Happy Mind: Meditations from the Ancient World to Modernity

Your consciousness is dominated by the information coming in from your senses and the emotions and thought patterns that your mind generates so it is hard for you to notice that there is a world of energy all around and within you. All of this matter and energy in the physical and energetic dimensions is interacting with your body and your mind all the time. The root chakra, located at the base of your spine, is the connection point to the energy this dimension of energy that permeates this physical world of ours. The fluctuating, vibrant fields of energy that we are immersed in and a part of can be connected to and sensed by bringing your attention to this chakra. And there is tremendous healing potential, both physically and emotionally, by connecting and harmonizing with these fields of energy. This guided meditation will give you a sense of what that means and start you on your journey to activating this chakra and aligning it with the energy of the world around you. This is a 20 minute version of the Condensed Energy guided meditation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Every physical thing in the universe is composed of matter. And matter is a form of energy. Though your consciousness is dominated by the information coming in from your senses and the emotions and thought patterns that the mind generates, there is a world of energy that is invisible to most of us most of the time. But this doesn't mean that it isn't there. The root chakra, located at the base of your spine, is the connection point to the energy that permeates this physical world of ours. The fluctuating, vibrant fields of energy that we are immersed in and a part of can be connected to and sensed by bringing your attention to this chakra. This guided meditation will give you a sense of what that means and start you on your journey to activating this chakra and aligning it with the energy of the world around you. This is a 10 minute version of the Condensed Energy guided meditation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If feeling grounded, settled, open, calm and peaceful is for you, then try this meditation. Often when you are anxious, agitated, sad, lonely, or when you suffer from the almost any of the other negative feelings, it is because you have lost your connection to the earth and to others (animate an inanimate) that you share this earth and this universe with. But your breath and the breath of the earth itself are the same breath. Your breath and your transformations are, in a way, the same as the cycling or change or expansion and contraction of everything in the universe. This meditation will help you restore that connection through the activation of your first Chakra. The Muladhara or root Chakra is your most primitive and foundational energy center. Located at the base of your spine, it represents the gateway between your physical body, the earth and the entire physical cosmos we call the universe or the 'world of phenomena and matter'. The earth breathes through the trillions upon trillions of plants that breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. Though you may not sense it now, your breath and all those tiny breaths of every leaf and plant on the planet are the same breath. Through this exercise you can activate and energize your connection to every creature and form of matter in the physical universe. This is the power of your first Chakra. Choose to open yourself to it.This is a 60 minute version of The Root of it All guided meditation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Often when you are anxious, agitated, sad, lonely, or when you suffer from the many other negative feelings, it is because you have lost your connection to the earth and to others that you share this earth and this universe with. But your breath and the breath of the earth itself are the same breath. Your breath and your transformations are the same as the cycling or change or expansion and contraction of everything in the universe. This meditation will help you restore that connection through the activation of your first Chakra. The Muladhara or root Chakra is your most primitive and foundational energy center. Located at the base of your spine, it represents the gateway between your physical body, the earth and the entire physical cosmos we call the universe or the 'world of phenomena and matter'. The earth breathes through the trillions upon trillions of plants that breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. Though you may not sense it now, your breath and all those tiny breaths of every leaf and plant on the planet are the same breath. Through this exercise you can activate and energize your connection to every creature and form in the physical universe. This is the power of your first Chakra. Tap into it.This is a 30 minute version of The Root of it All guided meditation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Muladhara or root Chakra is your most primitive and foundational energy center. Located at the base of your spine, it represents the gateway between your physical body, the earth and the entire physical cosmos we call the universe or the 'world of phenomena and matter'. Often when you are anxious, agitated, sad, lonely, or when you suffer from the many other negative feelings, it is because you have lost your connection to the earth and to others that you share this earth with. But your breath and the breath of the earth itself are the same breath. This meditation will help you restore that connection through the activation of your first Chakra. The earth breathes through the trillions upon trillions of plants that breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. Though you may not sense it now, your breath and all those tiny breaths of every leaf and plant on the planet are the same breath. Through this exercise you can activate and energize your connection to every creature and form in the physical universe. This is the power of your first Chakra. Embrace it and you will open yourself to its mind-blowing potential.This is a 30 minute version of The Root of it All guided meditation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Your root Chakra is located is your lowest and first energy center. It is located at the base of your spine and it represents the gateway between your physical body and the earth. Often when you are panicky or worried, sad or lonely, or suffer from any number of other negative feelings it is because you have lost your connection to the earth and to others that you share this earth with. But your breath and the breath of the earth are the same breath. This meditation will help you restore that connection through the activation of your first Chakra. Try to imagine the impossible magnitude of the earth breathing: We have over 3 trillion trees on our planet. All day long their leaves breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. How many leaves are there? The studies leaf count differ but the range seems to be on the order of 200K-500K leaves per tree. Within each leaf there are millions of little breathing tubes called stomata--that’s where the carbon dioxide comes in and the oxygen goes out. Each one of those trillions upon trillions of stomata are like tiny mouths that are breathing in and out all the time. Though you may not sense it now, your mouth and all those tiny mouths are the same mouth. Through this exercise you can activate and energize your connection to every one of these stomata as well as everything else in the physical universe. This is the power of your first Chakra. Learn to embrace it and open yourself to its potential.This is a 20 minute version of The Root of it All guided meditation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Your first Chakra is located at the base of your spine and it represents the gateway between your physical body and that part of your energetic body that is rooted in the earth. Through this exercise you can activate and energize your connection to everything in the physical universe. Often when you are panicky or worried, sad or lonely, or suffer from any number of other negative feelings it is because you have lost your connection to the earth and to others that you share this earth with. This meditation will help you restore that connection through the activation of your first Chakra.This is a 10 minute version of The Root of it All guided meditation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Self-mastery means you realize who you really are; you realize your true power; and you exercise that power. The first step in achieving self-mastery involves an understanding that the energy patterns that your mind manufactures are electrochemical patterns that you can control. In this meditation you are going to practice this power by directing your awareness to a sense of belonging and membership and safety. When you feel grounded in your group and your family and your history, this is the beginning of being aware of your connection to all energies and everything; ultimately you will feel the flow and the natural connection between your energy and the energy in the world around you. Affirming your membership to different people and groups is one way to activate that sense of connection or being in the flow of the universe. If you don’t start exercising your power, if you don’t start paying attention to energy, how are you going to know how much power you really have? If you don't start feeling connected to the universal flow, how will you ever conclude that you are limitless? That there are no problems other than the ones you manufacture in your own mind? One conclusion serves as the floor for the next one. So start by mastering the ability to belong to the groups you select. Your energy will change frequencies when you do this and you will start to resonate with the universal energy and flow. You're on your way!(Note: in this meditation, when I use the word "belong" I don't mean it in the sense of "ownership." Rather, it is a in the sense of "membership." So when I say, for example, that you belong to your mother and father, this is a loving, energetic and genetic statement. Particularly if you have had fraught relations with one or both of your parents, don't get hung up on the thought of your "belonging" to them in any sort of negative or scary sense. Rather use it as an opportunity to open your heart to the love they they no doubt feel for you (or felt if they are no longer with us), even if they have never shown you that love.)This is a 60 minute version of the I Belong guided meditation.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The first step in achieving self-mastery involves an understanding that feelings are nothing more than energy patterns that your mind manufactures. And these are electrochemical patterns that you can control. In this meditation you are going to begin to learn to control those patterns by practicing the technique of directing your awareness to a sense of belonging and membership and safety. When you feel grounded in your group and your family and your history, this is the beginning of being aware of your connection to all energies and everything; ultimately you will feel the flow and the natural connection between your energy and the energy in the world around you. Affirming your membership to different people and groups is one way to activate that sense of connection or being in the flow of the universe. If you don’t start exercising your power, if you don’t start paying attention to energy, how are you going to know how much power you really have? If you don't start feeling connected to the universal flow, how will you ever conclude that you are limitless? That there are no problems other than the ones you manufacture in your own mind? One conclusion serves as the floor for the next one. So start by mastering the ability to belong to the groups you select. Your energy will change frequencies when you do this and you will start to resonate with the universal energy and flow. You're on your way!(Note: in this meditation, when I use the word "belong" I don't mean it in the sense of "ownership." Rather, it is a in the sense of "membership." So when I say, for example, that you belong to your mother and father, this is a loving, energetic and genetic statement. Particularly if you have had fraught relations with one or both of your parents, don't get hung up on the thought of your "belonging" to them in any sort of negative or scary sense. Rather use it as an opportunity to open your heart to the love they they no doubt feel for you (or felt if they are no longer with us), even if they have never shown you that love.)This is a 45 minute version of the I Belong guided meditation.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Meditation can be a powerful technique to achieve self-mastery and thereby relieve suffering. Let's say you are feeling sad, or anxious, or lonely. Or maybe you get angry or scattered. These states of mind are nothing more than energy in a particular pattern. These patterns arise when you feel threatened. And one of the most common threats humans sense is the possibility of being kicked out of their group or rejected by their peers or family or lover. But you have a choice here. Whether it is conscious or not, you are the one choosing to manufacture those patterns. And in truth, the threat of being rejected by or ejected from your group is not such a real threat. Humans are self-existing and self-maintaining organisms. This means that your energy is one with the energy all around you and the energy throughout the universe. You just have to direct your awareness to that energy and choose to tap into that power. One way to reconnect to that power is through this concept we call belonging. You simply need to affirm your sense of belonging through your own will and your own imagination. And you need to do it with commitment and confidence and focus. So that is what you will be guided to do in this meditation.(Note: in this meditation, when I use the word "belong" I don't mean it in the sense of "ownership." Rather, it is a in the sense of "membership." So when I say, for example, that you belong to your mother and father, this is a loving, energetic and genetic statement. Particularly if you have had fraught relations with one or both of your parents, don't get hung up on the thought of your "belonging" to them in any sort of negative or scary sense. Rather use it as an opportunity to open your heart to the love they they no doubt feel for you (or felt if they are no longer with us), even if they have never shown you that love.)This is a 30 minute version of the I Belong guided meditation.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When you are plagued by negative feelings, sometimes the source of it can be a fear of being rejected by a group or another person (it could be a work relation, a relative, a lover, or a friend for examples). The truth is that you will always belong and therefore have nothing to fear. You may not think this is what is happening but you'd be surprised by how often this is the fear underlying your sadness or anxiety or anger or shame or whatever else it is you are suffering from. If you really commit yourselves to the practice of the "I Belong" meditation, you may discover an enormous weight falling from your shoulders and your path through life opening in ways you could never have imagined!(Note: in this meditation, when I use the word "belong" I don't mean it in the sense of "ownership." Rather, it is a in the sense of "membership." So when I say, for example, that you belong to your mother and father, this is a loving, energetic and genetic statement. Particularly if you have had fraught relations with one or both of your parents, don't get hung up on the thought of your "belonging" to them in any sort of negative or scary sense. Rather use it as an opportunity to open your heart to the love they they no doubt feel for you (or felt if they are no longer with us), even if they have never shown you that love.)This is a 20 minute version of the I Belong guided meditation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Often negative feelings like anxiety, sadness, fear (and so on) are generated because we all have a need to belong.Your mind isn’t set up to arrive at a stable, happy and peaceful state. It is designed to keep the body alive. The mechanism that we use to move the body are called e-motions. They are energy to move the body. You need to move the body to stay alive. One of the biggest reasons that caused death over the eons of our evolution was separation from our group or tribe or family. When these fears of not belonging to our group arise, our physiology shifts to support these feelings of fear or grief and anxiety or however this fear manifests within our bodies and minds. You can reassert our control of how you are feeling in many ways but today we are going directly at this fear of being cast out. Please note that when I use the word "belong" it is not in the sense of ownership. Rather, it is in the sense of membership.This is a 10 minute version of the I Belong guided meditation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We'd all like to feel confident about who we are and what we are doing. And we have the power to make the choice, which is what this mediation is about. The truth is, however, that sustainable self confidence only arises when we realize that we actually have no control over anything and that there is a benevolent force that does have this control. Everything that happens is an expression of what the ancient masters might call the Divine Will, or as might be expressed today, what we could call the Physical Laws of Nature. We can't argue with what is. What has happened or is happening just is. You can stick a supernatural being in there as the prime mover or just call it physics or whatever but there is little basis to argue that any one of us individually as a human or even all of us collectively as a species can actually control what happens in every detail. I tell my arm to move, yes, and it moves, but the chain of causation that led to me having that thought and that ability I had nothing to do with and it is infinitely complex and goes back in time indefinitely. And modern neuroscience is producing more and more evidence supporting the claim that our actions emerge prior to us even being conscious of our intentions. So we don't control it. Our freedom of choice in the actions of bodies in the world of form is an illusion. A useful illusion for maximizing the propagation of our genes. Fine. But wait, there's more! There is this recipe for navigating through this life of ours, of adapting the electrical and chemical activity of the brain to create a sense of happiness and abundance and peace. We can short-circuit the more typical pattern of endless dissatisfaction. THAT is where we DO have control, where we CAN exercise our free will. We can choose to follow this recipe or we can choose to ignore it. Meditations like this one will help you along the path to realizing this true self-confidence; a self-confidence that is rooted in the notion that the Universe controls the Universe but you get to choose how you react to it and what emotions and thoughts you have in response.This is a 1 hour version of the I Am Confident guided meditation See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We can claim an air of self confidence whenever we choose, and that is what this meditation is about. The truth is, however, that sustainable self confidence only arises when we realize that we actually have no control over anything and that there is a benevolent force that does have this control. Everything that happens is an expression of what the ancient masters might call the Divine Will, or as might be expressed today, what we could call the Physical Laws of Nature. We can't argue with what is. What has happened or is happening just is. You can stick a supernatural being in there as the prime mover or just call it physics or whatever but there is little basis to argue that any one of us individually as a human or even all of us collectively as a species can actually control what happens in every detail. I tell my arm to move, yes, and it moves, but the chain of causation that led to me having that thought and that ability I had nothing to do with and it is infinitely complex and goes back in time indefinitely. And modern neuroscience is producing more and more evidence supporting the claim that our actions emerge prior to us even being conscious of our intentions. So we don't control it. Our freedom of choice in the actions of bodies in the world of form is an illusion. A useful illusion for maximizing the propagation of our genes. Fine. But wait, there's more! There is this recipe for navigating through this life of ours, of adapting the electrical and chemical activity of the brain to create a sense of happiness and abundance and peace. We can short-circuit the more typical pattern of endless dissatisfaction. THAT is where we DO have control, where we CAN exercise our free will. We can choose to follow this recipe or we can choose to ignore it. Meditations like this one will help you along the path to realizing this true self-confidence; a self-confidence that is rooted in the notion that the Universe controls the Universe but you get to choose how you react to it and what emotions and thoughts you have in response.This is a 45 minute version of the I Am Confident guided meditation See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If you struggle with self-doubt, low self-esteem, or lack of confidence in some important dimension of your self or life, this meditation will be of help. You don't need to look outside yourself for affirmation or compliments or reassurance. As comforting as the reassurance and approval of others can be, you don't need to rely on other people to remove your doubts or fears or validate your choices. We are self-existing, self-maintaining, and self-sustaining organisms. So your confidence comes from within. You can't control what happens out in the world but you can control your mental and emotional response to those changes around you. And one important response is your degree of confidence. Your self-doubt or low self-esteem is rooted in a confusion about who you are and the nature of your true self. So self-assurance is a choice. For some of you it will be more natural than others but regardless, it is always a choice. This meditation will help you make that choice.This is a 30 minute version of the I Am Confident guided meditation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.