Be

Today, during my first medication since before Christmas (more on this later), I decided to create my own Mantra. A single word; the word I chose was, “Be”.

As 2017 has made its introductions to the world, many people have picked New Year’s Resolutions in response. Often, these are noble steps toward healthier lives with new routines, or the ending of bad habits. I felt that the word “Be” would help me pick a New Year’s Resolution for myself. Who do I want to be, and to do so, what do I need to do?

Be… Smarter
Be… Happier
Be… Stronger (Physically and Emotionally)
Be… Well-rounded
Be… Healthier
Be… More Open-minded

These are many that have crossed my mind while breathing out the word “Be”

Be… Inspiring
Be… Friendlier
Be… Logical
Be… Grateful
Be… Real

As humans, many of us have similar hope for ourselves. Hopes that we can one day achieve most–if not all–of these traits and continue to improve them regularly. However, being the humans that we are, it’s challenging to improve even so much as one of these traits mindfully, and everyday. Without some sort of routine that we force ourselves to meet, it can be difficult to do anything. I feel–for me–I need incentives to work hard at something. Even when the incentives are said to be there but not yet visible (i.e. better health, happier living, better friendships). If I don’t see improvement right away, I am often turned away from my own efforts. Meditation and blogging are honest examples of this. I tried them for a month, didn’t feel much different, didn’t gain a larger audience of readers all at once, so I gave up. I took a break for the holidays. But it’s a new year, and that means I am going to BE PATIENT. Working hard at something often lasts a long time before the positive results are tangible. Giving up gets you no where, and throws your self-esteem into the gutters.

So… cheers to getting back up, brushing the dirt off our knees and continuing to climb our mountains of aspirations.

Thanks for sticking with me ❤

Timing

The first step to committing to daily meditation is telling yourself you will do it everyday, around the same time, only for two minutes. If you do more than that, great! But always start small. For the past week I told myself that I would gradually increase the amount of time spent meditating. The result was a constantly wandering mind during the last minute of each session. A person who meditates for 20 minutes is not necessarily a better meditator than one who meditates for two. Don’t worry about the timing, don’t worry about trying to progress by increasing time spent. Simply, meditate. As you get better you will find yourself naturally meditating for longer. Some people find having a timer or stopwatch to keep time to their meditation sessions useful, but I’ve found that going without a clock keeps me from being distracted by time, and instead, allows me to focus on my breath, mantra, or central point of focus. If after a few meditations you feel yourself getting antsy about when you can get on to the rest of your day, bring your session back down to around two minutes so that you don’t stress about spending too much time meditating. This will allow even those two minutes to be most productive. If you do not know how long two minutes feels, try finding a soothing sounds of nature or guided meditation audio track online to listen to. Then you can move onto meditating on your own if you like. Or, you can count your breaths, and once you reach 20 exhales, you’ve meditated for approximately a minute. Allow your natural breath to be your timer.

-Evelyn

 

7. The Crown Chakra

We’ve finally made it to the last of the 7 Chakras, the Crown Chakra. We have worked our way up from the base Root Chakra, to the Sacral, Solar, Heart, Throat, and Third Eye. So today, we conclude the introduction to the Chakras series by discussing the Crown Chakra.

Also known by it’s Sanskrit name “Sahasrara”, this chakra is located at the crown of the head. I like to envision a string that, when pulled, makes me stand up straight and where that string sit on the head is where my crown is. This Chakra is associated to the colors violet and white, and works with crystals that are purple, violet, or clear, or white. The sacred sound for this chakra is the classic “Om” and the musical note that it aligns to is “B”. Here at the Crown Chakra, is where we become connected on a spiritual level to the energies around us, the divine beings, the powers of the universe, or simply, a sense of your higher self. Whether you call it enlightenment, reflection, or deeper knowing, here at the Crown is where we comprehend that the powers and energies surrounding us are all interconnected.

When your Crown Chakra is aligned and healed, you feel a deep sense of understanding with the world, inner peace, joy, and closeness to your deity or your religious views…if you have any. If you do not have a specific religion, then you may feel pleasantly close to yourself in the sense that you understand where your head is at, what your place is in this world, and how you may go about your days with the knowledge you’ve gained through life experiences.

Signs that your Crown Chakra needs to be cleansed would be if lost faith, or not knowing where to turn to look for the divine. You may also feel like humanity is a mess, or your contributions aren’t helping to make this world any better. You may feel absorbed by materialism, or you may feel claustrophobic because of social norms and constructs in this world. You may lack a feeling of deeper meaning. You may also feel clumsy or awkward physically, or socially.

To cleanse your Crown chakra many violet and clear/white crystals are useful. The three I will explain to you today are Moonstone, Selenite, and Apophyllite.

Moonstone helps you become more receptive to divine guidance or callings and aids to form inspiration out of your experiences. It is also supposed to help you love yourself, accept flaws and drive towards the future with internal trust.

Selenite is a very high vibration crystal. I’m still trying to understand what that means exactly, but what I’ve gather so far is that high energy stones could knock other chakras out of balance, so it’s safe to also have a grounding crystal (like smokey quartz) in hand while you are working with high vibration crystals. Selenite brings you closer to spiritual energies and makes you more receptive to guidance and communication. It is said to expand the Crown chakra while eliminating any psychic roadblocks that may be present in the mind, emotions, or Sacred Space. You can find Selenite Wands and Scepters which aid to magnify and direct the high intensity vibrations from this crystal.

And finally, Apophyllite–like both the crystals mentioned above–helps open the crown chakra to receive higher guidance, but also helps you evolve into higher states of being. This crystal is great if you are having issues with ego-based desires.

So there you have it folks! Some basics and some details on each of the standard Chakras! I hope you were able to take something away from these readings whether it was simply that chakras exist, how they work, what order they go in, or possibly (but I hope not!)… the fact that you couldn’t possibly believe in such a thing. Whatever you took away, I know I enjoyed sharing. Thanks for listening.

6. The Third Eye Chakra

The Third Eye Chakra–also known as the Brow Chakra–is located in between the eyes just above the brow. With it’s Sanskrit name “Ajna” which means “beyond wisdom”, this chakra focuses on expanding intuition, imagination and spirituality. The Third Eye Chakra is associated with the color indigo, the musical note A, the element of light, and the Sacred sound “Aum”.

The pituitary and pineal glands located in the brain and just behind the forehead, between the eyes are linked to this chakra. The pituitary gland is considered the master gland because it sends messages to the rest of our glands and organs throughout the body. The pituitary also sends messages to the brain telling it to turn thoughts into actions. However that is when the pineal gland comes inhibiting the pituitary gland and communicating to the brain to wait a moment. Instead, the brain to told to ponder those thoughts before performing them. The pineal gland is what makes us truly human–it is the essence of consciousness which allows us to adventure into deep thought. The Third Eye harnesses this feature of the pineal gland and allows us to expand that consciousness.

When the Third Eye chakra is cleansed, one has an open and clear state of mind, external awareness, and reliable gut feelings. When cleared, the 3rd Eye chakra aids in developing the imagination, expanding consciousness, and heightening spiritual awareness. You can trust your senses when this chakra is clear which results in decreased levels of stress and worry.

If you feel that your thoughts are foggy, if you’re forgetful, or like your gut feelings are not helping dissociate fantasy from reality, then your Third Eye chakra may be out of balance.

To clear the Third Eye chakra one can use any of the following crystals (and of course can use many others, for the list is practically endless): Sodalite, Amethyst, and Azurite.

Sodalite encompasses all the healing powers that are needed for the third eye Chakra. It works to enhance cognitive ability, rational thought, truth and intuition, as well as clairvoyance.

Amethyst is a more spiritual stone which opens channels for higher consciousness and clairvoyance. This stone brings peace and happiness to the mind and is also said to bring lucid dreams, and protect one against physical or psychic harm.

Azurite, like sodalite, works to open up the mind for cognitive and intuitive thought. Meditating with sodalite in one palm and azurite in another will help you clear your mind and answer what it is you want from a specific aspect of your life. What do you want in your relationships or in a relationship to come. What do you want in the workplace, what do you want in your free time, etc. Azurite also helps open the mind to think outside the box, and keeps one detail-oriented.

Please return on Thursday to read about the final Standard Chakra: The Crown Chakra.

The Sacred Space

Before initiating this daily meditation practice, I wanted to set up a sacred space. This space will only be used for my meditation and spiritual activities. Meditation does not have to be linked to any sort of religion but I’ve been wanting to set up an altar for myself in my new home since we moved in and found this opportunity perfect to finally do that. According to Madonna Gauding’s book “The Meditation Bible” having a “sacred space” for meditation marks a space where you will grow as an individual. A place where you will learn to focus, find peace, and explore a world outside of what you ordinarily see. You will always walk into this space knowing consciously and subconsciously that it is time for growth, empowerment, and answers to life’s questions.

So I created a thrifty altar! And you know what the best part is? There is no right or wrong way of creating that space and/or altar. So, I went into the guest bedroom/office/storage space….(we’re working on this room a bit)… and straightened it up a bit. It’s important that the space you are in is tidy so that you don’t feel distracted by anything out of place. Next, I literally took the empty box that our new vacuum came in, covered it with a thin blanket, and then topped it off with a pretty handkerchief. Then I took items that meant something special to me to help me achieve my meditation goals and placed them on top of this fancy-fied vacuum cleaner box. I chose items to represent the elements. I have a couple of shells to represent Water, a feather to represent Air, and an incense burner for burning incense. I also have a blue candle to represent Fire, with blue as the chosen color since it is said to aid meditation. And finally, I have a bowl to represent Earth which is filled with 2 inches of dirt, then an inch of salt, and topped with a variety of crystals which will come in handy later on in my practice. After transforming a box that I meant to recycle weeks ago into a fabulous little altar, I placed an exercise mat on the floor in front of it and voila! Sacred space created! Oh I also placed a small fan right next to the altar in case it ever gets warm. It’s good to be practical, am I right?

I’m sure my altar with alter (see what I did there?) as I change my goals for meditation, but this set up felt right for starting. Eventually I may write a quote a day that is meant to inspire me, and place it on the altar. I may also add some photos of important role models in my life to help me maintain focus on improving myself as an individual, or a business person, or a family member…it all depends on the goals for the day. Someone else may have a statue of Jesus, or Buddha, or Mother Mary, as I said before, there is no right or wrong way. There is only your way.

Time to begin!