from confusion and chaos into the LIGHT

nature or people–storms happen!

the chaos of life can happen at any time.  storms come, sometimes as weather systems-storms, hurricanes or floods; at other times, storms are made up of just plain people with their threats, problems, troubles, illnesses, and neurotic modern-day dysfunctions. storms can surround us, even if we don’t want them to. it may not be our own problems that get us down…it may be others’ that are more challenging than our own. but when we’re surrounded by these life-storms, triggered by people we love, people we know, or just people who are in our lives (at work, at church or temple, at our clubs or groups, social or … while shopping, at the bank, wherever)–we can learn to detach from others’ negative influences.

here’s what i visualize when i’m feeling overwhelmed, surrounded by others’ frenetic energies. it happens, sometimes more than others: feeling caught within the web of life’s myriad life-storms.  we don’t have to let them attack us all. we don’t have to be the victim of others.  but whether we’re prepared for them or not…life-storms come, over and over.

Find the person in this mess, and pretend you are he or she and discover the secret of how i, and millions of others like me, have learned to deal with stress:

in the "I" of the hurricane

how can we possibly DO this? how can one learn to maintain such calm in the middle of life-threatening, happiness-stealing craziness? learn the tools of how to meditate. learn to breathe. learn to focus your mind. learn to avoid negativity and instead, focus on positive. for ME, just me, I have learned to do that most effectively by being a student of a meditation teacher. there are many people who teach meditation these days. i’m sure anyone who wants to learn how to meditate, to calm their minds, can find themselves one. if not, there are many books, and CDs, even DVDs available.

meditation is the key to inner peace … even when one is experiencing extremely stressful situations in their every minute … if you learn to meditate, you can go within to a place of deep peace. and relax.  and breathe.  make space in your crowded mind.  with this psychic tool (meditation) you can handle any of life’s stresses.

i promise.

a few, excellent meditation teachers i recommend are:

www.siddhayoga.org siddha yoga, a worldwide meditation revolution, with groups meeting in major and off-the-beat cities throughout the USA, and in many countries throughout the world. Swami Chidvilasnanda is the meditation master teacher. many books, tapes, and tools are available in their book store.

www.plumvillage.org the Green Mountain Dharma Center, where Thich Nhat Hanh and his students offer wisdom, books, and other meditation aids.

sally kempton ( www.sallykempton.com ) ; chogyam trungpa and pema chodran ( www.shambhala.com ) ; deepak chopra ( www.deepakchopra.com ), and many other buddhist, yogic, and mystical teachers of all paths.

Many teachers, many interpretations: One Path–to the Light.

from chaos and confusion...into the Light

remember…if you invest in your own inner peace, you–your Self!–will reap the benefit of your actions. Be at Peace. Go Within. Breathe in the God-Wisdom that resides within your own heart. Let Go, let God (as in Good-Orderly-Direction, “God”).

An important thing to do, and an image to visualize as you strive for staying calm in the middle of chaos, is how I work with this most sacred sound, called the “Seed Mantra”:

the sacred sound of OM

breathe gently, and empty your mind. it may take a few breaths, a few minutes even, but…your mind will become still if you “command” it to! then, on a gentle out-breath, make the pleasing, resonant sound of OM …. visualize its sound comforting you, engulfing you …  surrounding you … your voice sending out Om-sound-healing vibrations to the world … inviting into your heart healing peace that soothes your aches, pains, sorrows and stresses.

Om may also be used as a silent mantra for meditation.

begin to practice being calm in the middle of life-storms, and watch how your calming energy affects other people. the world needs all the help it can get, with calming peaceful individuals practicing these meditation techniques with regularity. won’t you start today, to help our world heal from the turmoil and intolerance that besieges the human heart? start by visualizing something like this:

sending the Light out to ALL from the core of enlightened humans...join the solution and stop being part of the problem

In the Light, lordflea