Guided Meditation • Visualization • Mindfulness

by Kris King

Your mind is an instrument, a tool. It is there to be used for a specific task, and when the task is completed, you lay it down.
                —–Eckhart Tolle

I remember when I was first certain that I wanted to pursue my acting dreams while living in Springfield, IL. After driving back and forth to Chicago for auditions, it was clear to me that I needed to move to Los Angeles if I were to have a real shot at it. I sat with that knowing for at least a year before it hit me that time was not going to allow me to wait for a more favorable circumstance. At that point, it wasn’t what I needed to do that was an issue; it was how I will do it.

The major obstacle for human beings is the thinking mind. Alternatively, the human mind is the best tool ever given to you. If used in unison with the soul, the mind helps to create some of the grandest ideas, the most loving gestures, and numerous opportunities. The mind, unaccompanied, creates conflict, strife, and problems that can lead to the most erroneous behavior. In other words, when the mind plays the role of the sidekick to the superhero, the bad guys are captured and the town rejoices. However, when the mind starts acting as if it is the hero and feels that it doesn’t need any assistance, it will eventually self-destruct trying to save the town, ultimately taking the town down with it.

The problem seems to be that most people are trying to use their mind for the what as opposed to the how. To piggy back off my earlier example, when contemplating the move to Los Angeles, it was clear that I needed to move there, I just didn’t know how I was going to do it. So I explored a few different options. I thought about getting a loan. I even thought about saving up for a year or two, then moving. Until I eventually came to the obvious decision to sell my home and use the money to move and pay off some debt before I left. My mind made an assessment of what my options was, weeded out what wouldn’t work, leaving me with the best available option based on my circumstances. Two months later, I was in L.A.  

Your soul is all knowing. Your mind is all memory. If the mind is left unattended, all of your decisions will be made from past experiences. And can you blame it? The mind is trained to go into the storage room of any similar situation that you are currently in, see what you did in that situation, then act out a similar, if not an exact solution even if that solution didn’t work the last time. This is because it has no new data to work with. At least it seems this way.

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Popularity: 19% [?]

Yesterday was a historic day, not just for Americans but for those around the world who woefully believed that the American Dream was fading into the land of myth, into the mists of Avalon.  Being the daughter of an immigrant and of mixed cultural heritage yesterdays outcome is especially meaningful.
 
My father is from Guyana, South America, and came to this country on a student visa and with $23 in his pocket. Being black and immigrating to this country at a time of increasing racial tension did not daunt him from wanting to participate in the American Dream of equal opportunity and limitless possibilities. After being here only a short while, he met and married my mother, an American of German-Irish-Dutch descent. 

My parents married at a time in our history when inter-racial marriage was still illegal in some states.  I grew up listening to the debates over inter-racial marriage on the television.  It seemed like they would end every show with someone saying, “What about the children?” “What about the children,” the final lament of those who were, and are, fearful of change.

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Popularity: 13% [?]

A man who is centered and calm is a leader and a better decision maker. A man who is thoughtful and present will master all of his relationships. A man who is happy with himself is powerful and becomes the master of his circumstances.

There are those men who feel that they are at their best when they are stressed and under pressure. The high from competing with himself and others or the pressure of meeting an 11th hour deadline creates anxiety and produces adrenaline that can be addicting. This stress-anxiety-adrenaline loop feels like excitement, freedom and aliveness. Over time however, stress, anxiety, and adrenaline will slow him down, burn him out and is ultimately detrimental to his state of mind and wellbeing. Unchecked stress, anxiety, and adrenaline interferes with sleep, undermines his sex drive and weakens mental acuity.

Meditation and mindfulness, also called practicing presence, will sharpen his competitive edge without burning him out. The key is to focus on what’s happening now and let go of the outcome. When a man’s attention is continually on the end result, people, projects and objects become a means to an end. His work and his life will lack originality, joy and enthusiasm. Focusing on the outcome feels like anticipation, worry, anxiety, and stress. The practice of being in the present moment will turn stress, anxiety, competition, and worry into energy, clarity, enthusiasm, and joy. (more…)

Popularity: 10% [?]

During this class you’ll not only experience the relaxing and rejuvenating benefits of meditation, you’ll also learn about the energy centers of the body, (called chakras), and how you can use visualization for self-healing.

This class is open to all levels.  It is especially wonderful for those who find meditation challenging.

Please Register at Beach Cities Health District in Redondo Beach

8 Weeks–NO CLASS OCTOBER 22ND! 

Popularity: 13% [?]