Morning Meditations with Big J

February 8th, 2011

I went to my favorite local metaphysical shop the other day and bought some crystals to support my intention this lunar cycle.

I set an intention to make conscious contact with my spirit guides, or more specifically, Jesus… if He really is one of my spirit guides.  I know I got a synchronous confirmation of that, but the skeptic in the back of my mind is still… well… skeptical.

So, anyway, I went and bought these crystal bracelets.  I sat down before I left and flipped through my Chrystal Bible briefly to make note of “Spirit Guide” stones.  I marked three.

Of the three I marked, only one was possible and available.

Lapis Lazuli (royal stone, spirit guide contact, stimulates enlightenment, releases stress & brings deep peace, energetic/psychic protection) in a 13 stone bracelet.  I took it.  It seemed like a sign, being the only one available to me.

I also felt completely drawn to a hematite (grounding and cleansing; especially blood and blood related organs) bracelet of 15 stones.

Then the girl behind the counter mentioned clear quartz (healing, cleansing, amplifies and stores energy) and as soon as she said it, I knew I was there for that also.  The one I left with has 16 stones.

I don’t know why I counted the stones, but it seemed somehow significant.  It also seems significant that Lapis is “royal”… like, a king… and brings deep peace… Hematite makes direct reference to cleansing the blood… and the quartz amplifies and increases.  I didn’t know what any of the stones were until I came back home and looked them up.  I only new Lapis pertained to spirit guides because the index told me so.  Funny coincidence.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

I’ve been going to sleep every night listening to a “Spirit Guide” binural beat for the past three nights.  I bought it from The Unexplainable Store.  It’s 30 minutes long and pleasant to listen to.  There’s a light, airy music with nature sounds in the background.  Under it all, if I focus on it, I can hear the hum of the beat.

It’s the only track on my MP3 player so when it finishes, it just starts over again.  I usually wake up about an hour or so later, and turn it off and set it on the floor next to my bed.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

I (re)started a yoga routine on Saturday.  I’ve put on twenty pounds over the past several months, and I figured yoga would be a great way to get in a little exercise to motive and start the day on a high note.  Afterward, I’ve been lighting a candle and meditating.  Then I hold and say blessings over my crystals before wishing us all a lovely day and blowing out the candle (it’s like it’s my birthday every day lol).

My yoga routine is very basic to get limbered up for the morning and make some nice energy.  I’m thinking about making my own yoga video ;)  The whole reason I started doing this routine is because I couldn’t find a basic, short, sweet, morning yoga routine that I REALLY liked.  I looked all over the net and youtube.

I came up with some that were pretty good, but I find that most videos don’t give you enough time to breeeeath in your poses.  I like the fluid breathing/moving motions, but when I drop into a nice, opening, stretching pose, I like to pause and really feel the tension release, and take a moment to breath oxygen and chi down into my muscles.

So anyway, I recorded my routine this morning, just for the heck of it.  It came out just under ten minutes.  I think in the near future, I’ll be re-recording it and posting it!  I’m sort of excited about it too : )

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

I mentioned the yoga because I find that doing a little yoga is not only meditative in itself, but it also wakes up my chi and relaxes my muscles.  This is a perfect way to lead into meditating.

I’ve never been a regular meditator, but I am feeling especially drawn to it since this past New Moon’s intention.  I started Saturday morning by going through my short yoga routine, and then sitting down in the middle of my mat to meditate.

I lit a candle to create an official, energetic space, and then I sat gazing at the flame for a moment taking a few deep breaths and consciously relaxing.  As I was quieting my mind, I heard Deepak Chopra telling me to visualize that which I desire to manifest, and then take it into the nothingness and release it.

How do I visualize spirit guide contact?  Just SEE Jesus?

But before I could contemplate it anymore, I immediately could see him sitting cross legged, directly in front of me, as though we were meditating together and facing each other while doing it.  I didn’t SEE Jesus, my eyes were closed.  Yet, it wasn’t an imagining or a visualization either really.  I couldn’t see him clearly, like a picture.  He was more like a soft, white-ish, humming glow with vague features.

I just knew Him.

I felt my whole body flush warm, and I felt relaxed and happy and loved.  Then I let go of the image and focused into my breath and let everything go silent and still.

I repeated this morning routine on Sunday morning with the same results.

On Monday I traded yoga for working out at Curves, but before I left, I sat down and lit my candle and connected to that image of Big J sitting cross legged in front of me.  I took the image into the silence and released it going to my breath once again.

After I left Curves, I stopped at Walmart.  As I was walking up the aisle just minutes after I walked in, I realized that I could see Big J walking along just over my right shoulder.  Again, I didn’t SEE him, I just saw him in my mind’s eye and knew the energy.  I just recognized him.

But I didn’t call him.  I mean, I didn’t consciously visualize him there.  I was alerted to his presence when I felt him there.  That’s never happened before.

Well, that’s not entirely true either.  I’ve been feeling a presence of some sort just over my right shoulder for about  a month now.  Ash and I were just talking about it a week or so ago.  It was just a mild feeling though.  I’d not SEEN, with my mind’s eye OR the ones in my face, anything near me.

I’m glad it happened at Walmart though.  Spending time home alone all day, if I suddenly saw someone next to me without any pre-appearance, it’d probably startle the life out of me.

This morning I lit my candle and gazed into the flame to relax and release and I could already feel him near.  When I closed my eyes, he was there.  I only sit and meditate for maybe, seven or eight minutes every morning.  I may extend that in the future, but I’m trying to form a routine, and that doesn’t happen by going overboard.  I spend probably two of those minutes holding his image.

This whole experience makes me wonder if we actually choose our spirit guides.  Are they assigned to us, or can they be beckoned to us.  Or do they just take the form we are most likely to relate to?

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How I’m Becoming a Morning Person

December 18th, 2010

A quick reminder that the Full Moon is on Tuesday, 12-21-2010.  This is a very special day as it is also the Winter Solstice (the shortest day of the year and first day of winter) and there is a full lunar eclipse!  What a BIG day!!

Join us for a Full Moon Group Abundance Meditation @ 11 am and 11 pm EST~  It promises to wield tremendous power in the coming year!!


One of the things on my list for the new year is to expand and write about my morning routine.

I want to start by talking about the importance of how you start your day.

When someone is really cranky, it is often said that they got up on the wrong side of the bed.  This is because we’ve always known that your day starts before your feet even touch the floor.  The thoughts that flood your mind upon waking are the thoughts that are going to shape your entire day.

How I used to start my day~

*Smack* down onto the alarm clock.  Sit up.  If I don’t, I’ll go back to sleep.

Fumble around for my clothes.  Brrrrr is it cold.  Wrap in thick cotton ANYTHING I can find, and zombie walk to the kitchen.

Put the tea kettle on the stove and add coffee grounds to my french press.  Zombie walk over to let the dogs out.

Zombie walk back to the kitchen, silently grumbling in my head about how stiff I feel and how cold it is and how dark it is and how damn early it is.

Pour the water, then the fresh coffee.  Zombie walk to my chair and open my laptop.

Squint.  Sip.  Sigh.

How I want to start my morning~

Reach up and click my alarm off before it even sounds because my internal clock is spot on.

Deep stretch and a moment of complete appreciation for my body, my bed, my husband, a new day.

Rise, dress and head to the kitchen for a glass of cool, fresh water.

Roll out my yoga mat and actually DO some yoga.

Sit on my yoga mat and meditate/morning prayer for a few minutes when I’m finished with my yoga.

Brew up some righteously wonderful coffee…

Post my quote and Spiritual ponderings for the day on Lilypad Paradise.

You have the most say in how your day is going to go when you first open your eyes in the morning.

About three months ago, I started taking a more active role in my waking moments.  As soon as I realize I’m awake every morning, the first thing I do is stretch my body out in a huuuuge stretch, and then I contract my body back into a little ball.

Then I feel my bed.

Not with my hands, but with my entire being.  I notice the warm, softness of my sheets against my skin, and the weight of the heavy, cotton comforter that covers me.

I notice the hairy leg next to me and smile in acknowledgment.

I notice the smell of my sheets.

I notice everything I can become aware of.

This whole routine takes me less than two minutes.  It’s quick and easy and it puts a huge smile on my face before my feet even hit the floor.  I love it.

There was less zombie walk and grumbles.  When I got up, I had an appreciative thought on my mind so there was less room for complaints.

After about a month and a half of actively directing my thoughts upon waking, I decided to add onto this routine so I was also directing my thoughts after my feet were floor bound.  I was having such great success with just directing my thoughts for two minutes before rising, I knew that it could get even better.

Then on November 9th, I began choosing a quote to start my morning with on Lilypad Paradise.  It’s been a month and a half that I’ve been at that now and I am really loving it a lot.  When I get up in the morning, I actually look forward to the moment that I’ll be able to sit down and start my daily post.

Now, there’s almost NO zombie walk or grumbles.  By the time I’ve spent a few minutes in bed, basking in the beauty that is my life, and then headed toward my laptop where I get to ponder my favorite subject, I’m high on life, and ready for the day to unfold for me.

I’ve always wanted to be one of those people who wakes up in the morning happy.

You know, one of those God awful morning people.  One of those people who don’t need an IV drip of coffee strong enough to stand a spoon in to feel human in the morning.

I’ve realized recently that the main things that stands between me and them is that I believe it’s a pain in the ass to be like them, and I believe that a zombie walk to the coffee is the only way I can function in the morning.

I know these things are true for me only because I believe them to be.  It just never really occurred to me that I believed that, really.  It’s something that I’ve done for SO long.  A behavior that I have participated in for SO long… I just accepted it as the way it is.  It never occurred to me that I had actual beliefs around it or that it could be different.  That *I* could be different.

I suppose it’s because the zombie walk has always worked for me, so I never questioned it.  I had no need or desire to be any different.

Now, I have a desire.

I’ve nearly become a morning person just from the two small, regular practices I’ve been doing for the past three months, now I want to work on some morning meditation and some morning yoga…. PRE coffee.

Such a daunting idea for me.  I know I want it though.  It puts a smile on my face to imagine being up in the dark of the pre-dawn hours with my yoga mat, stretching my body out and warming and waking it up more naturally than just a quick jolt of caffeine.

I want to replace that first thing, cup of coffee with a nice cool glass of water.  Our bodies go into detox in the night as we slumber, and one great way to flush all the toxin buildup away is to drink a glass of pure water first thing in the morning.  This also gets your organs fired up for the day and gets your bowels moving (not the most pleasant topic, but certainly one that’s appreciated in the morning).

After putting a glass of water in my system to get things fired up, I want to spend some time stretching out and doing some yoga.  Not a heavy, sweaty routine of poses.  Just something fairly short and simple to get my muscles warmed up and get my blood flowing freely.

I was looking around youtube for something I can start with and found this routine.  It’s a very simple and basic routine and at only seven minutes in length, it’s perfect for a quick warm up in the morning.  This will be my jumping off point.

Who knows, a few months from now, I might be doing a full, forty-five minute yoga routine, happily.  But for now, I will start small and go with a glass of water and a seven minute stretch.

And as a final expansion of my routine, I want to have a seat on my yoga mat when I’ve finished my morning stretches and meditate.  I’ll start with five minutes.  I try to remember to say a morning prayer, but I often forget.  I want to add it right into my routine.

The solstice is only two days away now, so I’m trying to get all my changes organized so I’m ready to strike.  I’m a big believer in planning less and getting to it, more… but some things just need a little scheduling and planning, and this is one of them.  I need a few days of knowing what’s coming and mentally preparing for such a big shift.

I am really looking forward to it though.  Maybe a dry run on Monday morning….

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Unintentional Flaws of Intention

November 18th, 2010

** Mark your calendars!! **

~ Full Moon Group Abundance Meditation on Sunday 11-21-2010 @ 11am & 11pm EST ~
There’s nothing to sign up for.  Bring a friend.  Or a hundred friends.
For more information, check in here.


Back in October, I’d set an intention with the New Moon to lose fourteen pounds in four weeks.  Here I am five weeks later, and I’ve not only NOT lost the fourteen, but I managed to gain two.

I wasn’t terribly worried about it.  I could see it happening as it was happening and I let it be.  I had a lot going on and each day it seemed like there was always a different reason why I couldn’t go work out.

And I’m not just talking “excuses” I was making to not go.  I had a sick child one week and then the other one was sick the following week.  They weren’t home from school all those days, but they were home for some.

Can’t really go to the gym with a sickie at home.

But anyway, none of that matters.

This morning on Lilypad Paradise, my quote was about will.  It reminded me of when I quit smoking and when I lost 40 pounds a few years ago.  I enjoyed starting my day thinking about how strong my will can be and how powerful I am when I use it.

I went to Curves this morning and worked out hard.  I mean, I really put my focus into it.  I zeroed in on the muscle group I was on, and made each move with purpose.  Today’s the first day I’ve been there this week.

On my way home, I wandered off on a train of thought about how good it felt to work out after having not done it for a couple weeks.  I thought about how good I feel inside my body when I work out regularly.  I thought about how I need to really MAKE this workout a regular part of my morning routine.

“Too bad I couldn’t get a grip and lose those 14 pounds last month….”

As soon as that thought reared it’s ugly head, the realization hit me.  I didn’t lose the weight and I was unable to stick with it and find the time and I also ate like a pig for the entire month…. and it’s because of that intention.

I wasn’t intending growth, I was intending improvement.  But I don’t need to improve.  I am as I am and that’s the way I’m supposed to be.  As soon as I officially intended to lose that weight and “improve” myself, or rather how I saw myself, I think my subconscious took the hit and suddenly I ate everything in sight in a self soothing manner.  Suddenly I was far too over taxed and put upon to find free time to work out.  That fits in with that whole martyrdom thing too.

I think I need to focus my intentions into having a regular morning routine that includes my Lilypad Paradise quote of the day, meditation, and exercise.  That will put my focus more on feeling good and being happy and healthy.  I already meditate and do my quote.  Now to integrate the exercise… Oh great, now I’m thinking about affirmations DURING exercise. Hmmmm…

As a side note, I’m also reminded that creating is downstream while LOSING or getting rid of is very upstream thinking.

Growth.

No more improvements for me!!

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