Aligning with Grace

Dear Readers, Join me tomorrow on Meditation Pure and Simple Facebook Live - " Take a Sacred Pause!" at 8 PM EST.  It will be recorded and it runs about 10 minutes weekly. Tomorrow we will hold a healing circle to send loving and healing energy wherever it is most needed! Please click on the Facebook link below to "LIKE" the page, and join the list to get my FREE "Energy Saving Practices" as a gift to you! I've included a recent session On how to practice Lovingkindness for you to enjoy! Join my  Facebook  community page and  list , Meditation Pure and Simple, and receive my  Three Energy Saving Practices  as my gift to you!

"I felt in need of a pilgrimage, so I sat STILL for three days." ~ Hafiz The Persian poet Hafiz knew a thing or too, and even back in the 14th century, things were not that different than they are today. People were busy. Overwhelmed. Scattered. There was just too much to do and take care of.  People had serious burdens and none of the comforts we take for granted these days. Like running hot water. Or health care - for the most part! If Hafiz were around today, he would say to us: "Take a sacred pause!" Yes, right here, right now! I woke up feeling anxious and overwhelmed and went for a walk. It's what I do most mornings anyway. It grants me a clarity of heart and spirit that is food for my soul. It is also an opportunity for my intuition to provide the insights I need for course corrections in my life and for creative endeavors as well. My walk is a meditation. But more than that, it is a sacred pause. It acts as a reset button. Your...

I believe in the power of angels -  both seen, and unseen... "What is an angel? And what do they do?" I came across a review on a book titled The Physics of Angels , co-written by Matthew Fox, whose seminal theological works were very formative for me when I studied theology in the seventies, and Rupert Sheldrake, a physicist. The review goes on to note that angels are powerful and terrifying. They enter into our lives by telling us not be afraid of them. But they are also protectors and can assist us in all of our endeavors and intuitions. They can guard and defend us in so many ways, and can contribute to our happiness.  I have noted elsewhere in this blog, that I began this year by inviting the energy of angels into my life, and in a recent post I shared with you the picture of an angel, painted by a gifted artist, Karen Tarlton, which I gave myself as a present for my 59th birthday. In many ways, she was emblematic of this past year for me. I chose to gift mys...

Today, is a day for being grateful, for giving thanks. And there is so much to be grateful for. I often marvel, that as a nation, we set aside a day to give thanks. Not everyone does this. And yet those who live here, even temporarily, often continue this practice when they return to their places of origin. So today, take a moment to give thanks - wherever you might be - whether you normally observe Thanksgiving or not. And here are two offerings to help you in this endeavor: A free 90 second meditation I post daily on both Facebook and YouTube , and an inspirational quote posted daily by Every Day Spirit. Enjoy! "There is Nothing too Small for Gratitude" Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meditationpureandsimple YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bURrHn6wqEs&list=UU2XjLZ3NY9cLLPRMj_Bi0sw Every Day Spirit: https://www.facebook.com/everydayspirit1

Yesterday, on my 59th birthday, I posted a 90 second meditation that explained how these started, almost a year ago. Just barely into the New Year, I meditated and invited angels into my home. I was immediately guided to start making these 90 second daily meditations without knowing how. So I went online and quickly learned a very easy, but not particularly "professional" way of doing them. However, a dear friend, who is a gifted and artistic angel herself by the name of Mary, quickly gave me a crash course on how to do these more beautifully on iMovie. And thus, I began to use roses from my rose bushes as the background to these meditations. I had planted these roses as a gift to myself last November. Today, they are still blooming in defiance of the very unseasonal cold snap we are experiencing! A little over a week ago, I found a beautiful angel painting online clasping red roses. I realized that in this lovely painting, the symbolism of this year came together for...

I end this month, as I began it - reminding myself to choose joy... Choosing joy was the focus of the free 90 second meditation I posted yesterday on several social media platforms - it was an invitation layered over an inspirational exhortation that a dear friend artistically created, and which I borrowed. I do not just end this month with this thought and practice, but I set the intention to carry it forward - beyond this moment in time, as ripples spreading concentrically from the stillness of its center... I reminded others, while subbing yoga classes yesterday, that they too, can always to choose joy. We can choose joy - we can choose to embody and reflect joy in everything we say and do, even while in the midst of life's most difficult challenges. We should not abdicate our joy for anything - or anyone! For in so doing, we give alway our power and ultimately our very essence. I practiced choosing joy over the last few days - first by reflecting on the Reiki Precepts...

I posted a variation of the following on my website this morning, and thought I would share it here as well... One of my favorite quotes by St. Francis de Sales is: “Be who you are, and be that well.” This quote is one that all students attending Visitation schools learn and I believe learn well, although it  can be a tall order at times and it's not always easy to actually embody. But really? Who else can we possibly be? All we can ever aspire to be is to be ourselves - genuinely and completely. So take a moment, and think of your own unique attributes, and what only you can contribute to any situation. There is a way we can approach and contribute to life in general that is our unique expression. We can each make this world a better place in a particular way. If this seems to much to comprehend or bear, then just for today, be who you are, and be that well! Yes, just one day at a time! And over a succession of moments, and days, and then months and years - you will...

The title for this post came after a particularly trying day for me, involving change and releasing the past. A dear friend noted that such an experience can ultimately be joyous, even when we cannot see it that way. This morning, I reflected on the stories behind the two 90 second meditations I posted most recently. Yesterday's meditation revolved around a story I heard years ago, but which became familiar to many after the movie "The Bucket List." It is told, that before an ancient Egyptian was allowed to cross over into the afterlife, he or she was asked two questions: "Did you find joy? Did you bring joy?" In other words, have you allowed yourself to experience joy in your life? And have you embodied, reflected, and shared it with others? It seems simple enough, but often, we lives our quotidian lives without any joy, overlooking the simple things in life that can bring us joy: a smile, a friend's laugh, a warm cup of tea, birds chirping o...

Yesterday I launched a YouTube channel called Meditation Pure and Simple! It is one part of a much larger project to make meditation more accessible  to all, and the genesis of this project has been a long time coming... The site will provide a daily 90 second meditation to help you center and relax. Yes, you heard that right! Just 90 seconds out of your day that will result in a new you! I hope you will visit or subscribe to the channel, or any of the other sites where I post the videos. I have also created a Google+ and Facebook page for this purpose, also entitled Meditation Pure and Simple! Meditation does not have to be hard. Just take one meditation break a day! Start with 90 seconds, and just watch what happens! Have you had your meditation break today? I've provided links to the first couple of uploads and links to the channel and other pages. Remember, these are only 90 seconds! 90 second Awareness Exercise: Observing the Breath: https://www.youtube.co...