meditation

At the Heart of What Matters

Posted by Barbara Techel

It feels incredibly good to get back to a structured day. I do love the holiday season, but as Christmas Day drew to a close yesterday I found myself anticipating with excitement getting back to a routine – to rituals, to projects, and back to being among my tribe.

While I completed the personal mastery level of Oracle School in November, I kept up my daily practice of meditation, asking a daily question, and choosing an oracle card to journal with. And I’m super excited to go on to the next level, Shared Wisdom, which begins in February.

The days leading up to Christmas I didn’t have this ritual in place thinking I needed a break. Perhaps I did in some ways as coming back to it this morning has me even more appreciative of how much it means to me. And how much it helps me feel like me. 

While in the past, it would have taken me quite a few days to find my center again after the holidays, this year felt different. I was eager to get back to my daily practice. And ready to dive into new projects and intentions I have for the New Year.

It felt like I was getting together with a loved and trusted friend early this morning after doing a 10-minute meditation and then getting out my oracle cards and my journal, and asking Spirit what it is I need to think about as I move into the New Year.

I kid you not…as I was shuffling the deck, thinking about this question and mulling over the last few days I heard in my mind, my tribe. The card that presented itself? Yup! The Tribe.

And this is the at heart of things for me. Connecting with my tribe because it’s truly what feeds my soul and it’s a value that I have in making a difference in the lives that I can. Like all of you, and so many of you I heard from lately with my blog posts, and my newsletter and how you look forward to what I share.

My Tribe, is also my connection I have with how I define Spirit and how I am a part of Spirit. As I understand that more and more, the more deeply I am connected to my definition of Spirit, which is a part of me, the more I truly am living the life I’m meant to live, because this is how I see a meaningful life.

So I’m feeling my heart full with being back to what matters to me – here in my special space – my zen writing cottage – thinking about ways in which I’ll stay connected with you in the New Year and what this year will bring.

In early January I’ll be doing a free webinar, and you are invited! I’m still working out a title for it, but it will be all about opening to the gift of transitional periods in our lives, sharing ways in which you can tune into your intuition, and how you can begin to live a life that is meaningful to you. I hope you can join me. Stay tuned for date and time coming soon.

And lastly…I’ve been tweaking many pages of my website for quite a few weeks now and invite you to take a peek and my new home page, which I think is more simplified and inviting. I hope you think so, too!

Hoping this day after Christmas has you coming back home to the center of what matters most to you…

With love and gratitude,

Barbara

A Welcome Surprise Creating My Own Mala Beads

Posted by Barbara Techel

What a treat I gave myself yesterday by taking a Mala Intensive class at JSM BeadCoop with teacher Mary Jo Zagozen. My mom also joined me which was such a special way to spend time together.

What I really appreciated about this class, besides making our own personal mala’s, was all the information given to us during the class and in the handouts that I devoured with eagerness last night.

I’m really beginning to grasp that there are so many ways in which one can practice being mindful. I’ve certainly discovered that in my yoga practice, forms of meditation I do, creating SoulCollage cards, and working with oracle cards, which are part of my rituals.

What I didn’t expect yesterday was how meditative it would be in actually creating my mala beads. From choosing our beads, of which I chose honeycomb agate as I was drawn to the softness of the color which I paired with sandalwood beads which are about compassion and courage, and are traditionally used in making mala’s.

In the traditional mala, 108 beads are used, of which there are many fascinating reasons why. Just to share a few here that I learned and found interesting:

  • There are said to be 108 earthly desires in humans.
  • Some say humans have 108 feelings; 36 related to the past, 36 related to the present, and 36 related to the future.
  • The chakra centers are where energy lines intersect, and there are said to be 108 energy lines which meet to form the heart chakra. One of them, sushumna leads to the crown chakra, which is the path to self-realization and enlightenment.
  • The number 1 represents God or higher Truth, 0 represents emptiness or completeness in spiritual practice, and 8 represents infinity or eternity.

There are oodles of other reasons that I could share here as I was in awe of all the connections with 108! But back to my discovery of it being meditative in actually making my mala.

Placing a knot after each bead, at first, I thought would “take too long.” My desire to get my mala made so I could get using it, was first and foremost on my mind. But as I began to make the knots and place bead by bead on the string, I was moved to a peaceful place within. It was so relaxing! I truly didn’t expect this to happen because oftentimes when creating I’m too busy looking ahead to the finished result.

What a welcome respite of knotting and connecting with each bead as I put together my mala. Just writing about this I feel myself transported to the calmness of the experience again.

And another leap for me when I used my mala beads in meditation this morning. I’ve never been able to mediate in silence. I either have earbuds in listening to something on the Insight Timer app or I pick a soothing station on Pandora to listen to while I sit.

But today I took my mala beads in hand with no music. With my mantra I gave thought to this morning which is something I am working on for myself, then closing my eyes, and bead by bead I ran my middle finger and thumb across each bead pulling my mala beads toward me, repeating silently to myself my intention.

When I was at the end where the “guru” bead sits, a wave of gratitude washed over me as that bead is not to be gone over, but rather used to take a moment to thank our teachers and/or higher spirit.

Now I’m looking forward to making more mala beads for myself – not only for the beauty of them, but really for the fact that I was pleasantly surprised by the double meditative process of it – once in creating and then in using them.

And one last thing, besides getting yourself to a Mala bead class if this calls to you, which I have a feeling JSM BeadCoop will offer again as it was a big hit, is a great book about how mala beads helped change one authors life, check out The Magic Mala by Bob Olson.

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