Happiness

Happiness
Research shows that not only are facial expressions contagious, but the corresponding happy feelings send signals to your brain, which in turn boost your immune system.
This awareness enables you to choose to create your best life. Through self-direction, you decide whether to see the positive rather than the negative in any situation.
Speak to yourself in positive language and you will increase your emotional and physical health.

Smiles are contagious!

And so, by default, are scowls, frowns, and a cantankerous attitude.

1. At home, practice smiling at yourself in the mirror and capture the relaxed and carefree emotions that you generate.
2. Keep a comfortable internal expression to maintain a positive mood and your feelings will show externally on your face and body language.
3. Carry the feeling of peace and contentment with you wherever you go and watch the responses you receive from people around you.

Negative feelings hinder and prevent you from achieving positive change.

Have you unconsciously given permission to downbeat thoughts and allowed them to influence your behavior?

Meditation is one of the simplest methods to help you look deep within and determine what will actually make you happy. Then the steps that you need to take and live by in order to attain it fall into place with ease.

Focusing on the positive things in your life means that you can alter your perspective on life. This has the effect of making you more constructive every day, while others are glad to see you because of your enthusiasm and affirmative action.

As the great man Louis Armstrong said “When you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with you.”

Affirmations
What you perceive as “real life” is often a vague silhouette of the life you could be leading. Noticing how and when you respond to situations gives you the ability to choose your thoughts and subsequent actions.

“I pay attention to why I think what I do”

“I pay attention to why I do what I do”

“I pay attention to how I affect the world around me”

"I am filled with love and happiness"

Guided Meditation

Observe your life for one whole minute. What difference does your being there make?

Interesting, isn’t it.

If you’ve never tried it before, the results might have surprised you.

As a yoga and meditation teacher I have found that while students enjoy learning how to meditate and experiencing the wonderful benefits, what is more challenging is releasing the “stuff” that prevents complete joy and bliss from manifesting. Sure, there is a sense of peace, but there are other even more wonderful experiences that will happen, if room is made for them. The “stuff” that I’m referring to here is different from one person to another but it acts like a pile of boxes that are stacked in front of a closed door. Once they are removed, meditation unlocks the door and then you have the choice to open it and enter.

Give yourself permission to evolve and change

How do you value yourself?
Prioritizing your life lets you see where you put your own needs and then do something about it.

With meditation, there’s no room for you and your excess thoughts. If you allow thoughts to enter and then follow them, that’s when you find that you’re not experiencing the bliss that you know is there, inside.
If you are new to meditation, thoughts WILL intrude. But hold onto either an affirmation, a mantra, or the image of a light in order to use them like a shield to protect you from unwanted thoughts.
Like all practices, once it becomes a regular habit, you become better at it and can enter it with ease.

Building confidence relies on thinking you are worth it and by acting upon it. In the opening question at the start of this posting, what was your mind drawn to?
If it was an event or attribute that made you feel happy, then that’s good. If, however, you found that you were drawn to past mistakes, then it becomes necessary to stop judging yourself, or others, and look at ways to create a mind-shift.
There are two inner voices, or thoughts, that can form in your mind; one is always wrong. These mistaken and erroneous thoughts are formed by habit, just as thinking positively about yourself and the world in general develop through continued practice.

You CAN change your mind and not cling to past opinions if you know or find them to be wrong.
It is never too late to begin meditation, nor is it too late to change your mind. Just because you are walking down a certain path doesn't mean that you need to follow it all the way to the end. It’s hard to take a different path, leaving what you knew, but you can make a mental (or physical if that’s what you want) break from what’s preventing you from making different choices. Sometimes all it takes is a word from someone, an inspiring book you have read, or a strong internal feeling that arises from meditation to spur you to make a positive difference in your life.

Researchers have conducted sensory meditation studies and have found that mental characteristics that were previously regarded as fixed and unchangeable can in fact be altered by mental training such as meditation.

The brain has an ability called Neuroplasticity, in which new pathways (thought patterns) and new brain cells can form.
You’re not stuck with your current way of thinking, unless you choose to.

Additional studies have also found that electrical activity is in fact heightened during meditation in an area of the brain called the left prefrontal cortex, which is situated just behind the forehead. Scientists have associated activity in this region with positive emotions, as opposed to the right prefrontal cortex, which is associated with negative responses in an individual’s feelings and emotions.

Out With The Old, In The New
Few people can honestly say that they know what they should do with their life. They wander and drift having some moments of clarity, only to find that what they are doing loses its momentum.

Meditation trains the mind to maintain single-pointed focus. This promotes greater awareness of what is empowering and what is detracting you from living your best life and having fun while you do it.

I’ve always found it useful to make a list of my goals and intentions. I encourage you to do likewise; otherwise before you know it every good thing that presents itself will seem like the right thing. After all, when making a meal, you don’t add every healthy item to the recipe. You are selective to ensure that the food turns out just as you want it to.

Meditation is one of the simplest methods to help you look deep within and determine what will actually make you happy. Then the steps that you need to take and live by in order to attain it fall into place with ease.

Life is a wonderful gift and meditation helps to sweep away confusion and reveal a clear path free from obstacles.

Guided Meditation

Surroundings
As always before you begin your meditation practice, ensure that you find a quiet place with no distractions such as the telephone and that your clothes are comfortable. Your chosen place for meditation can be either indoors or outdoors but ensure that the temperature is not too hot or cold.
Try to develop a habit of meditating in the same place. Then once you are ane to enter into meditation with ease, you will find that you gravitate to meditation easily and oblivious to potential disruptions.

Sit as comfortably as you can, with the spine lengthened.
Close your eyes, and use the power of the breath to relax the body and mind
Follow the breath from the tip of the nose to the base of the lung
Follow the breath all the way out again.
Don’t rush this process
Continue following the breath until you feel completely relaxed

Allow the exhalation to become twice as deep as the inhalation.
Continue to notice the rate and rhythm of the breath.
Maintain attention only on your steady and even breath

With each breath, release your thoughts. Do not follow them or struggle with them.
Acknowledge they are there and allow them to drift by.
If you are visual, you can see the thoughts as images of clouds and let them drift away against the backdrop of a blue sky.

Return to the flow of the breath

With the breath gentle and flowing, notice the stillness within you. Focus on the space between each breath.
Thoughts lessen.
Stay with the deep, rhythmic breath
Enter into the space between each breath

NOTE: Even if this stillness lasts for a few seconds, you have been meditating and with practice the stillness lasts longer. When you come aware that you are experiencing stillness, it occurs with a thought such as “I am experiencing stillness.” Release that thought and return to the breath and then the stillness.

Feel the expansive abundance of the stillness
Feel the oneness with peace

When you are complete, allow the eyes to slowly open.
Notice how you feel and the state of your mind.

Know that you can return to this state of mind, simply by returning to observing the rhythmic flow of the breath.

Action
Developing awareness in all situations, including your own feelings and reactions, enables you to take control of what you think and therefore do. It’s up to you to determine what kind of reaction, and ultimately reality, you are going to create.

Keep a journal where you can write down your experiences and any goals or aspirations that arise.

Focus on the present and carry peace and joy around inside you. You will eliminate feelings of irritation and anxiety and live a healthier, happier life not only when times are going well, but especially when they are tough because you have the resources now to draw on the happiness and bliss that flows within.

Meditation is a great teacher and you have the resources within you to have a truly amazing life. It is YOU who has the ability to empower yourself and take the first steps to move forward on your life’s purpose, rather than standing still.
You are a remarkable individual with untapped possibilities and you CAN have amazing success with all of your endeavors.

Observe Your Life
Next time you observe your life for one minute, what is it like this time?

Considerations

We speak of Consciousness,
yet what do we do;
We live in the Moment,
yet plan future Events;
We share the Dream,
yet are we fully Awakened;
We pray to our Ancestors,
yet forget to love the Children;
We learn from our Friends,
yet where is the Unity;
We acknowledge the Importance,
yet fail to provide Support;
We recognize Inspiration,
yet do we inspire Others;
We take from the Earth,
yet what do we give back;
We are born of Woman,
yet what separates our Sacredness;
We feel our inner Earthquakes,
yet not our Mother's Unrest;
We climb Success Ladders,
yet never stop climbing;
We know of The Oneness,
yet know not of our oneness;
We want Independence,
yet who is anyone Alone;
We understand Patience,
yet are ignorant of Time;
We live a life Full-Talented,
yet where is our One-Hearted;
We desire Uniqueness, seek Democracy,
yet we cannot reform our Families;
We have Experiences,
yet we keep them to ourselves;
We honor White Buffalo,
yet still follow the Herd;
We all have been Hungry,
yet still there is Starvation;
We think what we Become,
yet what we think also Becomes;
We exalt at writing Poetry,
yet how many are living as Poets;
We love to Live,
yet do we live to Love.

by
Michael Faraday
You can find more info about Michael on FaceBook or by clicking the Considerations banner in the title on this blog page (not the email) and it will link you to Michael's Facebook page. You may need to be a member of FB to view the info though.

Music and Sound for Healing

At the Arti outside the new Hanuman Temple in Texas

Earlier this year I had the honor of being one of the presenters at the first Symphony of Yoga in Frisco Texas.
There were many distinguished doctors who also spoke on aspects of sound and music in relation to their own clinical specialties.

My presentation was on the therapeutics effects of music and sound and you can listen to my lecture at a link in today's blog.

Music as Therapy
Music was used thousands of years ago as a healing therapy in Egyptian, Greek and Indian cultures.
Today, music is used therapeutically in hospitals, centers, special schools and homes. Trained music therapists help patients of all ages express themselves and communicate through music. The therapy aids:
• Concentration and memory
• Movement, strength and co-ordination,
• Improve mental health and combat depression
• Improve speech impairments
• Help support treatment for alcohol and drug abuse
• Alleviate stress

The research for my presentation was based on data from multiple areas such as psychology, neurology, quantum physics, immunology, and yoga enabling a common thread to be identified between them all and helping people understand what is happening throughout all aspects of the body at a neural, emotional, and spiritual level.

Healing
When we think of what it means to be healed, we tend to think of someone whose body is weak, diseased and injured being made well. However there are many areas in which an individual can long to be healed:
• Wanting to experience a release from painful memories
• Removing desires and addictions
• Gaining freedom from depression, anxiety, and sadness
• Feeling whole and less distant from God
• Released from loneliness
• Seeking forgiveness for wrongs done

Brain Waves
The brain responds to information received via the senses, mental images, and from memories. Mental visualization or sensory induced stimulus creates changes in the heart rate and respiratory rate and is depicted in four brain wave patterns: Beta, Alpha, Theta, and Delta.

Music, rhythmic breathing, and meditation alter the brain waves and promote healing by bringing the mind into Alpha rhythm, promoting a calm and relaxed state of mind. Where the breath goes the mind follows and where the mind goes the body follows. Staying in control of the mind enables a person to take control of their thoughts and subsequent actions thereby helping them to maintain a positive and peaceful state of being.

With other presenters and attendees.

Music Therapy and Research
The research identified many areas where music increased an individual’s ability to heal and when combined with rhythmic breathing and meditation actually slowed the worsening of serious diseases such as cancer and AIDS in a few weeks. This offers a relatively inexpensive and non-intrusive method of helping to treat symptoms of severe illnesses.

In one example, patients undergoing a bronchoscopy were divided into two study groups. The first group was placed in a room that had screens depicting scenes from nature: trees, landscapes, blue sky. The patients also listened to music that comprised of sounds occurring in nature such as gently flowing water and birds chirping.
The second group had no music or visual therapy.

Music was clinically shown to reduce not only emotional anxiety pre-operatively, but patients also required less pre and post-operative medicines to alleviate pain.

Nature sounds are particularly powerful in their ability to modify a person’s mood. Based on clinical data, some pediatrics, oncology departments, peri-operative care, burns units, hospital theaters, and day surgery units now expose patients to images and sounds of nature to induce a calm meditative atmosphere.

Trickling water, bird song, and images of trees, flowers, and lush forests all provide a soothing ambiance and for the patients who experience this relaxing atmosphere, it means less pre and postoperative drugs and a reduction in emotional anxiety.

Physiological Changes
Music induces physiological changes in both the cardiovascular and respiratory systems reducing stress, aiding recovery after a heart attack by maintaining a slow and steady heart rate, and improving motor function in patients with stroke.

In a study published in the September 30, 2005, Online First issue of Heart, the authors conclude that “appropriate selection of music, by alternating fast and slower rhythms and pauses, can be used to induce relaxation and reduce sympathetic activity, and so be potentially useful for cardiovascular disease.”

The breath and the body fall into rhythm with a musical tempo regardless of whether the beat is fast or slow. A slower beat shifts the breath to a slower rhythm, creating a feeling of relaxation and deeper awareness.

Music therapy reduces respiratory and heart rates, and myocardial oxygen demands. In addition, slower-tempo music slowed the pulse rate with tempo being the significant factor rather than patient preference or music style.

It is the rhythm of music rather than the tune itself which is important at affecting the body. Our own internal rhythm maker is the heart, and when its rhythm is off-beat, there are serious consequences to one’s overall health.

Alterations in Brain and Immune Function
Music has even more powerful applications when combined with yoga sadhana and meditation with studies showing thickening of the pre-frontal cortex associated with improved memory and slowing the aging process.

Practitioners of rhythmic breathing and meditation demonstrate a feeling of wellbeing but other findings including a reduction in serum cortisol levels and strengthened immune system have been reported in patients with breast and prostate cancer.

When faced with challenging situations such as heart surgery, patients who practice rhythmic breathing and meditation techniques keep their mind at ease and stay focused on the present, aiding recovery by reducing anxiety and stress-related symptoms.


Premature Babies
These infants often have great difficulty sucking and swallowing. Others develop an “oral aversion” and resist having things in their mouth if they have been on a respirator.
You can imagine how you might feel if you have had plastic tubes inserted in your mouth and windpipe to help you breathe.

Pacifier Activated Lullaby
Professor Jayne Standley is a music therapist working at Florida’s Children’s Hospital in Orlando spent 10 years developing the Pacifier Activated Lullaby (P.A.L.).
At 34 weeks of gestation premature babies are able to respond and learn from the device within minutes.

A specially-wired pacifier is connected to a small computer that contains a CD of female-voiced lullabies.
When sensors in the pacifier detect the baby sucking properly, it instantly activates the CD player rewarding the infant with music.

If the baby stops sucking, the music shuts off after ten seconds.
When the baby starts sucking again, the music comes back on.

In this way, the babies learn to suck, a lesson that is retained when bottles or breast milk is given between the PAL sessions.  It benefits babies in the following areas:

• Minimizes Hospitalization
• Babies thrive and gain weight faster. PAL babies actually fed at twice the rate they were before.
• Builds Endurance
• It can also build up endurance by having the babies suck longer before the music starts once they gain weight.
• PAL has also been used to help relieve pain in newborns.
• These babies don’t have to suck so hard to trigger the music and the music plays for longer than for a feeding.

The Rhythm of Sound
Harmonious vibrations and music have a profound effect on the body. We can perceive sound to be pleasant, as in hearing a child laugh or a favorite piece of music, and conversely it can fill us with an extreme urge to stop an offending noise, whether it is an irritating song, nails scratching down a blackboard, or a repetitive disturbance that is distracting or even painful on the eardrums.

Plus, it's worth remembering that what one person listens to for pleasure can be a source of discomfort for another!


Sound evokes memories at different levels of consciousness and can trigger positive or negative reactions without an individual even realizing why. Music is everywhere in nature, in the songs of birds, in the laughter of children, in the flow and ebb of our own breath.

Throughout history, humans have used music or sound for a variety of purposes including warning sounds, calls to action to signify the beginning or end of an event, and to promote a sentient romantic atmosphere. A great deal is known about its ability to provide sustenance and comfort but it is only recently that it has been possible to prove the effects of certain sounds upon the brain and how they impact human behavior and healing.

Combining sound with therapy has a profound effect regardless of whether it is a child or an elderly person. Repetition of favorite music also helps the mind focus and heal following bereavement or other life-altering situations. Sound restores the natural rhythm of the body by re-establishing balance to the whole body through the senses and through the different processes of consciousness.

Musicians, drummers, and dancers often find themselves in an altered state where the mind’s natural rhythm changes to the highly creative and restorative alpha waves.

Some people prefer to listen to a musical sound in the form of a voice singing a repetitive phrase, an object like a wind chime blowing in a gentle breeze, or even the rhythmic ringing of a small bell.

Harnessing the power of sound provides you with another tool to expand your conscious awareness of how you affect the environment and how the environment affects you. This symbiotic response makes each of us more cognizant of the fact that we are sentient beings and are indeed affected by what we hear around and within us.

Lifestyle Changes
The strong mind/body connection between thoughts and emotions impacts the neurological and immune systems.

Music, meditation, and yoga have been found to reduce stress, anxiety and alter the lifestyle patterns that contribute to illnesses. They calm the mind and relax the body, promoting a rediscovery of inner sources of peace and joy, increased compassion and love, knowledge of the inter-connectedness of life, and a deepening awareness of spirituality.

A mind absorbed in sound is free from attachment to the material world and loses its tendency to wander.

Intuition is heightened as practitioners pay attention to what is happening to their body. They notice emotional and physical discomfort and are able to change the way they are thinking about a situation and find a place of stability, clarity and ease within.

Using music to calm the mind by slowing down the thoughts and staying in tune with the body strengthens the new neural pathways that are created when positive lifestyle changes are initiated.

Just as a path in the woods is difficult to navigate if it is overgrown through lack of use, it becomes easier and clearer to walk on each time you use it. Likewise, the pathways in the brain become easier to use and positive thoughts and actions become more natural and familiar, eventually replacing the old behavior.

Mantra. The key to a healthy life.
Just as there are different areas in which a person longs to be healed, there is another form of music, or sound vibration, which promotes healing.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali states in Chapter One verse 27, “God's voice is Om.” Patanjali goes on to explain that the repetition of Om should be made with an understanding of its meaning to gain introspection and the disappearance of obstacles. These distractions include disease, inertia, doubt, lack of enthusiasm, laziness, sensuality, pain, despair, a disturbed an uneven breath, and instability of the mind by allowing it to wander.

The mantra of Om (AUM) is a means to self-realization and the removal of obstacles to attain health. It should be practiced by focusing on the sound vibration for what it means and represents.
Mantras are comprised of a powerful energy and repetition brings the mind and body in tune with the vibration of the sounds of the word/s increasing knowledge and promoting health and healing.

Focusing on Om brings knowledge of the vibration of all things in the universe.
It clears blockages in the body and allows for the healing flow of the subtle energy within.

Sounds and Vibrations
These include:
Singing bowls (to focus the mind and induce the meditative process
Any tranquil music with a slow rhythmic beat, classical or modern
Listening to repetition of a mantra (Swamiji chanting)
You own voice chanting a mantra or repeating Om
Mental repetition of a sound
The internal sound vibration that is only heard when all other sounds and thoughts cease (ajapa)
Wind chimes
Indoor fountains

Mind’s Peaceful Rhythm

There are a variety of tools that you can use at home and work in order to stay calm, positive, and healthy:
1. Combine music with activities for improved emotional and physical health
2. Listen to Tranquil music with a slow rhythm
3. Listening to repetition of a mantra (Swamiji chanting)
4. Play joyful music and dance if that’s how you feel
5. Explore nature outdoors or bring it indoors with a fountain
6. You may like to have a wind chime near you outdoors
7. Hear or chant a mantra or AUM
8. Feel the internal sound vibration that is only heard when all other sounds and thoughts cease (Anahata Nada)

Challenge Your Thoughts.
Through the use of sound you can stay in tune with the rhythm of the body and rediscover peace and joy, and a deepening awareness of spirituality.

Integrating these methods may be a challenge at first, but just as a path in the woods is difficult to navigate if it is overgrown through lack of use, it becomes easier and clearer to walk on each time you use it.

Likewise, new pathways in the brain that are created through music become easier to use and in turn, you receive the many benefits of sound and music.
 A link to my presentation can be found here Symphony Of Yoga presentation

The 19th Century Scottish Philosopher Thomas Carlyle said:

If you look deep enough you will see music; the heart of nature being music everywhere.

POSITIVE THOUGHTS, POSITIVE YOU

Consciousness is an endless stream of possibilities.

“Our character is what we do when we think no-one is looking.”

H. Jackson Brown, Jr

Every day, the news stations and newspapers present us with reports, facts, and opinions from all around the globe. People we meet also have news to share about their health, their family, and their jobs. We receive a daily dose of information and most of it’s not pleasant.

While most of us are well aware that “remaining calm” or “love is the answer” are appropriate choices to the issues that we learn about or personally face, putting them into practice is another matter entirely when you find it challenging to monitor your thoughts, keep them in check, or even reign in actions that you really don’t want to pursue.

While meditation helps you to uncover your life’s purpose (dharma) there are daily encounters where you have to make choices, either instantly or with some pondering and self-discussion. In both cases, and whether you realize it or not, each decision that you make will result in some form of action, which impacts you and the world around you (karma).

In yoga terminology, this is referred to as Samsara, which translates as cause and effect, whereby you reap the results of the seeds of your actions. This life-cycle has an ebb and flow to it and how you respond is your choice and yours alone.

The basics of life keep us busy and it’s often a challenge to remain calm and in control while balancing obligations to family and work. Challenges are everywhere, from the mundane to the major ones and living your life to its highest and greatest can seem especially difficult particularly when someone says or does something thoughtless to you or a loved one.

No-one likes a hot-head and having a life that’s overflowing with happiness, contentment, meaning, and purpose can only occur when you take a moment to identify your priorities and look closely at what you are doing and whether it serves you best. It does take effort, but so does the alternative.

Meditation is one of the simplest methods to help you look deep within and determine what will actually make you happy. Then the steps that you need to take and live by in order to attain it fall into place with ease.

What Makes You Happy?
Before you enter into your meditation practice, ask yourself one question such as; “What will make me happy?”
The answer will either come to you during your meditation, or soon after, as a feeling of certainty about what is right for you.
The lower mind is where all your rational, everyday thinking occurs while the Higher, or Wisdom Mind, is where you uncover your innermost desires and aspirations. Your Wisdom Mind gives you the strength of purpose and conviction to follow what resides deep within you.

All obstacles and thoughts dissipate in your mind’s eye and a sense of peaceful assurance fills you. This gives way to joy and bliss. Following your meditation, the joy continues to stay with you as you embark upon your path to happiness. There is a richness to your activities that benefits not only yourself, but everyone who comes in contact with the fruits of your actions. Only when you lose yourself and stray from your purpose does discontentment, anger, and your old mind-set return.

While happiness can be generated via meditation or affirmations that reshape the way that the brain formulates responses to external or internal stimuli, it is ultimately your thoughts that determine your happiness.

It’s all very well repeating affirmations such as “I am happy” or “I am successful in all that I do” if you don’t believe it, don’t feel it, don’t experience it to be true. You choose what your responses and emotions will be in both the joyful and sad events that occur in daily living, be it the birth of a child or the sad passing of a loved one.

So how do you maintain integrity and contentment?
Choose what you want to focus on, then practice focusing on it!

Technique
For example, try focusing on liking situations and people. This is a popular technique that I teach during workshops.
The next time that you are at the grocery store, try liking your surroundings and the people who are in the store too. Don’t focus on the way the other shoppers dress or style their hair.
Project feelings of happiness to them and to the world.
Notice what is good in your environment.
Appreciate what you have.
Smile.  (Don't grin.  Your smile is sufficient.)

Continue this method with family members and yourself. When folding laundry, take each person’s clothing and think about whom that item belongs to. Send that individual loving, happy thoughts. Think about some quality that you appreciate in this person. Do the same with your own items. What features and talents do you like about yourself?

The purpose of this technique is to show you that it is possible to reduce negative thinking one thought at a time and replace it with feelings and thoughts that are appreciative and happy. You will find that you release old emotions because they are literally dragging you down. This attitude overflows in all areas of your life and in turn, you find that it becomes easier to identify and stick with your goals and achieve a life that is fulfilled and enriched with great relationships and opportunities.

Meditation Generates Power
Meditation connects you with the wisdom mind which is the source of all insight and with continued practice it leads you to a state of bliss. It directs your mind away from a negative view of the world and shifts it towards one that embraces opportunities. This awesome power is yours and only you can choose what you are going to do with it.

Remember, no-one has control over your thoughts except yourself. Your hope, wishes, even your imagination are all within your own power to direct their energy in one path or another.
Studies show that the mind can not discern between what it has actually seen and what it is seeing via your imagination.
This means that your mind can be “tricked” into believing that a memory that you have created has actually been experienced!

Use the power of your thoughts to generate a reality that is positive, loving, and all that you desire. This is not a make-believe type of imagery, but a means of creating more positivity and constructive actions that in turn generate affirmative thoughts and actions. Gradually, you develop the habit of thinking positively, seeing opportunities rather than obstacles, and being the type of person that people want to be around because they feel good by being in your presence.

Downbeat and pessimistic thinking is an acquired habit with its own internal mantra, and you can release yourself from thinking in terms of boundaries, disappointments, and problems by first and foremost seeing all that is good in your life and being thankful for it. Thinking and doing the right thing all the time may seem like a lofty principle, but ultimately it’s your life and the karmic results belong to you too.

Meditation is a great teacher and you have the resources within you to have a truly amazing life. It is YOU who has the ability to empower yourself and take the first steps to move forward on your life’s purpose, rather than standing still.
You are a remarkable individual with untapped possibilities and you Can have amazing success with all of your endeavors.

The choice remains yours.

The quote at the top of the page asks you to consider how you would act when you think that no-one is looking. Meditation teaches each one of us that the Self is always observing.
SO WITH THIS AWARENESS, HOW DO YOU ACT?

AFFIRMATIONS
I choose my thoughts
Every thought takes me closer to my life purpose
I am filled with joy and enthusiasm
Divine guidance is always with me
I love myself and others
I choose to do things that foster love
I am successful in all that I do
I am connected to the source of infinite wisdom
I am at peace

Gratitude and Opportunities

Meditation opens the door to your wisdom mind.

There are so many open doors yet people don't walk through them, so many paths, yet people don’t follow them,

so many opportunities, yet people don’t take them.  by Margaret Stockley

Discernment
Meditation is more than a method of attaining relaxation or a peaceful feeling. As you maintain a regular practice you are drawn ever closer to the source of Love where you experience and abide in Bliss. Along this exclusive meditation path that is yours to follow, you discover possibilities to help you grow, prosper, and be happy.

In addition to being an incredible personal tool, meditation assists you in looking directly at what you believe about yourself and the world around you. By looking inwards, you discern and review what you may hold as unshakable truths and change your opinions one by one so that they are more in line with what you determine to be your purpose in life.

Each one of us has this enquiring mind yet many of us don’t use it.

Uniqueness
In nature, a flowering plant can produce several blooms and when inspected closely, you discover that each one is different in small ways. Their subtle variations are what make each petal, leaf, and scent special. Humans are like these flowers in that each person has a uniqueness that sets them apart from one another. This realization of how distinctly extraordinary and special we all are is the first step in accepting yourself first, then others without apprehension or bias.

The extension of this means that you learn to honor those people who are close to you, then friends, neighbors, and even strangers. You no longer react to rude people with a quick retort or gesture. Through meditation, you identify and stay connected to the source of peace, joy, and abundant happiness that resides within you because you recognize the sanctity of the Divine that is in each of us and endeavor to touch every living being with the loving energy that flows through you.

Self-Talk
Make it your priority to leave the past where it belongs. Every thought you think and every word you speak is an affirmation about your beliefs which may in fact stem from out-moded events or conversations. Meditation helps you to ascertain which thoughts and habits, if any, are limiting your ability to create the circumstances within your life that you want.

Over time, you cultivate calmness not only when meditating, but when you are living your daily life. Negativity is breathed away, and the more it happens, the more the mind desires to stay happy.

Progress along your life’s path is not dependant upon how good you have been up to this moment in time. What matters is how you proceed from this point on in turning your life around from uncertainty to sensational and in sharing your awesome dreams with others.

Surrender
While meditation is a solitary experience, you realize that each and every one of us is connected to the same source, even though some of us haven’t tapped into this universal wisdom mind of unending power, perception, and understanding.

You uncover your purpose and see that you can’t fulfill it without the assistance of others because the purpose of each one of us involves helping and sharing our distinctive gifts with others.

Meditation taps into the ultimate source of discernment and wisdom and permits you to recognize when you need to seek the advice and knowledge of others, find comfort and guidance through prayer, and tap into the well of tranquility of meditation.

When life is drifting along happily, many people choose to give thanks to the Divine. However, when things don’t turn out quite the way we want them to, how many people turn to the source of all that is good and ask for guidance?

More to the point, what do YOU do?

D you seek guidance from a Higher source or do you say,

“I’ll do it. If I simply do this, then that, all will turn out just fine.”

And does it?

Meditation maintains connection to the source of the guidance that each one of us needs. It’s not about being detached from your life and letting it drift on by. It’s about going right to the TOP of the advice chain.

This surrender to the Divine guidance is hard for many people to do, but once you try it, and reap the rewards, it becomes easier to see that it’s not the little you that has the answers, but YOU who receives the answers from the Divine.

Gratitude
Meditation is often described as a mirror to your Self, revealing to yourself the reality of how you are really doing in living your life with purpose. You will know that all is well when peace flows through you and stays with you for longer periods until your whole life is peaceful.

With your eyes open to see and your ears open to hear, you walk through the open doors, follow the right path, and put to good use the many opportunities available to you.

Discernment, Surrender, Purpose; these all accompany the wisdom and peace that you receive through meditation.

Share what you know and are grateful for with everyone.
Remember, what you give, you WILL receive back.

I meditate daily, teach specific methods during yoga classes and professional workshops and know I am living my purpose by teaching others and sharing what I know.  I am grateful for the opportunity and for the peace it brings to others.

In America, we celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday November 26th. For those of you who live here, I wish you a peaceful Thanksgiving.

Here is a sample of what I am grateful for. These are not reserved for this one day. I am grateful each and every day and I wish everyone a life of love and light.

I am grateful for the love of family
I am grateful for the love of friends, old and new
I am grateful for the wonderful life that exists for me

Creating a Mind-Shift: Releasing Self-Doubt

"The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours."

Ayn Rand

When life is frantic, people are angry, traffic is hectic, and the world seems to be getting crazier, how do you respond to this?
When you are faced with a hectic day, how can you tap into the tranquility that you so desperately need if you cannot find it?
When thoughts and past conversations keep replaying in your mind, how can you find peace?

Downbeat and pessimistic thinking is an acquired habit with its own internal mantra, so in order to stop thinking in terms of restrictions, failures, and obstacles you have to create a mind-shift and start thinking in terms of possibilities.

Looking Inwards
Meditation is a wonderful tool in helping you to look at what you believe about yourself and the world around you. By looking inwards, you discern and review what you may hold as unshakable truths and change your opinions one by one.

We all have this enquiring mind yet many of us don’t use it.

Developing awareness in all situations, including your own feelings and reactions, enables you to take control of what you think and therefore do. It’s up to you to determine what kind of reaction, and ultimately reality, you are going to create.

You Know It’s There

If you are climbing a hill, you can’t see the other side but you know it is there.
Likewise, if you are walking on a woodland trail, it is often difficult to see the end of the path, yet you know it is there.
Even on a road with no obstacles to obscure your view, there can be a bend in the way that prevents you from seeing the end of your journey, and yet once again you know it is there.

While we can’t be sure about what the terrain that lies ahead for any of us is like, we can each be certain that the most wonderful opportunities are waiting for us to get to them.

What you want to achieve you can, by resetting your attitude and developing habits that reinforce what you want to achieve in your life.

Prepare yourself to live the life that you want to achieve from this point on. Be determined and sure in your certainty that while you can’t see your exact destination, you know it IS there.

Intuition and Meditation
Once you train your mind and body to relax and receive answers and blessings during meditation, you will find it easier to return to a peaceful state by remembering what tranquility feels like, and thereby using the breath to be fully present and conscientious.

When you establish a regular practice, you discover an additional benefit of meditation; Intuition.

Sitting or lying down, depending on your physical abilities, close your eyes and focus on creating a rhythmic flow of breath.

Stay with the flow of the breath as it becomes slow, steady, and even.
This may take several minutes.
With each inhalation, breathe in the richness of life.
As you exhale, release the breath in a slow and steady stream.
Feel tension and stress leave the body on the breath.
Slow the breath down even further with each inhale and exhale.
Consciously release all anxiety, allowing the facial muscles and the limbs to relax.
Feel peace fill the inner space where tension once resided.

Maintain inward focus on an object or the breath.

If you are new to meditation:
You may like to focus on a candle. The shape and type of candle is your choice. Now focus on the candle flame.
See the light, explore it.

As you continue to focus on the light, your surroundings dissipate
With each inhalation, draw the light from the base of your spine to the crown of your head
With each exhalation, see the light pour from the crown of the head to surround you
Feel yourself enter into the light
Become surrounded by the light
Be as one, with the light.

If you are experienced at meditation:
With each inhalation, see a light at the base of your spine and draw the light in a column from the base of your spine to the crown of your head
As you exhale, see the light pour from the crown of the head to surround you.

After 5 rounds, focus on the breath
Slowly focus on the space between each breath
The space between each breath will lengthen
Enter into the space between each breath.

This is a peaceful place and the more you concentrate on the space, the wider it becomes and the greater your peace. Experience the peace of this relaxing environment.

In both cases, stay in meditation until you feel that it is time to complete your session.

Knowledge appears in the form of enhanced intuition.
You will have awareness of the source of Love, Purpose, and the certainty that all will be well.

When you have completed your meditation, slowly bring awareness back to your body.
Allow the eyes to open.
Keep the breath calm and steady, the body relaxed.
Feel recharged, invigorated, and contented.

Know that you can return to this peaceful safe place simply by following the breath’s journey.
Peace and knowledge resides deep within you.

With practice, you will restore balance and harmony simply by returning to a calm and peaceful flow of breath.
Embrace your ability and make wisdom and peace a daily reality.

Releasing The Habit of Self-Doubt
It’s a gradual process as you uncover and release the habitual thoughts that keep intruding when you need them least. But take comfort in knowing that the incidences of negative self-judgment and views will be less frequent, the gap between each undesired thought will increase, and you will find yourself living in a very beautiful cycle of peace and tranquility.

Two thoughts can't occupy the space!  As you focus only on that which is positive, the mind likes the happy feeling and wants to stay in that place.  When you catch yourself experiencing self-doubt, which is negative thinking, either replace it with a positive affirmation, or follow the breath to your place of wisdom and peace.

Examples of positive affirmations are:
I choose my thoughts
I have abundant energy to complete all my tasks
I am filled with vitality in body, mind, and spirit
All aspects of my being are filled with love
A wonderful life exists for me

As self-doubt is stripped away, your hopes and aspirations arise as you know with certainty that you are loved, and that an exhilarating life filled with purpose does indeed lie ahead for you.

You know it’s there.

Peace.

Creating The Future That You Deserve

Where will YOUR path lead?

"There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one's self."

Benjamin Franklin, 1750

Poor Richard's Almanac

Most of us can’t get through the day without keeping an appointment diary or noting important events down in a calendar. We schedule visits to dentists, meetings, lunches with friends, and have set days when we attend yoga classes or the fitness studio.

What would happen if we didn’t make notes and commit to remembering these daily events?

We’d let people down, miss out on fun occasions, and fail at our jobs; none of which is good.

Life and all its obligations can become all-consuming and in a fast-paced world with high demands on your time and energy it’s not easy to figure out what you really want out of life, let alone put it into practice.

While responsibilities are important, you are important too.

In fact, when you fail to nurture your needs you fail your future and all your possibilities.

KNOWING YOUR POTENTIAL
Lack of time for your own self impacts many aspects of your life including preventing you from maximizing your amazing potential.

Every one of us is filled with promise and yet we fail to use it either because we don’t have time, don’t know how, or didn’t realize it was there.

When I teach yoga or co-lead CAN DO® workshops, it delights me to see men and women discover something unique and wonderful about themselves that they never knew existed. Whether it’s a physical strength or a skill that had never been used, to see the excitement flow through them as they grasp the reality of what has been lying within them all this time is truly wonderful.

However, distractions and feeling pulled in many directions doesn’t even give you the quiet moments that you need to figure out who you are, where you want to go in life, and what may actually lie within you.

Meditation is a wonderful method that enables you to gain time for yourself as well as reap the health benefits. Your life energy shifts in an upward direction by gaining insight into how to live in the moment and to reduce the impact of life’s pressures with calmness and self-control. No matter what life sends your way, you recognize what you can change and what you cannot.

All of the past samskaras, or imprints and habits of the mind, are released and you learn how to view life from a different perspective and initiate positive change.

Can you imagine the possibilities that you are capable of having?

Meditation is a means to helping you to transform your life by altering your perceptions.
In time, it enables you to expand your expectations and see that there are no limitations; only the ones that you set for yourself.

A regular meditation practice strengthens your mind and actions by fostering thought-patterns that nurture the behavior and positive qualities that you desire. Learning to live actively rather than re-actively benefits your relationships, (personal as well as professional) while enabling you to live more consciously in all that you think and do.

That’s how the tiny seed of transformation begins.

Obstacles disappear as you alter your responses, attitudes, and habits. Change happens in stages but occurs as a result of deliberate contemplation.

The hardest step that anyone takes is always the first one, however once you make it positive forces take over sending you effortlessly forward to complete this particular leg of this incredible journey.

REAP THE BENEFITS
Making meditation a regular part of your daily routine enhances your health and spiritual well-being, creates new pathways in the brain making it easier to implement changes with each passing day, and brings a new perspective and awareness to your life. It reaffirms what you know and provides the momentum to continue and succeed in all that you do. You gain clarity of thought and lucidity of mind combined with a clear identity of your personal strengths and what your goals and objectives are.

The demands of family and work can become all consuming, but each time you practice Meditation you create a positive mind-set and ignite positive energy that the brain wants to repeat. In a short while you find that you not only look forward to your meditation, but you make time for it.

Like the many people who have learned to meditate, you too have the ability to release thoughts and feelings that block positive energy, while transforming the way you think and act and creating the wonderful future that you deserve.

WISDOM MEDITATION
If you have any questions about any aspect of your life, ask it or write it down now.
The complete answer or the one of the steps that you need to accomplish in order to reveal the whole answer usually occurs soon after your meditation.

Sitting or lying down, depending on your physical abilities, close your eyes gently and focus on creating a rhythmic flow of breath.

Let your arms rest loosely by your sides, or place your hands face up on your lap.

With each inhalation, breathe in the unique blessing of life.
As you exhale, release the breath in a slow and steady stream.
Feel tension and stress leave the body on the breath.
Slow the breath down even further with each inhale and exhale.

NOTE: This may take several minutes. Do not rush any part of your meditation. It’s only a total of 15 to 20 minutes after all.
You deserve to give yourself this special time!

Focus your awareness on your heart.
Give thanks for being alive and for all your experiences.
Acknowledge that life is a blessing.
With each inhalation, feel the connection to the source of the energy of each breath.

Continue with this rhythmic breath until a feeling of peace flows over you.
Peace and love fill every part of your body.

Now focus on the area between the eyebrows.
This is known as the Ajna Chakra and commonly called the third, or inner, eye.
With the eyes remaining closed, look straight ahead and lift the eyes up slightly. Not too high or the eyes will start to flutter and become unsteady.

This area is the source of all wisdom.

See a light at the base of your spine. Hear the sound of Om resonating deep within you.

With each inhale, draw the light through you and as you exhale see the light pour from the crown of your head to surround you.
Repeat this five times until you are filled with, and surrounded by, the light.

Maintain focus on the inner eye.

When you first begin to meditate, thoughts will probably intrude.
That’s very common and doesn’t mean that you can’t meditate or that you should give up.

Simply acknowledge that they are there but don’t follow them. Let them drift through and return to concentrating on the inner eye.

When you feel that your meditation is complete, slowly open your eyes.
There is a well of wisdom that resides deep within you and you can draw from it at any time simply by returning awareness to the rhythmic breath and the space within.

When you have a regular meditation practice, you will discern what you need to release in your life and what you need to connect to.

Remember, there are No Limitations.  Only those that you place on yourself.

You are a remarkable individual with untapped possibilities and you Can have amazing success with all of your endeavors.

Letting go of the concept of, and worldly limitations of, the self enables you to accept the truly amazing opportunities that will help you to create the future that you deserve and one that will benefit not only yourself, but everyone who comes in contact with you.



Om Shanti Peace

Powerful Thoughts, Powerful You!

The Himalayas

Appreciative words are the most powerful force for good on Earth.

What are you doing today?

What are you thinking about?

Your thoughts and intentions are composed of energy and with their positive power you become a force for change.

Conversely, the opposite is true and people pick up on your negative “vibes” and either pull away in order to distance themselves from you or they react angrily. Whatever the reason, the result is not pleasant.

Meditation develops a single-pointed focus, blocking out distractions and actually helps you to train your mind to focus only on what you want to focus on.

Remember, the mind does not see.

The eyes transmit images to the brain and the mind discerns what these pictures represent, based upon previous experiences and your formed opinions.

Even when time has passed and situations have come and gone, when you close your eyes, you can “see” images from the past in your mind’s eye.

It is a relatively easy matter to trick the mind into believing what it sees or hears.

The brain responds to information received via the senses, mental images, and from memories. Mental visualization or sensory induced stimulus creates changes in the heart rate and respiratory rate and is depicted in four brain wave patterns: Beta, Alpha, Theta, and Delta.

Music, rhythmic breathing, and meditation alter the brain waves and promote healing by bringing the mind into Alpha rhythm, promoting a calm and relaxed state of mind.

There are many guided meditations listed on this site already and you can access them simply by clicking on the guided meditations in the Labels link near the bottom the blog page.  They will help you develop a regular meditation practice.

Yoga philosophy teaches us the following statement:
Where the breath goes the mind follows and where the mind goes the body follows.

Meditation will block out what you don’t want and help you stay in control of your mind, giving you back your awesome power to be in command of your thoughts and subsequent actions, while maintaining a positive and peaceful state of being in the process.

Whether I'm teaching yoga in my studio or teaching people through seminars and presentations, I encourage everyone to discover and use their untapped potential.

Hold onto your dreams and dare to imagine that life could be different.

Keep expanding your mind in all directions beyond the height and breadth of even the vast mountain range of the Himalayas.

There are NO limitations to your possibilities.

Make your thoughts as wonderful and extraordinary as YOU are, and see the transformation that occurs.

Veterans Day 2009 Meditation

Before we have today's meditation posting I wanted to simply remind people to pause at 11 a.m. to mark Remembrance Day/Veterans Day. (so called depending on which country you live in.)

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month marks the signing of the Armistice, on 11th November 1918, to signal the end of World War One.
And so it was that at 11 a.m. on 11 November 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years continuous warfare.

The following video is a tribute to the men and women who have served or are currently serving in the military, and their families.

For today's meditation, I invite each one of us to pause and take stock of who we are, what we are doing, and how we can make a difference.

Meditation

Freedom to Soar

1. Create Space
Spring-clean your mind. The deeper you dig through the jumble of tired and worn-out behaviors, the easier it becomes to recognize what you need to keep and what you can do without.

2. Let your Light Shine
Don’t judge yourself. Fear of doing what’s right in your life can hold you back. You have the support of a loving Spirit that helps and guides you when asked.

3. Love
There is a peaceful and sacred place deep within you where your Spirit resides. By eliminating negativity, you also exclude judging others and in turn bringing judgment upon yourself.

4. Use the Spiritual Community to Nourish your Needs
No one is an island and what affects people around you in your street, town, and country can alter your own destiny thereby demonstrating how each person is bound to one another.
Create peace, in word and action.
When you consciously endeavor to do no harm to yourself or towards others, you bring lightness into your world.

5. Meditation
Your whole life is a prayer when you are one with the Spirit. Immerse yourself in silence and hear the voice that created the universe.

Love and Light.

POSITIVE POWER

Sign in Sri Swamiji's Bonsai Garden in Mysore, India

Our present is the result of all our yesterdays, and the future depends on how well we live today. Sanskrit Verse

What’s stopping you from achieving what you want?
Do you know what you are trying to reach?
Sometimes it’s our own self that keeps getting in our own way.

Each one of us has a unique power that extends far beyond the physical body and our finite minds. This power is never-ending and unlimited in its ability to manifest change and propel you to where you need to be.

All too often, we encounter difficulties when we attempt to reach for goals and aspirations. We self-sabotage our efforts by mantras that replay statements that we wish we hadn’t said.

Yet when we live consciously with our thoughts, our words, and our actions, then the past no longer is something that we want to rework or do over.

The present is no longer something that we want to hide from.

The future is no longer something that we dread.

As a prized and unique individual, you have the skills to be a blessing to others. Your beauty shines from within and people sense when you are being genuinely helpful to them. They respond positively as your intentions show through your actions.

You do not act alone.
Meditation enables you to tap into the source of this inner power and achieve whatever you truly desire.
This gives you the confidence and determination to say to yourself “I will not give up,” and “I will make the right choices.”

Progress is not dependent upon how good you have been up to this moment in time. What matters is how you proceed from this point on in turning your life around from failure to success and sharing your divine dreams with others.

AFFIRMATION

• My efforts are recognized positively.
• I am successful in all that I do.
• I see the best in people and work to help them
• I am always connected to the source of Divine Love
• My inner vision is always clear and focused.
• I am loved

LOVE

Holy River Ganges, India

“Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden where the flowers are dead. The consciousness of living and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring.”

Oscar Wilde

“I am a river of Love. If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”

Mother Teresa

Meditation on Love

Method
For this particular meditation practice, imagine a river filled with the energy of Love.

With each inhale and exhale, feel this river flow effortlessly through your body.
See the fluidity permeate through every cell, bathing you in Love.

Feel this river of Divine Consciousness flow through you and surround you.
Experience the oneness with the source of all Love.

Focus on the word Love.
As you repeat it, feel bathed in the energy of Love.
Continue to repeat the word Love, while feeling embraced by Love.

See the energy of Love as a brilliant white Light radiating from the base of your spine to the crown of your head.
As you inhale, draw the Light from the base of your spine to the crown of your head.
As you exhale, feel this Light flow through you and pour from the crown of your head to surround you.
Feel totally immersed in the Light and at one with the Light.

See your Light and Love continue to surround you and when you are ready let it extend out into the world.

So in order to see a change in the world, you simply have to look within and connect to the Light.
As you continue to practice this meditation, you will illuminate the world with your inner light.

Bathe daily in the River of Love and keep your own Love flowing by being consciously connected to the source of all life and Love.
Feel the Love, warmth, and richness in your life permeate through all that you touch, in both thought and action.

Direct all your energy to what truly matters, i.e. Love, and you will be more productive and happy in all areas of your life.

Imagine what your life will be like when you know how to be at peace and filled with love.
Direct your energy and Love to others and see Love returned.

Be at one with the river of Love.

Peace and Love.

Om Nama Shivaya

Magnificent altar to God at the Basilica Notre-Dame

Many thanks to Kim for her question "what does Om Nama Shivaya mean?"
Today's posting is my answer that I emailed to Kim earlier this afternoon.  If you have any questions, post them on the blog in the comments section or email me.

Om Nama Shivaya is a classic mantra and one that I play in my yoga studio. There are many different CD's available containing variations of the accompanying tune, and they are also listed on the blogsite in the music section.

Om Nama Shivaya is one of the most powerful and sacred mantras and repetition of it is said to purify the practitioner. The phrasing and energy of the sounds are designed to create a transformation in your consciousness and enable you to attain a higher state of awareness.

The six syllables of the full chant refer to the first six chakras that run from the root of the spine to the ajna chakra (3rd eye.)

While there is no direct translation it can mean "I bow to God" and repetition should be done with full awareness of its meaning, rather than simply repeating it for repetition's sake.
Om refers to the universal Energy, or sound of God
Nama, as two syllables, na ma, can mean "I bow before you."

The trinity of syllables of Shi va ya refers to Shiva, or God and asks that all God's energies be directed to you to bless you and lead you to the highest state of peace and meditation, which we refer to as Bliss.

Shiva is also the image of God which is said to bring to a close the trinity cycle of Creation, Destruction, and Rebirth.
Some people think of the mantra and God as the destroyer of our illusion (maya) and ignorance that stands in the way of perfect union and enlightenment.

When I say this mantra I see it as a means of cleansing (removing illusions), praising God and receiving blessings, and a means of entering and attaining the state of Bliss.

The two words, namah and shivaya, are also referred to as the panchakshara (five letter) chant. Pancha means five.
Tradition has it that when you chant these five sacred sounds while meditating on Lord Shiva (God) you will be blessed by visions of Shiva (God) - the Lord of the yogis.

As with all mantras, as a minimum it should be invoked morning and evening 108 times. You can repeat it mentally or out loud, fast or slow. But as mentioned above, the mantra should be repeated with respect and awareness of what you are saying as though you are actually bowing before God.

Mantras act like a shield to block unwanted thoughts and energy, however the vibrational sounds of mantras are powerful and protect you by their energy too.

As you continue to repeat this mantra, I hope that you will feel the vibrational energy as though you are being merged as one into God's loving embrace.

Om Shanti
God is Peace

Peace, Light, Love

  A dragon holding a golden key.  What will it unlock?

Many thanks to Flo for sharing the dragon with us. I've photographed it on my yoga mat in my yoga studio.  Note the dragon's breath as it protects the key.

Last week I posted an article about dragons and while they don’t exist except in our imaginations, there are real things that can create fear and anxiety in each of our lives, if we allow them to.  Inner Happiness

These fears prevent many of us from exploring and seeing the potential that lies before us every day. If our imagination can project fear, then it can also project happiness.

Instead of allowing the fears to burn away your hopes, desires, and potential, meditation and affirmations help you to take control of your thoughts and actions and overcome any internal and external obstacles.

Unlike stories where a knight will arrive and slay a dragon, the only person who can eliminate the dragon breathing down your neck with it's fiery breath is YOU.

Meditation and assertive affirmations remove all feelings of helplessness and of being lost.

The inner light of meditation connects you to the Universal Source that infuses you with peace and love.
When you are connected to the source of Love, there is NO PLACE for fear to reside.

Period.

It's that simple.

When you are learning to meditate there will be times when you feel positive, only to have doubts later on.  Love is stronger and each time that you meditate you will REINFORCE your strength and the power of Love.
This power exists within you and you can tap into it every time that you meditate and bring it into all your activities.

Assertive affirmations are a great way to keep you focused on the wonderful individual that you are.  They act like a shield to block unwanted thoughts that will harm you if permitted to continue.

Holding a positive image in your mind during your meditation practice helps you to stay focused.  Following your meditation, you can concentrate on this image whenever you experience the mind wandering from a peaceful state.

One image that I like to focus on is the face of a person that I love.  I invite this person into my heart and see their divine qualities.  Slowly, I fill my mind and body with love until it is overflowing.

During my waking moments, I can re-experience this loving feeling whenever I draw this person into my mind's awareness.  It's a simple yet effective method of developing concentration and awareness of Love.

Use the strength and power of your meditation practice to chase away any dragons and seize the golden key that will unlock the door to health and success in all that you do.

Peace, Light, Love

Chakra, Sun and Moon

Thank you to everyone who wrote to let me know how much they enjoyed the photographs and observations from Montreal.  I had a wonderful time exploring new sites and meeting interesting people and returned home safely on Sunday night.

On Monday I taught a meditation workshop that focused on the chakras that run from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. Chakra is a Sanskrit word that means "wheel" and carries energy through a subtle channel called sushumna.

Each chakra has a specific energy and therefore purpose, such as intuitive knowledge, however while this energy exists, many people go through life without activating or using these natural gifts.

Meditation enables you to utilize these energy wheels by using the powerful feminine energy called kundalini to pierce the center of each chakra and allow a series of transformative experiences to occur.  This energy exists in both men and women and provides you with exactly what you need at this moment in time.  For some, it occurs as a profound feeling of joy, cleansing of emotional stuff, enhanced creativity, or intuitive knowledge and knowing what choices to make.

However, learning to awaken this energy is best practiced with a teacher to address any questions that will arise, that your posture and practice is correct, and to ensure that energy can flow freely as obstacles are released.

As an overview, the workshop was in three sections:
Pranayama,
Concentration
Meditation.

All three sections contained practices that would travel through each of the chakras and awaken the kundalini energy.

PRANAYAMA
A healthy body is one where the life-force flows steady and even, unrestricted in its ability to direct energy throughout every area, and one that is vibrant and energized. When blockages occur to restrict this flow, the result is a disruption within the cells and dis-ease occurs, manifesting in illness.

Passive breathing occurs without any conscious thought or awareness and permits strong emotional drives to adversely influence your thoughts when exposed to negative energy or situations.

This allows cellular distress to occur and random thoughts and behavior to fire off, eventually resulting in illnesses ranging from mild sadness or anger to a downward spiral of abuse and actual physical symptoms.

Active breathing, at the other end of the spectrum, protects and preserves. It requires your dynamic input to be aware of what you are thinking and feeling, how you are going to act, and consequently creating a balance within your body, mind, and spirit.

SUN AND MOON
In today's posting, I thought that I would share one of the traditional pranayama practices that we did during the chakra workshop.
It is suitable for you to practice at home.

Known as Sun/Moon or Surya/Chandra breathing, it has been used for thousands of years as a means of bringing balance to both hemispheres of the brain, bringing the brain into alpha wave, and permitting the two energy channels of Ida and Pingali to travel around each of the chakras via the subtle energy body.
Ida and Pingali originate at the root chakra and weave around each chakra before crossing behind the nostril area. This specific breathing technique has many benefits, including preparing the mind for meditation and allowing the flow of kundalini to emerge.

Method
Sitting in a comfortable seated position with the spine erect, bring awareness to the rhythmical flow of the breath.
The breath should be slow, steady and even with no straining or effort.

Using either hand, place the thumb and ring finger on the nostril crease.
The 2nd and 3rd finger can either be curled in the palm of the hand (Vishnu mudra) or placed between the eyebrows. (Nasagra mudra)
Using complete breath, close the right nostril and inhale slowly and steadily through the left nostril.
Top of the inhalation, close left nostril and exhale through the right.
Inhale through right nostril
Top of the inhale, close right nostril and exhale through the left nostril.

That completes one round.

Continue for 10 rounds or at least 3 to 5 minutes, exhaling through the left nostril when you are complete.

Keep each breath the same length.

You may find that one side of your nose is more open than the other. Unless there is a physical obstacle such as injury, with regular practice, both nostrils become open, the brain becomes balanced, and the subtle energy channels allow kundalini to flow.

BENEFITS
• Nourishes the body and prepares an open channel for kundalini to flow
• Continuous practice eliminates desires and cravings.
• Allows the breath to flow without restriction, eliminating the toxins and waste products that reside in residual air and saturating the cells with oxygen.
• Creates alpha brain waves and develops a calm and positive state of mind
• Deepens concentration
• An even breath flow produces even thoughts
• Strengthens the diaphragm and abdominal muscles
• Soothes the nervous system
• Increases blood flow to the brain

Happiness

Basilica Notre-Dame

So this afternoon I took a walk after completing work for the day.

It was warmer today than yesterday and great for wandering around and "Going with the Flow."

I went past the Basilica with the throngs of tourist outside and the horses and carriages that were on hand for people wanting to see the sites of Vieux-Montreal this way as they do in cities throughout the world.

It was noisier today than usual with part of the road blocked by workmen investigating a large deep hole and traffic therefor being directed by a work-woman unlucky enough to have drawn the short straw on this particular task.  The area in front of the cathedral is currently dug up for renovations.

Traffic was bumper to bumper when all of a sudden one car decided to blow its horn and didn't stop blowing it.  The car was a VW Beetle driven by a woman with a Bischon Frisse dog on her lap.  (Poor little hound.)  She was clearly upset by not being able to progress as fast as normal on this street (rue Francis Xavier) nor did it bother her that her anger could probably be heard inside Notre-Dame, but everyone else could see the problem that lay ahead and was minding their time until they got past the road-works and could head to wherever they were going as per normal on a Friday afternoon.


Clearly this woman was someone who needed to practice meditation to help her to remain calm when the world around her was in crazy mode or not going according to expectations.

Meditation has other advantages though.

True, it reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and helps fight infection.  But practitioners don't necessarily walk around in a Zen-like state, unless they want to.

The happiness that meditators feel can, and usually does, overflow when music plays, jokes are told, and there's enough space to get up and dance.
It's a happy and upbeat way to live, of seeing the best in life, the funny side of life, and making the most of every moment.

The happiness inside means that you live life to its fullest with energy and vitality.

There are appropriate moments to be quiet and introspective, but just as we have night and day, man and woman, we also have times when it's perfectly alright to laugh out loud for long moments, to get up and dance spontaneously, and share the wealth of your happiness with others.

I hope that all your days are noisy...
with laughter, not with horn-blowing.

Love and laugh often.

Inner Happiness

Vendor making dragon's breath

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too, can become great.

Mark Twain

Today I had some free time from work and took a walk into the Quartier Chinois which is situated off the rue Saint-Urbain and only a five minute walk from the Basilica Notre-Dame and the hotel that I always stay in.
It’s really only a few streets but has small shops filled with trinkets, shawls, and food that range from cakes and cookies to all day buffets; not the metropolis that San Francisco has.

The photograph above shows a local vendor making a special type of sugar and nut candy called Dragon’s Breath. It is whipped and spun by hand and folded many times to make this delicious treat. The spun sugar is on the inside and represents the breath of the dragon.

Dragons must be lovely creatures to have such sweet breath!

Walking and exploring places that are not my everyday stomping ground provides opportunities for gathering thoughts, a walking meditation, repeating affirmations, and meeting strangers. I love to explore and meet the world and have travelled to many wonderful places and learned a lot as I did this.

A common thread I have found is that people are fundamentally the same. Once cultural and religious differences are stripped away it becomes obvious that we are all seeking the same things: shelter, safety, and most of all love.

While fears of reality exist, they are an illusion that prevents many of us from exploring and seeing the potential that lies in places, other people, and ourselves.

This fear is a like a dragon that’s burning away your opinions and hopes, and destroying your potential through its fiery breath.

Yet dragons don’t exist except in our imaginations.

When you listen to other people and in turn listen to and make yourself heard, you will find that you are not alone in your thoughts and aspirations.

All too often, we take circumstances and people around us for granted and it’s not until we are left alone or without, that we discover, too late, what we’ve lost. We don’t appreciate the value of time and our experiences and interactions with people we see every day, nor the importance of making new connections, new experiences, and pursuing our dreams.

After all, you make an impact on other people just as they affect you, one way or another.

So what is your reality?
Is it made out of fear, or imposed upon you by small minds?

Self-discovery is an endeavor that continues throughout a lifetime. While our knowledge of ourselves and our world is limited, you can dampen the fiery dragon’s breath permanently and render it harmless through a regular meditation practice, repeating positive affirmations, and making decisions based on love, cooperation, and prosperity instead of anxiety, uncertainty, or even anger.

Let the only fire in your world lie beneath your ambitions and your hopes and dreams

Don’t let ANYONE keep you from being great.

Peace and many blessings.

MEDITATION ON LIGHT

Governor’s Garden of the Chateau Ramezey Museum

When life-throws you a curve-ball and you’re faced with challenges that you didn’t expect, are you able to remain totally present and calm?

When you don’t have all the facts, can you simultaneously integrate your intuitive knowledge to monitor all that is happening around you?

When faced with an important deadline, can you be in the present?

Light
Finding the right balance between your thoughts and actions enables you to pursue a more satisfied life through control of mental behavior patterns, and it’s no secret that meditation is the easiest way to acquire the ability to stay in the moment and relinquish attachment to unnecessary thoughts.

No matter who you are, being able to take a few moments to clear your head of clutter will bring balance to your thoughts. This also helps you with your creative ideas as well as keeping you stress-free and healthy.

There’s not a lot wrong with that.

Unfortunately, letting go of the conscious mind and those pesky thoughts that interfere with clear thinking and harmonious emotions is a challenge.

Meditation illuminates those areas in your personal life that need to examine in order to be in the present moment whenever you choose, regardless of what is happening around you.

Circumstances fluctuate. Nothing stays the same, but the one constant is your ability to be in the powerful state of peace.

Inner Light
The inner light that reveals itself during meditation happens for several reasons including connecting to the source of all peace and to reveal that which needs more deliberate attention. When you pay attention to what the light of meditation is showing you, you can heed what you are seeing and direct your responses accordingly.

People and events impact us and conversely when we bring our awareness to any situation quantum physics states that we change what is happening by the fact that we are paying attention to what is going on. It’s an interesting fact and fits in with what is known about the subtle energy of meditation.

Therefore we need to be mindful of what we perceive and how we impact other people,
This depends upon being ever present in the here and now, and paying attention to what we are thinking, doing, and experiencing.

Unconsciously, there is uncertainty that what is occurring is for the best. Hesitation in making a smooth transition from your current way of living and shining a light on your hopes and dreams is normal.

Personal questions to consider:
What makes you react to situations and other people the way that you do?
What feelings do you hide within you?
What can you reveal more of?

Meditation helps you to clear away tension and stored up anxieties whenever you come across an obstacle that grinds you to a halt.

Practice carrying the light of meditation with you in all that you do. Walking in the light does not take the decision making process out of your hands.
Let it reveal what is possible in your life.

Ask yourself questions such as who is in your life? Why are they here? What do they have to teach you and what do you have to teach them?
What inspires you?

Light shines on the natural and artificial arrangements that mark each of our lives, just as it alters the images in the photographs that accompany today’s posting.

Be present in all that happens, whether it’s a relationship or a new experience and trust that what is discovered will be filled with opportunity and possibilities.