About a month or so ago I signed up to receive Notes from the Universe — daily email messages written by Mike Dooley (of The Secret fame). Everything about these messages makes them special. They are written as if they were coming directly from “The Universe”, and they offer inspiring thoughts to help you make your dreams and desires come true. They are a wonderful way to start off the day and to help you stay focused on what you want to manifest in your life. They are a daily reminder that thoughts do, in fact, become things. Visit www.tut.com to sign up.
Listening is an Act of Love
Last week I heard a piece on NPR about a project called Storycorps. The Storycorps web site, www.storycorps.net, says that their mission is to “honor and celebrate one another’s lives through listening.” Some of the stories I heard while listening to NPR were so heart-warming and honest, I just had to mention it here. If you have the time, I encourage you to check out the Storycorps web site, listen to some of the recorded stories, and maybe even find a location in your city where you and a friend or family member could record your own story. I have yet to look at the book, which is entitled Listening is an Act of Love but it seems to me that it would make a wonderful read as well as a great Christmas gift.
One Minute Video Meditations on iTunes
I’m very happy to announce that my latest mandala animations, Mandala Meditations, are now available on iTunes. I’ve developed a new form of my moving art especially for the iPod video. These newest animations are similar to those that I’ve been creating, except they are only one minute in length and they are set to music created by my husband, Tim.
These meditations (as well as the regular moving art animations) work best if you have a quiet area where you know no one will disturb you. Before watching the meditation, take a few moments to quiet yourself and breathe deeply. As you breathe, feel as though warm water is running down your body releasing any tension you may be holding there. Pay particular attention to your face, jaws, neck and shoulders, since many of us tend to carry stress in those areas.
I’ve made Mandala Meditations available as a podcast so that you can take them with you where ever you want to go. Now there’s no reason not to meditate, even if it’s only for a minute!
To view the newest animations, you can either visit my moving art page and click on one of the Mandala Meditations images, or you can visit iTunes directly by clicking here. If you subscribe to the podcast, you will be notified every time a new meditation is released. Enjoy!
Fire The Grid Meditation Day
Usually, I hear about things like this way ahead of time, but this one slipped through my radar. That is, until now. Yesterday, I got two emails mentioning Fire the Grid.
Fire the Grid is a one-hour meditation that will take place Tuesday, July 17, 2007 at 11:11 Greenwich Mean Time. For one hour, it is hoped that millions of people will sit and pray or meditate with the intention of healing the Earth and reconnecting with Source Energy.
I think we all share hopes and dreams of creating a better Earth for ourselves and our children. An Earth that is cared for rather than polluted. An Earth where the peoples of the world are at peace with each other. An Earth where poverty and hunger are eradicated.
The Fire the Grid idea was conceived by Shelley Yates. Her compelling story may be read at www.firethegrid.org or viewed as a series of YouTube videos, the first of which is found here: Shelley Yates, Part One.
To make sure you are meditating at the right time, either visit the Fire the Grid web site, or visit the Greenwich Mean Time converter.
Mandalas for the Entire Family
In this age of constant distraction — cell phones, computer games, iPods, email — it is not only good, but necessary, to take a break and escape the media overload. I’ve found that creating mandalas are a wonderful way to relax and use your creativity, and better yet, it is something the whole family can do. There are more and more items and activity books to assist adults and children in exploring the creation of mandalas as well as meditation using mandalas.
The mandalas you create are a testament to where you are in your life and can be looked back upon to garner information about how much you have developed personally and spiritually since its creation. These symbols can also be used in meditation to gain insight and information into the areas of your life where you are most needing assistance. Or, they can simply be a way to incorporate your creativity into your moments of relaxation.
Over the past few years, the variety of mandala activities available for children and adults has grown considerably. Here are few of my favorite picks:
For adults:
Coloring Mandalas 1
There are at least three in this coloring book series. What is nice about this series of books, is that it gives you an opportunity to work with mandalas without the seeming pressure of developing one of your own. Sometimes it can be somewhat intimidating creating something where there was once nothing, so these books are a good way to get your feet wet without jumping straight into the pool.
Mandala: Luminous Symbols for Healing
This book helps the reader gain a more comprehensive understanding of the mandala and then uses meditation and guided visualizations to help readers create their own.
Mandala: Journey to the Center
For children:
Ravensburger Mandala Makers
Ravensburger, the company that I’ve known primarily to create puzzles, has released a whole series of mandala makers for children. I’ve used these with my son, who likes the Metallic Galaxy Mandala Designer
Kids First Mandalas
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