In part II of our Hero's Journey exploration, we talk about taking the long view, keeping our present difficulty in the context of a much bigger picture.  When you can hold what you are going through in a larger perspective it gives you the ability to be bigger than what you are facing.  We draw from the work of Joseph Campbell's The Hero With A Thousand Faces

True peace is always possible, yet it requires strength and practice, particularly in times of great difficulty.  Each of will experience times n our life that are challenging, sometimes referred to as The Dark Night, times when it may feel like the light is not shinning on us.  There are tools and technologies that can help us navigate through life's tougher terrain and difficult moments.  Over the next several weeks, we'll be exploring the possibilities of this particular juncture in life.  We can learn how to have the circumstance without it having us, and we can learn ho to use those experiences to help us move into a higher version of ourselves, a new beginning.  I was blessed to journey through a program called Standing Firm When Your World Is Shaking by my mentor Mary Morrissey a handful of years back. My mind recites the lessons on a daily basis, and I would now love to share them with you. 

A meditation to help you see and accept all aspects of you. Please meditate in a quiet place free from distractions. Sit tall and comfortably, take a few deep cleansing breaths, close your eyes.  Please do not listen to this meditation while driving.

Take a few minutes out of your day to settle down and turn inward.  Find a sense of calm confidence as you move deep within yourself to that place of quiet stillness.  Here you can allow the body and mind to release stress and fear.   This eight minute meditation is best listened to with headphones, but please do not drive while listening.

Self love is where we began.  The wounds of human experience can pull us away from our natural state of self awareness and appreciation. Healing occurs very much like peeling an onion, when we peel away one layer, there are many others beneath. This meditation is powerful and it is important to focus on one layer at a time.  Healing the heart is the doorway back to self love. Begin by taking a deep breath in and focus on your heart.   Listen to this five minute meditation often to heal the layers back to self love.  Please do not listen to this while driving.

A meditation to help you release stress, worry, tension, negative emotions and thoughts.  Give yourself five minutes to just be, without expectations or distractions.  Taking a break from the constant demand of doing.  This short meditation is a perfect rest in the busyness of your day.  Enjoy this while relaxing in a safe place free of distractions, headphones are most effective.  DO NOT listen to this while driving.  Breathe!

The Autumn season finds us moving from the external, expansive nature of summer to the internal, contractive nature of autumn.  This is a perfect time to focus more on the internal - cultivating body and mind and becoming more introspective.  A time to be more mindful and let go of anything you may be holding on to so you can make room for new experiences that help you grow and learn.  It is a time to release thoughts that keep you in a negative place and to cultivate thoughts that will help raise not only your energy, but the energy of the world!  Thoughts become things, choose yours wisely.

We are often very attached to the stories of who we've been told we are, what we've experienced, and what our circumstances and conditioning have made us believe we are capable of.  We wear labels and identities that aren't usually a true reflection of "who we are".  You are not your story.  You are so much more than that which you have allowed yourself to be identified as.  You are not the label you wear and you are more than the circumstances in your life.  How do we begin to find the truth of who we are and dis-identify with the thoughts that we think we are?

Dis-identify from your thoughts.  True liberation, "moksah" comes from being able to live from this dis-identified state, to know "I am not my thoughts"  Then our actions and our words are more mindful and come from a feeling state.  When we can live like this, this is Bliss. Take a comfortable posture for your meditation where you will not be disturbed, allow yourself this time to relax and be with yourself. Please do not listen to this while driving.

A short guided meditation to help you begin to clear the lenses of subjective experience that may be clouding your clear view of the world. To help you focus your attention inward and begin to dis-identify with the contents of the limiting beliefs.  This is the key to finding inner peace. This meditation should not be listened to while driving. Set aside some quiet time for your meditation in a place that is free from distractions and interruption.  Sit comfortably on the floor or in a chair. Now set your intention for your meditation. It may be to understand another persons view of the world, being open to acceptance of different perspectives or opinions, or to remove the clouded lenses of subjective beliefs.