Meditation Instructions for Sun., August 31, 2014

For this Sunday, August 31st, the focus for our meditation will be on Education.  A wonderful TED talk by career educator Rita Pierson addresses the challenges faced by teachers trying to reach students at risk of dropping out of the system.  Students who are on the fringe, who may live in conditions where they aren’t getting enough food or have warm clothes to wear, must bear the combined pressure of school with the already difficult task of day-to-day living.  Pierson also speaks about how hard it is for teachers to remain motivated and encouraging when facing students who seem apathetic or even incapable of learning.  She relates how one year, finding her classroom filled with students others would have readily rejected, she convinced them they were in her class because of their potential to be the best.  Over the year their attitudes improved, their grades improved, and most importantly, their lives improved.  Pierson declares, “Teaching and learning should bring joy.  How powerful would our world be if we had kids who were not afraid to take risks, who were not afraid to think, and who had a champion?  Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.”  On this Labor Day weekend, as students return to schools across our nation, let us fill these halls of learning with the light and energy of our prayers to help support our teachers, administrators, and young people.  Let us ask that those seeking to Educate others be bursting with motivation, enlightenment, and patience, and may those who desire to better their life through Education find a champion who will encourage and mentor them in this goal.  The future of our country surely rests on the quality of Education we are able to offer our young people, so let us support this important endeavor through the combined power and light of our meditation and prayer.

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 entire nation and then let its rays cascade down to create a solid, impenetrable dome of light that completely covers every inch of our country, placing particular emphasis on all our educational institutions.  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 have felt mentored and encouraged in my efforts to receive a quality Education?  How does it feel in my body when I recognize the burning desire to improve myself through Education?  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., August 24, 2014

For this Sunday, August 24th, the focus for our meditation will be on Respite.  Much disruption has been left in the wake of the riots in Ferguson, Missouri.  Stores have been forced to close to prevent or repair the damage from looting, and schools have likewise delayed their opening by a week.  As a result, families with children are struggling not only to find groceries but also how to keep them safely occupied until life returns to normal.  In response, numerous community and church groups have set up food banks as well as supervised drop-in centers so families can obtain food and have a safe place for their children to play while they wait for schools to open.  The Respite from strife has been gratefully welcomed by residents, thankful to have their worries relieved as to how to feed their families and let their children safely burn off steam.  Recognizing there was a need, various groups stepped up and took action to provide this essential Respite for the members of their community.  It is unfortunate that this sort of positive response doesn’t make the evening news quite as readily as the negative violence that preceded it.  However, we can use this event as an incentive to look at our own communities and see if there are others around us who may also be in need of Respite.  Perhaps there is someone dealing with a serious illness who would love some company or a cooked meal.  Or maybe someone who is serving as the caregiver for a family member with around-the-clock needs would love a couple of hours Respite just to be able to get out and run some errands without worrying about leaving their loved one alone for too long.  This week let us consider how we might improve our own neighborhoods, towns, and cities by reaching out to others in need and offering them Respite in the way of time, comfort, companionship, or whatever will ease their burden even for a moment.  Let us ask that this willingness to offer Respite to others ripple across this nation, filling it with more kindness and generosity in its wake.

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 entire 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 have been able to provide Respite to another person in need?  How does it feel in my body when I recognize the relief and healing that comes when Respite is made available to those under stress?  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., August 17, 2014

For this Sunday, August 17th, the focus for our meditation will be on Understanding.  Events this past week in Ferguson, Missouri once again highlight the fact that our nation has yet to heal the divides that exist among the many diverse racial and ethnic groups that comprise our melting pot of a society.  It is a shame that young black men living in America must be cautioned by their elders not to wear hoodies or not to speak back to police officers if challenged for fear that it could cost them their life.  It is a shame that police officers may henceforth hesitate in that critical flash of a moment when they must decide whether to act and place their own life at risk for fear they will be wrongly judged.  It is a shame that a family has lost a loved one.  Whether he was a flawed or perfect human being, his time on earth was cut short of what could have been the potential to accomplish much more with his life.  It is a shame that police departments across the country, having dealt with severe budget cuts over these lean years, may be reluctant to accept or use equipment no longer needed by our armed forces for fear that they will be branded as a “militarized” police force.  It is a shame that those who wish to publicly demonstrate their unhappiness over this sad incident must worry whether a handful of unreasonable individuals will behave aggressively to incite looting, vandalism, and more violence.  There is no “right” or “wrong” side to this story.  Instead, it makes ever so clear the flaws still so pervasive in our society when it comes to racial and ethnic issues.  This week let us focus the energy of our prayers and meditation across this nation and ask that people be moved to seek a deeper Understanding of others that will lessen the mistrust, the hatred, and the desire for violence.  May each side pause and try to Understand the motivations and emotions of those who differ from them rather than rush to judgment.  Let us ask that the light of our prayers fill this entire nation and help ease the tensions that have once again flared so they may be replaced by a desire for true Understanding.

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 entire nation and especially Ferguson, Missouri 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 seek to Understand something that initially seems so incomprehensible to me?  How does it feel in my body when I gain a deeper Understanding that helps me appreciate those who are different from me?  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., August 10, 2014

For this Sunday, August 10th, the focus for our meditation will be on Self-Acceptance.  Have you ever heard the expression about becoming more comfortable in your own skin as you age?  There is something about the process of gaining experience and the wisdom that hopefully accompanies it that helps us learn how to become more comfortable with who we are as individuals.  Feeling comfortable and at ease with your individuality helps you have the courage to not be afraid to express who you are in the world.  It is remarkable how as very young children we see this same trait.  In that early innocent stage of life we lack the inhibiting desire to please others that can so often shape our behavior to what we think others expect of us.  We instead possess a love of life and of the world that allows us to Accept ourselves and freely reflect who we are to others.  If we first are able to Accept who we are and feel comfortable and satisfied in our own skin it can shield us from the worry that others won’t like us.  Pleasing others takes a much lower priority, if given any importance at all, to learning how to love and Accept ourselves as we are.  This week in our meditation time let us consider how well we have come to Accept ourselves for who we are.  Let us ask to be gently shown how to feel comfortable and at ease with the person we have become so we may be released from the inhibitions that prevent us from fully realizing our individuality.  In learning how to live completely at ease in our own skin may we come to understand that Self-Acceptance helps us not only love ourselves but also more readily accept the love of others without expectations or conditions.

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 entire 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 recognize I have become comfortable in my own skin and learned how to Accept myself for who I am?  How does it feel in my body when I experience the Self-Acceptance that brings not only peace but a greater opening to the love of others?  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., August 3, 2014

For this Sunday, August 3rd, the focus for our meditation will be on Imagination.  In his book of Toltec wisdom, “The Four Agreements,” Don Miguel Ruiz writes about our ability to change our reality by altering our perceptions and thoughts.  He encourages the reader by writing, “Imagine that you have permission to be happy and to really enjoy your life,” “Imagine living your life without the fear of being judged by others,” “Imagine living without the fear of loving and not being loved,” and my favorite, “Imagine living your life without being afraid to take a risk and explore life.”  His book explains in a profoundly simple way how we have the power and ability to eliminate so much of the unhappiness in our life that we ourselves create.  By changing how we think or feel about different circumstances it frees us from the false rules and agreements we have created that we feel obligated to honor.  Looking at life from this viewpoint opens up a huge realm of possibility for us.  After all, our limitations are set only by what is beyond our Imagination.  This week in our prayer and meditation let us ask ourselves how might we want to Imagine our lives to be different from what we are living today.  How could my life be altered if I were able to reach beyond the bounds of what currently defines me and Imagine something even greater?

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 entire 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 freely use my Imagination in creating new alternatives for my life?  How does it feel in my body when I unleash my Imagination and discover I am capable of more than I previously expected?  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