Finding the Missing Time

Misplaced Time

On Sunday morning, while listening to the sermon in church, my mind wandered just a smidge and I thought about how I seem to have misplaced time for some of the things that are important to me. They are mainly work-related things. They may not be as urgent as they feel. I mean, I’m pretty sure I have some workaholic tendencies.

Missing in Action

Still, I was wondering where that missing time is hiding and whether or not I would be able to find it. I was never very good at hide-and-go-seek! If not, and here’s what I decided to meditate on, I wondered how I will live out some of the possibilities revealed in one of my recent guided meditations.

Once I got home, I decided to do an intuitive reading, too, to get as much helpful information as possible.

Tomorrow, I’ll tell you what I found out in the intuitive reading…

See you tomorrow!

Jeanine

Creating Contemplative Weekends & Weekdays

Weekends Off

I had such a great weekend this past weekend that I decided to try to do it every weekend from now on, to take the weekends off and to try not to schedule so much work-related stuff that I find myself working in spite of the plan.

When you work at home, there is no easy demarcation between work time and time off. You have to create that yourself and I have not been so good at stopping!

Guidance During Meditation

So I decided to get some help during meditation. As I drank my tea and then, later during the meditation, I tried to picture myself having an ideal weekend and an ideal workday. I actually asked for guidance during the meditation: "show me an ideal weekend...", etc.

What I saw first was me sleeping!! I know I need more sleep than I have been getting and part of what was so wonderful about this past weekend was sleeping in each morning.

I also saw myself reading, watching movies, hanging out with my family, etc. What I did not see was the computer!

Same thing for weekdays. At night, I saw myself watching TV and reading. And laughing!

How are these 30 days of tea and meditation going for you?

See you tomorrow!

Jeanine

New Guided Meditation from Deepak Chopra...

Speaking of Guided Imagery...

In yesterday's post, I mentioned that I have been noticing that I seem to have the bext meditation experiences when I include some sort of guided imagery in my meditation. Sometimes I make it up myself, sometimes I use something I have acquired somewhere else. Doesn't seem to matter as long as I take the time to relax deeply first (and that cup of chamomile tea beforehand loads the deck in my favor) and then, go into guided imagery.

A New Guided Meditation

Well, I received another follow-up email from the 21-day meditation challenge and, in addition to promoting their upcoming gatherings, they offered a brief meditation from Deepak for all the meditation challenge participants.

To try it out yourself, click here. Let me know what you think.

Warning: it is quite brief. When it was over, I turned on the meditation music CD I bought and continued with deep breathing and my own made-up guided meditation.

And what type of meditation works best for you? Does it help when you combine meditation with tea?

See you tomorrow!

Jeanine

Spirit Guide Meditations

Movie Theater Surprise

You know how after you have seen a movie, you "come out of it" slowly and maybe even move a bit sluggishly toward the doors, not fully back yet from the world you just inhabited? And when the doors are opened, and you look outside at bright sunlight or the brightly lit parking lot, it's a bit of a surprise to see your ordinary reality again?

That is how I feel after a really good meditation experience!

I open my eyes and am surprised to be in my home, seeing my furniture and windows. Even if I was imagining myself at home during the meditation, it feels different to see it all for real.

Not All Meditations Are the Same

Well, I have noticed that that does not happen every time I meditate. Sometimes, I relax but don't lose any awareness of where I am.  Sometimes, it feels like a struggle even to relax!

Although I notice that if I drink my cup of chamomile tea slowly and give it time to relax me even before I start the meditation, that helps! Sometimes I have sort of gulped it down because I wanted to hurry and get to the meditation. That does not work so well.

What seems to work best for me is some form of induction or progressive deepening of my experience followed by some kind of guided imagery. And the deepest experience happens when I do spirit guide journeys.

What works best for you?

Seems to be I need at least 10-15 minutes but the best ones are more like 15-20 minutes long. So I think I will intend to spend at least that much time each day and see what happens.

That's what I did today and it was wonderful! After it was over, I decided to really come back slowly by adding reiki. I still feel the effects of it as I write this post.

See you tomorrow!

Jeanine

Anatomy of a Contemplative Weekend...

Taking the Weekend Off

As part of my quest to slow down, and create a contemplative lifestyle, I was determined to take the weekend off, and I succeeded!!

I slept in on Saturday and woke up full of ideas that were work-related. So I did spend about an hour writing them down so they would not be forgotten, but after that, I was done for the weekend.

I slept in each day, I meditated each day, and drank quite a bit of tea. I watched movies, I cooked, I invited a friend over for lunch on Sunday, I made a special family meal for Labor Day and had a wonderful time!

Making Time for Contemplation

What I’m most pleased about, though, are the times I spent relaxing, reflecting and not doing anything more complicated than staring out the window as the wind blew the trees around. I spent lots of time contemplating the golden glow covering the trees as the sun gently began descending.

I finished a Jane Austen novel and started a Jane Austen sequel!

Every time I was tempted to get something done, I would ask myself what would happen if I didn’t get it done. Each time, I found I could live with the consequences.

Now, I need to work on doing that every weekend!!

See you tomorrow!

Jeanine

Back to School Blog Tour: How My Ritual of Tea & Meditation is Helping My Son

 

This back to school blog tour is brought to you by the women at http://www.livingmymoment.com/ and http://www.theworkathomewoman.com/ . Jump in and participate with your blog! It's not too late...

Creating a Tea Lifestyle with My Son

I decided a while back that I wanted to make a change, slow things down, drink more tea and create a tea ritual for myself that included meditation. I had no expectation that my 9-year-old son would join me but of course, I hoped he would!

And I should mention that I am part of a family of four, but my stepdaughter does not live with me and my partner declined my invitation to join in on the meditations and does not really like tea.

It Started with the Meditation Challenge

When the Chopra Center meditation challenge began, he wasn't interested. But along about the third or fourth day, he decided to try it. From that day on, he began doing the meditations with me. I'd make myself hot tea, always chamomile (SO soothing!!), and I'd pour him whatever iced tea was in the fridge.

We'd sip and chat quietly, and then begin the meditation. As the 21 days drew to a close, he seemed just as eager as I was to continue after the challenge was over. And he loved to tell me all about his experiences during meditation.

How It's Helping

Just his enthusiasm alone encourages me but I have noticed other changes in both of us. We are both Enneagram fours (flair for drama) and I notice that neither of us reacts as strongly to things that bother us. When we do, we return to calm more easily.

Just this morning, before meditation, he was angry with me about a decision I made that was not to his liking. He stomped off to his room but came when I called him to meditate. By the time it was over, he still looked a little pouty but gave me a hug and wanted to sit near me.

I have seen that kind of thing happen again and again in the past three weeks and I hope it continues!

30 Days of Tea and Meditation

By the way, I decided to support my decision to continue meditating after the challenge, by starting one of my own. I'm challenging myself and anyone who wants to join me to have 30 days in a row of tea and meditation.

I started on Thursday (the 2nd) but it's not too late to join us! Just take five minutes out of your day for a cup of tea and a brief meditation. That's it!

For more information about it, go to my blog post here and my "tea and meditation" Squidoo page here. I'll even send you a free sample of tea if you fill out the form here.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Jeanine

Chopra Center Bonus Meditation! (a gift for day two of my meditation quest)

An Email Surprise

I was delighted to receive an unexpected email from the Chopra Center last night offering all sorts of resources for those of us who might be feeling bereft at the end of the three weeks of meditating with 20,000 others.

"You didn't think we'd just go away after 21 days, did you? We're going through the same withdrawal you are." ~~Chopra Center

They created a meditation for "day 22" and offered a library of guided meditation podcasts available for download. In the email, there also were links for purchasing guided meditation CDs and registering for other things they've got going.

Chopra Center Offerings...

"What else do you desire in your life and what's your next step to move closer to it? If you continue to meditate, your life will continue to blossom and bloom. Are you ready for that?" ~~Chopra Center

"Setting Your Intentions" meditation

Guided meditation podcasts
Guided meditation CDs
Retreat in Sedona

30 Days of Tea & Meditation

"If there's nothing out there, is there anything in here?" ~~Davidji, Chopra Center

There were a few new mantras and a focus on the heart during this meditation and it felt significantly longer than the ones we did for the challenge. I listened to it last night and it was a great way to let go of tension.

Though not directed to do so, there were moments when I felt entirely connected to myself and fully aware of my strength. It felt really good!

But since it was so long, I decided not to do it for today's morning meditation because I didn't think my son would be able to focus for that long a period of time. He asks me each time how long I think it will take :).

Instead, we listened to that meditation music CD I bought and did our own thing. Great day 2 experience!

See you tomorrow!

Jeanine

30 Days of Tea and Meditation

Creating My Own 30-Day Challenge

I got inspired by the 30-Day Project, which does something different each month (this month, it's 30 days of learning), to consider this next little period after the challenge my own "30 days" project. At first, I was thinking 30 days of afternoon tea, because I am still struggling to get that in each day. My afternoon tea is often evening-tea-after-my-son-goes-to-bed.

But then, I decided that for this month, what is more important is my morning tea and continuing to meditate each day.

My First Day of Tea & Meditation

Speaking of continuing to meditate, I want to tell you how my first day went. About a week ago, I bought one of the meditation CDs that played in the background for some of our meditations...



So I knew I would have that playing in the background and set it aside to play right after my morning tea. By the way, it was beautiful!! Almost achingly so! I like the beginning of it even better than the part I heard during the challenge.

My son and I had talked about doing one of the meditations for children I learned during my child meditation facilitator training, but this morning, we decided to add a power animal meditation from a Cherokee meditation book I have.

During the meditation, I had two animals show up to guide me and I got some wonderful intuitive guidance!! I was so relaxed, I didn't want to open my eyes.

Join Me?

I'd love to have you along for the ride during the next 30 days!

All you have to do is find at least five munutes a day for tea and meditation. I'll even start you out with a tea sample if you go to my tea-for-one retreat kit page and give me your address. For more brief tea ritual information, check out my Squidoo page at http://www.squidoo.com/tea-and-meditation .

I am going there now to create a place where you can add your blog links if you'd like. And I will be blogging about my experiences here.

See you tomorrow!

Jeanine

Finishing the 21 Day Meditation Challenge...

"For thousands of years people have used meditation to move beyond the mind's stress-inducing thoughts, emotional upsets, and delusions - into the peace and clarity of present-moment awareness. The variety of meditation techniques, traditions, and technologies is nearly infinite, but the essence of meditation is singular: the cultivation of mindful awareness and expanded consciousness."
--Chopra Center

This challenge has been wonderful for me! I really hope I continue to meditate every day.

If you missed part or all of the challenge but would like to develop a daily meditation practice, here are links for each of the 21 days…

Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
Day Six
Day Seven
Day Eight
Day Nine
Day Ten
Day Eleven
Day Twelve
Day Thirteen
Day Fourteen
Day Fifteen
Day Sixteen
Day Seventeen
Day Eighteen
Day Nineteen
Day Twenty
Day Twenty-One

Give it a try and then, share your experiences with us!

Celebration and Gratitude: Day 21 of the Meditation Challenge

Celebrating the Creation of a Tea Ritual

"Here we are at Day 21. If you started on the first day and are at this point, I have only one word for you: Celebrate!!! You have strung together everything it takes to have a daily practice and now all you have to do is choose it each day. We suggest 30 minutes twice each day . . . once in the morning and once in the afternoon or evening – you choose." ~~Chopra Center

Celebrating the accomplishment of being here for all 21 days of this challenge -- that was today's theme. And I truly excited to have done it each day and to have grown so fond of this new practice.

Though I had meditated in the past and even had tried to do so daily, it was always haphazard. And usually unplanned. Now, I will make it a part of my morning and hopefully, my evening, tea ritual.

Gratitude

Gratitude was another theme of today's meditation experience. Though we began with the familiar questions, who am I?, what do I really really want?, and how can I best serve or what is my purpose?, we soon moved to asking ourselves what am I grateful for? and I was reminded of how grateful I am that this meditation challenge came along when it did, just at the right time!

Next, I have to figure out how to do it on my own. I bought one of the music tapes that was sometimes playing in the background and probably will start by creating meditations for my son and myself. Brief ones.

But in the evening, I may listen to some of the guided ones you can find on YouTube. I have one of them on my Squidoo lens and may add more.

Where to Find It

How did today's meditation go for you?

If you haven't listened to it yet, you can find it right here.

See you tomorrow!

Jeanine

To find each of the meditations in one place and leave your blog post links, go to my Squidoo page at http://www.squidoo.com/21-day-meditation-challenge. You also can find links to all of my blog posts about the challenge here.