Meditation Instructions for Sun., July 1, 2012

For this Sunday, July 1st, the focus for our meditation will be on Protection.  There has been some conjecture that the wildfires raging through Colorado that displaced tens of thousands of people and caused the destruction of almost 350 homes may have been intentionally set as an act of terrorism.  While the insidious and cowardly nature of such an act does reflect the stamp of certain extremist groups what matters most now is taking action to provide Protection.  This week in our prayers and meditation let us ask for Protection and support for the hundreds of emergency personnel responding to battle the fire, the residents, pets and wildlife in the area, and the sparing of the remaining homes and businesses that continue to be threatened.  Later this week we will celebrate the anniversary of our nation’s independence and as part of those commemorations will salute our military personnel.  Just as their service has helped to secure our nation’s freedom let us not forget that we can also do our part with prayer.  Let us use the power of our prayers to envelop this country in a shield of Protection that will prevent similar acts of terrorism from being successfully carried out. 

As a reminder, we typically form as a group in our focused meditation every Sunday from 12:15 to 12:30 pm (Eastern time) and return to bring more energy to the same theme throughout the week as time permits. If you are unable to participate at that particular time there are instructions posted on how to energetically contribute at either an earlier or later time (please see “Instructions for Meditating at Alternate Dates or Times”). A few minutes before 12:15 you may want to get into your meditation posture and begin the relaxation phase.

Stage 1:
Sit (or lay down) so that you are relaxed and comfortable but your spine is straight and aligned over your pelvis (if seated). Begin by taking several slow, deep breaths. Follow the sensation of the breath down into your body. Breathe into your spine, your hips, and then your legs. Feel the breath reach your feet on the floor and then feel the connection through your feet to the earth's energy. Draw the earth's energy up through your feet into your body. Feel your body fill completely with this energy from your breath and the earth. Invite your own personal spiritual guides to join you in this meditation. Ask for those in the spiritual realm (especially the nation's Founding Fathers) who want to assist us in this effort to be present. If you have trouble feeling centered and fully in your body or feeling grounded to the earth ask Guidance to help you.

Stage 2:
Stay relaxed and begin to make a connection with the others in the group by perceiving that we are present in the same room and formed in a circle. Feel yourself make contact with the person on each side of you in the circle by taking their hand -- one to the right and one to the left. Feel the energy of the group grow as you make this connection. Recognize there are groups all over who are doing similar activities with the same intention. We are connected to them as well as to each other. Feel the grid or network that is created from this energetic connection. We receive energy from it as we feed energy to it.

Stage 3:
Place a brilliant white light over the center of the country. Extend blue rays out from the center of that light in the four directions (north, south, east, and west). The blue rays fill the country from border to border and sea to sea. Connect to the energetic grid or network created across the circle. Use that grid to direct energy to the manitou of the nation (see "Explanation of the Grid or Manitou" for more information) with the intent of sending the energy of Protection across the nation.

The way to do this is to perceive in your body how the quality of Protection feels. Ask yourself how do I feel when I am confident in the Protection that exists around me?  How does it feel in my body when I know no harm will come to me because I am being Protected?  Hold that sensation and allow it to intensify as you feed that energy to the grid or network with each breath.

Stage 4:
Close by disconnecting from the group circle. Feel as though you release the hand of the person next to you and feel yourself break from the group.

Stage 5:
Thank your guidance and those in the spiritual realm for coming to assist you in this endeavor. Ask them to continue this work from their plane on your behalf. If you are able, you may want to repeat this process throughout the week, focusing on bringing light and energy to the meditation topic. When you do, connect to the same network or grid of energy created by the group at the original meditation session. Direct your intention to help support and grow that group energy. Be sure to disconnect from the group at the end.

If you have feedback or experiences you would like to share please let me know via e-mail to k_miritello@bellsouth.net or kmiritello@gmail.com

Meditation Instructions for Sun., June 24, 2012

For this Sunday, June 24th, the focus for our meditation will be on Support.  By now many of you have probably heard about or seen the YouTube video showing four upstate New York middle school boys unleashing a relentless stream of verbal abuse on their school bus monitor.  The 68-year-old grandmother, Karen Klein, sat there with remarkable composure and self-control as for over ten minutes they taunted her with profanities and ridicule.  It is not until the end, when one of them jeers that she probably doesn’t have any family because they all killed themselves, that she finally dissolves in tears.  What is not clear is whether the miscreant knew that ten years ago Karen’s oldest son killed himself.  The video is disturbing to watch and reflects just a single isolated example of the sort of bullying that goes on daily across this country.  What is incredible is that this time the target was an adult rather than a peer.  The upside to the story, however, is that there has been an international outpouring of Support for Karen since the video went viral.  As Karen says incredulously in one interview, “There’s a whole world out there I didn’t know.”  As I watch the video I find myself wondering what the impact would have been on a young person subjected to such hateful ridicule.  It hurts just to think of the damage that may linger in a child’s psyche when they have been repeatedly bullied.  Rather than hurl invectives at the abusers, however, one option is to make sure those who may be harassed know they have the Support of others around them.  So much of the damage from bullying can be overcome when someone realizes others value them and acknowledge their self-worth.  This week in our prayer and meditation let us ask that the victims of bullying and harassment across this nation find a source of Support.  May people be motivated to reach out to those they suspect may be subject to harassment and provide them with the encouragement and Support that will help them heal the wounds of abuse.

                                                                                   

Please follow the same practice as before: Get centered in your body, ask to bring in your guides and others who are there to assist us, connect to the circle of others participating in this project, and create the brilliant star-like light over the nation. Extend blue rays from the center of this light to the nation's four borders and then connect to the grid or matrix that extends from the circle. 

Ask yourself how does it feel in my body when I feel Supported by those who surround me?  What does it feel like when the Support I receive from others helps reinforce my sense of self-worth?  Then send the energy and intention of that feeling to the nation.

Be sure to disconnect from the circle at the end and express thanks for those who have helped us in this effort.

If you have feedback or experiences you would like to share please let me know via e-mail to k_miritello@bellsouth.net or kmiritello@gmail.com

Meditation Instructions for Sun., June 17, 2012

For this Sunday, June 17th, the focus for our meditation will be on Inspiration.  The need for Inspiration goes far beyond an artist or writer seeking to find their creative Muse.  Our elected officials will require more Inspiration in order to come up with solutions that will help our nation recover from the pressures of the current economic situation.  Business people could use more Inspiration to find innovative ways to improve efficiency without resorting to out-sourcing that takes needed jobs outside the U.S.  Teachers benefit from Inspiration when they find a way to motivate a child or come up with an effective method to help their students understand a complex concept.  Even in our day-to-day living Inspiration can add an element of creativity, enthusiasm, and motivation that helps us with challenging tasks.  When one considers great accomplishments the factor that often drove someone to aim for higher achievement is Inspiration.  This week in our prayer and meditation let us consider whether there are aspects to our life that could benefit from greater Inspiration.  Additionally, let us ask that our elected officials, business leaders, teachers, and all people find themselves filled with the Inspiration that will improve their work and life. 

                                                                                   

Please follow the same practice as before: Get centered in your body, ask to bring in your guides and others who are there to assist us, connect to the circle of others participating in this project, and create the brilliant star-like light over the nation. Extend blue rays from the center of this light to the nation's four borders and then connect to the grid or matrix that extends from the circle. 

Ask yourself how does it feel in my body when I find myself Inspired to accomplish something I might have been reluctant to tackle?  What does it feel like when Inspiration has helped me complete a difficult task? Then send the energy and intention of that feeling to the nation.

Be sure to disconnect from the circle at the end and express thanks for those who have helped us in this effort.

If you have feedback or experiences you would like to share please let me know via e-mail to k_miritello@bellsouth.net or kmiritello@gmail.com

Meditation Instructions for Sun., June 10, 2012

For this Sunday, June 10th, the focus for our meditation will be on Light.  In just a few months from now the final stage of our national election will begin with the convening of the party conventions in Florida and North Carolina.  At that time we will once again return to the purpose for which this prayer group was first created back in 2008 – to help bring more ethics, integrity, and honesty into the election process.  This week as we look ahead to all that will need to be accomplished we want to increase the amount of Light that is shed on our nation in order to help make this process run smoothly and effectively.  Let us begin with our neighborhoods, our communities, our towns and cities, and ask that the areas in which we live be filled with more Light.  Let us look around us and find those areas that may be struggling against the darkness of apathy, of hopelessness, and of despair, and ask that they instead be filled with a Light that brings hope, optimism, and a promise of a better future. 

                                                                                   

Please follow the same practice as before: Get centered in your body, ask to bring in your guides and others who are there to assist us, connect to the circle of others participating in this project, and create the brilliant star-like light over the nation. Extend blue rays from the center of this light to the nation's four borders and then connect to the grid or matrix that extends from the circle. 

Ask yourself how does it feel in my body when I know how the radiance of a brilliant Light fills me with hope and optimism?  What does it feel like when I have seen the darkness of the world dispersed by the Light? Then send the energy and intention of that feeling to the nation.

Be sure to disconnect from the circle at the end and express thanks for those who have helped us in this effort.

If you have feedback or experiences you would like to share please let me know via e-mail to k_miritello@bellsouth.net or kmiritello@gmail.com

Meditation Instructions for Sun., June 3, 2012

For this Sunday, June 3rd, the focus for our meditation will be on Growth.  When people exercise with an intent to gain muscle mass, the Growth in muscle occurs through a physiological cascade of events that is stimulated in response to the fibers tearing or being damaged from strenuous activity.  It seems initially paradoxical, but the fibers must first be injured or damaged to promote the Growth that results when the tissues work to repair themselves.  There is a similarity in how life events that can initially seem to damage or hurt us can ultimately lead to greater Growth.  Sometimes experiencing heartbreak eventually leads to a greater capacity to love or the appreciation of real love.  Those who find themselves beaten down by adversity often later find themselves stronger as a result.  There is a Growth that occurs that we might not otherwise experience as a result of having undergone some trial.  This week in our prayer and meditation let us consider if there are challenges we are experiencing that we recognize will ultimately lead to Growth in our life.  Additionally, let us ask that those across this country who may be facing adversity find themselves buoyed by the realization it can lead to acquiring the needed strength that will help them Grow as a person.

As a reminder, we typically form as a group in our focused meditation every Sunday from 12:15 to 12:30 pm (Eastern time) and return to bring more energy to the same theme throughout the week as time permits. If you are unable to participate at that particular time there are instructions posted on how to energetically contribute at either an earlier or later time (please see “Instructions for Meditating at Alternate Dates or Times”). A few minutes before 12:15 you may want to get into your meditation posture and begin the relaxation phase.

Stage 1:
Sit (or lay down) so that you are relaxed and comfortable but your spine is straight and aligned over your pelvis (if seated). Begin by taking several slow, deep breaths. Follow the sensation of the breath down into your body. Breathe into your spine, your hips, and then your legs. Feel the breath reach your feet on the floor and then feel the connection through your feet to the earth's energy. Draw the earth's energy up through your feet into your body. Feel your body fill completely with this energy from your breath and the earth. Invite your own personal spiritual guides to join you in this meditation. Ask for those in the spiritual realm (especially the nation's Founding Fathers) who want to assist us in this effort to be present. If you have trouble feeling centered and fully in your body or feeling grounded to the earth ask Guidance to help you.

Stage 2:
Stay relaxed and begin to make a connection with the others in the group by perceiving that we are present in the same room and formed in a circle. Feel yourself make contact with the person on each side of you in the circle by taking their hand -- one to the right and one to the left. Feel the energy of the group grow as you make this connection. Recognize there are groups all over who are doing similar activities with the same intention. We are connected to them as well as to each other. Feel the grid or network that is created from this energetic connection. We receive energy from it as we feed energy to it.

Stage 3:
Place a brilliant white light over the center of the country. Extend blue rays out from the center of that light in the four directions (north, south, east, and west). The blue rays fill the country from border to border and sea to sea. Connect to the energetic grid or network created across the circle. Use that grid to direct energy to the manitou of the nation (see "Explanation of the Grid or Manitou" for more information) with the intent of sending the energy of Growth across the nation.

The way to do this is to perceive in your body how the quality of Growth feels. Ask yourself how do I feel when I have undergone Growth as a result of overcoming some challenge?  How does it feel in my body when I know that difficulties can eventually lead to positive Growth that I might not otherwise have experienced?  Hold that sensation and allow it to intensify as you feed that energy to the grid or network with each breath.

Stage 4:
Close by disconnecting from the group circle. Feel as though you release the hand of the person next to you and feel yourself break from the group.

Stage 5:
Thank your guidance and those in the spiritual realm for coming to assist you in this endeavor. Ask them to continue this work from their plane on your behalf. If you are able, you may want to repeat this process throughout the week, focusing on bringing light and energy to the meditation topic. When you do, connect to the same network or grid of energy created by the group at the original meditation session. Direct your intention to help support and grow that group energy. Be sure to disconnect from the group at the end.

If you have feedback or experiences you would like to share please let me know via e-mail to k_miritello@bellsouth.net or kmiritello@gmail.com