All posts tagged: meditation

Thoughts Become Things

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Well that sounds easy enough. I’ll just think about all the things I want in my life and they’ll manifest NOW! Haha if only it was that simple. Well, it could be if we were in a place of complete allowing. Our intentions would be pure, our focus razor-sharp, and in an instant our desires would be fulfilled. But like everything in our perfect universe, this principle is based on that of duality, and on the opposite end of the spectrum we have resistance. allowing <<<  >>>  resistance Resistance is what ultimately stops us from fulfilling our desires. It keeps us stuck in the lack of it (the job/healthy body/relationship/money, etc.) and draws that which is like itself towards us. Haven’t you noticed when you don’t have resistance to something, how easily it comes into your life? It’s like the more you want something from a place of need, the more resistance is created, and the harder it is to get it. “If you are resisting anything, you are focused upon it, pushing against it, and activating the vibration of …

A Time To Let Loose

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This Friday’s upcoming full moon in fun-loving Sagittarius should be called the party moon, and not the strawberry moon as it’s known in the U.S. In contrast to New Moons which represent rebirth and new beginnings, Full Moons embody clarity and obtainment of desire. Basically, every month we get a chance to hone in on our desires, figure out what we really want, and then plant them like seeds into the universe on the eve of New Moon. Then we wait patiently for our intentions to blossom, and on Full Moon simultaneously release what no longer serves us. Aren’t we lucky folk? The moon & me The moon cycles have always been a part of our lives and we can see her effects throughout nature and within ourselves. As Selacia describes on her blog, “The moon governs the natural world as well as our emotions, instincts, intuition, and unconscious. It is related to water, the element often described as being furthest from the rational realm.” We are of course made of 70% water, how can we not …

Wisdom from a Tree

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I got chased out my apartment this morning by very loud drilling resonating from downstairs. There was just no way I could meditate at home, so I got dressed and headed out to the park. Even though I love meditating in the park, I was slightly annoyed. So off I trotted and found a spot of shade under a big, beautiful tree that I often meditate near. As I was about to begin, I couldn’t help but be disturbed by the obvious traffic noise beside me. I considered moving deeper into the park but it was already very sunny and hot and not much shade available. Then I thought maybe I should stick with this. I looked up at this big, sturdy tree in front of me and wondered how he manages to stay so calm amidst all the chaos. So strong, so serene, so steady. The complete opposite of me. I wanted some of that. And then it hit me. There’s always that quiet, peaceful place within us. I know people often say that, but have you ever …

The Power of ‘Shreem’

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I’ve started doing my daily mantra meditation again and it feels good. Having experimented with  different mantras over the years, I seem to be pulled back to the one that my guru Christine (beautiful yogi and friend) gave me years ago. It was a gift offered to me after I completed by Yoga Teacher Training in 2008. At the time I was told that we shouldn’t share our special mantra with anyone as it would lose its power (I think this is traditional TM meditation practice), but I feel that the mantras are universal and all-powerful, so why can’t they be shared? We are, after all, one. What is Mantra Chanting Simply put, each mantra represents a certain sound frequency (energy) that dates back to ancient times. Mantras work on the principle of ‘like attracts like’, so the more you chant a specific mantra, the more those qualities will be developed in you. Mantras are vibrations, and as we know, we are made of energy, each vibrating at a different frequency – mantras have the power …

What Ananda Taught Us

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A great Buddhist story from a book I’m reading (Awakening The Buddha Within) beautifully describes the balance between effort and effortlessness. It goes like this: “By the time Buddha became ill and died, he had been teaching for 45 years and many of his disciples had become enlightened. One who had not was Buddha’s ever-present attendant, Ananda. This might be seem strange because of all the disciples, Ananda had heard every word that the Buddha taught and memorised them all. But, due to his busy schedule, Ananda had little time for his own solitary meditation practice. Several months after the Buddha’s death, it became imperative for Ananda to become enlightened. The First Council was to take place in order to recite and codify all the teachings spoken by Buddha. Ananda was essential to this meeting, however, because he wasnt enlightened, he wasnt qualified to attend. Ananda did the only thing he could do under the circumstances: he went into retreat, a meditation marathon, striving round-the- clock for enlightenment. Finally it was the morning of the …

Deepak’s 21-Day Meditation Challenge

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Deepak is doing it again…. this time he invites us to journey into our hearts with his free, three week guided meditation series focusing on Miraculous Relationships. “Fall in love with yourself. Fall in love with life.” I love Deepak Chopra and I love his teachings. I have read many of his books and done many of his 21-Day Mediation Challenges, taking something new from each one. Although I aim to meditate daily, sometimes this just doesn’t happen. I find that when I’m in a lull, doing Deepak’s Challenge is exactly what I need to get back into the swing of it. Give it a try, whether you’re a beginner or regular meditator you’ll love it. It’s not too late to join – register HERE See what Deepak has to say about the Science of Meditation: Oh and did I mention that I was lucky enough to meet Mr Chopra himself on a random train ride from Haridwar to Delhi back in 2010. He sat right next to me on the train and I got …

Rishikesh – Land of the Sages

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I am lucky enough to have been to India three times so far. I still yearn to go back and explore more, that’s what this magnificent land does to you. My first trip was back in 2008, and I went with my yoga teachers and a group of other students from the Jivananda Centre. I’m glad I didn’t go alone the first time, as it can be quite a shock. But now I feel confident to travel alone in India and actually prefer it, it’s such a spiritual experience and sometimes you just need the space to be alone with yourself. (The Mother Ganges river)  We spent one night in Delhi and caught the early train to the holy city of Haridwar. From there we travelled by taxi up to Rishikesh, often referred to as ‘the world capital of yoga’, and for good reason. Rishikesh is located in the foothills of the Himalayas, and embodies a very special kind of energy, you can try just about any kind of yoga and the town is abound with ashrams and …

My Inentions for 2013 & beyond

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Another year is upon us and I have high hopes for this one.  I can just feel it’s going to be a great year… a year of change, adventure and excitement. Now is a good time to reflect upon the previous year and so below are my 2012 Intentions. I prefer to set intentions rather than resolutions because everything starts with an intention. As Deepak Chopra explains, “Intention is the starting point of every spiritual path. It is the force that fulfills all of our needs, whether for money, relationships, spiritual awakening, or love. Intention generates all the activities in the universe. Everything that we can see – and even the things we cannot – are an expression of intention’s infinite organizing power.” I most certainly did not achieve all my intentions from last year :(  I didn’t do the 5 Tibetans daily or dance enough (actually hardly at all!). But I do feel like I explored the others… and I think that’s the whole point of intentions, the result/desire unfolds naturally as it should according to universal law – sometimes …

Day 7: A new beginning?

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Today was the 12/12/2012, and at 12 minutes past 12 my mom and I were meditating on the sand at Ballito beach. There was a phenomenal group energy present and it was an awesome experience to have the waves crashing in the background. So what was so special about today? There’s been a lot of conspiracies going around that the world is ending this December, and this is not entirely untrue. I believe that the date 12.12.2012 represents a window of possibility for an evolutionary leap into a new earth, an earth operating on a higher spiritual vibration. And because the whole planet and every thing on it is energy, including ourselves, there will be energetic shifts happening within us too, whether we accept it or not. It also represents the closing of a chapter. Interestingly, in numerology 12 signifies completion, the Divine Mother/Feminine, creative capacity, cosmic harmony and spiritual order. It’s really about releasing old patterns and beliefs that are no longer serving us – things like unworthiness, guilt, resentment, etc. Anything that’s holding you back …

Day 6: Getting into the flow

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Today’s post is inspired by a special friend of mine who has been through a lot of change lately. In fact, this seems to be a pattern in many people’s lives, including my own. So how can we calm ourselves in these overwhelming times and learn to let go of the reins a bit? First, we have to accept what is, knowing that we won’t feel this way forever and things will change soon enough. And then they’ll change again. And again. Isn’t that the beauty of life? We can view the unknown from a place of fear or we can embrace it and feel excited about the future, knowing that there’s a reason we are going through whatever we are going through right now, and in the end it all works out for the greater good. So instead of fighting and resisting, we learn to accept things as they are and imagine them as we’d like them to be. We meditate. We move – yoga, chi kung or a walk on the beach (whatever …

Day 4: Releasing tightness

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It feels so good to just sit in meditation and actually feel your body relax completely. That feeling of letting go and surrendering into the moment. Just sitting, focusing on your breath with nothing else to do except be present. We carry around so much tension in our bodies, day in and day out, the least we can do is give ourselves 15 minutes a day to just let go. As we release tightness in the body, we release tightness in the mind. I reckon that’s something worth making time for.

A sensory weekend at the Buddhist Retreat

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I just got back from an awesome weekend at the Buddhist Retreat Centre (BRC) in the sleepy village of Ixopo, Western Midlands in the KwaZulu-Natal region. A friend and I ventured up with no idea what to expect, just super keen to escape into the wilderness for the weekend.  The retreat was held by the lovely Yasmin Lambat, a pilates instructor and Wellness Coach who is passionate about the Body Sensing technique. Body Sensing is a a somatic therapy that uses a body centered approach to heal. It recognises the inexplicable link between our emotions (how we feel) and our physical wellbeing. “Our biography becomes our biology” – Caroline Myss As Yasmin explains on her website, “It works on influencing our fascia, the largest sensory organ in the body and our sixth sense. Fascia is a web of connective tissue that not only influences posture and alignment, but responds to mood, softening when we’re relaxed and tensing when we’re stressing. It forms part of our body’s intelligent network of communication, often responding subconsciously. Under physical and emotional stress, our …

The thing about Expectation…

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Today I find myself in Mumbai International airport yet again, 5 months and 1 week too early. I arrived here exactly 3 weeks ago with the intention of completing a 6 month Advanced Ayurveda & Yoga course at a reputable institution in Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) and ofcourse lose myself in yoga and meditation bliss. Things didn’t turn out quite as planned. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE India… this is my third visit, and every time I come I fall more in love with this intriguing  country. It’s like nowehere I’ve ever been before and yet feels like home. This time would prove to be a completely different experience. So, three weeks ago I arrived in Coimbatore, super excited and ready for my next adventure. I wasn’t expecting much from Coimbatore, it’s an industrial hub afterall and not the kind of place that attracts tourists. But I could handle that, I wanted traditional teachings passed down through direct lineage taught in an authentic environment – I had even prepared myself for the cold showers. The …

Why I Meditate…

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I meditate because: – when I don’t, I feel disconnected and get ever more caught up in my ‘monkey mind’ and all of its fears, uncertainties and contradictions – it sets the tone for the entire day. I seem to be able to handle situations better (not be so reactive), have more understanding and acceptance of people/situations and everything feels lighter and brighter – it is the only time (apart from sleeping) when we connect back to source, to our soul and universal consciousness. Everyday we live our lives distracted by the mind’s constant chattering… regrets about the past, worries about the future. Meditating brings us back into the present moment, it centres us and breeds clarity, opening us up to unimaginable spheres of love and creativity – it reminds me that we are all connected, everything and everyone on this planet. It helps reestablish that connection within me and brings about a sense of gratitude and appreciation of the beauty that surrounds me – of course it opens us up to new levels of …

The Magic Of Meditation

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Candace Silvers inspires in this video taken from one of her free Friday sessions. Our world, that we each individually create and perceive, is full of infinite possibilities. If only we realised the power we have in creating our realities… there is no limit to what we can create, we just have to begin NOW. We can spend years trying to do something and never get anywhere. The key lies in making a commitment and doing instead of trying to do. Candace explains these concepts so beautifully in her videos – take a look here, I am sure you’ll feel as inspired as I do when I watch them.