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Meditate … why?

meditate

Yes, I meditate. But it doesn’t look like that! It has never looked like that. Yet, how I “sit”, how I “let go and be”, is meditation for me. And I know that you have your own “method” or “way of being” that is meditation for you.

Today’s short message is meant as an invitation especially if you have never tried – or have tried and think you have failed at – meditation. There is no such thing as failing at it, by the way! Though I did … I “failed” … over and over and over again! Once I let go of doing it “their way” and trusted my being to meditate in a way that honors me, lets me “let go and just be”, I have found immense value on the journey.

Why do I meditate? Here are just a few reasons:

  • It relaxes my mental grip on life
  • It helps me widen my perspective
  • It calms my emotional and physical beings
  • It helps me feel connected to other humans and other life forms
  • It helps me love freely, less conditionally
  • It saves me from myself

If you have never tried it or tried and “failed”, consider trying again. Meditation is a practice, a journey, for everyone. There are many sources of guidance available – spiritual communities, the Internet, retreat centers – to name a few. My current inspiration comes from Adyashanti and Mukti. You can find their library of recordings here:

Cafe Dharma

What have you got to lose?
What might you gain?
Why not?

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The WE Effect

How often do your words sound like:

  • I am afraid …
  • I don’t want to …
  • I can’t …
  • I did …
  • I want …

What would happen if you replaced “I” with “WE”?

First, take a look at “WE”:

  • (W)onder (E)verywhere
  • (W)isdom (E)volving
  • (W)oven (E)nergy

Truly we never do anything alone, do we? Take a look around and find something in your personal space that you did without assistance from anyone’s time, ideas, help. The computer I am typing on, the software I am using, the chair that supports me, the ideas that I share … all have come from or been inspired by other inspired human beings.

When I acknowledge the WE that I am ever connected to, I find:

  • I am afraid … WE are less afraid or perhaps even not afraid!
  • I don’t want to … WE see value beyond my little “I”
  • I can’t … WE can do so much more together!
  • I did … “WE did” brings humility and connection
  • I want … WE often want less and usually want what serves the greater whole

What power would the WE Effect have for you?

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Let Down, Let Be, Be Still

Today’s simple thought was inspired by the guided meditation, Let Down and Let Be, offered by the sacred teacher, Mukti. You can read about her at Adyashanti.org.

Still

Let down, let be, be still.

The energy, the substance, the source of all life simply is. It is ever-present, ever-available and is that from which all visible life manifests. Stilling ourselves – body, will, mind, thought, emotion – and resting in pure awareness of substance, of life, is gentle power. Here , when we let down our defenses, let be all else, and be still, all is well. There is nowhere to go, nothing to do, no need to figure anything out. Just be. Just notice any forms of energy, block, holding on and allow each to pass through as you return to stillness.

If you have never allowed yourself the gift of deep stillness, perhaps now is your moment. The only way to know how it will impact you, personally, is to experience it.

What do you notice in the stillness?
What do you notice on the way to stillness?
What does this gentle power offer you?

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Sacred Time

I sat outside with my first cup of coffee today and listened to the birds, observed the clouds changing as the sun rose. I felt my heart beating in my chest. The space held peace, gentleness, slowing, timelessness. There was no urge to move, to get busy, to do.

This was sacred time.

And I notice how often we miss the stillness, the sacredness of Life itself, in our pursuit of doing. We run through life, moving faster and faster, doing as much as we can. I wonder:

What are we running from?
What are we running to?
What energy is driving us: fear? desire? love?
What energy do we wish to expend on the journey?

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When I pause …

… I listen within. Sometimes I listen to the teachings of others also. My current pause is filled with some rich, expansive awareness from the teacher, Adyashanti. His dharma talks at:

Dharma Cafe

are resonating deeply for me. I share this with you in the event that you are at a place where you desire input. If, on the other hand, you are currently called to listen to your heart and soul, please return to that very vital and sacred work.