This is the time of year when I do some Blessings counting. I make sure I remind myself all through the year exactly how blessed I am and stay in gratitude for it. Even the not so great stuff has it's purpose and I'm grateful for it as well.
October zoomed through here like lightening and the rest of the year will do the same, I'm sure. It's been busy in my world, lots of activities with the grandkids plus I'm in the center of a wonderfully creative wave and have been taking full advantage of it as it crests. I know it'll crash to shore soon, to continue the metaphor, but while it's here, I'm Hanging 10!!
I'm sharing a lot of what I make in my online shops in hopes of a sale. It would be nice to have one but it's not something I dwell on. The joy is in the creating! Staying focused on lack produces more of the same and I'd rather not go there. Spending my day filled with short walks with the camera when the weather permits it, my sweet family (including the cats) and creative endeavors with mosaics, acrylics and polymer clay is much more my speed.
In case you're interested, there is another Chopra Center 21-Day Meditation Challenge happening now. It is already Day 10 but there's still time to join, I believe. It's always fun for me to do and I encourage any of you who like to spend 10-15 minutes quietly contemplating to do them. They are free! Go here: http://www.chopra.com/
Wishing you Peace.
Showing posts with label 21 Day Meditation Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 21 Day Meditation Challenge. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Saturday, June 23, 2012
All The World --- Join In On The Love Train
Fall in love with life. A new 21-Day Meditation Challenge through the Chopra Center is coming in July and it's all about love. I'm so excited!!
I've just signed up and I can't wait!! Although I'm not looking for love in the traditional sense, I am always happy to learn how to build my self-esteem (which sometimes takes an emotional beating by yours truly), have enlightened relationships and discover genuine unconditional love towards others as well as towards myself. I always walk away from these challenges happier, more content and never sorry I took the time to do them. There's so much to learn and these meditations help teach them in a fresh and accessible way.
I'm looking forward to this! I highly recommend signing up and taking the challenge yourself. It's free to sign up and you can do it whenever it is convenient for you. The people at the Chopra Center send you a reminder email with the link you need to go to the mediation for that day. They range in time from 20-30 minutes although some are shorter.
What I love the best about these challenges is that people from all around the world join and do the challenge each day as I do. There is a possibility that at the very minimum, 100 people are listening to that same meditation at the very same time I am. That is so awesome and humbling too. The energy produced by so many and all thinking about love ...
Head on over to register today and join me on July 16th. You won't be sorry!
https://www.chopracentermeditation.com
Be at peace.
Friday, March 16, 2012
How Are You?
After completing the 21 Day Meditation Challenge provided by the Chopra Center I feel well both mentally and emotionally. Physically I'm still struggling but with a better outlook from the inside, the rest is easier to handle.
How are you doing? Did you do the Challenge? What did you get from it, if anything? What are your favorite meditations to do to help you through your life challenges?
I went for a short walk this evening after a rather trying day filled with noisy grandchildren and the stress that comes with constant activity created by 4 very different personalities. I took my camera, even though it was just before dusk and decided to take a few photos of the trees and sky. At some point in the future, I want to mosaic this:
Feel free to leave comments here; all are welcome. If you'd like to chat, send me an email through earthmothermosaics@yahoo.com any time.
Stay peaceful.
Cindy
How are you doing? Did you do the Challenge? What did you get from it, if anything? What are your favorite meditations to do to help you through your life challenges?
I went for a short walk this evening after a rather trying day filled with noisy grandchildren and the stress that comes with constant activity created by 4 very different personalities. I took my camera, even though it was just before dusk and decided to take a few photos of the trees and sky. At some point in the future, I want to mosaic this:
Feel free to leave comments here; all are welcome. If you'd like to chat, send me an email through earthmothermosaics@yahoo.com any time.
Stay peaceful.
Cindy
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Change Your Mind
I can't believe how good I feel now that I've found inspiration again. Physically I'm still struggling a little bit, but I tell myself it takes time to heal and I'll get there. It's more than a physical thing, I know. I need to do a lot of emotional healing from the past few years of "hard knocks".
I pulled up some audios I had on my computer in the morning yesterday to listen to them while I was working on a mosaic. Our internet was down and I thought it would be the perfect day to play "in the studio". I posted on the Wordpress blog this morning my weekly studio news for those who'd like to hop over and read it once you're finished here. The link will be added at the end of this post.
My favorite things to listen to, besides music, are inspirational speakers I have on mp3's on my computer. Uplifting messages coming through the air as I work on a mosaic or cut up glass or paint or whatever it is that I'm doing. It seems to really sink in more than when I plug in with headphones and sit quietly and try to listen. I have a brain that will NOT shut off and if I sit for a while, it sees this as an opportunity to think about the day, what needs to be done, life, food, conversations and so on. I am not sure why I focus better when I'm doing mosaics or painting but if my hands are busy doing something I like to do, I concentrate more on the messages coming through. Perhaps it's the whole left/right brain thing. If I'm busy creating with the proper side of the brain, the other side of the brain can learn something.
I pulled up some audios I had on my computer in the morning yesterday to listen to them while I was working on a mosaic. Our internet was down and I thought it would be the perfect day to play "in the studio". I posted on the Wordpress blog this morning my weekly studio news for those who'd like to hop over and read it once you're finished here. The link will be added at the end of this post.
My favorite things to listen to, besides music, are inspirational speakers I have on mp3's on my computer. Uplifting messages coming through the air as I work on a mosaic or cut up glass or paint or whatever it is that I'm doing. It seems to really sink in more than when I plug in with headphones and sit quietly and try to listen. I have a brain that will NOT shut off and if I sit for a while, it sees this as an opportunity to think about the day, what needs to be done, life, food, conversations and so on. I am not sure why I focus better when I'm doing mosaics or painting but if my hands are busy doing something I like to do, I concentrate more on the messages coming through. Perhaps it's the whole left/right brain thing. If I'm busy creating with the proper side of the brain, the other side of the brain can learn something.
I just finished writing the blog series
drafts on the Wordpress blog about my summer and I was in need of
some healing. I put myself right back there and the depression, frustration and upset that was what I was dealing with no matter how hard I tried to stay positive and see a good side (which I did eventually see) was with me once more. I have been doing the meditations I always do every day adding it to the 21 day challenge from the Chopra Center. I have times where I feel completely at peace and energized during that time. But when
I write about things that are less than positive in nature I start
thinking about them more. They stay with me for a while. I know this,
so when I've gone through something negative in thought or nature, I
pull out the audios to help me find my balance again.
I listened to Wayne Dyer (no surprise)
in a series of audios I have listed as "Inner Wisdom". It
ranges from 1976 to 2002. There are 40 audios that all run about 20
to 30 minutes each. I usually don't get through them all in one work
session, obviously, but I let them go from one to the next and often
stop and think about what he is saying to allow it really to get into
my brain.
Here is what I heard this day: "What
you think about ... expands".
Really think about this sentence: "What
you think about expands."
Read it again.
"What you think about expands."
Financially: If you worry about lack of
money all the time, if you become obsessed about what you don't have,
you keep yourself in a poverty state. Life has no choice but to stay
that way or get even worse.
"What you think about expands."
Physically: Have you ever said after
you sneezed: "Oh boy, I'm getting that cold that's going around. I know it's going to
hit me at it's worst tomorrow when I have a lot to do and it's going to
make it harder to do everything and I'm going to feel horrible. And it'll probably stick with me for
weeks and I'll get nothing done. I'll probably be in bed for at least 3 days. Ugh. I just know I'm getting that cold ..."
You've already put yourself there, in
that sickness, and even allowed it to stay for weeks. And chances
are, the next day, you feel horrible. You've got that cold and indeed
it does stay for weeks and you feel just awful through the whole
ordeal. What choice did it have? And when you are sick with the cold the next day, what do you say? "I KNEW IT!!"
Thoughts are energy. This energy goes out into the world and the Universe hears it, in a vibrations kinda way and we manifest what we don't want because that's where the focus is.
Thoughts are energy. This energy goes out into the world and the Universe hears it, in a vibrations kinda way and we manifest what we don't want because that's where the focus is.
Why do we do that to ourselves?
Thoughts are so powerful. They are everything. As Dr. Dyer says: "Everything we experience in life is thought." They can cause illness and stress. They can make a good relationship good and a bad one bad. They
can also cause happiness, health and less stress if we change the way
we think as a negative person does. Even just a little bit of an altered thought can make a difference.
The next time you sneeze, if you are
prone to thinking like the example above, try this instead. Sneeze
and then say: "Okay cold, you have attempted to enter the wrong
body! You are NOT going to be a bother to me at all and have no power
over me. I don't want you anywhere near me. I choose to stay and feel
healthy. I am healthy."
Now there's no indicator that when you
sneezed it was just dust. There is a good possibility that an
airborne virus or germ found it's way into your nose and your system.
And it's just as likely that the next day after that dreaded sneeze
you COULD have a cold. But here's the interesting thing, even with a
cold, if you keep thinking in a positive way instead of a negative
way, it won't last long, you won't need to stay in bed for a week.
There is as much of a possibility that the sneeze was dust as much as
a possibility that it was a germ. Why start thinking the worst things
about that one tiny sneeze first?!
This is true with everything we think.
I mean EVERYTHING!
I often would go right for the most
horrible things to think and would obsess about these horrible things
until sure enough, they would manifest. Once I started to re-train my
brain to hear a negative thought and learned to switch it, when ever
I would hear it, to a positive thought, life got a lot better. It may
not be different ... the outcome from what was a bad sitution may
still happen. But I'd rather have a positive attitude about life in
general to get me through the bad situations than to be stressed out
all the time, making myself ill from stress and then trying to deal
with the situation that requires me to handle it if it is a difficult
one.
Using the cold analogy once more, would
you rather have a week of feeling accomplished and enjoying time with
your family and friends with the sniffles or would you rather have a
week of feeling miserable, in your bed most of the time, complaining
to everyone within earshot about how sick you are?
Let's face it. Some of us do enjoy
misery. I used to. I found people around me that vibrated to the same
frequency and we were all miserable together. It was wonderful
because we all understood each other. We all tried to one-up each other too in our misery. We weren't happy unless we were miserable. "Poor me,
I'm miserable" or "Why does this always happen to me?!" I'd say and that would start everyone else to go there
with me.
Once I started thinking in a more
positive light and really got that sentence Dr. Wayne Dyer said: "What
we think about expands" I noticed so many people around me were
unhappy, sad individuals who were looking for others to feed their
fears. I didn't want to go through life like that. I wanted to enjoy
myself, feel good, be as active as I could be and sleep well, be
healthy and share my positive ideas with others. I found people who
were more upbeat to hang with, associate with and chat with online who love their life, their family, friends and
co-workers.
You can feel the energy people have. I worked with someone a long time ago who, when entering a room, gave off an energy that was so filled with stress and what I call static that the air charged up around them. This particular person fought with others often, was loud and sometimes rude, and always had major drama happening in their life. If you are drawn towards that static, negative stuff – try to figure out why you want to be there if you're unhappy about it. What do you need to learn about yourself? I like to feel positive energy in people and I almost float towards it now. I feel good when I'm around people who feel good. It's my choice. I changed my mind about how I wanted to feel every day.
Not so long ago I saw a person I know who has 3 small children under 10. Her life is always loud and active. The youngest is 2. Before the 3rd child was born this parent had to go through one of the worst possible life events I can imagine a parent can. She had to bury a baby after it's birth.
On this particular day, all 3 children were giving her a hard time and she was stressed and fussing loudly about their hectic energy and how noisy they were. Someone asked her if she wanted more children some day and she offhandedly said sometimes she doesn't want the kids she has. Those around her laughed and the noise and energy that only children have, continued as she attempted to wrangle them up and head on home. A week later, her middle child while not listening although both the adults with her were screeching at her to stop, kept running, ignoring them and came very, dangerously close to be hitting by a car. After hearing this, the first thing that came to mind was hearing her Mom say she didn't want the kids she had. I have heard that phrase used often. The parents never mean it when they say it and it's been said by many and always followed by a knowing nod and laughter. But the universe doesn't know that it's just a joke or that it doesn't mean anything when it was mentioned. It vibrates out there and if constantly thought about long enough, it stays until it manifests. I'd say this child had some divine intervention that day because she's still here among us, happy and still noisy and giving her Mom trouble on a daily basis. I wish I could share my insight on the way thoughts work with the Mom without making her want to crawl into a hole and stay there. But I know it isn't my place to do that. The child has recovered from the incident. I believe the Mom never will.
You can feel the energy people have. I worked with someone a long time ago who, when entering a room, gave off an energy that was so filled with stress and what I call static that the air charged up around them. This particular person fought with others often, was loud and sometimes rude, and always had major drama happening in their life. If you are drawn towards that static, negative stuff – try to figure out why you want to be there if you're unhappy about it. What do you need to learn about yourself? I like to feel positive energy in people and I almost float towards it now. I feel good when I'm around people who feel good. It's my choice. I changed my mind about how I wanted to feel every day.
Not so long ago I saw a person I know who has 3 small children under 10. Her life is always loud and active. The youngest is 2. Before the 3rd child was born this parent had to go through one of the worst possible life events I can imagine a parent can. She had to bury a baby after it's birth.
On this particular day, all 3 children were giving her a hard time and she was stressed and fussing loudly about their hectic energy and how noisy they were. Someone asked her if she wanted more children some day and she offhandedly said sometimes she doesn't want the kids she has. Those around her laughed and the noise and energy that only children have, continued as she attempted to wrangle them up and head on home. A week later, her middle child while not listening although both the adults with her were screeching at her to stop, kept running, ignoring them and came very, dangerously close to be hitting by a car. After hearing this, the first thing that came to mind was hearing her Mom say she didn't want the kids she had. I have heard that phrase used often. The parents never mean it when they say it and it's been said by many and always followed by a knowing nod and laughter. But the universe doesn't know that it's just a joke or that it doesn't mean anything when it was mentioned. It vibrates out there and if constantly thought about long enough, it stays until it manifests. I'd say this child had some divine intervention that day because she's still here among us, happy and still noisy and giving her Mom trouble on a daily basis. I wish I could share my insight on the way thoughts work with the Mom without making her want to crawl into a hole and stay there. But I know it isn't my place to do that. The child has recovered from the incident. I believe the Mom never will.
I work at really listening to what I say constantly and I try to keep a positive spin on it. I fall
back into a negative frame of mind every so often. Like I just recently did after writing the posts that had me depressed and physically hurt. But for the most
part, I am 75% a positive person. That is an awesome statement!! I
used to be 25% maybe even only 10% positive not so very long ago. It
took a lot of years, constantly listening to my favorite audio tapes by my favorite inspirational guru's and
reading books written by my favorite inspirational mentors (Dyer, Chopra, Tolle, Hay and so on) to really
get it.
One of my favorite songs is called "Change Your Mind" sung by Sister Hazel. It was used in one of my favorite movies "Bedazzled" with Brendan Fraser and Elizabeth Hurley. "Change Your Mind" Written by Ken Block, Jeff Beres, Andrew Copeland, Ryan Newell and Mark Trojanowski Courtesy of Universal Records, Inc. Under license from Universal Music Enterprises.
One of my favorite songs is called "Change Your Mind" sung by Sister Hazel. It was used in one of my favorite movies "Bedazzled" with Brendan Fraser and Elizabeth Hurley. "Change Your Mind" Written by Ken Block, Jeff Beres, Andrew Copeland, Ryan Newell and Mark Trojanowski Courtesy of Universal Records, Inc. Under license from Universal Music Enterprises.
"Change Your Mind"
Hey, Hey
Did you ever think
There might be another way
To just feel better,
Just feel better about today
Oh
no-If
you never want to have
To
turn and go away
You
might feel better,
Might
feel better if you stay
Yeah
yeah
I
bet you haven't heard
A
word I've said
Yeah
yeah
If
you've had enough
Of
all your tryin'
Just
give up
The
state of mind you're in:
[Chorus]
If
you want to be somebody else,
If
you're tired of fighting battles with yourself
If
you want to be somebody else
Change
your mind...
Hey
hey-
Have
you ever danced in the rain
Or
thanked the sun
Just
for shining-just for shining
Over
the sea?
Oh
no-take it all in
The
world's a show
And
yeah, you look much better,
Look
much better when you glow
Hey
hey-what
ya say
We
both go and seize the day
'cause
what's your hurry
what's
your hurry anyway
[Chorus]
If you want to be somebody else,
If you're tired of fighting battles with yourself
If you want to be somebody else
Change your mind...
Once I changed my mind, I started to look better. I started to glow, just like the song says.
With age, comes wisdom. And with wisdom
comes this thought spoken first by Dr. Dyer: "get off the scarcity thoughts and start
thinking about what you have, rather than what's missing". I am very blessed to have discovered this man back in the early 80's. He continues to transform my life to this day.
"Focus on what you want to expand
in your life. If you're always thinking about what you don't have,
than what you don't have is going to expand."~Dr. Wayne Dyer
Final thoughts: What could be considered a mere coincidence was, in my mind, a BIG universal nudge to find perspective in my life. Last night I decided to channel surf and find something on TV while I nipped up stained glass after dinner. Normally I listen to music or leave something on that the grandchild was watching the last time TV was on in my room. I will admit that I do love SpongeBob (talk about optimistic!!). But last night, I found PBS and the newest Dyer show "Wishes Fulfilled". He looked good; very healthy. A major accomplishment as he was diagnosed with leukemia. When he walked on stage and said "I am well" I cried. It makes me well up tearfully right now just remembering that moment. He then proceeded to talk about ways to manifest things into your life, such as well-being and good health as well as give many anecdotes as he always does and what keeps me entertained so much when he does talks on the audios and videos I possess in my personal library. One of the phrases he used last night was "Quantum Healing". Now, that snapped me to attention. Something more was happening here than just being fortunate enough to find this program when I needed something to watch while working. That phrase "Quantum Healing" was the title of the meditation for Day 16 of the Meditation Challenge with the Chopra Center which was yesterday.
I know ... while there's a possibility, I suppose, slim as it is, that Chopra and Dyer, buddies and friends, could have convinced the TV network at PBS and the people who make the decisions as to what should be the meditation for each day during the Challenge (Chopra is one of them, I'm assuming, since he does a few meditations during the weeks) to run these things on the same day, I seriously doubt it. I believe, what happened was that I was meant to listen/watch Dyer talk about his latest book and life adventures on the same day I learned and listened to the Quantum Healing meditation in order for the lessons of each to really make an impact.
Bless you, Dr Wayne Dyer for your
teachings and for coming into my home daily with something new for me
to think about. If it weren't for the audios and videos I have available, I am positive I wouldn't be a positive person at all. I'd still be less than happy, less than grateful, less than peaceful.
Stay peaceful.
Cindy
"In the Studio" News for this week: http://earthmothermosaics.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/in-the-studio-64/
"In the Studio" News for this week: http://earthmothermosaics.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/in-the-studio-64/
Monday, February 20, 2012
Broken Spirit
Altering my life to accommodate the physical healing that has begun has been a challenge. My mobility has been altered the most; less strength, pain when it rains and swelling in the joints, possibly forever. I have found this past years events have broken my mental spirit as well. I am pleased that I see this problem on the heels of starting the 21-Day Meditation from the Chopra Center. If nothing else, I will be spending 10-15 minutes a day sitting quietly listening to guided meditations. This always helps lift my spirits, calms and centers me and I always wonder, once I've found the balance again, why I let it slip in the first place.
It's ironic that once I decided to take others' advice and start an uplifting blog that I have lost a lot of my positive energy. It's time to restore the balance between mind, body and spirit.
If the term "inspired" actually means "in spirit", then when the spirit is broken, we are uninspired. This is certainly true for me. When I worked at the mosaic table yesterday, although I made 3 things using dish shards and some stained glass, the inspiration was not there at all and I wasn't pleased with how any of them looked when I finished them.
I have started the Meditation Challenge today along with millions of other people and will continue for the full 3 weeks. It was life-altering for me each time in the past. I will find my spirit again and when I do I'll also find the renewed enjoyment of still being able to move, albeit slower and without as much bounce in my step.
I will be able to share inspiring quotes, websites and thoughts and theories here in this blog as time goes on. I reminded myself that I am a spiritual person having a human experience. That's a very good place to start in order to find my enthusiasm towards my life and every day events.
I know everything comes to us when we need it. I'm confident that this upcoming event with the Chopra Center will give me one or two things to help me out of my slump. Before the month is done, I will once again say: Life is good.
The first quote from the 21 Day Meditation Challenge: “Have your attention on what is and see its fullness in every moment. The presence of the divine is everywhere. You have only to consciously embrace it with your attention.”~ The Vedas
Stay peaceful. See you in the gap. Namaste.
It's ironic that once I decided to take others' advice and start an uplifting blog that I have lost a lot of my positive energy. It's time to restore the balance between mind, body and spirit.
If the term "inspired" actually means "in spirit", then when the spirit is broken, we are uninspired. This is certainly true for me. When I worked at the mosaic table yesterday, although I made 3 things using dish shards and some stained glass, the inspiration was not there at all and I wasn't pleased with how any of them looked when I finished them.
I have started the Meditation Challenge today along with millions of other people and will continue for the full 3 weeks. It was life-altering for me each time in the past. I will find my spirit again and when I do I'll also find the renewed enjoyment of still being able to move, albeit slower and without as much bounce in my step.
I will be able to share inspiring quotes, websites and thoughts and theories here in this blog as time goes on. I reminded myself that I am a spiritual person having a human experience. That's a very good place to start in order to find my enthusiasm towards my life and every day events.
I know everything comes to us when we need it. I'm confident that this upcoming event with the Chopra Center will give me one or two things to help me out of my slump. Before the month is done, I will once again say: Life is good.
The first quote from the 21 Day Meditation Challenge: “Have your attention on what is and see its fullness in every moment. The presence of the divine is everywhere. You have only to consciously embrace it with your attention.”~ The Vedas
Stay peaceful. See you in the gap. Namaste.
Labels:
21 Day Meditation Challenge,
inspiration,
mosaics
Friday, February 3, 2012
Chopra Center's 21 Day Meditation Winter 2012
For all of those who suffer from the winter blues as I often do, please sign up for this 21 Day Meditation Challenge through the Chopra Center with me and let's do it together.
I've done two, Spring and Summer in 2011. I am so happy I found them. With my normal winter blahs and recovering from an injury, I will do everything I can to find moments of peace, happiness and positive thoughts. This is a great way for me to keep heading in a positive frame of mind.
They make it easy for us too. It's FREE!! It starts on February 20th, comes in your email each day for 21 days and you can meditate whenever you have the time during that day ... more than once if you want. They run between 10-15 minutes in length.
Keep track of how you feel before and during the meditations to see your progress. You'll be amazed what a few minutes a day in meditation can do.
Try it, please, you won't be sorry. And once you've started, let me know here on this blog or through email how you're doing.
http://www.chopracentermeditation.com/bestsellers/MEDITATION_WINTER_2012/register.asp
Stay peaceful.
Cindy
I've done two, Spring and Summer in 2011. I am so happy I found them. With my normal winter blahs and recovering from an injury, I will do everything I can to find moments of peace, happiness and positive thoughts. This is a great way for me to keep heading in a positive frame of mind.
They make it easy for us too. It's FREE!! It starts on February 20th, comes in your email each day for 21 days and you can meditate whenever you have the time during that day ... more than once if you want. They run between 10-15 minutes in length.
Keep track of how you feel before and during the meditations to see your progress. You'll be amazed what a few minutes a day in meditation can do.
Try it, please, you won't be sorry. And once you've started, let me know here on this blog or through email how you're doing.
http://www.chopracentermeditation.com/bestsellers/MEDITATION_WINTER_2012/register.asp
Stay peaceful.
Cindy
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