June 17, 2009
Sages and seers have always known that sunrises and sunsets are
conducive for energy fields to be seen. These times of the day make it
relatively easy to attempt and practice viewing your own aura and those
around trees and plants. The following exercises are geared toward this
magical time of day of dawn and twilight. With practice seeing auras
can come naturally at any time of the day or night.
Exercise 1 - "Energy Tendrils" Touch the tips of your index fingers together against the bluish-yellow
twilight background of the sky. Then separate the tips of your fingers
about an inch paying close attention to the space between. You may need
to allow your eyes to soften and relax a bit, even allowing them to
slightly going out of focus. It may also help to look beyond your
fingers at the sky. After relaxing your eyes for a few minutes, slowly
move your fingers up and down in a see-saw motion altering their
height. Again, pay careful attention to the space between the fingers. Due to a contrasting background, what you will see is an
"energy-tendril" between your index fingers. When you move your fingers
it will move likewise. You may want to experiment by encircling your
fingers, touching and moving all of you fingers, and/or try seeing the
energy between your palms. If you can't see this at first, keep trying as long as you and your
eyes are relaxed. If you feel frustrated take a break and enjoy the
moment. When you finally see the "energy tendril" you will be amazed
with a new understanding of energy.
Exercise 2 - "Halo"
This exercise is similar
to the above one. During twilight/dawn hours, hold your hand up
comfortably in front your face about a foot or 30 centimeters. The
background of the sky should set the background for your hand.
Outstretch your fingers giving a beautiful "high-five" to the universe.
As in the above exercise, allow your eyes to soften and relax looking
beyond your hand toward the sky. Pay attention to the edge area closest
around your hand and fingers. Your hand against the contrasting background, will appear to
slightly glow with a white edging of light. Starting out, you may need
to keep your focus on the sky while using your peripheral vision to see
the halo. The halo may appear thin, faint and very close to the body at
first, but with more practice you will see more depth and width.
Remember to keep yourself and your eyes relaxed and before long you
will see this auric halo.
Exercise 3 - "Tree Glow" Another auric
exercise can easily be done with viewing energy of trees. During the
twilight or dawn hours, choose a tree that is offset with a nice
background of the sky. Focus on the trunk or the center until your eyes
become relaxed, perhaps imagining the texture of the tree trunk, the
coolness of the life giving roots and the branches of green leaves.
When you are relaxed, shift your focus to the hues of the sky. While
keeping your focus on the sky pay attention to the immediate outline of
the tree. Repeat viewing the center of the tree and then the sky if you
feel stuck or frustrated. Remember to relax and allow your vision to
slightly go out of focus if it needs to. Pay attention to the edge of
the tree and the outline of the branches. You should see an expanded white glow around the perimeter of the tree.
You may also see actual energy streaks eminating outward from branches
which are similar to those that are seen around the perimeter of the
sun during an eclipse. The sun's glow is a good example to explain what
can be seen, not only around trees, but in all things.These exercises are about energy recognition and awareness. It is
not a matter of simply seeing it or knowing it is there by scientific
means, but the lesson is learning to apply this knowledge to everyday
life. As we have discovered throughout this web site, all things in our
environment are composed of and emit energy. To take it one step
further, people and pets pick up and respond to the energy that is
around them.
Posted by Wanda El
May 27, 2009
Daily Soul Exercises Sunday...
Only decide from completely founded
conviction, even where trivial things are concerned. All thoughtless
acts, all meaningless doing, should be kept distant from the soul. You
should have well considered reasons for everything. And you should
abstain from everything which has no meaningful foundation. This is the
so-called "right judgment", which is not dependent on sympathy or
antipathy. If you are convinced of the correctness of a decision, you
should remain constant to it. This is called "Steadfastness."
Monday...
Speaking: Only that which has sense and meaning should come from the lips
of the person who strives for higher development. All talk for the sake
of talk (for example, killing time) in harmful in this respect. The
usual kind of conversation, in which everything is muddled together,
should be avoided. One should not, however, avoid intercourse with
others. It is just during this intercourse that speech should gradually
become meaningful. All speech and answers should be carefully
considered. Never talk without a reason (rather remain silent). Try to
use neither too many nor too few words. This exercise is also called
"the right word."
Tuesday...
Activities: They should not be disturbing to our fellow-men. When you are
induced to act by conscience, weigh carefully how the inducement can
best correspond to the well-being of all, the lasting happiness of your
fellow-men, the eternal. When you act on your own initiative,
beforehand make sure that the way you act is the most meaningful. This
is also called "the correct deed."
Wednesday...
Arranging your life: Live naturally and spiritually. Don’t get mired in life’s
trivialities. Avoid everything that causes haste and anxiety. Don’t
rush in but don’t be lazy either. Consider life as a means to work, to
higher development, and act accordingly. This is also called "the right
viewpoint."
Thursday...
Human striving: You should try to do nothing which lies outside you strength, but
also not leave undone what lies within it. Look beyond the
daily-momentary and give yourself objectives (ideals) which correspond
to the important duties of a human being; for example, when developing
yourself in the sense of these exercises, do so in order to be able to
eventually help and advise your fellow-men more effectively, although
perhaps not in the immediate future. This can also be summarized as
follows: make all the previous exercises habitual.
Friday...
Strive to learn as much as possible from life: Nothing happens around us that doesn’t provide an opportunity to
gain experiences that are useful for life. If you do something wrong or
imperfectly, it will give occasion to subsequently do something similar
correctly or perfectly. When you see others act, observe how they do so
with similar objectives (but not with a loveless gaze) and don’t do
anything without looking back on the events which can be helpful in
making decisions and arrangements. You can learn much from every
person, also from children, when you pay attention. This is also
called: "Right remembrance," that is, remember what is learned and
experienced.
Saturday...
Pay attention to your thoughts. Only think meaningful thoughts. Gradually learn to differentiate
the essential from the unessential, the eternal from the transient, the
truth from mere opinion – the so-called "correct" opinion. When
listening to others speak, try to be completely still inside and to
renounce agreement and, especially, disparaging judgments
(criticizing, rejecting – also in thought and feeling).
Every Day...
From time to time look into yourself at the same hour
daily – if only for five minutes. Thereby you should be immersed in
yourself, in thought carefully taking council with yourself, forming
and testing your principles of life, your knowledge (or lack of same);
consider your obligations, think about the content and true goals of
life, in a word: seek out what is permanent and pose for yourself the
corresponding goals, for example, earnestly strive towards the
appropriate virtues. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you have
done something good, but always strive further, according to the
highest examples. This is also called: "right contemplation."
Posted by Wanda El
April 15, 2009
Burning your way to center
is the loneliest fire of all.
You'll know you have arrived
when nothing else will burn.
At first, this sounds rather somber, but from Moses to Buddha to Jesus, the deepest among us have all shown that living is a process of constantly paring down until we carry only what is essential.It is the same in the human journey as in the natural world. As the center grows stronger, what once was protective, turns into covering, like tree or bark or snake skin, that is now in the way... and sooner or later, we as spirits growing in bodies are faced with burning old skins, like rags on sticks, to light our way as we move deeper and deeper into the inner world, where the forces of God makes us one.When faced with the need to keep going inward, we are confronted with a very difficult kind of life choice: like carving up your grandmother's table for firewood to keep your loved ones warm, or leaving a job that has been safe and fulfilling in order to feel vital again, or burning an old familiar sense of self because it's gotten so thick you can't feel the rain.In truth, always needing to stay immediate by removing what is no longer real, is the working inner definition of sacrifice... giving up with reverence and compassion, what no longer works in order to stay close to what is sacred.
* Sit quietly and meditate on the edge of yourself that meets the world. Feel its thickness.
* As you breathe, feel the inner edge of yourself that meets your spirit. Feel its softness.
* As you breathe, pray for the edge that is you, to be as thin as possible and only as thick as necessary.
Posted by Wanda El
March 29, 2009
Some are waiting for a divorce to be final. Counting the days, hoping
that single piece of paper will finally bring you closure. Others are
waiting to make a sale, hoping the commission holds off the creditors
for one more month.
Waiting, it seems, is part of living. Why is it then, that for some the
waiting seems to be peaceful, calm and serene, and yet for others the
waiting is filled with anxiety, worry, anger and fear? The answer is really rather simple...
For some we are happy right now, yet others are holding happiness
hostage until the waiting period is over and whatever they are waiting
for has arrived.
We all crave happiness. That peaceful feeling that all is well and we
can rest easy. Far too many believe this comes after we have reached a
milestone. After the waiting is over, as though it’s a destination we
must arrive at first.
We believe that when the economy turns around – then we will be happy.
Or once the divorce is final/the house sells/the teenager gets accepted
to university – then we can rest easy as all is well with the world.
Sadly it doesn’t work that way. Life will always make you wait for the
next big thing. It’s what life is! Although you may arrive at happiness
when a certain waiting period is over and a goal has been met, it will
last a mere nanosecond before life throws the next curve in your path.
So then, the lesson for today is this. You must learn to find that
peaceful, happy state WHILE waiting. And it’s rather easy to do.
We all live with lists in our head, including one with all the
stupid/awful/anger-inducing/peeve-you-off/depressing things that happen
every day. Every time something or someone grates on your nerve,
whether you realize it or not, you add it to the list. As the day
progresses this list gets bigger, longer and more intense. To the
point, by days end you are in a foul mood from all the things listed on
your imaginary ‘crappy-day-list.’
We also have the capacity to keep a list in our head of all the great
things that happen throughout the day. When we are feeling perfect and
the world is spinning in a wonderful direction, it’s easy to add items
to this list. What
the majority of us don’t do is keep both lists going simultaneously.
When the world seems to have it out for you it is more important than ever to keep a great thing list.
Referring to it as your ‘5 Great Things’ list, at the end of the day... write out five amazing, wonderful things that happened
that day. Sometimes they can be as simple as ‘the sun was shining,’ or 'dinner was delicious.'
If you want to successfully find contentment NOW and not hold happiness
hostage until your waiting is over, why not following these simple
steps: 1. Start a "5 great things" list.
2. You can write it in a journal - on scrap
paper - it doesn’t matter. Why do this?
Because it’s really hard to remember good things that happened
yesterday when the problems of today are overwhelming. Having written them down will allow you to re-read and remember. Remembering keeps you
in a positive mindset.
3. Write it every day, if you can.
By creating a Great List, your mind takes a break from the Awful List.
Eventually you will find that you can’t write down all the great things
that happen every day. There are simply too many. As your Great List
grows and over takes the Awful List in size, your attitude changes.
In essence, you train your mind to think and feel differently about the
current state of your life. You will automatically be happier. More
content. And the waiting for all those things you are waiting for will
seem less troublesome.
When you focus on what is good, even if they are
only trivial little things, your mindset changes. You become positive,
which attracts more positive.
With finding peace and contentment every single day, you start to enjoy
your life as it is now, even though all that other stuff is still going
on, even though you are still waiting for things to happen. And isn’t
that amazing. That YOU control the state of your own happiness
regardless of what’s happening out there in the world.
Posted by Wanda El
March 25, 2009
The truth about morning is that it is the small light of the beginning, breaking through, again and again. It is a wisdom so large and clear, one which carries us through our lives so quietly and completely that we seldom see it.Day after day, we are covered with the dust and grit of what we go through. It tends to weigh us down, and then we think and scheme and problem solve. Then we worry if it will all really work, and if it is the right thing to do. It all makes us dark and cluttered.But despite our stubbornness of concern, we tire and must turn what has happened over to the hammock of night. This is a good thing. For no matter how unfinished we seem, the letting go into sleep is nothing short of a quiet miracle.This letting go into sleep is an innate, reflexive form of meditation, no different than a fly rubbing its face, or a doe licking its fawn. Sooner or later, without discipline or devotion... despite our resolutions and mistakes, we each must sleep. We must surrender to the quieting of all intent and regret, so that the small light of the beginning can rise in us, again and again.There is no escaping this profound simplicity: what happens covers us like dirt. It covers our hearts and minds, till, at the shore we call exhaustion, we slip into the waters of sleep in a daily sort of baptism, so we can begin again. So whenever you feel urgent or overwhelmed, whenever you feel pressed to figure things out or to rethink the unthinkable... rest... so that the endless beginning - which some call the Voice of God - might break through what has happened. And you will wake feeling like dawn.1. This is a bedtime meditation: Breathe slowly and bring to mind one intention you had today as well as one regret.2. Breathe evenly, and let your breath blow the intention and regret far enough away that you can see them clearly.3. Center yourself, and realize that through these though these thoughts and feelings come through you, they are not who you are.4. Leave these thoughts and feelings outside of you, and use each breath to bring you closer and closer to the letting go of sleep.
Posted by Wanda El
March 23, 2009
1. Give yourself 5 minutes of quiet and solitude. Take a deep breath and bring your attention inward to your heart. Open to your deep longing for love. What does it feel like: joyful, painful, a little of both? Simply notice your feelings as you acknowledge them. Cherish this longing: it is what connects you to the deepest part of your own soul.2. Practice the path of the heart: every day, if only for a couple of minutes, get quiet and imagine that you are only your heart. Breathe into it, allow it to soften, and open. Make space for yourself, all of you, in your own heart. Make space for others. At the end of a couple of minutes, imagine how a particular aspect of your life might be different if you approached it with this soft and open heart.
Posted by Wanda El
March 16, 2009
It's not by chance that the dark center of the human eye, the pupil, is actually an empty hole through which the world becomes known to us. Likewise, in a spiritual sense, the "I" is the empty center through which we see everything. It's revealing that such a threshold is called the pupil, for it is only when we are emptied of all noise and dreams of ego, that we become truly reachable.Like the center of the eye, both the Buddhist and Zen traditions speak of an unbreakable emptiness at the heart of all seeing, from which all living things emerge. The Hindu Upanishads tell us that in the center of the seed of the great nyagrodha tree, there is nothing, and out of that nothing, the great tree grows. We are then reminded that in our time on Earth, we grow like this tree - out of that nothing. As the essence of the tree is the empty center of its seed, so the essence of our life is the intangible presence at the center of our soul.Therefore, our chief work as human beings rests in the sincere effort to allow that central presence to in-form us. Thus, all forms of prayer and meditation are aimed at keeping the center of the "I" empty, so the miracle of life in its grace and immensity can enter and heal us.1. Close your eyes and erase the many thoughts and images that arise, one after another, as if your mind is a blackboard and your breath is a sponge wiping each appearance clean.2. Do this until you experience a slowing down of messages. Then open your eyes as if waking for the very first time. 3. Keep breathing slowing and take in the first thing you see. Feel what is before you. See and feel the wood that makes up the chair next to you and resist preempting its presence by pronouncing it a chair.
Posted by Wanda El
March 2, 2009
A
Relaxation Technique for the Body
The best way
to relax the body is to tense it first, and thereby to equalize
the flow of tension all over the body. Then, with relaxation, you
will find tensions being released that you didn't even know existed.
Inhale, tense the whole body, then throw the breath out and relax.
Doing this three to six times will help rid the body of unconscious
tensions. Now, consciously relax the various body parts, starting
with your feet and working your way gradually to the head and brain.
It may help you to visualize space or light filling each area as
you relax it. Physical relaxation is the first step necessary for
deep meditation.
Regular Breathing to Relax the Mind
The breath is
intimately linked with the mind. By controlling and relaxing the
breath, we influence the mind to become calm. Inhale slowly counting
one to twelve, hold your breath for the same number of counts, then
exhale for the same count. This is one round of "regular breathing."
Do six to nine rounds. Your may either lengthen or shorten the number
of counts according to what is comfortable, but keep the inhalation,
retention and exhalation equal.
Releasing
Emotional Tension
This practice
can also help us to achieve release from mental and emotional pain.
The stress that accompanies such pain usually produces physical
tension. By relaxing the body, as outlined above, then extending
the thought of physical relaxation to the release of tension in
the mind and in the emotions, we can achieve mental and emotional
tranquility with the release of tension in the body.
Whenever you feel anxious or fearful about anything, or distressed
over the way someone has treated you, or upset for any reason, inhale
and tense the body. Bring your emotions to a focus in the body with
that act of tension. Hold the tension briefly, vibrating your emotions
along with the body. Throw the breath out, and, keeping the breath
exhaled as long as you can do so comfortably, enjoy the feeling
of inner peace. Remain for a time without thought.
When the breath
returns, or when thoughts once again bestir themselves in your mind,
fill your brain with some happy memory that will provide an antidote
to your emotions. Concentrate for several minutes on the happiness
of that memory.
Throughout this process, look upward, and mentally offer yourself,
like a kite, into the winds of inner freedom. Let them sweep you
into the skies of super-consciousness.
Posted by Wanda El
February 10, 2009
5 things that are unfinished in my life.
5 things that I do not understand.
5 things that makes me feel tired when I think about it.
5 things I will not talk about, or hold secret.
5 things that I am uncertain about.
5 things that makes me feel uneasy or uncomfortable.
Posted by Wanda El
February 3, 2009
Trying a Soul Travel exercise...
Place your attention above and between your
eyebrows. This point is known as the Tisra Til, or the Third Eye. It's a place where Soul—you, as a conscious, individual spark of God—resides.
Now take a deep breath, and sing "HU."
It's pronounced like the word hue.
HU is an ancient name for God; it's sung as a love song to God. Now
imagine a place you would like to be right now, just for a moment or
two."You'll know right where you are... "home."
Posted by Wanda El
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