The “Christian” Practice of Meditation

This is a completely impromptu post.  In fact, I am supposed to be working on some other projects right now, but I felt divinely inspired (from a facebook comment thread about me embarking on a 21 day spiritual focus…thanks David) to get this out to you tonight.  I will likely come back around and elaborate on this over the next several weeks, but tonight I am going to introduce you to the practice of meditation and explain how Christians can meditate and not feel “spooked out” by it.

Meditation is growing in popularity across cultural and religious circles.  Some of this may be the result of individuals trying to decrease stress levels due to the condition of the world right now.  Meditation is a great tool for stress reduction, no doubt about that.  But for me, it is much more – it is really a requirement and a necessary practice of my faith – Christianity.

Should Christians Meditate?

I know I may get some push back here from Christians who read this, because most Christians are misinformed about the origins of meditation and get visuals of people sitting in some trance like state with incense burning around them humming some mantra or something.  And…all of that is cool if that’s how you choose to meditate – but for me, it is a point of personal deep spiritual connection to God.

I’ve had those awkward moments of silence with Christians when I bring up meditation – and honestly sometimes I do it just for the sheer entertainment of seeing or hearing their reaction to it.  It’s enjoyable to say the least!!!

Most of you who have been following me for any amount of time, know that I am of the Christian faith, and whole heartedly love and serve God.  I make no apologies for that – it is who I am – period.  That doesn’t mean I don’t have many friends, family, and even business partners who are of other faiths.  I love everyone – because Jesus loves everyone!  Now – before you tune me out – hang tight for a minute because there is something in this for you regardless of your personal faith – trust me.

Every year for the past several years, I have started the year off with a 21 day spiritual focus to gain direction for my personal life, my business, and my spiritual life.  This year is no exception, only this year I am doing it with a large group of people, as a “corporate effort”.   A key part of this practice for me personally is meditation.

Now realize, there is no way for me to lay out every aspect of meditation, why it is important, what the health benefits are, what the spiritual benefits are and why everyone, including Christians, should do it in one blog post.  But I can show you in Scripture where meditation is encouraged and at the end I will provide you with some simple steps to get started with a solid silent meditation practice.

Meditation in the Bible?

While there are TONS of references to meditation in the Bible, I am only going to focus on two of them today.

Psalm 46:10 says “Be still and know that I am God…”.  But hold on – that’s not all!!!  The Book of Psalms is filled with references to a Hebrew word “Selah”.  This word is positioned throughout many Psalms and is an implied pause.   The meaning of  “Selah”  is to “stop and listen” or “pause and think of that”.

See meditation is simply a combination of those two things – being still and knowing that He is God and pausing to listen – to listen not only to God, but to your own thoughts, your own emotions.

See as you meditate, you are simply “being” – you are listening to your heart, listening to your thoughts, letting them go where ever they want to go, feeling the emotions, being one with yourself and one with God.  There is no right or wrong response, no right or wrong way to think or behave in a meditative state – you just simply are “you” for that amount of time – and are simply “with God”, acknowledging His infinite influence in your life.

How to Meditate

There are lots of ways to meditate.  I have some meditation tracks that I use regularly, they are scientifically formulated to connect both hemispheres of the brain for enhanced creativity, and the combination of sounds move the brain through all the different levels of brain wave activity – alpha, beta, theta, and delta.  The benefits of this are HUGE…but way to much to talk about today.  So we’ll save that…

I also practice silent meditation, which is really the prayer focus state of “being” that I referenced earlier.  That’s the best place to start and what I will be sharing with you here today.

So, a few simple steps to get you started are:

1. Find a nice comfortable place to sit, either in a chair or on the floor.  I prefer sitting in the sunlight so I can feel the warmth of God while I meditate.  You find what is comfortable for you.
2. Make sure you are sitting upright, back straight and feet flat (if in a chair) or legs crossed (if on the floor).
3. Relax your arms in your lap, hands upright.  I sit with my hands palm up as if I am ready to receive from God, you can choose your own position of comfort.  If you are looking to release some negative energy then you may want to sit with hands dangling down and imagine all the negative energy flowing out of your body through your fingertips…just find what feels right for you at the time of meditation.
4. Close your eyes and take three deep breaths – long and deep in and slow on release.
5. Every 1-2 minutes make sure you take at least one deep breath.
6. Spend 15-30 minutes just sitting there in that position “being”.   (remember to set a timer before you start)

As you are meditating Let your thoughts go where they want to go, let your emotions go where they want to go, and listen to what is happening inside of you.  Listen to what God is speaking to you.  Just “be still and know”…Selah (pause and listen).  There is no right or wrong thing to think, no right or wrong thing to feel.  You are simply being and feeling.

Now, what happens here is this – as you meditate, your self awareness increases and things you did not even realize were clogging up your spirit man will begin to surface.  This is not anything to be afraid of, but something to be happy about – because you can now free yourself and clear your spirit of the “junk” life sometimes throws your way.

Selah with Me

So with that said, my friends I invite you to “Selah” with me this month – the first month of a new year and “be one with yourself and one with God”.  I firmly believe that as you take the time to “listen” in your moments of meditation, that he will speak and give you insight into your path for the coming year.

Yours in Spiritual Success,

PS.  Do you meditate?  Do you have any insight or experiences you would like to share?  Drop down below and leave some comments to share with the community here.  And as always – retweets and Facebook shares are appreciated.

How Do Thoughts Impact Your Life?

The thought patterns we live with day in and day out have extreme influence into the direction our lives take.  Essentially, our thoughts can make us or they can break us. Eliminating negative thoughts and thought patterns is crucial to your success and happiness in life.

Now this concept is nothing new to those who are familiar with the Law of Attraction and the principles that surround it.   There are a lot of one liners that originated out of this movement that point to such.  Some of these include quotes such as:

“Thoughts become things.”

“What you think about, you bring about.”

These concepts are valid and true. Scripture even supports them when it says:

“As a man thinks in his heart…so is he” (Proverbs 27:3)

So, with this knowledge comes the understanding that the direction of your thoughts lead to the direction of your life.  Therefore, it is important that you maintain a complete awareness of what you are thinking.

Studies reveal that the average human has approximately 60,000 thoughts per day.   And for those, like me, whose brains never stop working…there can be even more than that!! 

Because there are so many thoughts running through your mind each day, it is next to impossible to monitor them all, but you can monitor the climate of your thought life by being aware and attentive to your feelings.  Thoughts influence your feelings, therefore if you are feeling bad, angry, depressed, or frustrated, this can be a “red flag” for you to pause and trace that feeling back to the thought processes or patterns that led you down that path to begin with.

Left unaltered, negative thinking can lead to negative living.  The reason for this is simple – negative energy creates or attracts more negative energy, and ultimately – negative outcomes.  Therefore, once identified, it is essential that you consistently practice taking immediate and focused action to correct your thinking and bring it back into alignment with the direction you want your life to take…a positive peaceful and focused direction.

Techniques  To Eliminate Negative Thought Patterns and Change Your Life

There are many techniques you can use to refocus yourself, eliminate negative thought patterns, and bring balance back to your thought life.  Some of the techniques I personally use and have found to be most effective are prayer, meditation, breathing exercises, and self-talk (aka: affirmations or desire statements).

All of these help me recenter my thought patterns and bring my thoughts into alignment with my intended goals and desired direction for life.

For the purposes of this post, I want to focus on one of these, and we will save the others for future discussions.

Self-Talk and Your Thought Life

To really demonstrate the power and effectiveness of self-talk, I want to share with you a small portion of my personal journey with this technique.

Millionaire Mentors: Steven Thompson, Krista Abbott, Brad Hager, and Susan Walsh

I first began using self-talk about a year ago after a millionaire mentor of mine (Brad Hager) shared with me the importance of how it had impacted his life.  As is typical with most “new habits” we try to form, it faded away after about two months.  Amazingly, this happened even though I was seeing positive results with the actions I was taking with self-talk.  There are lots of reasons this can happen, but again that’s another post for another day…on with the story!

About a month ago, I began to notice a significant increase in negative thought patterns, so much so that it was impacting my motivation to pursue those things I am most passionate about.  Immediately, I sat down and started to write out some positive self-talk that would help me combat these things.  And, within two weeks, I had instant results of overcoming and eliminating that particular thought pattern in my life.

I have seen the power of self-talk and I know it works. If your self talk is negative, then your results will be negative.  If your self talk is positive then your results will be positive.  If you really want to have the outcomes and results you desire in your life, then you MUST recognize and eliminate negative thought patterns, and replace them with new ones.

This is called “Renewing Your Mind”.

“…be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” (Romans 12:2)

I would encourage you to identify areas that you are know you are struggling with positive thinking in and write out your own self-talk for those areas you are most passionate about.  It’s easy to do this, I’ll give you a few easy steps and some examples here:

10 Easy Steps To Creating Your Own Self-Talk

1. Get about 10 index cards (3 x 5 size),  a piece of scratch paper, and a writing instrument
2. Draw a line down the middle of the scratch paper
3. Think about the things you want to see manifest in your life and jot those down in column one of the scratch paper.  For example:  I want to make more money.”
4. Think about the negative thought patterns you have that block those things from coming into your life and jot those down in column two of the scratch paper.  For example, “…why can’t I ever seem to get ahead in life.”
5. Repeat this until you feel satisfied that all you want to manifest in your life is represented in column one and all the things that block you are in column two.
6. If you have more than 10, then you may want to narrow your focus and identify the Top 10 and save the rest for later.
7. It is recommended that you categorize the 10 items if possible.  For example: using cateogories such as “feelings”, “mindset”, “finances”, “relationships”, etc.
8. Next, take your 3 x 5 cards and one by one begin to write a positive statement that addresses the desire you have written in column one and counteracts the negative thought patterns you have identified in column 2.  For example, “I am a money magnet, money flows to me easily and effortlessly.  It feels great to be able to give generously and help others with my excess money.”
   
9. Make sure you use “feeling words” as much as possible to support the visualization that goes with your self talk.
   
10. Repeat this until you have your 10 cards written.

What To Do With Your Self-Talk Cards

I make it a habit to read each of my cards each morning when I wake up and each night before I go to sleep.  The reason for this is that scientific studies have shown that these are the times when your brain is most open to receive and retain the information presented to it.  So it is very important that the first thing you think about each day and the last thing you think about each night is positive.  Then these thoughts can work into the deeper and more influential portions of your brain.

Now, when reading them practice reading with these steps:’

1. Read silently to yourself and think about what you are reading
2. Read it out loud so that you can hear yourself saying it.
3. Pause and purposefully feel how the manifestation of that statement will feel when it arrives in your life.
4. Hold that feeling for at least a minute.
5. When ready move on to the next card and repeat until finished.

Keep your self-talk cards handy and accessible throughout the day.  Frankly, you will want to keep these cards with you as much as possible.  I actually carry mine around in my computer bag (which goes with me almost everywhere I go). Anytime you identify some feelings that are counter-productive to the positive energy you want to generate in your life, you can pull out these cards and read through them.  It is best to read them aloud so that you hear yourself saying them…this helps solidify the belief and build your faith.

“…faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word…”  (Romans 10:17)

If you are in a public place or around a lot of people and are not able (or not comfortable) reading them aloud, then that’s fine.  Read them silently to yourself and focus all of your energy on feeling what that statement would feel like when those things manifest in your life.

Examples of Self-Talk

Category:  Feelings

I am aware of my feelings and when they are moving me away from my goals.  I quickly redirect my thoughts to achieve positive, winning, and profitable outcomes.  I enjoy being open and receptive to the gifts and abundance flowing into my life.

Category:  Belief System

I live a “no-limits” mindset.  I believe I can have, do, and be anything I want.  There are no limits to the level of success, happiness, money, love, relationships, good opportunities, or blessings that can come into my life.  It feels great to live so free and abundant.  I believe!

Category:  Gratitude

I notice all of the abundance and beauty around me.  I feel gratitude for the abundant blessings in my life and for all of the resources available at my finger tips.  I receive all of the gifts and good things God brings into my life.  I freely and generously share with others who are in need.

Category:  Passion

I live my passion every day.  It feels amazing to love what I do and to have people pay me for it, and pay me well.  I am fulfilled and successful because I follow my heart and live my passion daily.

Summary and Call to Action

Well my friends, I know this has been a long post, but I felt the need to share this information with you to help you on your journey to success.  I encourage you to take an hour out of your day to take these action steps outlined above and create some positive self talk for yourself.  Create a habit in your life and watch your mind get transformed and your life changed.  I truly believe that if you do this, and do it consistently that you will see the results and the manifestations of the things that you desire begin to come into your life faster and easier than you ever imagined possible.

If you have found this post helpful, I ask that you bookmark it, digg it,  share it, re-tweet it, and leave some comments below.

Passionate About Your Success!!

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How to Handle Lost Dreams that Resurface in Your Life.

Have you ever had a dream escape you?

You know, one of those deep desires of your heart that you sought after, and believed for and worked hard for…maybe even you prayed fervently for it – but one disappointment led to another…and another…and another…until one day – you surrendered that dream.

You didn’t necessarily give up on it or quit…you just accepted that maybe it wasn’t meant to be, and although disappointed, and heartbroken you moved on with your life and started creating and realizing new dreams for yourself.

I have.

I have lived through the heartache and disappointment of broken dreams, released dreams, and forgotten dreams. I’ve also lived in the excitement and satisfaction that comes with embracing new dreams – realizing them and living them. This seems to make the loss of the broken (or escaped) dreams more bearable.

Recently, I’ve been confronted again with one of my lost dreams – a dream that, well frankly, when lost caused me a great deal of heart break and many tears. I had completely released it and moved on, quite successfully, with my life. It was, honestly, at the time, one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make – to release that dream and walk away from it.

Events over the past few months have led to new developments that I never expected to occur, and I now find myself face to face with that dream again. I can’t begin to explain or place into words the variety of emotions that have filtered through my heart and spirit over the last few weeks. I can tell you they have ranged from sheer elation, to extreme gratitude, and then to raw fear.

The vast majority of the time, I am a person who chooses not to live in fear, but trust my destiny and the course of my life to God. So elation and gratitude, I am accustomed to – fear is a little more challenging for me to deal with. So, I really had to dig deep in my psyche during moments of meditation to discover why I was feeling this particular emotion.

Finally, after much thought and an “ah-ha moment” today, it occurred to me – I have been feeling fear because I have been afraid of the dream itself. Not because it’s a bad thing, but because of the disappointment it caused me in the past.

The fear is that if I embrace this dream again, I risk disappointment. And it’s not so much that I “can’t” go through that again, it’s that I don’t want to go through that again.

This realization left me standing, in the middle of my office, staring into space as I understood the magnitude of the choice I have to make. Do I embrace this dream once again with the hope of a different outcome this time, or do I play it safe and continue on with my successful life and new dreams?

What did I decide? Well, in a moment of complete transparency and authenticity, I created this video to share with you, my faithful readers, the answer to that question, along with my decision process.

Disclaimer: Be forewarned, this is my most personally revealing video to date, so watch below to find out what happened with this “recycled dream”.

There you go, my friends. That’s what I have decided to do. I have no idea how this is going to work out….but I will trust and believe for the desired outcome.

Have you had recycled dreams?

How did you handle them?

What would you do if you encountered a lost dream again in your life?

Leave me some comments below and let me know your thoughts.

Believing YOU Find Success in the Pursuit of YOUR Dreams!!