The priority of connecting and reconnecting regularly, mindfully during the day, gives support to being centred and grounded.
We find ourselves outdoors as well as indoors. Either way, we can sit and be in contact with the breath or the whole body. We can sit mindful of the full posture from head to feet. There is the potential to ground and centre ourselves in a minute or two. The power rests in the regularity of the two minutes, such as four times a day - between wakeup and breakfast, between breakfast and lunch, between lunch and evening food and between evening food and sleep.
Do take the opportunity to make this a priority to support your daily life. Inner peace and clarity of mind serve as a contribution to our wellbeing.
We easily forget to extend moments of calmness due to so much engagement in doing, doing and doing. We spend much time in daydreams, which we rarely remember anyway. It is easy to become forgetful of our experience as human beings. These quiet periods interrupt excessive doing and excessive thinking.
Body, heart, feelings emotions mind, thoughts, views, judgments dwell, intimately close to each other. The mind can make much separation between these different expressions of our humanity. Let us be aware of these divisions
Are we giving too much emphasis to one or two aspects of ourselves and neglect other aspects. This makes a kind of split. This split can also show itself in the divisions between work and social life or between the roles/responsibilities and appreciation of time out of roles/responsibilities.
Do you exaggerate self-priority and self-interest and get cut from life around, from the natural world? I regularly mention that spiritual language can caught up in preoccupation with self, such as self-actualization self-help, self-compassion and self-acceptance.
This leads to neglect of the outer world, and its impact upon us and our impact upon the outer world. Let us engage in creative and noble work as parents, as friends/colleagues, through livelihood or other forms of service.
With finding and knowing a holistic life, we know a freedom from splits within ourselves or between ourselves and others.
Let us have a guided meditation with reflection
on the integration of our heart with mind and body
Our posture consists of two feet firmly on the floor, with a straight back and sitting on the chair.
If you wish, you can sit cross legged on the meditation cushion or use a wooden stool for the kneeling posture
Sit with a tall upright posture allowing energy to flow freely and a genuine sense of presence.
This kind of meditation serves as a break from the roles
I will say a line or two then a 40 - 60 seconds of silence in this 30-minute guided meditation.
Sit still in the silence
Experience directly the whole of the body sitting tall and upright. Rest the hands in the lap one on top of the other or on top of the knees
Experience stillness and silence in the posture.
Be mindful of the feeling tone. Are you comfortable, contented, peaceful?
Is there a quiet happiness, vitality and energy present?
Stay quietly in touch with this bare feeling experience. Rest in this feeling
Engage in reflection. What contributes in your daily life to empathy with others including creature – wild, on farms or domestic?
What shows expression of love for people, creatures and the natural world and brings warmth to your being?
Is their love of aloneness? Do appreciate time for solitude? What are the benefits?
Do you love communicating with another?
What nourishes your heart? Are there areas of forgetfulness or neglect?
Experience of appreciation and gratitude is an essential feature of the heart.
Do you remember details of the day to be grateful for to recognise and appreciate.
Thank you.
Final Reflection
Teachings and guided meditations give emphasis to love, friendship, acts of kindness, compassion appreciative joy, happiness, gratitude and thankfulness.
Stay connected with calmness and steadiness of being. Out of this, we find the capacity to support and nourish others.
Let's not take anyone for granted.
Mindfulness meditation includes reflection on the qualities of the heart and ensures expressions in the daily life through views, perceptions, thoughts, communication and action. This develops a holistic view, an overall view and integration..
Be mindful of the challenging features of the emotional life.
Two such features are outbursts of anger are the experiences of fear. You feel stuck and contracted. You feel low. You give yourselves or others a hard time
If you find yourself unable to see your way through problematic emotions, then seek wise counsel listening to the skilfulness, empathy and presence of another, a friend, colleague or professional.
Do not carry the idea I have to work it all out by myself. This is often the ego thinking in a narrow way.
Work specifically on one or two emotions, develop small steps so you can emerge like a butterfly out of the cocoon
May we develop what is a deep and beautiful relationship to the heart
May we explore and develop a wise approach to experiences
May we know integration, well-adjusted life to daily circumstances.