Happy Mind: Meditations from the Ancient World to Modernity

The heart generates its own electromagnetic field. It is estimated that this field is 60-100 times as strong as the brain's electromagnetic field. It is also thought that the brain contains its own set of neurons. With the heart's field extending a meter or so from the body, a mother's brainwaves have been shown to synchronize with her baby's even when they are a few feet apart. There are many mysteries to this extraordinary organ of ours, the heart. Today, we will explore the energetic power of the heart and take advantage of its role as the gateway to dimensions of our higher self.NOTE: This is a 45 minute version of the Grateful for my love, for my heart guided meditation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There is an old saying that home is where the heart is. But like many old sayings, there are many layers to this phrase. It doesn’t just mean that we can be happy and safe and at rest (i.e. at home) where our loved ones are. Home can also be understood as our true nature or our true self. In this sense, we can see why the heart has played the role throughout the ages of the bridge to the mystical or magical parts of the self; we can see why it has been seen as the door separating our lower, physical self from our higher, numinal self. Today we are going to bridge that divide.Your heart is also the place your emotional self feels and expresses love. When you feel loved by someone, it glows and you can feel the love and the joy and the completeness coursing through your whole body. When you are feeling rejected or unloved, your whole body aches in response. The heart is the seat of love in your body. And love is the closest we can come to experiencing heaven in this body of ours. So sit back, relax, and open yourself to a meditation of gratitude for the power of your heart. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Because of its bridge-like connection to the numinal or non-physical dimension, the heart has been thought of throughout the ages as the ruler within us. Today, we are going to invite our reluctant ruler to help us access our higher self.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We don't notice our breath most of the time. Yet it sustains our life each moment of each day. So take just a few minutes today to notice and appreciate your breath. (NOTE: This is a 10 minute version of the Grateful for my Breath guided meditation) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We take our breath for granted. We don't even notice it most of the time. Yet it holds the key to accessing our higher self. Many an ancient master has said there is another plane of existence that our life force inhabits alongside the physical dimension we are all so familiar with. The breath is a symbol for this life force. In ancient China and India they used words like qi or prana to describe the life force in this other dimension. We can take advantage of this deep-seated symbolism and use your physical breath to refresh or reactivate our connection to your spiritual self. Listen now to do just that. (NOTE: This is a 45 minute version of the Grateful for my Breath guided meditation) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Many an ancient master has said there is another plane of existence that our life force inhabits alongside the physical dimension we are all so familiar with. The breath is a symbol for this energy or spirit self. In ancient China and India they used words like qi or prana to describe the life force that bridges the world of form and this other dimension. We can take advantage of this deep-seated symbolism and use our physical breath to refresh or reactivate our connection to our spiritual self. Listen now to do just that. (NOTE: This is a 1 hour version of the Grateful for my Breath guided meditation) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Throughout history the breath has been a symbol for life. It is a symbol not just of life in the sense of a physical body breathing and being alive; it also represents the life energy or life force (we could also call this qi or prana). We can take advantage of this deep-seated symbolism and use your breath refresh or activate your connection to your spiritual self. Listen now to do just that. (NOTE: This is a 25 min version of the Grateful for my Breath guided meditation) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This is a simple meditation designed to connect you with a teacher you work with today in a non-intellectual fashion so that you can access their teachings in a different way. NOTE: It is the first part only of the longer Grateful for my teacher guided meditations. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With the very best teachers, just being around them feels good. And even reading a true master’s words, when those words are truly understood (or, to use the words of the Diamond Sutra, are “received and retained”) will put you in the frequency of happiness and love. But 'receiving and retaining' a master’s teaching isn’t a straightforward exercise. Which is part of why this podcast exists: to help you receive and retain and understand and experience the teaching of the illuminated ones of bygone eras. And one of the gateways we can use to “receive and retain” their teachings is the magic potion called gratitude. We all have teachers. Some are ancient masters who have long been dead. Some are with us today. Some we know well, some we’ve never met. Some don’t even know they are our teachers (any parent of a small child or a teenager can attest to that!). Our teachers hold a special place in our development as people and on our path to self-mastery. So today we are going to thank them. And because of gratitude’s special power, we will be able to use this meditation to activate their teaching within you again right now, and extend their teaching to new levels. So join me now, drink the draught of gratitude and let your teachers help you experience the illumination they talk so much about. NOTE: This is a 45 minute version of the Grateful for my teacher mediation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We all have teachers. Some are ancient masters who have long been dead. Some are with us today. Some we know well, some we’ve never met. Some don’t even know they are our teachers (any parent of a small child or a teenager can attest to that!). Our teachers hold a special place in our development as people and on our path to self-mastery. So today we are going to thank them. And because of gratitude’s special power, we will be able to use this meditation to activate their teaching within you again right now, and extend it to new levels. With the very best teachers, just being around them feels good. And even reading a true master’s words, when they are truly understood (or, to use the words of the Diamond Sutra, are “received and retained”) will put you in the frequency of happiness and love. But receiving and retaining a master’s teaching isn’t a straightforward exercise. Which is part of why this podcast exists: to help you receive and retain and understand and experience the teaching of the illuminated ones. And one of the gateways we can use to “receive and retain” their teachings is the magic potion called gratitude. So join me now, drink the draught of gratitude and let your teachers help you experience the illumination they talk so much about. NOTE: This is a 30 minute version of the Grateful for my teacher meditation) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We all have so much to be grateful for. Yet we rarely take time the time to be grateful for all the things we do have. Use this opportunity to be grateful for all the many gifts you have been given. (NOTE: This is a 10 minute version of the Grateful for my Gifts meditation.) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We all have so much to be grateful for. Yet we rarely take time the time to be grateful for all the things we do have. Use this opportunity to be grateful for all the many gifts you have been given. (NOTE: This is a 30 minute version of the Grateful for my Gifts meditation) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We all have so much to be grateful for. Yet we rarely take time the time to be grateful for all the things we do have. Use this opportunity to be grateful for all the many gifts you have been given. (NOTE: This is a 20 min version of the Grateful for my Gifts meditation) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

(One hour version). You are strong, beautiful and loved. But you probably don't feel like this all of the time, or even most of the time. Why? The primary function of your body and your mind is to keep you alive and create copies of your genes into the next generation. It is a highly efficient, capable entity finely crafted to achieve these goals. So when you suffer, whether from physical or emotional pain, this is they way that you know to change course. This is how you keep yourself alive. The organisms and people in our distant past that weren't good at that didn't pass down their genes. But these techniques that are so foundational that they are instinctual and reactive habits aren't good measures of what is actually happening to you at any given moment or on any given day. The intelligence of your emotional and physical self is excellent at generating the feelings and movements to keep you alive in the primitive and dangerous settings that life developed in over the last few million years. Unfortunately, it isn't well-adapted yet to the relative safety and comfort of today's world. So we have to do the work to train the brain to adapt to this new environment. You have to recognize that any time you are suffering, you have some belief that is preventing you from releasing the suffering. But you control your beliefs. But it takes practice to let go of long held beliefs. Lots and lots of practice. Let's do that now. (NOTE: This is a one hour version of the Strong, Beautiful and Loved guided meditation) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You are loved. It may not feel like that right now, but it is true. You have to recognize that any time you don't feel loved, anytime you are suffering, you are the one creating this experience. You have some belief that is preventing you from releasing the suffering and feeling loved. Your beliefs then manifest as your experience. But you get to decide what your beliefs are. So why not change them? You can do that now. Let's do that now. (NOTE: This is a 30 minute version of the You Are Loved guided meditation) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.