Spiritual Solutions

Visit  http://technorati.com/blogs/tag/myspiritualsolutions and help create an enlightened online community.

Technorati Profile

Popularity: 38% [?]

My goal with this blog is to write a post each week, but since I’ve been busy with kid stuff (progress reports came out this week), volunteer activities at the church and new classes, I missed a week of writing.

In the past, I would allow myself to become so busy that eventually I would be lost in the momentum of all the doing. I wouldn’t eat well or sleep well and quality time with my family would suffer. But like a spinning top on an uneven surface, I would lose momentum, sputter, wobble and eventually fall over.

Subconsciously the only thing that would stop the mania was a bad cold or a flu. Consciously I knew, as many of us A-type personalities do, that I was feeling ill because I allowed myself to get run down. Eventually however, I became very aware of the feeling of relief that accompanied the cold or flu. I became aware that being sick was the only time that I allowed myself stop…I could just lie around in bed, sleep and recuperate. In other words the cold/flu cycle was part of a very predictable and larger unhealthy cycle and served a great purpose for me. Whether it’s a cold, a bad back or a migraine my intuition is that this cycle is the same for many, many people.

The other part of this cycle is how our sense of self is tied up in what we do, what we have and what group we belong to. Material gratification is transient or short lived. You get the house it’s beautiful, but eventually you have to fix this or that, or you need new furniture, or you need to knock down a wall and expand the kitchen. There is nothing wrong with having beautiful things; the problem is when the mind says, “Now I am happy,” or “Now I am somebody.”

The key phrase is “I am.” “I am” is a declaration of being. When we say “I am” in conjunction with something that we’ve earned or didn’t earn or something that we have or don’t have, we are setting ourselves up to continue this cycle of “doing” and then “burning and crashing.” I believe a Buddhist would call this the cycle of samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth. But all spiritual seekers beware! As one of my favorite spiritual teachers points out even spiritual pursuits can become another form of ego, “I am a spiritual seeker.”

Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, ‘I am.’” Nothing more needs to be said about who we all are, except “I am,” then everything else will be “added onto you.” That is all the material stuff, relationships, food, clothing, transportation, work, and creative outlets, all flow forth from the great “I am.” So over the course of the next week or more, let’s contemplate together “I do because I am,” and break the unhealthy cycle of “I am because I do.”

Popularity: 29% [?]

Wednesdays, from 7:30 to 8:30 PM, Krista will be teaching a 8 week Guided Meditation and Visualization class through the Beach Cities Health District located in Redondo Beach.

During this class you’ll not only experience the relaxing and healing benefits of practicing meditation, you’ll also be learning about the energy centers of the body (the chakras), and how to create balance and harmony in your life through the practice of mindfulness.

This class is especially beneficial to those who find meditation difficult.

Beginning Wednesday, January 9th (8 Wednesdays)
from 7:30-8:30 pm

Please Register at online at http://www.bchd.org or
call 310-374-3426 ext. 147

Event held at:

Beach Cities Health District
514 N. Prospect Ave., Second Floor
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
www.bchd.org

Popularity: 25% [?]

All New Meditation Class beginning Friday from 4 to 5 PM in the afternoon. Krista will be teaching an 8 week Guided Meditation class through the Beach Cities Health District located in Redondo Beach.

Learn how to eliminate stress and anxiety, become more present, focused and joyful through the practice of meditation and mindfulness. This class is very helpful to those who find sitting meditation difficult.

Beginning Friday, January 11th (8 Fridays)
from 4:00-5:00 pm

Please Register at online at http://www.bchd.org or
call 310-374-3426 ext. 147

Event held at:

Beach Cities Health District
514 N. Prospect Ave., Second Floor
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
www.bchd.org

Popularity: 23% [?]