I have been a spiritual seeker all of my life. I began practicing mindfulness meditation twenty-five years ago because I wanted to become enlightened.
After reading countless books I would spend long hours in mindfulness meditation and self-inquiry. In the stillness and silence of mindfulness meditation, a new understanding bubbled up and revealed who I really am — an individualized unit of pure consciousness.
I’ve discovered an integral part of enlightenment has a great deal to do with subtraction rather than adding more ideation or knowledge.
Peeling away subtle layers of conditioned responses, negative self-talk, judgments, compulsive thinking patterns, and expectations, I learned to clarify my awareness and experience my real true Self.
Enlightenment is simply waking up to the truth about who you really are.
Real knowing occurs when the light of the Self is reflected onto the mind.
I think the mind is overrated. It is not the end all, be all of human existence. I’ve come to understand that the mind cannot discern between truth and falsehood. The mind gathers information, then begins quantifying and classifying and in that process, separates you from the object you are looking at. So it modifies and fragments perception. This chopping up of reality is merely an illusion.
In actuality, everything exists all together and relates to everything else. All contradictions support each other and depend on each other. All perceived conflicts are just another illusion. We are all part of a multidimensional reality that can only be known by experience rather than by thought alone.
Stop the Mind Chatter. In-Joy the Benefits of Meditation
Meditation for me was like stopping at a stop sign. Like a cloudless sky, no mind content revealed the immutable truth that we are all one. The practice of mindfulness meditation allowed me to see how everything goes together and how everything is one big event. Getting out of the mind helped me see that separate things and events and particularly the separate “me” are illusory.
When the mind becomes confused by emotion, it becomes irrational. This confusion can harden into dogma and into an endless variety of strategies, schemes and ideologies that threaten to overtake our hearts and souls.
When we have expectation or models of how we think life should be, and we don’t get our way, we resist. This resistance, of course, causes suffering. We have another choice. We could surrender to the world and simply allow it to be the way it is.
When I quiet my mind, I feel like I am in communion with an inner inspiration and joy; I become one with the ground of Being. In that stillness and surrender, I receive deep un-stressing, balance and coherence that brings relief from the endless mental modifications of the 100 billion neurons and synaptic connections that continually fire to support my existence.
How Positive Daily Affirmations Ignite and Sustain the Fires of Transformation
The practice of mindfulness meditation also led me to be more mindful of my daily thought patterns and to work to change my beliefs about myself and the world around me, through the use of carefully constructed, personal positive affirmations. Introducing intention upon the mind brings forth manifestation and this Universal gift is available to all of us freely.
Repeated, positive declarations about core beliefs, values, and predominant internal conversations can increase confidence, improve self-esteem and generate physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wealth.
I also incorporate music with my affirmations. For centuries music has affected the human brain and has been used to improve memory, relieve stress, focus the mind and more.Similar to religious and spiritual chanting, affirmation music allows a simple tune and intentionally chosen words to invoke specific energies, which lead to purpose and action. I repeat my daily affirmations, feel them to be true and allow the music to enter my heart center. Affirmation music can elevate you to a place of peace and beauty inside yourself.
Mindfulness and the Joy of Being
Everything happens in the now. The mind requires constant stimulation and excitement to keep it happy. If we paid attention to all the subtle nuances and changes going on inside and around us, we would never be bored or restless.
If we clear away unnecessary thoughts, desires and belief systems, a new reality appears. When we release and surrender our treasured opinions, perceptions and compulsive thinking we begin to feel our body, taste our food, and see the beauty of the world with new perspective.
Going deeply into my Self has been the greatest blessing of my life. Meditation and affirmations have helped me heal and forgive and they continue to do so every day. Meditation clears away deep conditioned beliefs and memories. It reminds me of my connection to All That Is and it aligns me with my true purpose and destiny.
Affirmations help me create my new beliefs, which support a life of beauty, joy, love, and fulfillment. These tools help me clarify my awareness, be more surrendered, suffer less and to live the life of my dreams.
