Garden Great Reads: How to Meditate

"If we can train ourselves through meditation to be more open and more accepting toward the wild arc of our experience, if we can lean into the difficulties of life and ride of our minds, we can become more settled and relaxed amid whatever life brings us." ~ Pema Chodron


Pema Chodron presents the idea that many of us spend our lives running. Either we are racing toward experiences we believe hold the promise of complete happiness or making mad dashes away from unpleasant ones we imagine will rob us of it. 

"Our life is an endless journey: the practice of meditation allows us to experience all the textures of the roadway, which is what the journey is all about." ~ Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche  

Meditation provides a training ground for the mind. A place to cultivate the on going lessons of mastering our emotions. A place to grow brave enough to meet the 'self within the self' confronting who we think we are so that we can awaken to who we are truly meant to be. It is in our meditation practice we can begin the process of unfolding, peeling away the layers that keep us stagnant in suffering.

Following this reading, you may be encouraged to explore the following:

Have I committed myself to running?
How can a daily meditation practice bring greater meaning to my life?
Am I willing to confront that which might prevent my full awakening?

Garden Great Reads: The Five Levels of Attachment

"When we become too attached to an ideal, the first thing that we lose is respect; first for the people around us, and eventually for ourselves." ~ Miguel Ruiz, Jr.

How attached are we to our beliefs?

In this work, Miguel Ruiz, Jr., explains how extreme levels of attachment serve as potential causes of suffering in our lives. As he unfolds the details of each level, Ruiz provides significant insights along the attachment spectrum and how they impact the ways in which we function.

As you examine your attachment to various beliefs, a clearer view of self can emerge along with seeking answers to what dictates your response patterns. These revelations can lead to attempts to diminish the strongholds of negative attachment levels in our lives.

"Looking at the story of your life, do you take action as dictated by your attachment to knowledge, or do you use knowledge to take an action based on the awareness of your present moment?" ~ Miguel Ruiz, Jr.

After this reading you may be encouraged to look at the following:

What are your current core beliefs?
At what levels of attachment have you been operating?
How would adjusting the levels of attachment to your beliefs transform your daily existence?

Garden Great Reads: Fear

"The only way to ease our fear and be truly happy is to acknowledge our fear and look deeply at its source. Instead of trying to escape from our fear, we can invite it up to our awareness and look at it clearly and deeply." ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

In this work, Thich Nhat Hanh, writes on the importance of releasing the practice of repressing our emotions. He states that because we live in a world of distraction, many of us have large blocks of pain and suffering buried in our consciousness we cannot bear to face. He believes distraction as a method of coping only leads to increased pain and suffering in our lives. 

Hanh suggests instead allowing our emotions to speak to us, transform us, free us. In Fear, he says we can begin trading the paralysis of dread and confusion for the clarity of pause and acknowledgement through the practice of mindful awareness. Hanh says facing our discomfort is the path to peace and freedom.

"People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar." ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

This reading might encourage you to explore the following:

What emotions have I had difficulty facing?
In what ways would learning to look deeply at my emotions transform my life?
Am I willing to face my fears and allow them to liberate me?

Garden Great Reads: A Return to Love

"It takes courage to endure the sharp pains of self discovery rather than choose to take the dull pain of unconsciousness that would last the rest of our lives." ~ Marianne Williamson

A Return To Love is based upon the teachings in A Course In Miracles. I was introduced to the Course some years ago and found the insights from Williamson's book useful as a practical reference for applying Course principals in my daily life. Both texts have been a great addition to my personal transformation journey and I share it here in the hope that others might find it helpful as well.

In the book, the author shares her perspective on how the decision to see yourself as God sees you; as love, transforms your thinking and therefore your outlook on life. 

"I accept the beauty within me as who I really am. I am not my weakness. I am not my anger. I am not my small mindedness. I am much, much more. And I am willing to be reminded of who I really am." ~ Marianne Williamson

Through this reading you might be led to explore the following:

In what ways have I not been loving toward myself?
How has not showing love toward myself manifested in other aspects of my life?
What can I do to love myself better and open the doorway to self discovery?

Garden Great Reads: The Untethered Soul

"The only permanent solution to your problems is to go inside and let go of the part of you that seems to have so many problems with reality." ~ Michael A. Singer

In The Untethered Soul, Michael A. Singer introduces the concept that we are not the voice in our heads, but we are in fact the "observer" of that voice. He explains the importance of examining how this constant inner chatter influences the way we experience our thoughts and emotions and their eventual manifestations in our behavioral choices.

Here, Singer proposes that the key to staying happy begins with understanding our inner energies. Once we learn to observe inwardly, we can start to grow into a truer version of self and operate with increasing clarity in our daily lives. With continued awareness, we can live with an open heart and become freer than we have ever been.

"So there are two ways you can live: you can devote your life to staying in your comfort zone, or you can work on your freedom. You can devote your whole life to the process of making sure everything fits within your limited model, or you can devote your life to freeing yourself from the limits of your model."  ~ Michael A. Singer

This reading might encourage exploration of the following:

What are the messages the voice inside my head has been sending?
Have the results of my inner chatter manifested peace or chaos in my daily life?
Am I willing to work towards living as a truer version of self?


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What Gives You Life

"All we lack is the willingness to imagine that we already have everything we need. The only thing missing is our consent to be where we are." ~ Barbara Brown Taylor

The nature of the Creator is alive inside each of us in every moment. 

Often when we find ourselves in a hot pocket of pain-filled circumstances we forget that we exist within His power to overcome. It is during these episodes, in that space where we are alone with our breath, that the mirror of self reflects clearest. 

"For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is let it rain." ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Experiencing setbacks be it through material loss or an emotional ripping is a call to commit to peeling back the layers of distraction. In that space of vulnerability, we can discover what speaks peace to our inner being and with patience we can begin to discern what gives us life. 

"Set peace of mind as your highest goal, and organize your life around it." ~ Brian Tracy

Out of my quiet audience with self, I have found that when all else is stripped away from my experience, having my children near and frequent visits to the coast to rest in the cool mist of the ocean grounds me and increases my joy. As a result of this knowing, my retirement plans now include an oceanfront cottage where I can regularly commune with the sea. As Alan Watts writes, "you didn't come into this world. You came out of it, like a wave in the ocean. You are not a stranger here." 

And when my children come to visit we can sit, listen, and take peace in the sound of the waves together.

Yemaya Assessu

Assessu Yemaya

Yemaya olodo

Olodo, Yemaya

Are there people or circumstances currently drawing you away from peace?

How would releasing those people and circumstances change the state of your inner being?

In your most profound moments of reflection, what have you learned gives you life?

"Those who live by the sea can hardly form a single thought of which the sea would not be part." ~Hermann Broch

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Getting to Know You

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Place it Upon the Altar

"By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything." 
~ I John 3:19-20

Easter season is upon us. It is a time of self-reflection, renewal, resurrection, and rebirth. Many are engaged in spring cleaning, simplifying their lives by rounding up all the outdated items past serving a purpose in their homes clearing a space for evidence of things hoped for though yet unseen. 

As we lighten our closets, dresser drawers, attics and garages, what of our hearts, our minds, and our spirits. This time of year provides an opportunity to confront and confess the disturbers of our peace, the blessings blockers we have submitted our will to as the habit of remaining in our comfort zones. 

"I have learned that the person I have to ask for forgiveness from the most is myself. You must love yourself. You have to forgive yourself." ~ C. JoyBell C.

Of course the beginning of this lightening, confronting, and confessing starts in the full acceptance and forgiveness of the self. It is impossible to clear the heart, the mind, and the spirit without taking this step. Showing compassion toward ourselves aids us in shedding our old garment heavy laden with self condemnation. Self love is ripe with the energy of freedom.

Embrace this season of inner spring cleansing and awaken the spirit of renewal from within.

Place yourself upon the altar.

Are your heart, mind, and spirit in need of spring cleaning?
What do you need to clear a space for in your life?
Can you leave what is no longer a necessity upon the altar?

Available Now on Amazon!
The BreakUp Call
Learn To Be Your Own Bae
www.amazon.com/dp/B079RWN286

Available Now on Amazon!
Unfolding With Joy
Recover Yourself
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078LZ8PC5

Available Soon on Amazon!
Unfolding With Joy
Rediscover Yourself
and
Getting To Know You

Join the journey and experience the joy of unfolding!
FREE EBOOK DOWNLOAD
Reawaken To Joy!
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