Spiritual Solutions

2008 reduces to the number 1 (2+0+0+8=10; 1+0=1) which is the number of new beginnings, inventiveness, pioneering.  The energy of 2008 presents us with a wonderful and unique opportunity to leave the past behind and  begin anew.  Whatever you’ve done or didn’t do no longer matters; what matters is who you are right now and to allow that Beingness and the Allness of who you are to flow forth from you and live as your experience.  If you’ve harmed someone, then make amends.  If you’ve been harmed then forgive.  Not tomorrow but today.  There’s no use taking yesterday’s mental garbage into this pristine moment.   It’s beautiful.  You’re here.  You’re in it.  So be in It consciously.  Be the love you’ve been seeking, be the forgiveness you’ve been seeking, be the blessing that the world has been seeking. 

Popularity: 34% [?]

The energy of the holidays always carries a strong positive vibration of love, hope and charity. It’s a time for acknowledging the blessings of the past year (c’mon there had to be a few), while looking forward to the blessings of the upcoming year. While it’s true that the holidays can also be a time of tremendous stress, don’t let that be an excuse to descend into negative thinking. The infallible law of karma is such that it is impossible to create joy and abundance from an inner state of lack and poverty.

Instead, use the positive vibration of the holiday season to assist you in redirecting your attention away from the voice of the ego (which is always complaining, comparing, defending, judging and criticizing), to the equanimity and harmony of your soul. Make a commitment this holiday season to, “Be the changes that you want to see in the world,” (Ghandi). Use the energy of the season to be loving, hopeful and charitable with yourself first; thereby allowing the river of your wellbeing to flow out into the home, the community and the world. (more…)

Popularity: 19% [?]

Saturday’s Wisdom workshop was amazing!  There were 15 women ranging from their early twenties to women who were in their sixties and maybe even seventies in attendance.  Our main focus was on aligning our desires with our beliefs, in other words how to get the most out of life.  We channeled this energy into how we can improve and heal our relationships.  Because this workshop is so new, I am spending most of the three hours teaching the principles of better living, giving the class brief yet insightful journaling exercises and leading the meditation.  Again, I had a couple of women ask if I could extend the class to an entire afternoon rather than just a few hours…which I am considering.  I am considering it because there isn’t enough time for any meaningful discussion of the topics by the participants.  In any case I am knowing that the subsequent women’s wisdom workshops are going to be even more spiritually enlightening and fun.

Popularity: 29% [?]

Meditation is simply sitting, breathing and being. Sitting is the action that arises from your intention to meditate. It doesn’t matter if you are able to concentrate for only 3 seconds at a time. What matters is that you’re following through on your intention by making the time to sit for your practice. Breathing is the vehicle that connects your mind to the rhythm of your heart. The breath is necessary and nourishing. Breathing consciously quiets the mind, sooths the spirit and calms the body. Being is allowing yourself the freedom to just sit and to breathe; so when you meditate you learn to let go of all the roles that you play throughout your day… employee, friend, spouse, child, or parent.

Meditation is the conscious practice of moving into stillness. Stillness does not arise in moments but is ever present. Stillness is the abyss from which all phenomena arise. Michelangelo has said, “[t]he marble not yet carved can hold the form of every thought the greatest artist has.” In this way too all “things” including your inherent perfection are already present in stillness. Each time you sit in meditation you become the artist whose chisel is the breath and whose hammer is presence of mind, revealing the beauty that is already within. (more…)

Popularity: 11% [?]

The energy of the holidays always carries a strong positive vibration of love, hope and charity. It’s a time of acknowledging the blessings of the past year (c’mon there had to be a few), while looking forward to the blessings of the upcoming year. While it’s true that the holidays can also be a time of tremendous stress, don’t let that be an excuse to descend into negative thinking. The infallible law of karma is such that it is impossible to create joy and abundance from an inner state of lack and poverty. Instead, use the positive vibration of the holiday season to assist you in redirecting your attention away from the voice of the ego (which is always complaining, comparing, defending, judging and criticizing), to the equanimity and harmony of your soul. (more…)

Popularity: 10% [?]

Have you ever had the experience where you’ve driven home, but you don’t remember doing it? It’s almost like you’ve been asleep only to wake up in your driveway. This used to happen to me all of the time when I was in college and at times it was very frightening because I literary felt like I had woken up a block from my house after a long dose. This stopped happening to me once I began to pay attention to what I was thinking and where my mind was going. Paying attention or watching your thoughts serves two purposes; one, you won’t run anyone over on the way home from work and, two you are less likely to suffer from the anxiety, fear and worry that accompany the gaps between what you are doing and what you are thinking.

Your mindfulness practice for this month is to simply pay attention to your thoughts. Notice when you’re thinking about work while you’re at home or when you’re thinking about anything else other than what you are presently doing. It is very easy. You just tell yourself, “I am going to watch my thoughts.” Notice how you feel when your mind is off thinking about the past or the future. Does it create a sense of peace and wellbeing or does it create anxiety and worry? Paying attention to your thoughts is the first step in any practice where your goal is less stress and the cultivation of happiness.

Namasté,

Popularity: 11% [?]