Meditation Instructions for Sun., March 30, 2014

For this Sunday, March 30th, the focus for our meditation will be on Sharing.  I was dragged, kicking and screaming, into the realm of over-Sharing known as Facebook several years ago when a cousin created a private family page to share photos and stories about our grandparents.  One cousin had copies of their naturalization certificates that I was interested in reading.  Another had photos from long ago that I never seen before.  It was an ideal use of technology to Share stories and photos that might otherwise perish and not be handed down.  In this instance there is an implied value to what is being Shared – a sense that others would cherish the opportunity to hear for the first time some anecdote about our grandmother, or to see her decked out in a beautiful lavender dress at a wedding when most of us may just have memories of her in black widow’s attire and a simple cotton apron.  There was a period when the only way these would be Shared would be at one of those rare gatherings for a wedding or funeral when someone would haul out a photo album, and we would all gather around to flip through the pages.  Thanks to social networks such as Facebook, these wonderful moments can be Shared more widely and recorded for future generations.  This week in our prayer and meditation let us consider the concept of Sharing and how we manifest it in our life.  Can we deepen our Sharing with others beyond the banal posting of a blurry photo or status update and instead offer encouragement and hope for those who may be in need of social support?  What in our life do we cherish that is worthy of being Shared with others because it may be of help to them?  Let us ask to be open to Sharing in a more meaningful way that deepens our connections with those we touch.

In our efforts this week let us also continue to use the energy of our prayers and meditation to amplify the light that covers and fills this nation.  As we perform our meditation this week let us begin by re-energizing the brilliance and power of the light we create.  Just as before, begin by forming a concentrated ball of light that is so bright it is almost impossible to look directly at it.  Raise this sphere of light up high over the nation and then let its rays cascade down to create a solid, impenetrable dome of light that completely covers every inch of our country.  From shore to shore and border to border let the entire continent be filled with this brilliant, dense light that will serve to magnify the best and highest qualities of our country and the people who live across its vast lands.

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, and connect to the circle of others participating in this project.

Ask yourself how do I feel when I am able to Share with others in order to bring them solace?  How does it feel in my body when I have something of value that I am willing to Share in a way that is beneficial?  Then send the energy and intention of those feelings 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., March 23, 2014

For this Sunday, March 23rd, the focus for our meditation will be on Teaching. The city where I have lived for a number of years, Asheville, North Carolina, regularly gets mentioned in those popular surveys of “best cities to live in” for a variety of reasons including the climate, cost of living, cultural diversity, great restaurants, etc.  However, this past week the area made the news for a less desirable reason.  Some unfortunate child attending an elementary school in my area made national news because he was sent home by administrators after being taunted by bullies for carrying a “My Little Pony” backpack.  The incident reminded me of my own experience in junior high when I found myself inexplicably ridiculed for having a leather purse resembling saddlebags that I would sling over one shoulder.  A clique of older students whose names I never knew would pass me on the stairwell or in the hallway and hurl the invective “Saddlebags” my way.  It is laughable now given its sheer ludicrousness, but at the time the mere tone of their voices made clear the nastiness of their intent.  Fortunately, I was not troubled enough by these perplexing incidents to bother reporting to authorities what I now recognize as bullying.  By that age I had developed a healthy enough level of self-esteem to shrug off the unwanted attention.  Don’t ask me why that was the case.  In hindsight I certainly consider myself to have behaved in a manner as awkward, nerdy and occasionally idiotic as any other adolescent.  Thank goodness, however, none of this ineptness was ever recorded for posterity given the total absence of Facebook, Twitter and the now-ubiquitous “selfie.”  Admittedly, I was also a few years older than the 9-year-old boy with the Pony backpack, and that may have likely helped.  As I read his story in the papers, however, I am troubled by the fact that school administrators, approached regarding the bullying, took the illogical stance of requesting the child leave the backpack at home, claiming it only served to attract taunting.  In their subsequent backpedaling, authorities were quoted as saying, “Every situation with young children is a Teachable moment, and we will use this example in our efforts to address a wider issue of bullying.”  I can only imagine what I would have been Taught had I reported my experience and found myself unjustly faulted by those I considered to be accountable adults.  This week in our prayer and meditation let us ask that we all assess what we Teach others, particularly children, through our decisions and actions.  May those in positions of influence over children weigh carefully what lessons they Teach when they try to avoid accepting responsibility.  Let us also use the energy of our prayers to send light to school authorities across this nation so they may be emboldened to confront bullying and Teach children a more honorable form of conduct that will serve them well into adulthood.

In our efforts this week let us also continue to use the energy of our prayers and meditation to amplify the light that covers and fills this nation.  As we perform our meditation this week let us begin by re-energizing the brilliance and power of the light we create.  Just as before, begin by forming a concentrated ball of light that is so bright it is almost impossible to look directly at it.  Raise this sphere of light up high over the nation and then let its rays cascade down to create a solid, impenetrable dome of light that completely covers every inch of our country.  From shore to shore and border to border let the entire continent be filled with this brilliant, dense light that will serve to magnify the best and highest qualities of our country and the people who live across its vast lands.

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, and connect to the circle of others participating in this project.

Ask yourself how do I feel when I realize the manner in which I conduct myself can serve to Teach others how to behave?  How does it feel in my body when I am willing to stand up to bullying so children may be Taught accountability for their actions?  Then send the energy and intention of those feelings 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., March 16, 2014

For this Sunday, March 16th, the focus for our meditation will be on Diversity. Numerous studies have shown that even slight reductions in the Diversity of organisms in an ecosystem can lead to unexpected changes with widespread consequences.  In the 1960’s a University of Washington zoology professor named Dr. Robert Paine showed that removing starfish from a tidal pool led to the unwanted proliferation of sea urchins (on which the starfish prey) and the elimination of other species altogether such as coral reefs (on which the growing sea urchin population feeds).  Although the human species has pretty much mechanized its guarantee of survival against other predators, there are invaluable advantages to retaining Diversity.  While some might wish that everyone else felt and thought the same way they do, I like to believe it would quickly make for a very dull existence.  Having a Diversity of opinions and ideas introduces a level of synergy into the system that might otherwise not exist.  The old adage, “Two heads are better than one,” has been proven to me time and time again through both professional as well as personal experience.  Inevitably I find my suggestions enhanced by what others contribute to the mix.  For me, Diversity reaches far beyond mere demographics or hiring quotas.  It warmly embraces the richness that comes with varying abilities and perspectives.  This week in our prayer and meditation let us consider how we view Diversity in our life.  Do we find ourselves appreciating the advantages we gain when we welcome greater Diversity around us, or do we instead bristle at the differences it can introduce?

In our efforts this week let us also continue to use the energy of our prayers and meditation to amplify the light that covers and fills this nation.  As we perform our meditation this week let us begin by re-energizing the brilliance and power of the light we create.  Just as before, begin by forming a concentrated ball of light that is so bright it is almost impossible to look directly at it.  Raise this sphere of light up high over the nation and then let its rays cascade down to create a solid, impenetrable dome of light that completely covers every inch of our country.  From shore to shore and border to border let the entire continent be filled with this brilliant, dense light that will serve to magnify the best and highest qualities of our country and the people who live across its vast lands.

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, and connect to the circle of others participating in this project.

Ask yourself how do I feel when I welcome the expansion of possibilities that Diversity brings to my life?  How does it feel in my body when I appreciate all that Diversity offers to reduce the numbing similitude of my environment?  Then send the energy and intention of those feelings 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., March 9, 2014

For this Sunday, March 9th, the focus for our meditation will be on Maturation. There’s a book by author and speaker Marianne Williamson titled, “The Age of Miracles: Embracing the New Midlife,” that presents an alternative view of the aging process we all eventually find ourselves going through.  She speaks of altering our perception of being “over the hill” when we reach our midlife or beyond, and to instead recognize that the only “hill” is the one you artificially choose to create.  Once we realize Maturity brings us many advantages rather than serving as a detriment it shifts one’s whole idea about aging.  Marianne once stated in an interview, “When you understand the law of divine compensation, you realize that in the presence of spiritual consciousness, there is more than enough compensation for any diminishment in materiality.  When you realize that the real breakthroughs come from levels of higher consciousness, then you also realize that the achievement of Maturity and wisdom is the most powerful generator of new beginnings possible.”  Presuming that we seek to learn from our experiences, reaching a certain age provides you with plenty of educational opportunities.  Rather than looking ahead to what is left in life with gloom over what some might perceive as a dimming path, perhaps we would be better served to gaze back.  Take a long, in-the-rear-view-mirror look at all we have done before and instead appreciate what we have learned, even if that means recognizing the mistakes we now know not to make again!  Let the collective wisdom of our accomplishments as well as our screw-ups help bring us the clarity of hindsight that can make it possible for us to reach those higher levels of consciousness.  From that vantage point, any diminishing physical characteristics can seem of far lesser importance.  This week in our prayer and meditation let us ask whether we are “aging gracefully” and have come to appreciate all the tremendous insights we gain through life experience.  Let us also look ahead with eagerness to an age of even greater spiritual growth that can only come with Maturation.

In our efforts this week let us also continue to use the energy of our prayers and meditation to amplify the light that covers and fills this nation.  As we perform our meditation this week let us begin by re-energizing the brilliance and power of the light we create.  Just as before, begin by forming a concentrated ball of light that is so bright it is almost impossible to look directly at it.  Raise this sphere of light up high over the nation and then let its rays cascade down to create a solid, impenetrable dome of light that completely covers every inch of our country.  From shore to shore and border to border let the entire continent be filled with this brilliant, dense light that will serve to magnify the best and highest qualities of our country and the people who live across its vast lands.

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, and connect to the circle of others participating in this project.

Ask yourself how do I feel when I appreciate how the Maturation process makes me more capable than before?  How does it feel in my body when I value the spiritual wisdom that comes with Maturity in life?  Then send the energy and intention of those feelings 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., March 2, 2014

For this Sunday, March 2nd, the focus for our meditation will be on Volition. Author Joseph Campbell wrote, “We’re in a freefall into future. We don’t know where we’re going. Things are changing so fast, and always when you’re going through a long tunnel, anxiety comes along. And all you have to do to transform your hell into a paradise is to turn your fall into a voluntary act. It’s a very interesting shift of perspective and that’s all it is…joyful participation in the sorrows and everything changes.”  This notion of having the power to exercise one’s own will and make a choice about how to act can completely convert what might otherwise be an ordeal to perhaps a useful experience.  I recently had the joy of leaving on what was supposed to be a three-day trip and not being able to return home for another 15 days due to a succession of winter storms that disrupted my travel plans.  While not exactly a “hell,” it did certainly exercise my creativity in coming up with ways to stretch the use of my limited assortment of clothes each day.  It also generated the potential for loads of stress as I repeatedly found myself in the position of trying to forecast weather conditions, search out alternate flight options, and find available lodging wherever I was going to end up.  Rather than become stressed, I instead chose to make the best of the situation and appreciate how much worse it could be.  At least I had some clothing options, albeit a limited selection.  At least I was always safe and dry and had a place indoors to sleep.  Instead of feeling stuck, I opted to feel as though I was remaining where I was voluntarily.  I chose of my own Volition to reconcile myself to the situation and in the process of doing so made the conditions much more tolerable.  This week in our prayer and meditation let us consider whether we are sufficiently appreciative of the value of Volition or personal will in helping to change our perspective.  Are there circumstances in my life where I would be better served by exercising my own Volition to willfully and joyfully participate rather than try to swim against the tide?

In our efforts this week let us also continue to use the energy of our prayers and meditation to amplify the light that covers and fills this nation.  As we perform our meditation this week let us begin by re-energizing the brilliance and power of the light we create.  Just as before, begin by forming a concentrated ball of light that is so bright it is almost impossible to look directly at it.  Raise this sphere of light up high over the nation and then let its rays cascade down to create a solid, impenetrable dome of light that completely covers every inch of our country.  From shore to shore and border to border let the entire continent be filled with this brilliant, dense light that will serve to magnify the best and highest qualities of our country and the people who live across its vast lands. 

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, and connect to the circle of others participating in this project. 

Ask yourself how do I feel when I use my own Volition to joyfully accept a circumstance?  How does it feel in my body when I choose to willingly act of my own Volition rather than feel forced into a situation?  Then send the energy and intention of those feelings 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