meditation
How To Find Your Inner Peace
Around the world we are being faced with a crisis situation that is bringing many negative feelings to the surface. Fear, anxiety, sadness, confusion, mistrust, frustration, anger. How you are faring during this time? What emotional responses are coming to the surface for you?
I have been following the news around the world. I have seen some leaders scoff at and make light of the situation, while others take it extremely seriously. There seems to be no unanimity or consistency in the messages we receive, and there appears to be a lack of consensus among the leadership and experts.
How then can we as individuals find inner peace and unity in all this chaos? The following guidelines may be helpful to you in the days ahead.
Turn Off The News
First things first: reduce your daily exposure to the news, and fact check everything you do choose to pay attention to. Most of all, do not believe everything you see on social media! Many of the stories going around are false reports, conspiracy theories and fake news. Some media outlets are also creating more fear and drama than we should have to deal with. Remember that in many cases sensationalism often equals sales. Choose your sources carefully and listen to your inner guidance and follow your intuition.
Finding The Calm Within
Be afraid. Yes, be afraid. Be so very afraid! We are currently being bombarded with this message, not only daily, but hourly. People are very worried, anxious and fearful for a variety of valid reasons. To be honest, I believe our greatest source of anxiety is that we no longer seem to have much control over our lives.
In the modern world we have become so conditioned to mindless purchasing, consuming, and discarding, that we hardly give much thought anymore to our daily habits and lifestyle choices, whether useful or not. We also expect and demand certain privileges and freedoms, and it is shocking to have our normal, everyday routines disrupted, especially when we have no idea when things will return to normal.
I feel this is actually the most frightening aspect of the current circumstances for most people. We feel that we have lost control over our lives. And every morning, we tune back into our daily update of doom, gloom and negative dialogue, which of course only resets our fright buttons!
A better way to start your day would be to take a few minutes to reconnect to the safe and secure part of yourself, namely the inner spirit. Here, all is well, all is serene, and all is safe. Become mindful of your breathing and calm your mind. Then do a visualization that creates a sense of joy, peace and serenity.
Now Is The Time For Love
There is a lot of anxiety in our world at the moment, due to the ongoing pandemic of the coronavirus, or Covid-19. When this kind of crisis arises, it affects us in the deepest and most primal parts of our inner being. And who we choose to be in such a moment truly matters.
I believe that now is a time for healing. Not only from physical disease, but also from a state of unconsciousness and disconnection that many of us have been fostering, long before we even knew terms like ‘social distancing’ and ‘self-isolation.’ It seems to me as though these terms are just the articulation of an already existing condition that has been in existence long before Covid-19 arrived.
If you are currently fearful and anxious, it is understandable. Be patient and gentle with yourself. If you are struggling to cope, do not hesitate to pick up the phone and reach out to someone that you trust. If you feel isolated, now is the time to freely speak the words, “I love you.” If you have something of value to share, now is the time to give. If you can assist, now is the time to help. Now is the time for love.
There are those that would perpetuate fear at this time. I recommend not listening to such negative voices. Abstain from indulging in conspiracy theories, and trust that, as it is written in Luke 8:17, “There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing concealed that will not be known.”
Instead, turn your ear to voices of unconditional love, kindness and compassion. If you have enough ‘soul force,’ become that voice for others. As it is written in 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.”
Finding Answers In The Akashic Records
Imagine an enormous, vast, endless library where every book is a detailed record of every life every lived on Earth, as well as in every other dimension, or realms of existence. These are what is known as the Akasaha, or the Akashic Records. It is a complete collection of all the thoughts, words, feelings, events and experiences that have ever occurred in this life, and the next.
By accessing the Akashic Records, one can gain information about past lives or a present life. One can read any moment of someone’s life. One can feel their emotions, observe their thoughts, and find explanations and answers to life questions. One can also do this for any other soul the particular person interacted with in their current life, or their former incarnations.
There is no ego on the other side, so there are no secrets and no need for privacy. The Akashic record is a ‘public library’ with ‘free access.’ Every life lived contributes information or spiritual data for the collective consciousness, the universal mind and soul. We don’t just live our physical lives for our benefit, and our own soul evolution. We also live our lives for the expansion of the Universe, and the evolution of every other soul that has ever lived, or will ever live in the physical.
Anyone can go into the Akashic records and research their own lifetimes, and that of others, in order to learn from our choices, decisions, faults, mistakes, thoughts, emotions, challenges, adversities, lessons, gifts and blessings.
Make Your Spring Cleaning A Spiritual Cleansing
Although I rent my home, I set aside time each year to spring clean and spiritually cleanse my living space. You may wonder why I invest this time, when I am probably going to pack it all up and relocate soon? Well, I believe the way you treat yourself in your current home will actually help to manifest the joy and happiness in your next home.
Now, spring cleaning conjures up the traditional vision of shaking out rugs, deep cleaning the entire home, and opening all the windows to let the fresh air inside. But, taking the time for a spiritual cleansing, alongside your annual spring cleaning, can let in so much more!
The positive energy from creating a deeper connection to the space around you is actually an investment in not only in your living space, but in yourself. A happy home is a connection to joy and inspiration, and attracts into your life more of what you desire. Putting on hold any and all spiritual connection with your current living arrangement, can actually put on hold your chance to connect with the life you really want.
Clear The Clutter
A highly impactful energy change already begins with clearing out the clutter from your home. Clutter not only blocks your mind and body, but it also blocks energy flow and quite often leaves those living in clutter feeling eternally ‘stuck.’ People who live in cluttered homes often become stuck all areas of their life: emotional, physical, financial and spiritual. Even if you do a little bit at a time, clearing out clutter is the one of the quickest and most positive practical and spiritual changes you can make in your home.
Meditation Made Easy
No doubt you’ve heard of the many physical, mental and spiritual benefits of meditation. And like many people, you are keen to give it a go, but still don’t know where to start? Well, it doesn’t have to be complicated or intimidating. According to Shunryu Suzuki, the Sōtō Zen master who helped popularize Zen Buddhism in the United States, approaching meditation with a beginner’s mind is actually ideal.
The most common misconception it that meditation is a state of “thinking of nothing” or “clearing your mind.” It is simply impossible to not think at all. One would basically have to be totally unconscious to achieve that. Instead, meditation is a spiritual practice in which we learn to be more mindful – to center, breathe, and achieve greater calm, inner peace and clarity.
Meditation is about embracing whatever is happening in the present moment, but without getting caught up in any of it. Meditation is about going with the flow, instead of resisting or suppressing your thoughts and feelings.
Meditation in its various forms has been practiced by cultures all over the world for millennia. The oldest documented evidence of the practice of meditation has been found in ancient Indian wall art that dates back to approximately 5,000 to 3,500 BC.
Meditation is an awareness practice, or an enhanced state of consciousness. It does not have to be associated with a specific religion or spiritual tradition. Anyone can meditate, no matter what their belief system. It also does not have to involve sitting or lying passively. It can be anything from coloring mandalas, to taking a walk in nature.