Morning Meditation - Faith In Action

 Morning Meditation. Even if this sounds crazy to you, I encourage you to try it, & observe how your life changes for the better. ✨

#HealingMorning #MorningMeditation #PowerfulState #Prayer #Meditation #FaithInAction

Morning Meditation - Quiet Time

 Morning Meditation™️. Have you built time into your day to explore who you are? It matters. Make the time. ✨

#HealingMorning™️  #MorningMeditation™️  #SelfCare  #SelfDiscovery

Morning Meditation - Psalm 55:16

 Morning Meditation™️. A moment of peace to dwell upon as we begin the day. ✨

#HealingMorning™️  #MorningMeditation™️  #Prayer  #PsalmFiftyFiveSixteen

Morning Meditation - Faith In Action

 Morning Meditation™️. Every moment of prayer and meditation is an exercise of Faith In Action. ✨

#HealingMorning  #MorningMeditationArchives  #Prayer  #Meditation  #IntentionallyPositiveThoughts  #FaithInAction

Morning Meditation - Reflection, Prayer, & Meditation

 Morning Meditation™️. Nature can offer valuable lessons and examples to embrace as we meditate, reflect, & pray. ✨

#HealingMorning™️  #MorningMeditation™️  #LessonsOfTheLotus

Morning Meditation - The Lord’s Prayer

 Morning meditation™️. This is how I begin my day, speaking this prayer, setting my spiritual energy, focusing my thoughts, and absorbing the devotion of these words. 

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#HealingMorning™️  #MorningMeditationArchives™️  #LordsPrayer  #StartOfTheDay  #EndOfTheEvening  #Prayer

Morning Meditation - Simple Pursuit

 Morning Meditation™️. A great deal of pondering and resolving can be accomplished whilst enjoying a simple pursuit! ✨

#HealingMorning™️  #MorningMeditationArchives™️  #SimplePursuits

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Afternoon meditation™️. A silent moment of prayer, respect, and remembrance to all the souls lost. ✨

#HealingMorning™️  #HolocaustRemembranceDay  #NeverForget

We continue.

Today, December 14, 2012 is a very sad day in the history of the United States.  In the town of Newtown, Connecticut, a young man walked into Sandy Hook elementary school and opened fire in a kindergarten class, killing children and going on to kill several adults throughout the school.  He also committed murder at a separate location. As of a few minutes ago, the death toll had reached 20 children and six adults dead.

Social media swept the story across the world in mere seconds, giving rise to typical and inevitable accusations, theories and debates.  I experienced a true level of frustration at the fact that the debating and arguing began before those slain have even been given over to their families to begin the mourning process.  I find that part of the whole thing to be shameful, distasteful and disrespectful to the memories of the ones slain and to the integrity of the surviving loved ones.  Now is not the time to raise squabbling and ranting about gun control, or how the United States should be able to manage this type of insanity more efficiently.

So, how do we get through this type of tragedy, when it is so overwhelming and so senseless?  It tears at the heart in a particularly piercing manner to know that 20 wee lives were extinguished.  Young ones who had their whole lives ahead of them, going to school, innocent and deserving of protection and an inalienable sense of safety.  Six adult lives extinguished who performed a noble task daily, teaching young ones and stewarding them through each calendar year.  It is beyond human ability to comprehend, to absorb.  Yet, we do it, somehow.

We do keep living through the trauma moments, as well as the fallout and recovery of it all.  Through the doing of what needs to be done, we keep living through it.

There is also a level of Grace that occurs in the midst of this type of trauma.  We shift into a level of auto-pilot reality where we are somewhat removed from our bodies and emotions.  It's a protective mechanism, what shock does to our body and our mind, our reasoning.  I can clearly recall the thoughts that run through my mind at such a moment, when I have been faced with a tragedy of such enormous proportions that have stretched my ability to respond.

*Please know that these thoughts are not meant to undermine, or compare to, the incredible grief that the families of the ones slain today in Connecticut are experiencing.*:

"This can't be happening."  And I keep living through it.

"This isn't real."  And I keep living through it.

"I don't know how I'm going to do this."  And I keep living through it.

"I don't think I can do this." And I keep living through it.

"I can't believe I'm doing this."  And I keep living through it.

"This doesn't seem real, now that I'm doing it."  And I keep living through it.

"I can't believe I made it through that." And I keep living after I've done it.

"I don't know how I got through that." And I keep living after I've done it.

"I don't know how I'm going to keep living, now - the pain is still so overwhelming."  And I keep living through it.

"Looking back, I have no idea how I did everything that needed doing during that time."  And I keep living.

This is the unquestionable beauty of the human spirit, that we continue.  Despite all manner of crippling tragedy, we continue.  These human forms that house our Spirit slip into a mechanical state to allow us a buffer, and this is how we continue.  In a numbed state, on automatic pilot, guided by the kindness and love of those around us, if we're fortunate and blessed.  Lifted up by the equal kindness of complete strangers.  A simple touch, or a smile, or a task done without our asking.  A quiet moment where we are received and embraced and allowed to be in our raw grief without judgment.

In the coming days, more details will surface as to the motives of the young man who committed this unspeakable crime.  Endless debates about gun control will reign ad infinitum.  Discussion about mental health and the failings of our healthcare system will also jockey for position in the media.  Sensationalism, unfortunately, will also race at the head of the pack, spewing out needless details that do dishonor to the name of the media.

For now, in my opinion, it is a time to look to what...to who...is most precious to each of us.  If you are reading this and you are safe, secure, well fed, reasonably healthy, have a roof over your head and you are loved, take a moment to dwell in prayer, if you are so inclined.  Pray for the lives cut short today; pray for their loved ones as they navigate the unthinkable process of accepting what has occurred.  Pray for the young man who was so lost and confused, filled with unexplained rage to the degree that he chose this action.  Just pray.  Love the ones who mean the most to you.

Speak your love to them daily, because the one sure truth that we know is that tomorrow is not promised to any of us.

Speak your love, while you are given the blessing of time to do so.

Higher self

Photo courtesy of Bing images

You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body ~ C. S. Lewis

How's that for a powerful statement?!  Quotes often prompt blog articles for me.  I've had this quote saved to my drafts file for several weeks, waiting for all the thoughts to coalesce. 

I was speaking with a friend on the phone recently who is going through some personal struggles.  He was focused quite a lot on dissecting specific words down to their most minute definitions, nuances and applications.  I do that myself, as I always enjoy how written language can change with the slightest emphasis on a syllable, or depending upon how that specific word is used in a sentence.  Stringing words together into a quote such as the one above will have me pondering all the layers and directions and possibilities, and quite often, will open my eyes and mind up to a perspective I might not have come up with on my own.

We do lose sight of our origins, this is a daily truth.  Being on the front lines of this Earth School bombards us with all the raw emotions and experiences that are meant to mold our character, grow us up and refine all the rough edges.  Small wonder that we forget that we are Spirit in essence, merely housed in a physical container.  It is human nature to think in corporeal terms, because we're in a physical reality!

But taking time to remember our own Divinity is worthwhile.  We can't remain here in the physical plane forever, that much is an absolute for this reality.  It is a temporary gift we're given, being able to incarnate here and interact with all the wonderful people around us, to be able to feel, hear, think and express ourselves in a human manner.  I often wonder what the beauty must be in the non-physical plane, as what we are capable of producing here has breathtaking expression. 

When I meditate, there are moments when my consciousness is able to connect at a level that gives me glimpses of that non-physical plane.  Occasionally, I am able to shift my consciousness and step outside of my physical body, and those experiences are transcendent.  As a child, I can remember reading a great deal about Helen Keller and the fact that, despite her physical limitations with sight and hearing, she was able to shift her consciousness and travel great distances with meditation.  She was able to describe other countries in clear detail, down to colors, textures and scents.  When asked how this could be possible, her reply was, (paraphrased here) "My body is blind and deaf, but my Spirit isn't."

Similarly, a story I remember hearing of President Reagan's family caring for him in the final stages of Alzheimer's disease was that his daughter, Patty, would spend hours talking with him each day.  At that point in his disease, he had lost the ability to speak, and doctors were unsure if he could hear conversation around him.  His daughter continued to have her one-sided conversations with him each day.  When asked why she bothered by a medical technician, her reply (again, paraphrased here) was, "His body has Alzheimer's disease, but his Spirit doesn't.  I'm positive he can hear me, so that's why I do this each day."

These several quotes cobbled together in my mind and made me wonder, what is to stop each of us from having similar conversations with ourselves?  Many esoteric tenets hold the belief that we have an Over Soul, or Higher Consciousness.  Some believe that we can tap into our own thread that is connected to the Universal Consciousness, or that which we might label God, and that at that level, our Spirit, or Soul, is the culmination of all of our best, strongest, most noble achievements.  Call it our own personal spiritual anchor, or bellwether of sorts. 

Most of us are comfortable with the process of prayer; some prefer to access that Higher Consciousness through meditation.  I've said many times before that when we are creative or loving, or happy, we are expressing something Divine with our actions.  Why not take time, then, to remember that we truly are that Soul, housed temporarily in a physical body.....and recognize that as such, our Spirit form is supremely powerful and capable of guiding us in the most pure form?  When I remember to do this, I find that my days are much clearer.  Energy flows better and I am in a very present state.  Solutions to problems are more easily discovered, and connections to people who I am meant to find, interact with and teach and learn from seem to manifest effortlessly. 

It is the days that I forget and focus on just being human, wrestling my way through all the front lines activity of a given "battlefield" that life is much more challenging.  Another good friend, a Buddhist, always gives me these amazing quotes that she learns from her spiritual teachers.  Life is as simple, or as difficult as we make it.  That's not a tough concept to read and absorb, but it certainly can be challenging to NOT make life difficult!  I know I excel at that very thing!  Coming back to quiet, taking time to be with myself and remembering who and what I am.....a being of spiritual energy that is connected to the Divine....this is where and when Life flows much more easily. 

So, I do remind myself of Mr. Lewis's quote above.  I am a Soul.  Inhabiting a physical body, yes, but consciously reminding myself that there is so much more than this immediate physical plane of existence. 

What are your thoughts on this C.S. Lewis quote?  Do you take those small moments to reconnect with your own Higher Consciousness?  What method of approach works best for you?  There are no right or wrong answers to these questions; I'm just curious and I know I will value the comments that each of you take time to write here.

Namaste'. 

Mandala memories

When I was a child, I would draw endless series of circular patterns that radiated outward in repeating shapes.  I would take my crayons, and later, colored pencils and paints and color these drawings from lightest shades to deepest gradations of colors.  I was very particular about this and could spend hours thus occupied.  To my surprise, I won a few art contests with some of these depictions.  They were always pleasing to my eyes, but I never knew what to call them when asked for a label to apply.  I just knew that the patterns made a sort of logical sense to my eyes and made me feel centered and at peace when creating them.  There was a sensation of pulsating energy as I would create the layers and patterns.

Fast forward into late teenage years and I was deeply involved in spiritual searching, reading every book on mystical teachings that I ran across, investigating various religions and spiritual practices.  Eventually, I began to see similar patterns to those that I had obsessively created as a child.  It turns out that what I was drawing could be likened to a mandala. 

Mandala (मण्डल) is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions, their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point. Each gate is in the shape of a T. In common use, mandala has become a generic term for any plan, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically, a microcosm of the Universe from the human perspective. (Wikipedia)

Depending on the age of those of you reading this blog article, some of you may remember the childhood game called Spirograph (TM).*  Spirograph was a set of plastic wheels and templates with which you could create endless mathematical curves of the variety technically known as hypotrochoids and epitrochoids. (Wikipedia)  Although a mouthful to speak, those shapes are basically representing the same beautiful patterns found in mandalas. 

Another representation of this type of beautiful shape can be found in a kaleidoscope, which is a is a tube of mirrors containing loose colored beads, pebbles, or other small coloured objects. The viewer looks in one end and light enters the other end, reflecting off the mirrors.  (Wikipedia)  This was another device that could keep me entranced for endless hours, gazing at the ever changing patterns and colors inside that magical cylinder. 

Why did I begin creating these shapes and designs at a very young age with no example to follow?  I have my own thoughts on that.  One thought is that something within me simply resonated with the geometrical logic found in the repeating shapes.  Another thought is that I was recreating shapes from another time, memories embedded in the layers of my Spirit.  Both thoughts make complete sense to me, as I have always been drawn to the concepts of Buddhism. 

Similar repeating patterns can be found in nature; in flowers, in gemstones and crystals, in the whorls of certain lichen and mushrooms; in snowflakes, and even in the humble mature dandelion. Artists have reproduced these shapes in stained glass in majestic cathedrals and carved them into stone and wood. The majority of married females on this planet wear a diamond solitaire ring cut, shaped and faceted in such a manner as to reproduce this same geometric pattern within the depths of the gemstone.

I am not a mathematically inclined person, so I cannot tie together all the theory and calculations necessary to explain these repeating patterns the world over.  What I can say is that there is a strong presence of some type of quantum theory at work with these patterns.  Mandalas have been created for thousands of years to aid in meditation and to drop the consciousness into progressively deeper states of relaxation and trance state.  I can clearly remember feeling an inestimable sense of peace and calm as a child when I would intently create these patterns with my crayons and pencils.  The finished products with their intricate layers of color would please me enormously.  The shape that I most often created is similar to this photo with lotus flower-like petals radiating outward.

I don't know why this particular subject popped into my mind to write about tonight.  I had just finished my evening meditation, so perhaps my thoughts drifted to a focal point that I often visualize to calm my thoughts.  The more I thought about these shapes, the more similarities I came across, and the more it fascinated me.  These shapes appear over and over in science and nature.  We as human beings have recreated these shapes in glass, in metal, in gemstones, in fabric, on canvas, to please our eyes, yes.  I feel there is also deeper purpose in the recreations of these beautiful shapes.  From a mathematical standpoint, something of such linear balance has to resonate at a high and equally balanced frequency.  Could the mandala shape, when done with clear intent and calm, pure heart, create a powerful energetic point? 

We are affected by the beauty of these shapes.  Does this happen because they are pretty, or are they pretty because they touch our senses in a deeper manner than the most obvious ones?  The chicken/egg theory is at work here to a degree.  I don't have answers to most of these questions; they are more musings...ruminations on my part.  I once listened to a wonderful historian on television who espoused the concept that much of the fascination and plain enjoyment of learning is that some basic mysteries remain, as yet unlocked to our inqusitive minds.  This thought always makes me smile and embrace the simple pleasure of creating or witnessing something beautiful.

Whatever the reason was that drove me as a small child to create mandala-esque drawings is not completely known.  Having been slightly different in mindset from that very early age, I look back and am rather impressed with the fact that I never deviated from my focus, no matter the questions or criticisms of those early drawings.  There was something within that drew me deeply into spiritual studies that continue to this day.  And to this day, grabbing pencils and sketch pad to trace out another whirling wheel of color and shape pleases me and centers me.  Mandala memories remain a constant and continue to focus my consciousness as they appear to have done for others in centuries past.

____________________________
*Disclaimer: no financial gain occurred from the mention of the product Spirograph (TM) in this blog article.

Heroes among us

I just learned that a man I went to high school with lost his son yesterday, October 19, 2009 as a result of active military duty. I do not have specific details as to where or how. The most simple statement is this - a bright young man gave his life in a far away place to uphold the tenets upon which this country was founded. His family is grieving in a manner those of us who have not lost a family member in this specific way cannot fathom.

I cannot pretend to understand what they are going through, nor am I so presumptuous as to think that a few written words will make a dent in their sadness. All I can say is that for me, the world stopped for a quiet, painful moment when I heard this news. I did not know this young man. I knew his father in high school, so the connection is tenuous at best. That being said, I would find it doubtful that anyone can remain untouched by the news that a young man gave his life in dedicated service to his country. This is not a time to air political opinions, to cast blame or to debate what is right or wrong. It is a time to come together in support of this family.

I ask everyone who reads this blog to take a moment to hold all military men and women, and their families, in your thoughts and prayers. We lose so many bright and wonderful people each and everyday in the active arena.

This young man's name is Jonathon Miller and he hailed from Clinton, Tennessee. In my eyes and, I am positive, the eyes of his family and friends, he is a true Hero. God rest him and those he left behind.

A moment to reflect

Today has been a challenging one with respect to hanging on to positive thoughts. I seem to have been bombarded by negatives from just about every direction. Friends have been having a rough day as well, it seems. Then I turned on the television and witnessed something so appalling that it is still beyond my ability to fathom. In the state of Florida, five teenage boys were arrested for "allegedly" dousing another boy with rubbing alcohol and setting him on fire. According to one of the police department officials who spent time around the five boys arrested, several of them were still laughing about the incident. That was when my brain seemed to seize up in complete horror. Equally horrific, to my way of thinking, is the fact that this story is garnering limited news coverage.

I do not know what to say. Words are difficult in a situation like this. While it is not my place to sit in judgement of anyone else, or decide if their actions were right or wrong, this is a moment that cannot be prettied up, marginalized or made less of a tragedy. I spent quite a bit of time searching for something positive about the whole story, and admit that I'm coming up with zero for the people involved. Multiple lives have been irrevocably changed.

"But for the Grace of God go I," seems to be an appropriate statement, or thought, to make. That, however, seems to be such a vast understatement that I am almost ashamed to even leave it in this paragraph. It is rare that I fail to see some positive in any given situation, no matter how grim, but I admit to still coming up with nothing beyond being made very aware that my own personal struggles pale in comparison to what that child and his family are dealing with. I wasn't having the best day today, I admit that. It was a bit of a challenge to keep a positive outlook while also taking initiative to offer encouragement to friends who were feeling equally gloomy. I am not a young boy sitting in a hospital with burns over 75% of his body, fighting for life. That certainly puts things into perspective for me on a personal level.

I would love to say that I can end this blog with a feeling of being uplifted. All I can manage is a request to anyone reading this post to please keep this child and his family in your prayers. If you have prayer lists, prayer groups or any other type of group that focuses on sending healing energy to people in need, please put this family at the top of your list. It may not seem to be much, but I am a firm believer in the power of prayer. This young man's name is Michael Brewer. He is 15 years old.

There is no way anyone can wake up one morning and be prepared for such a thing to hit their life. Just hearing it from a safe distance through the medium of television and internet, I am still grappling with the ugliness and shock. This is definitely a moment to stop, look around you and be grateful and appreciative for the life we each are given. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us, and what we do with each day does matter. Take a moment to reflect and count your blessings, for I am sure they are numerous. Tell those who are dear to your heart that you love them. Take time, as well, to have compassion in your heart for a group of young boys in Florida that you have never met.

There is no understanding what creates such an implosion of negative emotion that results in a physical attack of this magnitude. I cannot focus on the why of the act itself. I can only focus on giving this incident a bit of attention through this blog, in the hopes that anyone reading will send these people positive, loving, healing thoughts and energy.