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

The Exercise Room

I am excited to introduce a new page on my Meditation From the Heart website called the         Exercise Room!  Currently there are two meditation exercises to be found there.

The first is the Sum Faht Mudra Meditation. Here you will find, in written form, the guide for the 16 mudras that make up this meditation.

Help prevent heart attack mudra

Mudras are specific hand positions which activate various energies within the body. (For example - the photo to the right depicts the mudra that will be helpful to someone who is experiencing heart attack symptoms.)

It is good to hold each mudra for a consistent amount of time. I use an app called 'Insight Timer' because it can be set to ring a 'singing bowl' chime at any interval you wish. If it repeats once a minute then the mudra meditation exercise will be 16 minutes long; or once every minute and a half it will take 24 minutes. Also, you could count your breaths. For example taking 5 deep breaths for each mudra. The idea is to spend equal time in each position.

The Sum Faht Mudra Meditation is good for people who want to have something for their mind to focus on.

The second exercise shown is still-shot video of the 12 Brocades. The 12 Brocades is a chee kung style exercise which will help a person to build up physical strength while boosting the body's many systems: The immune system, the nervous system, the musculoskeletal system, digestive system, respiratory system, and the circulatory/cardiovascular system, to name a few.

My cat, Dante

You will see my cat, Dante, joining me during part of the 12 brocades.

In this video you will see both the front view and the side view of each position and my voice will guide you through it..It is timed at 30 seconds for each brocade. This good for learning purposes.

Once you have the 12 Brocades memorized it is best to do the positions with your eyes closed. I like holding each position for a minute. But you can challenge yourself to increase your time to two minutes each (or longer :-).

After doing the 12 Brocades it is recommended to go into a sitting meditation - bringing all your good work into the 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”

Don't Worry Be Happy!

Happiness is a state of being.

Being happy does not mean you need to deny everything else. 

Do things that make you happy and agree with yourself.

Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

If you think about it you will know that there is nothing outside of ourselves that has the power to make us happy.

For example: If I think, “That cup of coffee over there will make me happy.” And I go over and get it, I may find that I am feeling happy for a while, but then I get bored with it (and the cup is soon empty). 
Now, I think, “Getting a new pair of shoes (like so and so is wearing) would make me happy.” Poof! I have new shoes. After a while I find the ‘external happiness’ fades. I get bored again.

This is temporary happiness only. Permanent happiness comes from within and goes with me where ever I go. So, if you catch yourself saying, “I will really be happy when…” Perhaps stop yourself and say, “I am truly happy now.”

Love and Happiness in LA

Meditation in LA

My husband, youngest son and I had the opportunity to see our meditation teacher in Los Angeles over the
Valentine's weekend. Love and Happiness were two of the main topics.

During a weekend workshop we participate with 10 hours of being with the Teacher. This is spread over Friday evening, Saturday morning and afternoon and Sunday morning.
We do not meditate 10 hours straight. Our time is interspersed with meditation, pearls of wisdom, other teachings and healing work. I have gathered for you many of the pearls that relate to the theme of love and happiness.

It is good to love - cultivate it. One of my initial challenging lessons from my first days of meditation was to understand how important it is to love yourself first and to love yourself from within. My upbringing was to do everything for others first and if I had the time, then do for me. It actually works much better the other way around.

Not feeling well? The expression is, "Feeling under the weather." How about changing that to, "Feeling over the weather or above the weather," when you are healthy again.

The Teacher was talking to one of the gentlemen at the workshop about needing both money and love. "Which one is more important?" When one is in the initial stage of love then the world is an absolutely wonderful place to be. You can breathe in lightness and air - live off love alone. It is so fulfilling and delightful.

Are you happy when you are on vacation? Why not take that happiness feeling and apply to your work when you get back home? Be happy at work like you are on vacation.

Strangely enough, looking at oneself does not always spark happiness within because human beings have a  habit of self-criticism. Be happy with yourself...one little thing at a time. What we have should make us happy. We must cultivate love to give happiness easily.

It is not easy to surrender. Who to? Surrender to yourself...the big SELF, i.e. the higher self that resides within. That kind of surrender allows your spirit to guide you to find your happiness. Just accept yourself. Your friends do!!!

Fun in Alaska

Wake up knowing, "This is a nice morning." Say out loud or inwardly, "This is a nice morning!" with your very first step out the door. Take fun with you wherever you go. Life is beautiful. It is a gift. Enjoy it!

"Life is like a meatball." Solid, but requires mixing all the ingredients including the spices to make it fun. Make sure your self-talk is full of positives. "I can do this." "I'm feeling good."

You don't have to go looking for love. It will be there. Accept all things with love. Love yourself to mend broken relations.

Last Two of the Six Common Meditation Mistakes

Previously, we have looked at four of  the six most common meditation mistakes. (#1: I'm trying to quiet my mind. #2: I'm just trying to feel peaceful and open during my meditations. #3: "I've been doing the same practice for months or years." #4: "I'm trying to reach enlightenment or a permanent state of bliss.")

 If you have tried meditation and have become frustrated either with maintaining your practice or with a lack of results, do not feel alone. At times, even the most ardent practitioner can be derailed by these snafus.  

Many faults are rooted in typical, fundamental, misunderstandings about what the purpose of meditation is. These can derail any human being despite the best of intentions. The good news is, the meditations taught by Meditation from the Heart and the way they are presented, side-step the common errors entirely, giving you a far more reliable and enduring experience.

As we reveal more common meditation mistakes see if you recognize your own meditation ‘block(s)’.

Meditation Mistake #5: "I use my meditation as an escape from the challenges of life." Some

I'm sure it will be better over there

people may use meditation as a refuge or 'spiritual bypass'. Escaping into meditation to avoid facing or dealing with uncomfortable feelings or issues. This approach does not lead to good results. Rather such avoidance could lead to less, not more, ease and ability to deal with life issues.

Meditation is more about being fully present with everything that is - including discomfort and challenges. If there were no tough challenges in life then our life would become boring. And we would naturally create a situation that provides difficulties for our-self just to shake things up a bit.

Your meditation practice can empower and strengthen you to face truth and reality without hiding. Most of us are human beings who live and work in the world and have not chosen the monastic lifestyle. Please don't use that as an excuse to wait to have a meditation practice until 'the time is right.'

Also, ask yourself, "When or where are you happy?" Is it on vacation? Do you lose that happiness when you come back home and to work? Then treat your work as though you are on vacation. Be happy at work.

Meditation Mistake #6: "I hop from one spiritual teacher to the next trying to find the one who will make me feel the best and fulfill my desires." "Danger Will Robinson!" No one can make you feel anything or fulfill your desires. Only you can do these things for yourself. It is easy to show powerful and wonderful mystical experiences. It is much harder to work at a gentle pace to build a strong foundation which builds a harmonious and contented life. 

Don't be a cyber-bot

Please, do not give your power away to anyone. You and the innate spirit that resides within are perfectly capable of leading you to live a fulfilled life. Let your teachers gently remind and nudge you in the direction that is right for you.

More than anything, realize that we live in an age of fast information, where we can look up something that is puzzling us, read about it and decide if it is helpful or not. The key here is one, not to forget to take the time away from technology to just be with yourself. And two, to remember to move at the pace of a human being - not a cyber-bot.

Two More of the Six Common Meditation Mistakes

Previously, we have looked at two of  the six most common meditation mistakes. (#1: I'm trying to quiet my mind. #2: I'm just trying to feel peaceful and open during my meditations.) If you have tried meditation and have become frustrated either with maintaining your practice or with a lack of results, do not feel alone. At times, even the most ardent practitioner can be derailed by these snafus.  

Many faults are rooted in typical, fundamental, misunderstandings about what the purpose of meditation is. These can derail any human being despite the best of intentions. The good news is, the meditations taught by Meditation from the Heart and the way they are presented, side-step the common errors entirely, giving you a far more reliable and enduring experience.

As we reveal more common meditation mistakes see if you recognize your own meditation ‘block(s)’.

Personal Plateau

Meditation Mistake #3 - "I've been doing the same practice for months or years." First, let's remember that there is no wrong way to meditate. Experienced meditators can hit plateaus. Rote repetition of a single approach can drive you into a 'meditation rut', where your practice has lost some vitality and dynamics you have experienced before. 

If you have been meditating for years (or seems like ages) but aren't sure why you are doing it any more, Can't think of any benefits you are deriving, dread the practice or simply treat it like a habit you are forcing yourself to maintain, then this is probably your issue.

Just like an exercise program you have for your body can get stale - you need to shake it up every once and a while. Introduce some new challenges to stretch yourself. For example go to a group meditation practice, sign yourself up for a retreat or schedule yourself for an all day meditation at your own home or favorite place (not recommended for beginners).

Meditation from the Heart teaches a variety of approaches that inspires you to use your awareness in different ways. Effectively giving you tools that will 'cross-train' your body, mind and spirit. Thus lowering your chances of getting stuck in a rut. Rather, helping your meditation practice to become an ongoing journey of deepening awareness and curiosity. 

Enlightenment

Meditation Mistake #4 - "I'm trying to reach enlightenment or a permanent state of bliss." Don't worry, there are many mini enlightenment's along the way, however, you will still be learning until the day you die. Achieving a specific dramatic state of being or having flashy 'spiritual fireworks' is not the point of meditative cultivation.

If one tries to hold on to or continually go back to an incredible or 'favorite' experience you've had then not only are you actively engaging your mind, but you are also, in essence, holding on to the past and effectively closing yourself off to potentially more magnificent and uplifting experiences.

All states of being have a natural ebb and flow. Let your meditation practice lead you to a great many experiences with balance and liberation from the past. 

A Love Story

The path that lead me to my meditation Teacher and lifelong practice began at a major crossroad in my life. I was a young 27 year old, engaged to a man who was literally crushing my spirit. Fortunately I had this terrific girlfriend who was seeing the Teacher at the time.

I purchased a class package for my fiancee and myself hoping to find some answers as to how I could bring balance, freedom and joy back into my life.

Swirling Spirit of the Heart

Oh my! From the very first session,I felt I had arrived home to a safe, magical space where I could see myself clearly. And where profound learnings and shifts in being were to be had. The fiancee...not so much.

I continued to go - my spirit was thirsty for more. At the very next class the Teacher asked me, “Lisa, Do you know all men are not jerks?” I was stumped. My mind was racing to comprehend why he was telling me this.

Well, within 24 hours, the proverbial light bulb clicked on. My ‘eureka!’ revelation was that I would be so much better off if I simply walked away from the fiancee. Even if I never saw any of my belongings ever again I would be ‘saving’ myself. So, I took action. I walked out and never looked back. (Doin’ the happy dance.)

Fortunately, my girlfriend had a spare room at her house that was available to me - since I was now homeless. Also, fortunately, she was friends with a man who happened to be visiting her home along with my now husband, Henry.

February 27, 1988

Long story - short, Henry and I actually had met each other 1.5 years earlier at the same house. (My girlfriend pulled out a photo of the two of us sitting on the couch together.) Only at that time, Henry was still married and I was with that other guy. But wait, there’s more. It turns out we both grew up in Colorado Springs and went to the same high school.

Henry liked meditation too. We fell in love and six months later we were married and I became the instant mom of Henry’s three children - a 4, 7 and 10 year old.

I am profoundly grateful for my meditation practice. It not only brought my beautiful family together, but it has bolstered me at every challenge life has presented to me.

I feel honored to share what I have learned with others via Meditation from the Heart - Breathe, Feel, Laugh.

Second Chance for New Habits

The Chinese New Year (January 31, 2014 - Year of the Horse) gives us a second chance to create new habits for our selves.

Meditation is about energy. Changing a habit is about shifting your energy to be more aligned with what your entire being wants or needs in order to be more in balance.

Here are ten suggestions for possible new habits this year:

1. Meditate more: Even five minutes a day will boost all areas of your life. (Need some support with your meditation? Come to Meditation From the Heart classes.)

2. Self Compassion: Loving yourself may seem counter intuitive to the way most of us have been raised to do for others first and put yourself last on the list. Well, the truth is, if you take care of yourself first then your batteries are well-charged to help those around you.

3. Un-procrastination: Doing the things you have in mind or said you will do will give you feelings of accomplishment and increases your self worth and personal integrity.

4. Exercise. We are given only one body. Be grateful for it and treat your body well.

5. Let go of Expectations: Quite often, having expectations, leads to disappointment. A gentler approach is to know your preferences and accept what happens along your path of life.

6.  Simple Living: Children have it right. See where you can simplify your life. You may find it leads you to more happiness.

7.  Face your Fears: Fears love company. As soon as you turn your back on one then it invites it's buddies to join in for more pestering later. If you, however, face the fear head on it will lessen its grip on you and dissipate.

8. Improve Relationships: Of course starting with yourself is key. (No matter where you go, there you are.) Harmonizing with others is fun and rewarding.

9.  Practice Acceptance: Acceptance of situations helps you to find solutions more easily and tends to help make your 'mountains' into molehills.

10.  Smile more often: The first smile could be at yourself in the mirror in the morning. The adage, "Smile and the world smiles with you," does contain some wisdom. 

I am quite sure you are capable of guiding yourself to choosing new habits for a better, healthier you.

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Best wishes and congratulations. Have a prosperous New Year!

Sage Appreciation

Sage Appreciation

Don’t take life for granted. If you look at your life you’ll see that you really have all that you need. Appreciate the little things in life. It’s the little things you do for others that people appreciate most.