MEDITATION & MINDFULNESS


GET RICH QUICK Count your blessings. Gratitude is magnetic. Besides, gratitude is one of the


qualities of love. It is medicine, and it feels good. The first three months were most


difficult. It felt like I’d been punched in the guts. Breathing was hard and everything ached. I was depleted from the strain of sinking everything into the venture, and working long hours for free. Although I had always meditated, I had lost touch with the depth and richness of my inner practice. At first I struggled with my busy mind, body aches, turbulent emotions.


INSTANT MEDITATION Close your eyes. Feel your skin, and the way your clothes, or sheets, feel against it. Feel the air. Notice the breath moving in and out effortlessly. Watch. Observe. Allow yourself to wonder (without thinking), “Who is doing the breathing?” Allow the answer to arise all on its own. Surrender the need to understand. Simply witness. Little by little, I allowed my meditation


practice to deepen. Slowly, it went from being a band-aid to something I enjoyed.


90 MARCH | APRIL 2018


Yes, there was emotional and bodily pain – especially at first, but when I allowed it, it revealed a greater and more enjoyable state of being. I noticed that every time that I would brave the pain of my busy mind and hurting body, I was rewarded with a feeling of an inner sweet, cooling balm that soothed the pain, and sometimes even healed it.


MINDFULNESS MEDITATION Close your eyes. Feel the aliveness and energy within you and all around you. Let greater awareness pour into your body. Let it scan every part of you for tension. It knows where to go – let it. When you find tension, let it be, and allow mindful awareness to pour into that part of you. Notice the sensations as it transforms and releases the tensions and blocks. Outside of my practice, I struggled


with the realities of life. What to do now? Doubt, confusion and lack of clarity were plaguing me while I was figuring out what to do professionally, how to pay the bills, and how to realistically pay back debt. Outwardly, I was maintaining a brave face. But inwardly I was torn. Shame and guilt meant I hadn’t told many people about what was going on. I didn’t want to burden my partner at the


time, and definitely didn’t want the kids to worry. I felt alone in my misery. But my practice saved me time and time again. Every now and then, I was even starting to see the shifts in my internal world being mirrored in my external world. This gave me hope.


OPEN-EYED MEDITATION Keep your eyes open. Soften your gaze. Lose focus so you are not looking at any one thing. Surrender the need to name what you see. Know you are safe. Let your eyes drink in everything. Find the clarity in the blur, without trying, like eyes open under water, or like a waking dream. Over time, some opportunities started


to present themselves. Some of these I hadn’t even considered possible. Money kept aligning in unexpected ways – not a lot, but always just enough. Against all logic, I decided to go back to my first love of holistic health and to study hypnotherapy in a transpersonal- psychology context. I had no idea how I would be able to raise the funds to complete extensive studies. Not only was the course expensive, but I’d only be able to work part time between modules to provide for the family. But ‘something in me’ knew and kept me believing. I


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