Thank your Angels!

You may see posts of mine "11:11 - Thank your Angels".  First, angels come in all shapes and sizes and second, what better time than the Thanksgiving Holiday to give thanks.

Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday and it unfortunately gets pushed aside since it does not warrant much fan fare.  No costumes to buy for trick or treating, no naughty or nice list, just simple conversations over great food and drink as well as a little reflection with family and friends on what you are grateful for.

What folks don't realize is, if they maintain what some refer to as, the "attitude of gratitude" they can increase their level of happiness.  I know, right?  Sounds crazy simple...  but it's true.  I have found that if you keep a gratitude journal and write in it often - which keeps you focusing on the positive versus the negative, you will subsequently attract more positive energy into your life versus negative.  Remember:  positive attracts positive, and...  visa versa. 

Now, the gratitude journal does not need to be anything expensive or fancy, it can be simple.  You choose.  Just make it something you will enjoy picking up to write in, often.  More often than not, we overlook the small things in life that we should be grateful for.  We move so quickly through our days, that we pass by the simple pleasures life has to offer or we glaze over life's true gifts.  Green lights on our way to work; missing a traffic jam; the rain holding off until you finish loading (and unloading) the groceries you just purchased;  a friend calling you the moment you are thinking of them, or the moment you needed them most.  The sun peaking through the clouds after days of rain or the flowers peaking through what you imagine will be the last dusting of snow.

Both Louise Hay and Dr. Wayne Dyer contributed to "Being grateful for every moment" on the Heal Your Life Blog.

 

Louise Hay - Heal Your Life  

"Gratitude increases your abundance".  Now that is a concept I can get behind.  What have you got to lose, right?

I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with kindness and moments of gratitude for you and the ones you love.  Enjoy the holiday.  Be thankful, be grateful...

Be Well...

Mary-Anne

Guided Meditation #1 - Quiet Your Mind

You have your three basic steps down.  What were they again?  The 'where'...  the 'how'...  and the 'why'...  Now that you have that in place, what was the other important aspect of the last post?  Right...  The 'breath' and that the breath will always help you to refocus in the meditation if there are outside noises that distract you while practicing. 

Keep in mind while you read the meditation, there will be three ...'s (...) sprinkled within the meditation, this is when you will give a count of three before reading the next set of words.  The idea is to take your time reading.  Nice...  and slow...

Now that you have got the breathing down.  We will begin to clear the mind one thought at a time.  Close your eyes, continue to breathe...  in...  and out...  in...  and out...  I want you to picture yourself in a room...  A quiet room, small, quaint, comfortable...  In your minds eye, as you look around the room, you realize the items in the room are beginning to slowly fade away...  one by one, other chairs... pictures on the wall... tables... lamps...  windows... doorways...  keep one window or one doorway (you will use this later)  all the rest, fade ...to a soft white.  The room is just you...  Just you, and the window (or door - for the sake of this exercise we will say window).  Keep breathing...  in peace and calm... out stress and anxiety...

You, in the room, this soft, white room...  with one window...  breathing in peace...  and breathing out stress...  a thought comes into your mind...  (one mistake people make is to try to block the thought...  I say thoughts will happen, thoughts are ok...)  acknowledge the thought...  In your minds eye, I want you to acknowledge the thought, in your white room.  I want you to get up from your chair and walk over to the window...  while thinking the thought... I want you to imagine writing the thought on a piece of paper... and placing it right outside the window... ( maybe there is a window box) for later...  

If you acknowledge the thoughts as they come in, and remove them from the forefront of your mind, they are less apt to come back during the meditation.  If you choose (to try) to ignore them, they come back, again, and again...  louder and more bothersome each time.  Acknowledge them, and set them aside for after your meditation is complete...  this way here your subconscious realizes you are not ignoring, not pushing aside, you acknowledge and set time aside for them later.  This time, right now, is for you, and you alone...

Once the thought is placed outside the window, walk slowly back to your chair, and sit down...  Back to your breath, in - peace and calm...  out - stress and anxiety...

Stay in this place, this peaceful place for as long as you like...  continue to walk your thoughts out of the room, in a safe spot (your window box) until you are ready to come back from your perfect, peaceful place and address them.  

Sometimes, your entire time will be walking thoughts out of the room.  That is ok, for the next time, you may spend only 90% of your time walking thoughts out of the room and then 10% will be completely quiet.  To have even 5 minutes of your mind completely quiet is very healing.  This is where you can hear, feel, or see messages, answers to questions that you have had.  When we are able to get quiet enough to listen is when we find the answers we seek.  You continue this practice until you have more quiet time than thought handling.  These meditations can be as short or as long as you like.

Keep practicing.  Enjoy your quiet time.  More to come.

Be Well,

Mary-Anne

Guided Meditation Prep - Keep this for future meditations.

I told you in the last post to stay tuned as I would share a full guided imagery meditation for you to try.  Which I will.  First however, I want you to have a foundation for each upcoming meditation.  So, be sure to save this page for all future meditations.

To quiet the mind is not always easy to do, therefore, I will walk you through how to prepare yourself to clear the mind of unnecessary clutter.  

First:  Choose the where.  I would like you to choose a quiet and dimly lit place to practice.  A comfortable chair, maybe light a candle, maybe even play soft music.  I never use music with words, only instrumentals, as it is much less distracting for meditation.*  Maybe you will choose to sit outside in nature.  Wherever you choose, just have a space that will be your go-to place for your very own quiet time.  

Second:  Choose the how.  I realize that I have mother's of young children reading this thinking...  how am I going to get quiet time, that's impossible.  I realize that although it may be harder to accomplish for those with smaller children or even someone taking care of a parent in the home, it is certainly not impossible.  There is always a way to take hold of even just thirty minutes; trust me, it will be well worth it, and better for all involved.  I need you to tell your family you need a little quiet time.  Maybe take a bath (I love meditating in water).  Someplace you can be quiet where no one will bother you.  Or maybe you need to choose a time when you know you will have the house to yourself.  Or maybe now is a good time to take a friend up on that babysitting offer.  It is going to be important for you to have at least thirty minutes set aside, so, think of how you can accomplish this for your next steps.  It is ok if your family is home, as long as they will give you this thirty minute window.

Third:  Choose the why.  I want you to think to of what your goal will be.  What you would like the meditation to help you achieve.  Maybe you are looking to lower your blood pressure.  Maybe you want to reduce the levels of stress in your life.  Maybe you need to reduce the amount of anxiety you feel at work, at home, or with certain individuals.  Maybe you want to get better at focusing on projects you have started but have yet to finish.  Be sure to choose the why, as we will measure how much meditation in fact helps you to fulfill those goals.

Once you have the three basic steps down for the prep work remember, every meditation will always begin with the breath...  this will look familiar to you...  breathing in peace and calm...  breathing out stress and anxiety.  You remember.

Again...  breathing in calm... and breathing out anxiety.  I want you to always be able to come back to your breathing.  It will become natural and rhythmic.  If your family is home, you may still hear them, that is ok.  Focusing on your breath will allow you to regain focus within the meditation.  If there are noises around you attempting to distract, always come back to the breath.  In - peace and calm, out - stress and anxiety.  You can always choose another 'something positive' or a different 'something negative', but for the purpose of this exercise, we will go with the aforementioned.

Breathe...  in peace...  out stress...  Breathe - in peace...  out stress...  repeat.  Remember, this alone has it's own benefits.

Now, you have the place, the time and the reason as well as you know that each meditation will begin with the breath...  I think you are ready!

Stay tuned for more...

Be Well,

Mary-Anne

*  If you go on Amazon and search Reiki music you will get a myriad of choices that have music, no words, very reasonably priced.