Saturday, February 25, 2012

Meditation - Find Your Own Inner Peace

I am really enjoying the Chopra Center's 21 Day Meditation Challenge. Each day, participants get a free meditation of about 15 minutes. Each day, there is a focus for the meditation. Today's introduction really spoke to me and I want to share it:

Releasing Negative Patterns and Addiction

As David Simon observes, we all are addicted to something. While you may not have a destructive relationship with alcohol, nicotine, or gambling, if you closely observe your thoughts, emotions, and behavior, you may notice that you have more subtle addictions, such as an addiction to approval, perfection, or control – or a compulsive need to be right. At the root of every non-nourishing behavior is a desire to fill unmet needs for security, comfort, self-esteem, and love. Yet acting out a pattern of addiction or compulsion will never fulfill our deepest needs. As the Sufi poet Hafiz advised,

“Learn to recognize the counterfeit coins that may buy you just a moment of pleasure,
But then drag you for days like a broken man behind a farting camel.”

One of the greatest gifts of meditation is the clarity and peace it opens in our lives, allowing us not only to recognize the counterfeit coins, but to no longer feel compelled by them. Meditation helps us realize that all our happiness, love, and wellbeing reside within. In meditation, we tap into our own, inexhaustible source of good as we release the need to seek it outside of ourselves. This doesn’t mean that we don’t enjoy our possessions, relationships, and activities – only that we know we aren’t dependent on them for our happiness. In today’s meditation, we will experience the gifts within and begin to release any negative patterns in our lives.


This was especially touching to me, because about 8 months ago, my husband and I gave up red meat. Then, a friend told me about her sugar addiction and the mental and emotional clarity she gained by deleting sugar from her diet. Back in July, I gave up sugar myself. Of course, any meal plan that eliminates sugar also eliminates alcohol, so I'm alcohol free, too.

I guess I've been patting myself on the back for these healthy new habits and then today's meditation brought me to other patterns I am still dragging behind me: addictions to approval, perfection, or control. Make that and control!

Yes, I see how I allow these obsessions to fill my life and cause me to be anxious and fearful. So, today, armed with a new kind of inner peace, I am setting an intention to go within and rest in that sweet place and allow the real me to come out and play!

Oh, and a note about the other habit mentioned: the need to be right. I gave that one up a few years ago, when a wise mentor asked me if I would rather be right or happy. Anytime my sweet husband or a friend brings up a factoid that I may think is incorrect, I remember this and smile. It's so much more nourishing to myself (and them) to just let them think they are right! In the end, does it really matter anyway?

If you would like to join the Chopra 21 Day Challenge, go here:

http://www.chopracentermeditation.com/bestsellers/MEDITATION_WINTER_2012/register.asp

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Shining a Light

“Hell is the opposite of joy. It is unfulfillment. It is knowing
Who and What You Are, and failing to experience that.
It is being less.”

~ NEALE DONALD WALSCH, Conversations with God

When I look back on my life in Corporate America, I see that I was in a type of Hell; a Hell of my own making! Oh, I made the choices that put me there and I continued to make choices that kept me in that dark, lonely place. No one ever pointed out that I alone could open the door and let myself out. This was something I had to figure out . . . the hard way.

For the past six years, I’ve been a type of guide for folks. My specialty is helping you “get out of Hell.” If you’re interested in getting out of the Hell you’ve placed yourself in, contact me. Remember, I’ve been where you are now. Sometimes, all you need is a guide or someone with a light that is just a little bit brighter than the one you have to show you the way. For many people, I am that light, helping them see a new way to healing, and to a better life.

And, if I can do that for you, it will make my day.

I use a coaching style in my work, which allows you to ask questions, seek answers and grow. I don’t give advice and I don’t do the work for you. If you’re interested in clearing out some of your old stuff, give me a call. If you are interested in equipping yourself with tools and techniques that continue the healing long after your session is finished, I’d like to talk with you. If you are interested in learning new skills that make Earth School a little more fun and your life a lot more rewarding, contact me. If you’ve decided that Hell is no place to live, well you’ve found a friend.

Because what I really want you to know is this: THERE IS NO HELL, no prison, except the one you create for yourself. Truly. So choose freedom. Today.

And give yourself the gift of: FREEDOM

You truly hold the key. In this moment, you can choose to set yourself free. I offer you the potential for change, for healing, for transformation . . . It’s like I’m offering you a “get out of hell” card . . .I wonder if you will take the first step . . .

In the words of one of the world’s great Statesman:

“If you're going through Hell, keep going.”

~ Winston Churchill

Contact me if I can help in any way.

http://www.soulrevelations.tv