New Year Beginnings

New Year - New Beginnings

Happy New Year!

As the New Year begins we often have some resolutions or habits we want to implement. Let’s breathe deeply and take a moment to remember that creating new ways of being can temporarily cause confusion or other discomforts in our life or routines. But hey, in the long run, it will be worth it, right?

Exercise and meditation are examples of ‘keystone’ habits (habits that create a ‘virtuous circle’. i.e. have a beneficial domino effect or feedback loop.) Keystone habits are intentional repetitive activities, which at first require effort and discipline, but are done because they are good in nature and build solid foundations for your future endeavors. 

‘Bad habits’, on the other hand, result from avoiding effort, discipline and intention. These habits feel like they are going towards comfort, rest, pleasure, but they actually slowly make us less capable, less healthy, and happy and often lead us toward pain cycles. Did you know that sustaining a bad habit often takes just as much effort as implementing or working on one that is better for you?

Unfortunately there is no “one step to heaven” secret to instant success for new habits, but I have learned some tricks which have helped me with creating new good habits.

1.     I schedule into my calendar when I will be doing the  new activity.

      2.     I make it as fun as possible.

      3.     If appropriate, I engage a friend to help be my 'conscience’. Usually this person is interested in creating a similar new habit.

      4.     As I decide to do the new habit I take a moment to write down all the benefits and reasons I have    to make the change (including the cons for not doing it). When the going gets tough I review my reasons. Laugh at myself for trying to take a shortcut. Realize how little time it will take me and  then I go for it!

      5.     At the end of the day I take a moment to be grateful for what I have done or assure myself that            tomorrow I have another chance if I happened to have skipped it today.

     Let’s make 2017 the best year ever! Use your wisdom from the past to help create a better you for the future. Good luck implementing some keystone habits.   

   

I hope that meditation is one of them!

Please join me Monday mornings and Wednesday nights. See calendar page for the dates.www.MeditationFromTheHeart.com

Work Hard, Play Hard

Conscientious Work Has Great Benefit

One of my motto's for years has been, "Work hard, play hard." Another one that I live by is, "If I am to do something then I will do it to the best of my ability."

I was reminded about this as I spent time finishing one of my wood carvings to be judged in a show this coming weekend.

This is the way of the old craftsman who spends days, even weeks, working on a single piece because he wants to create something useful, beautiful, and meaningful. Not mass produced, not factory made, not mindlessly manufactured and consumed. Artistically enriching one's life and possibly bettering another's.

This is the way of the writer who pours her soul into a novel, not to crank out a best-seller every year but to perhaps change the way someone sees the world.

This is the way of anyone who works at a company - not just to clock in and get a paycheck, but to make a contribution. To do work s/he’s proud of. To create something powerful in the world.

This is the work of any artist or creator, any entrepreneur, any coach or athlete, any parent or auto mechanic … who puts more effort than is required into the work, because from that effort is created meaning.

My meditation Teacher is always reminding me (irritatingly so at times) that the work never ends. There is the practical work of making a lively-hood. The work of simplifying life as much as possible. The work of cultivating yourself to become the best human being you can be. We are given this gift to improve ourselves until the moment we die.

The more ah ha's and revelations one has during meditation; the more you know that you don't know. This is not in a sad way, however, it is in a joyous exploration of life's full offerings.

I hope you can find yourself working hard and playing hard today.

Please join me Monday mornings and Wednesday nights. See calendar page for the dates. www.MeditationFromTheHeart.com

Breath is Key to Life

Breath is Key to a Life Well Lived

Finding Space

Being aware of your breathing takes attention away from thinking and creates space. It is one way of generating consciousness. The breath is key to discovering inner space and connection to spirit. It creates gaps in the stream of thinking. Without those gaps, your thinking becomes repetitive, uninspired, devoid of any creative spark, which is how it is for most people on the planet. You don’t need to be concerned with the duration of those gaps. A few seconds is good enough. Gradually they will lengthen by themselves, without any effort on your part. More important then their length is to bring these gaps in frequently so that your daily activities and your stream of thinking become interspersed with space.

Be aware of your breathing as often as you are able. Do it whenever you remember. If you consistently do that for one year it will be more powerfully transformative then attending workshop after workshop. And breathing is free.

Be aware of your breathing. Notice the sensation of the breath. Feel the air moving in and out of your body. Notice how the chest and abdomen expand and contract slightly with the in – and outbreath. One conscious breath is enough to make some space where before there was the uninterrupted succession of one thought after another. One conscious breath (two or three would be even better), taken many times a day, is an excellent way of bringing space into your life.

Trees have space

Let’s now stop and do a short breathing exercise. Be sure you are sitting comfortably. Close your eyes and mouth. Place your hands over your belly. Breathe in with an internal count of five. Breathe out with a count of five. (Repeat for a total of five sets.) Relax and open your eyes.

Did you notice the natural pause between the inhales and exhales?

Even if you meditated on your breathing for two hours or more, which some people do, one breath is all you ever need to be aware of, indeed ever can be aware of. The rest is memory or anticipation, which is to say, thought. Another way to put it is the past or the future. Breathing isn’t really something you do but something that you witness as it happens. Breathing happens by itself in the now. The intelligence within the body is doing it. All you have to do is watch it happening. There is no strain or effort involved.

Many people’s breath is unnaturally shallow. The more you are aware of the breath, the more it’s natural depth will reestablish itself. This is like the breaths you see a baby taking.

Because breath has no form as such, it has since, ancient times, been equated with spirit. From the Bible: “God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living creature.”

The German word for breathing – atmen – is derived from the ancient Indian (Sanskrit) word Atman, meaning the indwelling divine spirit or God within.

The sky breathes

The fact that breath has no form is one of the reasons why breath awareness is an extremely effective way of bringing space into life, of generating consciousness. It is an excellent meditation object precisely because it is not an object, it has no shape or form. The other reason is that breath is one of the most subtle and seemingly insignificant phenomena, the ‘least thing’ that makes up the ‘best happiness’. Whether or not you practice breath awareness as an actual formal meditation is up to you.

Being aware of your breath forces you into the present moment – the key to all inner transformation. Whenever you are conscious of your breath, you are absolutely present. You may also notice that you cannot think and be aware of your breathing at the same time. Conscious breathing stops your mind. But far from being in a trance or half asleep, you are fully awake and highly alert. You are not falling below thinking, but rising above it. And if you look more closely, you will find that those two things – coming fully into the present moment and ceasing thinking without loss of consciousness – are actually one and the same; the awakening of consciousness.

Key thoughts from the book “A New Earth; Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose” by Eckhart Tolle

Please join me Monday mornings and Wednesday nights. See calendar page for the dates. www.MeditationFromTheHeart.com

Ode to Dante the Cat

Ode to Dante

Dante plays with Mandy

We found Dante at the Santa Cruz Animal Shelter in March 1997. We took the kids with us to pick out a cat for their Easter gift that year. I was told years later that I may have influenced the children's decision as to which cat to pick.

Dante's description said he was only 1 year old, but the vet seemed to think he was at least 2 or 3 years old at the time. If Dante was two when we got him then he lived a wonderful cat life to the ripe old age of 19. (93 in human years.)

We got to watch Dante transform from a nervous cat who licked the back of his legs so much there was no fur down the center of each back leg (like a dancer's hosiery) to a beautiful strong, calm presence. 

His greatest love was Faith who died three years ago. He was also fond of Summer Fun and Mandy.

Dante on the prowl

Dante was diligent at keeping watch over our home. He took his job as protector very seriously. He would often meet intruders head first though he was never more than ten pounds.

Meditating Cat

 Dante attended many meditation classes with us over the years. He would gently head butt each person's hand for some loving or to give the person encouragement. Many times he would sit and meditate with us for the entire class. He was most excellent at finding his center - tan tien .He also loved greeting the students as they came and left. Dante was the main inspiration behind Henry and I creating a magnificent indoor cat tree.

Dante test drives the tree

Two nights before his passing, Dante spent sleeping on top of either myself, Henry or between the two of us. The evening before he left we had hours with him sitting on our laps.

on his last day on earth Dante chose a sunny, warm place in our garden to rest his weary bones. He laid there from some time before lunch, we covered him with a blanket after dinner. He expired with the setting sun. Always the romantic.

We are dedicating our labyrinth we created Sunday, September first to Dante.

RIP under artichoke

From this day forward it will be known as Dante's Labyrinth. After we buried him in our garden our son, Dan, Henry and I lit some incense, offered our prayers and did a walking meditation through Dante's Labyrinth. It felt so sacred and beautiful. At one point the labyrinth brought the three of us together. I cannot wait to have my meditation students and friends walk this labyrinth with me.

We love you Dante and will miss you greatly. Thanks for being ever diligent and loving. Thank you for greeting us every day after work. Watching over us when we were ill. You have blessed us with your gentlest meow and have enriched our lives in more ways than I know. Our grandchildren will always remember you too. Your life was truly a meditation from the heart.

Please join me Monday mornings and Wednesday nights. See calendar page for the dates. www.MeditationFromTheHeart.com

Life's Seven Challenges

The seven challenges to being a good human being are: Humility, Patience, Acceptance of Fate, Surrender, Simplicity, Detachment and Harmony with Nature.

The theme underlying all of the challenges is the basic struggle to be a well-balanced, good-hearted person. There is a story about two monks who are walking along when one asks the other about his goals in life. The one monk replies, "I'd like to be a saint. Why? What are your goals?" The other monk says, "I just want to be a good human being." The first monk responds, "You are very ambitious."

Humility: Whatever qualities or attributes we possess were given to us. They were not our doing. We didn't create our intelligence, competence with languages, artistic skills, or ability to deal well with people. These are, quite literally, gifts. As we develop spiritually, we increase our ability to help or heal others. We can become better vehicles for healing or helping, but we are not the originators of that energy. Part of the purpose of spiritual development is to help others, but that is not a way or an excuse for making ourselves more important or powerful.

Patience: Spiritual development takes a very long time and is a slow and painstaking process. It is work that does not end. There is no 'getting there.' There is only more insight, and the reward is more work.  Impatience merely hampers our progress. It is as inappropriate as standing in your garden screaming at a seedling to grow faster, to hurry up and bloom.

Blooms once a year

Acceptance of Fate: We can't control reality. But we can control the way we deal with whatever happens. We can feel defeated by a particular event and wail at the heavens, or we can choose to view the event as a challenge, a test of our ability to maintain faith no matter what the circumstance. But an understanding that some things are beyond our control is a wisdom and can simply be accepted as gracefully as possible.

Surrender: We want to naturally live on faith that our struggles have some meaning, that our efforts are not in vain. We must surrender have faith in the forces that impel our lives.

It is an excellent time to surrender in meditation. In particular, we must surrender the ego. We need to bypass the intellect and the ego so that higher spiritual forces can communicate with our Inner Selves. Having a fundamental faith in the power and benevolence of those forces are good to cultivate so that we can truly let go and surrender ourselves to their care.

Simplicity: One of the greatest compliments the Teacher pays a person is to say that he or she is 'simple'; meaning open, direct, or uncomplicated. In our culture we tend to respect complexity, and we use our minds to make things 'more interesting', that is, more complex. But in meditation the intellect and complexity frankly has no place. The Teacher said once that it is very difficult for a complicated person to become simple. It is much easier, however, for a simple person to become complicated. One just needs to learn to constantly ask, "Why?" 

Impartial Observer

Detachment: When we learn to accept fate and surrender our egos and intellects we learn to have more detachment in our everyday lives. This does not mean that we don't care about things, people, or our responsibilities. We still experience strong emotions and can be deeply involved in many areas. But we learn to maintain a certain perspective, to see things in context rather than merely from the narrow viewpoint of our own egos. When someone infuriates us, we still feel the rage. In addition, however, we learn to have the discipline to also view the situation impersonally, as if we were an impartial observer.

It is good to learn detachment from our past patterns of behavior. Many of us define ourselves as victims for whom everything seems to go wrong, or as scapegoats who are always hated and picked on, or as underachievers/overachievers. We may learn to not define or limit ourselves in terms of stereotypes or anything else. And we may learn to detach ourselves from our own destructive habits.

Harmony with Nature: The final challenge is to consistently harmonize and flow with what is natural: Both the natural flow of the Universe and the flow of our own Inner natures. In meditation we learn to 'go with the flow' and to blend with different energies. In day-to-day life we strive to live in harmony with nature, not upsetting the natural balance of our world. 

Summary: It is good to consistently try to master the Seven Challenges, and integrate these values into our everyday lives. True spiritual development is measured by the goodness of our hearts and actions, not in our accomplishments and fame in the mundane world. Nor in our ability to meditate well. This, however, does not minimize the immense value of meditation.

All In A Week

Have you ever had those moments of, "Where did the time go?" Last week seemed to fly by so quickly I thought I had better take a moment and be grateful for all the things I did and not put myself down for the things not done.

I hand-addressed and sent out 70 thank you cards to the last half of March's new Water Star Motors customers. I also sent a couple of birthday and congratulation wishes. I most likely responded to 200 emails and several face book posts.


I accidentally double booked myself on Sunday with a wood carving class at Cabrillo (taught by Ron Cook) and a fundraising event at SCO. So I got started on my project, apologized to the teacher and headed to Market Street to finalize my Monkey Business themed table for 8 called  and to prepare to be a fashion model as part of the Tea's entertainment. I modeled two lovely outfits from the Daisy store. After the Tea I took my table down and put everything in my dishwasher at home. Then I joined Henry for a yummy wine tasting dinner at a friends house.

Monday I taught a Meditation from the Heart class, wrote two blogs - Reflections of a meditation retreat and Life's Seven Challenges. Downloaded photos from my camera and got frustrated with how to work with the windows 8 program on my newish laptop...argh! I practiced my singing lessons and had a nice 20 minute walk to my voice teacher's house. We revamped the entire choreography to Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend. Yep, another 20 minute walk back home after toasting (apple cider) with some of  the Stagebridge leadership team. Date night.

First thing Tuesday morning at Water Star Motors I had to update the security systems on all of our computers and help fix one of our email systems. I got caught up on some of my paperwork and then went to get a relaxing facial from Santa Cruz Skin Solutions.
After a quick bite I had a three hour rehearsal for Stagebridge's Hat's Off II at my house. Then I created and ordered up 300 more thank you notes for WSM.

Wednesday: I did my Directorship duty at the SC Women's Leads Club. Worked at WSM. Got my hair freshly colored and cut by Gloria Riola, wrote out a mudra meditation guide for my students and put a couple of hours in on my wood carving project.

Thursday: My employees are happy that I did their payroll for the week. Bank and credit card reconciliations, various reports, mail, etc. Then I took my first ever Tap class. Yes, time to 'shuffle off to buffalo'. My Follies colleagues are dreaming of me being in tap numbers in their various shows hosted by SCO (Santa Cruz Opportunities). I practiced my singing lessons. I worked on my wood carving for about an hour before teaching my evening meditation class. Henry took our son, Dan, with him to the Warrior's playoff game. During which they got to see our grandson play and our grand daughter win the 'Slam dunk' game. (Go Victoria!)

Warrior's Playoff Game

Friday: Worked for a while. Took my 1st of 6 1.5hr Musical Theatre class on Solo Expression by Kathryn Adkins through Stagebridge (more songs to learn) and my 1st of 6 Dance classes taught by Sharon Took-Zozaya. She has us learning some great choreography. Yep, a little sore and stiff.


Saturday: Started in the hot tub. Got the laundry going. Did some shopping for food and other items at the music store. Picked up a wine club shipment from Storrs. Gardened. Participated in a mini-training on web presence for My Leads Club (Thanks Kayla!). Prepared our home for tomorrow's visit of one of my sisters, Amy. And I wrote this blog.

Meanwhile, there was all of the regular stuff that goes into my daily routine. Like 8 hours of sleep, at least 3 meals a day (including artichokes and lemons from the garden), meditation,  playing with the cats, occasional power naps, moving thousands of dollars out into the universe, reminding my husband of things he may have forgotten, watching some TV, reading and playing internet games, as well as a surprise visit from our middle son, Andy.

Wow! I am grateful for my life, health, businesses, loved ones and me! I hope you are having a terrific week too!

Reflections of a Meditation Retreat

A couple weeks ago I had the good fortune to attend a week-long meditation retreat at Buckhorn Springs (Ashland, OR) with my meditation teacher of 27 years.

Out of the 26 folks who attended 9 states and two countries were represented.

A retreat is a perfect way to remove ourselves from our daily grind and connect more deeply with our spiritual nature. The end results are being well rested, revitalized and chock full of new insights and vigor. Often the wholeness human beings are searching for can be fulfilled from within. Especially if one takes time to retreat from daily routines and stresses.

Getting ready for another round of meditation

Sometimes I like to look at the statistics of a thing. We started with an evening meditation on a Friday and ended with a morning meditation the following Friday. In between we enjoyed 47 hours of meditation, learning, laughter and exercise. As well as 25 yummy meals that were lovingly prepared for us.  We also had an after party which included a silent auction where we raised $1600 for our scholarship program. During our free time there was several acres of beautiful land to explore, more meditation to be had, helping others with healing, sharing life experiences and the exploring of the beautiful town of Ashland.

I am always stuck by how magnificent the night sky is when we are removed from the city lights. The milky way is rich with stars. I am so lucky to experience such breath-taking beauty. It was quite fun to name all the constellations we remembered from our schooling.

A typical day would start with an hour of meditation from 7-8am. We rise from our sleepy state and walk in silence to the meditation hall and quietly sit and meditate. Breakfast is served. As you can imagine, sitting for long periods can be tiring. So to help us with that we had a daily exercise period from 9-10am. During which we'd stretch, do chi kung, tai chi and other breathing/moving exercises. From 10-Noon we'd have a session with the Teacher. Lunch is served. Free time til the 2:00-3:30 session with Leong - often outside - learning more about nature. Free time til dinner was served. 7-9pm evening session with the Teacher. Sleep and repeat.

I have to say that this retreat was golden with laughter. And there was so much harmony and great connections between all the participants. Lovely!

The main thing that is up for me at this time is Patience. Patience with family and with my meditation business.

Patience is one of the seven challenges to being a good human being. Spiritual growth is a natural process and it cannot be rushed.

Time is our gift. We have time.

Headache Relief

Meditation from the Heart's Quick Tip for Relief from a Headache

Does your head ever feel like this?

Many years ago I learned this easy and effective way to help others to get rid of their headache. It is a technique from Polarity Therapy. A person does not need years of meditation cultivation; it simply works every time. Even a child can do it.

Human beings are chock full of positive and negative electrons. At times they seem to gather in an over abundance in one's head - causing a headache.

For ease of description, Person A - is the one with the headache. Person B - is the one who is helping to lessen the headache via this polarity technique. 

Polarize a Headache

Have person A sit comfortably in a chair. Remove any hat or glasses.
Person B (standing) rubs their palms together briskly for a few seconds. Approach the left side of person A. Ask them to close their eyes and breathe deeply. Their breaths should be audible.

Person B places their right palm lightly against the base of 'A's' neck and the left palm about an inch away from 'A's' forehead.

Hold this position for a minute or two while person A is taking deep breaths. 

When done person B should flick their fingers a few times and or run their hands under cool water.

This simple technique helps to re-align the positive and negative electrons and moves the painful stagnant energy out of the head.

Gratitude Offers Abundant Living

I love this acronym: G.O.A.L. 

   Gratitude 

Offers 

     Abundant 

Living

When times are tough it is good to get back to the basics by reminding yourself of the many things you have in your life for which to be grateful.

Do not take life for granted. If you look at your life you will see that you really do have all that you need. Appreciate the little things in life. And know it is the little things that you do for others that people appreciate most.

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough. It turns denia into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates vision for tomorrow." - Melody Beattie

Blessings: If they are not appreciated then they are not blessings. You are a blessing.

Do not take life for granted. Focus on the joy of life right here, now! For example; “Mmm this is a great cup of tea/coffee. J”