Monday, November 5, 2012 ~ new meditation challenge focusing on Abundance
Day 1 - The Reality of Abundance
Welcome to the Chopra Center 21-Day Meditation Challenge™, Creating Abundance! In today's meditation, we'll take our first steps on our journey into the abundant life.
The word "abundance" can mean different things to different people. For instance, one person may consider amassing great wealth as living an abundant life. Another may define abundance in spiritual terms—to be, do, and have a life filled with love, joy, harmony, peace, health, and vitality. Throughout our time together, we'll explore what abundance is at its core, how we can prepare ourselves to receive more of all good things, and how we can transform any limiting beliefs we may have held up until now.
Personal notes on today's abundance meditation:
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Abundance is an inner state to me that represents a collection of a thoughts, feelings, emotions, and attitudes. There's a perception that abundance is something external like something we achieve, or have, or can prove and show to another. By definition abundance is a very large quantity of something.
So when you look out at the ocean, or a meadow full of flowers, or across your kitchen table, start adding up the quantity of everything before you. Yes, the external things you see, touch, smell or feel. Then start adding up how you feel about it, your thoughts, your emotions and desires. There is an abundance of everything and anything before us each moment of each day. Take time to be still and embrace it.
a·bun·dance/əˈbəndəns/
During this 21 day meditation challenge the necessary ingredient I'm also introducing into my practice is discipline. I am also taking on my gratitude journal, eating extremely healthy food that nourishes my body (I usually do, raising it a level) and exercising everyday whether 20 minutes or 2 hours. Oh and I'm going to sit up when I meditate this time... I would lay down a lot during the last meditation to relax and this time I want to be present more.
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Monday, November 5, 2012
day 1 - The Reality of Abundance
Monday, August 6, 2012
day 22 .. Freedom to Love
a bonus mediation day ... thank you to Deepak Chopra - Chopra Meditation Center for another 21-day mediation challenge... thanks to Louise, who told Shaun, who told Maria, who told me about it. xo
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| "Meditation is not a way of making your mind quiet. It is a way of entering into the quiet that is already there —buried under the 50,000 thoughts the average person thinks every day." —Deepak Chopra |
Welcome to Day 22 - Free to Love
Today's meditation, led by Deepak Chopra, is offered as an extra special gift for your willingness to participate in a series of meditations that can change the world.
We have traveled through many aspects of love in these twenty-one days. We have learned that as we enter into the silence, we reconnect with our real essence, which is pure love—infinite compassion and total interconnectedness with everything that is. Through our journey within, we have reached deeper into our being than ever before. With this new found awareness, we realize that as we make the decision to share our love and joy with the world, these gifts are returned to us in innumerable ways. As more and more people around the world share this experience of interconnectedness, the world can become a place of harmony and love. Thank you for caring about yourself, your relationships, and your world.
Today's meditation, led by Deepak Chopra, is offered as an extra special gift for your willingness to participate in a series of meditations that can change the world.
We have traveled through many aspects of love in these twenty-one days. We have learned that as we enter into the silence, we reconnect with our real essence, which is pure love—infinite compassion and total interconnectedness with everything that is. Through our journey within, we have reached deeper into our being than ever before. With this new found awareness, we realize that as we make the decision to share our love and joy with the world, these gifts are returned to us in innumerable ways. As more and more people around the world share this experience of interconnectedness, the world can become a place of harmony and love. Thank you for caring about yourself, your relationships, and your world.
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| Centering Thought for Today: "Because I always have a choice, I choose love." |
day 21 ... Loving the World
we did it .... 21 days and meditation is now becoming a habit
I chose to meditate down by the water
--- Loving the World as she changed and sang before me.
I chose to meditate down by the water
--- Loving the World as she changed and sang before me.
Welcome to Day 21 - Loving the World
Congratulations—you did it! Today is the final day of this Chopra Center 21-Day Meditation Challenge™. In today's meditation we will review the concepts we learned in the past three weeks that have brought us to our full transformation. You took the steps necessary to change your life and make a difference in the world. You registered, listened to the messages, joined your fellow meditators around the world in silence, and journeyed into the field of pure potentiality.
Congratulations—you did it! Today is the final day of this Chopra Center 21-Day Meditation Challenge™. In today's meditation we will review the concepts we learned in the past three weeks that have brought us to our full transformation. You took the steps necessary to change your life and make a difference in the world. You registered, listened to the messages, joined your fellow meditators around the world in silence, and journeyed into the field of pure potentiality.
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"You have all the ingredients and the recipe to make a magnificent life now. Now is the time to mix them together and see what you can create. It's all about love. It's always been about love. Love is the only thing that's real." —David Simon |
During the first week we looked back in order to bring into the light memories that required healing and release. The second week we explored the properties of the heart, and how, when we pay attention to its messages, our lives flow easily and effortlessly. Building on the foundation of the first two weeks, we completed our Free to Love challenge by exploring how we can live from love and compassion every day of our lives, beginning with self-love, loving everyone else, and expanding to global love. We learned that peace and harmony in the world is possible, provided we, as individuals, live from heart-centered awareness. Congratulations on making and keeping your commitment to increase the level of love, joy, peace and harmony in your community, and in the world at large! Namasté.
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Centering Thought for Today: "I go forth in life with new resolve to live from my heart, living in love wherever I go." |
Saturday, August 4, 2012
day 20 ... Loving Your Beloved
day 20 ... now we're getting somewhere -- loving your beloved
this meditation is a beautiful promise of the type of love I'm looking to create with the man who will become my beloved
In the meditation there is reference to Kahlil Jibran's words from the book Prophet (which I own because Cassandra is a prophetess in greek mythology) and this resonated with me
Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
to return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.
This is one of his more famous work... his lyrical prose which has become a staple of secular weddings and one that I'm also quite fond of...
ON MARRIAGE
Kahlil Gibran
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.
this meditation is a beautiful promise of the type of love I'm looking to create with the man who will become my beloved
In the meditation there is reference to Kahlil Jibran's words from the book Prophet (which I own because Cassandra is a prophetess in greek mythology) and this resonated with me
Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
to return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.
This is one of his more famous work... his lyrical prose which has become a staple of secular weddings and one that I'm also quite fond of...
ON MARRIAGE
Kahlil Gibran
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.
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Centering Thought for Today: "I am ready to surrender to the sacred love within me and within you." |
Welcome to Day 20 - Loving Your Beloved
For today's meditation, we will look at the concept of sacred love: the exquisite, blissful state that comes to us when we love from the pureness of our spirit. It is this purity of mind and heart that draws more and more love to us. In The Path to Love, Deepak Chopra reveals the qualities of sacred love. He writes, "You and your beloved are walking a path never walked in exactly the same way by anyone else who has ever lived. You do not take a breath, think a thought, have a wisp of feeling that existed before, and the intimacy you build together will never be known again."
Deepak Chopra teaches two powerful lessons: pure love is always inclusive, and other people, particularly those closest to us, are perfect mirrors of our Self. We will contemplate these concepts today. The essence of sacred love is described by the poet Rumi, "This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. First to let go of life, finally, to take a step without feet."
For today's meditation, we will look at the concept of sacred love: the exquisite, blissful state that comes to us when we love from the pureness of our spirit. It is this purity of mind and heart that draws more and more love to us. In The Path to Love, Deepak Chopra reveals the qualities of sacred love. He writes, "You and your beloved are walking a path never walked in exactly the same way by anyone else who has ever lived. You do not take a breath, think a thought, have a wisp of feeling that existed before, and the intimacy you build together will never be known again."
Deepak Chopra teaches two powerful lessons: pure love is always inclusive, and other people, particularly those closest to us, are perfect mirrors of our Self. We will contemplate these concepts today. The essence of sacred love is described by the poet Rumi, "This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. First to let go of life, finally, to take a step without feet."
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"The manifestations of love will multiply because my lover will become sacred to me; that is why love is called holy, because it expresses wholeness." —Deepak Chopra |
day 19 ... Loving Your Family
this post comes a day late... though I did my mediation at 11:11p last night
What a lovely one. Loving Your Family and this extends beyond biological family - it's the family you create from a bond that is formed. I've always had an extended family beyond my own. If someone said "invite your family" my guest list would be diverse.
There are four I want to honour that are SO much like my family, family - like sisters and a brothers to me - Meghan Innes +family, Taya Hawes-Puiu +family, Shaun Lawless +Maria (my best BFF) and John aka JJK +my Will+Grace. There are many more deeply routed amazing friends that I cherish, my history with these four is untouchable and unconditional - like family. We have been through SO MUCH together, if you knew you'd understand the distinction in my heart.
I'm lucky and I love my biological family dearly and unconditionally.
This picture is my older sister and my younger brother - I'm the middle child. About 1 year apart in age.
My family is a little larger than this now... my mom and two half-sisters and my dad and step-mom. My darling nephew's & niece. My sister's girlfriend. My loving grama's (on my dad's side living with me (german) - on my mom's side (italian/russian) passed away a few years ago) ... on my mom's side there are five cousins (two we've never met), two uncles & an aunt. Also intrigued by how there can be people you're related to and you've never met or rarely see.
Having becoming estranged for a few years from part my family in my late teens and then later just due to distance living in Toronto for six years -- I learnt to build family around me. I've been part of A LOT of different families christmas festivities and I've witness A LOT of what family is ... and really family is just that - family. The good, the bad, the ugly. And that's what I love about it.
My best friends that I consider family are because we've gotten to that place of true unconditional love and it was born ofter out of the bad and ugly times... getting us way past just the good times. These loving individuals are my family too. And I'm a better loving person for knowing them.
It reminds me now of the buddhist teachings that were brought into my life earlier this year ... the guidance always to go deeper into anger, resentment, suffering ... go deeper, to get to this pure place of love. To open your heart further is to go deeper. I believe we do this with family... perhaps a little unknowingly and if we could trust doing this more or honour when we find someone willing to "go there" with us. Then we have that unconditional bond of 'family.'
Yet nothing has my love more than my biological family. They are the souls that chose to come to this earth together. In today's meditation I honour them, my extended family and myself - this is a gift.
What a lovely one. Loving Your Family and this extends beyond biological family - it's the family you create from a bond that is formed. I've always had an extended family beyond my own. If someone said "invite your family" my guest list would be diverse.
There are four I want to honour that are SO much like my family, family - like sisters and a brothers to me - Meghan Innes +family, Taya Hawes-Puiu +family, Shaun Lawless +Maria (my best BFF) and John aka JJK +my Will+Grace. There are many more deeply routed amazing friends that I cherish, my history with these four is untouchable and unconditional - like family. We have been through SO MUCH together, if you knew you'd understand the distinction in my heart.
I'm lucky and I love my biological family dearly and unconditionally.
This picture is my older sister and my younger brother - I'm the middle child. About 1 year apart in age.
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| Centering Thought for Today: "Today I commit to loving my family unconditionally." |
My family is a little larger than this now... my mom and two half-sisters and my dad and step-mom. My darling nephew's & niece. My sister's girlfriend. My loving grama's (on my dad's side living with me (german) - on my mom's side (italian/russian) passed away a few years ago) ... on my mom's side there are five cousins (two we've never met), two uncles & an aunt. Also intrigued by how there can be people you're related to and you've never met or rarely see.
Having becoming estranged for a few years from part my family in my late teens and then later just due to distance living in Toronto for six years -- I learnt to build family around me. I've been part of A LOT of different families christmas festivities and I've witness A LOT of what family is ... and really family is just that - family. The good, the bad, the ugly. And that's what I love about it.
My best friends that I consider family are because we've gotten to that place of true unconditional love and it was born ofter out of the bad and ugly times... getting us way past just the good times. These loving individuals are my family too. And I'm a better loving person for knowing them.
It reminds me now of the buddhist teachings that were brought into my life earlier this year ... the guidance always to go deeper into anger, resentment, suffering ... go deeper, to get to this pure place of love. To open your heart further is to go deeper. I believe we do this with family... perhaps a little unknowingly and if we could trust doing this more or honour when we find someone willing to "go there" with us. Then we have that unconditional bond of 'family.'
Yet nothing has my love more than my biological family. They are the souls that chose to come to this earth together. In today's meditation I honour them, my extended family and myself - this is a gift.
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| "The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of the same family grow up under the same roof." —Richard Bach |
Welcome to Day 19 - Loving Your Family
In today's meditation, we will explore the value of family relationships, and how someone can be considered family without being biologically related. Known as the Mother of Family Therapy, psychotherapist Virginia Satir wrote, "Feelings of worth flourish in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible—the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family."
We can live our dharma, our true purpose in life, by practicing those attributes in all of our relationships: tolerance, clear and loving communication, and creating an atmosphere of love wherever we go. Here, in this family of meditation enthusiasts, that nourishing atmosphere exists. You have found the supportive, safe haven called family.
In today's meditation, we will explore the value of family relationships, and how someone can be considered family without being biologically related. Known as the Mother of Family Therapy, psychotherapist Virginia Satir wrote, "Feelings of worth flourish in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible—the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family."
We can live our dharma, our true purpose in life, by practicing those attributes in all of our relationships: tolerance, clear and loving communication, and creating an atmosphere of love wherever we go. Here, in this family of meditation enthusiasts, that nourishing atmosphere exists. You have found the supportive, safe haven called family.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
day 18 ... Loving Your Self
this day couldn't have come on a better day - haha.
I'm a bit sad that I won't have any friends visit me on the beautiful sunshine coast this august long weekend... understandably my friends had to cancel coming and so did my plans for kayaking, hiking, swimming, laughing, eating, drinking and all the usual merriment too. I love where I live - and people love where they live - so it's balancing the two. I could go in the city or somewhere else however that's always my compromise and I want to be home.
and that sadness let's other thoughts creep in ... so I took time to meditate by the water yesterday and first thing this morning. Grounded back in my heart, with trust and love.
I will have an awesome weekend -- it will be what it is and that will be great.
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"Find the love you seek, by first finding the love within yourself. Learn to rest in that place within you that is your true home." —Sri Sri Ravi Shankar |
Welcome to Day 18 - Loving Your Self
In today's meditation we will discover that loving one's Self is the prerequisite for giving and receiving love from everyone else. When you love that which you are, including any part of you that you would like to change, you will release any expectations of others, have compassion for whatever they may be experiencing, and accept them just the way they are.
In The Path to Love, Deepak Chopra provides the guidelines for building and living from self-love. He writes,
In today's meditation we will discover that loving one's Self is the prerequisite for giving and receiving love from everyone else. When you love that which you are, including any part of you that you would like to change, you will release any expectations of others, have compassion for whatever they may be experiencing, and accept them just the way they are.
In The Path to Love, Deepak Chopra provides the guidelines for building and living from self-love. He writes,
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| "Self-love grows when you trust that the universe is on your side, form your desires from the heart and watch the higher Self carry them out, believe that you are enough in and of yourself, heed the tenderness and sweetness of your love for others, put your attention on positive energies in every situation, honor your own needs without having to seek outside approval, and cultivate the peace of inner silence." |
We will explore many of these concepts as we begin our journey into the spiritual realm of silence and peace today.
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Centering Thought for Today: "I love and honor my Self, just the way I am." |
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
day 17 ... Loving Change
this is perfect for today - it's been the theme especially last month or so and I am LOVING CHANGE
Welcome to Day 17 - Loving Change
In today's meditation we will discover that loving change is important to your happiness and well-being. How we react to a change may depend on the results we think it will bring. We may feel excited about change that involves a gain, such as a new baby or a promotion. But we may worry about a change that involves a loss, such as a divorce or a move to a new place. We love changes and look forward to them when we make the decisions. We don't often like changes imposed upon us. We view them as challenges we would rather not handle, instead of the opportunities they truly are.
Learn to love all changes, whether they come from you or from someone else. Their value will eventually be revealed. In his book, Free to Love, Free to Heal, David Simon wrote, "Change is the only constant of life—the sole, steadfast friend we can trust. Yet we often resist it, holding on to memories and situations that long ago ceased to serve us." Move on to new, exciting experiences with ease and grace. When, in the future, you look back, you'll find the changes were to propel you further along the evolutionary path to enlightenment.
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| Centering Thought for Today: "The more I love and embrace change, the more my life unfolds easily and effortlessly." |
Welcome to Day 17 - Loving Change
In today's meditation we will discover that loving change is important to your happiness and well-being. How we react to a change may depend on the results we think it will bring. We may feel excited about change that involves a gain, such as a new baby or a promotion. But we may worry about a change that involves a loss, such as a divorce or a move to a new place. We love changes and look forward to them when we make the decisions. We don't often like changes imposed upon us. We view them as challenges we would rather not handle, instead of the opportunities they truly are.
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| "Change is the only constant of life— the sole, steadfast friend we can trust. Yet we often resist it, holding on to memories and situations that long ago ceased to serve us. |
Learn to love all changes, whether they come from you or from someone else. Their value will eventually be revealed. In his book, Free to Love, Free to Heal, David Simon wrote, "Change is the only constant of life—the sole, steadfast friend we can trust. Yet we often resist it, holding on to memories and situations that long ago ceased to serve us." Move on to new, exciting experiences with ease and grace. When, in the future, you look back, you'll find the changes were to propel you further along the evolutionary path to enlightenment.
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| "In rivers, that which you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes. So it is with present time." —Leonardo da Vinci |
day 16 ... Loving What Is
I like today's mediation - I did it mid-evening and it was great to get centered back into Loving What Is
Opening new doors, exploring new possibilities, listening and paying attention to the universe ... and sometimes take time out to get grounded in the universe has the game plan and just go with the flow and Love What Is - well, is just what I needed today. My heart was speaking to me today and take time out to mediate was healing. And now wrapping my day up at 1:00a which seems to be the trend lately has me embracing that in this moment ...
Opening new doors, exploring new possibilities, listening and paying attention to the universe ... and sometimes take time out to get grounded in the universe has the game plan and just go with the flow and Love What Is - well, is just what I needed today. My heart was speaking to me today and take time out to mediate was healing. And now wrapping my day up at 1:00a which seems to be the trend lately has me embracing that in this moment ...
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| Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice. Better than knowledge is meditation. But better still is surrender of attachment to results, because there follows immediate peace." —Bhagavad Gita |
In today's meditation we will discover that there is a divine plan working for us—all the time. The cosmic computer of the universe has created us to be, do and have everything we want, need and desire. Once we let go of the ego, which craves security in the form of physical needs and outside approval, we can surrender to the most powerful spirit within.
Open yourself to the exquisite power that can summon up the field of all possibilities, where it is effortless for you to manifest your desires, provided they are desires of the heart.
Open yourself to the exquisite power that can summon up the field of all possibilities, where it is effortless for you to manifest your desires, provided they are desires of the heart.
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| David Simon said, "Your attachment to people, things, and beliefs makes you feel vulnerable when they fail to meet your expectations." |
Learn to love what is, let go, and surrender to the mind of the universe.
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| Centering Thought for Today: "As I surrender the need to influence, and love what is, my life gets better and better." |
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
day 15 ... Living from Love
the title would make you wonder... do we not live from love.
maybe not as consciously and whole-heartedly as we could every day.
maybe some days you want a break from living from love.
not me.
I learnt this year it's okay for me to feel the darker feelings and that they actually allow you to live more from love when you're not resisting them.... cause at the heart of the matter it is all about love.
maybe not as consciously and whole-heartedly as we could every day.
maybe some days you want a break from living from love.
not me.
I learnt this year it's okay for me to feel the darker feelings and that they actually allow you to live more from love when you're not resisting them.... cause at the heart of the matter it is all about love.
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| "No matter what has happened, you have an infinite capacity for love." —David Simon |
Today we begin our final week of Free to Love. If you have been with us from day one, congratulations! If you began yesterday, or today, congratulations!
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| As Lao Tzu said, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." |
You have taken the step out of the physical realm of life's ups and downs, and have stepped into the quantum reality of your true Self, your spirit.
We will continue this week by exploring how to choose love in every moment. When love is our goal, we find it everywhere—from the people in our lives to the events of each day. In the place of love, all is well all the time.
Meditation is a powerful way to reconnect with the most loving part of our being, our essential Self. Your willingness to practice meditation daily is a gesture of love—love for yourself, and love for all that is. You have made a great choice. Let us continue on our journey into the exquisite miracle that is love.
We will continue this week by exploring how to choose love in every moment. When love is our goal, we find it everywhere—from the people in our lives to the events of each day. In the place of love, all is well all the time.
Meditation is a powerful way to reconnect with the most loving part of our being, our essential Self. Your willingness to practice meditation daily is a gesture of love—love for yourself, and love for all that is. You have made a great choice. Let us continue on our journey into the exquisite miracle that is love.
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| Centering Thought for Today: "As I notice love all around me, I look for more ways to love." |
Sunday, July 29, 2012
day 14 ... Healing the Heart
today I am with Maria, Shaun and baby Livi -- so I am surrounded by love and by there people that although I've always known they love me... I am experiencing more and more each day just how much they love me. And I can tell you it's more than 100% returned by me.
two weeks of ongoing meditation... I know I'm creating a life long rhythm and I'm grateful.
I'd like to incorporate more into the middle of my day... morning and night are great and there are times throughout the day where I am more and more recognizing and saying to myself "this would be a great moment to stop and meditate ... and yet I haven't embraced that yet" ... adding that to my game this week.
Day 14 .. Healing the Heart
two weeks of ongoing meditation... I know I'm creating a life long rhythm and I'm grateful.
I'd like to incorporate more into the middle of my day... morning and night are great and there are times throughout the day where I am more and more recognizing and saying to myself "this would be a great moment to stop and meditate ... and yet I haven't embraced that yet" ... adding that to my game this week.
Day 14 .. Healing the Heart
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| Centering Thought for Today: "I am open and ready to give and receive more love than ever before." |
From Chopra Center... Congratulations! You've kept your commitment to meditate daily for two weeks. You have dedicated yourself to extend peace to the world by experiencing peace within yourself.
During the first week we delved into the past, brought up long held memories one last time, and let go of that which no longer serves us. In the second week we explored the qualities of the heart, and how this magnificent organ sends us messages to lift us higher on the spiritual plane. Now is the time to move forward with a lighter heart, a freed mind, and a new view of love and loving.
You are ready to open your heart wide to love. This week we will explore many different aspects of love, from loving ourselves and expanding that love to encompass the world. According to Deepak Chopra, "A single point in the heart can expand to heal the whole world."
During the first week we delved into the past, brought up long held memories one last time, and let go of that which no longer serves us. In the second week we explored the qualities of the heart, and how this magnificent organ sends us messages to lift us higher on the spiritual plane. Now is the time to move forward with a lighter heart, a freed mind, and a new view of love and loving.
You are ready to open your heart wide to love. This week we will explore many different aspects of love, from loving ourselves and expanding that love to encompass the world. According to Deepak Chopra, "A single point in the heart can expand to heal the whole world."
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| "Love takes us out of the mundane and the predictable into the magical and miraculous... Love expands our sense of self, which, once expanded, never returns to its original state." —David Simon |
Saturday, July 28, 2012
day 13 ... Your Joyful Heart
oh joy !
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| Centering Thought for Today: "A happy heart is a healthy heart." |
Welcome to Day 13 - Your Joyful Heart
Today's meditation will focus on the benefits of keeping joy in your heart and how to maintain a joyful state, even when life isn't exactly going as we wish. When your heart is happy, the chemicals it produces are life enhancing. Happiness and joy result from total acceptance of living in the present moment. How do you keep your heart happy? By living in and from love.
Today's meditation will focus on the benefits of keeping joy in your heart and how to maintain a joyful state, even when life isn't exactly going as we wish. When your heart is happy, the chemicals it produces are life enhancing. Happiness and joy result from total acceptance of living in the present moment. How do you keep your heart happy? By living in and from love.
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| "We are born to be happy, to be abundantly supplied with every good thing, to have fun in living, to consciously unite with the Divine Power that is around us and within us, and to grow and expand forever." —Ernest Holmes |
Love yourself; love your family; love the world. You will be rewarded with more joy than you have ever imagined or experienced. Joy is the ultimate expression of blissful enlightenment. The art of joyful living is captured well in the following quote by Friedrich Nietsche:
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| "We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh." Friedrich Nietsche |
day 12 ... Your Grateful Heart
I am grateful, all the time. I'd like to make a habit of it each morning and night ....
going to write in a journal each night was I was grateful for
List now 10 things you are grateful for... let's start now
1. the ability to see
2. photography - beautiful images
3. moments in movies that make me smile or laugh
4. a place I can call home
5. friends who stand by me
6. my morning cup of tea
7. shaun for all he's doing for me to produce this corp video
8. maria for all our friendship all the way back to the beginning for not letting me push her away when I got hurt
9. my grama - cause all my memories with her are happy
10. livi whose brought a tremendous amount of love into my life and touched my heart
that's just a start .... I could go on forever and I will xo
going to write in a journal each night was I was grateful for
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| "Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world." —John Milton |
1. the ability to see
2. photography - beautiful images
3. moments in movies that make me smile or laugh
4. a place I can call home
5. friends who stand by me
6. my morning cup of tea
7. shaun for all he's doing for me to produce this corp video
8. maria for all our friendship all the way back to the beginning for not letting me push her away when I got hurt
9. my grama - cause all my memories with her are happy
10. livi whose brought a tremendous amount of love into my life and touched my heart
that's just a start .... I could go on forever and I will xo
Welcome to Day 12 - Your Grateful Heart
Today's meditation will focus on gratitude, called the prayer of affluence, because gratitude for what we have draws more abundance to us. How many times a day do we give thanks—to the Universe, to our friends and family, or to people we encounter each day? We have so many things in our life to be grateful for. Beyond any material possessions, health is a gift, a child's smile is a gift, watching the sun rise and set is a gift, waking up in the morning is the ultimate gift of another day of life.
To live in a state of gratitude, we have to learn to expand our awareness of the gifts we have been given, the bounty the unlimited Universe has handed to us for simply being. Meditation is the ultimate path to expanded awareness. Deepak Chopra writes, "The overall purpose of meditation is...learning to relate to awareness itself, the purest level of experience."
Today's meditation will focus on gratitude, called the prayer of affluence, because gratitude for what we have draws more abundance to us. How many times a day do we give thanks—to the Universe, to our friends and family, or to people we encounter each day? We have so many things in our life to be grateful for. Beyond any material possessions, health is a gift, a child's smile is a gift, watching the sun rise and set is a gift, waking up in the morning is the ultimate gift of another day of life.
To live in a state of gratitude, we have to learn to expand our awareness of the gifts we have been given, the bounty the unlimited Universe has handed to us for simply being. Meditation is the ultimate path to expanded awareness. Deepak Chopra writes, "The overall purpose of meditation is...learning to relate to awareness itself, the purest level of experience."
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| Centering Thought for Today: "I am grateful for everything in my life, knowing all is in perfect, divine order." |
Thursday, July 26, 2012
day 11 ... Your Romantic Heart
today's morning meditation was beautiful....
Deepak has us explore the path to love and the distinction being falling in love from being in love... love from falling in love, the entrance point to loves eternal journey, the stages for us to explore from attraction, infatuated, courtship, intimacy -each with it's own special spiritual experience.
"... love rooted in the physical plane ... change is enviable"
"... the unchangeable bliss of Pure love happens when we are willing to go deeper"
"... in the depths of our souls the ultimate rewards of ecstasy resides"
"... the second stage of love is surrender.... falling in love is over, being in love begins and being is not a physical state, it's a state of the soul"
"... this state involved surrendering.... surrendering the needs of ego to needs of spirit - the need to evolve and grow"
"... excitement, lust, enchantment are turned into compassion, trust, and devotion"
"... what creates a state of romance is to see yourself as loveable"
"... we are in relationships to serve each other and to serve the world"
"... what can I contribute to this relationship to make it sweeter"
"... to move to the final stage, which is ecstasy, is move towards more harmony, more sweetness, more compassion and more trust"
"... ecstasy is the final stage of intimacy with yourself"
"... love changes with the passage of time, it never diminishes, it's always present in it's fullness"
Deepak has us explore the path to love and the distinction being falling in love from being in love... love from falling in love, the entrance point to loves eternal journey, the stages for us to explore from attraction, infatuated, courtship, intimacy -each with it's own special spiritual experience.
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| Centering Thought for Today: "Today I am willing to surrender into the deepest levels of romantic, spiritual love." |
"... love rooted in the physical plane ... change is enviable"
"... the unchangeable bliss of Pure love happens when we are willing to go deeper"
"... in the depths of our souls the ultimate rewards of ecstasy resides"
"... the second stage of love is surrender.... falling in love is over, being in love begins and being is not a physical state, it's a state of the soul"
"... this state involved surrendering.... surrendering the needs of ego to needs of spirit - the need to evolve and grow"
"... excitement, lust, enchantment are turned into compassion, trust, and devotion"
"... what creates a state of romance is to see yourself as loveable"
"... we are in relationships to serve each other and to serve the world"
"... what can I contribute to this relationship to make it sweeter"
"... to move to the final stage, which is ecstasy, is move towards more harmony, more sweetness, more compassion and more trust"
"... ecstasy is the final stage of intimacy with yourself"
"... love changes with the passage of time, it never diminishes, it's always present in it's fullness"
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| "It is your birthright to live a life abundant in love. Make the commitment today to open your heart and let your love flow." —David Simon |
day 10 ... Your Giving Heart
almost midnight and time for my nightly meditation which is almost a morning one
enjoy the images as I love visuals to accompany our mediation
enjoy the images as I love visuals to accompany our mediation
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| "It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself." —Ralph Waldo Emerson |
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| Centering Thought for Today: "Today and every day I find simple ways to give to everyone I meet." |
Welcome to Day 10 - Your Giving Heart
In today's meditation we will focus on how a giving heart brings abundant benefits to your life. Some charities advertise, "Give 'til it hurts." These are strange words, since there is almost nothing that feels as good as giving. And you cannot give without receiving some reward. Offer a hug to someone and feel the sensations in your heart when they reach out to hug you back. Give a cookie to your child and bask in the smile that reaches across his face. Allow someone to move in front of you at the checkout line in the grocery store, acknowledge the other person's smile, and notice how good you feel.
If you wake up every morning feeling less than exceedingly grateful and utterly in love with life, find a way to give of yourself today: a smile, a hug, a compliment, a flower. Don't give 'til it hurts; give 'til it feels fantastic! Deepak Chopra writes, "Total commitment to giving makes receiving automatic—it is the other half of a natural cycle."
In today's meditation we will focus on how a giving heart brings abundant benefits to your life. Some charities advertise, "Give 'til it hurts." These are strange words, since there is almost nothing that feels as good as giving. And you cannot give without receiving some reward. Offer a hug to someone and feel the sensations in your heart when they reach out to hug you back. Give a cookie to your child and bask in the smile that reaches across his face. Allow someone to move in front of you at the checkout line in the grocery store, acknowledge the other person's smile, and notice how good you feel.
If you wake up every morning feeling less than exceedingly grateful and utterly in love with life, find a way to give of yourself today: a smile, a hug, a compliment, a flower. Don't give 'til it hurts; give 'til it feels fantastic! Deepak Chopra writes, "Total commitment to giving makes receiving automatic—it is the other half of a natural cycle."
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
day 9 ... Your Intuitive Heart
day 9 ... my intuitive heart
I've been meditating each morning and night. I'm noticing I love the process of mediation when waking however my mind is eager to become engaged with the activities of the day and my thoughts compete with the necessary silence. Often I have to repeat the meditation as it takes the first attempt to gain control. At night my mind is willing to give over to my heart and be quiet. Today I did not meditate in the morning. My heart was heavy all day and the pressure in my chest appeared again. Ah yes, I hear you my friend. So tonight's meditation and a new day for meditation in the morning.
Had my last of 11 EFT (energy freedom treatments aka tapping) tonight. www.eftshifts.com
Did most of the tapping on myself and create the last of my fundamental shifts. Look out world, I'm back! Let my heart lead the way and may the head follow. Not the other way around anymore.
I've been meditating each morning and night. I'm noticing I love the process of mediation when waking however my mind is eager to become engaged with the activities of the day and my thoughts compete with the necessary silence. Often I have to repeat the meditation as it takes the first attempt to gain control. At night my mind is willing to give over to my heart and be quiet. Today I did not meditate in the morning. My heart was heavy all day and the pressure in my chest appeared again. Ah yes, I hear you my friend. So tonight's meditation and a new day for meditation in the morning.
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| Deep in the heart every mystery of spirit is hidden. Only from soul can soul draw its secrets, Not from any page or eloquent speech. The heart of the matter is Soul, nothing else |
Welcome to Day 9 - Your Intuitive Heart
In today's meditation we will discover the powerful intuitive capacity of the heart. Intuition is defined as "direct perception of truth or fact, independent of any reasoning process." David Simon wrote in Free to Love, Free to Heal, "In the West, awareness, intelligence and discrimination have been localized in the brain, but in Eastern thought there is such a thing as heart intelligence. This is the recognition of an inherent intelligence that can be accessed through attention to sensations in the physiology."
In our highly technological world, we often use our minds to solve problems. It is good to develop intellectual prowess; however, there are some things in life that are "independent of any reasoning process." This is where you can depend on your heart to lead you—from love, to love.
As we explore what it means to pay attention to our inner knowing through our heart centers, reflect on the ancient wisdom of the masters like Aristotle who understood, "Intuition is the source of all scientific knowledge."
In today's meditation we will discover the powerful intuitive capacity of the heart. Intuition is defined as "direct perception of truth or fact, independent of any reasoning process." David Simon wrote in Free to Love, Free to Heal, "In the West, awareness, intelligence and discrimination have been localized in the brain, but in Eastern thought there is such a thing as heart intelligence. This is the recognition of an inherent intelligence that can be accessed through attention to sensations in the physiology."
In our highly technological world, we often use our minds to solve problems. It is good to develop intellectual prowess; however, there are some things in life that are "independent of any reasoning process." This is where you can depend on your heart to lead you—from love, to love.
As we explore what it means to pay attention to our inner knowing through our heart centers, reflect on the ancient wisdom of the masters like Aristotle who understood, "Intuition is the source of all scientific knowledge."
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"More and more I learn to trust the intuition of my heart." |
Had my last of 11 EFT (energy freedom treatments aka tapping) tonight. www.eftshifts.com
Did most of the tapping on myself and create the last of my fundamental shifts. Look out world, I'm back! Let my heart lead the way and may the head follow. Not the other way around anymore.
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| "Whenever a choice needs to be made in any area of life, your body provides a message of either comfort or discomfort, and for most of us the message is felt in the heart." —David Simon |
Monday, July 23, 2012
day 8 ... Your Heart Center
another beautiful meditation .... yuuumm, yuuumm, yuuumm
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"The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called love and feel the depth, the delight, the ecstasy of it, you will discover that for you the world is transformed." —Jiddu Krishnamurti |
Welcome to Day 8 - Your Heart Center
Welcome to the second week of the challenge! Today we will begin our journey of "Healing the Heart," by exploring how your entire life stems from the core of your being—your heart center. This week we will look closely at the different qualities of the heart beginning with how intuition is born there, moving on to its innate characteristics of givingness and gratitude. We will then discover how we can embrace joy and romance by inviting these elements into our hearts, and subsequently, into our lives.
With an open mind and an open heart, we can live each day from the level of spirit. Deepak Chopra reminds us, "There is a center in the body where love and spirit are joined, and that center is the heart." Let us remember that spirit and heart connectedness as we explore what it means to love wholly and completely, with unbounded enthusiasm for life.
Welcome to the second week of the challenge! Today we will begin our journey of "Healing the Heart," by exploring how your entire life stems from the core of your being—your heart center. This week we will look closely at the different qualities of the heart beginning with how intuition is born there, moving on to its innate characteristics of givingness and gratitude. We will then discover how we can embrace joy and romance by inviting these elements into our hearts, and subsequently, into our lives.
With an open mind and an open heart, we can live each day from the level of spirit. Deepak Chopra reminds us, "There is a center in the body where love and spirit are joined, and that center is the heart." Let us remember that spirit and heart connectedness as we explore what it means to love wholly and completely, with unbounded enthusiasm for life.
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Centering Thought for Today: "My heart center is open and receptive to love." |
Sunday, July 22, 2012
day 7 ... Freedom to Feel Again
I loved yesterday's guided meditation... and today this was my favourite one so far. Beautifully guided mediation by Deepak Chopra himself. Wow does he has an awesome voice. At first all I kept hearing was the Buddha Bar song Desire that Deepak and Demi Moore narrated. Sexy. http://youtu.be/pc8tO52EVsk
Then I got focused and was carried away .... I choose love. I choose love. I choose love.
Then I got focused and was carried away .... I choose love. I choose love. I choose love.
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| "Like the tiny spark of fire that consumes a forest, the spark of love is all you need to experience love in its full power and glory, in all its aspects, earthly and divine." —Deepak Chopra |
From today's email.... we're onto Week 2 and the theme of listening and leading from your heart which has been my mantra for the past few months. It had to be as my heart decided to get MY ATTENTION for the past few months with irregular heart beats. At first skipping every fourth beat, eventually relaxing to skipping every twelfth beat and then more odd sensation of my whole chest vibrating like a drum and other times feelings of someone putting pressure on my chest for it was harder to breathe. Now it's back to a normal rhythm 95% of the time and so it doesn't feel the need to throw a tantrum to get my attention--- I listen to it often. It guides me. I share this because I believe my heart had been speaking to me for a very long time and I drowned out the sound, just like I do the sound of the refrigerator humming.... so it needed to be a little more dramatic to get my attention. Like I think my refrigerator would too. Just the consequences are quite different. I think many of us are like this with our own body. So I invite you to take more time in your day to quiet all else around you and listen, just listen and pay attention to your bodies voice. I bet we'd all be healthier and happier for it. I know I am. I am back to the essence of me.
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| Centering Thought for Today: "Today I commit to giving and receiving love in its full power and glory." |
picture courtesy of Kirstie, my dear friend in Maui -- a love and a light to this world. I borrowed from her facebook xoxo
Saturday, July 21, 2012
day 6 ... Rituals of Release
Her voice guides us... "today is the day we're going to forgive, to let go and to free ourselves to accept the blissful, excitement of the future..." she guides us to our sacred place - mine is always the same and incorporates all the usual places suggested - a meadow, leaning against a tree, on top of a mountain, looking out over an ocean. I always want to have it all.
Rituals comfort us because they are familiar and easily repeatable. Many rituals are used to symbolize ancient practices of purification... often water or fire are used in these rituals. Sometimes earth or wind.
Over the past few months I crave water, being by water, immersed in water, gazing out over it.... one gypsy I met along my path said I may have too much heat in my heart and I need to cool it. I am a fire sign, the Sagittarius and seek the heat of life often.
... it's been time to cool and calm my heart through rituals with water.
And then she guides us on top of cloud we forgive, let go and release...
David Simon instructed, "The human mind is adept at ignoring emotional pain until it builds up to the point where it can no longer be ignored." Today gives you the gift of healing and letting go through the ritual of release. Trust that in this ritual you will be surrounded by light and love, knowing that the intention of this healing is to lift you up and allow you to soar.
Rituals comfort us because they are familiar and easily repeatable. Many rituals are used to symbolize ancient practices of purification... often water or fire are used in these rituals. Sometimes earth or wind.
Over the past few months I crave water, being by water, immersed in water, gazing out over it.... one gypsy I met along my path said I may have too much heat in my heart and I need to cool it. I am a fire sign, the Sagittarius and seek the heat of life often.
... it's been time to cool and calm my heart through rituals with water.
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Centering Thought for Today: "I am pure existence, pure consciousness, pure love." |
And then she guides us on top of cloud we forgive, let go and release...
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"Nothing ever happened in the past that can prevent you from being present now; and if the past can not prevent you from being present now, what power does it have?" —Eckhart Tolle |
David Simon instructed, "The human mind is adept at ignoring emotional pain until it builds up to the point where it can no longer be ignored." Today gives you the gift of healing and letting go through the ritual of release. Trust that in this ritual you will be surrounded by light and love, knowing that the intention of this healing is to lift you up and allow you to soar.
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Friday, July 20, 2012
day 5 ... Freedom to Heal
From Chopra Center .... In today's meditation we will see how healing begins once the memories are brought into the light. Our message for today is to discover that whatever we felt we missed in childhood can become our greatest strength. If we spent a lot of time alone as a child, we learned how to be independent. Those of us who were not able to spend long periods of quality time with our parents or caregivers learned how important it is to be present, and to cherish every moment with loved ones. We can use the past as our teacher. Today is the day we begin to embrace the lessons we've learned as we bring memories into the light for healing. The brightest light exists in the silence of meditation and is the clearest path we can take. As Deepak Chopra writes, "A path is a way to open your Self to spirit...to love." Allow yourself to begin healing through the transformational experience of meditation. I will share more about this image and how it surfaced for me recently in a EFT healing session....
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Thursday, July 19, 2012
day 4 ... Freedom From Old Tapes
what to write about old tapes? well talk about an old tape.... a cassette tape. I still have some of these in my garage with my favourite tunes from high school. So that does date me just a little. I like relating to today's mediation theme like old cassette tapes because listening to old tapes of your view of yourself from the past is as comical as listening to old cassette tapes. At least the cassette tapes have some good music on them.
Free yourself up. It's as simple as that. Be in the present.
Free yourself up. It's as simple as that. Be in the present.
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"You have the capacity to change the plotline of your life, even if you've been acting from the same script since before you can remember." —David Simon |
And write your happily ever after, every day, each day... and make it the best ending you can think of for the day. And then tomorrow write another new happily ever after. And make it all about love.
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| "I am loved, lovable and loving." |
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