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I bless you. Yes, you... We ALL can use a blessing. This is the second practice that I wanted to share with you. Start with someone you love, someone who matters, someone you care deeply about or are grateful for. That one will be easy. Maybe there are a few people you want to send blessings to - people you know who may need it right now. Then, I am going to suggest you move on to people in your life that are most challenging. Start with one. And maybe add on another person tomorrow. Maybe you will have to stay with the first person for a few days. Or a week. Or a longer while. But do so. You might just find your hard feelings toward that person melting away. You may become more compassionate towards them and their circumstances. Keep working at it. Then, consider people you read about or hear about who may need a blessing. You will change over time. And you may also find that the ones you are blessing change as well . Are you willing to give it a try? Let me know how it goes and be willing to share this practice with others! And here is a 90 second video on this topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pWmvQXFk4c&t=10s #inspirational #inspirationalquotes #spirituality #love #compassion #kindness #healing #wellness #yoga #meditation #transformational #blog #meditationsimple #mindfulness #spiritualpractice #blessings 
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Let me let you in on a little secret: I begin each day with a blessing... After opening my eyes, I give thanks for another day of living. And then I bless the day. It is gift that is denied to many. And so, I begin my day with gratitude as well. And that gratitude leads to my blessing the day and thus it informs and colors how I experience and process my day. This day will never come again. It is irrepeatable. Unique. It has never been before and will never be again. This day will come wrapped in other blessings and gifts and challenges. If you are open to whatever the day brings and you know that it is for your highest good, you will be able to get it through it. If you are indeed open and accepting of the fruits of this day, you may find that it flows with ease and grace. So the question is: How will you meet this day? How you do, will determine its outcome. The choice is ours to experience it as a miracle or something else. How is this so? Because in the end, we choose to see things as they are, or as we are. How we show up for this day makes a difference and will determine how we see it and experience it. So bless this day! If you want a little more reason to explore this practice, check out this meditation. Just 90 seconds! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGVaLviMDg4&t=26s #inspirational #inspirationalquotes #spirituality #love #compassion #kindness #healing #wellness #yoga #meditation #transformational #blog #meditationsimple #mindfulness #spiritualpractice  Blessing others, yourself, the world, events and situations - is a practice. You can bless just about anything that you think of. You can focus on someone you love or someone you are having difficulty with, or someone at work who is challenging. And it is powerful. It can change you slowly, from within and transform others as well. In the next few days we are going to explore the practice of blessing EVERYTHING. Because you can't bless and judge at the same time according to Pierre Pradervand. He should know. He has practiced blessing for decades and taught others how to do so as well. Are you ready to give it a try? Here is a short, 90 second meditation on the practice of blessing that I made just for you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6L2_hkr1kg&t=10s #inspirational #inspirationalquotes #spirituality #love #compassion #kindness #healing #wellness #yoga #meditation #transformational #blog #meditationsimple #mindfulness #spiritualpractice #blessing  For years, actually for decades - a man has worked at my Costco checking the receipts of departing clients. Every time he checks a receipt he pauses. and looks into the eyes of the customer on his or her way out and simply says "GOD BLESS YOU!" I don't know anything about him. I guess from his name tag, that he may hail from a Middle Eastern country. Over the years his accent has soften and blended more into its surroundings. It is always a treat to see him and be in his line because he is so present, and genuine, and I know he has spent a lifetime offering blessings. I often wonder how this simple and humble practice began in his life. Perhaps I will know in due. time. But probably not. It doesn't really matter. As I watched him bless the person in front of me, on this January 6th, which many celebrate as the Feast of Epiphany, when the Magi brought their gifts to a humble child they had been lead to seek, I decided I would give this man a gift. The same gift that he had given many. I waited for my turn, and then he took my receipt. Before he looked up and before our eyes met, I said to him: GOD BLESS YOU! He looked up, paused for a fleeting second and replied back: GOD BLESS YOU! Here we were, two beings, perhaps from opposites sides of the planet and experiences, but we stopped for a moment to acknowledge each other and offer blessings. Today, and really - every day - stop for a moment and offer someone a blessing. Send it far and wide. You never know who may need it today. It might change their life forever.  #inspirational #inspirationalquotes #spirituality #love #compassion #kindness #healing #wellness #yoga #meditation #transformational #blog
#meditationsimple #mindfulness #spiritualpractice #meditationsimple #blessing I know it has been some time since I have written here. It has not been for a lack of desire. I simply felt without words... It has been a difficult last two years. I don't need to tell you this. YOU know! It has been a time to reassess. It has been a time to question EVERYTHING! It has been a time of journeying deeply within, realizing what is important and what is not. It has been a time of simply SO MUCH! And it is not over... Just when we might have imagined turning a corner, things change. The world is up in flames. And yet, even in the deepest darkest despair, I can manage to see the seedlings of HOPE. The arrival of spring and every sunrise invite us all to remember that no matter how dark or desperate things may be, everything changes and growth is always possible. Today, and every day, let us go deeply into our hearts, and connect with the SOURCE of all LOVE. Let us send that love wherever it is needed. Here is a simple practice I have been using: Sit comfortably. Close your eyes. Connect with your breath. Place the fingertips of your left hand on your heart. Place your right palm on your thigh, turned up towards the sky. Imagine DIVINE LIGHT and LOVE pouring into you through the crown of your head. Let that LOVE and LIGHT envelop you. Then send that beautiful energy wherever it is most needed today, right now - in this moment... And then sit in stillness for a few moments. Let go. Know that you have made a difference. How could you not? You are magnificent. Made in the imagine of Divine LIGHT and LOVE. Know that you matter always. Together we can be the change we want to see. Let's be that.  What is the next best thing to being wise? Why, to surround yourself with people who are! It seems simple enough. You may have heard it said, that you reflect the company you keep, so make sure that company is good. When our friends embody the values we do, they help us become better people. After all, we want to be lifted up - not broken down or pulled apart. Every now and then it is good to take stock of one's friends. Decide who's a keeper - and who needs to be weeded out. Decide who energizes you and who drains you. Decide who wants to make you a better person. That's the one you'll always want to have around. Sometimes our friends challenge us. They make us grow. And sometimes in the process of doing that we may perceive that they have hurt us. But that was not their motivation. We may realize that on closer inspection. So cut them some slack. Need an early summer cleaning project? Think about who inspires you. Be grateful for their presence in your life. And while you're at it, let them know!  We often hurt those we love the most. It might be intentional, but most often it is not. People often hurt others because they hurt. It can be a cry for attention. Who knows? In many ways, it doesn't matter... I saw this quote by the poet David Whyte yesterday, and it got me thinking... All friendships of any length are based on a continued, mutual forgiveness. Maybe it is not possible to never hurt or offend a loved one. And yet we all feel terrible after we do so... But here's the thing: We need to forgive or ask for forgiveness, again and again and again. How often do we have to do so? The Christian scriptures say we should forgive seventy times seven times. In other words, as often as it takes. There is no finite number that is prescribed.. So today, if there is someone you need to forgive - or someone's forgiveness that you need to request for your own well-being, why not reach out to that person? If it's someone that needs your forgiveness, perhaps they are too ashamed to ask. I know I've felt that way at times. So maybe reaching out to break the ice might be what is ineeded at the moment. There used to be a telephone commercial a long time ago that suggested that we: Reach out and touch someone. Today is as good a day as any. Why not?  Last night I had a nightmare... I can't remember the last time I had one, but it's been a very LONG time! It was the kind that woke me up and had me terrified. The kind where you can't get back to sleep. So, I did what I usually do when I feel like that. I meditated... And I thought of all the good advice my friends give me. Recently, I was talking to one of them, sharing some deep seated fears I had about doing some things I was terrified of doing, and she said to me, "What I am hearing you say, is that you don't believe in yourself. But the person I know, is totally capable of rising to the occasion and doing all those things you think you can't do." Humm... Like yeah... Later that day she sent me a meme which I am paraphrasing a bit here. It just happens that it is another mantra and affirmation. (Detecting a theme here?) "I am strong, I am capable, I am enough." When I looked at the meme closely, I noted the number of people who had "Loved" it. And it happened to be my personal angel number - that number that shows up for me every time I need a message from the Other Side. When I see this number as the time of day, or as "Likes" or whichever way it shows up for me, I stop, breathe, and get all the feels. I instantly know someone is watching out for me and trying to get my attention. This morning, I talked my dream over and realized how silly it was. The person I was speaking to told me about an article he had just read about how weird dreams dump random things in your brain to make it and you function better in life.. Apparently, introducing randomness into an equation is something that makes Artificial Intelligence better. Who knew? If you are feeling afraid about something you need to do and this little affirmation speaks to you, go ahead and use it! Because just like me, You are strong, You are capable, and you enough!  Last night, I met with a group of friends (via - what else? Zoom!) for a monthly dose of spiritual edification, involving deep sharing, reflection, prayer and mutual support. I have come to treasure this monthly "date" on a Sunday evening. At the end of every session, I leave my friends with a simple spiritual practice, and more often than not, it involves a mantra... What could be simpler and easier to remember - right? One of the mantra suggestions I gave them was this: "Spirit, Come sit in my heart." You can substitute God, or Divine, or Beloved - or whatever speaks to you. You get the gist. When you are feeling overwhelmed and anxious and afraid, as many of us have felt this past year, I often recommend to my students to simply take a break. Stop whatever you are doing - wherever you are, and place your hands over your heart. Breathe in and out of your heart to a count of six... Breathe in the healing and spiritual sustenance that you need. And breathe out, all that does not serve you now, in this moment... Continue following the breath in this way for a few moments. and when you feel more relaxed, introduce your mantra: "Divine Beloved, Come sit in my heart," Sit for as long and as often as you need, or repeat the mantra to yourself as you go about your day and many tasks, any time you remember to do so.. May your spirit be nourished. And may you find greater calm and peace. Blessings my friends!  Last year, I made my last blog entry on another platform with the suggestion to throw a spear into the heart of fear, LIttle did I know then, that this was to be the cusp of the pandemic. Little did I or anyone else know what was coming. As the year began to unfold, my mantra instead, became the following:  It has sustained me. it is changing me. But most of all, it has fed my soul. it is part of a program I have been following and was only meant as a mantra for one week. But the funny thing is, I held on to it, and I kept coming back to it, and here I am a year later! " I am safe, strong, and protected." If it speaks to you, feel free to use it. This has been an interesting year, and I will have much to share with you. After 14 years on another platform and a much more different time, I feel myself called to start something new, on a platform I don't know. But that's okay. We've all had to step out of our comfort zones. That's how we grow. And I know, despite everything, all shall be well, as my friend, Julian of Norwich wrote back in the 14th century. Stay tuned! Let's see where we are led!  |
olga rodriguez RasmussenTake a sacred pause! Inspirational quotes, meditations, and resources for your practice. Archives
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