This is a beautiful video on the characteristics of love…

What is a contemplative practice?

It is a practice that can be active or still, religious or not, that brings you to the present moment, stills your mind chatter and helps you to focus, center and reconnect with yourself and the Divine.

Contemplative practices have many varied benefits, but in general, they tend to focus the mind and instill a deep sense of calm, peace and awareness. Every religion has some form of a contemplative practice within its arsenal of practices. Some of them include movement, such as the Sufi whirling dervishes or yoga; and some are much more still…such as meditation.

The benefits of incorporating a contemplative practice into your life include:

• Quiet the mind
• Develop Compassion
• Awaken consciousness
• Become aware of interconnectedness and unity
• Reduce Stress
• Enhance creativity and creative problem-solving
• Develop the ability to live proactively rather than reactively
• Ability to deal with the complexities of life

Some examples of Contemplative practices include:

Centering Prayer – this method has its roots in Christianity and the guidelines are as follows (taken from Wikipedia – according to Basil Pennington):
1.    Sit comfortably with your eyes closed, relax, and quiet yourself. Be in love and faith to God.
2.    Choose a sacred word that best supports your sincere intention to be in the Lord’s presence and open to His divine action within you (i.e. “Jesus”, “Lord,” “God,” “Savior,” “Abba,” “Divine,” “Shalom,” “Spirit,” “Love,” etc.).
3.    Let that word be gently present as your symbol of your sincere intention to be in the Lord’s presence and open to His divine action within you.
4.    Whenever you become aware of anything (thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, associations, etc.), simply return to your sacred word, your anchor.

Remembrance – this is the standard practice of Sufism and is similar to Centering prayer in that a word (in this case, the name of God, Allah) is repeated over and over again, often done aloud. The focus is on the heart.  This technique is aimed to gently open the ear of the heart, to listen with the heart. With the ear of the heart you can hear the whispers of love from the divine.  The Ah sound opens the heart opens the crown chakra and the divine vibration flows in. The “La” sound, and the La sound splashes the love into our hearts, scooping it up and drawing the love into our center.  After several minutes the floodgates open and the heart is filled with divine love and mercy.   Old wounds are healed, old grudges are forgiven, fears melt away, and the heart leaps with gratitude before the awesome mercy of God.

Walking a Labyrinth
A labyrinth (unlike a maze) has only one path leading to the center and back out again. There are no dead ends.
When you walk a labyrinth, you meander back and forth, turning 180 degrees each time you enter a different circuit. As you shift your direction you also shift your awareness from right brain to left brain. This is one of the reasons the labyrinth can induce receptive states of consciousness. It can also help to balance the chakras.
Each person’s walk is a personal experience. How one walks and what one receives differs with each walk. Some people use the walk for clearing the mind and centering. Others enter with a question or concern. T

Prayer Beads these can include Catholic rosaries, Hindu/Sikh “mala” beads, Islamic “tasbih” beads, etc. The repetitive nature of the prayers associated with each bead tend to help you clear the mind and focus on the heart.

Some other practices I haven’t included her are yoga, tai chi, rituals and ceremonies, mindful walking…What kind of contemplative practices are part of your life now? If you have none, think about one or two that you’re willing to try. Even something as simple as a hot bath with scented candles once a week can do wonders for the soul!

There is a saying that “Peace is not about avoiding trouble, work and hardships. Rather Peace is the ability to remain calm in the midst of life’s challenges”. This is something that I have struggled with and still think about sometimes. It is really easy to feel at peace and ease when things are going well and you are generally happy about the state of your life.

However, when there is chaos around us or things don’t go as planned or we have expectations that aren’t met, we can start to feel that tide of emotion rising up within us – anxiety, anger, fear, worry,  … the list goes on.

So, how does one go about finding that deep well of calm within – especially in the moment of challenge? Here are a few techniques that might help you with this:

1.    Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) – this is one of a collection of techniques that use the body’s energetic meridians to effect emotional and physical change. It is also known as “tapping”. It has been used with great effect in any number of things, but its ability to deflect and lower panic and anxiety in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) patients is why I’ve listed it here. Basically, you tap on various meridian points (top of head, above eyebrow, side of eye, under eye, above lips, below, lips, below collar bone and under arm on side of body) with two or three fingers while reciting “Even though I (enter the feeling you are having here – e.g., feel worried), I deeply love and respect myself. Continue repeating this as you tap your way through the points. Check yourself after one round, if you still feel the feeling or another feeling, continue until you are at a neutral point. Get help from a good EFT practitioner if you need help.

2.    Remembrance – a Sufi practice of chanting the name of god (Allah) silently or under your breath repeatedly for 5 – 20 minutes. You can sit comfortably and if possible, close your eyes and place your hands over your heart area. This technique really helps you get into your heart space, which is where the calm resides.

3.    Chanting – An example of chanting would be the Hindu peace chant:

Asato maa,

Sadgamayaa
 Tamaso maa, Jyotirgamayaa ;

Mrityor maa, Amritam Gamayaa

Here is a link to a site that explains the meaning of the chant and some mp3 links so that you can listen to it.

http://www.eaglespace.com/spirit/asatomaa.php

There is something about the vibration of sound that can change your energy field instantly. If this chant is too complicated for you, try simply chanting “Ohm” over and over again until you start feeling calm.

There are many more ways to get to that place of peace. These are but a few techniques that I use regularly to get back to feeling calm and centered when I find myself feeling overwhelmed, worried, anxious, fearful, etc. And the beauty of them is that you don’t even need to know WHY you feel the way you do. Just do one of these and watch your blood pressure lower, your breath deepen and your connection with the Divine increase. What more could you ask for?

I’m often asked – what is an Interfaith minister? My short answer is that as someone who has studied and has an understanding of all the faiths, I can more easily minister to people from their own viewpoint. While I have my own personal spiritual path, I can work with someone from their own path without the need to convince them of my way or convert them to another way. I believe that we are unique individuals and God, Spirit, Allah, the Universe, etc. speaks to us in many ways. Different ways resonate with different people, and so they can follow a path that leads to the Divine that works for them. The director of my seminary, Rev. Diane Berke states:

“The implications of the“>A Course In Miracles” teaches that a universal theology is impossible, but that a universal experience is not only possible but necessary if we are to awaken from the dream of separation that has led to so much suffering. Experience is the realm of practice, and it is here that we can truly meet and enrace one another as brothers and sisters.

It is my sincere hope that this manual will be a support for you on your journey. And may the fruits of our individual and collective practice be of benefit to all living beings, and to the earth.”

Blessings,

Rev. Tricia

I love this video from William Ury, the guy who wrote, “Getting to Yes” in which he describes the secret to peace.

He mentions how in any argument or conflict, there are two sides. The surrounding community is the third element in any disagreement. The community can remind the other two what exactly is at stake – it is easy to lose perspective when we are involved in conflict. “When angry you will make the best speech you will ever regret!” We must see the bigger picture and the third side can help to do that.

Where’s the third side in the Middle East conflict – he proposes a first step towards this. He proposes that Abraham is the third side – the common factor in this conflict. And Abraham stood for the unity of the family – the interconnectedness of it all and his basic value was Respect – kindness and hospitality to all.

Terrorism is taking a stranger and and treating them like an enemy and killing them; the opposite is taking a total stranger and treating them as a friend. What do you think of the solution he proposes at the end? Taking a walk with Abraham as the common identity.

Here is a link to this solution: http://www.abrahampath.org/about.php

Often I am asked what EXACTLY is it that I do? I mean I have a lot of “labels – life coach, energy healer, spiritual teacher, astrologer, workshop leader, Reiki Master, interfaith minister…etc. That’s great – but, what do I DO?!?!?

Well, what I “DO”, bottom-line, is this: I help people to find their life purpose and live it. When you are living the purpose that you were uniquely created to fulfill, you are happy, life flows easier and you are making the world a better place – it’s a WIN-WIN for everyone!

How I do it is through a unique combination of spiritual coaching and energy healing methods. I help you get connected with your spiritual source so that you can find the answers you need within you. Then, you have this tool forever and always and can always resort to it whenever you have decisions to make in life. Some of the tools for this connection can be prayer, meditation, dreamwork, journaling, etc.I don’t want to help you get your life purpose and then leave you hanging – not knowing where to go from there. When you are done working with me, you are clear on your purpose, you have taken steps towards living it within the context of your ideal dream life and you have the tools necessary to move forward on your own!

The energy healing provides a beautiful way of releasing old patterns and beliefs, so that you are better able to surge forward into the life of your dreams as opposed to getting and staying stuck as so many of us do!

And, if you are still stuck or unclear after all of that, I also can pull out the “big guns” and determine astrologically what your purpose is and any challenges and/or positive personality traits you may have in helping you achieve it. This can be a great source of information and support in moving you forward towards your dreams.

I love this book – it is one of my top 10 most important books. I read it every year at the beginning of the year as a reminder to Follow My Dream! This is a simple parable (don’t expect Shakespeare or any other literary giant) simply told. Its importance lies more in its enduring message as we follow the shepherd Santiago on his quest. Like many of us who pursue our dreams, his journey is riddled with many setbacks and there are times when he is ready to give up – but, he perseveres and learns the language of the world while pursuing his Personal Legend.

“… no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.” ~Paolo Coehlo, The Alchemist

Wow! It’s the first day of the new year and already it’s flying by! I meant to post this yesterday – sort of as a summary/year- in-review kind of thing and the day just slipped away and now so has today!

Yesterday I spent almost the entire day doing my annual ritual of Releasing the old year and preparing and planning for the new. As many of you already know, each year I pick a “theme” for the year. Last year my theme started out as “Choose Joy”. In other words, I really wanted to focus on only doing things that truly brought me joy. What a found out really quickly, was that in order to follow joy and actually choose it, takes a lot of TRUST! A lot of trust in God, the Divine, the Universe, whatever you want to call it.

You have to truly believe that if you choose what serves you best (and, hopefully, inherently that brings you Joy), you will be supported and the Universe will come running to meet you and help you along. It is true that that happens, but learning that lesson can be a bit scary at times. So, it seems my theme really ended up being about TRUST – and one of the basic lessons that I teach my clients, students, followers and friends (and in 2010, myself):

Follow Your Heart

Trust in The Divine

It’s really as simple as that – notice I said SIMPLE – not EASY!!! Not easy at first, that is – but like anything else, it becomes much easier with practice. And now, I start my day with asking

“Where do I need to be or what do I need to now today?”

and TRUSTING that I will be supported (even if outside circumstances don’t suggest that). So, I encourage you to connect to that all-knowing Source, listen to that still, small voice, and then… follow it… and if that seems really scary…

then… TRUST!!!

You won’t be led astray – I promise.

This year I chose the theme of Being Enough…more on it tomorrow!

Today I was interviewed by Terri Craig of the Houston chapter of eWomen’s Network. She has a radio show in which she interviews successful women. We had a really nice chat about my background and how I got to be where I am today – doing what I love! We also talked a little about the work that I do and at the end I gave a few words of advice to those of you still out there in jobs you’re not happy with, wondering if that is all there is to life.

Here it is: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/realwomenrealresults/2010/12/09/the-terri-craig-show-real-women–real-results-1

I’d love to hear from you what you think of it!

Love and Blessings to all of you!

Rev. Tricia

Painting by Marica S. Lauck & Deborah Koff-Chapin

How often have you been in the middle of a dilemma – unable to decide which direction to go in, which step to take next? How to choose?  Every day we are confronted with decisions to make – some big, some small. How do you decide? You could make a list of pros and cons, you could ask your neighbor what you should do, or you can follow a Higher Power that has your best interests at heart.

There is a perfect GPS for guiding you through your life and you have access to it at all times. It goes by many names – intuition, gut feeling, higher self. It can also be “externally” directed such as – God, Allah, guardian angel, or spirit guide.

It really doesn’t matter which if these you relate to and choose to you, the methods and techniques for hearing it are the same. Below are several techniques for gaining access to this important tool in your business toolbox.

Technique #1: Get quiet
Sit quietly in meditation or just silently a few minutes each day. Just taking the time to do this, can open up the sensitivity needed to “hear” the guidance you are seeking.

Technique #2: Clear clutter
This can mean physical clutter, such as in your home or office space, but it can also mean mental clutter or time wasters. Get rid of any menial jobs or tasks that can be done by someone else, or perhaps don’t need to be done at all. Guidance needs space to work; and you need space to hear it.

Technique #3: Journal
Keep a daily journal of concerns and questions. Ask questions of your intuition in Q&A format and see what comes to you.

Technique #4: Play
Do something fun that you don’t normally do – plant a flower, go for a hike, play tag with your kids. Doing fun, playful things can disengage the mental chatter that goes on and again, create the space required for the messages to come through.

Once you have received some information, it is very important to validate it. You need to be sure it is coming from this all-knowing source and not from your own mind or ego with all of its wishes, wants, and desires. Here are a few guidelines to help you determine if this is a valid message:

1.    It is not fear-based – If you get a feeling of fear from the message, it most likely is NOT valid; if you feel peaceful about the message (even though it might provoke some anxiety), it most likely is valid.

2.    “I” versus “You” language – The message came across in the second person. For example, “You need to take the job offer.” versus “I want to take the job offer.”

3.    Declarative language – The message came in declarative, strong language – not in weak, unsure language. For example, “You need to take the job offer” versus “Maybe you should take the job.”

4.    Surprising – this was not the message you “expected” to hear. If you went into the process expecting to hear a particular message and that’s not the one you heard, it is a good indicator that this is a valid message.

Please note that some of these indicators may or may not be present. The more of them you have, the more likely the message is valid. However, the most important one is the first one – if this one is not present, the odds of the message being valid are pretty slim. God or intuition does not operate using fear-based principles. You will be guided through a feeling of peace – not through fear.

Remember to take advantage of this readily-accessible system for guiding your business and your life through anything that comes your way.