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Meditation


mfh

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Yes, George, and sometimes it doesn’t come at all. It may take a long time and for some, it may never come. That is my belief. I do think it is a choice, though.

I have had many losses in my life and to this date, nothing has been as challenging as losing my Jim. In the beginning, I had no joy or it was hidden deep in my person. Today it is a daily choice. Sometimes I am and sometimes I’m not. I’m okay with that.

Anne

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February 9th

This I really believe and I think our grief makes us more tuned into the pain of others. Not to fix anything ~ just to sit with another in their pain.

Giving and Receiving Consolation ~ Henry Nouwen 

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Photo courtesy of SDGimagery.com
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Consolation is a beautiful word. It means "to be" (con-) "with the lonely one"(solus). To offer consolation is one of the most important ways to care. Life is so full of pain, sadness, and loneliness that we often wonder what we can do to alleviate the immense suffering we see. We can and must offer consolation. We can and must console the mother who lost her child, the young person with AIDS, the family whose house burned down, the soldier who was wounded, the teenager who contemplates suicide, the old man who wonders why he should stay alive.

To console does not mean to take away the pain but rather to be there and say, "You are not alone, I am with you. Together we can carry the burden. Don't be afraid. I am here." That is consolation. We all need to give it as well as to receive it.
Henri Nouwen

 

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I am so glad you have found your way to Tools for Healing and the Meditation thread, scba. I cannot begin to tell you how very much I have learned from this site. I was not a meditator or if I was I didn't call it that. Since then I have found that taking time to breathe and be still have been so helpful for me. This journey is so very hard. Each day brings new challenges. We can get through this and it helps to have others who understand our grief. 

I did take Megan Devine's class in writing about my grief and found it to be helpful to me. I love that we have a place here where we can express our grief since grief really is not supposed to be done in private. I think you will find this thread Tools for Healing helpful to you as you navigate your way. I am here and sit with you on your journey.

Hugs,

Anne

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I know it has changed my life, made me more aware, which in turns helps me be in the present.  That also plays into appreciation and gratitude.  It seems it's all connected.

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Here is a wonderful article with guidelines for using mindfulness in grief, by Ashley Davis Bush: Making Grief Mindful.

An excerpt:

Mindfulness – the practice of nonjudgmental present awareness — is often promoted in the mental health field as the golden ticket to resilience and inner peace.  Mindfulness practices are said to soothe anxiety, lift depression, minimize chronic pain, and reduce stress.  The problem for grievers is that mindfulness asks the griever to be present with the very thing that they’re trying to avoid.  So what can mindfulness do for the heart-searing pain of losing a loved one?

Quite a lot, as it turns out.

Being mindful allows the griever to feel and observe the pain without being swallowed by it.  The act of being present with pain, being mindfully observant, is healing.  Such presence allows the painful emotion to surface and shift.

I have worked with grievers for 25 years and I know that a mindful attitude toward the process of grief is tremendously important.  I find that the following 3 mindful strategies help the griever navigate painful terrain. Read on here >>>

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The Sacred Art of Listening by Tara Brach

What is a listening presence and what are the mindfulness strategies that can really wake us up? It is a skill to be learned. Qualities of listening: presence, awareness, attention, openness, interest, etc…

I found this so worth the hour.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZIil78WPLs 

listen to the bells.jpg

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i'm visiting my granddaughter, so will have to listen to this when I get home, it sounds like a good topic!

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Have a fun time with your grandbaby, Kay. They grow so fast, don't they? I am looking forward to my third grandbaby due in May. I'm hoping to spend a few weeks or a month with the family to help out. My daughter is glowing and everyone feels so blessed. :wub:

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I hope you can do that, Anne.  I've had a great time spending time with her this weekend, she's adorable.  I thought she'd give me that "who are you" look, but she didn't, she took to me.  She smiles and giggles a lot and is busy busy busy!  I got to take care of her for a while yesterday while her parents shopped, it was nice.  It's also nice being with my granddoggies.  I may have to come home early today as they predict snow, grr!

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I am looking forward to this series. 

Meditation is not all calm and peace. It opens up space for you to see what’s going on in your mind. This week, we'll look at 5 emotions and meditative practices to work with them.

Today's emotion: anger. It can be one of the ugliest emotions. It can ruin any situation. It also has awesome power.

 
Edited by enna
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Anne,

I went there but didn't see how to sign up.  There was an article to read and a survey...???

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So is it just an article to read? Usually meditations are videos, but I didn't see any.

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Tonight's Meditation...

"Let this wakeful openness be felt in the domain of the heart..."

This meditation reconnects us to the vibratory aliveness of our bodies, and the space of awareness that suffuses that aliveness. We inhabit embodied awareness in the moments of non-doing, of simply resting as wakeful openness, of pure Being.

 
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This meditation reconnects us to the vibratory aliveness of our bodies, and the space of awareness that suffuses that aliveness.
TARABRACH.COM
 
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On Tuesday, March 01, 2016 at 7:30 PM, enna said:

Today, the focus for being mindful is sadness...

http://www.mindful.org/how-to-navigate-sadness-mindfully/  

Hello Anne,

I hope you can help me, it seems you are an expert on the subject. I have been advise to start with meditation. I have been browsing on internet but there is so much info and I am confused. Do you have any suggestion of a website or download/cd/mp3 to start? Thank you. Ana

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I am smiling, dear Ana, for I am probably the last person who can help you. My real venture into the importance of meditating started when one of our members began this thread titled Meditation.  Rather than going on the Internet I come to this thread and take advantage of many of the good meditation ideas

Here is what I started out with

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6eFFCi12v8

and then I began to realize the importance of taking a few minutes each day to breathe and work with some guided meditation

these are a few I bookmarked and found to be helpful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2UKw8tFYyY 

http://www.calm.com  ~ this one I still have on my desktop. You can set it to your liking and for how long you'd like

I found that the most important thing to do is take your time. If we can relax and notice our breathing that is a beginning.

Anne

 

 

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Meditation: Living Presence – The pathway to experiencing full aliveness and openheartedness is by awakening awareness throughout the body. This meditation begins by establishing a rhythmic inflow and outflow of the breath, in order to calm and collect the mind. Then continuing with the conscious breathing, we are guided through the body – bringing attention to sensations and space. This attention becomes a very vibrant living presence, and we end by experiencing that living presence as a natural openheartedness that includes all of life.

Your support enables us to continue to offer these talks freely. If you value them, I hope you will consider offering a donation at this time at www.tarabrach.com/donation/.

With gratitude and love, Tara


Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:01 — 9.2MB)

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Frank & Ernest 3/26/16Meditation.jpg

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