After getting up in the morning, before you do anything else, go outside. Bring a cup of water with you. Go to a place where you can stand barefoot on the earth, your garden or a nearby park, or somewhere in the wilderness. Do a grounding exercise, and connect to that earth beneath you. Become aware of the air around you, the winds, the sounds that reach you. Take the cup of water, and take a sip from it. Then, pour the rest on the ground, meditating on the live giving qualities of water. Turn towards the sun, and feel its warmth, its heat, reach you. Be aware of the fire that is necessary for life. Enjoy standing there, in the centre of the four elements. Speak a short prayer to thank for the life-giving qualities of each of the elements, of the Earth.
Then, go back inside for breakfast or whatever you do to start the day. Repeat this little exercise over the day as often as you like. Try to do it at least thrice: morning, during the day, and in the evening.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Bringing religion into your daily life
Part of the reason why I started writing this course was that I wanted to find a way to build a regular meditation practise that would help to integrate religion and spirituality into our daily lives instead of reserving it for special holy days. This week, I want to have a look at the interaction of our religion and our life.
In my Wiccan tradition, one of the first things we ask our students to do is to analyse a news story from a religious point of view. This week, we are going to do something similar: each evening, analyse your own story, the story of this day, from a religious point of view.
That, of course, raises the question: what is your religious point of view? This is a question everyone has to answer for himself. A good starting point would be the ethical guidelines of your religion. They might include the Wiccan rede (“If it harms none, do what you will”), the law of return (“what you send out will come back to thee”), and the fact that your actions, your choices, are your own responsibility.
To start, make sure you have about 20-30 minutes of uninterrupted time. Get comfortable. My recommendation is to have pen and paper ready and write everything down, but you can also do this exercise in your thoughts only if you want to.
Mentally, walk through your day: what have you experienced? What might be the deeper meaning of your experiences? Of course, not everything has to have a deeper meaning – but some things might, and you will never find it if you do not start looking for it. What have you, yourself, done? How have you interacted with other people? What choices did you make? What will be the consequences of your actions, your choices? From a religious point of view, based on your own moral and ethical guidelines, were your actions, interactions and choices the right ones? Or did you cause unnecessary harm, make poor choices, or act unwise? If you did, try to find out why. Accept your responsibility for your own actions. If you followed the advice of someone else, think about why you did that instead of following your own good sense – but do not put the blame on the other person. What would have been a better course of action?
Do this exercise each evening over a whole week. If you want to, you can include it in your daily pages or your personal journal. After the week, go back over the whole week. Has being more aware of your actions and choices caused you to act differently? Why?
In my Wiccan tradition, one of the first things we ask our students to do is to analyse a news story from a religious point of view. This week, we are going to do something similar: each evening, analyse your own story, the story of this day, from a religious point of view.
That, of course, raises the question: what is your religious point of view? This is a question everyone has to answer for himself. A good starting point would be the ethical guidelines of your religion. They might include the Wiccan rede (“If it harms none, do what you will”), the law of return (“what you send out will come back to thee”), and the fact that your actions, your choices, are your own responsibility.
To start, make sure you have about 20-30 minutes of uninterrupted time. Get comfortable. My recommendation is to have pen and paper ready and write everything down, but you can also do this exercise in your thoughts only if you want to.
Mentally, walk through your day: what have you experienced? What might be the deeper meaning of your experiences? Of course, not everything has to have a deeper meaning – but some things might, and you will never find it if you do not start looking for it. What have you, yourself, done? How have you interacted with other people? What choices did you make? What will be the consequences of your actions, your choices? From a religious point of view, based on your own moral and ethical guidelines, were your actions, interactions and choices the right ones? Or did you cause unnecessary harm, make poor choices, or act unwise? If you did, try to find out why. Accept your responsibility for your own actions. If you followed the advice of someone else, think about why you did that instead of following your own good sense – but do not put the blame on the other person. What would have been a better course of action?
Do this exercise each evening over a whole week. If you want to, you can include it in your daily pages or your personal journal. After the week, go back over the whole week. Has being more aware of your actions and choices caused you to act differently? Why?
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Autumn candle meditation
The season I like best is autumn. When the weather is fine, I like to go outside, enjoying the last warm rays of a sun that is quickly loosing its strength, and watching the changing colours and the winds that carry away the leaves from the trees. When the weather is rainy, however, I like to do an autumn candle meditation.
For this meditation, you need: a rainy day, at least half an hour of time when you will not be disturbed and a comfortable chair that faces a window with a good view. I like to do this in the attic where the rain is drumming on the roof light, or in a place where I can look out into the garden. You also need a cup of hot tea, maybe a blanket and of course a candle.
Prepare your tea, and make yourself comfortable, facing the window. Start the meditation by lighting the candle. Be calm and relaxed. If you want to, focus on your breath for a few minutes in order to relax. Then, allow yourself to watch the autumn rain. Enjoy the warmth of your tea. Let everything else go. No hurry, no planning, no reflection – just let everything else go. Whenever your mind wanders back to something that happened yesterday, just bring it back to the moment. Whenever you start thinking about something you will have to do tomorrow, just come back to the present moment. Be present. Whenever you feel anger, fear, stress, let it go and come back to the present moment. Just be.
End the meditation by blowing out the candle.
For this meditation, you need: a rainy day, at least half an hour of time when you will not be disturbed and a comfortable chair that faces a window with a good view. I like to do this in the attic where the rain is drumming on the roof light, or in a place where I can look out into the garden. You also need a cup of hot tea, maybe a blanket and of course a candle.
Prepare your tea, and make yourself comfortable, facing the window. Start the meditation by lighting the candle. Be calm and relaxed. If you want to, focus on your breath for a few minutes in order to relax. Then, allow yourself to watch the autumn rain. Enjoy the warmth of your tea. Let everything else go. No hurry, no planning, no reflection – just let everything else go. Whenever your mind wanders back to something that happened yesterday, just bring it back to the moment. Whenever you start thinking about something you will have to do tomorrow, just come back to the present moment. Be present. Whenever you feel anger, fear, stress, let it go and come back to the present moment. Just be.
End the meditation by blowing out the candle.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Enjoy the fruits of the Earth
Currently, it is harvest time, and that is a good reason to enjoy the pleasure the harvest can mean for us. On a beautiful day, sit in the sun. Connect to the earth below you and the sky above you. Take some fruits that grow where you live and that are currently ripe – if it is possible and safe to do so, gather them yourself. An example would be to pick some apples from the tree in your garden, if you have one.
Look at the fruits, admiring their colour, their texture. Eat them slowly, enjoying their flavour, their sweetness. Of course, this works best if you choose fruits that you like. Take you time and enjoy life's pleasure.
Look at the fruits, admiring their colour, their texture. Eat them slowly, enjoying their flavour, their sweetness. Of course, this works best if you choose fruits that you like. Take you time and enjoy life's pleasure.
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