5 Ways to Experience Deeper Meditation

    In order to experience the bliss and rejuvenation of meditation, one first needs to understand what it means to be in meditation. Merriam-Webster defines the word “meditation” as, “the act or process of spending time in quiet thought” and it is from the Latin root meditatum, meaning “to ponder.” Meditation is a self-induced, sleep-like, mode of consciousness. Meditation can provide inner peace, inspirational guidance and relief from the symptoms of many chronic diseases.

Here are a few tips for experiencing deeper levels of meditation:

1) Make sure you have extremely quiet surroundings.  This is critical to ensuring that you can find the deep peace. For assistance with creating a meditation space, check out this Divine Mind post on “Creating Sacred Spaces”

2) You must have accurate posture to allow the free movement and the correct breathing necessary for achieving deep meditation. Using a pillow to sit on helps you to stay properly balanced. Lying on the floor also works well, just don't fall asleep!

3) Use prayer beads to count prayers, a candle flame, or the smoke from incense, as a point of focus. Doing this can aid in reaching deeper levels of meditation. Meditation music or chanting helps as well, however, deep meditative states are also achieved during silence. You will need to find what works best for you.

4) Tell your body to relax. Start at your toes and use your subconscious voice to instruct your toes, feet, ankles, legs, etc. to relax and release. Breathe into each area you wish to relax. You may need to repeat these instructions to your body two or three times before you experience the transcendental relaxation.

5) Be still and always come back to the breath. Release your wants, needs and worries and focus on the feeling of breathing. You will find your mind going here and there but do not resist this activity. Acknowledge the thoughts that arise during your meditation without judgment, and then release them by bringing your focus back to your inhale and exhale.

 Consistency in your meditation practice will be the key to achieving those deeper levels of consciousness. It will not happen overnight. However, the benefits of learning how to block out both outer and inner noise are worth the effort of regular practice. By using the tips above, you will eventually become more in tune with your consciousness, have better control of your actions and emotions, and know how to maintain a peaceful state, no matter what is going on around you.

Increasing Your Life - Thoughts from Michael Beckwith

       I am sure that by now you have heard of “The Secret”. Michael Bernard Beckwith was one of the featured teachers in The Secret movie and the bestselling book by the same name that followed the movie. Dr. Beckwith is the originator of the Life Visioning Process, which he teaches throughout the country along with meditation, scientific prayer, and the spiritual benefits of selfless service. His books include: “Inspirations of the Heart”, “Forty Day Mind Fast Soul Feast”, and “A Manifesto of Peace”.

      Dr. Beckwith beliefs and teaching hit home with me. He believes that each of us is full of the gifts from God and that by not accepting who God wants us to be, you cannot continue to grow. You will not develop into the person that God has created. Without your gifts, you cannot increase your life.

       Much of the acceptance issue is fear. Do you agree? In many churches where we grew up, fear was taught as a means of following God. Many wars are fought using the name of God. He did not ask us to fight for him. God wants us to bring the people to Him. You cannot do that using fear or fight.

       God really wants only a few things from us. 1) To be known and 2) to be manifested and revealed to others through us, as us. God is not war and fear. God is beauty, abundance, health and wealth and so much more. By knowing God in you, you will be able to glorify God. And with that you will bring yourself abundance, prosperity, joy, happiness, harmony, wealth.

      Embrace your gifts and become who you are meant to be and God will thrive in you, through you, and around you. Even those gifts you feel may not be of God, are exactly that ones you need to develop in order to fulfill your life's potential.  Poverty and lack is a limitation that we put on ourselves. God wants us to be wealthy, in every meaning of the word, so we can give and take care of others and bring them to Him. God’s field is rich and if you accept it, you will be amazed at what God can do in you and what He has in store for you.

       So, what can you do to look inside yourself and find your gifts that God has given? How can you embrace these gifts to improve your situation and turn that business around? Prayer is a mighty sword. Use it affirmatively and you will find that you are truly increasing your life.

 Note: Dr. Beckwith's books are available for purchase in my "recommended reading" section at the bottom right on this blog page. :)

Forgive to Live: Being Unforgiving Can Be Fatal

     The subject of forgiving and letting go had been continuously laid on my Spirit for days earlier last week. Forgiveness and releasing our hold on events, memories, and transgressions from the past is extremely vital, and yet can be so very difficult to do. I start each morning listening to "Touching the Stillness", a prayer and meditation radio show hosted by , Rev. Paulette Pipe on Unity.fm. I subscribe to the podcast of  Touching the Stillness, so I have all the shows archived in my iTunes. This particularly morning, with the Spirit of forgiveness and release heavy on my mind, I found a podcast titled, "Time to Take 'Em Off the Spit." I could tell this podcast would be just what I needed to hear to help me alleviate this pressure to let go of some things and forgive myself and others.

In the podcast, Rev. Paulette shared the story of a young woman who discovered that by not releasing and forgiving things from her past, she had inevitably been giving herself reoccurring bouts with Cancer! I would encourage you to take a listen to the entire podcast and just listen to what being unforgiving can do to us, as well as how healing forgiveness and letting go can be.

Lastly, I want to share this article, that was shared with me during a class I took last year. I am not sure who the original author of the piece is, but, anytime I find myself needing to forgive, either myself or others, I refer back to this piece. I use it to gauge whether I am truly able to "forgive and forget" according the guidelines that its sets for doing so. I believe that this piece encompasses the essence of what it means to truly forgive and forget. So I hope that it will be a help to you all, as it has been to me.

Learning to Be Like Water - Go With the Flow

Last night, while I was out feeding a Sushi craving, my internet signal was mysteriously losing connection. I returned home to an Internet Marketer's (and Facebook/Twitter Junkie) worst nightmare, NO INTERNET! *gasp*

Of course, I immediately called Comcast customer service, went through their troubleshooting process, twice, to no avail. The situation was made even more nightmarish when I was told that I would have to wait for a technician to be sent out to check the connection......on TUESDAY! "TUESDAY",  I exclaimed, " This is unacceptable!" I was told that was the earliest appointment and if anyone could be sent sooner, they would call. By this point I am highly upset. The Divas over at Diva Money Club were doing an Internet Marketing/Real Estate Investing Q&A webinar that I had been looking forward to attending all week, and it was going live in less than hour. Not to mention all the other work, and tweets, I wanted to get to that night.  My grind had been halted and I was powerless to restart it. 

This morning, I tried speaking to a manager at comcast, I tried contacting dispatch myself and offering to pay someone to come out, still I was told, Tuesday. *sigh* So fine, after a moment of stillness and meditation, I faced my only solution given the circumstances, a 1.5 mile walk, yes WALK, to Panera Bread so I could use their net.

The walk actually wasn't so bad, if it wasn't for the additional 10 pounds my laptop and folders added, it would have probably much more enjoyable. As a silver lining, during my walk, I discovered a nearby pilates studio, a Moe's Southwestern Grill, and a Planned Parenthood, three very important establishments to be aware were within walking distance. Finally, when I got my Panera, I settled in the meeting room, unpacked my computer and no sooner had I got it booted up, did the manager come in and announce that the room was reserved from 11:30am to 2:30pm....It was 12:30pm and no reservation sign had been posted. Annoying. The diner across from me, looked at me and said, "Well you didn't get to settle in long, huh?"  I replied, " That seems to be the theme of the day, so I've decided to just go with it, and be like water." He said, " Go with the flow."  Indeed.

I got rearranged, got signed onto the Panera-Net, and was alerted that there is a 30 minute time limit for the internet between 11:30am and 1:30 pm. Learning to be like water....the lesson continues....

Vibration, Meditation, and Visualization (Oh My!)

     Today is the 3rd day of a 21- day period of fasting, personal reflection and meditation. Recent events in my life have called for the need for me to eliminate the "noise" in my life; to reevaluate what I want, and what is mine to do at this time in my life. I desire to gain, or rather re-gain control of my mind and my thoughts because I know that everything that happens to me is a result of a thought and/or feeling that I have either consciously or subconsciously. I am beginning to notice that it is more so the subconscious, the unseen, that has me blocked from receiving my good or allowing what I deeply desire to be attracted to me. Therefore, I felt that this time of fasting was necessary and rightly timed. It is amazing, how everything comes together in its own time, not always the time we desire it to arrive. I am certain this is part of my lesson.

    Yesterday, I began study of the Law of Attraction, the Law of Thought, "The Secret" or whichever name you may want to call it. I have access to a program that was written and developed by Dr. Joe Vitale and Mark Joyner, the founder of the amazing Simpleology programming. In Mark's "Great Teachers Series" Dr. Vitale, author of "The Attractor Factor", teaches the Law of Attraction and how to use this law in order to manifest the life that I desire, while fully living within my purpose. Of course, I am not new to the realization of this law, and I have used it in practice many times with great results. Nonetheless, the dynamics and specifics of utilizing this "law of thoughts" have yet to become a solid, second nature for me. I want it to be where, I no longer have to focus on thinking constructive, positive thoughts, because I naturally do so as a result of training and conditioning my mind to stay on that wavelength, no matter what. Far too many times as of late, I have allowed external forces to bring me down to lower levels of thinking which have, as promised by the Law of Attraction, delivered more of exactly what I did not desire. I know that I am capable of mastering my mind which will allow me to fully engage the Laws of Attraction to my benefit.

    During this time of fasting (My fast of choice is The Daniel Fast), I resolve to spend more time in meditation, listening for guidance from my higher self, and also releasing the subconscious barriers that are still trapped, limiting my ability to attract my desired results, or better. I have also made it a point to add visualization to my practice as recommended by my results with Smart Attractor , a short quiz that shows how well one is using the law of attraction to his/her benefit. This is an area that I had not really focused on or practiced as much as meditation, and yet I know that, "whatever one can see in the mind, one can have in the hand." I have a list of 2-3 things that I have the desire to manifest in a relatively short amount of time and I visualize myself not only having those things, or better, but I picture in my mind exactly what they look, smell, and feel like. With regular practice, the Law of Attraction states that my mind will have no choice but to obey and manifest my visualization. I have much confidence in this promise.

 It is now up to me to hold up my end of the bargain.