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Ancestor meditations around fear

Scientific study has shown that we inherit across generations, not only through our psyches, but deep in our genetic makeup. Our genes are literally shaped by the experiences of our grandparents. Chew on that for awhile. Reflect on your grandparents’ lives. Are any of them survivors of war? Of childhood neglect? Of sexual assault? What might you be carrying in your body as their legacy? What fears have you consciously or unconsciously inherited? In his Read more…

By Ysette, ago

Throwing a Monster Celebration

The Monster Celebration is perhaps the most famous guided meditation comes from Amanda Owen’s book, The Power of Receiving, and it comes to me via my cherished friend Steph Cowling. I really dig visualization exercises such as this because in addition to being powerful and effective, they are also fun and surprising. Yes, this is a really fun way to do shadow work. (Personally, I found talk therapy to be incredibly important foundational work, but fun? Not so much.)

Owen’s hypothesis is that standing between us and whatever goals we’re struggling to achieve is at least one “monster”—her word for inner demon. In spite of the name, this is not an “evil” or “bad” aspect of the self. To the contrary, she holds that our monsters are likely outworn beliefs and behaviors that no longer serve us (e.g., the Rebel or the Good Girl). Monsters are thus the rejected or misundertood parts of ourselves that continue to haunt us precisely because we refuse to know them more intimately and accept them with unconditional love.

If we want to live our lives in wholeness and integrity, it makes perfect sense that the task ahead is to know and integrate every aspect of the self, including those that we wish did not exist. The magical thing about healing—alchemical, really—is that observing any aspect of the self in loving attention transforms that aspect into gold.

With this in mind, Owen has come up with a playful solution to facing the most feared aspect of the self: throwing it a celebratory party! What better way to embrace someone we’ve ignored or rejected for so long? (more…)

By Ysette, ago

Mindfully sitting with fear

This practice of sitting mindfully with fear is inspired by the work of psychologist and Buddhist meditation teacher, Tara Brach. She teaches that fear is the root of all negative emotion, including those that manifest in ways that do not seem or feel fearful, such as anger, addiction, compulsiveness, and the need for control. If you drill down into any one of these, the root answer will always be fear. My grandmother provides a great example of how fear is the deep-rooted emotion behind most others. I’d never seen her more upset with me than when I came home hours later than I promised. (I didn’t think to call because I got caught up working on a school project.) Beneath her anger, of course, was the fear for my safety. (And beneath that was the love that she was unable to express verbally for most of her life–love tamped down by fear of vulnerability.)

Fear, you’ve surely heard, causes a physiological reaction in our bodies, regardless of how “real” the threat may be. Brach points out that most things that make us anxious are actually not imminent dangers, but either memories of past traumas or imagined future threats. This is why mindfulness—attuning ourselves to what is going on within us and around us in the present moment—is such an effective way of moving through fear. Neural plasticity enables us to interrupt our natural instincts (fight, flight, or freeze) and rewire our brains so we can create more effective ways of being in he world.

The best way of moving through fear, Brach argues, is by going against our natural instincts to turn away from it. (more…)

By Ysette, ago

Trusting the Process

The Way of Rest by spiritual teacher Jeff Foster is a treasure. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve referred to this collection of little writings, some of which read like poetry, and find just what fits my mood. I’d bookmarked work #33 a couple weeks back because it fit thematically with my monthly topic on facing fear, doing shadow work, and shaking trauma off. But when I sat down to reread it several Read more…

By Ysette, ago

Shielding

WHAT IS SHIELDING? Earlier this year we went over grounding and centering as basic meditation and energy management practices. This month we added shielding to our tool belt. What is shielding? It’s something I believe we all learn to do instinctively when we are young. There are many ways to do it, depending on our disposition and context. For starters, think back to a time when you had to interact with a person who isn’t Read more…

By Ysette, ago

February 2017 gathering

Our space tonight is extra pretty with #orchids! #dreamersschemers

Our space tonight is extra pretty with #orchids! #dreamersschemers

This year I’ve decided to structure our gatherings along with the seasons and the chakra system, so February was the time for us to “make like plants” by turning inward to feed our roots (and root chakra) in preparation for spring. (more…)

By Ysette, ago

Winter assessment

This is a process that will help you lean into each area of your life and decide for yourself whether (or in what respects) it is nourishing or draining you. As with any tool, please take what serves you and modify or adapt as you wish.

The goal is to be able to take the information and knowing you get from charting out and feeling into each area of your life so you can bring your life further into balance and alignment with your values.

Remember to approach this with beginner’s mind. Your monkey mind / ego will want to take over this work, and you can give your left brain a wide berth for the first few steps of this process, but once you start the work of “leaning in,” you will want your intuition to lead.

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By Ysette, ago

Balance between heaven and earth

This is a very basic way of grounding and centering yourself, using both the energy of the earth and the energy of the heavens. Turn inward and begin to feel yourself standing by a tree. It may be a tree that you know in real life, or a tree that just comes to your consciousness. Feel your back leaning against the trunk of the tree and your feet among its roots. As you inhale, begin Read more…

By Ysette, ago

Connecting with your ancestors

There are countless ways to connect with your ancestors, and I encourage you to explore other methods and eventually come up with your very own way(s) of doing so, but here I offer a brief guided visualization exercise that I adapted from my own work in the Akashic Records, where I first became acquainted with my ancestors. (Note: We will not be going into your Akashic Records for this exercise.)

 

Preparatory tips

Before we jump into the meditation, let me emphasize the importance of beginner’s mind. In order to get the most from your experience, you will be best served by quieting your critical mind and holding no expectations. Whatever words I use,  do your best not to conceptualize those terms so narrowly. Instead, open yourself to the experience emerging from your subconscious. You may be surprised at what pops up, and that’s a good thing!

This means that when I say a word such as “ancestors,” don’t automatically assume that they are people who were related to you by blood. They may be spiritual ancestors, and / or they may not even take human form. You may meet just one ancestor or several, and you may get a sense of different entities or simply know them as a collective. They may “appear” before you, or you may sense them anywhere else around you (e.g., beside you, above you, behind you, “at 10 o’clock,” etc.).

I also recommend paying attention to how the energy of your ancestors and the knowing they have to offer comes to you. Are you highly visual? Do you hear their words? Or do you sense something more ineffable?

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t seem to be “getting much.” As with any relationship, you may feel a connection instantly, or it may take a bit more time to develop a deeper connection. Remember: the connection is always there. It’s just a matter of being receptive to it and understanding how this works for you.

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By Ysette, ago