A guided meditation to help you relax :)

"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness." ~ Dalai Lama XIV

Spirituality is a very individual journey – there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. I opt for practices that are simple, portable, and leave me feeling loved and loving.

Lovingkindness Meditation does that for me. While it’s labeled “meditation”, it can easily be taken into the world and practiced in any moment.

It’s a simple series of phrases you repeat silently or aloud. Typically, there are several rounds - yourself, a loved one, an acquaintance, a “difficult” person, and all beings. I learned this version years ago from Roberta Hughes.

May I be free of fear and harm.

May I be happy as I am.

May I be at peace with whatever comes.

1. Offer the phrases first to yourself (you might imagine yourself as a child or visualize yourself in the mirror). Then hold the following in your mind and heart, and offer the phrases to each:
2. Someone you love dearly.  
3. A casual acquaintance (store clerk, someone you passed on the street, etc.).
4. Someone with whom you have a strained or challenging relationship.
5. All beings everywhere.

Change the phrasing to “work” in each instance, e.g., “May John be...”, “May the waitress be…”, May Susie be…”, “May all beings everywhere be…”.

You can’t mess it up – just offer lovingkindness wherever you’re called. It can be an “on-the-spot” offering, the list above, or a more expanded version. Alter the phrases until they feel “right” to you. Searching “Lovingkindess mantra” on the internet will yield many possibilties.

May we be free of fear and harm. May we be happy as we are. May we be at peace with whatever comes.

I've talked to several people in the last few days who've felt overwhelmed with all the thoughts spinning in their head. The more they try to reason their way out of it, the more seems to spin. 

One of the fastest most effective techniques to counter the spinning is to get into your body. One of the quickest way to do that is by focusing on breath and sensation. When it feels like your mind is going around in circles like an out-of-control merry-go-round, say to yourself (or out loud if you're in a place where you're comfortable doing that) "Stop!" Then imagine all of those swirling thoughts just pausing for a brief moment, like they're frozen in place in your mind. As you breathe, allow your belly to move. Imagine drawing energy from your head down into your heart, then down into your belly.

Imagine a grounding cord running from your tailbone down to the center of the earth, and visualize anchoring that chord at the center of the earth. Imagine yourself tethered, and allow anything you no longer need to be washed down that grounding cord so the energy can be neutralized. With each inhale, draw in fresh energy; with each exhale, let go of what you no longer need, including old thoughts, old ideas, and old ways of being.