mediation

* Oh, bless you, The Divine Danielle LaPorte! We’ve been addressing this A LOT in my life as of late.

Take a look and then get out there and enjoy your weekend my loves,

xox

Yoga isn’t going to make you impervious to criticism — because criticism bites.

Meditation doesn’t make divorce less brutal — because divorce is rough no matter how it goes down. Green juice won’t keep the creep at work away — creeps like to creep. And prayer will not make your illness less intense to deal with — physical burdens are…burdensome.

For a lot of self-helpers, and juicers, and cosmic troopers who have been at it for a while there comes a pitfall — and you can trip into it on your first hot yoga class, or after ten years of regular meditation and fervent prayer. It goes like this: If I’m doing all this spiritual work, why does shit keep happening?

Variations include, but are not limited to: I’ve worked really hard to get my ego in check, why am I still so jealous of her?… I’ve had so much therapy, why aren’t I over this yet?… Been doing my abundance mantra for 40 days, but I’m still freaked about money… Take my supplements religiously, but I keep getting sick… I totally opened my heart chakra in that weekend workshop, but like, I still think he’s a total asshole.

Spiritual practice won’t stop shitty things from happening. Here’s the truly holistic picture: Life is full of shitty things, circumstances, feelings, emotions, and people with crazy-shitty motives.

You can still get your heart broken when you’re enlightened. Illumination doesn’t spare the body — pundit Jiddu Krishnamurti dealt with wretched migraines, the beloved Thich Nhat Hanh recently suffered a debilitating stroke. Tragedies strike. Tsunamis engulf. Life hits, heals, caresses, and batters every one of us — the saints, the do-gooder’s, in sun salutations, and in repose.

But this…

Here’s what soul practice does: It helps you handle the hard stuff when it comes. Every conscious in-breath/out-breath you take carves out space in your being for the ineffable mystery. And you really need to leave room for mystery if you want to stay sane. All of your dancing, and asanas, and sweaty finish lines are making it much easier to unfold, rather than grip and grind. The prayers, the declarations, the incantations… they’re an IV drip of grace, streaming into your nervous system.

Spiritual practice won’t make you super human. But it will help you fall in love with your humanity.

You get to choose your response to even the things you can’t prevent. When you’re down on yourself because you can’t get over it, when the Creepy Creepertons are on your very last nerve, when you’re tired of being tired, or your heart is in pieces…the best

Danielle LaPorte

http://www.daniellelaporte.com/?inf_contact_key=0c40520a67c0c00592ae82ccb6d9d8984e2ec4480c14ca5f6143d580ca3d4517

“Damn! Why does that keep happening?” I repeatedly yell at my Macbook, WordPress spellcheck, and most loudly at myself.

You’ve probably seen the ones that escape me. The number one spelling faux-pas that makes it into my blog post and drives me insane.

If I forget that first “t” in meditate the word becomes mediate.
Fuck!

And because it is a word in its own right it slips by all the checks and balances and even my highly discerning eagle eye.
When I finally do catch it (or *#@& Dominator calls it to my attention), I want to scream,(and often do) “No, no, not mediate—meditate!”

The other day while I was maneuvering deep behind the curtain of secrecy that operates my blog to change that reoccurring rogue word to the one I intended; I was struck by lightning.
Well, not really, I was wearing my rubber flip-flops and there wasn’t a storm cloud in site, but I’m speaking figuratively.

Figuratively I was struck in the forehead by a giant, white-hot, lightning bolt of AhHa!

Meditation and mediation are NOT separate words with different meanings; they mean the same thing!
Who knew?

MEDIATE

Verb: mediated, mediating.
1.
To settle (disputes, strikes, etc.) as an intermediary between parties; reconcile.

4.
To act between parties to effect an agreement, compromise,reconciliation, etc.

Holy shit you guys! That’s what mediation does for us—it mediates!

And just like any good mediator it settles the disputes between our endlessly fearful, misinformed mind-chatter, (This is crazy! It doesn’t feel safe! I’m going to get hurt! I’m never wrong! Lash out! Tell lies! Act like an idiot!), and the wiser, quieter voice in our head that has the good sense not to come to the table without a mediator (and a fancy hat).

It acts as the intermediary between me and me. Meditation helps to bring about peace of mind, (shhhhhhhhh, all is well) self reconciliation, (you did the best you knew how, let it go), and clears the way for the removal of any (and there are many), misunderstandings that stand in the way of our spiritual growth.

It can and does, convey many messages and gifts; ones that can only be realized through quieting the mind through meditation. (Ideas, insights, and forgiveness, to name a few).

It is the third-party that helps us to reach a compromise between what our ego wants to do (like strangle the check-out girl at Target), and what our higher self knows is the right thing to do (zip our lips, smile and say thank you).

So the next time you see mediate where I probably meant meditate—think again!

Meditate and then Carry on,
xox

Are you feeling it?
There is rage walking the streets out there!

Rage is what happens when anger marinates
in self doubt and self pity.
When you just feel so bad about yourself,
that you take it out on the world around you.

Rage is always pointing the finger outward,
when the spotlight should really be pointed inside,
because THAT is where the pain lives.

Rage has a partner,
Victim hood.
Man! they are a nasty pair!
They skulk around in dark corners
feeding each other stories of woe,
justifying all their bad behavior,
and never letting the light take hold.

When you see someone in the grip of rage
the best thing you can do is walk away,
disengage.
Do Not try to argue or rationalize.
They are not rational.
They really cannot be reasoned with.

Remember who is whispering in their ear.

The most courageous thing you can do
is smile.
Not a condescending, “you’re crazy” smile,
but an “everything’s gonna be okay” smile,
from the heart.

If you know the person, and they are someone close to you,
a hug.
Yes, we said it, 
a hug.
an arm around the shoulder,
any loving touch.
Because love is rage’s Kryptonite.

Rage evaporates in the presence of real love.
It can no longer hear the negative self talk,
it is out of the mind, and into the heart,
where self doubt,
self pity,
and victim hood
cannot reside.

Don’t be afraid of rage,
even your own.
Now that you know it’s roots,
have compassion,
and get to the “heart” of the matter.