Tree Meditation

Lay under or sit against a tree. Take your hands and feel the cool grass or Earth beneath you. Imagine the intricate root system of life growing under you. You are lying within the life energy of the tree. Feel the energy. Watch the movement and pay attention to the shadows of the leaves as they move. The tree is alive. Connect with this living system of energy.  When other thoughts come to your mind, let them pass through.  A train of thought without a passenger to pick up will fly right by and not stop.  Refocus on your surroundings.  What do you feel? What do you hear?  What do you smell?  Commune with the movement of the leaves as they dance in music of the wind.  What is the song about?

When we take time to reconnect with nature, we are reconnecting with ourselves.  We are not a part from nature, but a part of nature.  Knowing this, you can come home any time.  Be one with nature and be happy, my friends!

Laura Barrette Shannon

Be With Nature

As I lay in the hammock in my backyard, a big yellow butterfly passes by, capturing my attention. I am immediately transported to a world of floral delight, fluttering from flower to flower. I feel the wind blow and begin losing myself in the movement of the leaves mixed with shadows in the tree above me. After a few minutes I gaze through an opening in the tree canopy and concentrate on the passing clouds, each animated shape becoming alive before it dissolves into the blue background. A mocking bird calls me back to Earth and then the melodic sound of the waterfall entrances me with its gentle rumble.

Take time to be with nature, time to be one with nature. The above backyard meditation is easy to do. Just sit quietly and observe your surroundings without commentary. Use your senses and explore the wonders of the natural world.

The ocean is my sanctuary,

Where I return like rivers and rain,

Reminding me of the greater whole,

from whence my soul once came.

No matter how far mankind has tried to distance himself from nature, the fact remains that humans are a part of nature. We live in a time where people have learned to spend most of their day disconnected from Mother nature. In the modern world, we spend time in a variety of boxes that separate us from our natural surroundings. There is the house where you live, perhaps spending half your day or more inside this domestic box. There may be the building where you work, and some of you even have a little office or a cubicle box. There are the mobile boxes such as cars, buses, and trains. We spend our time moving from one box to another, keeping ourselves as far away from nature as our money can buy.

Watching nature is viewed from television sets and computers. The art of sitting outside, relaxing, and just being with nature is becoming uncommon. The electronic age has taken over our minds, luring us to spend countless hours watching TV, connected to the Internet, and glued to our cell phones waiting for the next text message or tweet. Our minds are being hooked by audio visual electronic stimuli to the point where we have tuned out what we feel with our body and the smell and taste of our food because we aren't paying attention. We are forgetting the purpose of having a physical body is so that we can experience the world through our senses.

Not all of you are caught up in your boxes, but most unhappy people have this in common. If you are one of those people, get out of your box! By getting fresh air and sunshine you will give yourself a boost of happiness. Take a short walk, read outside, go for a hike, go fishing, camping, biking, or just sit quietly outside taking in the sights and sounds. You will begin to reconnect with the natural world. You'll begin to notice your habitat and surroundings. You'll become aware of and even stop to watch birds and butterflies. The more you can incorporate being outside in nature, the bigger the emotional reward will be.

Besides the relaxing benefits of reconnecting with nature, the human body benefits from sunlight itself. The amount of sunlight we receive affects our levels of vitamin D. Vitamin D is absorbed through exposure to sunlight. Studies have shown that low levels of vitamin D may cause some people to feel symptoms of depression. So sunshine can actually brighten your day emotionally! Take a few minutes every day to bask in the sunlight and renew your spirit

When we take time to connect with nature we recharge our spirits and relax our minds. Being outside encourages us to use our senses as they were meant to be used: experiencing our surroundings. We give ourselves the opportunity to feel the sunlight, rain, and wind. We can experience the sweet sound of bird songs and be a witness the miracle of flight. We can dig our toes in the sand at the beach, or smell the freshness of damp grass on a summer morning. Being with nature allows us to be present, which reduces stress and rejuvenates the soul. Increase your awareness of your surroundings and you may be surprised how much it enhances your life.

Lesson #26:

Being with nature encourages presence, which reduces stress and rejuvenates the soul.

Exercise:

Spend some time everyday outside. Incorporate outdoor activities as much as possible. Practice being with nature. Learn to hear the sounds, distinguish the scents, and appreciate the sights of the the natural world. If you find thoughts of the past or the future coming to mind, refocus on your surroundings. This exercise helps train your ability to focus and to be present while rejuvenating yourself at the same time.

Simple outdoor meditations:

• Sit quietly, close your eyes, and listen to as many distinct sounds you can sense.
• Watch the movement and pay attention to the shadows of the leaves in a tree.
• Close your eyes and see how many distinct scents you can sense.
• Sky watch. Gaze at the clouds or the stars.

Awaken Your Inner Child

When we were children we were free. We lived in the moment, focusing on just being a child. If you are in my generation or older, then you probably were never bored. This seems to be a new phenomenon among our youth in the last twenty years or so. No, when I was young I was never bored. I played outside, with or without toys, with or without friends. Whatever I was doing was all that mattered at the time.

As we get older we lose that feeling of freedom to be only in the moment. We become slaves to our wondering mind, often thinking about the past or the future, and not really living in the moment. We become absent in our own lives. The body breathes, walks, performs actions, but the mind is somewhere else. When we consciously bring our attention to the present moment, we become like little children again. We enjoy our life with more vigor. We begin to be present in our own life.

When you are free like a child you naturally express your innate creativity and wonder. Children use their imaginations, opening their world to endless possibilities. They are naturally inquisitive, creative, playful, and willing to explore their world. It's time to live like a child again. When you become present you will pay more attention to your surroundings. You will notice the flowers as you walk into the bank, you will notice the stars at night and maybe take time to watch the sunset. You will have more time to pursue creative activities and more time to play. How can you have more time? Remember how long summer vacations used to seem when you were young? The more present you are the slower time seems to flow. When you aren't stuck inside your head and are actually present, time seems to expand.

Practice being present and you will begin to awaken the little child inside of you. Everything will become more fun. Your inner child will want to play because children love to play. They enjoy being outside in nature, looking at clouds, even playing in the rain! Your inner child might want to try new things, play games, redecorate a room, or make the food on the dinner plate look pretty. Be present and you will feel an urge to express new wonder, playfulness, and creativity.

Lesson :

Reconnecting with your inner child makes life more fun and expands time.

Exercise:

Practice bringing child like awareness into something that you normally do without awareness. It could be as simple as taking a walk.. If you normally are caught up in thoughts while walking, switch your awareness to your surroundings. Take a new route. Make a game out of it. How many animals can you see along the way? How many distinct sounds are around you? Does one street smell different than another street? If you were blind folded would you be able to know which street you were on?

Or maybe awaken your inner child while making dinner. Instead of being caught up in thoughts about the past or future, pay attention to what you are doing. Make a new recipe, or use your creativity in presentation and table setting design. Practice feeling the textures of the different foods as you prepare them. Take a moment to smell them. Be present and the experience will be totally different than mindlessly making dinner while listening to TV.

Practice reconnecting with your inner child and life will be fuller and more fun.

Releasing Regrets

(image from the situationist.wordpress.com)

When we hold onto regrets, it hinders our ability to fully enjoy life. It creates a darkness that clouds our inner joy. To truly enjoy life we need to make peace with our past by accepting it for what it was. Release any thoughts about how the past should have been any different than it was. These types of thoughts are pointless and they only serve to disturb your peace of mind. Come to accept that whatever happened is now over now.. To think about how you wish it had been different is riding on a train of thought that leads to emotional suffering. Don't be attached to imaginary past scenarios by rewriting history in your mind. Use your imagination to focus on future dreams, not to torture yourself with thoughts of what should have been or what could have been.

For some people “what could have been” thoughts are the root of personal regret. You may look back and ponder different choices you might have made that would have resulted in different events occurring. As tempting as this negative mind candy can be, we must be aware of how destructive this way of thinking is to our peace of mind. The “could have been” scenarios reinforce the negative emotions about what actually happened. It won't help you get past the regret, it will ignite it with each thought of “if I had only done this”.

Be aware that you made choices in the past that made sense at the time according to knowledge you had and the state of mind you were in at that time.  Forgive yourself for doing the best you could.  That is all anyone ever does.  Don't let the "what ifs" take over your mind and hijack your emotions.  Accept the past for what it was and move forward.

No amount of thinking can change the past, but thinking too much about how you wish it were different will change your present into living hell of regret.

Be Happy, my Friends-

Laura Barrette Shannon

Imagine a Second Chance

Imagine yourself many years from now, in the last few minutes of your life....

You are calm and at peace, reflecting on the wonderful life you’ve had, but also keenly aware of things you could have done differently. 

Think about the ordinary moments that you wish you had payed more attention to as they happened.

Recall the people you wish you had shown more love and forgiveness...

Now, imagine that you have a chance to go back to today and live out those years again, with enhanced awareness, with more love and more joy...

Poof! You are here, Now. Be grateful for this second chance. Enjoy your journey, and be happy, my Friends :)

Laura barrette Shannon

1 Minute Story: Dream Your Destiny

A young girl asks, "Grandmother, I'm scared. How am I going to know how to to be an adult? How will I become wise like you, to teach my children and grandchildren. I'm afraid I'll never be able to learn everything I need to know, there is so much I don't understand."

Grandmother took her little hand in hers and led her to a small sapling apple tree, no taller than she. "Look at this tiny tree. Right now it is young, it doesn't provide much shade, and it's too young to produce fruit. What do you think will happen to the tree over the next twenty years?" The child replied, "It will grow into a big tree with lots of fruit." "Ah, my child, you are already gaining wisdom. You can see that its destiny is to grow into a mature tree. So it is the same for you. Your destiny is to gradually grow into the wise wonderful woman that you desire to be."

And so it is the same for our dreams. Never think that a dream is too big or too difficult to accomplish. Once you set your heart's desire and intend to follow a dream, you have set your destiny upon the path of fruition. Most dreams are accomplished gradually, one step at a time. The only fear you should have is giving up your dreams.
Dream big! Your dreams will guide your actions of today, and forge your destiny of tomorrow!

Be Happy, my Friends-

Laura Barrette Shannon

Tell Me about Yourself

WHO would you be without your story? When you define yourself by your life story you are limiting yourself. You are more than your past, no matter how delightful, painful, exciting, or dramatic it has been, you are just a character in the story, not the story itself. It can be tempting, when people ask who you are, to start telling your life story. The next time someone asks you to share about yourself, tell them your dreams, your values, what sparks your passion. It's not who you were yesterday that matters, it's who you choose to be now and tomorrow.

Be Happy My Friends-
Laura Barrette Shannon

 

BE Desireless

DESIRE LESS, ALLOW MORE. When we come from a mindset of wants and desires it reinforces a "lacking" mentality. When we come from a mindset of being open and allowing, we are readying ourselves for action in alignment with our desires. It is a subtle difference of wording, but it makes a huge difference. For instance one could say, "I want to be in better physical shape." This statement is on...e of desire, but doesn't necessarily promote action. When reworded to say "I am allowing myself to live a healthier lifestyle and open to new physical activities.", the stage is set for action which will produce desired results. Another example: "I want to find a nice man to date." vs. "I am open to allowing a nice man to come into my life." That's it. Desire less, be open to allowing your dreams to manifest!
Be Happy, my Friends-
Laura Barrette Shannon

Why Are Most Children Happier Than Adults?

Why are most children happier than adults?

1. Children live in the moment, where they can fully enjoy whatever they are doing.

2. Children love to PLAY: They enjoy being outside in nature, looking at clouds, even playing in the rain!

3. Children let their emotions flow with full passion and then release them. They can be angry one minute and laughing the next.

4. Children use their imaginations, opening their world to the impossible.

How can you be like a child today?