Aligning with Grace

One of my favorite morning practices is  Lovingkindness , which is very powerful and is sourced from ancient Buddhist teaching and practices. There are many things I like about this practice. ​First of all, it is  SIMPLE . Secondly, it is  TRANSFORMATIVE . The more you do it, the more you will notice things shift around you - only because the shifts are occurring within you first. If we  CHANGE , the world also  CHANGES .  Yes, it is as simple as that. But the thing is, we have to constantly work at changing ourselves. It is the essence of human nature, and of Buddhist teachings as well. Buddhists teach about the impermanence of all things. Nothing lasts forever. Many of us have heard the old adage, " The only constant in life is change ." But in order to change, we must be willing to open our hearts first, and then subsequently our minds. But I believe all change begins in the heart. We could become disillusioned by all the violence in the world - the cons...

  I bless you. Yes, you... We ALL can use a blessing. This is the second practice that I wanted to share with you. Start with someone you love, someone who matters, someone you care deeply about or are grateful for. That one will be easy. Maybe there are a few people you want to send blessings to - people you know who may need it right now. Then, I am going to suggest you move on to people in your life that are most challenging. Start with one. And maybe add on another person tomorrow. Maybe you will have to stay with the first person for a few days. Or a week. Or a longer while. But do so. You might just find your hard feelings toward that person melting away. You may become more compassionate towards them and their circumstances. Keep working at it. Then, consider people you read about or hear about who may need a blessing. You will change over time. And you may also find that the ones you are blessing change as well . Are you willing to give it a try? Let me know how it goes and...

  Let me let you in on a little secret: I begin each day with a blessing... After opening my eyes, I give thanks for another day of living. And then I bless the day. It is gift that is denied to many. And so, I begin my day with gratitude as well. And that gratitude leads to my blessing the day and thus it informs and colors how I experience and process my day. This day will never come again. It is irrepeatable. Unique. It has never been before and will never be again. This day will come wrapped in other blessings and gifts and challenges. If you are open to whatever the day brings and you know that it is for your highest good, you will be able to get it through it. If you are indeed open and accepting of the fruits of this day, you may find that it flows with ease and grace. So the question is: How will you meet this day? How you do, will determine its outcome. The choice is ours to experience it as a miracle or something else.  ​How is this so? Because in the end, we choose ...

  Blessing others, yourself, the world, events and situations - is a practice. You can bless just about anything that you think of. You can focus on someone you love or someone you are having difficulty with, or someone at work who is challenging. And it is powerful. It can change you slowly, from within and transform others as well. In the next few days we are going to explore the practice of blessing EVERYTHING. Because you can't bless and judge at the same time according to Pierre Pradervand. He should know. He has practiced blessing for decades and taught others how to do so as well. Are you ready to give it a try? Here is a short, 90 second meditation on the practice of blessing that I made just for you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6L2_hkr1kg&t=10s #inspirational #inspirationalquotes #spirituality #love #compassion #kindness #healing #wellness #yoga #meditation #transformational #blog #meditationsimple #mindfulness #spiritualpractice #blessing

  For years, actually for decades - a man has worked at my Costco checking the receipts of departing clients. Every time he checks a receipt he pauses. and looks into the eyes of the customer on his or her way out and simply says  "GOD BLESS YOU!" I don't know anything about him. I guess from his name tag, that he may hail from a Middle Eastern country. Over the years his accent has soften and blended more into its surroundings. It is always a treat to see him and be in his line because he is so present, and genuine, and I know he has spent a lifetime offering blessings. I often wonder how this simple and humble practice began in his life. Perhaps I will know in due. time. But probably not. It doesn't really matter. As I watched him bless the person in front of me, on this January 6th, which many celebrate as the Feast of Epiphany, when the Magi brought their gifts to a humble child they had been lead to seek, I decided I would give this man a gift. The same gift that...

In my last entry, I shared with you the aftermath of my cataract surgery, and how the results were not quite what I had expected and how it made me very fearful. As a result, I started doing this practice, which I am about to share with you,  to deal with my fears about the outcome of my first surgery, and other fears I was struggling with as well. Like many of you, I too, have struggled not only with fear, but with anxiety and depression as well over the years. In so many ways, they are all related. This "practice" literally came out of nowhere. Well, it always comes from somewhere. Sometimes we are simply inspired from the Other Side when we need some extra help. It always seems to come. If we are willing to be still. And just listen. The image that came to me was this... I saw myself as Gal Gadot in the movie "Wonder Woman" - complete with her spear and shield. I loved her in that movie. I visualized the object of my fear in front of me. I took ...

Like many of you, I began this new month, new year, and new decade, full of expectations. But so far, this year of 2020, is all the more significant because I had cataract surgery. What I came to realize is, that even though my sight seemed better the day after the first surgery, there have been many fluctuations, and that perhaps the idea of seeing 20/20 was more symbolic of seeing in a different way. Perhaps it was about seeing more deeply.  Not on the outside. But on the inside. Since reading is very difficult for me at the moment, I have had to make some adjustments in my daily schedule, such as in making time to listen to things more. Luckily, I have a vast arsenal of podcasts, recorded lectures, and so forth to keep me entertained. It also means I need to sit, or recline, and close my eyes and rest more often. It's all good. I never realized how sight dependent I am. Or how much reading I actually do on a daily basis. But here is the thing. For near...