The Light Within

In today's show, I explore the topic of surrender as it relates to our spiritual journey.

There are four foundations of mindfulness.

* Mindfulness of Body

* Mindfulness of Thoughts

* Mindfulness of Emotions

* Mindfulness of The Way Things Are

 

This is taken from the book Open Heart Open Mind by Tsoknyi Rinpoche

Did you get a good night's sleep last night? You’ve probably felt the effects of not getting enough quality sleep at night.

Here are some ways to help improve your sleep:

Get enough movement in the daytime.

Get more sunlight

No screen time 30min to 1 hour before going to bed

Change the lighting - warm, dim

Before lying down, take a moment for quiet prayer and meditation

Use essential oils like lavender, vetiver, bergomot, Serenity Blend (from doTERRA). 

Start early

It's a new year! Time for a new podcast.

Today I share some thoughts on creating vision boards and staying focused on what matters most in the new year.

 

Hey! I'm trying something new for 2018. It could be an epic fail, or it might just be the best decision I've made for online teaching.

Today, I share a new approach I'm taking with my podcast. Using my voice to bring more peace and calm into your life. My hope is that you will take refuge from the noise and overload of information.  To let this be a time to meditate, reflect, and make real changes in your life.

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We often create goals for doing in the new year. But what about goals for being? Who will you become this year? What is the light within you calling you to become?

Resource: Holiday Joy Essential Oil Blend

If you haven't yet experienced the calming effect of essential oils, now might be the perfect time to start. Essential oils come from all parts of plants, flowers, and trees. They provide many therapeutic benefits for our minds, bodies, and emotions.

At this time of year, our family loves using the Holiday Joy blend from doTERRA. We place 2-3 drops in a diffuser, which is able to send out the festive aroma for several hours in our home. Holiday Joy contains the following oils:

Siberian Fir, Wild Orange, Clove Bud, Cinnamon Bark, Cassia, Douglas Fir, Nutmeg essential oils and Vanilla Absolute.

Finding Joy in Daily Life

What inhibits joy?

It's easy to mistake outward circumstances for our lack of joy. While there are difficult events in life, the greatest inhibitor to experiencing more joy is most often due to our inner dialog and perceptions of the outside world.

I often hear Tara Brach say: Where attention goes, energy flows.

This is not to say that we ignore all the problems. Rather we are seeking clarity of what is true and what is not. For today's purposes I'll be focusing on ways we can live with more joy. At others times I'll share how to work with the more difficult aspects of our lives.

* Before reacting to external circumstances, take time to explore what is happening on the inside.

* Reoccurring thoughts keep us stuck in the past, or worried about the future.

* Notice the negativity basis - which scans for what's wrong or what might go wrong, with us, with others, with the world.

* Possibly the most prominent inhibitor of joy is a sense of being cutoff from others, feelings of isolation, not belonging.

 

How do we nurture joy?

Here are a few ideas for experiencing more joy...

Notice What Is:

This is a process of opening, not grasping for joy. It has to come naturally, and not be forced. Begin to notice what thoughts and emotions are here, in this moment. What is the quality of this moment? How do you feel? Can you name the feeling? What are the thoughts? Can you name them?

Gratitude:

Gratitude is perhaps the most powerful pathway to experiencing joy. It can be as simple as recognizing and acknowledging the gifts right in front of you in this moment.

William Arthur Ward said: “Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”

Connection:

Life is all around us. Foster a deeper awareness to our interconnectedness with all of life. This can be done, in part through meditation. It's also helpful to spend time connecting with others by being more present with them. Putting away phones and other distractions, including those within us, so that we can be fully present with the other person. We can also widened our view of connectedness by spending time in nature.

Having Purpose:

Choose a purpose or intention for the day. Having a purpose in our lives often leads to joy. Our lives are made up of moments. So, even if you don't know what you're bigger life mission is, you can still choose a purpose in this moment, right here and now.

Giving Service:

We are too busy. Because of our hurried lifestyle, we miss opportunities to serve. Our packed schedules and frazzled minds often keep us from rendering much needed service to others, including our own family. The best advice is train our minds to stop, look, and listen.

It's interesting how much fear creeps into our lives. The type of fear often shows up as anxiety or angst in our lives.

I realized that I'm recoding this during October, the month of Halloween. In some traditions Halloween, or All Saints Day on Nov 1, is more about connecting with our beloved ancestors. I mention that because, fear can keep us from connecting with what is really important.

The mind has a negativity bias. And likes to create stories, and potential problems that may arise, and how to fix them. Part of this process of working with fear, is learning to lean away from the mental chatter from our primitive brain, which seems to run on autopilot —always scanning for danger, and what might go wrong.

Fear driven thinking has it's purpose to protect us. But it's way over used. That's why it's often called the over-controller.

Whatever we regularly think about, becomes our inclination.

Our thoughts create an inner atmosphere. Our thoughts create a real emotional experience within us. Our thinking locks in our emotional states. Instead of allowing the ebb and flow emotions that are a natural part of life, we tend to lock in many emotions that are fear-based.

“Our lives are filled with so much possibility, and yet the movie in our mind keeps us in prison.” - Tara Brach

What is fear? How does it impact your life? Today on the Aspire podcast I share some basics on fear, the emotion of fear, and how to notice when fear is present in your daily life.

Tara Brach says that: “fear is the anticipation of future pain.” There is a basic and important function of fear, however, we tend to experience the emotion of fear in unhealthy ways. It's important to identify and understand how fear is manifesting in your life, in order to work through it.

There are many scientific studies and religious teachings on the power of gratitude. But how do we become more grateful?

Today on the podcast I share how gratitude is not just a feeling, but a virtue to be used everyday. Gratitude can increase your happiness, chances for success, improve your health, and help you to be more loving. Gratitude is an acknowledgement of the goodness and the opportunities all around us.

Without much effort our minds naturally create stories about ourselves, others, and the world around us. Even if we have incomplete or false information, our minds easily fill in the gaps. Stories are powerful. They can inspire and transform. But they can also keep us stuck. Today, I explore ways to get unstuck from our fear-based stories.