Peace

A breath of meditation.
The breath is linked to all the emotions.
When you feel angry or watch a scary movie, the heart rate increases and the breath becomes shallow and rapid.
When you are watching a sunset, strolling in a park, or meditating, the breath is slow and steady.

The breath is very powerful because it is closely linked to the mind. When you lose control of the breath through your thoughts and feelings, you find that your subsequent actions are also impacted.

Taking control of the breath through meditation enables you to to know what a calm mind and body feels like. With practice, you develop a new mental habit so that anytime you are faced with a stressful situation, you can recognize how you are breathing and adjust the rate and rhythm accordingly.

Controlling the breath helps you to control your actions. Any time that you sense that you are experiencing anger, frustration, or irritation with a person or situation, simply return to the rhythmic flow of the breath and you will find yourself calm, relaxed and able to think clearly.


THE DAILY EDGE
Helping You Expand Your Possibilities
TODAY'S EDGE: A Breath of Meditation
With the eyes gently closed
Follow the breath from the tip of the nose to the base of the lungs
Follow the breath all the way out
Notice the rate and rhythm of the breath
Adjust it so that is it slow and steady
Center yourself by seeing the belly rise and fall
With each exhalation, let the breath become deeper and deeper
Let the mind follow the breath
Let the body relax with the longer and deeper breath
Feel a deeper connection with the Self
Feel the body and mind relax
Feel calming detachment from anxiety and stress
Enter into meditation

With practice, you will be able to return to a calm and peaceful breath with ease and eventually maintain inner and outward peace at all times.
Meditation is for life.

Expanding Your Possibilities

When you think of meditation, the concept of someone sitting in quiet contemplation comes to mind. That individual is seen as being someone who is at peace with their Self and the world.

Meditation offers many possibilities beyond Self peace though.

We all have a finite amount of energy to see us through the demands of daily life.
If we don't rest, consume proper nutrition, and breathe correctly, we literally run out of fuel and eventually come to a grinding halt.

Likewise, our time here on planet Earth is limited and yet all too often we throw away our thoughts, words, and actions in wasteful activities, in arguments, or in thinking negatively about a person or situation.

If we're not careful, or mindful, we end up frittering our precious energy on matters that do not lead us and the world around us to a better place.

When teaching yoga asanas (poses) and synchronizing the activity with the breath, students are encouraged to deepen and lengthen the breath in order to "expand the mind and body in all directions." This means that the student will no longer cling to the limitations of the physical body, but release thoughts, feelings, and emotions in order to allow the mind to expand and create space within for love and peace to grow and knowledge to emerge.



When the mind is too blocked by lists, anxiety, comments from other people, and internal discouraging remarks there is a limit to how you can use your energy.

Just as a car engine and its filters need to be cleaned, serviced and filled with gas and oil, you also need to to use meditation in order to clean out the mind of clutter that you don't need, to replenish your will, and allow your Self to shine through.

Then You, as the silent witness observing all that goes on in the mind, can finally allow your mind to be open to receive wisdom and allow intuition to flourish.

Your mind then, will know no boundaries or limitations.

Meditation is your golden key to unlocking wondrous possibilities that are contained within you. Use meditation every day to free your mind and expand your possibilities.

THE DAILY EDGE
Helping You Expand Your Possibilities
TODAY'S EDGE: Watch Your Thoughts

For today's meditation I wanted to leave you with the following words taken from The Upanishads; a major work from India that discusses aspects of philosophy and spirituality.

Watch your thoughts; they become words.

Watch your words; they become actions.

Watch your actions; they become habits.

Watch your habits; they become character.

Watch your character; for it becomes your destiny.

All photos by Katarina 2353, on Flickr">

Meditation is for Life. Practice it daily.