Allowing your inner strength, peace and resources to navigate you through your day.

For centuries meditation has been perceived as an esoteric practice. Those who wanted to expand and understand their consciousness or even to just escape the world, would often go away and meditate in caves. In these times, meditation is a skill that helps you live your life in this world. You can survive without it, however, a great resource exists within you in the experience of meditation. Why deny yourself that?

At the moment of our birth, we inhale. At the moment of our death, we exhale. Before we first inhale, there is no ego. After we last exhale, there is no ego. In between our first and last breaths, we breathe in and out mostly unconsciously, and we live in our egos mostly unconsciously. We know we are alive when we are still breathing and when we hear the chatter of our thoughts. We identify with the chatter and think it represents our minds. It is like looking at the ocean and identifying the waves as the ocean. The visible surface is not all there is, but we can’t judge the quiet depths when all we see is the turbulent surface.

If you experience yourself thinking, just label those thoughts as thinking and disengage from them. Assume that your thoughts are merely turbulence left over from the more active part of your day and that they are not important to you right now. When one stirs the mud at the bottom of a small pond, the water becomes muddy. For the water to be clear, one must stop stirring the mud. For our minds to be clear and calm, we need to stop stirring our thoughts. In the space between breaths just be still. No stirring.

There is no doubt it is helpful to make a space for it, to say: now I am going to meditate. Now I am going to sit down and experience the light of Awareness within me. I am going to rest in that Awareness. In that process, as one sits quietly, being aware of the breath moving in and out of the body, being aware of the thoughts in the mind, being aware of feelings, sensations, perceptions, one returns over and over simply to Awareness, the Awareness of being aware.

Meditation is honoring the light in yourself, others, and the world. Connect and focus on your subtle feelings, open your heart to the Universal Heart and hear your inner voice. How ever your Inner Voice manifests itself, whether it be your higher self, guides, angels, loved ones, lightbeings or whatever you fancy, doesn’t matter, for it all flows from the Universal Heart. This essence is like water, forever flowing, taking in the form of the container it flows into. You are your Inner Voice, you are the Universal Heart, and you are your higher self, guides, angels, loved ones, lightbeings or whatever you fancy.

Practice meditating with awareness of the space between breaths. Let your awareness follow the breath out of your body and don’t rush to fill the void. Let your breath settle into its own rhythm, don’t force it, but become especially attentive to allowing the breath to leave you. The in-breathing will take care of itself. Don’t impede it; just don’t worry about it as you attend to the exhalation and the space behind it. As you relax in your meditation, you may notice the period of non-action between breaths lengthens a bit. Allow your mind to rest in silence in these intervals between breaths. As you breathe out and in, don’t so much watch your breath as feel it going out, pausing and coming back in. The breath is not an object to be watched so much as it is the process of life happening. Allow yourself to live in this moment quietly, peacefully and fully awake

Meditation Exercise:

♥ Sit quietly and close your eyes. Take a breath and feel into your being, perhaps your heart, your belly or simply the very centre of yourself. Here you find a point of light, a seed. Be with that seed in this moment and feel the multi-dimensional, ever expanding, creative essence of you. As you inhale feel yourself retreat to your seed, the still point within you. As you exhale know that you are always blossoming, always bearing fruit always creating.  A quiet descends and moves through you….. From that quiet the most beautiful sounds you have ever heard and felt become you. Realise this is your inner voice, for you are hearing and feeling the whispers of the Universal Heart. ……… a new path opens up…. open your eyes and continue your journey….♥

In Love and Light, Denise♥

Images from The Art of Love Tarot

Seven of Trees

Contemplation

Take some time, catch your breath and enter the inner world of your creation. Reflect upon and synchronise with your dreams and desires.

Description

The seven branches of this tree provide a serene, beautiful setting in which to rest from your journey. As the sunlight shines through the branches, the tree is no longer defined by its physical presence. It realises its form and definition come from the spaces in-between. It dances in the wind as a thank you to the Sun. The Earth is ever turning and the Sun will move on to illuminate other trees, other oceans, other truths. Make the most of its light by observing all it touches and the spaces in between.

Meaning

The Seven of Trees inspires you to take some time out for yourself. You have been working so hard, now is a time to catch your breath and reflect. A break from doing gives you a chance to see and process your surroundings before difficulties arise. Are you still on course, is this still the path you want to take, and are you getting the results you want? There is so much going on behind the scenes. The Universe is moving Heaven and Earth to give you what you desire. Now that you know this you can relax and get on with your day of rest.