Meditation – Sandra Daniels

The Greatest Love of All

I have to say that I never liked that Whitney Houston song. I know others enjoy it but to me it didn’t resonate. In fact, I can remember years ago being in a meditation group where the facilitator led us through a visualization to meet our self as a young child. I was immediately resistant to the idea, and remember in my mind adamantly refusing to take part. That was a real revelation to me – why did I have such a strong negative reaction to myself? I didn’t think of myself as someone with self-love issues, though like most people I could definitely make a list of things I didn’t like about Sandra.

Spirit has taught me a lot on this journey, and sometimes I don’t even know how They have done it and how I managed to get to where I am now. I know that as I pursued the spiritual path something began to shift inside me. It was very gradual which makes it hard to describe for another person. But I will lay it out as best I can.

At this point I need to describe another meditation-related example. In a different meditation circle I later attended we learned to close our eyes and visualize the spiritual light within us. When I did this exercise the first time, in my mind’s eye I saw the tiniest candle flame flickering. As the months went on and my spiritual unfoldment continued, the light I clairvoyantly saw got larger and larger. Now, years later when I engage in this exercise, what I see within is akin to a supernova – the radiance that extends from me is virtually limitless! A pretty big change, huh? Maybe you are asking ‘Did the change in that clairvoyant image actually reflect a change in Sandra?’ It most certainly did!

Some part of the change came from a growing understanding that it was okay to be me, whoever ‘me’ was (which I am still learning). Another part came from being shown by Spirit how much I could and already was helping others, whether informally though my guidance to friends and colleagues, or formally in client sessions. Either way, I was using the information I was getting from Spirit to assist others which fed my passion. Talk about a self-esteem booster! Thirdly, I realized that if I was experiencing strong emotions in a situation it was because I was justifiable reacting to ‘a wrong’ (that is, I wasn’t just being a baby). Having My Guides confirm this and support me in these experiences was completely empowering and a true eye-opener.

So in a nutshell what I have learned from the Spirit World is that:

It’s okay…more than that… Spirit wants you and asks you – to take care of yourself first before extending yourself to others. It’s like the oxygen masks that drop down in an airplane if the cabin depressurizes. Put your mask on before you try to help another. Translation: if you need to take care of yourself, do so, and don’t feel guilty in saying No to someone. In the end you are helping them by keeping yourself strong to be available to them when the time is right.
You must learn to find and live your own truth, despite the values and opinions of friends, family and society. This is the great journey – to become who you truly are and express it with joy and without apology.
You are powerful and important – to yourself, to the Spirit World and to the God of your own understanding. You have abilities, interests, and experiences that are exclusively you which you are uniquely poised to offer the world. Do you know what they are? If not, don’t you want to discover them?

If you meditate (and I hope you do) I encourage you to use the candle flame visualization and watch as your spiritual light grows.

And how do I feel about that Whitney Houston song now? Well, I can say that I finally ‘get it’ and I couldn’t agree more!

Meditation

Don’t Forget What You Know

OK, this is embarrassing.

On my last blog I told you all about the importance of meditating daily. About setting a schedule and just doing it. About the peace that it brings you as well as the insights and connection to your higher self and Your Guides.

Well, I am here to say that lately I have not been practising what I’ve been preaching. I admit it – I have entirely fallen away from my meditation practice.

Oh I can come up with reasons for this. Can’t we all? Life is busy and that is unlikely to change anytime soon. But no more excuses.

I see the subtle difference in myself and I don’t like it. Without my morning meditation no longer do I start my day with that sense of peace and focus on what is truly important to me. Without that bigger picture I can’t always remain centred when the workday gets crazy or my life is somehow turned upside down.

I haven’t been doing too badly because I have one thing working in my favour. Since I lost my husband I am no longer that type A person who has to be busy every minute nor do I have constant thoughts and ‘noise’ in my head. So I am leaving open a window to allow my higher self and My Guides to come through…right?

But what if that isn’t enough? I think I may just be kidding myself and here’s why: because without a daily practice of meditation I see that I am starting to slowly creep back to my former type A personality. It happens so subtly that it is hard at first to notice. Yet, I am recognizing those thoughts that mislead me into taking inventory of whether I have accomplished enough in every day and every moment. I am forgetting that the contentment of living ‘in spirit’ comes from existing in ‘the now’ of enjoying each moment and allowing life and events to flow the way they are meant to. As Louise Hay says “I have all the time I need”. How could I have lost sight of that?

So as much as I have enjoyed this time with you, I am going now to meditate…

Guide Communication, Meditation

Meet Your Guides

You don’t need me to talk to your guides. You can do it all by yourself. The best way to get in touch with ‘your team’ is through meditation.

Never meditated? It’s not that hard. But it does require a commitment.

Find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed and clear your mind. Let yourself sink into the silence, relaxing every muscle and going ‘within’. I won’t give you instructions here; there are more than enough websites explaining different meditation techniques. The important thing is to establish a practice; set aside a regular time each day, even if it is only 10 or 15 minutes. Don’t worry if you can’t still your thoughts initially – there will certainly be ‘noise’ when you start. However, if you persevere the chatter will recede, and the more you practice the easier it will become and the faster you will sink into the silence and peace.

When I first started meditating I couldn’t believe the inner peace it would bring me. Quickly that evolved into ideas that would float into my mind, or insights into questions I had. I began to understand and ‘know’ things without understanding how I knew them, yet I recognized the perceptions to be true. Then it happened. I felt that something or someone was trying to communicate with me. While sitting in a closed area of my home I would feel the most gentle breeze caress my face or move over the top of my hand.

For me, the next step involved stumbling onto a website called InfiniteQuest and a function there called ‘Ask the Cards’. This cleverly designed tool, along with books I read along the way such as Journey of Souls, is what eventually convinced me (oh yes, it took time!) that My Guides do exist and wanted to communicate.

It is very important to be open to the communication; the more you are, the more will come. Your guides will never force you into anything but with every step you take towards them they will move closer to you.

There are excellent spiritual coaches who can expedite the process of learning to communicate with your guides. Danielle MacKinnon is one such ‘spiritual director’ who opened a new world to me. I would highly recommend her expertise for those looking to take the ultimate step of guide communication in a supportive and enjoyable environment.