Tips for Slowing Down in a Fast-Paced World

One problem with our society is that people have gotten hung up on the all-or-nothing mentality - if I can't do something perfectly, 100% of the time, there's no point in doing it at all, ever. That's silly. Doing what you can, even if you do a mediocre job of it and only do it 10% of the time, is still doing something!

Tackle Slowification Slowly   So you want to slow down your pace of life, but don't know where to begin? If you want to ease yourself into the Slowification lifestyle, pick something that's not too much of a stretch for you: Take a walk one evening a week. Cook one additional meal per week. Don't try to go whole hog to begin with, or you'll feel stressed and anxious. Trust me.

Go Slower More Often    If you've already started down the Slowification path - maybe you even consider yourself a neo-pioneer like me - see if you can add one or two more things from the list below. And if you have suggestions of your own, leave a comment so everyone else can benefit from your wisdom!

Grind your own flour
Craigslist instead of buying new
Collect and use fallen fruit
Prepare/preserve your own food from local and/or organic growers (including yourself!)
Recycle or reuse whatever you can
Grow food organically
All CFLs, all the time
Make your own yogurt
Compost all food and yard waste
Use a push reel mower and a broom
Buy only organic and/or raw dairy
Raise chickens for eggs, fertilizer and fun
Bake your own bread
Use all warm-up water to water plants or flush toilets
Walk to ...
Air dry laundry
Turn off the TV
Cook

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Take a Break

I'm sorry for the lack of meditation last week. In the meantime, here's a thought to ponder:

 

“In America, we hurry--which is well; but when the day's work is done, we go on thinking of losses and gains, we plan for the morrow, we even carry our business cares to bed with us, and toss and worry over them when we ought to be restoring our racked bodies and brains with sleep. We burn up our energies with these excitements, and either die early or drop into a lean and mean old age at a time of life which they call a man's prime in Europe. When an acre of ground has produced long and well, we let it lie fallow and rest for a season; we take no man clear across the continent in the same coach he started in--the coach is stabled somewhere on the plains and its heated machinery allowed to cool for a few days; when a razor has seen long service and refuses to hold an edge, the barber lays it away for a few weeks, and the edge comes back of its own accord. We bestow thoughtful care upon inanimate objects, but none upon ourselves. What a robust people, what a nation of thinkers we might be, if we would only lay ourselves on the shelf occasionally and renew our edges!”

- Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad

Slow down! Get your edge back!

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Meditation Lesson 5 - Podcast

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So far, the techniques we’ve been working with have been ones to clear obstructions from within your body and energy field. Today, we’re going to work on clearing obstructions in relationships with others.

A contentious election season is a perfect opportunity to do this. There is no reason that people cannot hold differing opinions, thoughts, perspectives and feelings about something – anything – without becoming negative towards one another. If you’re a staunch Democrat and your boss/neighbor/spouse is a staunch Republican, finding ways to respect one another’s beliefs can go a long way towards reducing the stress and acrimony an election brings up.

However, this technique is not just about accepting other’s opinions. It’s a way of working with the lightfire to consume obstructions along your relationship lines with anyone. Use this technique if you have difficulty dealing with a certain person, if you just want to have clearer communication with a partner or sibling or want to forge a closer friendship with someone.

Relating to the Higher Self of Another

We all know the saying “love thy neighbor”, but as personalities we have difficulty with this concept – especially because many times thy neighbor is a jerk! This technique is not about being a doormat or pretending a person is perfect. It’s simply a way of learning to acknowledge another’s Higher Self. Sometimes from the outside it’s really hard to see that certain people even have a Higher Self, so you’ll be relating from your own Higher Self and leaving all the personalities out of it!

Let’s begin.

1. Think of your brain harmonizing with your Upper Room, touching into the peace and Radiant Awareness here. Experience the Radiant Awareness moving into your brain, gathering, lifting and enlightening your knowing awareness.


2. Now think of your sensory systems harmonizing with your Upper Room, and the Radiant Awareness of your Upper Room moving into your nerves, neurons and all the neural pathways of your body, into your spinal column and solar plexus, gathering, lifting and enlightening your sensory awareness.


3. And now think of your emotional systems harmonizing with your Upper Room, the Radiant Awareness flowing into your heart, blood, circulation, liver, lymphatic system and glandular system, gathering in, lifting up and enlightening your emotional awareness.


4. Now we’re going to do a quick downpour, so refocus your attention in your Upper Room and think of lighting your white star. Open the star and send a downpour of liquid-like crystal white energy from the star down along your central vertical axis into and throughout your head and face, along your neck and then down your shoulders, arms and into your hands. Let the downpour continue into your chest, back, abdomen, pelvic bowl, legs and on into your feet.


5. Think of opening your feet for a moment and allowing the crystal white energy to pull any low frequency out of your body and, as it does so, the consuming fires aspect of the energy processes and consumes all of this low frequency.


6. Close your feet and allow the energy to backfill through your body until it is overflowing out the top of your head. The downpour continues overflowing until your entire energy field around your body is filled with the crystal white energy.


7. Now, again focus your attention into your Upper Room. Here in the Upper Room is where you can most easily touch into your Higher Self. You may think of your Higher Self as Spirit or Soul or Being of Light; whatever term makes it easiest for you to access this connection is perfect. Of course, since you ARE your Higher Self, you are always connected to that part of your being; however, it sometimes seems like there is a separation and so touching into that constant connection, really experiencing it, can sometimes be difficult. Here in the Upper Room, you can more effortlessly experience your Higher Self, your spirit, or however you choose to think of it. Take a few moments to experience this connection within yourself.


8. Now think of a person you’d like to work with, any relationship you’d like to improve. It could be one of utter animosity or one that’s generally good but you’d like to make even better. If you’ve chosen to work with someone you can’t stand, it may surprise you to learn that even this person as a Higher Self, a Being of Light! But of course, everyone does, and at this higher level, we all get along.


9. Now, working within your Upper Room, touch into your connection as a Higher with the Higher of the person you’re working with. Experience how, as Beings of Light, Higher Selves or Spirits, we can move right into this union with one another with no personality conflicts getting in the way.


10. Okay, good, now for the fun part! Bring the awareness of your union as Beings of Light into your brain. As you do, think of blazing up the consuming fires aspect of the crystal white light and let it consume any low frequency here – any negative thoughts that arise about this person, any judgementalism you feel towards them, any mental superiority you feel, any way in which your brain and the other person’s brain have been out of sync. You may think their ideas are stupid; they make think yours are. Whatever comes up, acknowledge it and let the fires consume it. When you feel like your brain has settled down and you’ve cleaned up the mental relationship lines pretty well, spend another two minutes here, soaking up the purified energy essence. This is what you’ve worked for; don’t skimp out on your reward! Pause the lesson until you feel ready to move on.


11. Now shift your awareness into your heart and liver, the main organs of your emotions, bringing your union as Beings of Light here. Again, blaze up the consuming fires aspect of the white energy to consume any low frequency emotional responses that come up: anger, rage, hatred, perhaps grief, whatever negative feelings you have for this person, or any way in which your emotions have been out of sync with theirs. Let the fires do their work here and then be sure to spend a couple minutes assimilating what you’ve learned and the purified energy essence. Resume the podcast when you’re ready.


12. Now move with your awareness of your union as Beings of Light into your solar plexus, which connects into the nerves throughout your entire body. Blaze up the consuming fires to consume any ways in which this person “gets on your nerves”, any misperceptions one of you may have about the other, any blockages to your ability to communicate, and any ways in which your perspectives differ, creating conflict. Whatever negative sensory/perceptual issues arise, let the fires consume them. Remember, you don’t have to agree with their perspective as personalities, but as Beings of Light, you are able to acknowledge and accept one another. When things seem more settled here, take a couple minutes to assimilate the purified energy essence, then resume the podcast.


13. Expand your awareness to include your brain, heart and liver, solar plexus and nerves, and your Upper Room. Experience the calm throughout your body, and the greater degree of acceptance of and harmony with the other person. This does not mean you’ll become instant best friends. However, working from a pure place within yourself to a pure place within them helps establish a common ground and a more peaceful relationship. If you’ve worked with someone you already like and get along with, working in this way can help open communication lines and strengthen your bond.

Sometimes, all even the most acrimonious relationship needs is for one person to acknowledge the Light within the other, with astonishing results after just one session. Other times, additional work is needed. Either way, enjoy!


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The Power of Love

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." 

~ Jimi Hendrix

Taking time to slow down and experience love - for yourself, for others and for the planet - helps turn the tide towards the power of love and away from the love of power. Each individual working to create more love and harmony in their own life contributes to the love and harmony of the planet.

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Meditation Lesson 4 - Podcast

Time for another podcast!

So how are things going? I hope that using these techniques of inner light fire regularly are beginning to help you experience more calm, joy and peace in your life. The technique that I’m going to share with you today is a tool to help process and transform any low frequency energy that gets stuck in your energy field into high frequency energy that will bring you even more joy and peace.

Your Energy Field

We’ve discussed your energy field briefly in a previous session, but we’re going to go into it a bit more in today’s session. Everything on the planet has an energy field – even rocks! The energy field is not just outside the body; it’s within the body, throughout it and all around it. Most humans, being more evolved and therefore more sensitive, have a larger energy field than your average rock – extending say around 30 feet in diameter, or roughly 15 feet in any direction. This energy field can expand in size as it is worked with and purified.

One aspect of the energy field is that it is very magnetic; that is, it draws into itself energy from your surroundings. These energy vibrations or “vibes” may be of a high frequency nature, such as the peace found at a mountain lake or the joy at a wedding. Or they can be of a low frequency nature, such as the stress in a demanding workplace or the somewhat hyper energy found in shopping malls.

Sometimes when you are going about your day, feeling fine, you suddenly realize you’ve become anxious or depressed for no apparent reason. Often the reason is that your energy field has magnetically attracted low frequency energy from another person, situation or place. We’re about to learn how to purify your field of this negative energy!

I’ll be referring to your “central vertical axis” – this is not some weird appendage – it’s simply a name for the “string” that runs from the top of your energy field, vertically through the center of your body, on down to the bottom of your energy field. It moves as you move, so when you are seated, your central vertical axis bends at the hips and knees. Your Upper Room is located on this axis.

Don’t Forget…

1. Awareness directs thought


2. Thought directs energy ~ energy follows thought


3. Where there is pain, the flow of life energy is blocked


4. Where thought is focused, the power of life energy is concentrated

Let's Begin!

1. Sitting comfortably, eyes closed, let’s begin by focusing your attention into your Upper Room. Take a moment to experience the peace here. Now think of your brain harmonizing with your Upper Room and experience as the Radiant Awareness moves throughout your brain, gathering, uplifting and enlightening your knowing awareness.


2. Good. Now think of your sensory systems harmonizing with your Upper Room. Just think it and let it happen. The Radiant Awareness of your Upper Room moves throughout your spinal column and solar plexus, the nerves, neurons and all the neural pathways of your body, gathering, lifting and lightening your sensory awareness.


3. And now think of your emotional systems harmonizing with your Upper Room, letting the Radiant Awareness flow into your heart, blood, circulation, liver, lymphatic system and glandular system, gathering in, lifting up and enlightening your emotional awareness.


4. Excellent. Now refocus into your upper room and, using your thought, touch into your crystal white star. Experience it shining brightly here in your Upper Room and then think of the star opening to release its downpour of shimmering, purifying liquid-like energy. Experience as the energy flows into your head: your hair, scalp, face. All the skin, bones, and tissues of your head. And then into your brain. Your eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Experience the downpour continuing along your neck and throat, your shoulders, arms and hands. Down your torso: upper chest and upper back, abdomen and mid back, lower abdomen and lower back. Down to your pelvic bowl and on into your legs: thighs, knees, shins and calves, ankles and feet.


5. Now, think of raising the star upward along your central vertical axis, straight up until it’s about 3 feet (1 meter) above the center of the top of your head. And then, think of expanding your 3”-diameter star expanding to approximately 3 ½ feet in diameter. Stop the downpour by closing the star.


6. Move your star in an arc in front of your body, from above your head to about 12 feet (4 meters) below the bottoms of your feet, re-centering the star on the central vertical axis.


7. Now, in order to begin clearing your energy field, think of the star beginning to spin like a top in a counter-clockwise direction. The counter-clockwise spin works to eliminate the low frequency energy that has accumulated here in the bottom of your energy field. As you experience the star spinning, also think of the consuming fires aspect of the crystal energy to consume these loads of low frequency.


8. Don’t try to picture the spinning star – since your star is made of light energy, it spins at the speed of light, which is faster than you can see anyway! Just let the star do its work and experience the loads being cleared from your field. Pause for a few moments here.


9. Now think of the star – still spinning – moving up along your central vertical axis to a point about 6 inches (15 cm) below the bottoms of your feet and allow the spinning action to clear the low frequency energy accumulated just below your body in your energy field. Intensify – just by thinking it – the power of the consuming fires.


10. Direct your star to move up the central vertical axis a bit more, so the spinning 3 ½’ star encompasses your feet, legs and pelvic bowl. You’re sitting in the spinning star as it consumes the loads of low frequency energy debris from your body and your energy field.


11. Now raise the star up again, centered on your central vertical axis and extending from just above the top of your head to just below your seat. Intensify the consuming fires aspect of the spinning star and let the star do its cleansing work here.


12. Raise the star up and out of the top of your body, back to about 3 feet (1 meter) above the center of the top of your head. Let the spinning star cleanse the upper portion of your energy field.


13. Now stop the spinning: just think of the star stopping, and it stops instantaneously. Once again, move the star in an arc in front of your body to the spot along your central vertical axis about 12 feet (4 meters) below your feet. This time, think of the star spinning in a clockwise direction. The clockwise spin has a different function from the counter-clockwise spin: while counter-clockwise works to break up and consume the loads of low frequency, the clockwise spin intensifies the assimilation of the purified awareness and energy. All of that low frequency energy has been processed, consumed and transmuted into high frequency energy, and the clockwise-spinning star speeds the return of this high frequency energy into your body and energy field.


14. Again move the clockwise-spinning crystal star up along your central vertical axis to just a few inches below your feet. Allow the assimilation of the purified energy to be amplified here.


15. Good. Continue moving the star upward so that you are sitting in the star, spinning clockwise and returning energy essence throughout your lower body and energy field.


16. Think of the star moving up along your central vertical axis so that it contains your upper body and energy field, from just above your head to just below your feet. Experience the clockwise spin returning purified, enlightened awareness and energy to this area.


17. Finally, move the star back up out of your body along the central vertical axis to about 3 feet (1 meter) above your head. As the clockwise-spinning star returns this transformed energy essence throughout your upper field, experience the lightness throughout your entire body. You’ve filled your entire body and field with pure crystal high frequency energy, replacing all the old low frequency energy that had been stuck in your body and field.


18. Now stop the spinning and allow the star to return to it’s 3” size and move back into its home in your Upper Room. Continue to focus your attention on assimilating this high frequency energy essence throughout your entire body and field.

The more you practice this technique, the lighter you will feel all the time, since your field won’t be weighed down with the heaviness of the low frequency energy in the world. It’s also a good technique to do after you’ve been anywhere stressful or any crowded area where random energy states accumulate.

Enjoy!

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Stray Dogs and Yoga Teachers

I found a yoga teacher.

I also found a stray dog this morning, but unlike the dog, the yoga teacher wasn’t wandering around aimlessly; she was, as one might expect, sitting right in the yoga studio.

We’ve gone to this studio before, and we are ambivalent about it. Pros: it’s within walking distance and it’s relatively inexpensive. Cons: the instructors tend to be either airy-fairy types or hardcore exercise types. I’m not against the airy-fairy types per se, it’s just that some of them seem to be so airy-fairy as to be somewhere else entirely and, therefore, not able to really teach a yoga class made up of actual living beings. And I’m not essentially against the hardcore exercise types, either, but that’s not what I’m looking for right now.

Once upon a time there was a teacher at this studio who we both really liked. She was airy-fairy, but she had a grounded quality about her – she could communicate and was a very good teacher. We took regular classes and even some seminars from her. But she moved on and away, and soon we stopped going to the studio altogether.

But our 20 – 40 minute yoga sessions in the morning need a little help and I was looking for a new teacher again. Since I’m pretty much unwilling to drive anywhere, I was hopeful the neighborhood studio would have a new teacher I could like. Reading the online bios was helpful, and I found an instructor who is very well-rounded in various yogas AND who’s studying Ayurveda, my other current study as well.

Yesterday was my first class, and I really enjoyed it. She indicated she has some seminars coming up as well, so that could be good.

The point of all this rambling is that everybody is looking for something different from a yoga practice. Don't give up if the first teacher you meet isn't your cup of tea. There are plenty more out there, and one of them is bound to teach in a style that meshes with yours. Many yoga studios have websites with bios of their instructors, along with schedules and pricing information. Most cities and community colleges offer community yoga classes for a nominal fee. YMCA is another place to check out classes.

Oh, and as far as the dog, I was able to get a leash on him, but he refused to walk more than about 100 feet in any direction. I’m guessing he lived right around where I met up with him (though the lack of tags made it impossible to know), but eventually I had to just leave him there. In case you wondered if you could budge a pitbull who didn’t want to be budged, the answer is no. Talk about an immovable object! He was very sweet and came to me and let me pet him and walked with me… for a bit… and then he’d sit down and that was that. Please, if you have pets, make sure they wear identification at all times - if nothing else, include your phone number so a good samaritan can contact you if she finds your beloved pooch!




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Saving Money on Groceries

Eating closer to nature means, of course, making different choices than those offered by typical mainstream grocers. Whether you subscribe to the all-organic-all-the-time philosophy or stick to a 100-mile diet or just try to eat healthier than you did last month, eating meals comprised entirely of food rather than “food-like-products” requires an investment in both time and money.

Until I get one of these, I have to pay through the nose for the raw, organic milk we use. While I’d like to go off on Whole Foods for charging exorbitant prices, it seems more prudent to express my sincere gratitude that we are even able to buy raw milk in California – most states do not allow the commercial sale of raw dairy products. (“Raw” as applied to dairy means it’s been neither pasteurized nor homogenized. It’s milk the way it came out of the cow.)

I recently discovered a way to save some money on dairy. The producer of our milk also sells by mail order, and they have a store at the farm. Unfortunately, the shipping costs are prohibitive and the farm is about 250 miles away. Fortunately, they also have a “hub store” in the greater LA area – really, it’s a milk truck parked in a parking lot with a guy selling jugs of milk and cream. I keep expecting him to offer us a set of speakers or a genuine-knockoff-Chinese Rolex, but so far it’s just the milk…

They charge 60% of what Whole Foods charges. When I factor in the time (1.5 hours door-to-door for the truck vs. .75 hour door-to-door for Whole Foods) and the price of gas ($15 for the truck vs. $3.50 for Whole Foods), it’s still more than worth it for me to drive 88 miles (round-trip) once every 4 – 6 weeks and freeze my products. What I spent $240 for at the truck today would’ve cost $390 at Whole Foods. In fact, we save so much by buying this way that we’ve been able to switch over to raw cream and raw butter as well, which were too expensive at Whole Foods.

I know there are bakeries that sell day-old loaves for a fraction of full price and of course farm stands that sell fresh-picked produce. Any other ways to save on quality ingredients?

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