Toning the Om » Meditation

Lessons Learned from Uncertainty

Mary Anne — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:07:46 +0000

I have been listening to the message of uncertainty lately. There is some uncertainty about some of my projects ending and where to grow in the next phase of my business. I have noticed that when I am in my head, I want immediate answers. And when I am in my heart, I allow the universe to show me where to go next. Blazing the next trail requires me to align my head and heart in both the knowing and unknowing parts of life.

And as always happens when I am open and willing to listen (without solving), the universe provides more clarity and a message. This time it came through my friend’s, Joe Monkman, blog post. He wrote this week:

“Are you open to believing that the next step awaits? Are you open to knowing that the path you have chosen is absolutely in line with your highest good? Are you open to continuing to forge what may seem to you and others to be an unusual path?

The unusual is calling. The extraordinary is beckoning. The road less traveled awaits.”

Yes, the unusual is calling me. I am certain of my uncertainty and open to seeing the next step that awaits. The road of more joy, growing edges, and bliss awaits me – for that I am certain!

Mary Anne

My Journey Inside the King’s Chamber

Mary Anne — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:06:39 +0000

On the last day of my spiritual journey in Egypt I awoke early as our group was going to have a private tour of the King’s Chamber inside the Great Pyramid in Giza. After going through tight security, we were escorted by local police to this ancient site. We were guided along the side of the Pyramid toward a small opening. I was given the keys and asked to open the lock. My hands shook as I placed the key in and opened the gate. We were invited to walk along the long flight of stairs that would lead us to the top where we would meditate alongside the King’s tomb – a red granite sarcophagus.

The entrance was a long, dark, narrow stairway. Had I allowed myself to think about where I was, I probably would have panicked or succumbed to claustrophobia. Yet, somehow I knew I had to keep walking inside the chamber. My eyes began to adjust to the dim light inside and I began climbing up the narrow steps, while holding onto the metal bars on the side, and hearing my own heavy breathing. I looked up to find others in my group, but all I could see were my own feet in front of me.

Was I climbing up? Climbing in? Climbing out? I wasn’t sure. I just knew I had to keep going – inside the Pyramid – inside myself – into the dark. I pushed past all the fears and kept walking. I crawled my way to the top of the King’s Chamber. The room was cold and dark with only a tomb inside. After some meditation, we were invited to lie inside the sarcophagus for as long as we wanted. I waited until I felt ready to step inside the tomb and lay down. With my eyes closed and arms crossed, I began to feel the ancient tomb beneath my body. I asked the tomb to liberate the burden of past lifetimes. The darkness I have feared – my own darkness, softened.

After more than ten minutes, I was ready to come out of the tomb. I was ready to climb out of my own tomb. What was inside the chamber?

Death. Life. Breath. Egypt. Home.

Mary Anne

Cultivate More Good

Mary Anne — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:53:55 +0000

I spent the holiday weekend reading Noah Levine’s new book, The Heart of the Revolution. It’s an incredible book about challenging ourselves to do the hard work of opening our minds and hearts to more compassion, more forgiveness, and more love. Levine refers to the spiritual 1%ers who are the ones willing to put in the effort of meditation and mindfulness. In one chapter, he uses a phrase cultivate the good. It became a mantra for the rest of the day and the weekend.

How do I cultivate the good? How can I cultivate more good? I sat in meditation and asked for a deeper understanding of cultivating the good. After 15 minutes, I wrote the following:

Cultivating the good starts with living your soul moments rather than your survival moments. It’s recognizing all the good in yourself and sharing it with the world. It’s stretching beyond all doubt and fear into the place of joy. You are bigger than any one moment. It’s releasing doubt. Anger is merely fear and fear is merely doubt. When did you stop believing love? Take a deeper look inside. What is your loving heart saying to you? Can you meet yourself with kindness?

Cultivate the good – grow a garden of love in your heart and remember to water it daily. Cultivate more good. Cultivate more love.

Today, I will meet myself with more kindness and cultivate the good.

Mary Anne

How Do You Nourish Yourself?

Mary Anne — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:23:33 +0000

After just returning home from teaching a powerful and healing Shamanic Intensive, I feel so connected and grounded. I felt nourished by all the participants (the tribe) and the abundance of nature that surrounded me all weekend. I had the opportunity to “feed” myself with friendships, healing techniques, sacred ceremonies, and of course, delicious meals. There was authentic reciprocity with people and nature. The transition back to the city, all my projects, and everyday tasks seem to be flowing effortlessly as I feel so nourished. How can that feeling of nourishment be sustained?

In his new book, Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being, Martin Seligman , writes about new ways to look at happiness: a life of well-being. Seligman identifies four factors that can help people flourish: “positive emotion, engagement with what one is doing, a sense of accomplishment, and good relationships.” When I read that, it made me think about how nourished I felt this weekend because of all of the factors listed.

How do you nourish yourself? How do you tend to your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs?

How do you want to move from nourish to flourish?

One way to move from nourish to flourish is to come to an upcoming teleclass, circle, and/or workshop to connect and thrive. In a city that never sleeps, perhaps it’s time we slow down and nourish ourselves. Visit http://toningtheom.com for more information.

Mary Anne

Rest in Love

Mary Anne — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 17:18:54 +0000

Love is the antidote to what ails us.

I have been thinking about love — being in love, letting love in, giving love. As I prepared for the final yoga resting pose, Savasana, I heard the teacher say that this is the position that gets rid of all impurities and allows the body to process all the poses. “Dharma (Mittra) says that Savasana is the antidote to all impurities.” I closed my eyes, relaxed my body, took long and slow breaths and rested.

As I felt myself rest in love, I could feel the whole room fill with love. And when it came time to open my eyes, all I could hear from my meditation was, “Love is antidote to what ails us.”

May we rest in love, always.
Mary Anne

National Yoga Month!

Mary Anne — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 10:51:24 +0000

September is National Yoga Month! It’s a great way to celebrate mind, body, & spirit connections. I only started taking yoga classes this past January. It has been an amazing journey. Most of the poses still confuse me and it takes great effort to do a should stand, but I find that I can push myself just a little bit more each class. And what has really inspired me more than the poses is the ability to create a heart-centered practice that deepens my relationship with the Divine.

My yoga teachers start our class by asking us to dedicate our practice or our day to someone we love. ‘May each pose be an offering to a loved one or the Divine.’ What a beautiful way to start each day! When I look around the room at other folks doing yoga poses, I often think, “Will my body ever bend like that?” I am reminded to always come back to my breath. I breathe deeper and watch how my body is able to expand, and yet, I can clearly recognize the limits of how far my body will push itself — how much pain feels good and tolerable.

For me, yoga has been more than a trendy exercise. It’s been an experience of self-awareness and self-acceptance. I am perfect exactly as I am in this very moment.

I invite you to stretch yourself this month (in mind, body, spirit). Offer your practices or day to someone you love.

Namaste,
Mary Anne

To find out more information about National Yoga Month click the link: http://www.yogamonth.org/

OM Meditations & Contemplations

Mary Anne — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:15:30 +0000

Let’s celebrate the summer with some sweet thoughts and questions and allow them to enter your heart. Gift yourself a few moments of going inside and listening to stillness. Watch your thoughts flow and become waves in the ocean. Just be.

As an invitation, feel free to close your eyes, sit with your spine straight, and take a few soft breaths. Then inhale a little deeper through your nose, and on the exhale, repeat the mantra OM (AUM). Do this three times. Allow yourself to really feel everything and become the observer of your thoughts. Feel free to focus on one question or statement below and just allow your experience to unfold.

The kinder I am to myself, the more kindness I attract.

If it is not love, then it is an illusion.

How much am I carrying around with me as a form of comfort or because I want to hold onto it to feel more secure? What am I willing to let go of?

What is something that teaches you to hurry up and wait?

The answers appear as the question of the heart.

How are you growing the garden of you?

Each person will have their own experience so the invitation is to be open for whatever thoughts flow through you. Allow your mind and body to expand into the experience (without judgment). Feel free to start with whatever mantra calls to you.

We are all one.
Mary Anne

Love or Illusion?

Mary Anne — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 10:55:37 +0000

When I look through the eyes of love, the world seems so open with possibility. I wrote in my journal,”If it is not love, then it is an illusion.” So much of life and what we tell ourselves is an illusion. I was meditating on illusions and when I finished, I turned on my iPod and Melissa Etheridge’s song, Only Love, was playing.

As I started singing along, I heard her lyrics:
“Only love is real
Everything is love
Everything you feel
That’s what your world is made of

And when I took a good look around I see
My thoughts are coming back to me
So look around
We are in charge of our own dreams
We have more power than it seems
So look around”

I’m looking around with love.
Mary Anne

July OM Meditation

Mary Anne — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 12:00:27 +0000

As July comes to an end, we have been reminded, especially in the East Coast, of how extreme weather can slow us down. Whether a big heat wave or heavy rains or even a tornado watch in NYC (!), the weather has been our greatest teacher this month. I know the weather has taught me to slow down my pace, drink lots of water, rest, sit quietly (and enjoy ice cream). As we slow down to enjoy some summer vacation, I invite you to spend time with some contemplative thoughts and questions and allow them to enter your heart.

In every breath, there is love.

Living in the moment frees us from living in the past.

Create space in your life for what you LOVE to do, rather than fill space with what you are comfortable doing.

What are some of the “waves” in my life you can naturally jump with ease? Where else in your life do you go with the flow? Go with the flow & the rest will follow.

The light in me is a reflection of you.

Who and what am I willing to meet with understanding?

When we choose to live in this moment, we choose a direct path to our heart and the divine. Being present to this moment right now means being home. Welcome home.

We are all students and teachers.
Mary Anne

Walk On

Mary Anne — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:06:50 +0000

Walk on
to the snow covered mountains
a view from a rear seat
of a new blazing sky
yet ignorant of the lessons
of that land
Teach me…walk on…

Arches
looking in or looking out
rested in your rocks
I could not shield myself
from the bitterness
shutting myself down
away from you
Heal me…walk on…

Raven
wings flapping
like window shutters
soaring above me
so I could see my God
my faith rebounding
Love me…walk on…

O Zion
praying to you
gave me unfamiliar faces
encouraging me to climb
up through the path
to the top or
to the beginning
Show me…walk on…

Bryce
your hoodoos captured
my heart and saved my soul
like the trees burnt
to ashes into the soil
by mighty lightening
Hold me…walk on…

Wisdom
a warming gift
of stories told and retold
the footprints are
a journey through land
a pathway to a healing heart
and an abandoned soul
Carry me…Walk with me…Walk on…
Walk on…

Mary Anne

(Written after traveling to Utah and hiking the National Parks)