The Way of the Heart -A way to relax your body, calm your mind and embrace your soul…inspired spiritual living with Jane Rosalea Brown, Author of In Silence, Discovering Self through Meditation (Author name Jane Rosalea Booth) Meaford, Ontario
Meditation…a time within my heart…has always been my refuge. As I meditate, I embark on a journey that takes me within to listen to what I call my “soul self” and where I often view a beautiful place, often a garden. In this ‘garden’ I feel safe and protected. As I listen, I begin to feel an intimate relationship. I feel a spiritual presence, a connection, a sacred moment. It is a wondrous experience that is difficult to describe, but it always calms me and gives me a place to release my fears…and fill my heart with hope.
This spiritual practice of meditation gives me a refuge in darken times. It is helping me now. I hold deep gratitude for the ‘Spirit’ that flows through me and all life. In this way, my life becomes sacred and I evolve, create and love more deeply. In this way, I can bring peace to myself and my family.
Yet, each day our news is filled with news of war, destruction with families and children suffering. My heart aches and I try to comfort my friends who have family and friends in the Middle East.
My prayers and love are with those who are suffering through so much loss and devastation. Only love, forgiveness and compassion will heal, but now anger and rage is flowing. Hopefully, there are billions of loving people in the world that will support families as they rebuild and move on to create a better, peaceful life….that is the vision I hold for them in my heart.
The Persian poet Hafiz says “Now is the time to know”.
Now is the time to know That all that you do is sacred. Now, why not consider A lasting truce with yourself and God?
“Now is the time to understand That all your ideas of right and wrong Were just a child’s training wheels To be laid aside When you can finally live with veracity and love.
Now is the time for the world to know That every thought and action is sacred. That this is the time For you to compute the impossibility That there is anything But Grace.
Now is the season to know That everything you do Is Sacred”
Hafiz (1325 –1389) Persian Mystical Poet.
May the presence of ‘sacredness’…a spirit of love…that unites and flows through the hearts of all beings bring hope and comfort today. May we return to love.
When I was in my thirties, I was traveling with a group in China. I was unsettled and not sure where my life was going. A woman, whom I had just met on the trip, said to me “Jane, you reveal everything on your face.” I felt uncomfortable by these words and I realized that she was seeing my unhappiness. It made me think about how I was revealing myself, perhaps too much, and how I didn’t want others to know all my feelings. There are many reasons we may want to hold back and not share all of ourselves.
But I have discovered how wonderful it is when we find a friend whom we can trust and share our deepest thoughts! It is such a gift to our soul! It is through our relationships we learn how to love and learn what we value in life.
I thought of the lady in China when I saw a Stress Management form. The sheet was a form where you had to reply to various statements, but this one caught my eye~
“Anyone watching me could tell what’s really important to me in life”
(1)Definitely (2) I think so and (3) no way.
We are always looking out into the world at others, but how are we showing ourselves to the world?
What was I revealing to that lady? My sadness, my fear or did she see my deep concern for what I was seeing in the cities of China…?
How often has someone said to you about someone, ‘Oh, she’s really nice once you get to know her’? Or, ‘He just looks tough, but he’s an old softy inside.’
Why are we afraid to reveal ourselves to the world? We should all be radiating our true self but we hold back. I know there are things about myself and my life I do not share. We all have private memories and that’s okay. But what am I revealing to others each day?
If your answer to the above statement is (3) noway, perhaps it is time for you to open up and take a step to trust in yourself, trust others…to reveal yourself. There are times when we are grieving, angry or fearful. Sharing with another helps us to relieve stress in these moments. It can be a time of love and bonding. Love is always supportive and uplifting!
“What do I value…what is really important in my life? I hope that people can now see, when they look at me, what I value…my family, friends…love, compassion and peace. There are many values such as love, justice, honesty, patience, integrity, tolerance, diversity, that can be reflected in our lives by what we are doing.
We tend to forget how important each person is! We need you to reveal your true self each day, so anyone who is watching you can tell what your values are and how they make the world a better place.
You may encourage others to be peaceful and kind without saying a word…just by being you and allowing others to see your inner beauty.
I never saw that lady I met in China again, but I never forgot how she taught me to be more self-aware. Still learning this lesson…awareness is an ever evolving process…
I love these words by Marianne Williamson~
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
The Grandmothers Wisdom Project is inspired by thirteen elder women known as the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers. We are committed to supporting all people reclaiming their relationship to Mother Earth, calling for a profound transformation in the heart, mind, and spirit.
Here are some beautiful thoughts for us to embrace. Deepest Gratitude to the Grandmothers for sharing their wisdom.
The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers revered elders offering essential wisdom and healing for you and our world~
“I had a vision the ancestors told us to heal the world. When we heal ourselves, we also heal our ancestors, our grandmothers, our grandfathers, and our children. When we heal ourselves, we also heal mother earth.” Grandmother Rita Pitka Blumenstein
“The most important Journey we will ever take is the 18 inches from our mind to our heart.” Grandmother Agnes Baker Pilgrim
“We are here to let the beauty, love and joy continue so when you walk through this journey, the earth is the better for it. We can give back love, generosity and forgiveness when we ’see’ rightly. Yesterday was history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is our gift! What part will you play today?!”
Grandmother Aama Bombo, Nepal
I converse with the wind. Everything is air. I call the wind as God. They sit with us and they sit on my tongue and they speak through me.”
Grandmother Agnes Baker Pilgrim
“The Sundance is very sacred to our Oglala Lakota peoples. As you support the ceremony in a respectful way, something good will come to you and your people as well.” Rita Long Visitor Holy Dance
“Every morning I get up and I pray for all sentient beings…humans, animals, even birds – they all need happiness.” Grandmother Tsering Dolma Gyaltong
“Our people know that the land and the language are one. If we lose one or the other we are no longer who we say we are.” Grandmother Beatrice Long Visitor Holy Dance
“My elders said, ‘Know where your water comes from. Know your fire. Know where you are going to find your food.’” Grandmother Mona Polacca
“Everyone lightens. Each one of us is moving and vibrating as we become one as the light beings we are. All of us have been called. All of us feel the change and know the urgency of becoming One.” Grandmother Flordemayo Guatemala
“Leadership is the highest spiritual calling, and as leaders, the starting point begins with you – managing your whole self – by utilizing the spirit that lies within your identity and the strength of your culture.” Grandmother Mona Polacca
Thank you Grandmothers for your dedication to all beings and for being leaders for us to make our world
How beautiful we feel in the presence of love. Our spirits are lifted and the world becomes a gentler and more compassionate place. The beauty of love is that not a word has to be spoken.
When it is present, all who are in a space where love is shared have the opportunity to embrace it and to fill their hearts with it.
Then the cycle of love occurs as love flows out from those hearts who have received it and a new space is created where love continues to flow, to heal, to bring joy in infinite ways.
“Let us love since our heart is made of nothing else”
In 2004, I was ordained as a Minister of Spiritual Peacemaking in the Beloved Community, by founder James Twyman. I spent two years studying about how to create peace through religions, indigenous cultures, philosophers and spiritual new age authors, holistic energy work and so on. At that time, I was going through personal challenges in my relationships at work and at home. The biggest thing I learned was that if I wanted peace, I had to create peace. I had to be peace. Gandhi said, ‘if you want change, be the change’ and his words now had deeper meaning to me.
I began to feel more peaceful through my mindfulness and heart love meditations, through forgiveness of myself and others, and saying ‘Yes’ to peace and really meaning it! I began to see people and situations in a new light. This wasn’t an instant cure for all my problems, but it did help me when my business partner left, my boyfriend left and in 2007, I had breast cancer. But during this time, I was feeling more and more peaceful and while I healed from cancer, this inner peace, a place of love within, sustained me. I healed from cancer and have been well. There was more happiness…my boyfriend became my loving husband and my business partner is still a dear friend! I wrote my book “In Silence, Discovering Self through Meditation” and created Peaceful Way Women’s gatherings and met wonderful women who are still in my life today. Love and peace made this happen!
Choosing peace in your life may seem like an impossible task. It comes when you make an intention to be peaceful and calm when situations are difficult. It comes from knowing that ‘love is the answer’ to all problems. It comes from ‘seeing the beauty and blessings’ that nature provides for us each day. And feeling ‘a spiritual connection’, the great unknown mystery, an unexplainable loving feeling, that guides us to move more deeply into love and is always present.
Let us know peace.
For as long as the moon shall rise,
For as long as the rivers shall flow,
For as long as the sun shall shine,
For as long as the grass shall grow,
Let us know peace.
— Cheyenne Prayer
It is no longer good enough to cry peace, we must act peace, live peace and live in peace.
~Shenandoah Wisdom
May each of us, in our own way, create more peace in our lives each day.
In these challenging days, we can spend a lot of time trying to understand what is happening within our families, communities and the world. Our fears and anxieties can build. Meditation can bring relief from our daily stresses, but sometimes it can be difficult to meditate and to find a place of stillness within. But I have found with the practice of focusing on my breathing…in and out…and gradually relaxing my mind and body, I begin to allow myself to move my thoughts into my heart. I like to put my hands over my heart. Our heart is a sacred space that invites us into its gentleness and love. Then I am ready to move more deeply into a place of ‘surrender’.
As you begin to relax with your eyes closed, you can visualize a place that you love…like a beach, park, garden, your room. Now gently begin to shift your thoughts away from your outer problems and allow a cozy, warm place to unfold within your heart’s consciousness. As your mind becomes quiet and your body relaxes, it will reflect this inner sanctuary.
This warm, loving feeling will comfort you as you allow yourself to be held and embraced within. Let go of trying to make things work. See yourself stretching out your hands and letting go of your worries…see them dissolving.
Now you can make room for what you truly wants to be created from within you…
Making space…releasing, surrendering our fears, opening our hearts…we begin to lift and see a new space…hope, love, new creations…
Remember we do not have to figure everything out or try to make others change. There is always the unknown in our lives….simply embrace the beauty of your true self…and miracles will begin to unfold…the universe responds, loves you, guides and embraces you!
So how do we surrender while we are meditating?
I like to begin with some mantras…words that I repeat several times.
As you begin to meditate say…
”I am revealed in surrender.”
Surrender, I awaken to your calling in this moment
I surrender…
I release my old limitations and fears,
I feel them all, see them all, touch them all
I allow them all to be released through my heart
I awaken to the calling of my heart
I surrender,
I surrender to love within my sacred heart
And in the very core of my being
I am ready to act with love and compassion
I trust in the unfolding Universe
I am filled with gratitude,
love and trust…
I listen for guidance within my heart.
Take time in silence and listen within…
Bring those beautiful thoughts back into your daily life…
John O’Donohue was an Irish poet, author and teacher of Celtic spirituality As we have just experienced the Vernal Equinox with equal amount of daylight and night, his blessing poem for Equilibrium is a lovely way to welcome our New Moon today. The New Moon a great time to set new intentions and to align yourself with the direction of your soul’s growth as we move into the freshness of Spring.
“For Equilibrium, a Blessing: Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore, May the relief of laughter rinse through your soul.
As the wind loves to call things to dance, May your gravity by lightened by grace.
Like the dignity of moonlight restoring the earth, May your thoughts incline with reverence and respect.
As water takes whatever shape it is in, So free may you be about who you become.
As silence smiles on the other side of what’s said, May your sense of irony bring perspective.
As time remains free of all that it frames, May your mind stay clear of all it names.
May your prayer of listening deepen enough to hear in the depths the laughter of god.”
― John O’Donohue,
From To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings
As I walked through the nearby woods on this snowy morning, I reflected on Hafiz’s words, written in the 14th century about aging.
The impermanence of the body should give us great clarity, deepening the wonder in our senses and eyes of this mysterious existence we share and are surely just traveling through. ~ Hafiz, Persian Poet , translator unknown
Hafiz’s words made me think of where I am on my ‘traveling through”. Soon I will be 77 years old. Yet, the wonder and mystery of life, a presence, still deepens within me. It still calls me to see the beauty of life, to be touched by the natural way, and to live with compassion for all beings. This presence wandered with me through the woods, as it does each day, as I reflected about the wonders of aging and the gifts that this time of life has to offer.
I realized that my “beliefs’ are melting away and like Hafiz, I feel like I am passing through…a story, my story, my creation…and what a journey it has been! Ups and downs…and in between! And I know I can keep creating, sharing and “being” my story in this present moment! I know I am captain of my journey but I am not alone…I am connected to all beings, to everything in the universe. Even as I age, my every thought and action affect everything else. So my life, as long as I am here, is important. And what I leave as a legacy is important too. What an empowering thought. Thank you Hafiz.
A Haiku from my morning walk inspired by Hafiz,
winter stillness
infinite spirit calls
deep within
By Jane Rosalea Brown
May we all move more deeply into our senses with clarity and wonder!
Now is the time to move from our outer world of beliefs and views to trusting our inner wisdom and intuition. As we meditate or pray, let us embark on a sacred journey that takes us within to discover and to embrace our truth…our soul self…our inner beauty and personal power…to experience an intimate relationship with all of creation.
Now is the time to begin each day with a heart of gratitude for all the gifts of abundance that we receive each day…the air, the water, the fire and the earth. Everything is presence. All is one with us. Be grateful for the beauty in nature, for all the plants, insects, animals, for visible and invisible beings, for all the people in our world, for the gift of life…that unfolds in beautiful ways when we join together in peace and harmony. Let us practice reciprocity by returning our love and caring for them.
May we hold deep gratitude in our hearts for the ‘Spirit’ that flows through us and all life…
In this way, our life becomes sacred and we evolve, create and love more deeply…
The Persian poet Hafiz says “Now is the time to know”
Now is the time to know That all that you do is sacred. Now, why not consider A lasting truce with yourself and God?
“Now is the time to understand That all your ideas of right and wrong Were just a child’s training wheels To be laid aside When you can finally live with veracity and love.
Now is the time for the world to know That every thought and action is sacred. That this is the time For you to compute the impossibility That there is anything But Grace.
Now is the season to know That everything you do Is Sacred”
Hafiz (1325 –1389) Persian Mystical Poet.
From the heart of sacredness within me, I greet the heart of sacredness within you.
Canadians are experiencing wintry days with less sunshine. I’m taking my Vitamin D and C daily! Still I feel less energetic during this time of the year. I am enjoying going for walks, reading, writing and watching movies! I love that I have time to relax and rest…a gift of retirement. But stressful events can still appear in all our lives, especially if you have a daily job, family, pets and friends who all want your attention. However, we can learn to reduce our stressful feelings. We don’t have to suffer from stress. We can release it and allow our bodies to feel relaxed and filled with positive energy.
Becoming aware of where stress settles in our body is important and learning to use our breath to relax really relieves stress and brings all the cells of our body into harmony. We often don’t think of ourselves as being trillions of cells working together, but as we move through a progressive relaxation practice, each of our cells will benefit by feeling calmer energy moving through us from our head to our toes! Once we feel relaxed, we can spend quiet moments in meditation. You can even practice this at work when you take a break!
Let’s begin!
Find a comfortable position, either lying down or sitting in a straight back chair, whichever feels best to you today. Take a few nice deep breaths, bringing your awareness fully into the present moment. Let go of any busy thoughts preventing you from tapping into your inner essence.
Take your awareness to your breath
Let your breath come and go as it will. Say…breathing in “I am” and breathing out “relaxed” As you do this breathing in and out your body will begin to relax. You will find with practice, your body will relax quickly when you say “I am…relaxed”. Our brain remembers it is time to relax!
Now become aware of the subtle movements in your body as you breathe in and breathe out. Breathing naturally noticing any physical sensations anywhere in your body. Try not to judge them, but just become aware of them as you move your awareness through your body. Simply scan your body…where do you feel tightness or pain?
As you scan your body, if you encounter tension anywhere simply use the power of your mind to melt it away, as easily as warm water melts ice. I like the word ‘dissolving”. Think of your discomfort or illness as ‘dissolving’ or melting away. Say “I allow my pain to dissolve”.
Progressive relaxation allows us to relax all our muscles, joints, organs…all our cells and we breath in and out…letting go of our tensions…
Starting at the top of your head, breath in…breath out…relax your scalp completely. Feel the skin of your forehead and temples relax. Allow your eye muscles to release, your jaw to soften, and let your ears, nose and chin, teeth tongue and gums relax. Now, just let this peaceful feeling flow down your neck. Feel it soothe your throat and dissolve any tension on contact as it glides down to your shoulders, upper arms, forearms, wrists and hands.
Let this peaceful sensation of relaxation begin to fill your torso. Feel it relax your chest, giving your heart more room to grow more expansive; more loving, giving and forgiving. Continue breathing in and out gently…Soften your belly muscles and let this relaxation penetrate even deeper, releasing any tension from your internal organs.
Now let it wrap around you, enveloping you in love and peace as it softens all the back muscles all the way down to the base of the your spine. Continue to breathe in deep, fluid breaths. Breathe in health, happiness and harmony, breathe out any tension, toxins, worries or disease, allowing anything that does not serve you to leave your body…dissolving away.
Send this peaceful feeling into your hips and buttocks. Let it glide down your thighs, relaxing your legs completely as it flows down to your knees, calves, ankles and feet. Allow any remaining tension from anywhere in your body to flow out your toes, leaving your whole body feeling very comfortable, peaceful and relaxed.
Continue to breathe deeply, relaxing breaths, feeling your belly rise on the inhale and fall on the exhale. Notice how the air feels cooler as you breathe in, and warmer as you breathe out.
Meditate…in silence to feel the love within
Now you may enjoy a few minutes in quiet meditation…your thoughts are quiet, your body is relaxed…allow yourself to simply enjoy a few minutes of peace…move your thoughts within to your heart and feel its gentle embrace…
When you are ready, breathing gently, open yours eyes and feeling refreshed, return to your day! Practice progressive relaxation everyday!
May the positive energy and love of the universe surround and flow through you!
A Peaceful Way Meditation 