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In the School of Life Design group, Lynn asked “What are your mantras/tricks for staying in the moment and not freaking out (about uncertainty, especially)?” Halcyon responded with, “Byron Katie has a great phrase about not getting too caught up in an imagined story: Remind yourself of what is real by saying, “Woman sitting in chair.” Everything else is story (aka just thoughts).”
I was able to find reference to this idea in Katie’s book online, but my imagination took the idea and ran away with it, so I left it alone for a day or so.
Last night Kelly and I were lounging in bed, when she brought up something in the future that may or may not happen, but that we both want to happen. She said something to the effect of “We get to meet those people this week!” We’ve been practicing not speaking about things outside of the Now, so I replied with “Ok… here is my reply… I don’t care. I’m in the Now.” She didn’t get offended, because she knows it’s for the best to stay in the Now too.
We chilled for a minute, not saying anything, which turned into some quality cuddling. Being in the Now FTW! The next thing Kelly said to me was, “Girl lying in bed with her hand between another girl’s legs. Hey, that’s pretty awesome!” By choosing to stay in the Now and focus only on what was going on in the present moment, Kelly found herself receiving something that she had previously wanted and was trying to obtain by thinking about the future: human connection.
Being in the Now as an artform
I spent much of today directing my thoughts by describing to myself only what I was doing in the Now. “Girl driving a new car listening to Nicki Minaj on full blast. Girl peeing while looking at the sun filter through the trees. Girl taking photographs for UCllc.” On that last one, I actually heard my mind respond with, “Hey, I want to do that!”
WTF? By describing my Now reality to myself, I succeeded in making my mind want to be in the Now. After working at UCllc for over 6 months, I’ve become something of a staff photographer. I’m pretty used to it, definitely good at it, and you could say I nearly take it for granted now. But if you would have told me about someone else being their staff photographer a year ago, I definitely would have felt jealous of that person, and coveted the position.
Not only did this little trick make my mind want to join the Now, but the description “Girl peeing while looking at the sun filter through the trees” made me feel like I was living in a painting. Suddenly, I understood how painters could paint such mundane scenes. In the Now, nothing is mundane. Everything is magickal.
Being in the Now is power
When we meditated today, I began by thinking “Girl meditating.” I immediately started enjoying myself, thinking about how great it was that I meditate every day. As the meditation continued, I remembered the reason why I started meditating in the first place.
When I was 15 or so, I attended Catholic high school. You could say my parents “made me” go there. I sure as hell wasn’t about to buy into all the garbage that came with Catholicism, so I very actively sought out other belief systems that might make more sense. Fortunately, all the heavy metal, goth music and horror movies I was into lead me to the occult.
I dabbled in Satanism, Wicca, and plain ol’ magick. In one of my readings, I came across a spell that, when combined with meditation, would get me anything I wanted. As you might imagine, my 15-year-old self had a lot of burning desires and the idea that I could just sit still and get what I wanted was rather compelling.
So I started meditating every night, focusing on making my desires reality. I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about my practice, I just sort of trusted it. And it always, always worked.
As I meditated today, I remembered again my teenage self gathering so much power from meditation. Deciding to bring that bitch back, I looked for a specific desire to focus on to make it come true. But now that I know what I know, my only real desires are to feel good and live in flow.
I realized that this “describing what I’m doing in the Now” practice is a way to live in flow, and that the more I do it, the more power I draw to myself. Every single time I stop to observe “girl typing article on keyboard” I get a surge of well being and knowing, and I feel like I’m charging up.
I look at this method of being in the Now like casting a spell on my life. The more time I spend in the present moment, appreciating the beauty and perfection of what I’m doing right now, the more power I draw to myself. The more magickal the events in my life become. The more I feel like smiling. The more things go my way. The more confident I feel. I am a girl typing an article on a computer. I wanted this.
The Easiest Meditation in the World, or, How to Cure a Lazy Eye
2012 January 13
The other day, I asked the universe to deliver me a Burning Man world. I just wanted it to be ok for me to sit still and bask in visual hallucinations. I wanted to enjoy just being, while gazing at the ever changing beauty of the Now. Is that so much to ask?! Haha… well, the universe hooked it up as usual.
Yesterday Kelly and I had some time to live before work. As we excitedly browsed strip malls far from our own neighborhood, the flow pulled us into a little store called Kids-N-Cats. Within we found an assortment of treasures, stash boxes and toys. Our one purchase: a Jumbo Glitter Wand Kaleidoscope (similar to this one).
As I gazed through the test model in the store, I knew my desire had manifested. I stared into the tube, transfixed, until we had to leave. Then for another several minutes in the car. Then another 10 once we got home. Then more. Then more. I was addicted!
Kaleidoscope gazing is a form of visual meditation that can pull one instantly into the Now. After my little gazing sessions, when I close my eyes, I can still see the flowing patterns. I’ve never found an easier way to stop thinking, because the view is just too beautiful to be concerned with much else.
Whenever you feel bad or get your feelings hurt, just look into a kaleidoscope and count to ten and you’ll feel better. It’s like a magick wand. It helps you release resistant thoughts, allowing what you want to flow to you.
Kaleidoscope gazing as a cure for Amblyopia (Lazy Eye)
I was born with amblyopia, or a lazy eye. It doesn’t affect my daily life much, but I had to have surgery as a baby and wear glasses through 3rd grade. They even tried to get me to wear an eye patch.
Last night as I looked through the ‘scope with my “good” eye, I physically felt an imbalance—my “bad” eye was basically screaming “let me try it!” I held it up to my right eye, which normally can’t focus on much, and gasped as I began to comprehend what I was seeing. What my left eye makes out as clear shapes of glitter and confetti, my right eye interpreted as fractals. It was as if my right eye was finally seeing the proper “depth” it was tuned to. It made me realize that my developmental “problem” was really just a manifestation of the thought pattern “this reality isn’t deep enough!”
My eye hungrily drank in the flowing fractals, ecstatic to finally see something. I relaxed and basked in the manifestation I’d been wanting for 29 years. And guess what happened? The longer I looked, the clearer the actual shapes in the ‘scope became. My eye was getting stronger by the moment. I can still hardly believe it, but I think I finally found a way to combine the vision of my “normal” eye with the vision of my “screwy” eye (as they called it in middle school!). I never imagined my desire for a “Burning Man world” would manifest in such a monumental manner.
A metaphor for life
Life itself is a kaleidoscope—every moment is beautiful, but you can never hold onto one. It is always flowing, always surprising, and always perfect. Every tiny sparkle and movement is infinitely reflected in dazzling patterns stretching as far as the eye can see. Kaleidoscopes are just another fractal of the universe itself; it’s amazing what simplicity can teach. Thank you, universe.
Below is a brief video of the view through the ‘scope, though it doesn’t come close to the real thing! I highly recommend trying it out for yourself. If you are a “visual” person, this is the magick wand for you. Check it out on Amazon, and if you’d like to support the School of Life Design, please use my affiliate link to make your purchase :]
Have you ever considered the possibility of an intelligence greater than the human mind? Are you aware that you already possess this intelligence?
Human consciousness is evolving beyond the mind, to a state of far greater power and connectedness. Beyond thought is life, which we are all part of. When we stop thought, we are able to connect to the one life that flows through us all. And when we connect to the flow of life, life lives us–providing all the instructions, decisions, and circumstances we need to be happy, healthy and excited to be alive.
At first it sounds scary and stupid to stop thinking. That is what your mind will tell you, because the mind wants to keep thinking! The mind LOVES thinking! But you are not your mind, and you don’t have to be a slave to your thoughts. Once you truly realize that you are not your mind, stopping thought becomes much easier.
But I like thinking!
Wait until you see how good not thinking feels. Then observe the quality of your thoughts following stopping thought. Thinking will feel better than ever.
But how will I solve my problems?
You cannot attract a solution to your problem if you are activating the vibration of the problem. If you are thinking “I don’t have enough money,” the universe will keep you in a state of not having enough money. Thinking about your problems does not solve them–it only makes them bigger.
You find solutions to your problems when you feel good. When you feel good, you attract good feeling thoughts. Solutions fall in that good-feeling-thought category. Often people attract solutions while in the shower, while running, or when they are about to fall asleep. These are times of relaxation and good feelings.
You don’t have to think, at all, to find the solutions to your problems. You only have to choose to feel good. Choosing thoughts that feel good is one way to feel good, but the easiest way to feel good is by stopping thought altogether.
Can you stop your thoughts? How does it feel when you do?
22 ways to stop thinking
- Ask yourself, “I wonder what my next thought will be?” In the time you wait for your next thought to appear, you are thought-free.
- Focus on the sensation of your fingertips touching something. Focus on the incredible detail you are capable of feeling.
- Doodle. Don’t think about what you’re drawing, just let it flow from the pen.
- Meditate. Sit upright and still for 15 minutes, staring at a candle flame. Your thoughts should slow automatically with time.
- Feel your body from the inside.
- Feel love in your heart. Feel the love in your heart growing bigger and bigger with each breath. This one always works for me.
- Use a mantra and repeat it over and over in your head.
- Count to 8 over and over.
- Count backwards from 10 to 0 over and over.
- Feel for the best feeling you’ve ever felt.
- While looking at your hand, focus on feeling your hand from the inside.
- Look at everything as if for the first time, as if you’re tripping.
- Observe the infinite detail in everything.
- Listen to the sounds around you. Listen to the silence in between the sounds.
- Master a dance routine. Teaching your body to do new things helps alleviate thought.
- Take a group fitness class.
- Play Astrojax. Notice how you get knots and drop the balls when you have negative thoughts.
- Hula hoop.
- Feel for the flow of life. Everyone has this sense and can become more sensitive to it.
- Feel the feeling of relief.
- Tell yourself you can think about it later.
- Focus on your breathing. Count your breaths and breathe deeply.
For more information on stopping thought, read Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
Meditation is sort of like sleeping or smoking weed-it distracts you from thinking about any dis-ease in your reality. When you meditate, you practice the feelings of peace, love, and letting go, making it easier to feel those things in your daily life. Here are some tips for beginning your own meditation practice.
Practice passive meditation for 15 minutes or less
Sitting still and breathing deeply is the simplest form of passive meditation. I use the free iPhone app Equanimity as a timer. Quiet your mind by counting to 10 during each inhalation and exhalation. Keep focused by gazing at a candle flame.
There is no need to spend more than 15 minutes a day in passive meditation because life was meant for living, not sitting! I used to think I would have to become a monk and meditate all day to be happy, but now I realize that life is much more fun when I’m actively creating with positive thoughts, not just stopping my negative thoughts.
Practice active meditation as often as you can
Active meditation includes physical activities that rely on trusting your body to know what to do so your mind can enter the state of consciousness known as flow. When you are in flow, you are like a blade of grass. The blade of grass knows how to grow but doesn’t have to think about it.
Running, walking, playing with skill toys like Astrojax, knitting, or any other physical activity that feels naturally good to you without putting much thought into it are all great ways to actively meditate. The more you practice the feeling of flow, the more effortlessly the rest of your life will flow.
Make peace with distractions
Some days, you won’t be able to focus. You won’t hit that sweet spot of delicious spacing out. You won’t see meditation as a boundless sea of creativity or love. And it will annoy you. Accept that this is part of the process. When you have distracting thoughts, or you feel sleepy, just be cool with it. Don’t get pissed at yourself because you’re not doing it right.
To overcome distraction, focus on your breathing, or repeat a chant to yourself over and over, like “om”. Tell yourself you don’t have to think about that distracting thought right now, that you’ll come back to it later. Picture the thought flying away from your mind.
Give yourself options
Sometimes meditation will seem boring. It’s good to switch it up to keep it interesting. Try meditating at different places, especially outside. Or try guided meditations, like Abraham-Hicks’ Getting into the Vortex guided meditation CD.
You can also try meditating with friends, or listening to white noise with ping pong balls on your eyes.
Do it because it feels good
The whole point of meditation is that it usually feels really good. Meditating regularly will attract more good feeling experiences into your life.
Spending a lot of time on the Internet connects us together as people, but can disconnect us from our higher selves. One remedy for this is regular meditation.
Kelly & I began meditating together once a week last March to see if it could increase our level of wellness. We loved it so much that we now do it 20 minutes a day, six days a week.
Everyone has a different way of meditating. My preference is to combine deep breathing with chakra visualization. I take deep breaths, inhaling for 10 counts, then exhaling for 10 counts. As I inhale, I visualize energy flowing into my crown chakra, & as I exhale, I picture the energy activating that chakra. On the next inhale, I pull energy into my third eye chakra, & continue the breathing process for the rest of the chakras (throat, heart, solar plexus, navel, base of spine) until they are all activated.
Once activated, I hold the energy in my body & visualize the things I desire in my life. Essentially, I use this time to ask what I want from the universe, and to see if it resonates with my higher self.
The more vividly I can picture the active energy in my body, the more successful the meditation is for me. I was having trouble remembering the colors associated with each chakra, so I made an elaborate necklace (slash headpiece) to wear. Making the necklace helped me remember each color perfectly, and enabled my visualization to progress.
Now when I meditate, my chakras take on unique visual properties inspired by the necklace I made. The crown becomes a mass of purple crystals. The third eye is a cluster of blue stars. The throat is a ripple in a minty pool of water. The heart (my favorite) is an open farm field with violins playing. The solar plexus is a spray of yellow mist, and the navel is a group of orange globes. The tailbone is red & rippling like water in the bottom of a well. This is sort of what it looks like to me:
This form of meditation is much different from the clearing-your-mind-of-all-thought variety. Ideally, I would like to practice both types of meditation, using visualization in the morning & head-clearing in the evening.
Do you have a meditation process? What do you visualize? What do your chakras look like? Draw me a picture?!
I’ve been meditating on and off since I was 16, and I believe this book is where I started. Meditation has always served me well, by calming and focusing my mind while subtly helping me achieve my goals. Recently, Kelly and I have been meditating together on Saturdays before our long runs. Documenting it in my lifestream has helped me find new motivation to continue my practice, so I wanted to share how we do it.
Pre-show: set the mood so you can concentrate without distractions. For music, I play Meditation Six: The Shaman’s Drum (With Randy Crafton), and I light a scented candle for us to gaze at. I find it important to leave my eyes open, so I stay connected with this world and don’t fall asleep. I set up my iPhone camera timer to take photos of us (sound effects off!), so I can document the setting and time. The actual meditation is slow breathing combined with visualization of energy moving through my body.
- Sit cross-legged. Place your hands palms up on your knees. Take several slow, deep breaths.
- Count to 10 as you inhale and picture the energy of the universe coming in through your crown chakra. Breathe out and count to 10 while picturing the energy wrapping around your crown chakra.
- Inhale again while counting to 10, this time bringing the energy into your third eye chakra. Breathe out with a count of 10 and picture the energy swirling around your third eye, activating it.
- Next, breathe in for 10 and pull the energy into your throat chakra, then breathe out for 10 counts, gathering the energy in your throat.
Repeat this for the rest of the chakras: your heart, solar plexus, navel and spine. - Continue your deep breathing while clearing your head of thought. Hold the energy of the universe inside your body, allowing it to recharge your personal power stores. Continue as long as you need. 10-15 minutes is a good starting point.
- When you’re ready, place your hands on the ground and “ground” the energy you’ve taken in–release it back into the earth and give thanks.
Do you have a meditation practice? Do you document it? I would love to hear about any resources or experiences you have had! We are thinking about joining a meditation Meetup group in Austin soon, any recommendations?
