I very much enjoy Jeff’s teachings on a very uncommon style of meditation. Instead of going up and out, escaping the body, he guides us down and in, landing squarely in our humanity.
He’s offering yet another free webinar that I’m excited to attend.
Here’s an excerpt from his newsletter:
THE PEACE PARADOX – Why Chasing Calm is Making You Miserable (and What to Do Instead)
Together we’ll explore:
• Why chasing “calm” often creates more inner tension • How true meditation can welcome ALL emotions – even rage, grief, and fear • The astonishing paradox of peace – how true peace emerges when you stop trying to be peaceful! • A radically compassionate, deeply human approach to spiritual practice
This is not about transcending your humanity—it’s about befriending it.
I often share his free webinars here because they address the very obstacles that I and so many others experience on the spiritual path. He’s very generous with his offerings and these freebies offer a taste of what you can expect from his programs should you wish to go deeper.
I have no financial ties to him, this is just an amazing opportunity I want to pass along.
I very much enjoy Jeff’s teachings on a very uncommon style of meditation. Instead of going…
I’ve joined this wonderful 21 day meditation challenge led by my dear friend Becky. Today was our second day of meeting online and being guided into a silent meditation and then serenaded with lovely poetry. It’s not too late to join this very doable practice- just 15 minutes, and it’s recorded if you can’t make it live.
It’s been a wonderful addition to my day. Join us! There’s something extra special about meditating in community. Becky makes it super-accessible by offering her gifts on a donation basis.
I just had to share the beautiful poem she read this morning. Such wise and compassionate words by Orion Mountain Dreamer. I felt tingles all over simply from listening.
What if There’s No Need to Change?
What if there is no need to change? No need to transform yourself Into someone who is more compassionate, more present, more loving, or wise? How would this affect all the places in your life where you are endlessly trying to be better, or different? What if the task is simply to unfold To become who you already are in your essential nature – Gentle, compassionate, and capable of living fully and passionately present? What if the question is not, Why am I so infrequently the person I really want to be? But ‘why do i so infrequently want to be the person i really am?’ How would this change what you think you have to learn? What if becoming who and what we truly are happens not through striving and trying But by recognising and receiving the people and places and practices That are for us the warmth of encouragement we need to unfold? How would this shape the choices you make about how to spend today? What if you know that the impulse to move in a way that creates beauty in the world Will arise from deep within And guide you every time you simply pay attention And wait. How would this shape your stillness, your movement, Your willingness to follow this impulse To just let go And dance?
I’ve joined this wonderful 21 day meditation challenge led by my dear friend Becky. Today was…
Check out this amazing 10 week meditation program my teacher is offering! I’m choosing to sit this one out as I’m already enrolled in her 8-month program which overlaps this one. She provides so much content and support that I don’t have the time for both. But I can wholeheartedly recommend Eva Beronius as a guide who is quite capable of showing you the realm beyond identification with the mind, and the freedom available to all of us who are willing to do the work.
I’ve copied and pasted the latest email from Eva below. I hope you’ll at least check it out, maybe get on her mailing list or listen to her podcast. I have no financial affiliations here, I’m just sharing the work that has shifted my trajectory dramatically. Plus there’s a significant discount available until the end of the month.
Here’s what Eva has to say.
Pamela,
9 years ago, I didn’t know how far away from feeling alive I was.
I thought what I was experiencing was living.
Because it seemed to be how most people around me were living.
I felt tired, drained of energy, and uninspired.
I experienced episodes of anxiety and panic attacks.
I had reactions in my relationships that I didn’t understand because none of them felt truly like me.
Insecurities, jealousy, and anger that I felt ashamed of after they appeared.
Reactions, patterns, and emotions that I wanted nothing to do with.
So I tried to escape.
By managing them with control and distraction.
Diving into work projects. And life projects. And working out.
I got addicted to the dopamine and the satisfaction that these projects gave my ego, and my mind would drive my body hard.
With no energy left for being, for enjoying.
Without connection to what I truly wanted or trust in myself.
And the emotional reactions would still bubble up – often stronger than ever when they managed to surface.
Do you recognize this, Pamela?
Reactions that seem scary and out of control?
Negative mind chatter that is weighing you down?
Escaping into work or distractions?
Lack of energy and no trust in life or what you want?
And even when you have started growing your awareness, changing beliefs, and have found self-awareness and healing work…
…the voices have morphed and are telling you that you:
👉 have to practice more
👉 will feel bad if you miss your morning meditation
👉 should do more journaling
👉 should be further along by now
👉 are failing when you’re having an uncomfortable emotion
👉 are failing when you’re making a judgment
And every time your mind is telling you this, or something like it, you can feel your body contract, your stress levels going up.
The impulse to fix, to do better, to work harder.
Or to pull a blanket over your head and give up.
Even though you are trying to counter with breathing and gratitude.
That old program of protection, “shoulds”, and “musts” is still there, just in a new form.
And you feel beaten down by it.
Trapped in your head.
Stuck in analyzing and trying to figure it all out.
Struggling with feeling and connecting with your emotions.
Struggling with connecting with what you want.
Are you willing to keep paying the price of identifying with your mind?
Or is this a time in your life when you feel ready to make a deeper shift in how you relate to your mind?
Often, the price of making the investment in commitment, time, energy, intent, and money to make the change, is a fraction of the investment you’re making in managing the old structure.
The investment you’re making every day into believing lies.
Today, I know that 9 years ago I was living without magic.
Disconnected from the magic inside that had been there all along.
I was identified with my thinking mind, and therefore, believing its view of the world and myself.
Today, life is still this strange, un-knowable place with pain and struggles at times…
The difference is that I truly and fully love it.
Every moment of it.
That I feel alive.
That I feel consciousness inside me and in everything around me.
That I feel what I want and navigate from there.
That I allow all experiences – especially the hurt and discomfort – to crack me further open.
I want you to experience that too.
That’s why I share what I share, in the best way I can at the moment.
So I encourage you to invest in magic.
In feeling fully alive.
In changing the relationship with your mind.
And I celebrate however you make that investment.
You move through the practices in your own time, and the monthly live sessions will keep going, so you could get it now at the discounted rate and start working through the course content whenever it suits you.
Check out this amazing 10 week meditation program my teacher is offering! I’m choosing to sit…
This is just delightful! I’ve been using it this evening to drown out my neighbor’s TV. It’s a lovely background sound, allowing me to read and meditate without being distracted by unwanted noise. Try it! The visuals are enchanting.
This is just delightful! I’ve been using it this evening to drown out my neighbor’s TV.…
The other night I watched my 4 year old nephew open his birthday gifts with great gusto. “This is AMAZING!” he proclaimed regarding a new Lego set. Well, I feel the same way about Mindful Self-Compassion! I recently completed this 8 week program [click here], and it had a profound effect on me. You, too, can learn about ways to infuse your life with both formal (such as seated meditation) and informal (remedies for self-soothing out in the real world) practices that will create profound shifts. I found the facilitators, Annie and Anne, to both be welcoming and nurturing. They did a great job of creating a safe space for us students to explore the practices and share about our experiences.
From the class description: “With self-compassion, we can motivate ourselves with encouragement, forgive ourselves when needed, face and befriend our shortcomings, care for others while caring for ourselves, and live more authentically. Research shows that self-compassion is strongly associated with emotional well-being, lower levels of anxiety and depression, healthier habits of caring for our bodies, and more satisfying personal relationships.”
Who doesn’t want all that? We can enjoy these rewards just by changing the way we think. The material is simple and accessible and quite effective. Being a part of a group helped motivate me to practice by fostering a sense of accountability that is often missing when I learn a new skill on my own. Having a community of like-minded people sharing the journey was both comforting and inspiring.
Or you could check out the workbook [click here], which I found to be incredibly helpful, without taking the class. From there, you can access wonderful guided meditations, both recorded and offered live online for free. Sadly we don’t learn about being compassionate to ourselves and others in kindergarten along with other important life skills like sharing and reading. I wish we did! But it’s never too late and this is a powerful technique that’s simple and easy to learn. Two thumbs up!
The other night I watched my 4 year old nephew open his birthday gifts with great…
I learned a lot listening to this podcast from two renowned meditation teachers. They delve into a variety of hot topics with wisdom and compassion. If you’ve ever thought that meditation wasn’t useful in the real world, this might be an opportunity to change your mind! And I can attest from personal experience that changing your mind can change your life. Radical compassion is a fascinating subject and completely applicable to the challenges that most people face in this day and age. Check it out!
Luminous Heart Reiki & Massage 