meditation

1.) Create a life you love.
A modern mind is almost always thinking thoughts. For most of us, many of these thoughts happen “behind our back,” or without our awareness. Look at your external world. Not seeing what you like? You have created this. Through meditation, we expand our field of awareness and, in doing so, catch many unconscious (and undesirable) thought patterns that are creating our life as we speak. Catch the thought patterns. Practice awareness. Meditate. Consciously create a life you love.
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2.) Get off the Emotional Roller Coaster.

5 Reasons to Act on your Gratitude Now!
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1.) Actions Speak Louder than Words.
Gratitude is like a personal shopping list for the Universe. Taking actions rooted in gratitude is like adding italics, bold type and highlighting. It will get the attention of your Universal shopper.
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2.) Get in the Flow.
Acting on your gratitude is a way of circulating this energetic wealth. Think of it this way: the Universe has given each of us a cup with free, unlimited refills. Can you refill your cup if it is still full? No. What happens if you keep it full for days. It begins to get nasty and stagnant. So, drink it up! Give it to others. Share the wealth! By pouring our wealth unto others, we make room for more ourselves.
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3.) You Get What You Give.

Our choices, our actions can be rooted in fear or faith. Which one are you choosing? Need some help figuring who to trust?
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It's a fight to the finish. Ten rounds of intense battle as Faith dukes it out with Fear. You be the judge.
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Round 1
Faith: believing in a positive unseen
Fear: believing in a negative unseen
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Round 2
Faith: moves you into alignment
Fear: moves you out of alignment
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Round 3
Faith: breaks down walls
Fear: builds walls
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Round 4
Faith: empowers
Fear: disempowers
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Round 5
Faith: strengthens
Fear: weakens
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Round 6
Faith: feeds you
Fear: drains you
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Round 7
Faith: feels good
Fear: feels icky
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Round 8
Faith: walks forward
Fear: stumbles backwards
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Round 9
Faith: something you want people to have in you.

You can love yourself. Right now, you can turn within and take a moment to love who you are. Be grateful for who you are. Be excited to be who you are. The power of this loving activation is that when stepping out into the world, even without saying a thing, you will activate others to love themselves.
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And so. Whatever it is, love it.
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Often, we seek to love ourselves through external accomplishments. If we lose that twenty pounds, we are worthy of loving ourselves. If someone else falls in love with us, or is proud of us, we can then fall in love and be proud of ourselves.
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Non-attachment is the big cheese, the big kahuna, of meditation. "What," you ask, "is non-attachment?"
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Buddhism asserts that the root of all suffering is attachment. Yikes. When you look at your own life, particularly the rocky roads of yore, I think you will find this to ring true. All that sorrow, pain, and frustration inevitably comes from losing something you were quite attached to: a relationship, a job, a dream, an expectation, or an idea of oneself. So, Buddha had something here.
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Shake-ups are not so fun, eh? You lose an idea, an expectation, a dream... life throws you back into the nothingness and you are asked to build anew. I like the idea of re-building, but first you must get past that icky feeling of having to let go of something you probably really liked and were quite attached to. This is when most of us like to self-medicate. Whatever your numbing medicine is, try this prescription instead.
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Prescription for the Shake-ups..
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1.) Try a new perspective; things are not falling apart, they are falling away. You are not having a breakdown, rather a breakthrough.
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2.) Recognize that you have begun to step into a bigger way of being, the smaller way no longer fits and is ready to be bagged for the salvation army.
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1.) Myth: I have to sit in lotus.
Truth: Sitting in full lotus is crazy and downright painful for most of us. Love your knees; sit in a chair, lie down, sit on your couch. Be comfortable!
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2.) Myth: You have to be a vegan, vegetarian, raw foodie, etc…
Truth: Have your steak and meditate on it, too. Being a carnivore does not exclude you from finding inner peace.
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3.) Myth: Don’t all meditators like patchouli?
Truth: Patchouli can be unruly for some folks. Incense and oils not required.
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4.) Myth: I have to chant a foreign mantra.
Truth: While this works for some folks, you are allowed to speak in whatever language you choose.
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5.) Myth: I have to stop thinking in order to be meditating.

Did I gettcha with the mention of Tantra? Well, Tantra is a vedic philosophy based in non-dualism. Any yogis going to Kundalini or Anusara yoga will know of this. Fabulous. I highly recommend investigating it. Anyhoo...

The 19th sutra of the Pratyabhijna-hrdayam—basically, a Kashmir Saivite (Tantric) scripture— says, “The permanent attainment of samadhi is established by contemplating one’s identity with Consciousness again and again in the state following meditation, which is full of the imprints of Samadhi.“ Samadhi is defined as the state of absorption in the Self, or God consciousness.

1.) It lowers oxygen consumption.
2.) It decreases respiratory rate.
3.) It increases blood flow and slows the heart rate.
4.) Increases exercise tolerance in heart patients.
5.) Leads to a deeper level of relaxation.
6.) Good for people with high blood pressure as it brings the B.P. to normal.
7.) Reduces anxiety attacks by lowering the levels of blood lactate.
8.) Decreases muscle tension (any pain due to tension) and headaches.
9.) Builds self-confidence.
10.) It increases serotonin production which influences mood and behaviour. low levels of serotonin are associated with depression, obesity, insomnia and headaches.
11.) Helps in chronic diseases like allergies , arthritis etc.
12.) Reduces Pre- menstrual Syndrome.
13.) Helps in post-operative healing.

What is meditation? If we’re all going to sign up for this thing called meditation, what is it and why should I be doing it? Very good questions grasshopper! Below are definitions and inspirational quotes on meditation by several well-known and infinitely wise beings. The last two cents is by yours truly.

“We do not meditate only to relax a little and experience some peace. We meditate to unfold our inner being.”
-Swami Muktananda

"When we raise ourselves through meditation to what unites us with the spirit, we quicken something within us that is eternal and unlimited by birth and death. Once we have experienced this eternal part in us, we can no