Month: March 2018

Being at Peace

When we use the term “Being at Peace,” we acknowledge peace as something we are or feel is within us. We sense a lightness of our soul and are in a place we can relax.

This quote “There is no way to Peace. Peace is the way,” shows us that peace comes first not last. Our truest self is perfect Peace.

Rather than striving for things all our lives hoping to find peace, reverse this and be in a state of peace letting lofty goals shift into a way of being.

In a state of peace, we need less and often find more. As we practice a life of peace, we uplift ourselves, and those around us. We create a new lighter self, releasing that which burdens us.

The key to healing is to find this lightness, just being yourself.

A Poem for Spring

The time will come
when, with elation, you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other’s welcome, and say, sit here. Eat.

You will love again the stranger who was your self.

Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.

Take down the love letters from the bookshelf, the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.

Sit. Feast on your life.

by Derek Walcott

Oprah & Deepak offer 21 day Meditation “Shedding the Weight”

, and spare great messages in their 21 Day to inspire and help open the door for change.

Shedding the Weight” is their theme and with spring upon us, what better way to energize. Click on the image below to start Day One today!

 

The Breeze

I was in meditation this weekend and through stillness and deep awareness, I noticed my physical body different or removed from where my consciousness was. This was not an out of body experience and is a very common state for someone who meditates regularly. What this can offer us (me in this case) is a sense of the density or heaviness we might feel or carry in our body. Take away gravity, which is something, everyone on earth encounters and we experience how our body feels to us. This will often reveal patterns of tension and heaviness in our bodies due to limiting or reducing the flow of energy.

Let me roll the clock back just a bit to a warm day last summer. I was walking in a busy area of Ottawa and ahead of me was a young woman possibly in her early twenties. What I notice about her and has stayed with me since was the way her body moved. Every cell in her body from her head to toe was living an individual expression and supporting each other. There were no “needy” cells or groups of cells looking for attention by holding or gripping. Her body floated gracefully, shoulders, arms, and fingers swishing as if completely free. Her torso, hips, legs, and feet moved toward each new step without any regret as if everything was new and exciting. I remember her as “The Breeze” because she moved effortlessly as a physical being.

We have all encountered people like this woman and many of us feel the same way at times. Maybe we have been on holiday and have unwound, stepped back from our daily routine long enough to release our tension and heaviness.

Unwinding the spring and letting every cell in our body dance freely can be a challenge. Becoming “aware” of our distractors and overwhelm is key to stabilize and uplift us in the “now” (our current moment) but also has a cumulative effect on feeling better long-term.

We have all heard the term “go to the breath” or “let the breath be your guide,” and the breath really is a remarkable tool. Once a person masters a few simple breathing exercises they quickly find themselves much more in charge of challenges brought forth in daily life. It becomes easier for us to shift our focus to a state of calm of lightness.

Here is an example you can try on your own. Next time you are waiting in traffic or in a line and your mind focuses on the delay and you start to become impatient, shift your focus to your breath. Breathe in and out mindfully, lengthening your inhale and exhale to allow any tension dissipate. In just a few breath cycles, you should feel more at ease and clear minded. This is a perfect way to flip the switch and step forward to create your life rather than feeling stuck and helpless.

Taking clearly defined and purposeful breaths will lead to awareness, and through awareness, one is able to discover and release tension. Daily life can plant many little-unwanted seeds to clutter our energy. The breath is an opportunity to pull the weeds and allow our physical and energetic garden to flourish!

Look for future posts on how to engage and expand your breath, something vital to living life.

Here is a link to get you started on what is called “equal” or “square” breath.

sama vritti pranayama

by Tom Kelly