What Happens When...

I have taken a different approach to today's posting and I am sharing a story with you, rather than my own insights into living your best life.

I hope that you enjoy the message in the following story as much as I did.
As always, thank you to everyone around the world who follows my writing and thank you again for forwarding the blog link to friends.
Happiness and friendship is never diminished because it is shared.
Margaret

A teacher asked his disciples:
‘Why do we shout in anger? Why do people shout at each other when they are upset?’

The disciples thought for a while, and one of them said ‘Because we lose our calm, we shout for that.’

‘But, why shout when the other person is just next to you? Isn’t it possible to speak to him or her with a soft voice? Why do you shout at a person when you’re angry?’

The disciples gave him some other answers but none satisfied the teacher.

Finally he explained:
‘When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other through that great distance.’

Then the teacher asked: ‘What happens when two people fall in love? They don’t shout at each other but talk softly, why? Because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is very small…’

And he finally said:
‘When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other in their love.
Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other and that’s all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.’

The Winning Attitude

Photography by Margaret Stockley, copyright

"Let others lead small lives, but not you.

Let others argue over small things, but not you.

Let others cry over small hurts, but not you.

Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you." Jim Rohn

Your emotions, attitude and reactions can alter your perspective of all situations that you encounter and create connections that are tenuous or forever bonded.  They carry you effortlessly through life or you end up struggling against the current, depending on your attitude.

Positive emotions
Meditation enables you to know yourself better, to probe deep within, and see what habits you harbor. This helps you improve your circumstances by learning from all situations, either experienced directly or observed in the actions of others. Change is unpredictable and this means that on occasions it can sometimes be scary.
Fear of the unknown is a very common emotion as there can be comfort in what is familiar to us, whether it is in the people that we know, our routine, or even our view from our house.
Feelings of anger, jealousy, fear, and acceptance of what is, are self-limiting and self-fulfilling while a positive frame of mind that embraces altruism forges an attitude of determination that leads to inner fortitude and achievement of purpose.

Meditation releases distractions and negative voices and emotions allowing the energies of peace, love, and joy to enter. The ever-growing light within eventually spills over, illuminating the love/hate relationship that we have between our mind and our body, as well as the inter-related connection between our whole selves and other people.

Benefits
There are numerous benefits to meditation that have been listed in previous postings. People will often begin a meditation practice because of its health and relaxation benefits.
What’s often surprising is the amazing effect on attitude.

Because meditation releases a negative perspective, you view the beauty in life more than the garbage; you recognize situations that are healthy for you, people that are beneficial to know, and circumstances that you can learn from rather than complaining and believing that transformation is not possible.
The confidence and self-assurance that you have carries you through life, ensuring that your drive, resolve, and compassion will generate enthusiasm and energy to tackle and deal with all situations.
You will believe that you can make a difference, you can bring about change, and you can be successful.

And you will.

Training the mind
It is worth remembering that the subconscious mind operates day and night, whether you are aware or not. It is here that information received via the senses is stored and retrieved.

While most of us are well aware that “remaining calm” or “love is the answer” are appropriate choices, 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.

Training the mind through meditation to achieve single-pointed focus allows the self as the witness of the mind to create a better future by eliminating issues from the past which impact the present.
It permits objective observation, i.e. without judgment, of either the world or yourself.

Meditation restores peace to both body and mind and puts you back in control of what you think, say, and do. You are still aware of external stimuli from the senses but no longer affected by them.

Guided Visualization

Choose a word or phrase e.g. I am wanted and valued. I am loved and give love.
Imagine yourself walking on a straight path through woods.
The clouds and thick and heavy, obscuring the light.
See the path, the trees, the dampness of the ground, the dark sky above.
See a tunnel ahead of you.
It is very dark inside but you are drawn to a spark of light at its center.
The light fills you with hope.
As you walk in the darkness towards the circle of light, become aware of any negative memories.
See a shaft of light on the ground.
Step onto it and walk in the beam of light.
Let your negative thoughts rise to the surface and leave them behind.
Leave the shaft and feel the path easier to walk on.
You feel happier than you have felt in a long time.
At the end of the tunnel, you embrace the light.
Explore what you see there.
Use all your senses.
All is light and love.
You know the source of this love, are filled with this love and know that you are loved.

Success and Happiness

 

Photo by Margaret Stockley

There are no limits to your possibilities.

There are five states of attention:

1. restlessness with fluctuating attention
2. laziness with no motivation
3. distraction by internal or external events
4. single focused concentration with flowing energy
5. continuous flawless concentration

Through meditation you gain the ability to increase your attention, self-analysis, acceptance, and love by recognizing and permanently removing unhealthy tendencies that cause inaction, boredom, irritability, and inappropriate emotional responses that lead to unhappiness or problems associated with an incorrect perspective of life.

What is preventing you from being as successful and as happy as you want to be?

Understanding where your needs and wants stem from enables you to decide whether keeping or removing a particular desire is beneficial to you.

A regular meditation practice will help you develop the ability to have a single-pointed focus whereby you can learn to examine your priorities and tap into the source of wisdom that exists within you.

As the mind ceases to flit from one thought to another and is no longer influenced by emotions or your interpretation of interactions and events, you will find that peace and creativity will replace the obstacles that you have carried with you either knowingly or unconsciously.

Mindful moments increase and it becomes easier to free your mind from rehashing the past, both recent or distant, and release any lingering emotions that warp your ability to see life clearly and without misinterpretation.

Flawless concentration carries forward into your interactions, thoughts, and all choices that you make, not just in your meditation session.

The result is unconditional acceptance of who you are.

You are a wonderful amazing individual with no limits except those that you place in front of you.  Have confidence in your abilities. Believe in yourself and what you are capable of.  Soar as high as you can imagine and let your bright light shine.

Peace, Love and Light are yours to have now and always.

Affirmation
“Everything good is coming to me with ease and grace.
When I focus on only the positive in my life, I summon all that is for my highest good, and receive what I truly need right now.”

Self-Generated Power

See, Speak and Hear no Evil.

The connection between the mind and the body is enhanced through the use of sound and by chants. The mind quickly becomes attuned to the vibration of the sound and aligns itself to its energy.

When spoken aloud, the words help you to focus on what you discern as your own body’s needs, thereby promoting healing and resilience to the pull of negativity.

Thinking unhealthy, sad, unhopeful thoughts really does affect the cells of the body detrimentally; while thoughts filled with hope, kindness, and love promote health and well-being.
NOTE: Previous postings highlight the research associated with this amazing connection between the mind and the body.  See the blog for more details.

You can self-generate power by using positive thoughts and vibrations.
Speak a word such as “Love,” or a phrase such as “I am Healed,” or the universal sound of AUM pronounced OM.

“I am filling each cell with the positive energy of sound and

creating a new body with the vibration of each breath.”

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.

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

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 of Love

Swans are a Symbol of Love

Over the centuries there have been tales of the fountain of youth; a fountain whose waters impart healing or prolong life. Today’s scientists are looking for cures into many diseases and have uncovered cells and receptors within the body that promote feelings of well-being while increasing the protective factors that prevent diseases from occurring in the first place.  Much is also known about optimism and its subsequent benefits to the body.

For thousands of years, meditation has been known by practitioners to promote happiness, peace, and love.
This brings with it numerous advantages to not only spiritual health and happiness, but improves overall health and well-being too.


More benefits of meditation are being discovered every year and cover numerous areas from psychology, stress-reduction, and reduction of medication, to name a few.  One aspect is the ability of meditation to increase the thickness of the frontal lobe of the brain (it thins as we age) that is responsible for attention, sensory input, and emotional processing and well-being. This means that with repeated practice, the adult brain can alter its structure. The brain is more able to concentrate on what is truly important and not be drawn astray by thoughts that keep leaping about from one topic to another, it feels happier more often, and with practice it experiences deep and true Love.

When people experience profound happiness, like the kind they experience through love, they not only feel happy and exhilarated but exhibit increased levels of the hormone DHEA, which is known to prevent aging.

When you meditate, you gain similar benefits.

When you are in love, or feel love, your body produces hormones and receptors that increase your ability to fight infection and reduce the spread of diseases, while at the same time lowering the damaging process caused by stress, anxiety, and unhappiness.

Meditation helps you to improve your health, manifest a conscious shift in your relationships, and even how you feel about yourself.

How?

By increasing the depth of your Love.

Love is often described as an ocean, with unfathomable depths and breadths. We may think that we are able to love fully, but as our frequency of meditation increases, the depth of our experience intensifies as Love flows freely through an expanded heart and mind.

Everyone wants to love and receive love, and this is made possible through meditation as it unites you to the source of all that is Light and Love.  Open the subtle energy that surrounds and exists within your heart and let it flow freely.  During your meditation, you will know when your heart is open because the surge of Love through your body is like a dam being opened.
We are all capable of Loving and we may say that we are in love, but it is not until you experience the overwhelming flow of Love through you that you can experience your relationships in a different light.

How is it done?
Through preparation and regular meditation practice.

Preparation means awareness of thoughts.  Removing critical and disapproving thoughts on a regular basis until you see only the goodness in life, rather than focusing on what is broken or diseased.
This does not mean that you should view the world through rose-colored glasses. It means that you endeavor to see the beauty and potential of life.

In your relationships with others, focus on the love that united you, think of them often through the day with love, rather than on petty differences.
Monitor your thoughts and if you find that a less than loving thought has arisen, stop it in its tracks from going any further and replace it with thoughts of kindness and affection.
Practice thinking of others with love; extend kind thoughts to strangers rather than critical thoughts.

When you say that you love someone, love them without restrictions. Learn to swim in the ocean of love. As soon as you risk taking the plunge into the ocean of bliss you envelop yourself in it and recognize your true Self.

Loving Affirmations

The breath has power not only on a physical level, but on a subtle level too. As you meditate every day, develop loving awareness in rhythm with your deep and steady breath. This will become your normal state of being. Cultivate a state of Love in all your thoughts by drawing this understanding to all your activities.

I choose to be grateful
I choose to be kind
I choose to feel joy
I choose to see the good within
I choose to be happy
I choose to give love
I choose to be loved
I am Loved
I am Love

Silence, Prayer, Love

When I am liberated by silence,

when I am no longer involved in the measurement of life,

but in the living of it,

I can discover a form of prayer in which there is effectively, no distraction.

My whole life becomes a prayer.

My whole silence is full of prayer.

The world of silence in which I am immersed contributes to my prayer.

Thomas Merton

1915-1968

In the silence we tap into the source of all peace, light, and love.
Love is unconditional and is like an abundant feast that you can feed from at any time. No other food can satisfy you like the table spread before you. With such a feast available, why would you ever want to eat elsewhere? When you no longer thirst or hunger after any other forms of desire because you have found Love, you have reached the zenith of understanding.

We love whether the people that we know are present in our lives, far away, or sadly are no longer present here on Earth.

Whether today marks a happy anniversary or is a day to remember a person who has passed away, may you find love always in all that you do and in everyone that you know,

Today, as every day, I remember with love Margaret Barr Waters who passed on October 13, 2006, in Scotland.

Inner Peace

 Patanjali

(Photo by Margaret Stockley)

The Hindu sage Vyasa defines non-violence (ahimsa) as "the absence of injuriousness toward all living beings in all respects and for all times." He noted that a person who draws near one engaged in the true practice of ahimsa would be freed from all enmity.

Similarly, Patanjali (circa 100 ce) regards ahimsa as the great vow and foremost spiritual discipline which those seeking Truth must follow strictly and without fail. This was not meant merely to condemn killing, but extended to harm caused by one's thoughts, words and deeds of all kinds--including injury to the natural environment. Even the intent to injure, even violence committed in a dream, is a violation of the principle of ahimsa.

Take a moment to identify harmful behavior:
i. to others
ii. to you
iii. to the environment

Non-violence has a more encompassing meaning than not killing or physically striking out against another. It asks you to follow the stem of violence to its deeper root and understand the reasons why you respond the way you do in certain circumstances.

Every day, there are media reports of violence, anger, hatred, verbal abuse, and deaths. In your own life, you hear harsh words uttered in the spur of the moment, callous remarks spoken about someone who is not in your present company, unsympathetic words spat out in impatience.

Living a life free from violence promotes love. You love your neighbor as you love yourself, you feel compassion for all living things, and you honor and respect the challenges that you face without judgment, knowing that you and everyone that you come in contact with are all at different stages on the journey of life and are doing the best that you either know how to do, or choose to do.

Meditation is the easiest method to develop inner peace and calm and is available to everyone.  Meditation develops heightened awareness of your Self and your surroundings.  Through meditation you grow in your understanding, knowledge, and ability to know Bliss.

Surroundings affect your well-being through your awareness and your sub-consciousness. Pollution, harsh noise, and foul smells are all violence directed at the environment. You co-exist with nature and it is your responsibility to be aware of what is occurring around you. This is a moral obligation and you may wonder why you need to bother. As you explore the causal effects of right and wrong, what is sometimes referred to as the karma effect, you begin to understand where this responsibility comes from and why it is your duty to uphold this moral code, even when other people appear to be doing the opposite. Every time you make a choice, you verify or nullify the Creator.

Seeds of Fruit
One example of this is the act of eating a piece of fruit and randomly spitting out the seeds with no thought to where the seeds will fall and whether or not they will take root. This is the same as permitting your emotions to motivate you and rule your life without thinking how your actions will affect the world. With a little forethought, there would be less pain and misery.

Accepting your own traits and personality as a wonderful part of what makes every person a unique individual enables you to make the best use of the opportunities that confront you. Seek to monitor your thoughts and your actions and how they impact yourself and others.  Meditation helps you maintain single pointed focus and complete attention on what exists within you.  From here you are able to explore the inward journey and the source from which all peace flows from.

Goals
Ask yourself what your motive is for your actions. Do your actions serve your real purpose? Do they move you closer to achieving your goals?

Set yourself goals about what really matters and counts to putting you on the real path. Know that it is not material growth that you seek. You are seeking ways to enrich yourself, your friends and family, and the world at large. Catching yourself in a violent thought or action is the start of a process of achieving positive actions rather than repeating destructive behavior.

Be ever mindful, ever present, and ever conscious of all that you think, say, and do. If you are not in charge of your intentions, you will not be able to control what comes out of your mouth, or what you do physically.
In turn, your heart and mind becomes pure and free of petty egos and negativity and you develop divine qualities such as tolerance, humility, kindness, and love.

Peace

POSITIVE MEDITATION

Embrace life.

The practice of meditation is transformative on many levels. The beginning of a changed life pathway is by living THIS moment in the present to your maximum potential. Then the next moment will ALSO be lived to fullest potential, and then the remainder of your life!
Life is not about what you think may happen in the future. Life is about enjoying the journey of daily creativity and loving experiences.
Then when you least expect it, something great comes along to change your life making it even more purposeful, with an aliveness, vitality and a higher sense of spiritual purpose in life. Something even greater will happen for you that you never even planned.

Will you be able to say in a few months time that this moment TODAY changed your life, because you changed to THINKING POSTIVELY by using your mind and soul to your maximum potential ?

Can a mere thought block energy? Can a mere thought cause disease? A study at Duke University in 1997 found that thoughts leading to negative emotions like anger or sadness actually constrict the blood vessels of the heart, a condition known as ischemia. Ischemia starves the flow of energy to the muscle and is a precursor to heart attack. Researcher Elizabeth Gullette said "What surprised me was the power of the association and the fact that negative emotions can actually trigger ischemia." The findings summarized that "negative emotions double the risk of ischemic attacks for an hour after the emotional trigger but positive emotions reduce the risk of such events."

So, holding on to a negative thought about someone or something blocks energy flow while a positive thought reduces risk.

In this way, the nature and quality of the thoughts we think, the feelings we experience, and the meaning we attach to events, either consciously or unconsciously, both influence and are influenced by our sense of awareness and level of consciousness long after the experience has passed.

Recognizing what you need comes not from what you perceive outwardly, but what comes to you inwardly through prayer, meditation, and listening to your innermost feelings. In quieting your mind, you hear what you need and begin to recognize the areas of your life that require healing, sustenance, and love. Determining the difference between wanting and truly needing is self-liberating.

Be serious in your choice to follow the right path and all that it requires. It takes effort, but pursuing the wrong path is destructive and painful and demands more effort in the long run.

Change your routine and habits to set yourself up for success. Replace bad habits with good habits. Begin one at a time and don’t be afraid to bring people into your life you who will support you and not try to detract you from your intentions.

We live in a world full of temptation and by maintaining a regular meditation practice you equip yourself with a unique tool to cope with pressures and desires. You will feel the joy that flows through each one of us, instilling you with the capacity to face up to daily challenges.

Meditation infuses you with a powerful energy. While you are in a relaxed state of body and mind, realize that you are master of your body. The mind is yours to control, and when it is controlled it will care for you and follow your directions.

Only when your mind becomes still through meditation can you attain clarity of thought and purpose in your actions. Ultimately, life is about maintaining a balance. In other words, when you practice moderation, your mind, body, and Spirit are healthy.

A positive mindset leads to positive actions and meditation allows the essence of unity with the source of pure love to lead you to a state of harmony and bliss.

Om Shanti Peace

SPIRITUAL MEDITATION

Meditation helps you find the tranquil spiritual place that lies within you.

Over 2500 years ago, yoga originated as a means of teaching people to control their bodies and minds, in order to sit in meditation.
Meditation was considered extremely important because of the limitless possibilities that it unveiled. It was viewed as so much more than a medium of relaxation, emotional healing, and relieving stress as is often seen today.
This is like being offered a blank check that has your name written on it and only asking for a dollar of the true worth.

At its heart, meditation is the foundation of spiritual growth. It is a unique pathway that enables you to explore your soul and draw awareness to your actual self that lies deep within.
With meditation, you learn to rise above the perceived restrictions and prejudices that keep you in a habitual pattern of emotional and physical limitations and reveal instead the doorway to the spiritual realm.

In the spiritual realm you can tap into great wisdom, tranquility, and deep healing as you take time to explore your emotions and feelings, while maintaining an open connection to God.

It is here, in your meditation, that you discover your potential, and know the profound love that exists for you. As you bathe in this love, you feel the bliss. There is no place for fear or anxiety to reside. Instead, there is only love, peace, and happiness. This love emerges from the source of Light and this Light fills you and emanates from you. In turn, your light shines on others and they delight in being around you because you help them to feel the love and Light.

This spiritual consciousness brings a shift whereby spiritual gifts will emerge for you to put to good use to help others. The more that you practice meditation, the easier it becomes to enter into meditation, making your meditation deeper and more blissful. Eventually you reach a state of enlightenment where consciousness expands in all directions and becomes limitless. You lose awareness of having a body or breath and realize instead your very soul and its connection to God.

Persist with your practice of meditation and know that its ultimate goal is to help you to grow in your love for your Self, your love for others, your love for the world, and especially in your love for God.

No matter where you are on your own spiritual journey, meditation transcends religious dogma by enabling you to grow closer to and maintain an authentic relationship with God.

Om Shanti Peace

HeartMath

Red roses are a symbol of love.

Today is Info Friday where I highlight anything that is relevant to meditation. I’m not involved in any of these products or areas. They are simply something that I thought was interesting and thought you might enjoy too.

Since 1991, the Institute of HeartMath has conducted research showing that your emotions work faster than, and are even more powerful than, your thoughts.
Located south of San Francisco in Boulder Creek, California, the Institute has focused its work on the heart and have proven that the heart is more important to your body’s overall health, affecting not only the heart’s health but cognitive and brain function too.

Being able to feel positively, not by how you are thinking, but by how you are feeling emotionally from your heart, directly impacts your overall health.
This is amazing research because current studies tend to look at the heart or the brain, or any other organ in isolation. This research is studying the heart and demonstrates the correlation between memory, thoughts, the effect on the heart, and the release of chemicals which in turn affect the body with either detrimental or positive results.

Research director Rollin McCraty notes, “Meditation is mainly geared towards consciously separating yourself from the reality around you. That has totally different physical consequences than our approach, which is geared towards actively adding positive energy to a particular situation.”

With the help of the electroencephalogram’s (EEG), HeartMath uses an innovative biofeedback system that shows a study participant the immediate benefits to their body when they recall a happy memory. Synchronization of the heart beat occurs instantly helping to alleviate the negative effects of stress-related diseases. In turn, this makes it easier to encourage and motivate people to behave positively and to counter negative thoughts and situations.

At HeartMath, they have found that it’s the rhythm of the heartbeat that counts, not the number of beats per minute. McCraty explains, “With every heartbeat, information is supplied that affects our emotions, our physical health and the quality of our lives.”
A different heart rhythm leads to an alteration in chemical, electrical, and neurological reactions.

The Institute has published many papers and their website has lots of information about the founders, currents research, and the exciting results that they are uncovering

For further information sheck out their website. 
www.heartmath.com

Summary
The research is astounding and ongoing. Living a life of love, remaining positive, and seeing the best in yourself and the world around you does affect you in ways that you may not have considered.

HeartMath’s slogan is "A change of heart changes everything."

Will you have a change of heart?

AFFIRMATION:WATER

A single raindrop merges with the ocean.
Likewise, we are all connected to the Source.

The five elements of nature; earth, water, fire, air, and ether exist within our own body and cycle through us every 59 minutes. The last minute of this hourly cycle is where the potential for the subtle feminine energy called kundalini can awaken and give rise to both self-knowledge and a higher knowledge.

Water is a basic element of life and sustains us and mirrors our own existence on earth.
Life has a natural flow and we are carried along gently in its wake when we conserve our energy and realize what we cannot change and what we can and should ably resist.

Each one of us has unique qualities that enable us to go with the ebb and flow of life, just as water ebbs and flows along its own path moving over rocks and bumps, twists and turns, and soaring and shallow depths.

Water moves slowly or fast, depending on the terrain, and flows continually until it reaches its final destination where it blends with a large body of water or dissolves into the earth or air.

A river begins with a single raindrop that merges with others until it forms a powerful force that returns eventually to the source from where it started.

Likewise, we are born from a source of love and will return to that special place when our life has completed its flow. Disruption in the flow occurs when we waste our energy struggling to maintain the status quo and staying in the past rather than going where life is taking us. Belief in our separateness and individuality creates difficulties and we end up wrestling with the natural course of life. There are challenges to be overcome such as changes in our health, our environment, or people that we love passing on, but acceptance helps us to flow through life and acknowledge the connection that we have, one to another, and one to the universe. We are all connected and will return to the source one day where we will be re-united.

The water element has much to teach us; from its clarity and purity when it is healthy, to its darkness and odor when it is undrinkable. Look at areas where you can cleanse your life and be like the water element, rolling and flowing with grace and ease, compassion and love.

AFFIRMATION:

I am part of something larger than myself
I live in a loving universe
I am filled with the light and love of God
I am in harmony with the Universe

What role does meditation or affirmation play in your life?

AFFIRMATION

AFFIRMATION

(Affirmations every Tuesday and Thursday)

Some affirmations will need to be carried with you for a few days or even longer until you feel/know that you have achieved what you wanted.

As always, choose affirmations that feel appropriate to you. Feel free to create an affirmation that's suitable to you by asking yourself the following question:

What do I want to …?

This will help you to create affirmations that assert your purpose and therefore have special meaning to you.

It is important that the words you use are your own or that they feel comfortable to you.

Once you become familiar with using an affirmation, you can create your own ones, based on your specific needs on a day-to-day basis.

The affirmations presented below are a suggestion and I encourage you to change the language and content to better fit what is happening in your own life.

TODAY'S AFFIRMATION

FREEDOM TO BE WHO YOU ARE

As an adult, we have the ability to choose what to cling to and what to release from our life.

We also have the ability to view the world and other people from one perspective or another, e.g. as kind and loving or troubled and unlovable.

Nothing remains the same, and happiness is achieved by acceptance of the changes and perceived imperfections as well as by a realization that in the impermanence of life only the Creator is constant and unchanging.

• I have the freedom to find out who I am
• I forgive who I was in the past
• I accept what is happening and trust that all will be well
• I know that I am a loving person and that I am loved
• I am responsible for developing my own spirituality

CULTIVATING PEACE

Peace and stillness flows through the mind like a river.

"There is nothing in all creation so like God as stillness."

Meister Eckhart (1260-1328)

Elusive Peace
Noise is everywhere; in the streets, in shops, even inside your head when you keep replaying past conversations. Sometimes the internal noise drowns out the external so that someone has to repeat what they have said to you in order for you to hear them. Sounds impact each one of us whether we are aware of them or not. Laughter, crying, shouting, and music can each affect our mood even when they are in the background and we are not aware of paying it very much attention.

The constant bombardment of noise on the senses can reach the point where life gets so hectic and fast paced that you say to yourself, “I just want a break. I need some peace.”

So where do you go to find it?
A spa? A sacred place of worship? A stroll in the park or by the ocean? A library?

A Moment for Meditation
Where does true lasting peace exist? Certainly not in an external place, no matter how tranquil or spiritual the place is. However, a beautiful scenic filled with the sights and sounds of nature, or a romantic atmosphere, can promote short acting peace and provide both a positive memory to return to within the mind's awareness and a stepping-off point to begin developing lasting peace.

It takes no special skills, simply practice and the belief that peace DOES reside within you.

Awareness of lasting peace is cultivated over a period of time, provided it is given the right environment so that you can first recognize it, and then enable it to deepen its roots and strengthen over time.

It is through meditation that you experience serenity and tranquility. You create a memory for it within your mind and body.

Your Meditation
As you prepare for this meditation, know that you are going to focus on the peace within you.
Even if you don't feel particularly peaceful, know that you will release stress and unhappy feelings and replace this revealed inner space with feelings of peace.

You allow tranquility to flow effortlessly in the way that a river flows unimpeded when boulders are rolled away to permit an even and steady passage of water.
Your own energy will flow in such a way that while it may be a trickle at first, it will steadily increase until anxiety and stress no longer have a chance of taking a hold again as the current of peace sweeps it away.

Your body and mind will desire staying in a peaceful state and through regular meditation you learn how to experience serene feelings and deep happiness. In doing so you calm the mind and the body, creating a situation that promotes calmness and freedom from worry.

You will return to a peaceful way of living with increased frequency until peace becomes your natural way of being.

MEDITATION PRACTICE

"Be soft in your practice. Think of the method as a fine silvery stream, not a raging waterfall. Follow the stream, have faith in its course.
It will go its own way, meandering here, trickling there.
It will find the grooves, the cracks, the crevices.
Just follow it.
Never let it out of your sight.
It will take you."

Sheng-yen (807-869 CE)

Are You at Peace?

In the busy, high-pressure, fast expectation environment that we so often find ourselves, it is often challenging to set aside fifteen or twenty minutes a day to be in meditation.
We cling to past thoughts and behaviors hoping that that will be enough to help us deal with unexpected challenges.

Meditation is a means to achieving peace not only during the meditation experience, but during your daily life and interactions with others.
Are you at peace?
What thoughts circulate through your mind about how you perceive yourself or other people?
The thoughts that you think and the words that you speak say a lot about you as a person and influence the way that people treat you. If you are not aware of negativity in your choice of language, your tone of voice, or even the flow of your thoughts, you should not be surprised when your life does not go the way that you hoped.

The awareness that emerges through regular meditation practice is applied in daily thoughts and reactions, ensuring that you only think and say good things.
Firmly held beliefs can be chipped away at and permanently removed by meditation. You no longer need believe that you are undeserving of success, love, or happiness in whatever endeavors you pursue.

Release Attachment

We've all seen someone whose happiness circulates around the material stuff and possessions that they acquire. They are on a seemingly endless quest for more toys, gadgets, and objects with no end in sight. Are they happy? For a short time yes, then they're off looking at something new.
Yoga philosophers such as Patanjali wrote over 2000 years ago of the importance of non-attachment in helping a practitioner achieve peace. While a degree of attachment is necessary to enable us to achieve goals, help those in need, and to nurture those whom we love, the freedom, happiness, and joy that we all seek arises from connecting to the peace that lies within.
The same holds true with your meditation practice. Follow it, never force it, and go where it leads and guides you.

Meditation Holds the Answers

Previous postings give specific details on how to begin to meditate.

During your meditation practice, awareness on the breath slows the thought process down so that you become aware of what you are thinking and can then respond accordingly rather than reactively. For example, by using the breath and a chosen word such as relax, you can direct this energy of the word to tell your body to breathe deeply and slowly.

Replace your old thought patterns with a new phrase.
Start with one thought.
Choose a specific word or phrase that you can repeat during your meditation.
Take a moment right now to listen to your mind and body.

• What is it that you need more of, or less of e.g. more peace, less stress.
• What is preventing you from achieving this goal?
• Decide what you need and be specific rather than too vague and all-encompassing.
• Ensure that what you ask in your affirmation is positive in nature and in the present tense; eg “I am loved” rather than “I will be loved.”
  

Following your meditation, carry one of the affirmations with you throughout the day and soon you will see the changes that you desire manifest in your life as you develop your ability to be more aware and in tune with your thoughts.
You will find that you become less attached to the external world as you uncover the source of real peace.

Putting new thoughts into new actions is not just about producing a new way of thinking though.
It’s about generating a new way of living, discerning and applying the information gleaned from meditation to let go of old ways of reacting to a lifestyle that no longer serves you.

Delight in the peace that is yours to have in abundance.

Follow your stream and see where it takes you.

MEDITATION: PRESENCE AND AWARENESS

Animals live fully in the present

Meditation: Presence

Who is the most important person in the world?
It’s not a trick question and this individual is someone that you actually know.
The most important person in the world is the person you are with at any given moment in time. All too often we fail to notice this individual or give them our complete attention because other distractions get in our way.

Nothing on Earth is permanent and we never can tell if we will be the last person this individual will see, or conversely the person we are with will be our last.
Awareness and presence develops through meditation. Being mindfully present in all your interactions, means that you have an opportunity to treat others differently from this point on.

Presence is both an awareness of your own existence and what you are witnessing at this very moment in time. It releases you from expectations about what you think might happen or from speculating about why things are unfolding a certain way. Speculation is different from intuition and I’ll talk more about intuition in a later posting.
Take your time with this meditation. Allow at least 15 minutes and practice regularly until you notice that your ability to remain present in every situation is occurring with ease.

Meditation
In a seated position with the spine straight and the flesh of the body relaxed, bring your awareness to the breath.
The eyes can be open or closed, but the gaze should be soft with the eyes still and attention focused directly in front of you.
The shoulders are relaxed, the hands resting on the thighs with the palms facing up in Om mudra. (Tip of thumbs and first fingers lightly touching. Also known as Inner Om Mudra.)
Observe the breath from the tip of the nose into the base of the lungs.
Feel the belly gently rise and fall with each inhale and exhale.
Keep the breath slow, smooth, and steady.
Don’t rush or force the breath.
Continue to watch the breath as it flows effortlessly from the tip of the nose to the belly.
Feel the belly gently rise and fall.
Draw awareness fully to the breath.
Experience the sensation of the lungs expanding and contracting, the air entering and leaving the body.
If the mind wanders (which it often does when you start to learn to meditate), simply draw the awareness back to the breath.
Do not judge or think that you have failed or cannot learn to meditate.
You are retraining the mind and new habits can take up to four weeks to become part of your regular routine.
Continue to watch the breath and direct it from the nose to the base of the lungs.
Feel the breath flowing in the present moment.
When you feel ready, in your own time, shift your attention from the breath to the present moment
Continue to focus on the present moment and dissolve into meditation.
Go deeper and deeper into the awareness.

After Your Meditation
You will strengthen you ability to be present in all that you think and do.
Your relationships will improve.
You remain open to experiences and lowly eliminate obstacles that block energy.
Your heart center opens as you give your full attention to the person that you are with.
You strengthen your ability to remain in the present moment and to be present with everyone that you meet.
You cease to be lonely as you experience contentment with your Self and connection to the source of all Love and Light

OPEN HEART MEDITATION

The energy of the heart is represented by the color green because Creation which is all around us in grass, trees, and plants, stems from Love.

Open Heart Meditation
Songs and poems from cultures throughout the world describe the peace and happiness that stems from the source of love. While there are different energy centers within the body, the heart is the energy center of Love.

There are many heart opening techniques and meditations that can be used. The following meditation is a wonderful technique that can be done by beginners and experienced practitioners alike.

The important thing to remember is to see meditation as a part of your whole life, not a separate entity that works on its own.
The efforts that you expend to open your heart do not begin and end with meditation.
You need to embrace it as a way of life.
This meditation will help you to prepare the way for loving energy to flow effortlessly through you by removing any obstacles that are within you, and yet you are not aware that they are there.

Once the obstacles (they vary from person to person) are gone, you will experience wonderful joy. Along the way, sometimes shaking or trembling or tears arise. It’s important to know that this is normal and not be afraid should it occur. Simply let it flow through you and breathe it away and continue focusing either on the light or the peaceful loving feeling within you.

Restoring Balance to the Heart
Method
Sitting in a comfortable position with the eyes gently closed and the spine erect.
Draw the attention inwards to the breath.
Keep the eyes still in this inner eye gaze.
Follow the breath from the tip of the nose into the base of the lungs
Follow the breath all the way out in a steady stream
Keep the lips closed and the facial muscles relaxed
Allow the breath to flow effortlessly into and out of the body without your input or control
When you feel the mind and body relaxed, concentrate on seeing a light at the base of the spine within your mind’s eye
Hear the sound of Om resonating deep within you
Feel light flow through the body from the base of the spine to the crown of the head
Concentrate on the sensation of the energy
Concentrate on Om and try to feel its vibration and meaning
As you reach the top of your inhalation, see the light pour from the crown of your head to surround you
Feel Om change to the sound of bliss which is Ahhh
Release anything that arises
Know that you are safe in your meditation
Feel the cleansing energy of the light flow through every cell of your mind and body
Dissolve into meditation
Continue with your meditation until you feel complete

After Your Meditation

• Continue to maintain a connection to the heart center and keep the loving energy flowing through you.
• Nurture love by replacing any negative thoughts with ones of kindness and love.
• Bringing your awareness to the heart will change your perspective on life and positively impact the people around you.
• Remaining in the present draws awareness to maintaining an open heart and permitting the flow of love.
• Try to choose peaceful situation e.g. avoid watching violent movies
• Practice kindness rather than reverting to previous negative thought patterns
• Promote happiness by being a beacon of light and love to everyone you meet.

MIDSUMMER MEDITATION

The Midsummer Sunrise

Midsummer Meditation
Across the northern hemisphere, Midsummer is celebrated in the period between June 21st and June 25th. In the southern hemisphere, the summer solstice is celebrated in December.
For thousands of years, and in many cultures throughout the world, midsummer has been observed through spiritual and religious celebrations during this specific time period in June.

First Day of Summer
On June 21st, the sunrise is given special honor with many cultures gathering with music, song, and spiritual traditions to recognize the longest daylight hours, the high noon, and the halfway point of the year hence the name Equinox is sometimes used to describe this midpoint. In Europe, it is also referred to as Midsummer because it is roughly the middle of the growing season.
While the true summer equinox varies from year to year on the astronomical calendar by a few hours, it is recognized officially as the first day of summer on June 21st. During the summer solstice the sun sits highest in the sky. This is the longest day of the year and the beginning of the summer season.

Standing Still
As the summer solstice approaches, the noonday sun rises higher and higher in the sky each day. On the actual day of the solstice, it barely rises at all compared to the previous day, creating the impression that the sun has stood still. This lasts for about three days before the sun appears to move from its point in the sky.
The word Solstice is derived from two Latin words: sol meaning sun, and sistere to cause to stand still. Life is always about balance and many traditions that we still have today harken back to the time when as a society it was important to follow the growing cycle of sowing, planting, and harvesting.

Why Is It Necessary To Acknowledge A Summer Solstice?
The Earth is constantly in motion yet for a brief moment, the sun is seen from our perspective as though it is standing still at its highest and brightest point.
With the sun at its highest point in the sky you can use it as an analogy to let your own light shine at its utmost highest and greatest.
It is a time of year of prosperity, hope, and relationships as well as an opportunity to recognize your connection and responsibility to nature and creation.

Let Your Own Light Shine

Let Your Light Shine
Light a candle to symbolize the enduring light that is within each of us and to recognize the sacred source from which we receive our light.
During your meditation practice, you can focus on the light within you and both fill your body and surround yourself with this light.

Guided Meditation
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

Maintain a steady and even breath and focus on the light within you
With each breath, become aware of brilliant white light at the base of your spine
This light is your spiritual energy

With the breath gentle and flowing, see the white light and draw it from the base of your spine in a steady column to the crown of your head

With each steady exhale, fill your body and surround yourself with your light

Continue about three to five rounds until you are completely filled and surrounded by the light
Sense the unity between yourself and the source of the light
Feel the oneness

Bathe yourself in its brilliance and loving energy
Feel the expansive abundance of the light

Dissolve into the light

After Your Meditation
You are from the source of the light and know that you can return to it at any time by entering into meditation
Carry the light with you and share its loving energy with other.
Be a shining light to everyone you meet
During times of stress, let your light shine to dispel the darkness
In this way you will be a beacon of light to those who are struggling.

Give thanks for the light and pause to reflect, just as the sun at this time of year appears to pause and reflect.