Become What You Believe – Week 3

I love the daily emails from Oprah and Deepak which provide the centering thought for the day but also sets the intention for meditation. I love how they explain this intention and connect it back to the self. In addition to the daily emails is a weekly email. The email at the end of Week 2 included this:

As we prepare for our third week, in which we’ll bring everything together to help unite the world through belief, we encourage you to reflect on the transformations you’ve experienced so far:

• How have you changed since you began?
• In what ways have your new positive, pure core beliefs been reflected back to you?
• How has expanded awareness of your beliefs changed your relationship with yourself and others?

I don’t really know how to answer these questions. What I can say is I find myself feeling a lot calmer in general. Things are stressful at work so I am stressing at work but with all other areas of my life I have definitely felt at ease. I missed a couple of days towards the end of the week and I really noticed a difference in how I felt and how I acted. On the days I meditated I felt like I came from a place of love and was more loving. On the days that I didn’t I felt like I came from a place of fear but I am glad for these days and for this 21 Day Meditation Experience because it makes me think about what fear based belief I was acting on. So now I think about what the fear is, acknowledge it and think about what core belief I could be acting on instead.

I’ve always lived in my head and not really felt my emotions (until I hold them in for too long that I end up over-emotional). I am working on marrying my head with my heart so I really got a lot out of the Day 17 meditation. The meditation looked at the unifying power of faith and explained:

We have developed an understanding of faith as the shared value of our core beliefs. This experience of faith is felt as love in our hearts. To live our faith is to live as a loving person. That means our life is directed from our loving center, our true self. We do this by finding situations around us where our love can make a difference, and then extending ourselves in acts of love. These acts are done without any thought of receiving something in return. However, this heart-to-heart connection always brings countless benefits to both the giver and receiver.

It was around this time that I came across a lot of blogs and Instagram posts about the power of giving. And today I received this great post from Danielle LaPorte in my inbox. You can read it here.

I had always been such a giving person but then felt like I was always giving and never receiving anything in return or getting taken advantage of. On my self-development journey this year I have been feeling called to give but unsure about how to give and scared about giving too much. But after this meditation I feel like I can let go of that fear and start giving which I truly believe will form part of my new self-care regime. I want to start practicing self-love every day and in doing so I want to fill my cup so much that it overflows so I have no option but to give. With this slow recovery from adrenal fatigue I am finding it hard to fill my cup but I know I will get there. And when I do I know it will make my soul happy to just give.

The meditation for Day 19 was called Faith Heals at the Soul Level and explained:

This experience of the soul is who we are – it is our wholeness. The soul is the source of our joy, truth, beauty, and infinite potential. When we live from this level of life, we are immediately connected to and supported by other souls. We heal and are healed in return.

 I think this pretty much sums up how and why giving will make my soul happy :)

Here’s a summary of the week:

Day 15 – Belief Embraces All Differences

The mantra Sarvatva Namah declares that the wholeness of the universe dwells within our individual consciousness.

Day 16 – Faith Creates a New Reality

The mantra Om Shanti Om settles the emotional body and soothes the heart.

Day 17 – Faith Connects Us Heart-to-Heart

The mantra Aham Prema is an affirmation that your core Self is pure love, and it puts your life energy in resonance with the love principle running through existence.

Day 18 – Faith Guides Our Journey

The mantra Saha Navavatu is the beginning of an invocation asking that our journey of awakening be harmoniously accompanied by others who support us, nourish us, and enlightened us.

Day 19 – Faith Heals at the Soul Level

The mantra Om Sharavana activates the purposeful force of intention to transform present circumstances into favorable opportunities.

Day 20 – Living By the Light of Truth

The mantra Satyame Vijayate affirms that the core truth of life is always victorious.

Day 21 – Beyond Belief Lies True Knowledge

The mantra Om Aieem Hreem makes your mind clearer, stronger, more flexible, and more receptive by opening consciousness to its own true nature.

Bonus Day 22 – Your Path to Wholeness

The mantra Aham Brahmasmi affirms that the true nature of your Self is the wholeness of the universe. Your Being resonates as the truth of cosmic existence.

At the end of the week I received the final weekly email which perfectly summed up that we had learned to:

• shift our beliefs from “us versus them” to “we are one,” so that we recognize our own self in everyone and everything
• find our own truth within that moves us toward love, freedom, and wholeness
• harness the power of belief to guide our spiritual transformation
• ignite the energy of belief into a harmonious force that unites the world in our common humanity

I truly enjoyed and appreciated every day of this 21 Day Meditation Experience and I have definitely felt the benefits of daily meditation. I don’t know how I will go meditating on my own but I am determined to keep my spiritual practice going. I don’t want to go back to using my old apps for guided meditation but I do know I love guided meditation. Maybe I will purchase the 21 Day Meditation Experience and do it all again. I just wish the Australian dollar was stronger right now.

I’d love to hear from you if you did the 21 Day Meditation Experience. What were your thoughts? How did you feel? Or if you already have a strong meditation experience what tips do you have for me? I’d love to hear from you too. Namaste xx

UPDATE: I caught up on some saved emails and videos this morning and one of them was this great email from Marie Forleo which I think perfectly sums up how I want my meditation practice to be. I guess there was a reason I didn’t read the email when it arrived in my inbox earlier this week. I knew I wasn’t ready for it. This morning it was the perfect message. You can have a read here.

And then I received an email from Gabbrielle Bernstein with a link to her beginner’s guide which you can read here.

Become What You Believe – Week 2

Last week I posted about starting the 21 Day Meditation Experience. You can read that post here. Week 1 was about learning how powerful our beliefs our. Week 2 was about learning how to direct these powerful core beliefs and in the first meditation we learn that:

our core beliefs are the most intimate beliefs we hold about ourselves – about who we are and what matters most to us.

I’ve attended workshops or training sessions where I’ve had to list my beliefs or values before and I’ve always struggled to answer this. I think part of it is the perfectionist in me and being scared my beliefs and the ‘wrong’ beliefs. Which ties in with the second part of the problem which is I think too much and don’t trust my heart. I am working to deal with my emotions and marry my head with my heart but it’s hard work. So this week when Deepak started talking core beliefs I started freaking out because I didn’t know what any of my beliefs were, let alone what my core beliefs were. It was like he anticipated my fear because over the next few days Deepak spoke about four core beliefs:

These were beliefs I felt aligned with. But at the same time I was aware that in my head I believe them but in my heart I still have the fear and insecurities that they might not be true. So again I still needed to work on marrying my head with my heart. And with the daily meditations this week I feel like I am finally learning how to. Here’s a summary of the week:

Day 8 – Bringing Core Beliefs to Light

The mantra Ravaye Hum activates the radiance of our spiritual light, expressing our true nature as luminous awareness.

Day 9 – Turning Belief into Power

The mantra Ahrah Kahrah awakens the energy of creativity, transformation, and materialization.

Day 10 – Living from Your Core

The mantra Sampriya Hum brings the pure love of our non-local, immortal Self into our physical, localized Self, establishing the true foundation for self-love and self-worth.

Day 11 – Getting Past Obstacles and Boundaries

The mantra Om Gum Namah integrates your awareness with the infinite organizing power of Nature.

Day 12 – Healing Self-Judgment

The mantra Om Aieem Namah activates the creativity within pure awareness.

Day 13 – Self-Compassion Brings You into the Present

The mantra Karuna Hum helps you develop deep compassion for all living beings, by knowing and experiencing others as part of your own Self.

Day 14 – The Path to Personal Power

The mantra Paramesh Wari Namah invokes the sum total of the creative potential of creation.

I did the Day 13 daily meditation the day after the Paris and Beirut attacks. The focus was compassion and during my meditation I kept thinking of all the lives that had been lost and the lives that had been impacted. I felt the power of that meditation and later that morning I came across this post on my Instagram feed. Nourish Melbourne and 1 Giant Mind were hosting a mass meditation for peace. We feel so sad and helpless when atrocities happen in the world and this was just one way to show support to the families directly affected. The invitation was to sit together for a 15 minute meditation with the intention of unity,love and peace.

By meditating together, as a unified force, we significantly amplify the vibrational energy and power of our intention.

I had felt a touch of this vibrational energy in my own meditation an again the next day during Day 14 meditation.

The focus on this day was personal power. I have been on a journey of self discovery and felt like this meditation was an acknowledgement of the work I had done so far and encouragement to keep going. I had never believed in the power of mass prayer or meditation. The cynic in made thought if we could all join together and heal the world then why hasn’t it happened already? But now that I have felt a touch of the power it has made me think what if we all stepped into our own personal power and felt compassion for all living beings, how powerful would that be?

Become What You Believe – Week 1

 

 If you have never heard of the 21 Day Meditation Experience here’s a little summary. It’s an guided mediation series with Oprah and Deepak Chopra. Each series has a different focus and each day has a centering thought based on this focus. After signing up you receive daily emails and you can do the guided meditation on the website or you can download the app. 

What I love about the 21 day meditation experience is the focus of each series. And I think the reason is two-fold. For one I feel like it gives me a purpose to meditate. As a beginner I find it very hard to sit still and focus on my breath so I guess having a ‘purpose’ gives me a ‘reason’ to take 20 minutes out of my day and focus on me. I’m sure I’m not the only one that feels they have to justify ‘me time’ when there is a never ending list of to-do items that could be getting done. 

The other reason I love the focus of the series is how it feels like mini life lessons. I have been on a personal growth journey these past couple of years and am always eager to soak up new information. I feel myself drawn to the ‘airy-fairy’ side of things but still have my feet firmly planted in the mainstream convential world. I love reading about all the new science coming out about the benefits of meditation and mindfulness and I feel that builds the bridge between the two world for me. 

And then comes the focus for this meditation series. Become what you believe. Our beliefs are what drives us and they are powerful. As the email I received on Day 1 puts it:

 Out beliefs are always in motion, constantly influencing our thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Our unconscious beliefs are always affecting us as well. To use the power of belief to our greatest benefit, we need to become self-aware. In doing so, we attune our beliefs to our deepest spiritual aspirations. As we continue this Meditation Experience over the next few weeks, we will see our beliefs manifest as greater love, purpose, and meaning in our lives. 

Each day a new meditation is released and with it is a centering thought and a mantra. Here is a summary for the first week: 

Day 1 – Belief is Dynamic and Alive

The mantra Om Bhavam Namah helps to open our awareness to its source, which is pure consciousness.

Day 2 – Belief Gives Us Identity

The mantra So Hum affirms our existence as pure awareness. We are not our body, mind, or ego – we simply are.

Day 3 – Bringing Hidden Beliefs into the Light of the Self

The mantra Om Ritam Namah brings our awareness, understanding, and beliefs into accord with cosmic reality.

Day 4 – Your Positive Beliefs Shape Your Potential

The mantra Sat Chit Ananda describes the full reality of our true Self: who we really are.

Day 5 – What You Identify With, You Become

The mantra Sahas Rara Eem activates a powerful flow of universal knowledge and inspiration into our individual awareness.

Day 6 – Self-Awareness Brings Belief to Light

The mantra Om Hreem Namah simplifies the mind, bringing clarity and unity.

Day 7 – Belief Includes Mind, Body, and Spirit

The mantra Om Ram Ramaya activates balance, strength, and healing in all aspects of life, but especially in the body.

I really enjoyed the insights I got with daily meditation. The one that really resonated with me was when Deepak talked about flipping ‘I’ll believe it when I see it’ on its head and turning it around into ‘I’ll see it when I believe it’. I’ve never really been one to think outside the box but I have really been trying to expand my mind so I guess that’s why this really stood out to me. I can’t wait to see what stands out next week :) 

Manifesting Grace through Gratitude – Week 3

I made the switch to meditating in the morning. No more falling asleep mid meditation, although I did lie in bed for my morning meditation :) I know it’s not ideal but I’m all about making small changes and making it work for me. The mornings are too cold to get out of bed so I made the choice to continue to lie in bed after my alarm goes off and listen to the daily meditation. I think it really worked for me because I could treat myself with a little lie-in in bed whilst still listening to the guided meditation.

I have really enjoyed this 21 Day Experience and I am sad that it has come to an end. I love listening to the soft dulcet tones of Oprah and Deepak Chopra’s voices. I could just listen to them all day! I love listening to them set the intention for the meditation. I like knowing there’s a purpose. I guess that’s part of why I’ve struggled with meditation in the past. Just sitting there trying to focus on my breath and repeating a mantra to still my mind isn’t enough, even though it should be lol!

I don’t know if it’s practicing meditation in general or the focus of this meditation experience but I do know that I am not the same person I was 3 weeks ago. I feel more at peace and more centered. I feel like I am on the right path to discover and share my life’s purpose. I feel lighter. I feel joy. I feel good.
Is this what grace feels like?

Manifesting Grace through Gratitude – Week 2

I thought I had only missed a day or two of the daily meditations until I received an email in my inbox on Thursday asking where I had been. I woke up the next morning and it was too cold to wake up and workout so I decided to lie in my warm and comfy bed and start catching up on my meditation.

I know lying in bed isn’t the best way to meditate but I figured if it was the only way I was going to do it then that was good enough for me. And it was only then that I discovered I hadn’t even meditated once this week! I was shocked. I truly thought I had made some time for daily meditation during the week. It had been a busier week than usual but that was no excuse.

I was still playing catch up by Sunday and wasn’t feeling well after working out at the gym. I drew myself a hot bath and decided to listen to the Day 12 & 13 meditations. This was such a lovely experience. I was relaxing and restoring my mind and body at the same time. It had a very calming effect over me and I felt I really took in the centering thoughts.

Later that day I was telling some friends about my struggle to get into a routine with my fitness and my daily meditation. I felt like I got more out of them when I did them first thing in the morning but it’s hard enough waking up for one of these activities let alone waking up early enough for both! My friend’s suggested I alternate my workouts with my meditation in the morning. So I gave that a go this morning. With the time difference with the US it means I will be a day behind with my meditation because the daily meditation doesn’t get released until the afternoon (Perth time). I’m glad I did meditate this morning. I definitely have the Monday Blues but the centering thought for today is “When I have no judgment, I see everyone with kindness”. I keep reminding myself of this and I think it is helping my day get better :)

Manifesting Grace through Gratitude – Week 1

As I said in my previous blog I have been wanting to meditate for some time now but haven’t made the time or put in the effort. Because I am still fairly new to meditation I know that I need guided meditation to help me focus and couldn’t wait to start the Manifesting Grace through Gratitude 21 Day Meditation Experience. If you would like to get started click this link to the Chopra Centre website.

This week has been a very tough week for me. I don’t know if it was to do with the New Moon or something else but it really tested me emotionally. I am happy to say that I made it through the week and I truly believe that the guided meditations helped me. Due to the time difference I didn’t get access to the first day until Monday night Australian time. So because of this I have been practicing my guided meditation at night right before I go to bed. This has given me a chance to reflect on the day and be grateful for the day as opposed to preparing for the day and being in a state to express gratitude. And this is why I think I survived the week. Each night I would follow the guided meditation and feel grateful and no longer stressed and tense. I would wake the next morning ready for the day only for it to turn to crap again but then I would be meditate and find there were still things in my day to be grateful for.

As part of the 21 Day Meditation Experience I receive an email in my inbox detailing what the day’s meditation will be. Today I received an email reflecting on the purpose of the week’s meditation:

Throughout the first week of our time together, we’ve made great strides by discovering how to:

Take steps towards feeling genuine gratitude each day
Awaken the grace within us – and all around us
Shift our perceptions to see everything in life – even the imperfections – with gratitude

I truly believe that is what I achieved this week.

Manifesting True Success – Week 3

I really enjoyed Weeks 1 and 2 and was looking forward to Week 3. I could already feel a difference inside me. It truly felt like things were falling into place and I didn’t even need to try as hard as I used to!

Week 3 was about putting everything we had learnt so far into practice. And the big thing for me was understanding that success comes from all directions. We all have an idea of what success looks like and when circumstances get in the way we think it equals failure. We fail to open our minds to possibility and often miss an opportunity to success as it was intended. The Day 21 email put it into perfect words:

It is important to realize that success, like reality itself, is multi-dimensional, not linear. Don’t let your old limited beliefs blind you to the unexpected support that can come from any direction. Successful living needs your awareness to be creative, expansive, and receptive to all possibilities, just like creation itself.

Manifesting True Success – Week 2

I began Week 2 a day behind after not making the time for Day 7 last Sunday. On Monday I failed to make the time again which then meant for the rest of the week I was playing catch-up. Knowing I was 2 days behind the whole time created unnecessary stress but I did manage to change my workout routine to morning workouts (half the time at least lol).

I think the fact that I am trying to implement so many changes and feel like they are all a priority is the reason I am struggling to find and maintain balance. But with that said, even though I missed meditations and/or workouts here and there I made sure I found the time to catch up and eventually get them done. Week 1 was about learning how to align choices and aims with the values and worthwhile goals within us. I think that’s exactly what I’ve done this week!

Week 2 is about breaking free of the cycle of static choice-making and introduces the concept of making dynamic choices using the acronym SMART.

S – Stretch more than you can reach
M – Make everything measurable
A – Agreement with your inner self and those around you
R – Record your progress
T – Time limits for acting and getting a result