Archive for the ‘Meditation’ Category
World Peace Begins in My Mind
Monday, September 10th, 2012
“When we know how to create peace in our own mind, we can transform the world.” -Sakyong Mipham Runpoche
Meeting Ourselves & Our Thoughts with Kindness
Monday, August 27th, 2012
I recently came across an article by Sharon Salzberg in Tricycle Magazine on meditation. It was the perfect reminder of the ups and downs and how sustaining our meditation practice is often a meditation practice in and of itself!
In the article, How to Sustain Your Meditation Practice, Sharon Salzberg writes:
I used to feel, very early in my practice, that mindfulness was awaiting me somewhere out there; that it was going to take a lot of effort and determination, but somehow, someday, after a great deal of struggle, I was going to claim my moment of mindfulness— sort of like planting a flag at the top of a mountain.
My view of the matter was enlarged and my understanding transformed when I realized that mindfulness wasn’t inaccessible or remote; it was always right there with me. The moment I remembered it—the moment I noticed that I was forgetting to practice it—there it was! My mindfulness didn’t need to get better, or be as good as somebody else’s. It was already perfect. So is yours. But that truth is easily forgotten in the midst of our busy lives and complicated relationships. One reason we practice is to recall that truth, so that we can remember to be mindful more and more often throughout the day, and remember more naturally. Regular practice makes mindfulness a part of us.
Meditation is never one thing; you’ll experience moments of peace, moments of sadness, moments of joy, moments of anger, moments of sleepiness. The terrain changes constantly, but we tend to solidify it around the negative: “This painful experience is going to last the rest of my life.” The tendency to fixate on the negative is something we can approach mindfully; we can notice it, name it, observe it, test it, and dispel it, using the skills we learn in practice.
Find a practice that works for you. It may mean trying different methods and seeing what you like and adapting it. The important thing is to keep the practice going. See your meditation practice like the greeting of a newborn baby – exciting, new, embracing, and with so much love and kindness. Greet yourself and your thoughts with kindness. You deserve it. We all do.
Here is a sample of a guided meditation: Meditation on the Lotus Flower.
Photo taken by Mary Anne Flanagan
Peace Is Every Breath
Wednesday, August 8th, 2012
Peace is every inhale.
Peace is every exhale.
Peace is every breath.
Peace is every inhale.
Peace is every exhale.
Peace is every breath.
Inhale peace. Exhale peace.
{Photo taken by Mary Anne Flanagan}
Sitting With What Is
Friday, July 20th, 2012
“Meditation is just the practice of sitting with what actually is until we learn how not to ignore what actually is.” ~Brad Warner
Mantra: I sit on Mother Earth and see that Mother Earth takes amazing care of me.
What Is Radiating in You?
Thursday, July 19th, 2012
What’s your growing in the garden of your heart? 
What garden are you watering?
What flower inside will you share today?
We are growing love in every seed you plant.
Mantra: I water the garden of my heart.
I AM
Thursday, July 5th, 2012
I am the peace I seek.
I am peace.
I am.
Mary Anne
Thank You
Thursday, June 21st, 2012
You are invited to a mediation focusing on gratitude.
Take a nice slow breath, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Close your eyes. Make your spine long and tall. Allow your shoulders to drop away from your ears.
How are you breathing? Allow yourself to breathe in and breathe out. And with your next breath, hear the words: Thank You.
Take a deeper breath. Allow more to come in and exhale and allow more to go out. Allow your mind and heart to take in more and let go more.
Invite a free hand onto a part of your body that needs some attention. Listen and send the mantra Thank You to that part of your body. Allow the mantra to move more deeply there. Breathe in and out. Follow the inhalation and exhalation. Follow your brilliance. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.
Direct your hand to the center of your chest – your heart center. Direct the words Thank You to your heart center. Allow the gratitude to grow in and around you. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.
Carry this mantra with you. Notice when you are not in gratitude. Thank You. Notice how we can be gratitude with each breath. Thank You.
And take a deep breath. Repeat the mantra: Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.
Invitation: In the next 24 hours, find at least three people to say Thank You to and pass on a transmission of gratitude.
Open your eyes and look at the world you help co-create. Look at the world with Thank You eyes. Look at the world with a Thank You heart.
When we see this love and gratitude in our self, it will be seen in others. Thank You.
Mary Anne
Step by Step…
Monday, June 18th, 2012
Looking up, looking out, looking in, I live life:
Step by step
Thought by thought
Prayer by prayer
Breath by breath
{Photo taken on Machu Picchu, Peru}
Share the Gift of You
Wednesday, June 13th, 2012
The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The meaning of life is to give it away. ~David Viscott
What gifts have you discovered about yourself?
What gifts are you willing to give away?
How have you shared who you are freely with the world?
{Photo taken by Mary Anne Flanagan, Machu Picchu, Peru}
Body and Mind Breathing as One
Monday, April 30th, 2012
As you close your eyes and soften your body, I invite you to shift your spine long and tall.
Allow your shoulders to drop away from your ears with your out breath.
See your chin floating above your chest – your body completely aligned.
How does it feel to realign your body – to physically and mentally realign your body?
Notice your body breathing. Notice your mind breathing.
With great mindfulness, breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
There it is – body and mind breathing as one – another realignment.
The invitation is to hear the mantra: my body and mind breathe as one.
My body and mind breathe as one. My body and mind breathe as one.
How are you connecting with your body and mind?
Is there a shift you need to make in order to be more fully aligned?
Shift it.
By realigning yourself, you have realigned everything around you.
Invite a body and mind breath in and out. Notice yourself in this space.
Nothing to do except breathe. And breathe. And breathe.
With your eyes open, breathe in and out:
my body and mind breathe as one.
Breathing more consciously, take a good look at the world around you.
We are one. You are one. It is all one. Body + Mind = One.
Attune to that alignment and notice – just notice.
Mary Anne