Have you ever asked yourself such questions as "Who am I?" "Why am I here?" or "Why do people have to suffer?" Maria Russo spent decades asking herself these kinds of questions in her search to "know God" and find her purpose in this lifetime. In her search for Truth, she discovered that we are all essentially Spiritual Beings, filled with Goodness and Light, who choose to incarnate in order to learn through the experiences of a physical life. Since pain and suffering is part of this to varying degrees, people are then left with a choice to either remain a victim, claiming the story of their life as the truth of who they are; or to work toward healing their pain - finding the purpose in it and receiving the blessings from it. Our wounds then reveal themselves as sacred portals leading inward to a greater understanding of the Divine. She discovered that the divine sweetness of life is not found outside of us, but is always an inward journey to our own spark of divinity. "The Growing Soul" is a memoir from this spiritual perspective of how the intention was set in motion in childhood to be "close to god". She came to realize that the answers she sought came buried in problems. It was in healing from these problems that she could move forward. Noticing that all the right people showed up for her at just the right time, and how the right problems taught her exactly what she needed to learn next, Maria came to trust the Divine Guidance System she couldn't deny. Divine coordination became evident all around her. She began to thrive as she realized she wasn't alone, but was guided every step of the way. She recognized the beauty of her own Truth in finding "the god" she sought was already within her very soul.

INTRODUCTION

THE FIRST TEN YEARS

EXPLORING BOUNDARIES

THE NOTION OF EVIL

NO ONE TO TURN TO

SWEET SIXTEEN

THE ROAD BACK

KISS ME

DEATH AND BIRTH

THE DREAM

PUTTING MYSELF FIRST

MY MOTHER

THE GOLDEN ROPE

TWENTY YEARS OF MARRIAGE

WHAT DO I BELIEVE?

A DEEPER AWAKENING

IT’S OKAY TO BE HAPPY

INTEGRATING THE FRAGMENTED PIECES

AN END TO SECRECY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

RESOURCES