Showing posts with label meditation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meditation. Show all posts

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Shift the Holiday Part 2: 20 Tips for Self Care & Meditation

The holidays is not always a joyous one for many. Thinking about all of those individuals.

Let us be mindful of our friends, family members, or neighbors who may be suffering in silence and may we all lend a hand for a shoulder for them to lean on during these difficult times.

This video was inspired by personal and professional experiences and events.  I am a trauma survivor and have learned a lot through my own journey and growth throughout the years.  My goal is to share what I have learned with you in hopes to guide you to wholeness.

This was a live video feed of part 2 of 2: "Shift the Holidays"- 20 Tips for Self Care - Closing Meditation Hope you will join us.



For "Shift The Holidays - Part 1 - Perspective, 5 Calls to Actions, Closing Meditation", Click here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgChp...

Visit www.laurahealingwithspirit.com for complete list of services, classes, and events

With love and appreciation,
Laura
Healing With Spirit


Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Reflections from a Morning of Mindfulness at Webb State Memorial Park


"Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” – Buddha

Journey with us into the miracle of mindfulness in nature.  Experience life through a different lens. We hope this post inspires you to bring more mindfulness into your life.

Morning here this morning in New England at Webb Park in Weymouth Massachusetts was a brisk and damp 63° upon arrival for the Morning of Mindfulness Project.

Those who were mindful of the current weather conditions dressed appropriately and accordingly for today.

When we do these groups part of the lessons is to embrace what “is” regardless of a cards we are dealt with at the moment.

We began the morning was pulling an oracle card to help set the tone and guide us on today's journey.

The card for the day was "Surrender Obsessive Thinking" which seems to be quite relevant under the current energies that we are experiencing right now heading into the eclipse season.

Today's morning of mindfulness began with a simple guided meditation and sensory exercise before we headed out on our journey. If you've never joined us for one of these, you will know that every week we do something different and focus on something different even though we incorporate basic teachings weekly.

This week we focused our mastery of presence through our breath and awareness listening to the wisdom given to us through nature and our bodies.


“The mind in its natural state can be compared to the sky, covered by layers of cloud which hide its true nature.”
– Kalu Rinpoche

Here are some observations we made today. (Pictures taken after the event as to not disrupt the exercises and experiences. Pictures taken in areas revisited.)

It is hard not to notice the wet grounds with the recent rains yesterday and into early this morning.

In Shintoism, a native religion of Japan (to many Japanese it is not a religion but a way of being and is cultural), the clouds represent where the Gods reside and the rains represents one way for the Gods to come from the heavens.

"An essential point of Shinto is the idea that wa (kind, benign and harmless harmony) is inherent in nature and social relationships."[i]

“The Japanese descriptive term for Shinto is Kami no Michi. Kami means the "deities," or "gods," no is the possessive, and Michi means the "way" or "road." There­fore it signifies as a whole, the "way of the gods."'[ii]

The rain drops on the leaves remind us that water is life and that life is all around us. Just like the water serves as nourishment for these leaves and plants it serves as nourishment for our souls.
 
Secondly we observed and experienced roots from these trees reminding us to ground but also sucking up the vital nutrients from the earth gifted by the rains.

As we continued on our journey, we allowed more to flow through the ebbs and flows of life.


"Come back to square one, just the minimum bare bones. Relaxing with the present moment, relaxing with hopelessness, relaxing with death, not resisting the fact that things end, that things pass, that things have no lasting substance, that everything is changing all the time—that is the basic message." 
– Pema Chodron.


The purpose of this project is to help us with mindfulness tools to adapt in our everyday way of life. When we can train ourselves to stop from time to time throughout the day, we can come back to the present and let go of our worries and preoccupations. When our minds and bodies are calm, we can see our situations more clearly and we know better what to do and what not to do.

At first, "stopping" may seem like a kind of resistance to modern life, but it isn't that. Here, we are using the elements found in nature to help us with presence.

For instance, there is magic in mindfulness with nature. Today, the flowers that bloom covered in the rain dew are guiding us to all that is reminding us of what it is needed for us to blossom.

The yellow connects us to our own inner guidance system allowing "thought" to step aside as we through the awareness process just allow.


The white shows us the purity and how delicate, intricate, and beautiful life can be when many times we are so distracted in a way where we are unable to see the magic and beauty.

The idea of “stopping” is the first aspect of meditation. The second aspect is looking deeply. Once we have brought calm, peace, and joy into our bodies and minds, we can look into our difficulties to see their roots, bringing understanding and making transformation possible.

Stopping gives us space to observe our negative thinking without getting caught up in it; we call this mirror recognition. Stopping also allows us to be in touch with what is positive and healing. The purpose of our practice is not to avoid life, but to experience and demonstrate that happiness in life as possible now and also in the future.

“Mindfulness is a way of befriending ourselves and our experience.”
– Jon Kabat-Zinn


Sometimes we just have to become one. When we do, all thought process vacated and presence takes over. The past and future become irrelevant, a state of relaxation commences, and a new sense of awareness is heightened as we maintain the practice of mindfulness in our journey. 

We are so used to running around, even at home, that stopping is a hard habit to develop. Visual cues can serve as a gentle reminder that now is the perfect time to stop and be aware of the present moment.

Connecting in nature as we did today can serve as a perfect way to stop and just BE.

Sometimes we are given signs, the glimpses of divine presence. Without awareness or mindfulness, we miss out and wonder why our prayers go unanswered. 


“It’s only a small step from the word ‘being’ to the experience of ‘being’.”
-Eckhart Tolle


Sometimes when we are stuck in our own chaos unable to see through the trees, we a given a glimpse of a forest with a clear vision through them guiding us to shift perspective a bit. 


“When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another – and ourselves.”
– Jack Kornfield


Sometimes we stumble upon what was originally erected as a memorial and suddenly you see it from a different perspective as a very sacred spiritual mandala heightening the sensations of our mindfulness journey throughout the morning. 




“Meditation is not evasion; it is a serene encounter with reality.” – Thích Nhất Hạnh


Then suddenly after the amazing profound spiritual experience at the Circle, the chatty birds, the invigorating ocean breezes, and the nearby crashing waves begin to take over our awareness.

We slowly walked to this area. A stop we must and again to just BE taking in the wild flowers, grasses, trees, rocks, nearby islands, and the crashing ocean waves.

Also, noticing we were on a trail classified as a "healthy trail"

Listening and just BE-ing in nature using mindfulness techniques revealed much pleasing ripples and vibrations in our core. Thanks to the assistance of Mother Naure. Buddhists call this anicca or "impermanence."


We continue to move forward in our morning of mindfulness walking with no thought in mind except forward letting nature be our guide. 

At one point no realizing where we were as we got pretty deep into today's practice but quickly regained our sense of location and carried on.  

We were greeted with more flowers along the path outreached as if they were arms just waiting for us to take notice.


“The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little.”
– Jon Kabat-Zinn


These blue star shaped flowers are everywhere here. So simple yet so intricate. We found this flower to be exceptionally healing for us.  

It was quite easy for us to get lost in a timeless warp of presence surrounded by simple miracles of life. 

Today's journey was magical and the rains early on amplified today's experiences.

There are days where mindfulness training and experiences come easy and other days where more awareness to surrendering to awareness is needed. 

Today, our ability to remain present in full embodiment of mindfulness easily flowed like the recent rains running off the branches and onto the grounds either soaking into the ground or running like a river downstream.

We soaked in all that was and grateful for all that is.

Mourning dove as we prepared to conclude for the day
Finally, as we approached the conclusion of our Morning, we were greeted with a mourning dove. As soon as we acknowledged the presence and honored the gift, the mourning dove flew away.

(This we were able to capture during our morning since we were concluding for the day)

Mourning dove once acknowledged,  she flew off. 
I hope you enjoyed this brief pictorial of our experience this morning.


"Life is fragile, like the dew hanging delicately on the grass, crystal drops that will be carried away on the first morning breeze." 
– Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche


Remember, learning mindfulness does not mean to you have to quit something. It just means you find ways to incorporate mindfulness based practices into your daily life and routines like mindful driving or mindful eating or mindful cleaning or mindful breathing.  The list of applications can go on and on.

Each week we will investigate a new way to incorporate mindfulness into our daily lives that you can take with you.

If you would like to join us, please visit our website at www.laurahealingwithspirit.com for complete list of dates as this is seasonal and still in its pilot phase.

With love and appreciation, 
Laura


Friday, November 18, 2016

Medical Study of the Effects of Singing Bowl Sound Meditation on Mood, Tension, and Well-Being

Laura's Tibetan Bowls for Meditation on the water.
Cape Cod 2016 All Rights reserved
I am ecstatic to see this observational medical study on the use of Tibetan singing bowls. The study was published involving 62 women and men with the mean age 49.7 years of age. I found the results quite interesting.

The study was published in PubMed as well as Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine:
"Poor mood and elevated anxiety are linked to increased incidence of disease. This study examined the effects of sound meditation, specifically Tibetan singing bowl meditation, on mood, anxiety, pain, and spiritual well-being. Sixty-two women and men (mean age 49.7 years) participated. As compared with pre-meditation, following the sound meditation participants reported significantly less tension, anger, fatigue, and depressed mood (all Ps <.001). Additionally, participants who were previously naïve to this type of meditation experienced a significantly greater reduction in tension compared with participants experienced in this meditation (P < .001). Feeling of spiritual well-being significantly increased across all participants (P < .001). Tibetan singing bowl meditation may be a feasible low-cost low technology intervention for reducing feelings of tension, anxiety, and depression, and increasing spiritual well-being. This meditation type may be especially useful in decreasing tension in individuals who have not previously practiced this form of meditation." 

Although the study results are brief, I find it promising.  I began using tibetan singing bowls in my work in 2015 as something I felt drawn to do on an instinctual basis for my own healing. As a someone who has a history of trauma resulting in PTSD due to repeated abuses stemming from child abuse to rape to domestic violence to systemic abuse, I welcome this study.

I went through the traditional medicinal route and felt I was given a band-aid with a wound that continued to grow and fester with no relief in sight. So since 2005, I began looking into me. Who I am, and how can I heal especially when my very trust for humanity was so broken. I went up and build my trust in my spirituality.

For me, I understand these ideas:
  1. The human body is made up of mostly water
  2. We are beings that self generate electricity, and therefore vibrate energetically a frequency and vibration out creating a ripple effect.
  3. There is a mind/body connection to all illness and disease
  4. 75 – 90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress related problems [1]
  5. How we resonate with our external experiences affect our internal experiences and vice versa. How we resonate with our internal experiences affect our external experiences.
So no wonder the bowls have a magical feel to them.  When I searching for ways to heal my own trauma, I was led on a very spiritual path. Over the years as I worked with myself and others on healing, subconscious changes began to take affect. The more I began to trust my instincts and intuition, the more breakthroughs I was led to.

Needless to say, I was led to these bowls.  I believe it was a culmination of all the personal spiritual and professional work I have done over the years. I feel it was a calling, and the day I was gifted my first bowl, I knew I was onto something special. It mesmerized me and calmed me.

Laura's Tibetan Medicine Bowl
After the gift of my 5th bowl by another healer as well as my Tibetan bells, I had an epiphany. I was using them in a reiki healing attunement meditation for a group of over 20 healers. I was told how incredibly powerful and amazing the experience was. I was asked if I taught this. I responded 'no', because every time is different, and I would not know how to teach something like this. I realized how I would just allow myself to be divinely guided in the whole process from acquiring these beauties to where to place them to order of sound to implementing them in meditations and healing sessions. I could not even tell you what each bowl's musical note represents. I just know this bowl goes here to acquire this result. 

All I know is the effect they have on me and those around me. This is a modality that has been used by Tibetan monks for hundreds if not thousands of years, but originated in India. 

You can go to bodhisattva.com for a wonderful interview of Lama Lobsang Molam, a monk at a monastery in Swyambu, Kathmandu, Nepal, by Rain Gray on the history of the Tibetan bowls. Here is an excerpt of that interview:
"They say this is a relic that came from India and was used by the previous Buddha, so this is a very precious relic. So, that's why everybody wants to listen to that singing bowl, the singing, you know, sound. So, many people are making offerings to this singing bowl, and offering money to that singing bowl. So, he said that if someone has pure or not pure karma, you know, if someone has negative karma, their self they have to round, they have to play it with a stick. If someone has a lot of negative karma, this bowl won't give any sound. It gives sound but, not so nice, it's very small and not clear. If the person who rings it has pure karma, it gives a lot of singing and a big sound, wang, wang, wang, wang, like this. It gives a big sound. So their saying this is the story of . . . their saying like this. Even he saw, you know. So in Tibet they have three singing bowls only."
If you have been questioning on how to break through that wall and feel stuck, going to a Tibetan bowl meditation may be of benefit. Tremendous healing can be accomplished with the use and help of these sacred gems.

I would air one word of caution, however.  For those with severe PTSD or anxiety, please find the right teacher. Finding the right teacher who not only understands trauma, but has some training and/or experience with it is important.

Because the bowls create a very powerful frequency and vibration, it creates a metaphoric glass shattering effect which can trigger some emotions that many with PTSD or severe anxiety may still want buried. You must be ready to release those fears, traumas, and karmic cords in order to  heal. Finding the right teacher is key.

Healing With Spirit offers private sessions and a variety of classes that many times incorporates the use of Tibetan singing bowls such as, but not limited to:

  • Self Care for the Empath Workshop
  • Reiki Vibrational Healing Attunement Meditation Groups
  • A Soul Partnership Workshop
  • Private Reiki Sessions
  • Vibrational Healing
  • Sound Bath Meditations
  • Chakra Clearings and Balancing

Private sessions are offered via in office, phone, and skype. For more information, please contact me at Healing With Spirit.

As always,

With much love and appreciation,

Laura  Healing With Spirit
Spiritual Medium, Public Speaker, and Teacher
Usui Reiki Master Teacher
Shihankaku in Jikiden Reiki




To schedule a private reading, to book a private party, or speaking engagement,  please visit www.laurahealingwithspirit.com 


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REFERENCES:

  1. America’s #1 Health Problem; The American Institute of Stress; http://www.stress.org/americas-1-health-problem/ 
  2. Tibetan Singing Bowl History, An Interview with Lama Lobsang MolamBodhisattva Training Co Inc; By; Rain Gray; http://www.bodhisattva.com/singing_bowl_history.htm 
  3. Effects of Singing Bowl Sound Meditation on Mood, Tension, and Well-being
    An Observational Study
    ; Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative MedicineTamara L. Goldsby, PhD, Michael E. Goldsby, PhD, Mary McWalters, BA, Paul J. Mills, PhD
    1. Tamara L. Goldsby, PhD, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, Center of Excellence for Research and Training in Integrative Health, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA. Email: tgoldsby@ucsd.edu



Copy right 2016 All rights reserved. Laura Joseph, Laura Healing With Spirit. May not be copied or reproduced without expressed written consent

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

7 Spiritual Exercises That Could Change Your Life

This is a great little collage of dialogue with some the world's leading spiritual teachers on Oprah.  The exercises described and presented are brief but quite powerful. Change your life through soul healing.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Meditation and Stress


With the hustle and bustle of everyday life compounded with the every day news of a doom and gloom economy, how does meditation help with these stresses on top of the seasonal holiday stresses? 


Meditation is a practice used to relax the body, calm the mind and center yourself. It is the process of clearing the mind from all its chaos. In short, meditation is the ability to relax the mind and give it freedom to be.

In order to be a successful meditator, you have to be gentle with yourself and do a little meditating each day, until it comes as naturally as breathing. Practice makes perfect.  
When you become one with your body, relax the mind,  and release any tensions, a sense of strength and clarity will emerge. 


Think of a room completely cluttered.  So much so that you are unable to see the floor.  Picture that as your mind completely cluttered.  Just as cleaning that room takes patience, focus, & organization so does your mind.  Now in order to get started on your room, you will need to know what to throw away or if we are talking meditation, what to release from your mind and body.   


As we get started on our room, we remove what we don't want and create a room that we do want.  Meditation can help do the same with your mind and body.  With proper breathing, posture, and technique, you will be able to relax your mind to gain clarity as to what you want and what you want to release. 


If you have ever had a cluttered room, how did it feel once you were able to turn it into what you want?  That same feeling of peace, relaxation and accomplishment can be done as well with meditation. 


Meditation:  It's not what you think!
Meditation is medicine for the mind.


© 2009 All Rights Reserved.

Why Meditation



One of the most common reasons that people cite for wanting to learn meditation is to reduce stress.  Life is always going to be fullof challenges, and a life without some turmoil is not only impossible but isalso undesirable.


A considerable amount of research has shown that meditationhas benefits on mental & physical health, including a reduction inproneness to depression, an increase in emotional positivity, and an increasedability to deal with life’s inevitable stresses.


People often think of meditation as being nothing more thanrelaxation.  Meditation, however, not only involves relaxation (thecessation of unnecessary effort) but promotes mindfulness, which helps thestress-sufferer to recognize unhelpful patterns of thought that give rise to thestress response, and also involves the active cultivation of positive mentalstates such as loving-kindness, compassion, patience, and energy.


Each meditation group session is geared towards the needs ofthe individuals of the group itself.


"Meditation, It's not what you think!"