Sometimes the liberation one feels after completing a particularly arduous task is incredibly satisfying, making the time, effort and faithfulness worth every minute.

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Whenever you are at a loss for words…breathe and be still. Perhaps you are being saved from communicating the wrong words at a crucial time.

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At the studio, students often ask Marydale how to meditate. Over the years, this question has come up again and again in our gatherings, classes, and workshops, so there’s obviously a lot of confusion surrounding the topic. We begin and end each yoga class with a brief meditation, which usually involves sitting quietly, but what happens internally during that time is unique to each individual.

Marydale is dedicated to her morning meditation and never misses a day, no matter how busy she is, tired she may be, or sick she feels. She has learned that the renewal she receives from her practice is the equivalent of a full night’s sleep, a powerful boost to her immune system, and a Universal manager who makes the many tasks ahead flow efficiently throughout her day.

In an effort to receive these kinds of benefits for myself, I have spent years trying to commit to a meditation practice, but I’ve met with frustration, disappointment, and even anger along the way. After numerous hours spent trying to quiet my mind by concentrating on my breathing, a candle flame, a mandala, or a sound in the room, I developed a paradoxical condition whereby I became agitated and restless before I even sat down. Attempting to relax my body and focus my wandering mind became a more difficult task with each session and I began to resent my practice more and more until I finally gave up on it.

Since beginning work at the studio, I have participated in the Yoga & Meditation class each Monday and Thursday night. However, my dirty little secret was that, when the class would sit in meditation, I would just let my mind wander to pleasant thoughts without making any attempt to focus. If I found my mind dwelling on problems of the day or something unpleasant, I would just refocus on something positive. This practice became very fun for me and I looked forward to the moments in class when we’d sit in silence and I could “play”.

I began to engage in this mental exercise at the beginning and end of every yoga class, while the other students, I assumed, were engaging in “real” meditation. I found it so pleasurable that I started doing it at home and during stolen moments throughout the day. I would just sit, take a couple of deep breaths, and think happy thoughts. These thoughts covered everything from things I was looking forward to buying, a delicious meal I’d just had or was about to have, something funny I’d seen on TV, a happy memory, a vacation I was planning or dreamed of taking, a book I’d read, or just pure fantasy. The positive feelings these thoughts summoned stayed with me long after I opened my eyes. Over time, I noticed that I was feeling better physically and things in many areas of my life were falling into place almost effortlessly.

In a recent Yoga & Meditation class, Marydale asked each of us if we were taking time every day to meditate. When she got to me, I decided to come clean. I sheepishly confessed that I was a fraud and told the class what I’d been doing during the time we were supposed to be meditating. Marydale surprised me by saying that there is no one way to meditate and people need to find what works for them. She essentially said that what I’d been doing was a form of meditation and that the important thing was that I’d committed to it every day and was receiving benefits from my practice.

I felt completely liberated! While I’d thought I was an imposter and a cheat, I was actually meditating—my way. The primary thing to remember is that taking time each day to withdraw from the hustle and bustle of life, get quiet, slow your breathing, and release resistant thoughts will give you benefits that far exceed the time it takes to engage in your practice, whatever that practice may be for you. So don’t be intimidated or confused by meditation, and don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be. Whether you sit in lotus and focus on your breathing or sit quietly in a chair and think happy thoughts, commit to a daily practice…and do it your way.

posted by Kirsten K.

When you are suffering, reinforce your faith in a higher power and reconnect on a strong circuit. Release and surrender into the Source of all that is to soothe and heal you.

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Tune down the doom-and-gloom repetitious summonings from the news. What exactly does all this summon in you and me? Fear. Fear that our world is bad, our country is bad, our society is bad, and that things are going from bad to worse. When the simple fact is that we live in the highest 10% of wealth in all the world. We are free to believe what we want, to go where we want, when we want, with whom we want! Freedom at its most accessible for all. Why then do we not rejoice at all times, recognizing the greatness we share, and tone down the fear-based negative focus that grips us day after day after day? Disengage yourself and choose to find the way instead of the impasses of life.

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It is never easy to create a new discipline in our lives. It takes initiative, perseverance and faith in yourself that you can do it. Often, we give up before we have given our concerted effort to be successful, thinking that we are going to fail anyway, so why even try? The beauty of life is making yourself available for excellence through allowing yourself to stretch beyond your comfort zone and discover just how capable you truly are of accomplishing whatever you put your mind to. I believe in you.

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Protect your mind from the onslaught of negativity that saturates our world. It is absolutely everywhere just waiting for an opportunity to penetrate your consciousness like poison, leaving you vulnerable to perpetuating the negative energy further. Resist the temptation to join in the fray. Halt the madness and believe in the absolute highest possible good in all things. Make this attitude your constant practice. Be prepared for whatever comes your way and defuse the negative as you become more proficient, day by day, in only focusing on the positive. If we all agree to do this consistently, the world will instantly change. We can do it. Let’s.

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Recognize your blessings and how phenomenal it is to be a human being on this extraordinary planet at this very moment in time. Contribute your very best today, each day. It is your birthright, your responsibility, and it should be your joy. If it is not, perhaps you are taking all of this too seriously. Loosen your grip and find the wonder in the moment.

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There are times when taking your life tiny steps at a time can assist you in staying on a positive track. When we find ourselves in overdrive trying to accomplish too much at once, this tactic can save us from a complete meltdown. It appears that more and more of us are becoming overwhelmed by the infinite number of possibilities to choose from day by day. Choose with great care.

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Mindfully choose how you spend your precious time, for time never returns, slows, stops or forgives. It is relentless in its passage, taking everything in its wake. However, if you tune yourself into being awake in time, somehow it expands and its passage seems to disappear as everything becomes only Presence. Presence.

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