Balance Your Emotions

Hi Everyone, I hope you are doing well. I am doing good. The world is filled with magic and it is also filled with sadness, with this loving kindness practice you may find a way to cultivate a sense of stability in yourself that allows you to accept sadness and not just cling to joy. Dealing with difficult emotions are hard for all of us and it is easier to focus on joy and happiness. When you do this practice find that good feeling in your heart and try to feel it throughout your body. Then think of a sadness inside you, Don't try to control it or change it. Let both feelings of love and sadness pass through your heart like waves, don't grasp onto one or push the other away. Continue in this way until you feel a calm balance between these feelings. As you go about your day this practice may help us to find balance in the mist of our chaotic, every changing emotions. You may not feel that the first time you practice it, but keep trying and it will come to you.
Thanks for visiting my blog,
Take Care,
Janet :)

Love Yourself

Hi Everyone,
Hi hope you are all doing well. I am doing good. Another snowy day in New England. It has been a a very snowy season this year and all around is nothing but mounds of snow. It is pretty at first but then after a few days it is just dirty looking and blah.I don't get down though, I like having 4 seasons. Today I want to continue to share with everyone the practice of Loving-Kindness meditation. I have to say I don't always have the time to practice this but now that I have started to, I honestly feel less anxious than I use to. I am truly returning to a state of happiness that I have not felt since my mother had her double stroke in 2006. I endured 17 months of watching her suffer with the effects of a double stroke. I did not feel love or joy for a long time only pain and anxiety. So I recommend this even in small doses for yourself. Thanks for visiting my blog
Take Care,
Janet :)
Discover Your Enormous Potential for Happiness
Everyone want to be happy. You may not realize that happiness comes from within you. Real self-worth is entirely internal. The exercises in this section will give you an opportunity to practice compassion and love for yourself. You may find that you'll experience feelings of joy and contentment not just while you're doing the exercises but long after your practice has ended. The best way to start is to look through these different loving-kindness practices and see which ones resonate with you. Then do the ones you like. You can repeat the same one many times. Give yourself a chance to open your heart as you practice these meditations. Two meditations I will share with you today and more to follow in my next posts on loving-kindness.
Be Your Own Best Friend.
The foundation of loving-kindness is knowing how to be your own best friend. How do you treat your best friend? Is it with care, attention, love, and concern? Here is an exercise that offers you those same deep feelings for others towards yourself. This practice helps you remember your core goodness. I would suggest either informal or formal meditation whichever works best for you. When your in a comfortable place simply breath in and out to relax your body and mind, then say these words to yourself. First remember a time when you felt open and friendly, Like the feeling you get when a child takes your hand, or a dog runs up to greet you, or your sweetheart wraps you up in a warm embrace. As these memories or feelings emerge let yourself feel the warm emotions. Next gently direct these phrases towards yourself. May I be kind to myself, May I rest in this moment, May I be at ease and May I be happy.
Loving-Kindness Towards Your Body. This one may be hard as we all find fault with our bodies. You may hate your thighs but love your eyes. This exercise will help you to direct acceptance of all of your body. Follow the same steps as the one above, what ever works best for you and simply say these words towards all the parts of your body, liked or not liked. Visualize yourself feeling good about the parts of your body you really like. Rest in that feeling for a few moments. Now focus on the parts of your body that you don't like and treat them with kindness, repeat these phrases. May I be kind to my body, May I make friends with my body, May I free from hate, May I be free from fear. Relax and let your breaths comfort you. Slowly bring yourself back to your day.

Informal Practice of Loving Kindness

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are all doing well, I am doing good. The online magazine I write for is back up and running I hope you will visit it and read my weekly articles, and all the great articles there as well. I will put the link to it at the end of this post. There is also a link on my blogs sidebar.
I want to begin the Informal Practice of Loving-Kindness.
Loving-Kindness meditation can be practiced informally. Every day situations present you with many opportunities to shift your old mental habits and learn to treat yourself and the world differently. You will learn to direct kindness to yourself and to others throughout your daily travels, from being stuck at the doctors office, or on a train or stuck in traffic. This practice will also teach you loving kindness towards yourself when you are feeling cranky,or upset or just not in full operational mode. Use this meditation when you can't sleep, are worried about something, and are fearful or angry about a situation. Repeating Loving-Kindness phrases you will reinforce them in yourself and your daily situations. For example, May everyone in this world be safe. May the person in the car next to me be at ease. May all the people in the store be peaceful, May I rest and feel peaceful. Every time you repeat a phrase, you deepen the intention in your mind and heart for your own happiness and the happiness to others. You may begin to see that there's not so much separation between yourself and others. Everyone wishes to feel happiness, it is this wish for happiness that unites us all. This practice allows your to open to the moment. Don't become attached to outcome: your are not trying to control things, but rather to learn to treat the moment with kindness. Just do the best you can and know that your best is good enough.
This is just the beginning of Informal Practice of Loving-Kindness, more posts to follow
Take Care,
Janet :)
http://www.angelsezine.com/

My Little Christmas Angel

Hi Everyone,
Briana now being 14 months old really enjoyed Christmas this year. As soon as she saw the presents under the tree she smiled ear to ear. Being the proud Grandma I had to share them with everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I had a great Christmas,the prime rib I cooked came out perfect, that never happens to me. It truly was a Christmas miracle. Thanks for all the comments on my last post. You helped me get through this first one and helped keep my spirit up. I kept focus on the thought that love transcends death. It made me feel true happiness for the day, thanks pinklady for sharing that with me. I will be posting soon the informal practice of loving kindness. Angelsezine is temporarily down but I am sure it will be back up soon. I hope you will read my articles and all the wonderful articles on the site.
Thanks for visiting my blog,
Take Care,
Janet :)

Final Instructions on Formal Loving Kindness

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are all doing well. I am doing good. I want to share the rest of the formal loving-kindness meditation with you today. The next practice with be the informal meditation. I hope you find something in this meditation that helps you in your daily life. I am using it to help with the healing process.
Thanks for visiting my blog.
Take Care,
Janet :)

If you didn't start to feel kindness to yourself in the beginning of the formal meditation. Your not doing it wrong. Let yourself reflect on a wish to be happy and peaceful. If you still don't feel it, remember that the old mind habits take time to change. Think of it as a opportunity to practice patience toward yourself without judgment or guilt. You can always come back to yourself as often as you like.
After a period of time, let go of yourself and shift the focus to a loved one. For example think of a family member, good friend possibly a mentor or someone who has treated you with kindness and generosity. Someone who has inspired or enriched your life. This should be someone that you can easily extend friendliness and kindness.
Use the phrases from my earlier post or create your own phrases, just replace the I with your loved ones name. Visualize their face as you say the phrases and allow good wishes, kindness and warm feelings in you to flow to this person, wishing them well wherever they are in the world. For example May Sue be healthy, May Sue be happy, May Sue be peaceful, May Sue be safe. After this deep connection with your loved one shift your attention towards a person you feel neutral about, someone you do not know well. Repeat the same phrases. Your gift of wishing kindness is anonymous and offered freely. Your kindness may do a stranger good. Next shift your focus on a difficult person. This is someone you have conflict with, someone you judge or resent. Repeat the phrases again. If opening your heart to someone you don't like seems to challenging, simply return your attention to yourself. The last focus is to shift your attention and repeat the phrases to the rest of the world. To all people, animals, plants, the earth, and all living things. Think of people in other countries who may be in need of loving-kindness. As you extend the feelings of friendship, caring and kindness to all individuals and all forms of life, a sense of boundlessness may arise in you. Recognize and enjoy that feeling.
When you're ready to end your formal practice, bring attention back to yourself. Take a few deep breaths. Gently begin to move your body. You might want to wiggle your fingers and toes. If you have warm feelings inside, just rest with those for a moment. End your practice bye opening your eyes and then, when you're ready, move out of your meditation position. Let the expansiveness and compassion you experienced during meditation follow you throughout your day.