Tuesday, December 25, 2018

The Currency of Your Life



What is the currency of your life?

“The next phase for us is where our thinking is no longer disconnected from our love.”
-  Marianne Williamson

The basis of the life experience is inquiry, experience, and expression. The opportunity for freedom exists in the saying “yes” to all that is arising in a mindful, loving, respectful, cherishing way. Each breath is a doorway in. Each day is a portal for appreciation. Each person who you let touch your life is a nurturing of your relationship with self discovery.  Cultivate a “Just this now” psych-social internal ecosystem of being “Centered – Grounded – Relaxed”.  Accept the beauty that you are already whole. Let “perfectly imperfect” be the new road sign for your path.  The integrity of you is to show up and shine this moment’s understanding of that.

The trajectory of your life is one of discovery.
The currency of your life is what you are spending and receiving.
The pulse, beat, rhythm and flow of you at the deepest level is that of love.
Live from this depth. Serve from this depth. And receive from this depth.
~~~ ~~~

For 2019 become clearer on your P’s of Purpose, Passions, and Practices.  Rest your navigation compassion points for these tracks to the horizon goal.  Then  simplify (involves letting go and de-cluttering too), clarify (involves dedicated pausing, mindful resetting into presencing, journaling, declining unnecessary small talk and distractions), and trust your inner guide (goes by various names – wisdom, soul, Higher Self or Guide, Source Energy).  This is living the truth of you.

When we pause to look deeply we can see an aspect of our true being in all things. The determined quest is to remember to pause, look, see, feel and be. On your morning walk stop and touch that tree on the path. Place a palm there and say “Hello”. Say “Hello me”.  There is an art to choosing peace, just as there an art to choosing right action.  It begins and ends with love.

Step forward into the active arc of your life with a growing sense of your own currency as being valuable and needed.  Remind yourself of Debbie Ford’s words, “Today I accept my worth and my worthiness.”  Each moment can be a reset button for a clearer understanding and acceptance of your existing wholeness.   There is an opportunity for self discovery with each breath. This remembering and doing of small steps, actions becomes a compounding habit that takes you to the top of the mountain.

                                                richard hammer
                                                     12-23-18

Friday, December 21, 2018

Resources Used in 2018


Resources Used for My Greater Awakening and Well Being in 2018
These are the “Best”, meaning most worthwhile, online links for me in 2018:

Daily Om – loved for both for their daily thought and many excellent inexpensive online courses!  https://www.dailyom.com/

Kathryn Woodward Templeton – mindful wisdom – Love Out Loud daily thought

Yoga for Healthy Aging – Baxter Bell, Nina and other excellent contributors. Large archive of postings - http://yogaforhealthyaging.blogspot.com/

Brain Pickings – Maria Popova is excellent in her continuing review of important writings https://www.brainpickings.org/
Uplift.tv – View many films, music, talks   - https://uplift.tv
Soul Spring – a weekly offering of articles on the web https://soulspring.org/
On Being – is on NPR too. Krista’s interviews are excellent.
  Subscribe to the weekly The Pause   https://onbeing.org/newsletter
Mind Body Green -  Daily -   https://www.mindbodygreen.com
Life Spa https://www.lifespa.com  - Ayruveda – Dr John Douillard – Great resource.
Elephant Journal – daily - https://www.elephantjournal.com
Sonima Welleness: Yoga, Meditation, Fitness, Food -   https://www.sonima.com/
Sacred Planet – Jocelyn Mercado  - find her many offerings on youtube  Sacred Planet
     Learn more - http://wearesacredplanet.com
Haven of Relaxation - Glenda Cedarleaf  -  https://www.havenofrelaxation.com/home.html
 ----- 
 The Shift Networkhttps://theshiftnetwork.com -many courses and summits here of possible interest. Recent for me was with Raja Choudry, Awakening Kundalini. 
Sounds TrueInsights at the Edge monthly interviews  - https://www.soundstrue.com
Chopra – 21 Day Meditation offerings, weekly newsletter  https://chopra.com
Food Matters TV - https://www.fmtv.com – from Australia, so much more than just food.
Spirituality and Health - https://spiritualityhealth.com/
Udemy courses – relatively inexpensive - https://www.udemy.com
            --------- 

Yoga Related podcasts listened to (many of these have youtube channels too)

Jonathan Foust  - https://www.jonathanfoust.com/
Melissa West – yoga teacher in Vancouver.  She offers sooo much! https://www.melissawest.com/
Yoga Body – Lucas Rockwood – very good po -https://www.yogabody.com/
Yoga Hub   http://www.yogahub.tv
Buddha at the GasPumphttps://batgap.com  - large number of worthy  interviews
Nidra -  Richard Miller - Try iRest now  - https://www.irest.org/try-irest-now
            ---------

>> For access to deeper yoga education, (monthly member fees required) <<

Yoga International $15/mo. Very worthwhile.  https://yogainternational.com/
Yoga Uhttps://www.yogauonline.com/ - Huge offering of diverse coursework and monthly education – Membership $47/mo
Embodied Philosophy – large archive of offerings - $27/mo
Sattva Yoga – Anand and staff from India – Kundalini style offerings of talks, practices
https://sattvayogaacademy.com/yoga-masters-anand-mehrotra/   Anand Mehrotra is the youngest known spiritual master in the world to develop Himalayan Yoga tradition.

The above listing does not even cover my specific study areas of personal communication, counseling, spiritual growth, travel, writing poetry, and QiGong that I follow. An example would be Jeff Carreira’s Mystery School, https://jeffcarreira.com/, and Susan Piver’s Open Heart Project, https://susanpiver.com/open-heart-project.



Sunday, December 16, 2018

Holidays Ahead


Holidays Ahead

As we head into the Holiday of Christmas the words Peace, Love and Joy have been strongly appearing in my consciousness. Even in my wide awake times of insomnia I have been repeating these three words with a three part inhalation practice:  

Breathing in a single breath in three parts: (Known as Durga breath)
  Belly - Peace
  Heart - Love
  Upper chest - Joy

Manifesting the full energy of these words.  Filling my cup. 
Then releasing with a single exhale, releasing Peace -Love-Joy out to the world.
Doing this at least three times, each time taking in ever deeper breaths.

Frequently seen on Holiday cards are the words Joy and Peace.
 Let us fully embody these words in all our days.

~~~~ 

Part of the first week of December I spent at the Amrit Yoga Center in central Florida doing a Ayurvedic Mini-Detox. One of the teachers, in the leading of the morning yoga practice, frequently invited us to remember:

    Let go of what is leaving.
    Embrace that which is arriving.

This requires of us to come into stillness.
Stillness is that place that originates all right minded action.

~~~~ 

While there, my massage therapist, Derek, began my session with a seated centering. Seated on the edge of the table, he stood in front of me. Our palms came together, with our right down / left up.
Then he repeated the words - Grounded, Centered, Relaxed. (I think of it as GCR)
A pause to feel that spoken energy, then a single Om chant together!  A very nice way to begin an oil massage, known a Abhyanga. 
 ~~~~

In one of the Amrit bathrooms was a sign - In silence we are visible to ourselves. 
A particularly good remembrance for any time, the encouragement to slow down, especially for the Holiday Season. 
~~~~ 

May you know Love, Joy, and Peace 
this season and throughout 2019. 







Tuesday, December 11, 2018

What Is Calling

   

    What Is Calling?

There is an opportunity
            to expand and explore

The opening that invites
            discovering and connection

The mental awareness
            of awe, coherence, alignment.

This is the flow of manifest being,
            the joining of opposites in synchronicity.

Stillness invites in the dynamic 
            rhythm of wholeness.

            richard hammer
                 12-19-18
            
               ~~~~~~    

   Notes to Being   

There is a stream of consciousness that
  invites you to ride the wave,
  to observe the wave,
  to be the wave,
 

The invitation of sat-chit-ananda  is
  to be all the three now  -
  Truth – Consciousness-and resident dynamic
  Peace, Wholeness, Being, Flow …

  Shiva and Shakti creatively manifesting.
  yin and yang complimenting each other.

There is a truth that lies beyond current embodied Awareness. 
Our practice is the alignment with this Inner messenger.
To Listen, Receive, and Respond.

Open consciousness that which has been unknown.
Open consciousness to give the gift of flowing into
  Wholeness to all of life

Your creative life is calling you.
It knows your name! Will you say yes?
Will you embody the riches that are here?

      (12-11-18) 

      ~~~~~~~