God doesn’t require us to succeed; he only requires that you try. -Mother Teresa

I was amazed in reading a review of Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light that the saint from India had such difficulty in sustaining an on-going presence of God in her life. I share a similar problem. What follows are three spiritual journeys I take to combat the problem.

The Birth of Molly

With a little help from me and some fertility drugs, Molly was launched, sperm and egg became one. This combined cell divided billions of times over the course of nine months, creating additional cells that knew exactly where to go to form a heart, lungs, arms, legs, fingers, and toes. These new cells received their marching orders from genes, tiny microscopic organisms containing information from Lyn, from me, from our parents, and more distant relatives. All Lyn had to do was eat properly and stay off of her surfboard for nine months.

Molly floated inside Lyn’s slowly expanding body where she practiced breathing, learned how to kick and do somersaults, and listened to her mother’s heart beat and to background noise in our home. A week before she was due, the decision was somehow made to take the great leap outward. After a short but intense labor, I watched in awe as Molly’s head crowned. Then, following a strong, sharp contraction, Molly ejected herself into the capable hands of the doctor. Seconds later Molly screamed, and Lyn’s face took on a new look of deep peace and wonder.

The above is the outline of a story that still creates awe and wonder in me more than thirty years after the event. Create a similar story of your own. Begin with five minutes of meditation as you watch your breathing which allows your mind to quiet down. Relive the experience of your story, focus on the deep mystery of creation. Express your deep gratitude to God for the blessing of this wonderful event, and watch your heart expand.

My Friend Adele

I have known Adele and her husband for almost forty years. Three years ago, Adele was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

As her condition dramatically worsened, I took Adele to meditation. I thought about this stately, aristocratic woman with a newly disfigured body weighing less than seventy pounds. I ached as I pictured the feeding tubes, and the persistent nausea resulting from her daily drug regimen. I grieved for her husband and her wonderful children. I expressed deep gratitude for her life, and genuine admiration for her grace in dealing with this dreadful disease. My heart filled, my chest choked with emotion, tears flowed gently across my face.

Participating in the suffering of another is the central lesson of the Christian faith, the meaning of the cross. It leads one to God because the enormity of the experience broadens one’s focus beyond egocentric concerns. In expanded awareness, divine love touches one’s life.

Stargazing

I’m not very good at picking out constellations. I can usually find the Big Dipper with the four stars that make up the bowl, and the three additional stars that create its handle. Orion has been pointed out to me on several occasions. I remember learning about Rigel in high school, the giant star that mark’s Orion’s foot. Rigel is forty times larger than the Sun, and 16,000 times brighter. It is 545 light years away. I think about light traveling at 186,000 miles a second, and the fact that the light I see emanating from Rigel left for earth at about the same time that Columbus landed in America. Amazing!

Moving beyond Rigel, I reflect on our galaxy, the Milky Way, with its billions of stars. The idea that there are millions of galaxies beyond the Milky Way is beyond my comprehension.

As I float back to earth, everything seems so tiny, so precious, so precarious. I feel vulnerable. I think about the Sun and our earth speeding in orbit around it, and the fact that I awake each morning in the same place, in the same bed, with Lyn beside me. How could this happen by chance? How am I protected on this fragile planet that is hurtling through space? What’s behind all this? What makes it work? I thank God in a mindset of wonder and deep gratitude. My heart fills, thoughts of beauty and the goodness of life float through me.

The three thought experiments discussed above all relate to perspective. In witnessing the birth of our daughter, the awesomeness of the event shocked my attention away from self. The same change in focus occurred when I reflected on the suffering of my friend Adele. In mentally journeying to the outer edges of the universe, I looked down on a different world.

Enlarging one’s perspective beyond self, opens psychological space that is filled with love. I am convinced that this love comes from God because it changes me. My thoughts change, I see the world differently. God becomes a living presence in my life.

Rick Herrick is a retired university professor and the author of The Case Against Evangelical Christianity.

Releasing and clearing negative emotions like fear and anger quickens our spiritual evolution and relieves stress. As we grow into the meditation, we learn to keep our hearts open and relaxed, and we are more able to respond to spirit’s inner longing for our highest good.

How To Practice Meditation on the Heart

Fully present and alert, and keeping the back straight, sit comfortably either on a cushion or chair and allow your hands to fall wherever they may on your lap. Choose a time when you are unhurried and rested. Morning is best, before breakfast, when your mind is clear and the body is refreshed. Close your eyes, relax, and take a few deep breaths. Mentally scan your entire body from head to foot noticing any tension or tightness, and with each new breath, visualize all tension melting away. Settle down, and allow the mind and heart to be free of memories, thoughts or emotions. See yourself whole and complete.

Put your attention on the middle of your chest. Your spiritual heart center lies directly behind the breastbone. Don’t focus on the heart beat or the sound of your heart as it pumps blood. Just be aware of your heart as space; weightless and free of worry. Imagine the doors of your heart wide open; like open wings — ready to fly. Visualize the warm glow of a subtle light that may appear as a white, gold, blue, pink or violet color in the heart. Let the color that feels right be the color you choose.

With every new breath, breathe coolness into the chest. Feel the silence pervade your being. Let your attention rest on the heart center, and ask it to speak to you. Allow the question to be in the form of a subtle intention rather than an order. Without judgment, ask that your heart express itself. For the next fifteen to twenty minutes, sit quietly and listen.

Ultimate Healing: Unlock Your Heart

Old memories and dreams may bubble to the surface of the mind. Do not be disturbed if you experience strong emotion, unconscious tendencies, conditioned responses, intense desire or longing. Allow these repressed feelings to be released and healed. Notice the breath. Is it smooth or rough, measured or hurried? If you experience erratic breathing, just flow with the breath. If the mind wanders, bring your attention back to your heart center. If the heart speaks to you in sadness or fear, happiness or pain, acknowledge these feelings, and set them free as you would a captive bird. When you listen to the heart you are learning to heed its spiritual directives.

Quicken Your Spiritual Growth

Putting attention on the heart can be a valuable addition to your spiritual program. As you grow with this practice, it will become easier for you to go to your heart for answers or decision making. Your heart may not speak to you in words but answers will come as flashes of profound spiritual insight and understanding. Above all, attention on the heart can reveal a quiet assurance and peace and an overwhelming feeling that you are loved.

Being French Canadian and part Cree Indian my love of the land burns strong inside me. Last night while camping in the Nantahala Forest I decided to go for a moonlit paddle. I slipped my 17 foot Kevlar canoe into the cold gray water and suddenly my world was transformed.

The full moon revealed a silent panorama of shadow, light and sparkle. Silence prevailed except for the pulsating lullaby of tree frogs and the lapping waves against my boat. With eager strokes I moved closer to the center of the lake. In awe, I peered behind me to gaze on the glistening triangular reflection of moonlight left in the wake of fresh rippling water. There was a hint of pine in the autumn air and a gentle breeze brushed my face. I looked up in amazement at the diamond-studded sky. Reflections of cottage lights glistening on the water only added more stars to the spectacle.

Boundaries disappeared, there was only sky. For all I knew, I was floating on air. At first I was a little uneasy, but I learned to trust my canoe. I braced myself on the gunwale and I leaned forward into my kneeling position. Feeling more at ease, I relaxed to absorb the moment.

Suddenly, a different kind of stillness came over me. All at once my mind opened and I was lost in an expansive panorama. I wasn’t sure where the lake ended or my mind began. I felt my attention curve back on itself and a feeling of lightness and freedom came over me. No lines or separation, I felt all-inclusive, like I was the water, the trees and the sky. I was intensely aware of myself but also of everything else, all in the same moment. It was like feeling fullness and emptiness all at the same time. And then an overwhelming sense of peace.

Back on shore, I pondered my experience. I was thankful for this insight and the vivid sense of being a part of the wholeness of life. It left me feeling reassured about my personal destiny and life path. I knew there was nothing I needed to do or become. I just had to surrender to the flow of existence. The seasons know when to change and so will I.

Sometimes in deep meditation, when I’m free of mind chatter and emotion, I touch upon this truth. In this awareness, without the tyranny of thought and duality, I plumb the depth of this ocean of infinite joy and limitless creation. It is the pure potential of All That Is. Beyond birth and death, good and evil, beauty expresses itself as truth. There is only one truth, and it is in the unity of all things.

]]> http://www.affirmationpower.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=275 http://www.affirmationpower.com/blog/?p=213 http://www.affirmationpower.com/blog/?p=213#comments Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:00:37 +0000 Ken LaDeroute http://www.affirmationpower.com/blog/?p=213 There is nothing in the world so much like prayer as music is.  ~William P. Merrill

Music was my full time career 6 nights a week for 14 years. I’ve also played over 1000 events, weddings and affairs, but last night was my first time playing a kirtan.

What is Kirtan?

Kirtan is one of the oldest sacred music traditions in the world. Coming from India’s rich devotional traditions, kirtan is a call-and-response chanting using ancient Sanskrit mantras and hymns accompanied by diverse instruments like the harmonium, tabla, guitar, hand cymbals and others. Typically, the songs last for 10 or 15 minutes and tempos can speed up and slow down culminating in a short silent meditaton. This music form is for all people, everyone can participate, regardless of age or cultural background. There are no experts and no beginners, kirtan is the yoga of devotion.

Mantra Sound

A mantra is a religious or mystical syllable or poem, typically from the Sanskrit language. They are primarily used as spiritual conduits, words or vibrations that instill one-pointed concentration in the devotee. Mantras are interpreted to be effective as vibration, or more simply as sound, which may include verbal repetition, in the form of chanting, or internal mental incantation. Great emphasis is put on correct pronunciation. Because the lyrics are sung in Sanskrit, this is advantageous, because it is easier to feel sound vibration without mental attachment to meaning.

Power of Music

When I was 12 years old and first picked up the guitar, it sounded magical to me. I could feel it vibrating in my arms. I connected with it, and the guitar connected with me physically and spiritually. Since then, music has brought me great joy, abundance, travel and my wife of 25 years when she auditioned for a band I was in. After playing music commercially all these years, I’ve forgotten the effect that music can have on the listener. Musicians create, weave, inspire, and disseminate joy. Kirtan helps me remember my heart and why I started playing music in my youth.

As I sat playing my guitar, I immediately noticed a deep sensitivity among the musicians that I had not experienced before. I sensed a brotherhood in music, without glamor, desire to impress or ego. I wasn’t thinking about what song I would play next, if the audience was having a good time, keeping the musicians happy, or what cool riff I would play next. In fact, I wasn’t thinking! Whatever music flowed from my heart rose to the surface. I was allowing the music to play me. I discovered that this newfound intentional devotion allowed me to connect with my deeper musical authentic self.

Meeting of the Hearts

Very rarely, do people come to a meeting of the minds. Kirtan goes further and creates a meeting of the hearts. In our modern age, most of our days are spent in our heads. Getting out of our heads and into our hearts is the purpose of this music. When everyone is breathing, chanting and moving together, the resulting synchronized vibration can be transformational. We all resonate at different frequencies, and these frequencies change according to our thoughts and actions. Allowing myself to be open and receptive, I noticed that kirtan brought me to a deeper experience of myself.

If you can get over the initial ‘woo woo’ feeling of singing in a different language, or moving in sync with your neighbor while you chant with devotion, you’ll be amazed at the buzz it can generate. As I became imbued with mantra, music vibration and devotion, I became more in tune with my inner heart self. Kirtan helps the mind become quiet, and when the mind quiets, we can begin to perceive the sacred experiences that are around us.

Music: Deeper Meaning

Our mental awareness is like a pond. When it becomes agitated it becomes less able to reflect the light of soul, resulting in distorted perception. We see, but it is through a marred or distorted lens. Like meditation, kirtan serves to quiet the mind and bring us back to the center of our being. As we reconnect with our authentic selves, our bodies become magnetized with music vibration, rhythm and song. We become more relaxed, peaceful and we’re ready to see life clearly, and in a new way.

Inner Heart Self

Since all of creation is a process through which the Self or divinity expresses Itself, kirtan offers the perfect vehicle to get in touch your Inner Heart Self. I’ve always felt that music lacked devotion or a deeper feeling. I’ve found this deeper feeling in kirtan. Even the next day, I’m still feeling the effects of the music and I can’t wait to play it again. So leave your ego at the door, try kirtan, and allow the music and chanting to bring you to new levels of peace, harmony and joy.

]]> http://www.affirmationpower.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=213 http://www.affirmationpower.com/blog/?p=200 http://www.affirmationpower.com/blog/?p=200#comments Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:24:06 +0000 Ken LaDeroute http://www.affirmationpower.com/blog/?p=200 There is nowhere that God is not. We are units of pure Being, individualized, on a trajectory curving back toward Ourselves. Our purpose is to cease identification with limited mind, and to finally see who we really are. Going within, observing, and silently seeing with clarity and beyond all contradiction, that we are in essence nothing but joy embodied, is our true purpose for being.

The longing we feel for fame, wealth, love, sense of purpose or fulfillment is merely a longing to be reunited with our Creator. This is God’s great dance. This is God’s great movie. This is God’s great pleasure. The illusion called life manifests in nature as light, vibration and energy, and how seriously we identify with this illusion affects to what extent we suffer.

For awakening to occur, all shades of ego or mind rubbish must be observed, released and dissolved. All that remains is recognition of true Self, the intrinsic power of our creative abilities, and a deep sense of the all-encompassing love abiding in our hearts. This essential love impulse glowing within must finally be expressed as compassion for all creation.

Karma, knowledge, death, relationship, and duty are all irrelevant in comparison to the understanding that we are in essence God. Our shortcomings lie in our mis-identification with our minds and our desire to make sense of it all. We eventually achieve psychological maturity and go beyond lonliness, anxiety, fear and contradiction. We will not be truly fulfilled until we realize that we are not the body and we are not the mind and all that remains is the Godness within.

God exists in every cell or life impulse in the Universe and it is expressed through Universal Mind. As we learn to participate with this higher mind, we become more adept at intuitively co-creating, perceiving and manipulating existence for our highest good.

In this realization, all that exists is unity in love. The eternal impulse that propels evolution to exist, display, relate, blossom and enjoy becomes embedded in all our actions and reasons for being. How soon we come to this realization affects our collective evolution.

In essence, we are an undying impulse, living in an Omnipresent, All-Knowing, All-Powerful Universe. The engine that drives it is grace, love and longing to have us come back home.

Don’t rush into any kind of relationship. Work on yourself. Feel yourself, experience yourself and love yourself. Do this first and you will soon attract that special loving other. ~ Russ Von Hoelscher

My wife and I are celebrating our 25^th wedding anniversary this October. There’s no doubt that we have great chemistry and we feel like our destinies are congruent, but the real reasons for our success lie in unspoken rules and habits that inspire the way we interact on a daily basis. Most important is how this spills over to friends, family and in service to humanity.

So what’s the secret for our great relationship? I can sum it up in a word: “giving.” Without thought to who is giving more, we are mindful of each other, and eager to make the other happy. Moreover, we make it a priority to be mannerly, readily communicate our feelings and work toward being the best we can be through a practice of meditation and mindfulness.

How Can I Help?

Being thoughtful of each other isn’t hard to do. After all, we chose to be together because of our desire to care for each other. How you participate in making your partner’s life easier brings love into existence. For instance, making the bed or doing the dishes isn’t solely the responsibility of one partner. If you are aware, you’ll think to yourself, “I’ll make the bed this morning; she’ll have more time.” Or, “Why should she have to do the dishes, again?” When you consciously adopt a daily attitude of: “How can I help,” the relationship becomes magnetized with devotion. Over time, your habitual thoughtfulness adds up, bringing value, one selfless action at a time.

Love, Honor and say: “Please.”

Good manners are simply a sensitive awareness of your partner’s feelings. When you’re with the same person every day, it becomes easy to take each other for granted. Being aware of how and what you say strengthens your commitment. When things are going badly, trying especially hard to say “excuse me”or, “thank you” reinforces respect, care and honor. I love the Indian greeting: Namaskar or Namaste, which means: “the divine that resides in my heart bows to the same divine who resides in your heart” When you approach your partner with the idea that he or she is essentially divine, mutual respect flows effortlessly.

Ultimately the bond of all companionship, whether in marriage or in friendship, is conversation. ~ Oscar Wilde

Let’s Talk

Every morning we get up and have breakfast together. We have organized our life around this practice. We ask quality questions that contribute to our quality life. We talk about what we’re doing, where we’re going, how we’re feeling and what’s changing. Since I can’t read my partner’s mind - I need to ask her how she’s feeling. I listen, without judgment and resisting the urge to provide solutions or opinions, unless I’m asked. Over the years we have become sounding boards for each other. At times our thinking is circular in motion, and nothing gets done. But the idea that we care enough to support each other through adversity makes our relationship great.

A Healthy Me is a Healthy We

Relationship is the expression and reflection of Divinity in our selves and others. Our unbounded highest Self curving back on itself is simply our relationship with Pure Being, and why we’re here on earth. Accessing and experientially realizing this Supreme Self is the quickest pathway to all worthy relationships. In this pure understanding, I notice that I share similar desires, needs and truths with everyone I meet. This awareness turns into a deep abiding compassion for all creation, and it is reflected in our 25 year marriage. It’s a compassion that acknowledges our differences and a willingness to accept and forgive. It is caring and supportive without being judgmental.

I always say, “a healthy me is a healthy we.” Therefore, I strive to be the best I can be. Not for me, but for my wife, because she deserves the best of me. All my relationships deserve my most highest and reverent attention. This love and attention is a recognition and acknowledgment of the presence of God inside us all. After all, understanding brings peace and freedom from fear.

Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers. ~ Anthony Robbins

The questions you ask yourself orient you toward all that you do. You wake up and ask, “What’s on my agenda today?” You head to the bathroom and wonder, “What time was my appointment?” Are you really aware of the kinds of questions you ask yourself everyday? Are the questions you ask yourself empowering or disempowering? Are they moving you toward or away from what you desire?

Certain questions are an integral part of your conscious awareness, while others may lie beneath the surface but still maintain great influence upon your life. I have found that maintaining a daily practice of meditation serves to heighten your awareness to the kinds of questions you ask yourself. Questions have the power to transform and direct your future – learn to ask the right questions.

Roots Run Deep – Dive into Meditation

Your inner dialogue or self talk can be compulsive and cumulative. Negative self talk can be insidious, habitual and deeply embedded in the subconscious mind. Also, empowering questions that were once useful at a particular stage of your development may no longer be beneficial to you at your current stage of development. Attention to the quality of your questions may reveal insights about their influence on your personal growth.

Here’s a question: “Where do these questions come from?” Throughout your existence, you were subjected to conditioning from your parents, society, the media, your culture and the cumulative experience of your life. Through this perception filter, you have created a belief system based on these perceptions about yourself and the world around you.

Subconscious conditionings also play a role with regard to internal dialogue or messages that affect your outcomes. Simple meditation brings to the forefront, deeply-held notions and beliefs, revealing negative or disempowering messages or questions. The mind-quieting technique of meditation allows you to clearly see these deep-seated impressions and decide whether to replace or discard them. They simply rise up like bubbles below the surface of a quiet pond. The regular practice of meditation neutralizes deeply-embedded impressions and past conditionings and allows for clear, unbounded quality questions.

What Kinds of Questions Do You Ask Yourself?

Have you ever asked the question, “Why me, God?” I bet you have. Is this an empowering question that will move you dynamically and creatively toward your future? Or will this question take you on an endless circular-thinking merry-go-round toward apathy and non-action? Your awareness holds the key. Stop, consider and ask a new quality question. With your newfound awareness through the practice of meditation, you can learn to distinguish between empowering and disempowering questions.

Warning! Quality Questions can be Life-Transforming

I encourage you to create your own custom-made quality questions. I have a list of quality questions on my computer desktop and I answer them everyday. One question that I find especially powerful is:

“What is worthy of my attention?”

Here are some quality questions for you to try out. When accompanied by daily positive affirmations, or affirmation music, these tools can propel you into action, inspiration and fulfillment. They are even more powerful after a meditation session when the body is relaxed and the mind is fertile, responsive and clear. So try them out and let me know how they change your life.

Quality Questions for a Quality Life

“What can I do today to keep myself mentally and physically healthy”?

“What do I want?”

“What’s most important to me in life?”

“What is time well-spent?”

“What can I do today that will make me feel really alive and that life is worth living?”

“What will get me into a powerful and positive state of mind?”

“What would I do If I had all the money in the world?”

“What can I learn from this?”

“What’s my end game?”

“What else can this mean?”

“What is one action I can do today that will contribute to my worthy goal or objective?”

“What do I have to have, be, or do, to live a ridiculously happy and amazingly fulfilled life?”

“What can I do to make money in ascending order of difficulty and speed of implementation?”

“What can I do today to contribute to others and make my life more fulfilling?”

“What am I passionate about?”

“What am I curious about?”

“What good deed can I do today?”

“What could I get excited about today?”

“What would make me laugh today?”

“What virtues can I embody today?”

“What kind of phone calls or emails do I want to receive today?”

“What is my biggest waste of time?”

“What kind of work do I want to do?”

“When do I feel most productive?”

“What can I learn here?”

“What is the most valuable use of my time right now?”

“How busy am I?”

“What am I busy at?”

“What am I doing that fulfills me?”

“How can I realize more meaning in my life?”

“What can I give today?”

“How can I make a difference today?”

“How can I leave this place more beautiful than I found it?”

“What empowering questions can I ask?”

“How does it get any better than this?”

“Am I ready to receive the gifts of the Universe?”

“How does God see this?”

“What will I try to improve this week?”

“What am I proud of?”

“What have I done to get closer to my life goals this week?”

“If this is the only thing I accomplish today will I be satisfied with my day?”

“Are you inventing the things you do in order to avoid the important?”

“What is the highest and best use for my time?”

“What am I grateful for?”

“Who am I?”

“What would you do if you had $100 million dollars, and even if you were to pay off every single debt for all your family and friends, and buy the home of your dreams, and every stupid luxury you’ve ever dreamed of, you’d still have $85 million left. “What if you really never had to work again? What would you do?” Then, “Imagine you just went to the doctor and were told that you have a serious heart condition, where if you work more than two hours a week you will die. What would you do? What activities would be worth those two hours of your time?” ~ Timothy Ferriss, The 4- Hour Work Week.

The simplest questions are the most profound. Where were you born? Where is your home? Where are you going? What are you doing? Think about these once in a while and watch your answers change. ~ Richard Bach

I’ve discovered an integral part of enlightenment has a great deal to do with subtraction rather than adding more ideation or knowledge. Peeling away subtle layers of conditioned responses, negative self-talk, judgments, compulsive thinking patterns, and expectations, I learned to clarify my awareness and experience my real true Self. Enlightenment is simply waking up to the truth about who you really are.

Real knowing occurs when the light of the Self is reflected onto the mind.

I think the mind is overrated. It is not the end all, be all of human existence. I’ve come to understand that the mind cannot discern between truth and falsehood. The mind gathers information, then begins quantifying and classifying and in that process, separates you from the object you are looking at. So it modifies and fragments perception. This chopping up of reality is merely an illusion. In actuality, everything exists all together and relates to everything else. All contradictions support each other and depend on each other. All perceived conflicts are just another illusion. We are all part of a multidimensional reality that can only be known by experience rather than by thought alone.

Stop the Mind Chatter. In-Joy the Benefits of Meditation

Meditation for me was like stopping at a stop sign. Like a cloudless sky, no mind content revealed the immutable truth that we are all one. The practice of meditation allowed me to see how everything goes together and how everything is one big event. Getting out of the mind helped me see that separate things and events and particularly the separate “me” are illusory.

When the mind becomes confused by emotion, it becomes irrational. This confusion can harden into dogma and into an endless variety of strategies, schemes and ideologies that threaten to overtake our hearts and souls. When we have expectation or models of how we think life should be, and we don’t get our way, we resist. This resistance, of course, causes suffering. We have another choice. We could surrender to the world and simply allow it to be the way it is.

When I quiet my mind, I feel like I am in communion with an inner inspiration and joy; I become one with the ground of Being. In that stillness and surrender, I receive deep un-stressing, balance and coherence that brings relief from the endless mental modifications of the 100 billion neurons and synaptic connections that continually fire to support my existence.

How Positive Daily Affirmations Ignite and Sustain the Fires of Transformation

The practice of meditation also led me to be more mindful of my daily thought patterns and to work to change my beliefs about myself and the world around me, through the use of carefully constructed, personal positive affirmations. Introducing intention upon the mind brings forth manifestation and this Universal gift is available to all of us freely. Repeated, positive declarations about core beliefs, values, and predominant internal conversations can increase confidence, improve self-esteem and generate physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wealth.

I also incorporate music with my affirmations. For centuries music has affected the human brain and has been used to improve memory, relieve stress, focus the mind and more. Similar to religious and spiritual chanting, affirmation music allows a simple tune and intentionally chosen words to invoke specific energies, which lead to purpose and action. I repeat my daily affirmations, feel them to be true and allow the music to enter my heart center. Affirmation music can elevate you to a place of peace and beauty inside yourself.

Mindfulness and the Joy of Being

Everything happens in the now. The mind requires constant stimulation and excitement to keep it happy. If we paid attention to all the subtle nuances and changes going on inside and around us, we would never be bored or restless. If we clear away unnecessary thoughts, desires and belief systems, a new reality appears. When we release and surrender our treasured opinions, perceptions and compulsive thinking we begin to feel our body, taste our food, and see the beauty of the world with new perspective.

Going deeply into my Self has been the greatest blessing of my life. Meditation and affirmations have helped me heal and forgive and they continue to do so every day. Meditation clears away deep conditioned beliefs and memories. It reminds me of my connection to All That Is and it aligns me with my true purpose and destiny. Affirmations help me create my new beliefs, which support a life of beauty, joy, love, and fulfillment. These tools help me clarify my awareness, be more surrendered, suffer less and to live the life of my dreams.

Ken grew up in Kapuskasing, Ontario, a small northern Canadian town where hunting, fishing and cold temperatures where the norm. Ken was a quiet, mild, sensitive kid with thick glasses. His parents struggled, but somehow managed to raise five kids and two additional foster children. They new he was different and they sheltered him. He focused inwardly and often escaped by playing the guitar. Growing up was painful.

He left his small town, moved to a city and got a real job which he hated. Depressed, he finally quit. He wanted to pursue his real love - music. Ken knew in order to survive he had to do some major work on his belief system. He knew he had to stop believing he was that small town kid. He answered an ad, joined a band and came alive playing music and traveling.

Healing Music & Meditation

This new life allowed him to come out of his shell. During this time, he read anything he could get his hands on that would facilitate his personal power, give him confidence, and help him better relate to people. He read books by Edgar Cayce, Parahamansa Yogananda, Wayne Dyer, Anthony Robbins and many others. He learned to meditate and it changed him deeply. He kept and still keeps journals, lists of goals, intentions, inspiring articles and motivational quotes. I’ve never met anyone who has done as much personal and transformational work on himself. Today, Ken is a very successful, fulfilled and joyful man. How did that happen?

Self Development & Empowerment

Ken currently owns a franchise, commercial real estate, and has bought and renovated foreclosed property. He is a self-taught musician, and has been the leader of a very successful band for 14 years. He is an accomplished audio engineer and composer and produces work for others in addition to his own. He designs graphics for our CD covers, creates our web sites, and markets our products. He has even taught at a University with no more than a high school diploma. He has been a prince of a husband for 25 years, and treats my mother like a queen. I could go on and on.

Ken has studied spiritual and personal development for as long as I can remember. He was always reading heavy stuff that I knew nothing about. After all, I was a 21 year old girl in a rock band. Ken makes me think and work on myself, even though I’m the silly bumble bee who flits around, wants to have fun, incites laughter and keeps our life from getting too serious.

Affirmation Power

No, he isn’t perfect, he’s human. The effort he makes to live his life from a heart full of love has always influenced me. Right now I’m feeling pretty insignificant as I write about all that he has accomplished, but he has taught me to recognize when negative self talk finds its way into my head.

Ken continues to study and teach meditation which he has done for 30 years. He has become a spiritual teacher and strongly believes that our thoughts affect every aspect of our lives. He writes music about affirmations because he wants to help people, raise their consciousness and empower them. He wants to show them that if they look deeply inside themselves they will find everything they need; the very essence of God.

Soul Affirmation - Music For Better Outcomes

Our new CD Soul Affirmation does just that and I am privileged to be the voice of the project. I feel like I’ve contributed so little. Ah, there’s that negative voice. I change that to: I am a huge contributing factor to this CD project and my singing voice and interpretation is beautiful. My purpose is to bring Ken’s magical, powerful words to life. That’s better don’t you think? I’m still working on it and I’ve got a long way to go. Whoops, there it is again! I change that to: I know that I am the best that I can be each and every day. You’re getting it now aren’t you? Good luck and keep working on it! I know I am. After all, I’ve got to keep up with Ken.

I am the product of my thoughts. My thoughts determine my emotions and feelings, and equally important, they ultimately become how I see myself. Since I am responsible for the creation of my thoughts, I must be intentionally mindful of the thoughts I allow to enter my mind field.

Improving Self Esteem: Self talk = Self image

Every day we are bombarded with repetitive ads, news, opinion and sensory information. Neuronal pathways in the brain form grooves or patterns resulting in habitual thought patterns. Negative viewpoints taken in from a myriad of sources, become crystallized impressions inside our minds. We begin to believe that these ideas are “ours”, and the ego adopts and loves them, thereby becoming an intrinsic part of our belief systems. Moreover, our conscious mind interprets this information, and filters these messages based on our familial, societal and culturally-conditioned perceptions.

If these patterns are negative, before long we develop negative internal dialogues, and these tapes play over and over inside our heads, resulting in low self esteem, depression, addiction and a negative view of the world. These negative mindsets leave us thinking ‘inside the box’, stuck, without progression or transformation and our relationships, health, wealth, and other areas of our lives begin to suffer.

Groove Control: How to Build Self Esteem and Confidence Through Affirmations

Meditation helped me to see that my thoughts become my actions, and I must be mindful of what kind of self-talk I allow to enter my consciousness. If I control my thoughts, I control what I do. Since we are what we think of most, I prefer to think positive and useful thoughts, rather than negative and destructive thoughts.

This understanding has served me well. As a young man, I had very low self esteem. I began to redefine how and what I thought about myself, and I set out to intentionally reprogram those long-held, cherished beliefs through the use of positive daily affirmations.

What Are Affirmations?

Affirmations are positive declarations about core beliefs, values and predominant internal conversations you have with yourself.

Positive daily affirmations can help you maintain a positive mental attitude, improve self-esteem and keep you focused on your desired intentions relating to wealth, success, health, relationships or any part of your life that you wish to improve. Repeating and believing affirmations can help to reprogram the mind from the negative self-talk that keeps you from the success, love, wholeness and fulfillment you deserve.

A New Genre of Inspirational Music: Merging Emotion and Affirmation

Being a musician, I understand the incredible emotional power that music can have on the psyche. I would remark to myself about the guy on the dance floor happily singing all the words to a song he once knew back in his day. He didn’t even have to think. The music brought the past back to life. I’m sure he could remember where he was, who was with him, and what he felt the last time he heard that particular song.

Then a light went off, “why don’t I incorporate the tremendous power of music and affirmation, to create a powerful, repetitive emotional re-programming tool to help reduce negative self talk”! This auto suggestion song, played on your drive home for example, would help infuse the memory with positive statements. Old beliefs would be re-channeled into new, healthy beliefs, changing the very foundation of the inner conversation we have with ourselves.

“Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better”. French pharmacist, Emile Coue

Mind Power Secrets: How Words Create You

The words we form in our minds are mini creations coming from the small self, or ego, which doesn’t exist, and higher Self, which is All That Is. We co-create our reality. Words affect our environment, our bodies, our minds and others. A simple word can have so many meanings depending upon how it is framed and according to the intention behind it. When the word is released, it carries with it great power. Words can organize, destroy, facilitate, love, criticize, motivate or compliment.

The words “I am” are very powerful words. These simple words tell the universe that you are here, ready to create, and focus your energies on your highest good and intentions.

Discover Your True Self Behind the Words

Why are we attracted to certain words and repelled by others? Certainly intention has a great effect. The intention behind the word propels the word deeper into our

conscious and sub conscious minds. Also, our perceptions, belief systems, motivations and desires have a part to play in how the word is either interpreted or perceived.

The Bible says: “In the beginning was the word (OM, Amen, Allah) and the word was with God, and the word was God” (John 1.01). Yogis say this cosmic sound vibration is heard as a sound, or a mixture of sounds, of various frequencies. In Hinduism, OM is considered the primal sound, from which all else arises. OM is the mantra or chant often used in meditation and is chanted at the beginning of many Hindu prayers. My beloved teacher, Paramahansa Yogananda calls OM the sound of the vibration of the cosmic motor.

Thoughts + Beliefs = Reality. If we think we can…we can!

At the center of our inner conversation with ourselves, are core beliefs about who we think we are. For affirmations to be truly effective, it must have an emotional impact on you. You must ‘feel’ them to be true. Speaking, or singing the affirmation out loud with great conviction ignites the fire of passion within you, thereby magnetizing and polarizing your intentions. Once your charge the affirmation with your belief, energy becomes motion, or e-motion, and your dreams and desires transform into reality.

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve”. — Napolean Hill

Mother of Skill: Repetition

It takes constant practice for an idea to sink into our minds. Affirmations should be repeated daily for maximum reinforcement. Planting new seeds of change into the fertile soil of the mind is accomplished best when the mind is relaxed and receptive to new ideas. Listening or reciting your positive daily affirmations after your meditation session is ideal. The mind may resist rising above old ideas, hardened opinions, beliefs, preconceived notions, and conditionings, but with enough time, practice and repetition of love, trust, strength or prosperity affirmations, you can re-channel the mind to new and more useful ideas about you and your world.

What is so fabulous about affirmation music is that you don’t really need to consciously think about the new affirmation; you just need to listen daily. Soon, the sub-conscious mind will assimilate the new thought form, and the new belief will take hold. You will automatically create the circumstance you desire.

The Definition of Self Awareness: As Within, So Without

As I grow as a person and discover continual newness about myself and the world I live in, I become ever more aware of the importance of language, information, and belief as the major players in how I co-create a life worth living. I’ve found that what we say and think about ourselves become our realities. And if we are in fact mere terminals for our Higher Power, we must be mindful of what we think and say and how we say it.

As I delve into consciousness and the role it plays in my progression from an ego-centric person to a God-centric person, I once again come face to face with the idea that all life is subjective and that all problems have a spiritual solution. There is nothing but energy in a sea of energy. Maybe that energy is sound vibration and it is the very building block of our existence and reality. As a songwriter, musician and audio engineer, I am excited about this musical, electric consciousness. But I’ll save this for another article.

Being and Becoming -The Cosmic Healing of Daily Motivational Affirmations

What we attract to ourselves must be what we think, resonate and vibrate to. How we manipulate fine particles of thought, how we set energy in motion through fanning the fire of desire within and what we choose to focus on all serve to create what we ultimately become.

Listen or sing to affirmation music everyday and believe it to be true. Write your own unique affirmations and design the life you dream of. Watch your thinking. Be aware of your words, and the intention behind them. Through the use of affirmation music, coupled with clearly defined written goals and applied faith, your power is unlimited.