Category: Spiritual Writings

How to Practice Breath Meditation

“Breath meditation is likely the most popular and straightforward meditation practice. It is also the basis of many other forms of meditation. Try these essential instructions.

Find a quiet and uplifted place where you can do your meditation practice. When starting out, see if you can allow 5 minutes for the practice.

1. Take your seat. Sit cross-legged on a meditation cushion or on a straight-backed chair with your feet flat on the floor, without leaning against the back of the chair.

2. Find your sitting posture. Place your hands palms-down on your thighs and sit in an upright posture with a straight back—relaxed yet dignified. With your eyes open, let your gaze rest comfortably as you look slightly downward about six feet in front of you.

3. Notice and follow your breath. Place your attention lightly on your out-breath, while remaining aware of your environment. Be with each breath as the air goes out through your mouth and nostrils and dissolves into the space around you.

At the end of each out-breath, simply rest until the next in-breath naturally begins. For a more focused meditation, you can follow both the out-breaths and in-breaths.

4. Note the thoughts and feelings that arise. Whenever you notice that a thought, feeling, or perception has taken your attention away from the breath, just say to yourself, “thinking,” and return to following the breath. No need to judge yourself when this happens; just gently note it and attend to your breath and posture.

5. End your session. After the allotted time, you can consider your meditation practice period over. But there’s no need to give up any sense of calm, mindfulness, or openness you’ve experienced. See if you can consciously allow these to remain present through the rest of your day.”

Lion’s Roar – Buddhist Wisdom For Our Time

Your Capacity For Greatness

“The old, habituated ways of thinking will melt away as you experience the absurdity of hanging on to them.  You’ll ultimately realize that there are no excuses worth defending, ever, even if they’ve always been part of your life—and the joy of releasing them will resonate throughout your very being. When you eliminate the need to explain your shortcomings or failures, you’ll awaken to the life of your dreams.

I am personally convinced that everyone has a capacity for greatness that transcends anything they’ve been taught to believe, that every being who’s ever existed is in fact a portion of the all-creating power of intention.” 

“Excuses Begone!: How to Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits,” Dr.Wayne W. Dyer

3 Habits For Building Self-Esteem – Louise Hay

There are many ways to help you build self-esteem along your journey to being your true self. Here are 3 of my favorite daily tools for loving yourself:

1. Keep a journal.

Write down your experiences, how you felt about them and whether you felt you dealt with it in way that aligned with your inner voice. If you felt upset toward someone, did you confront them or hide it? The more you write down and notice when you’re doing what’s best for you, the more you get close to expressing your true being more often.

2. Practice Meditation.

There is no better way than to relax, breathe and rest your thoughts. This is a great time to practice affirmations and reflect on what you want for your life.

Self-esteem can become a habit when you practice loving yourself every day.

3. Practice Mirror Work.

Looking into your eyes and expressing your true feelings is a great way to discover your underlying fears and finally face them with compassion.

Many people think that affirmations are my most powerful tool, and yes, affirmations are powerful, but the truth is, that affirmations are most powerful when combined with mirror work.

louisehay.com

 

Do You Pick Your Parents Before Birth?

“Edgar Cayce said we pick our parents.  Before our birth, as we are planning our incarnation, we choose the parents who will be best for our purposes and mission in a particular incarnation.  When I speak around the country and mention this Cayce fact, I half expect some tumult: ‘What? How is that possible? Why would I pick them?’  I have also wondered about this concept. What I do with many of Cayce’s concepts is ask myself, If that were true, what would it imply?

As I look at my life now, I see how my choice of parents was critical. What I learned of psychology in childhood is key in my life now as a psychotherapist, hypnotherapist and past-life regressionist.  My Catholic upbringing gave me an appreciation of faith and spirituality, which is my deepest connection with the Cayce readings, and my great grandmother’s influence set the stage for the Cayce work on all aspects of the unseen worlds.

But what about those with parents who don’t appear to be a clear-cut constructive choice?  A woman who came to me for a regression session last year began with this: ‘I’d like to believe I picked my parents, but they were drug addicts.  My father killed himself when I was 4, my mother was psychotic, my brother killed himself at 16, and I have battled depression, anxiety, and almost every addiction you can name.  So, let’s find out why I picked these people.’

Why would someone pick a situation to experience suffering? In trance, this woman was able to come into the presence of her guides and ask them why she chose her parents.  They communicated with her telepathically, and she relayed this message to me: ‘They are telling me that I really wanted to learn in this life, and they are telling me how much I have learned.  My life is an incredible success!’

I was reminded, once again, that the soul view is very different from the ego view.  The soul comes to work, while the ego wants a pina colada in Barbados!”

Excerpted from REFLECTIONS – “Peter Piper Picked His Parents” by Peter Woodbury, MSW, EdgarCayce.org.