A very big aloha.
I'm Reverend Cindy Paulus,
And I wanted to talk about heritage.
I think that the word heritage is an interesting word,
And I begin to respect all of those who have been on the path for probably thousands of years,
A long,
Long,
Long,
Long time.
And over the years,
I think that meditation and this path has become more and more acceptable.
When I began a long time ago,
Almost 58 years ago now,
When I began,
It really wasn't common to meditate.
Now,
There were some yoga teachers,
But not like now,
Not at all like now.
You'd never see all the yoga that you see now.
So what's happened in this time is it's like so many more people are doing yoga,
And so many people are meditating.
And it's become quite amazing how many people have become,
Well,
I guess it's become part of their life.
It's become part of their lifestyle.
And you're seeing more and more interesting books that you can find about the subject,
And it's really not unusual.
It used to be very unusual.
In fact,
I didn't talk about this much at all when I started a long time ago,
Because people didn't discuss this at all.
In fact,
I remember I was going to Beverly Hills High School,
And I was in my sophomore year,
And I was asked to write a book.
And I did one about meditation and all of this,
And the teacher wrote,
Are you proselytizing some new religion?
And it's like,
She didn't get it at all,
Obviously.
It's like,
No,
No,
No,
No.
But now you wouldn't have that issue,
I don't think.
But what's interesting is still there's so many different paths that are available for people to take.
But through it all,
Through everything,
There is this deep,
Deep importance of understanding yourself,
And of being strong in yourself,
And connecting with your own soul,
And using that as a base.
And what I think might be most important is taking that which you get from meditation,
Or yoga,
Whatever your practice might be,
And put it to work in your life.
And this has been my way for a long time,
And it was interesting when I started,
You know,
It was like,
Okay,
You know,
Some people would go to church on Sunday,
And of course,
There are people who,
I was raised in Beverly Hills,
So there's a lot of people who didn't go to church,
But they practiced Judaism,
And so they'd go on Saturday,
And they'd go and celebrate their way.
So it was,
It was interesting that there's always a choice,
And through time,
What's happened is the religions,
And the going to church,
Or going to temple,
Seems to not be as much of a choice now.
And I think more people are exploring meditation.
Now,
I have encountered,
And I've been doing lots of talks here for a long time,
And I encounter some people who have a real issue with Christianity,
You know,
And get really upset if I even say anything about the Lord,
Or Christ,
Or any of that.
I'm really upset,
You know.
And I think what's happened is some of these people may have been raised with the old style,
Old style religion,
Did a lot of damage for some people,
And for others,
It's a refuge,
You know.
But for some people,
They felt that it was really damaging to their lives,
And it may have been a lot of things that could have happened there.
I especially feel awful about the men who may have been subjected to sexual abuse as when they were young.
And it's a fact,
You know,
And I am heartbroken when I think of that.
It has to be their impression of religion,
How damaging could that be,
Right?
So,
I have always found for myself that it is so,
So powerful still to go inside,
To make that interconnection,
To meditate,
And to do it daily,
Not once a month,
Not once a week,
I mean daily,
You know.
I mean,
Should I use the term religiously?
Maybe even more than religiously,
Because the religion,
It was once a week.
So,
For me,
It's every single day,
Getting up early at four o'clock,
Meditating for an hour,
And then writing down what I get from stuff.
And it's so amazing.
I mean,
That's thousands and thousands of things I've written down over the years,
And it's never the same twice.
And there's always interesting lessons,
Always interesting insight that comes from the time spent in meditation.
And,
You know,
If you think you're going to meditate and get,
You know,
Enlightened quickly,
I've seen people think that,
And it doesn't work.
I mean,
I'm not saying it's impossible,
But there's no forcing enlightenment.
You can get it,
You cannot get it,
You can spend a lifetime.
And I know I had a teacher,
Actually,
Who had practiced a lifetime and never achieved enlightenment.
But,
You know,
It doesn't really matter.
It's really the path,
And it's your way of understanding and practicing and living what you get in meditation that is the most,
Most important thing.
It's the most valuable thing,
Is how meditation improves you,
Your state of mind,
The way you live,
Your appreciation for life,
And relating to people,
No matter what their beliefs are,
Which can be hard these days.
You probably know what I'm talking about,
Between the challenges in the different ways and beliefs of people in politics.
It can be a very hard subject.
Most people try to completely avoid that one,
And I can understand that 100%.
But that doesn't mean we can't all still be human beings.
And it doesn't mean we all still can't be very kind to each other and practice aloha,
As we do here in Maui,
Where I live,
And where I've lived for 35 years now.
And that's really so important,
And that is really a true,
True test.
It's a true test of time,
How you can live,
How you can share love,
How much good you can do,
How kind you can be.
All is just really so,
So important in the way you live and your practice in life.
And that's really up to each individual to discover.
I applaud any of you who have been on this path doing that,
Because it's not an easy one.
It takes constant awareness and vigilance,
And I guess perseverance,
Because perseverance furthers.
I'd like to take a little time and do a meditation with you,
And I'd like to just be able to be not going to that place inside where we can get that connection.
We can get closer to that inner self and that highest self.
And oftentimes that's beyond words,
But a lot of people still like the words to be there,
So we'll start with some words.
And the words are,
It's like,
Ah,
Get comfortable and take a deep breath,
And make sure your spine is comfortable and erect,
And just clear your entire body up and out,
And make sure everything feels good,
And that your head and your neck and your shoulders and your back and your heart,
All are open and open wide to that energy there within.
And go deep,
Deep,
Deep,
Deep,
Deeper still into your heart of hearts.
Now,
A lot of people don't spend a lot of time in their day thinking about,
How's my heart feeling?
But take a moment now,
Just take a moment to ask yourself,
How is your heart feeling?
Is your heart happy to be recognized?
Is there some issues that come up when you go into how your heart is feeling?
Is there anything that you need to clear or address?
Breathing deeply,
Breathing in to the count of four,
Holding for four,
And breathing out to the count of four,
Square breathing,
Holding out for the count of four.
Deep breathing in,
Holding,
And when you're ready,
Release that breath and completely let it out,
Let it out,
Let it out,
Let clear anything out that you need cleared out.
Just feel comfortable where you are here with yourself,
Your highest self,
Right there with you,
Right now.
Let it be.
Is there anything that comes up that you might want to address or clear?
Is there anyone you wish to send your heartfelt love to,
That deepest part of your heart,
That you want to share?
How about sending that heartfelt love back to yourself a hundredfold,
With beauty and with love and compassion for who you really are.
You are a child from the highest source of light and love.
Ah,
Breathe deeply,
And slowly come back,
Come back,
Come back,
And now if anything,
If anything has come up that you can remember,
That would possibly be helpful if you wrote down and let it come to you in ways that you might wish to explore,
Take the time to write it down.
Let it teach you,
Let it guide you.
I thank you so deeply for being there today.
I appreciate that.
I'm sending you my deepest love and light.
