I am so excited to be here sharing this mini with you. Some really amazing men and women have shared little tid-bits with me along the way in my journey and without them - my own personal practice would not exist today. By no means would I consider myself a meditation guru or teacher. I am simply here to share what I have learned, what brings me and my home some peace and quiet. The evolution of one’s practice is sacred and special. A journey of its own. I look forward to sharing a few pieces of my daily practice in hopes it brings you some grounding peace, calm and quiet in a very busy world.
There are several components to my daily practice. They do not always ALL happen as they are supposed to and they do not all have to happen in order to be considered essential. My rule of thumb is, 1 minute is better than no minutes and it is never to late in the day to have a little sit.
In no specific order here are components that work together to fill my daily meditation practice. Sometimes it comes together in the morning, sometimes at night. Most often times it is once Sam is out the door to school and I am alone. (Many can relate.) Sam and I sit some mornings and breathe with Buddah - this is another beautiful thing I cannot wait to share also. MINDFULLNESS and your KIDS. Wow.
Sit
On something really really comfortable. Sit somewhere that feels calm to you. It can be the couch, the floor, your yoga mat or your bed. No rules.
Read
I have found that the art of reading is the easiest way to ease my mind into its quietest state. We call is #quietude. It applies the skills of reading to draw your mind away from EVERYTHING that is keeping it very very noisy and occupied. My beautiful Buddhist teacher & dear friend Wayne once said; sit and read a chapter and then read another. I have three books on rotation that sit beside my alter and bed. I have shared these three below.
ZEN Mind, Beginners Guide :: Shunryu Suzuki
The Heart of the Buddha’s Teachings :: Thich Nhat Hanh
Being Peace :: Thich Nhat Hanh
Listen
THIS! AHHHHHH. This has changed my life. A guided meditation if I am not reading, is the perfect guide to the place of quiet calm. Elena Brower, Mama, teacher, artist, bestselling author and host of the Practice You Podcast, Elena has taught yoga and meditation since 1999. This spoken word in FLOW STATE on Spotify is something so special. ** Side note, your meditation can be a walking meditation, or driving or resting. Again there are no rules.
You can find Elena’s FLOWSTATE here.
For a silent meditation - and for the warmest peace and calm in the house, my favourite playlist of HEALING Bowls can be found here.
Breathe
Ah my oils. The goddess oils of the earth. I have two or three go-to blends that I discovered some time ago with my essential sisters Emily and Christine. These oil blends have guided me to the MORNING, FOCUS and NIGHT blends by Tallu. With three or four deep breathes and the oils on my temples, neck, wrists, arms and hands I am carried somewhere very special. My doterra blends that I use daily are called ADAPTIVE, AFFIRM, and STRONGER. And they are HEAVENLY.
Daily Awakening Deck PRACTICE YOU
This beautifully created work of watercolour magic by Elena Brower is daily ritual for Sam and me. We set our heart intention for the day. You will love this. At the end of the week, we reflect on the cards we pulled each day.
You can find a link to them here.
Your Altar
Designing your altar is all for you. I tend to have a candle to light, an incense to burn, a beautiful photo to glance at and anything you hold the most near and dear to you. This is your personal place of prayer and LOVE. I will take you on a tour of mine in a IG story, but this is all for you. I like to have it somewhere I can glance at throughout the day and a place to come to when you need it the most.
Happy sitting and happy meditation everyone.
I hope you love some of this as much as me.
xoxo
Kath