May Meditations & June Tibetan Rites

I hope you all had a chance to check out Deva Premal and Miten’s meditations. I really enjoyed listening to the beautiful chants and hearing information about what the words meant. I did find my “monkey mind” distracted by thoughts of what Deva and Miten’s relationship must be like. Do they argue? If so, what would they argue about? I’m sure they’re normal people but they seem to be operating in a much more spiritual realm than any couple I know.

I’m excited about my June resolution. I’m going to do the 5 Tibetan Rites each day. If you’re curious or want to join me, you can watch Dr. Oz demonstrate them. I’m going to start with five of each exercise this first week and add five each week. Namaste!

 

May!

I still have an April summary that I’m working on but wanted to post that starting today I’m participating in a 21-day meditation series by Deva Premal & Miten. Join me, if you’re interested!

The Anti-Anxiety Diet

I’m not sure if it’s the frantic business of being a mom of 2, my post-partum hormones, my lack of sleep, my sometimes horrendous diet (fast food is sometimes the only option…) or my sugar addiction (or all of the above?), but I’ve been feeling anxious lately. I experienced terrible anxiety attacks in college and I will do everything I need to avoid going back to that dark place.

So, my resolution this month is to put myself on a diet, an anti-anxiety diet:

• reduce sugar intake
• reduce processed foods
• reduce caffeine and alcohol
• exercise regularly
• daily meditation/checking-in spiritually
• adequate sleep
• giving myself space and boundaries (i.e. saying no, being easier on myself, etc.)

Am I missing anything?  What do you do to keep yourself balanced?

Simple Truths #2

I finished Simple Truths last week.  It really is a book I’d like to re-read every few years.  This quote in the “On Loneliness and Solitude” chapter stood out to me:

“We can easily fill our days with activity.  We buy, we sell, we move from place to place.  There is always more to be done, always a way to keep from staring into the still pool where life is more than the chatter of the small affairs of the mind.  If we are not careful, we begin to mistake this activity for meaning.  We turn our lives into a series of tasks that can occupy all the hours of the clock and still leave us breathless with our sense of work left undone.  And always there is work undone.  We will die with work undone.  The labors of life are endless.  Better that you should accept the rhythms of life and know that here are times when you need to stop to draw a breath, no matter how great the labors are before you.”

It was actually this quote that gave me permission to cut myself some slack and not worry about getting this post written before the end of March. (Published on April 4th! Crazy!)

This blog challenges me to give my life more meaning.  Lately, I’ve been trying to deepen my meditation practice.  My darling husband started reading “8 Minute Meditation: Quiet Your Mind.  Change Your Life” and so I picked it up too (more about this book later).  While I’m not new to meditation, I still absolutely consider myself a beginner.   I’ve started trying to apply my meditation practice to eating and so this month’s resolution will be “mindful eating.”

P.S.  I apologize for any grammatical errors or non sequitur content.  I’m one tired mama today.  🙂

Mind Jar

Here is the mind jar I made with my daughter:

We added confetti stars and I sealed it with silicone caulk. Some of the mind jars I saw on Pinterest appeared to be made of glass but it made more sense to use plastic for ours (i.e. upset child instructed to calm down and given glass jar=even more disasterous situation).

Isn’t it beautiful?

Osho Fo Sho

I’ll be honest, I just wanted to have a post entitled “Osho Fo Sho,” but truly I can’t end this month of meditation information without mentioning meditation books by Osho. I have so much I would still like to learn from his books. I’d also suggest books by Eckhart Tolle, Thich Nhat Hanh, Thomas Keating and the Dalai Lama.
Any other recommendations out there?

Peace On Earth

Today I chose to do a meditation on the word “peace.” I sat for about 5 minutes and just repeated the word “peace” to myself. If you’re playing along at home, you can choose any word that resonates with you (e.g. “love,” “balance,” “breathe,” etc.) to focus on. Simple. Quiet. Peaceful.

Driving Meditation

Did I miss a memo today that stated that all idiot drivers should meet on 183 around 11:48am today?

In a moment of frustration, I remembered my breath and made up my own driving meditation. It was challenging but after about eight exits, it was also very effective.

It went a little something like this:
Breathe. The crazier the drivers around me are, the more relaxed I am. Breathe.
Breathe. The more a*$hole-y (Breathe.) moves I encounter, the more at peace I am. Breathe.

I eventually felt like “sending” my peaceful vibes to others on the road. A*$holes need peaceful vibes too.

Movement Meditation

I am no meditation expert- I have meditated occasionally for years, but I have never been very regular about it.  I have learned though that there are many different types of meditations, which is good news- especially for those of us, like me, who have a hard time with the traditional just-sitting-still-type-of-meditation.

This week I enjoyed a little movement meditation.  Movement meditation can translate to practically any action, but especially rhythmic or repetitive movements like walking or dancing.  For those of you interested in walking meditation, here is a link to more information from Austin-based yoga and meditation teacher, Charles MacInerney.  He also has information on writing meditations, eating meditations, and mantric meditations.  If dancing interests you, I love Shiva Rea’s Trance Dance DVD or her CD.  It is a fun and challenging introduction to trance dance that aims to “liberate your creative life force.”  I love the way it feels, both spiritually and physically.  I still feel a little crazy when I’m doing it, but it’s a good kind of crazy.

Just Around the Riverbend

I have deck of meditation cards and did this one tonight:

Release Your Control

Develop a more relaxed attitude toward life using this meditiation. Imagine yourself in a small rowboat. You are trying to row to the bank, but strong currents tug at the boat, keeping you on a course down the middle of the river. Exhausted, you stop rowing. At first you feel defeated, but then you realize that the experience of being gently swept along by the currents is pleasurable, even calming. try to release your need to control things in life– doing so will bring you peace.