Meditation ideas

Stay w the underlying feeling, but don't feed the discursive mind

Mediation is the art of staying w one thing w ease

Mind like vast open sky
Mind like deep ocean

There are many moments we do t need to be thinking- we're just spinning

Many of our thoughts cause physical tension, emotional stress, interpersonal conflict

Breathe in, breathe out, touch peace
Thich nat Han

When do you feel happiest? Not when you're lost in thought

My will or my heart's will

David Whyte's "Working Together"

We shape our self
to fit this world
and by the world
are shaped again.
The visible
and the invisible
working together
a common cause
to produce
the miraculous.
I am thinking of the way
the intangible air
passed at speed
around a shaped wing
easily
holds our weight.
So may we, in this life
trust
to those elements
we have yet to see
or imagine,
and look for the true
shape of our own self,
by forming it well
to the great
intangibles about us.

-- David Whyte
This poem was commissioned by Boeing to mark the introduction of the 777 jetliner.

Train quote

Anyone who has ridden the subway twice a day to earn their bread knows how it goes: When you board, you exhibit the same persona you use with your colleagues and acquaintances.  You've carried it through the turnstile and past the sliding doors, so that your fellow passengers can tell who you are-- cocky or cautious, amorous or indifferent, loaded or on the dole.  But you find yourself a seat and the train gets under way; it comes to one station and then another; people get off and others get on.  And under the influence of the cradlelike rocking of the train, your carefully crafted persona begins to slip away.  The super-ego dissolves as your mind begins to wander aimlessly over your cares and your dreams; or better yet, it drifts into an ambient hypnosis, where even cares and dreams recede and the peaceful silence of the cosmos pervades.

It happens to all of us.  It's just a question of how many stops it takes.  Two for some.  Three for others. Sixty-eighth Street.  Fifty-ninth.  Fifty-first.  Grand Central.  What a relief it was, those few minutes with our guard let down and our gaze inexact, finding the one true solace that human isolation allows.

- from Rules of Civility, a novel by Amor Towles p.3-4

Sahasrara Chakra

Seventh chakra- crown chakra
Color: purple
Sound: silence

Present moment
Open relationship to life
Authentic prayer means to turn to god to be w someone, not to get something
Prayer is our life w god

Meditation practice
Practice gratitude
What are you devoted to? Devotion is a human need
What truths are you aware of that you do not live by?

Let our spirituality guide us in our daily lives
Warehouse for the energy of kind thoughts and actions
Enables us to gain an intensity of awareness through meditation and prayer

Entry point for human life force-- distributes itself through the other chakras and the whole body

Inspiration devotion transcendent ideas

Fear of loss of identity
Fear of loss of connection w life and people around us

Motivates us to seek connection to a higher purpose in everything we do

Spirituality is an individual experience directly related toward releasing fears of the physical world and pursuing a relationship w the divine

Live in the present moment
Complete and release unfinished business

Ajna Chakra

The sixth chakra (Ajna) is located at the third eye point.

Color: indigo blue

Sound: aum, om

Food: none. hallucinogens

This chakra is associated with clear seeing (clairvoyance), imagination, intuition, memory, and dreaming.

It is associated with seeing the patterns in your life.  Why do you do what you do?  What are your motivations?  What do you do out of fear?

Meditation is the main tool for balancing this chakra.  We sit with ourselves and the patterns of mind are revealed.  Once we see what is happening, we can more easily make a change.  Once we see clearly what is happening, we realize we have a choice as to how to act.

If the energy in the sixth chakra malfunctions, one might experience hallucinations, headaches, or nightmares.

If the energy there is excessive, one might hallucinate, or see/imagine things that aren't actually happening.

If the energy is deficient, one can't see clearly, or seems oblivious to patterns or tendencies.

Vishuddha Chakra

The fifth chakra is located at the throat.

Color: turquoise blue, like the sky

Sound: ham

Asanas: plow, shoulderstand, bridge, fish

The element associated with fifth chakra is ether.

Foods associated with this chakra are fruits.  To help balance the throat chakra, you could drink juice or smoothies for a few days as a way to "purify".

The fifth chakra is associated with Divine will, or wide view.  As we move up the chakras, we go from the will of the group/tribe/family (root chakra), to personal will (solar plexus), to Divine will.  I think of Divine will as the wisdom to know we are part of a bigger picture; we do not control our lives, nor do our families control us.  The universe is vast; we are a drop in the ocean of great consciousness.

The fifth chakra is associated with speech, hearing, and truthfulness.  Do we say how we really feel?  Do we use our voices to speak in public, recite poetry, sing, or chant?  Are we able to listen to others, and do we feel listened to?

Dysfunctions in this chakra include: thyroid dysfunctions, sore throat, teeth grinding, and hearing problems.

To balance this chakra: chant, sing, tell the truth, journal, play a musical instrument, be a good listener, gaze at the sky, eat fruits, wear blue, wear turquoise, practice yoga poses that create space in the throat and neck stretches

Anahata Chakra

The fourth chakra is the heart chakra, located at the heart.

Color: green

Sound: yam

Types of food: vegetables and greens

Aromas: rose, amber, lavender, jasmine, marjoram

Best therapies: give, love, donate, share

The heart chakra is associated with the element of air, and therefore with fluid breathing and pranayama (breathing practices.)

The heart chakra is associated with love, compassion, and forgiveness.

If the energy here is deficient, the chest might appear collapsed, with the shoulders rounded forward.  If might feel difficult to breath, as though there is a heaviness in the heart/chest.

If the energy here is excessive, one might give of oneself too freely, without adequate self-care.  It might present as codependency.

Another source: thegroundingtouch.com