The Everyday Mystic

Want to become an Everyday Mystic?  Want a direct connection to Divine energy?  Today, I’ll share a meditation that can help you plug into Divine Wisdom.

First, let me say that you don’t have to go on a week-long silent retreat to become a meditator.  It has been shown that meditating for as little as 5-10 minutes a day can produce some of the benefits of meditation that include stress reduction, improved concentration and higher emotional equanimity. Most people can spare 5-10 minutes each day.  Turn off the TV and meditate!

The heart of what I do is listen in silence.  That’s all - just listen.  You can close your eyes and listen anytime.  But most of us need to clear out our emotional and mental clutter before we can hear from our highest selves or Divine essence. 

And, know that you can hear, see, know or feel God.  Only when I started to believe that I could do this - that I was worthy of hearing - did the Divine come to me. This is your birthright.  Know that it is given to you.

Here’s the process I do in my meditation.

1.  I have a meditation corner in a large closet where I’ve placed my meditation bench (you could use a cushion or a chair), a candle and a journal or binder.  In my meditation corner, I sit, close my eyes and relax my body. After settling in, I start observing my breath, counting breaths from 1 to 10 and then starting over again.  The purpose of this step is to center myself, to calm myself completely and to fully bring my attention to the present moment.  Sometimes if my mind is especially active or rebellious, I’ll focus on my heartbeat as a way to slow down and center.  You may need to put your fingers on your neck to feel the heartbeat, but after a while you can simply feel and hear it.  I try to breathe in rhythm with my heart. Once I am able to focus on at least three rounds of ten breaths, I proceed to the next step.

2.  Next is a grounding exercise that I learned from my coach, Tina Ferguson (www.tinaferguson.com).  Imagine gathering up a ball of your energy in the area of your solar plexus or third chakra. The ball is about the size of a softball or a grapefruit. Consolidate your present emotions, experiences or thoughts into that ball.  Then, send the ball down through your legs and into the earth - all the way to the molten center of Mother Earth.  There, imagine that all your negative energy - all the stuff from your day - is burned off in a burst of flame. Now take the resulting ball of pure red energy  and pull it back up through your legs, up through your torso and all your chakras, right up and out of the top of your head.  Keep the ball rising until it reaches the heavenly or spiritual realm.  Hang out with your ball of energy in that realm until you feel a connection.  Sometimes I’ll feel tingling on the top of my head and I know I’ve made connection  Then, bring the ball, which is now white, back down into your body, through the top of your head.  Have it rest in the area of your heart.

3. Now you are ready to listen.  Ask a question, and wait. The old hymn tells us what to do:

"Silently now I wait for Thee /

Ready, my God, Thy will to see /

Open my eyes, illumine me / 

Spirit Divine."

Silently wait for God to show up.  Do you see something?  Hear something?  Feel or know something?  Just wait patiently - it reminds me of the axiom "just suit up and show up".  If nothing shows up, thank the spirits for just being with you and tell them that you’ll be back soon.  If something does come to you, write it down after you come out of your meditation so you don’t forget it.

It’s so simple but so profound.  Try it!

Tomorrow I’ll share some of the wisdom that I’ve heard lately in my meditations.

Interested in the power of forgiveness?  Come to my Forgiveness Workshop this Saturday, April 19, 2008.

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