issue… being willing to let go of it and trust that your answer will come… It may not appear in a dream, though often it does, or upon awakening the next morning; continue to trust that you will have the answers…

6. Expect the ‘epiphany’ and when it is experienced by you, offer thanks, and provide the environment and the steps, with guidance, to put it into action…

As we enter this new decade, may we, as women spiritual leaders and those of us who are awakening to our spiritual natures, experience the clarity and the potential for making a difference in our lives that an epiphany provides!

This article was written by Rev. Ruth Reiner, an ordained Inter Faith minister, spiritual counselor, coach, nurse, former wife, mother, grandmother and entrepreneur and co-founder of The International Association of Women Spiritual Leaders – http://www.iawsl.com

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