Evolution through Silence

"Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best. " ~ Henry Van Dyke ___________________ I have been silent long enough to find my center - again. Don't get me wrong - I've been talking and listening to others in volumes. The silence I'm talking about came as a result of the constant roaring in my soul while my son battled bone cancer. I didn't want to hear that part of myself (my God consciousness) for a while. I was afraid. I am still afraid but I am pushing through it. My son has his 90 day scans tomorrow; I want the scans to show no evidence of disease. What I've managed to do after almost 6 months of internal silence is open up and let God take over. If I were to personify God I'd say she's been smiling all along waiting for me to get back to this place of "turning it over." What had to happen was I had to get enough pain through fear to rage again and then sit silently as the tide of emotions shifted. As I sat grumbling in meditation this morning, telling God how I didn't want to listen because I was too afraid that I wouldn't hear what I wanted to - there was an evolution in my soul. I began to listen more deeply than ever before. There were no barriers, nothing veiled, just a pure openness to the powers that be. I let go. And so be it, I have enough faith to sustain me no matter what the outcome of the test are, no matter what obstacles life places in my path.

"DO NOT SPEAK UNLESS YOU CAN IMPROVE THE SILENCE." ~ Proverb

It's about the Simple Things

"There is a terrible fight going on inside of me. It is between two wolves.One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego. The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too." The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" "The one you feed." ~ Cherokee Parable

Ten of my favorite lessons on the journey of life:

10. Life is a stage and there are no dress rehearsals. (life experience)

09. Be gentle with yourself. (meditative experience)

08. Patience can move mountains.(meditative experience)

07. Let life unfold like a flower.(meditative experience)

06. Stay flexible. (meditative experience)

05. Hope is the elixir of miracles. (life experience)

04. Savour the breath of the moment. (meditative experience)

03. Everything grows with love. (taught to me by my Uncle Richard)

02. My only prayer is for strength to endure the journey. (life experience)

01. Sometimes you just gotta let go and let God! (life experience)

Give a little bit...

“One can not uncover their purpose in life by asking another...you must look within!" ~ KCH

Over the years my blog spot has gone from being heavily laced with my struggles of entering mid-life to spiritual heights and then silence. My discoveries were placed here in hopes of paying it forward. Many folks have guided me by sharing their personal journey through loss and triumph, doubts and places of spiritual maturity. At some point over the years this blog turned into a teaching platform. Sharing my experience, strength and hope with meditation from the standpoint of a passionate novice helped me grow stronger in my practice and beliefs. When my son was diagnosed with bone cancer last August I found that I had little space inside, words of wisdom have become foreign, teaching anything has been extremely difficult at best. Many times I have sat staring at the keyboard with my laptop opened to the "compose" page of this blog. Words have alluded me day after day. Any form of expression seems to have been stifled by my sons diagnosis and the months I've struggled to find acceptance, hope, faith, my center, my place, my purpose.

I have not yet found those answers. Perhaps they will rise to the surface once the flood waters recede. But I did find strength just for today! To me the most interesting aspect of that discovery was that it came through the process of sharing, listening and deep questioning. Last night I spoke with a friend, I was feeling stressed out. The wisdom imparted to me was that I needed to be strong! But I am not strong or at least I do not feel strong. So I prayed and meditated reflecting on strength. A bible verse from my childhood rose up into consciousness, "I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me." ~Phillipians 4:13. If you've followed my blog over the years you just might remember that years ago I found God in the last place I looked - deep inside of me, in my heart.

Through human struggles we rise to a place of grace and dignity. Others are paramount to our growth. When we give a little bit it's like scattering the seeds from a dandelion. With just one breath the wind takes them and they bloom where they land! Now that's what I call STRONG!

Namaste'

Journey to the Center

Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.
Thomas Merton




We spent our lives being guided and taught by those around us, either learning the lessons or repeating them. Intently searching for happiness only to have it elude us. With self awareness one recognizes the vicious cycle of repition - of "not learning the lesson" of never finding happiness. Years ago as I struggled with vicious cycles of repeting lessons and of being utterly miserable, I was given a life tool that has taken me way too long to learn how to use. It started when someone introduced me to the word BALANCE. I remember walking around trying to figure out exactly what was meant by balance and got the not so bright idea to visualize a level in the center of my forehead. Thus balance became about centering my mind, nothing too far right and nothing too far left. Years passed, and balance became solely about keeping the bubble in the center of the level; keeping my thinking centered. I was on the right track, or at least in the ballpark, but with every major life event I would inevitably fall off balance. What I have come to realize is the balance that I was searching for wasn't just mental balance. It's about mind, body and spirit. True happiness comes from embarking on a journey to the center of self for that's where balance is found. The vehicle that takes you there is a still mind and body. Within each of us lies the answers we are searching for. How are going to know, if you don't go ?

Namaste'

The Grand Illusion

..."so if you think your life
is complete confusion
'cause your neighbor's got
it made just remember that
it's a grand illusion
and deep inside we're all the same"... STYX '77








One of the most fascinating concepts of Buddhism is, "Everything is an Illusion." My first introduction to the concept of illusion was from a rock band called Styx. In the late 1970's they did a song called "Grand Illusion" (partial lyrics are referenced above). A melodious treatise on the human condition of comparing our insides to the outsides of others. It was a simple yet somehow very profound revelation for me. One that I have revisited many times over the decades. The Buddha believed, lived and taught that our perceptions mislead us into believing we are separate from the elements we are made of. We don't see things for what they truly are. A flower decaying doesn't talk and complain that it is dying because it doesn't have a mind to construct such an illusion.

In meditation we come to a state where the self disappears - all notions of EGO are gone. It may be for only a few seconds - it may be longer depending on the conditions of your meditative session. If you are a Christian and the Buddhist references cause you concern - I use it only as a teaching tool - we are all one. In Christianity the Illusion of life is primarily referred to in terms of Spiritual reality over physical reality. It is often referred to as Nondualism (meaning not two) and is the state where one realizes that we are neither physical or mental. The ultimate reality is spirit.

Wake Up Now

"Let life unfold like a flower..." ~ KCH
















When a flower is planted appropriately, feed sufficiently and watered enough, it will blossom.

When you practice meditation, cultivating a still mind and heart, you will awaken.

Space

Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.
Joseph Campbell

Observing thoughts without judgement, letting images pass through your minds eye, gently letting go of unwanted thoughts and emotions are very important tools for helping us get in touch with our core selves. Clarity rises above the clouds of doubt and confusion, head and heart become calm like a flowing river. Silent, seated meditation is my refuge. There I am awakened, renewed, recharged in the solitude. There I find my center.

When you have no tranquility within is it almost impossible to touch the tranquility around you. As you swirl in the internal chaos you only see chaos in others. Our core and the the world around us are a reflection of one another. Reality doesn't change, only our perspective does!

Finding space is as simple as sitting still until the dust around you settles.

Self Care 101

Self care is essentially about paying attention or being mindful to how you feel and taking action.


Self care seems on the surface to be a matter of routine, something we do ordinarily in the course of a day. We shower and tend to our basic necessities. Some of us spent time choosing colors and shapes of fabric to cloth ourselves in. Perhaps, next filling that emptiness in our bellies is on the priority list. Those who have the fortune and luxury of time spent hours fueling their physical bodies with exercise. If one is lucky they have a steady job to give them purpose. Such is the day of ordinary self care. Rinse, lather, repeat!

During a time of crisis and trauma these matters of routine become anchors that ground us. Simple, basic acts...aimed solely at maintaining some semblance of normalcy.

Spiritual self care may or may not be a part of your routine. But it can be attained and maintained even in the midst of chaos. Meditation is a practical way to settle your heart and mind. It can bring you clarity and calm knowing beyond the obvious. Sit quietly, relax your mind, relax your body. Breath in deeply and exhale gently. Pay attention to the space between the breath! For it is there that you find true self care.

Peace in the Valley

"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." ~ Teilhard de Chardin

Our journey into humanness is mostly spent wandering through the valley of our lives. From our struggles we are graced with brief respites on the mountain tops. There we gain strength of mind, body and spirit. Lightness of being gives us hope.

Although we have felt alone, we are not. We have been lifted up by our community of faith. Fellow travelers on this journey who assure us that all is forgiven, we all have scars, some of which are unseen. If we turn our hearts and minds to others our burdens are not so heavy to bear. Faith guides us to the waterfall of redemption.

These Moments in between the peaks and valley give us time to pause and reflect back on the path from which we have come. We wrestle violently with our thoughts of yesterday and gaze through the veil of uncertainty at what lie ahead. Our hearts encased behind walls of ice thaw and flow downward watering the ground beneath. There are no regrets, no sorrows; the veil is lifted and we ascend upward on gentle wings towards the sound of the still small voice calling in the darkness.

As we reach the pinnacle of our journey a bounty awaits. A breath of new life fills our being. We pause before our descent and intuitively know that for a moment there will be peace in the valley.

The Great Flood

Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. ~Abraham Lincoln

Two months ago one of my sons was diagnosed with bone cancer, Osteosarcoma, in his left femur. He'll have approximately 9 months of chemotherapy with limb salvage at month three. His prognosis is high at around seventy-plus percent. My strength has come in the moments of observing his courage and faith. As a Mom, dealing with his diagnosis and the very intense protocol, I have felt overwhelmed to the point that several times drowning in my own insanity seemed to be a near reality! Meditation has afforded me clarity, calmness and enough silence for me to begin to gain my footing.

The flood of emotions caused by our innate fight or flight mechanism is dangerous. Today as I meditated, I saw in my minds eye - the flood waters receding...I noticed that I felt calmer, safer and more at peace. My faith is being challenged, my son is suffering, grief twists through me like a hurricane - but in this moment I can stand firm, I can choose to look only at whats left when I think I'm one-hundred percent empty...and that is HOPE. And for that, I am grateful!

~Namaste

The Broken Road...

“One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can't utter.” ~ James Earl Jones


Some days as I sit and try to write...no words come out - at least not any that would make sense to those reading this blog. So after becoming frustrated - physically, mentally and emotionally...I slam the laptop closed and walk away. A very wise person once told me that one doesn't write because they want to say something, but rather they write because they have something to say! I feel like I have an awful lot to say - but as James Earl Jones so eloquently said, "...having words in your heart that you can't utter." Well, that's how I feel most days.


Basically, the reason I started meditating years ago was a constant and pervading feeling of utter frustration and angst... there are a few other extenuating circumstances (you know things like menopause!). Meditation takes me to a a place inside of me where I find love,comfort, support and guidance. There's no one there to speak harshly to me, or to judge me, no one cares what I wear or how I sound...just how I love and share the virtues that we've all been given. Some have called me a Mystic (as one who has direct communion with God) ...others say I'm Psyhcic (because I sometimes see things in past, present and future tense) - but I don't like labels much...so I'll just say - I'm just me struggling through life like many others - wondering what all this brokenness is really for.

I have read way too much philosophy (enough to make a sane person go stark raving mad). More physics than my brain can comprehend (okay I get hadrons and quarks...Oh, and black holes) - I find Metaphysics much closer to truth and can read it with ease. I have studied religion, psychology, mythology and parapsychology - they each helped me to put the pieces of my puzzle (my understanding) together. All to arrive at the conclusion that life is about the brokenness and how we handle it. Life isn't perfect...not mine...not yours...not any one's. And when you judge how you feel by how someone appears...you're not dealing with reality. For most, it seems the broken road is just "water off a ducks back." They don't ask too many questions, they believe what they are told, they follow the broken road where it leads them. Some of those people are even my friends...and I love them for being so obedient to the powers that be...however, I can assure you no one has even used obedient in a sentence with my name!

When you spend your life being rebellious - it comes with consequences. Sometimes very painful ones. What I have learned at mid life is life probably is more dualistic than not. It's about balance between our human nature and our spiritual nature...somewhere in the middle is called being centered! Having your head and heart in synch requires enormous discipline. That there are as many paths or "broken roads" as their are people - and our job is to help one another along the way. I know beyond a reasonable doubt that consciousness survives death. And God does bless the broken road - all you have to do is ask!

The Inward Journey

"Meditation raises consciousness and spirituality." ~KCH


A labyrinth is an ancient symbol of an inward journey that relates to wholeness. It's a representation of a journey to our own center and back out again. It is one of the many paths used for meditative journey's. We are all on a path and exactly where we need to be (whether we like it or not - it, the journey, becomes more bearable if we look for the lessons). For some of us it is difficult to stay on the path, for whatever reason our humanness colors our world (personal history, untapped coping skills, chemical imbalances,lack of focus, inadequate self discipline and rebellion - to name a few).

One of the goals of our spiritual journey is to try different methods of healing. Our personal history, religious upbringing, life's experiences and dedication to the journey will predicate which method of the inward journey works best for us. Life is a sacred journey, each moment is precious. The labyrinth represents a journey to our own center and we meander back out into the real world with a raised conscious and enhanced spirituality. It is a direct experience ...a circuitous path to the center and out again with a sense of wholeness and purpose.

Be Still

"We do not know God by thinking, but by encountering."
~St.John of the Cross

To still the body long enough for the mind to follow is a huge challenge for most of us. Our minds race, our senses become superimposed and we hear every sound and smell every fragrance around us. Lately I have been using a meditation room at a facility (due to circumstances beyond my control)...and I can hear people coming and going, children crying, an espresso machine (coffee smell and all), elevators doors opening and closing, someone even opened the door to the meditation room and peaked in! In some respects because of my awareness of the world around me - you could say I am being in the moment.

It sort of looks like being in the moment - but I'm not fully in my body so it doesn't count as being in the moment! In true meditation one pulls all of their senses inward, paying only attention to how we feel. How does it the rise and fall of our breath calm us? Do our thoughts start racing the longer we sit still? Is there a moment when you cross the bridge from consciousness to unconsciousness? Do you sit still long enough to fell that sense of clarity that we feel when we touch God?

Maybe it is....

"When calm your mind and your senses, you become conscious of your always-present inner Self"



Meditation has been around for approximately 5000 years. It just became prevalent in the West in the 1960's with the advent of the Beatles and there following of transcendental meditation. There are over 100 different types of meditation. Meditation is found in every faith tradition and spiritual discipline. What you hold in your heart as your believe system is what you bring to your meditative practice. You or your teacher, based on the information you've told them, decide on your intent for meditation.

Some call it a mystical practice. Maybe it is. It is the way to touch God within. To calm and center yourself. Stress is reduced, you feel better, others respond to you in a different way. If practiced correctly its a total mind-body complimentary medicine. Meditation daily to clear away the overload. There's a a reason meditaiton has been around for so very long - it works.

Consciousness

"When we shift our awareness or "frequency" from self-consciousness - where fear, impossibility or feelings of separation reside - to cosmic consciousness, which is in total harmony with the universe and where none of those feelings exist, then anything is possible." ~ Rhonda Bryne


What is consciousness? Have you ever contemplated the nature of self and existence? If so, you probably have an idea of consciousness. Simply stated, consciousness is the awareness that you are aware. It is also theorized as the relationship of mind and the world in which it interacts. In all forms of meditation there is much discussion about levels of consciousness. Each Spiritual discipline has its own language for how its describes reaching those levels. And why does it even matter whether you have a change in consciousness or not?

Dr. Jung theorized of a personal and collective unconscious, a part of the unconscious mind expressed in humanity. If that's so and humans are all about the greater good... then striving to make the unconscious known for sake of awareness and improving humanity seems the natural order of things. Plus, there's some really enlightening "stuff" that goes on down in there...and as the Dalai Lama so eloquently stated, "peace within equals peace without." We are all connected not only with nature but with each other, it's called interconnectedness. Meditation allows us go deep into the levels of consciousness and gain awareness to interact more fully in our lives - making conscious choices that not only affect us but every single person, place or thing that we come into contact with.

A Daily Walkabout

"What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well.”

During this journey called life we sometimes find ourselves wandering about in a spiritual desert. Much like the Ancient Israelites we wander. The land is dry and barren; hot, thirsty and lost - our souls often do not sense Gods presence. The Aboriginal culture of Australia have a purposeful soul journey for young adolescent males called a Walkabout. This rite of passage calls for a boy to leave his home and live in the wilderness for an extended period of time. A boy doesn't get to choose to leave the safety or security of his family, his home life. He is called by something deep within his being, the songs of his ancestors calls to him in a way that only he can hear. The tribe elders or Maliks serve as guide. They protect the boy, their wisdom enables him to come to wholeness in body, mind and spirit. He comes home transformed from a boy into a man and he is welcomed with open arms.


In daily meditation we can choose to take a spiritual walkabout. A period of dying to the infant self and surrendering to the God of our understanding. Much like the desert experience we touch the God within in a very direct way, beyond thought and form; beyond intellectual notions and we come into wholeness. Deep inside each of us underneath the clutter and chatter of our human minds - lay a place of healing. In the stillness we find the hope and strength necessary to journey another day.

Changing your Perspective

"If you are falling....dive."— Joseph Campbell


Often when we are faced with trauma or crisis our minds automatically reel from past to distant future in an almost simultaneous fashion. Racing thoughts set the innate primitive survival mechanism of fight or flight into lockdown mode, we are flooded with a sea of emotions - stuck between fleeing or preparing for intense battle. The surge in adrenaline caused by the sympathetic nervous system leads to feelings of emotional stress in our physical and emotional bodies. We become engaged in very self destructive patterns. The extremely overwhelming stress caused by our emotions becomes a heat seeking missile with the target being not only ourselves but anyone who crosses our path. This innate system of fight or flight is only intended for short term functioning. Locking in to the stress in such a violent way is damaging to our physical, mental and spiritual bodies. During this period of crisis one struggles to meditate and find the quiet stillness in the spiritual core. However, meditation is exactly what is needed to unlock the stress and find the strength to respond appropriately to what life throws at you.

In meditation the relaxation response is engaged. As we begin to relax we gain awareness and insights that otherwise couldn't be heard above the mental and emotional clutter. In the stillness one gains the ability to choose how they are going to respond to life on life's terms. When you change your perspective your experience of the world changes. With diligence and perserverance the mind finds the still moments and we gain the ability to decide how we are going to respond. We can choose in mid-flight to dive instead of fall!

Life Comes at You FAST

Two weeks ago, I found out that one of my twins has bone cancer (osteogenicsarcoma). Last week, he began his first round of chemotherapy (he's coping with the courage and strength of a great warrior). We're swimming against the most violent current of life that I've yet to face. Emotions from anger and rage to absolute numbness have pulsed non stop through my being! Meditation is still in fore front of my minds eye and a part of my daily self care. But, I've yet to gain much relief from the overwhelming sensation of stress that comes from knowing - my son has a very tough road ahead to make it to the ranks of cancer survivor!

Often when meditating I gain a peaceful sense of floating. It's as if I were riding in a raft above the sea of self, a pleasant sensation flows throughout my entire being and I am at one with the universe. Lately, I feel as though I were dumped out of the raft into treacherous white water and no one can throw the safety line within reach! My emotions are churning and extremely turbulent, the current taking me where it wants. My raft mates are flailing out of reach and I greatly fear for their lives.

Life comes at you fast! No matter how prepared you are you can never account for all the variables - mother natures rath is unpredictable. Two weeks ago, I sat in stillness and heard the words "bone cancer" so I made my son a Dr.'s appointment. Did it help to have a feeling of what was to come? Perhaps but the current is strong and moving swiftly. We are grateful for the love and support that we have received from our religious community, neighbors and friends!

Meditation and Beyond

"To Meditate is to exercise the mind in serious reflection." ~ Thomas Merton












Meditation, an ancient spiritual discipline, is for those who yearn for truth. A reality beyond facts and ideas found in intellectual pursuit. In the meditative state we absorb the knowledge we have taken in through our mind and have direct experience with the deeper realities of life. In the fruitful silence we reach the truest communion with God.

Awakening

"This is Spirituality: Waking up." ~ Meister Eckhart

Are you struggling? Is there a tiny voice deep inside of you whispering, "I've had enough" ? Or, has your internal world become so chaotic that it's spewing out onto the world around you? Struggles are a necessary part of life, without them we don't grow. If you have enough awareness to recognize your struggles then you have what it takes to awaken. Awakening is simply coming to the awareness of how limiting your mind can be. To awaken is to live more fully in the present moment.

Meditation 101

"Through intellect one seeks...through Meditation one finds!"~KCH


Meditation is an intentional mode of consciousness used to realize unlimited possibilities. It is an ancient practice found in all Eastern and Western Spiritual Disciplines. The practice of meditation is simple and can be used either in solitude or in a group setting. There are many types of meditation, for the purpose of this blog we focus on seated meditation techniques used to withdraw one's senses and mind from the external world in order to rest in the inner world of self.

Through the practice of regularly stilling the body and mind one comes to a place of knowing, awareness which manifest outwardly as an abundance of limitless possibilities. The benefits of meditation can be outlined and researches have been mapping them for several decades now, however each practitioners experience is as unique as the individual. Your outcome from the experience is largely dependent upon your dedication to the practice and your intent. With any method of meditation you bring your whole self - mind, body, spirit...your history and understanding of the world around you. In the stillness you touch your inner resources...your reality.

Beginners Meditation:
A simple meditation for beginners is to find a quiet and comfortable place, free from outside distractions. Light a candle and set a timer for a specified number of minutes and commit to sitting for the duration of time chosen, ex. 3,7, 9 or 11 minutes. Set a mental intention, for example - "to know stillness" (mentally say to yourself "I will know stillness"). Sit comfortably, close your eyes and relax by taking several deep breaths. Your mind will unwind by running through past, present and even future thought patterns...when you remember bring your attention back to the conscious act of breathing in and out. Your thoughts may reel alternately with your becoming aware of your breath throughout your entire session - this is normal and the more you practice the more easily you will find the still moments.

Are you Listening?

How do the geese know when to fly to the sun? Who tells them the seasons? How do we, humans, know when it is time to move on? As with the migrant birds, so surely with us, there is a voice within, if only we would listen to it, that tells us so certainly when to go forth into the unknown.
~ Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

Do you listen with your heart or with your head? If we could have felt what Horton was feeling in "Horton Hears a Who" - we would surely have experienced doubt - our reality threatened by the preposterous notion that a voice lower than a whisper was speaking to us from outside of our physical bodies. But Horton, being a brilliant imaginary character from the world of Dr. Seuss...listened with his heart and not his head.

We are not imaginary creatures (or at least I hope we aren't), we are human beings doing what humans do more often than not...for most of us that's listening with our heads. For listening with our hearts to the voices that speak from not only outside of our physical beings but to the voices that speak from deep within us requires us to utilize a very underestimated but extremely valuable skill of quieting our own incessant roaring minds. In the quiet stillness of our hearts is a reservoir of light and love that once tapped will spring forth an abundance of compassion that will envelope us with a radiance so bright that we can never forget it and we will call for it in those moments of humanness...those inevitable moments of darkness.

Listening with our hearts may very well be an act of Grace! For to do so we must forgo our own agendas and stop hearing only the words of another. Simply this means we don't have an answer ready after a person says three words to us. Listening with your heart is about listening to the whole person - what the other is saying - MIND, BODY and SOUL. Listening to the voices that tug and pull from within require the same diligence. Meditation is about listening ...for when you still your body long enough your mind will surely follow. Are you listening...really?

Bridge to Authenticity

"Breath is the bridge from doing to being..." ~KC HICKS

Do you ever feel like an impostor in your own body? When you look in a mirror does the reflection staring back at you seem like a stranger?


We spend most of our lives being defined by others. As children we become masters at the fine art of "reading" our parents - we learn to act and react in a way that is pleasing to them. In our teen years we try to break free from the confines of our parent/child relationship only to fall into a cycle of acting and reacting to the ways that are acceptable to our peers. Somewhere in our mid twenties some of us begin to get a sense of who we really are and set out on a path of becoming - except that for most of us that path is about gaining recognition for our material accomplishments. There is nothing necessarily wrong with becoming who our parents want us to be, their expectations can be wonderful boundaries and guidelines. And it is not a necessarily a negative when we behave in a way that's acceptable to our peers, some of us may NEED this sense of direction! Material accomplishments can springboard us to places we might otherwise never go and that's not a bad thing. But for some - we wake up at mid life and realize that we've spent our whole lives being defined by others.

In meditation, breath is often used as a metaphor of a bridge. The breath bridges the span from the business in our heads to a calm well deep inside of our beings. With a regular meditative practice of stilling our hearts and minds we slowly come to know the most authentic part of ourselves. At first even this place may seem as if we are an impostor and it may feel as if we are a stranger in a foreign land. With time, patience, we come to know that this still place inside of us has been there all along - waiting for us to arrive, yearning and longing for integration. From this calm center - we begin to choose our actions and reactions. In this place we are being who we were meant to be...authentically integrated into a whole in body, mind and soul.