Meditation Mondays: Make A Wish

I love birthdays and always have. I deeply enjoy making others feel special on their day, and I'll admit, I love to gather with people I love most in celebration of me on mine, but it goes much deeper than that. To me, birthdays represent renewal, new beginnings, a time for reflection, a time to honor everything that's happened up until this point, and an opportunity to express real appreciation for the person I've become and am becoming.

Of course we don’t need a birthday to recognize our growth, wisdom, and development; we should be doing a little of that on a regular basis!

While exciting and joyous for some, for many, birthdays are a time to stress about getting older or running out of time. We are programmed to focus on where we're not and what hasn’t happened yet. But we should be celebrating our journey as humans, trusting that where we are right now is exactly where we're supposed to be, and knowing that we have everything we need to move forward into the next phase. How would our lives be different if we were more enthusiastic about the future and getting older?

In honor of my birthday tomorrow, I offer a few of the wishes and reminders for myself, to you:

May you understand how truly powerful you are. May you be your highest most loving compassionate self in all interactions, activities, and relationships. May you continue your discipline to know yourself deeply. May you have the courage to create, and share your unique gifts and talents with the world. May you love without fear. May you release the beliefs that aren't yours. May you be strong enough to hold everything you desire. May you be free from resistance to happiness and love. May you feel energized, inspired, vital, elevated, joyful, connected, radiant, alive, ageless, abundant, in love, and expansive. Have more fun. Stay in the present. Let go of the outcome. You are the creator of your own reality. You are so worthy. You are so loved. You are limitless.

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This week I want to share 2 meditations. You can do either of them on their own or back to back. Together, we’re talking a time commitment of about 15-20 minutes which if you’re not accustomed to meditating could sound overwhelming, but I ask that you try this set at least once! Also, I realize that it may feel a little weird to do these meditations because they're different. I get it! But embrace it, have fun with it, and try it anyway. I've found in my own experience that the stranger the meditation, the more massive of a change it creates both within and around me.

Tuning in: Either sit on the floor in a cross legged position (easy pose) or if that's uncomfortable for you simply sit in a chair with both feet on the floor with a straightened spine. Rub the palms of your hands together vigorously for a few moments, eyes closed, rolled up and in, focusing in between your eyebrows, or third eye (your pineal gland), place your palms together in a prayer pose at your heart's center, elbows out.

We tune in before meditations with the Adi Mantra, the mantra for protection and connection to the wisdom of universe and all that have come before us. It is chanted but can be said or read to yourself or out loud.

Take a deep breath in, hold for a moment, then release it. Take another deep breath in for the Adi Mantra. You'll say it (or think it) 3x, each time taking in another deep powerful breath: "Ong Namo Guru Dev (sounds like "Dave") Namo" which means I bow to the inner wisdom within.

Part 1: In your seated position with a straight spine, rest your palms on your knees facing up, your first finger and thumb tips touching (gyan mudra: for expansion and knowledge), close your eyes and focus down to the center of your chin.

Take a couple deep breaths to center yourself. Then, on the inhale, mentally recite to yourself "I am bountiful, I am beautiful, I am blissful" then exhale fully, hold the breath out and mentally recite "Excel, Excel, Fearless" as many times as you comfortably can with the breath held out. Then inhale and again, recite "I am bountiful, I am beautiful, I am blissful" exhale completely, hold the breath out, "excel, excel, fearless"

Do this for 3 minutes, you can do it for less time but there's no need to do it for more. You can use it more than once a day if you're feeling like you need an extra boost or are experiencing anxiety or fear of the future.

Part 2: "This meditation uses the power of the breath to enhance the depth of the effects of the mantra Healthy am I, Happy am I, Holy am I, and to carry out your intentions. When practiced correctly, the breath will slow to two and a half breaths per minute. This shift from the normal 12-15 breaths per minute is significant. Once the breath rate is slower than four breaths per minute, the central brain starts functioning more intensely. The pineal and pituitary glands shift their relationship to each other. In this state the effects of outer and inner sound are greater. The mantra will become more penetrating. A larger portion of yourself will be able to synchronize and carry out your intentions." --Originally taught by Yogi Bhajan on July 10, 1975

Use the same seating and hand position (mudra) as the previous part, this time with your eyes closed gazing up at your third eye point.

Take a deep inhale, hold your breath in and repeat the mantra 3x in your mind, "Healthy am I, Happy am I, Holy am I." On the exhale say the mantra out loud (like you mean it) one time, "Healthy am I, Happy am I, Holy am I"

Inhale again, hold the breath in, mentally repeat 3x: "Healthy am I, Happy am I, Holy am I." Then exhale while saying, "Healthy am I, Happy am I, Holy am I"

Repeat this breath cycle and mantra for 11 minutes. At the end take a deep inhale and relax your breath, sit quietly in this energy for a couple of minutes. Then inhale deeply, stretch your arms up over your head with the fingers interlocked, and pull the spine up. Exhale and relax. Sat Nam.

Happy Meditating!

With Love & Gratitude,

Melody

"May you become a genius of your own life, and may each day be the most ultimate creative act of living, being, and loving." -Guru Jagat