Do you know Jeff Foster? He teaches an embodied form of meditation. Very different than the new age-y approach of trying to escape the body.
He’s offering a freebie on January 14, 2pm eastern. I’ve done several of these offerings with Jeff and find them very nourishing.
It’s an opportunity to experience his work without charge. If you like it, you can sign up for his community; he will mention that. But, unlike most free offerings/masterclasses, his webinars have never felt like an infomercial.
(I’m not an affiliate, btw. Just a fan.)
If you’ve found it difficult to meditate in the past yet yearn for the myriad benefits, why not check it out?
“How do you get ‘there’? You don’t. Even if you did, you’d still be here. Be here. That’s how you get ‘there’. In presence, in stillness, let life carry you…”
Do you know Jeff Foster? He teaches an embodied form of meditation. Very different than the…
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…
I met Dana several months ago in a Mindful Self Compassion course. I enjoyed her warm and peaceful energy so much that I’ve been joining her weekly meditations on Mind Oasis. When she told me about her upcoming yoga series in May of 2021, I was super-psyched!
If you’ve come to the conclusion that all that twisting like a pretzel and jumping back and forth is not for you, never fear. That’s just one style of yoga that happens to be popular. I don’t care for it much myself! This will be very, very different. It sounds like the perfect remedy for all the stress and anxiety that many people are experiencing.
Here’s the invitation from Dana:
We will start with gentle yoga movement to prepare our bodies for a short seated meditation, then get really comfy and lay down for Yoga Nidra. I’ve created this series, imbued with self care and self compassion, because it’s one I’ve always wanted to take!
Yoga Nidra, the “Yoga of Sleep,” is an ancient practice that taps into our true selves through deep and profound rest and relaxation. You may well go to sleep as you are guided through, but your conscious mind will still be very much at work, incorporating the relaxing steps that light up the brain in a step-like fashion. It can also open up a portal for creativity. You can use Yoga Nidra to help with sleep and deep relaxation, or to recharge much like a power nap. They say that 20 minutes of Yoga Nidra is as good as 4 hours of sleep.
The classes are offered online through Mind Oasis on Wednesday evenings (6:30-7:30 pm MT), and in studio at jalaBlu in Buena Vista (my “yoga home!” for the past three years) on Thursday evenings (6:30-7:30 pm MT). Can’t make the trip to my amazing little mountain town studio? You can join us online for that one, too.
Register below for one of three options, and let me know if you’re coming and we can talk details. Thanks for your consideration — I’d love to see you there!
I met Dana several months ago in a Mindful Self Compassion course. I enjoyed her warm…
Full transparency: I am borrowing this tag line from a student. But it’s just so brilliant I have to share it! 20/20 is the term ophthalmologists use to describe normal eyesight. Well, we’re taking it a step further and claiming 2020 as the year of Perfect Vision, the foundation to uncovering the soul’s calling as well as the guidance and motivation necessary to pursue it.
It’s helpful to know where you want to go before your start charting your journey. It’s also helpful to clean out your trunk so you’re not hauling around crap from the past decade on your adventure. Perhaps most helpful of all is tuning up your vehicle, paying attention to all the systems that allow it to run smoothly. Self-care, -kindness, -discovery, and -awareness are the corollary steps in creating an intentional lifestyle.
For me yoga, Reiki, and nourishment are essential building blocks in this process. No news there; you’re heard me say this 10,000 times already! Over the past year I’ve benefited greatly from several other teachings that really upped my game, and I’m very eager to share them here in the hopes others might also profit. If you’re looking to maximize your potential in the new year, you might find some guidance here.
I could spend the next month extolling the virtues of these lessons. Instead I’ll provide links to websites allowing you to do your own research. The three teachers I’m mentioning have a variety of courses as well as very generous newsletters which can be a risk-free gateway into their work. I respect and admire their contributions to personal growth and spiritual awakening and am incredibly grateful for the wisdom they’ve shared.
Sharon Blackie’s Courting the World Soul online course totally blew my socks off. I’m still digesting the amazing material of this 8 week course, which is a mix of depth psychology, mythology, and more. She has set me on a journey of discovering my roots to help find belonging in a world that generally makes no sense to me.
Layla Martin offers a free Radiant Queen Masterclass which includes simple practices for liberating the wild feminine energy that most of us women were taught very early on to lock down. She’s a vibrant teacher of tantra, sexual empowerment, and liberation from the bonds of patriarchal programming. I highly recommend checking this out, especially if that last sentence makes you uncomfortable!
I’m really learning a lot from Rick Hanson’s Growing the Good yearlong meditation program. His background as a Buddhist and neuro-psychologist reveals a fascinating intersection of east/west, ancient tradition/modern science. Understanding my nervous system better allows me to experience calm more frequently. ‘Nuff said!
Perhaps more transformative than all of the above is the time I’ve spent in nature. I just can’t get enough time amongst the trees! Sitting by the creek breathing the ki-infused air is where my deepest healing and best ideas happen. I’ve applied to a volunteer training program to further my knowledge of the local wooded treasure as well as to gain skills for sharing it with others. If you’re in the Philly area, Friends of the Wissahickon offers loads of guided hikes. Wherever you are, no doubt there is a patch of land that needs your appreciation.
And finally, I’m over the moon with my latest oracle card purchase. The Wild Unknown Archetypes is a beautiful deck and has been tremendously helpful for accessing my inner wisdom. They’ve been a big hit at recent community Reiki circles and I’m planning to bring them to this week’s event. Join us if you’re in the neighborhhood!
It’s my sincerest wish that 2020 brings you great peace, health, wealth, and happiness. Perhaps one of these tools can help you further your goals. As always, I’m available for Reiki (in person and remote) and massage sessions to get your year on track and uncover the benefits of Perfect Vision.
Full transparency: I am borrowing this tag line from a student. But it’s just so brilliant…
Yesterday I began a 40 day journey self-care exploration. Today’s installment is about meditation. There are probably as many ways to meditate as there are meditators. I don’t endeavor to teach people how; rather to express why. I meditate to uncover my essential self, so that I am acting from the deep truth within me as I go about my day. That means discarding all the flotsam and jetsam in my psyche that is NOT me. I am not my to-do list. I am not my previous wounds or victories. I am not the labels (healer, teacher, daughter, friend) that I identify with. I am most definitely not the woman society expects me to be.
So every morning I sit quietly sorting through all that is not me and discovering the spark of divinity that has always been there, patiently waiting to be found. The way I practice this is to meditate before I connect with the world. I had a classic internal struggle this morning as I was so excited to write these words that I considered postponing my meditation. Fortunately I soon saw how ridiculous that was! I needed to clear my mind first so I’d be able to speak from the truth at my center.
I’ve learned over the years that when I delay my mediation, one thing leads to another and I’ve spent the entire day distracted by busyness; off-kilter, and unaware. I honor meditation’s position as top-priority by giving it a premium time slot, soon after waking, even before my first cup of tea. In the same way that I pay my rent before I spend money on non-essentials, I do my self-care practices before everything else. This commitment and the willingness to surrender all that is not real are the only requirements for my meditation practice. After that, it’s like the saying: don’t just do something, sit there! And so I do.
Yesterday I began a 40 day journey self-care exploration. Today’s installment is about meditation. There are probably as…
Every day we are all faced with circumstances we have no control over. Changes in barometric pressure, hormones, and pollen are a few that come to mind because some people suffer terrific headaches as a result. Yet it is my belief that when our body/mind/spirit balance is maintained, we can minimize or even eliminate the effects of these seeming troublemakers.
When our life-force energy is flowing harmoniously, our chakras and glands are vitalized and toxins are easily disposed of. Our immunity is functioning in top-gear and we are distinctly less susceptible to outside forces. The closer to optimal balance we are at any given moment, the less likely we will be toppled off-balance by any outside force. This can also apply to someone cutting us off in traffic, excessive or unpleasant fragrances, behavior in a colleague that we judge as rude, or a late bus.
There are countless ways to achieve balance in our lives. Reiki and meditation are the easiest, quickest, and most accessible tools that I know of for inviting peace, harmony, and well-being to become our default zone. Vacations are delightful, but they come too infrequently and end to quickly. Therapy is helpful, but we are reliant on someone else to meet with us. Exercise is irreplaceable, yet sometimes inconvenient. Both Reiki and meditation can be utilized anywhere, anytime, without any preparation or outside assistance. Practicing these simple techniques can stack the deck in our favor and keep us ahead of the potential discomfort of unforeseen events.
Luminous Heart Reiki & Massage 