Aloha.
I'm Rev.
Cindy Pollis,
And I'd like to talk about what feeds your spirit.
I think we're naturally attracted to what feeds our spirit,
But it can be easily diverted.
I'm amazed sometimes at how marketing is cutting so advanced that it can actually take you down a rabbit hole.
It could last an hour or two.
Just going to some sites when you're searching for something can be like,
I didn't ever want that.
It's like all of a sudden I'm there,
And I'm sure you know what I mean,
Because that's the way it is these days.
It takes a little more concentration and focus to really set aside our time where we can feed our spirit and not be distracted by many things that are going on.
And that concentration and that focus is such a valuable tool.
Oh my gosh,
What a great tool that is.
But once we have that tool,
We need to refine and define to ourself,
Our inner self,
What it is that we wish to do to feed our spirit.
And I think that comes down to what's really important to you,
Right?
I mean,
We always kind of go back to that in some way or another.
But if you decide,
Okay,
Taking a walk feeds my spirit,
And I'm going to do walk every day.
Now,
If that's a mandate to yourself,
You can pretty much define to yourself and direct yourself to make sure you have time to do that.
Now,
I know there could be times where there's a storm outside,
And it's not going to happen,
Or something happens like that.
But you'd be amazed.
I've been doing a walk every day,
Pretty much every day,
For a long,
Long,
Long,
Long,
Long time.
And you know what?
It's one of my favorite times of the day.
Now,
It's different on a weekend when I'm not working versus what I do on a work day.
And then I do it after work on the weekend.
I have a little more freedom to create that.
But the thing is that it's part of what we program or direct ourselves to do that's important that I want to talk about.
Now,
Maybe walking isn't that important to you.
Maybe it's reading a book.
Okay?
Maybe that's something you want to make a way in time to do.
You know,
Maybe it's meditating.
And then I applaud you,
And I encourage you to get up at a time where you can listen or go into a meditation in a place that's safe,
That will inspire you and connect you to your inner self.
The value of meditation and doing it is so,
So overwhelmingly important.
And the benefits that you achieve by just meditating,
My gosh,
You can really do a meditation for just about everything.
If you've been on Insight Timer,
You probably notice how many kinds of meditation there are.
But the thing is that you still have to make that direction in the inner direction,
That commitment to yourself that you will give yourself time to meditate.
It's very important.
It's a very important thing to do.
So I get up at four o'clock every morning,
And I have been most all of my life for,
I guess it's been over 55 years now.
And it's a sacred time,
You know,
It's a sacred time where I get up at four,
I light a candle,
I sit on my meditation mat,
And I go inside and I try to go for an hour and 10 minutes or 15 minutes.
Sometimes it's a little variance of what I can do depending on my schedule.
But that time is sacred time to me.
That time is some of the most important time that I have.
Now,
I've talked to many people say,
I just don't have the time to meditate.
I think that's when you hear someone say that,
That's the person that really needs to meditate the most.
Because if you're that busy,
Where you don't have the time,
Then something's gotten kind of control of your life.
And I always say,
What time do you get up in the morning?
What if you get up an hour earlier,
You know?
I hear this sometimes from parents and mothers,
They say,
I have a child,
I got to take care of my child first thing,
You know.
But the thing is you can wake up early,
Or if your schedule is different,
You could stay up late at night before you go to sleep.
But if you have that inner commitment,
If you really make that inner commitment,
You might be just very amazed at how that can truly happen.
Really,
Truly,
Truly can happen.
I'm a living example of that.
So having that inner commitment to meditation is a great tool.
Now,
How you do your meditation,
It's up to you.
There's so many kinds of meditation,
Right?
And you can vary it,
You know,
Sometimes you just might want to do just breathing,
Being aware of your breath is a wonderful thing to do.
And you will find sometimes you just need to have a very strong inner focus on what it is you wish to be,
What place you want to be at,
Whether you want to be where you're breathing,
Whether you just want to be in the silence,
Whether you want to connect with your soul.
There's just countless ways of meditating,
As you might have noticed,
It still amazes me how many kinds and ways of meditating.
But the thing is just to do that,
To be with that,
To allow yourself that inner connection that can direct and really open your day to a new way of being.
It's one of the greatest gifts you can ever find.
It truly is just an amazing gift.
Now,
I'm going to do a little meditation.
And I'm going to give you time after we start in this meditation to just go as deep as you wish to go within.
It's up to you.
It's a personal choice.
It's a connection with you and your soul.
You start always with the breath,
The breath that sweeps the mind,
Breathing in and breathing out and breathing in.
A little deeper,
Holding the breath for a second or two and breathing out,
Breathing all the way out and breathing in.
To the count of four,
Holding your breath.
My neck just aligned with that one.
Breathing out.
It's amazing how your neck and body might align when you're meditating.
It wants to accept that flow of energy through your whole spinal system,
Which directs energy up and down.
So let's allow ourselves to feel that energy flowing from the base of the spine to the head,
Directing it all the way up above the head and allowing that energy to come back down,
Flowing freely all the way through your body and down and down and down to the base of your spine.
And there's nothing to do or worry about right now,
But just breathing.
And just feeling the gift of that breath sweeping your mind and energizing all of your inner self and your body.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Allow yourself to just be here now.
And allow yourself to go deeply within.
Deeply within and things will come up as you go within.
And as they come up,
Let them come up and let them float away like a cloud.
Just imagine,
Thought if it comes,
As a cloud drifting across the sky.
And you continue to breathe as that cloud drifts through and out.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Allow yourself to be with that inner place of silence within.
Just be with the silence.
Breathing with the silence.
Ah,
Feel that gift.
Feel it flowing through the entire structure of your mind and your neck and your shoulders and your heart.
Throughout the whole of your body and all of your chakras.
All the way down.
And just feel a clearing going on.
A beautiful clearing of energy flow.
Be aware of how you feel in your state of mind.
Re-energize yourself with this beautiful sacred energy you're experiencing.
Feel that energy flow coming through you and feeding your heart,
Your mind,
Your body.
Breathing deeply in and being grateful.
Just take some moments to be grateful.
Think of something you're grateful for right now.
Let that gratitude fill all of your being,
Your mind,
Your body and your awareness.
Feel good with that gratitude.
Breathe that gratitude in.
Accept it.
Ah,
And breathe it out and fill yourself with that love behind the gratitude.
And slowly come back and just be here now as you slowly come back into your consciousness saying thank you to yourself.
Thank you for letting yourself be here in this presence.
And feeling all of that energy that you were allowing to flow through you being grateful and I am grateful to you.
Much love.
Much gratitude.
