Mindfulness Meditation: Simply Complex But Easily Achievable

People do either one of two things when I tell them that part of my teaching program as a Wellness Mentor involves meditation: A) They’re on board with the concept and will sing the praises of practice to the high heavens or B) They look at me sheepishly and say that they know that they should do it but just can’t focus or find the time.

I don’t try to proselytize anyone and I only try to lead by example. I tell them how mindfulness has benefitted me for over thirteen years and I can guarantee that it has made me mentally healthier and stronger neurochemically. I don’t practice every day in a sitting pose but I’m always making an effort to sit with my food and enjoy it without distractions, focusing my energy on creating a painting or drawing, staying present and listening to friends when we converse and so on. There are lots of ways to practice and sitting meditation is only one part of the program but it’s awesome when you get into it.

You only need 10 minutes in a quiet spot without distractions and you don’t have to clear your mind or stop thinking. Meditation isn’t about grabbing a hold of that wild stallion in your mind and trying to reign it in and control it. It’s about being present, letting your thoughts come as go as the will and trying to come back to a center point which is your breath. That’s it!

Why is it so hard for many people if it seems like such a simple endeavor? Because folks, we are incredibly complex beings who have billions of neurons and millions of life experiences that have created so many energetic pathways and thinking processes. But trust me on this, finding that ten minutes just to relax and let your mind be as it may will make you feel good. Sometimes it can get frustrating but the more you do it, the easier it becomes and also becomes addictive in the best sense.

Strength in Spirit

Strength of Spirit

In my twenties, I used to lament the fact that I had been diagnosed with a mental illness and I couldn’t understand why the universe had cursed me with such a traumatic condition. Since childhood, I always knew that my brain was different than my friends’ and families’ brains but being diagnosed was too much.

As I matured, I continued to struggle with acceptance and coming to terms with a life-long challenge that wasn’t going to go into spontaneous remission (though at times I thought I’d spontaneously combust). Now, instead of lamenting on what I can’t be like, I focus on as much of the positive aspects of my life – both past and – present and I look forward to what’s yet to come.

Every day, I try to think about what the universe has given me – a loving family, amazing friends, creative talents, a roof over my head and so on. I finally feel like the many traumas that I’ve endured over my lifetime have made me uniquely qualified to help other people in need. And, when I’m in a manic phase, it’s usually manageable and I’m a whole lot of fun!

No one has it easy but if we can keep our lights shining even if they’ve gone somewhat dim, with our human spirits we can endure so many things.

U R Good!

THE HEART OF GOODNESS

You don’t need to rely on anybody else’s goodness. You have a resource already, which is your own goodness. You are already good, and you can actually transmit that goodness to others. In Buddhism, we call this buddha-nature. Examine yourself and your state of being. You will find that you have the heart of goodness in you.

• Chogyam Trungpa

http://www.shambhala.com/great-eastern-sun.html?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Image+-+cover+image&utm_content=Quotes+of+the+Week+%7C+The+Heart+of+Goodness&utm_campaign=OD+9%2F25%2F12

taken at MFA, Boston Sept. 2012

Change Is Always In The Air, Let It Be A Strengthening Affair

You’ll find that I talk about change a lot. Not many people I know look forward to making major life ones or being dealt a hand that creates major shifts in their daily lives.

It’s natural to have reservations about the minor changes and fearful about the major ones. The beauty is that you can readjust your perspective and embrace the changes whether they are major or minor. If you regard fear as a motivator but don’t let it consume you, you’ll expand your powers and become a stronger and more resilient person.

A song that’s been a comfort in times of emotional and physical shifters is the tune “Changes” by YES. It’s helped me to get through some of the difficulties and has helped motivate me. If you have that special song that provides you with strength, use it!

Change changing places
Root yourself to the ground
Capitalize on this good fortune
One word can bring you round
Changes

Attracting the + Energy

We are energy beings and we’re filled with electrical vibrations which in turn means that we have plenty of positive and negative ions coursing through our body systems. In a more philosophical sense, we have positive and negative emotional and spiritual energy. We can either invite the good energy into our lives or attract the dark stuff. While it’s not always our decision whether darkness enters our lives, we can choose how we cope with it and how to shield ourselves. Yup, it’s all around but you don’t have to give into it.

Cultivating the positive energy takes work and determination. Ironically, it’s easier to give in and be cynical and pessimistic about how difficult life is and be overwhelmed by the negatives of life. Once you do this, you set up a pattern of inviting in adverse energy into your life which includes negative people.

Personally, I like to work hard and everyday, I ponder how fortunate I am to be healthy and surrounded by love. I put up a shield when I feel like any dark souls are trying to draw my energy. If my depression comes a knockin’, I put in extra effort to stay in the light and have my friends and/or family around. when my dark nights visit me. Of course, I also try to meditate more too.

We have choices about our energetics and the more we get the positive ions flowing, the more we’ll attract the same.

I like to surround myself with the positive energy of nature. The banyan trees in Florida always rejuvenate me..

The Enemy!

What’s the biggest impediment to intellectual and spiritual growth?

It’s the N.M.E.

No Mental Effort!

Don’t give into it!

50 Questions That Can Help Free Your Mind

50 Questions That Can Help Free Your Mind from http://www.marcandangel.com

These questions have no right or wrong answers.

Because sometimes asking the right questions is the answer.

1. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?

2. Which is worse, failing or never trying?

3. If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?

4. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

5. What is the one thing you would most like to change about the world?

6. If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?

7. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?

8. If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?

9. To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?

10. Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?

11. You are having lunch with three people you respect and admire. They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend. The criticism is distasteful and unjustified. What do you do?

12. If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?

13. Would you break the law to save a loved one?

14. Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?

15. What is something you know you do differently than most people?

16. How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?

17. What is one thing have you not done that you really want to do? What’s holding you back?

18. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?

19. If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?

20. Do you push the elevator button more than once? Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?

21. Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?

22. Why are you, you?

23. Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?

24. Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?

25. What are you most grateful for?

26. Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?

27. Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first?

28. Has your greatest fear ever come true?

29. Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset? Does it really matter now?

30. What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special?

31. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?

32. If not now, then when?

33. If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?

34. Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?

35. Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?

36. Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?

37. If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?

38. Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing?

39. Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?

40. When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?

41. If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?

42. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous?

43. What is the difference between being alive and truly living?

44. When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right?

45. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?

46. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?

47. When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?

48. What do you love? Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?

49. In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday? What about the day before that? Or the day before that?

50. Decisions are being made right now. The question is: Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?

Heading For The High Life (Bipolar Disorder PI)

As I may have mentioned before, I have a chronic condition that I’ve contended with for over half of my life. It’s called bipolar disorder and I try to look at less as a disease and more as a difficult neurotransmitter challenge. The biggest question I get from people who are unfamiliar with the condition is: “Aren’t we all bipolar?”. To some degree, yes. In this bloody complex and oft times difficult world, it’s hard not to get beaten down by all the stresses out there and in turn get cranked up when things are going splendidly. Sure, it’s easy to get depressed about the state of world affairs but to flip around and hit a manic high tends to be much less common.

For those of you not familiar with mania or hypomania, just imagine downing 10 cups of coffee, having your birthday as a kid and the excitement that ensues the night before knowing that you’re going to have a slew of presents and cake. When I was a kid, insomnia would hit me the night before but it was only temporary. Now multiply this feeling by weeks or sometimes months without an obvious precipitating event, toss in some insomnia and constant exuberance and voila, you have one of my hypomanic periods of my life.

My hypomania can be really fun for a while. I tend to be the life of all the parties that I attend and a social dragonfly wherever I go.  Basically, I’m on happy fire and I don’t want anything to bring me down off of it (though my family would have otherwise). I tend to call them at odd hours but for my brother in Spain, calling him at 3am my time is late morning for him so he find’s it entertaining but clearly knows that I’ve entered the hypomania zone. I’ve learned not to torture my mom in the early morning but when I call her during the day and blather on incessantly about my life plans, some grandiose and others somewhat realistic, she stays calm and bears with me.

The big downside to the power of the hypomania is that when my insomnia starts to catch up, I can get irritable and easily agitated by small things. I also tend to drive a bit recklessly and want to drink more and spend money that I don’t have. There isn’t any relaxation with the hypomanic state and my stress levels can be tipped towards anxiety and constant tension even when I’m happy and high on life. (to be continued)

Ready To Head Into The Magic Mania

The Fork and The Flame: Finding Joy 101

Here’s Chrystal Kubis and I with our “pilot episode” of our show “The Fork & The Flame”. Our purpose is to help people find as much happiness, inner-peace, humor and strength as possible in their lives. In addition, we also want to help people find the freedom to find their joy and remove their internal and external barriers.

Think You’re Open Minded Paul? Open Wider!

My friend Chrystal Kubis and I were having one of our deep discussions about inner wisdom and how we came by ours. I told her that I thought mine came from the reservoir of knowledge that we all have deep inside of us that can be drawn upon. For us Buddhists, that would be our inner Buddha which merely means that we all have the capacity and potential to become a Buddha or an enlightened being. Then I made a crack about how I thought that channelers were a bit daft after I saw that she had Abraham Hicks (http://www.abraham-hicks.com/lawofattractionsource/index.php) on her Ipod and that I had doubts as to the validity of a woman channeling some guru’s soul.

Well, Chrystal got me on this one because she said she had been a skeptic about the more “woo woo” type of things like channelers and that from what she had seen, she was now a believer. I realized that even though I consider myself very left and open-minded, that I can still open my mind and perception further; my inner scientist often needs more rational proof of metaphysical and supernatural events and like many skeptics, I need pushing. Yup, I can be judgmental folks and sometimes it takes my friends to stop me and help me realize that there is still so much mystery out there in the world and we know so little. Damn the skeptical circuits, set engines to full open mind and go full speed ahead.

If you want to see Chrystal and myself talking about some great stuff as “The Fork & The Flame” on YouTube, here’s our link for now. yup it’s long and future ones will be shorter but enjoy. it’s very engaging!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTv6NatJOsU&feature=plcp