But...

You’re feeling bored, something is definitely missing.

There is a subtle uneasiness that is lingering at the periphery of your life. You think, “Ugh, there has to be something more.”

There is, but first you must face your self.

The absence of external drama does mean the presence of inner peace.

Drama is a distraction, without the distraction you are faced with your self.  The self that you,we, are all trying to escape from.

This self is the voice in your head, the voice you would take with you even if you managed to escape to the mountain top. What would you do with all that alone time anyway? You’d be bored.

You fear boredom. Boredom is death.

Not because you could actually kill the self by being bored, no matter what your teenager says.  Boredom is death to the self because if you managed to stay present with the boredom, rather than trying and escape from it,  the voice in your head would disappear and inner peace would reveal itself as your true nature.

Boredom is a sign that you are close to the nature of yourself, to the true joy of being.

Try this:

The next time you find yourself wondering if there is more to life, or just feeling uneasy, don’t try and escape from it.

Let the boredom be a meditation.  Watch it.

Boredom, like all states of mind are transitory. Your mom was right, you can’t be bored forever.

Haven’t you ever wondered what is at the end of boredom?  What would that experience be like?

Namaste

When I asked a few people what they thought about the movie, I was struck  by how the various answers said more about the viewer than about the movie.

While I saw a man who was determined to love all people, even his enemies, my husband saw a kind of religious fanaticism on the part of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people.

My friend Judy saw a correlation between what happened to the Tibetan people, the Holocust,  and genocide in Turkey. She said, “Genocide is what happens when the world is silent.”

Cheryl saw, “…one more reason that we should be afraid of China.” She told me she wouldn’t buy Joel Osteen’s greeting cards because they were made in China.

My daughter saw a correlation between China’s imposition of their values on the Tibetan people and the war in Iraq.

It was fascinating to me that what I thought was the “real” message of the movie was lost on my family and friends, and visa versa.  So who’s right?

Of course we are all right because we believe what we see.

Seeing without understanding how consciousness works in this world is the source of interpersonal conflict.

For example:  What would have happened had I pressed my point about the benevolent nature that I perceived in the Dalai Lama with my husband?  Or if I challenged him on his position of religious fanaticism?  We probably would have wound-up arguing.

Being able to understand that we all perceive reality based on what is going on inside in our own heads, is the beginning of inner freedom.  At least that’s been my experience.

What do you think?

Our smart phones and computers are always “on” which means that our thinking minds are always “on” as well.

At all times of the day we are thinking about work, family, kids, politics, etc… Our thinking is compulsive, obsessive, and continuous.

Here is a simple technique to create boundaries within your own mind:

Set aside specific times in your day or week to think on certain matters.

Do you need to be thinking about next Wednesday’s lunch meeting today?  Or can you set aside time to think about it on Monday or Tuesday?  Often times, the answer is “yes” I can wait to think about that.

I use this technique for myself. In fact, I will even schedule time in my calendar to think about and prepare for certain projects.

Get your power back and give your thinking mind it’s due, then it will be less prone to nag you.

What do you think?  Will this technique work for you? Or is the problem that you just have too much to do? I’d love to hear from you

When confronted with a slew of negative or challenging thoughts, you breathe.

When confronted with a negative or challenging situation, you breathe.

Meditation is not about sitting for 20 minutes a day.

It time to take what you do off of your cushion and introduce it into your life, and life will shift.

There isn’t anything inherently wrong with mind, in fact, mind is heaven.  It’s beautiful.

Mind is how we create our internal and external worlds.  That is, we think a thought, believe that the thought is true, and viola! Material manifestation.

Meditation and mindfulness can heal your life because they act to clear away the clutter in mind.

All the voices from your ancestral, cultural, and personal past cloud your mind, confuse you,  and cause you suffering.

Meditation and mindfulness gives you back to yourself, where you will stand in your true power, where you can choose to think upon a thought, or not.

Whenever you try to fix the external circumstances of your life, you cause yourself suffering.

Instead remember that the cause is not “out there,” but “in here.”  Find that place within yourself that hurts.  Breathe into it. Listen to it. Let it go.

Untangle yourself from your mind and life “out there” will follow.

Click here for a free guided meditation

Since I meditate in the morning, these thoughts can be a distraction if I pay to much attention to them.

Here’s what I do to improve my meditation before I meditate:  I make a to-do list in my journal.

If you have a full day ahead of you, all of the stuff you have to do will become a distraction.  In fact, the more important or urgent a task is, the more of a distraction it is going to be.

So write it all down.  The trip to Target, the client phone call, taking your car in for an oil change–put it on paper.  Then when the thought arises in your mind, simply tell yourself, “I’ve already written that down.” You will see how easy it is to refocus on the breath.

Give the important tasks in your day their due.  Write them down. Un-clutter your mind.

P.S.

Making a to-do list before bed will also help you to sleep better

Board meetings, parent/teacher conferences, family issues can all overwhelm even the most seasoned meditator.

When I’m feeling overwhelmed, I practice a simple breathing technique I call the “One, Two Breath.”

• First close your eyes, relax your face and hands, and drop your shoulders away from your ears.

• Feel the weight of your body in the chair (or on the floor) and wiggle your toes, deepening your connection with the ground.

• Feel the breath in the body.  As the chest rises, count “1″ and as the chest falls count “2.” Repeat.

This is a very effective technique that will help to quiet all of the disparate voices in your head and bring “you” back to the forefront of your life.

Much love,

Krista

Some teachers say, “yes, ego is necessary.”

In fact, I’ve had many discussions with students who also believe that ego is necessary.

Freud defined ego as the mediator between the self and the world.  So the argument goes like this, that without an ego we would get hurt or worse. We need  that mediator.

But is that true?  Do you really need the ego to protect you from harm?

Ego by definition is separation.

It is an identity that is created in our minds.  This identity not only creates separation from others, it creates separation from Self/Source/God.

Separation from others is a problem because separation creates  ”subject” and “object” relationships.  That is, “me” and “you;” “us” and “them.”

This sense of separation engenders feelings of  fear because the ego cannot see itself as the “other,’ so it must compete for resources.

For example, from the egoic point of view, there is never ever enough for everyone…there isn’t enough love, material goods, money, food, or beauty to go around.

So ego has a tendency to hoard what it has while at the same time wanting what others have.

In the process, it creates spiritual poverty for itself and material poverty for others.

How does wholeness heal?

The pay-off to releasing the ego is peace of mind, joy, and according to the Buddha, the end of suffering.

In my mind’s eye, a world without ego is a world living in cooperation.

For example, two people want to build a bridge.  The first architect has drawn up plans using a method that she’s used before with great success.  The second person creates a new plan that is more effective then the first.  Both people agree that the second plan is superior and share resources to build the bridge together.

How would you feel now if the situation arose where another person’s plan, idea, or gadget was better than yours? Would you congratulate him? Or would you feel slighted and competitive?

Contemplate how ego serves you.  Listen to the voice in your head. Watch your reactions to other people.  Pay attention to how you feel.  Determine for yourself what has merit for you and what doesn’t.

Come to meditation class.

Namaste

Look for the sameness and that’s where you will find the oneness. But is it true that that sameness leads to Oneness?

Sameness is safe. Sameness means that you are just like me, that you love just like me, digest just like me, that you are human just like me.

Looking for sameness means that I don’t really have to look beyond my own self concepts to find you.

People are afraid to disagree with each other especially when it comes to “important” matters like religion, politics, or raising children because they believe that have to agree in order to be friends. When we agree then we are the same.

But where there is agreement there is no growth. Where there is sameness there is no God in multiplicity.

As a culture we need to learn the art of allowing disagreement and difference.

As long as we listen to one another, disagreements are beautiful. In fact, one of the most powerful phrases in the human language is, “I hear you.” The other is, “I see you.”

I love to hold the energy of allowing people to be themselves, to have their own thoughts and opinions. I love not wanting to change anyone. I love it when I can love people just as they are. When I am doing that, oneness doesn’t matter.

In your mind’s eye, you can see that this path is clear except for the dappled sunlight and the occasional leaf dancing to the rhythm of the wind.

This path is free of obstacles, and that it stretches all the way to the horizon and beyond.

Be on the path and say to yourself quietly, “I know that Power and the Presence of Spirit goes before me. It has made my way clear and It blesses all who come near me.”

Do this visualization often.

Have a beautiful, obstacle free, and blessed afternoon