Forgiveness & Non-Judgment

“Forgiveness does not require doing something.  It requires undoing something: Letting go of judgments.” – Diane L. Ross, Meditations for Miracles

“Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.” - Hannah Arendt

“One forgives to the degree that one loves.”  - Francois de La Rochefoucauld

“We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It's one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it's another to think that yours is the only path.” - Paulo Coelho

“Let's trade in all our judging for appreciating. Let's lay down our righteousness and just be together.” - Ram Dass

~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~  

I caught myself the other day judging and critiquing the decisions that someone had made and how they should have been better.  As I was picking it apart, I took notice of what I was doing, how it was making me feel.  I suddenly felt the pain in my heart for that person, for myself – and had a moment of clarity where I realized – we are all just trying to put one foot in front of the other and do what we need to do. 

The fact remains that we all very often take on too much.  It is part of our cultural make up.  We are here to work on that today – focusing on one thing.

The fact remains that we expect too much of people including ourselves.  We are here to work on that today – focusing on non-judgment & acceptance.

The fact remains that we have been and will continue to be at the receiving end of pain from another and ourselves.  We are here to work on that today – focusing on Forgiveness of another and ourselves – “They (and we) know not what they (we) do.”

Just for today…

~ We will focus on the nothingness and oneness that meditation can give us. ~

~ We will focus on the concept of Non-Judgment. ~

~ We will focus on the Art of Forgiveness & how FREEING it truly is. ~

Forgiveness & Non-Judgment Meditation

Place your hand on your abdomen.  Notice the movement of your belly expanding when you do your series of inhalations and exhalations. This is the key to knowing you are doing it right.

Now begin your series of very slow, deep inhalations & exhalations with a count of 5 for the inhale, holding your breath for two seconds and exhaling completely for 5 counts.

Let’s do this 3 more times.

Now take the next several moments and do a body scan of each part of the body, to allow every bit of tension to be released completely.   On your own breath intentionally and imagine the tension being released with your exhales from any part of your body carrying tension.

Now that your body is sinking into a relaxed state…you will begin a special visualization.

Imagine a person in your life that evokes frustration in you or has hurt you in some way.  Hold them in your mind’s eye.  Notice what they look like.  Any particular expressions that they tend to commonly have.  Now, notice any thoughts that may cross your mind about your relationship with them.  Any negative behavior or encounter with them that fills your mind.  Notice if there is any changes to your body at this time, any tension, or any shortness of breath.

Now, you are going to begin to set yourself free from these thoughts and feelings.

Imagine this person standing directly in front of you.  Visualize them being bathed in the most beautiful, shimmering, Divine Light that is radiating from above them and all around them.  You can feel the warmth of this light, and you notice them feeling it as well.  The light evokes a feeling of innocence – like that of a small child.  You notice the expression on this persons face lightening.  They begin to smile.  And you begin to see them in another light.  You realize that they are at their core no different than you.  This new perception softens them to you.  You have an overwhelming desire to give them a big embrace.  As you embrace you feel your heart fill with love.  You continue to hug, and then you open your eyes and you say to them – I forgive you.  And suddenly, you notice that you are staring back at your own reflection.  

Take this time now and dwell in the light of your newfound sense of forgiveness of all.  Focus on this feeling and allow your breath to take you deeper into this sensation.

The Power Within

   Happiness is a shared desire by everyone, every day.  Yet it is one of the hardest desires to attain.  It is no wonder that it is such an uphill battle, with the amount of false sources of happiness available to us.  There are so many people chasing happiness through external experiences.  And there are so few that are taking the time to access their God-given happiness within their very Being. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence” – Aristotle

“Some pursue happiness - others create it.” - Unknown

“Be the change you want to see in the world” – Mahatma Gandhi

“Don’t let circumstances dictate how you feel, or you will always be a victim… You must learn to tap into the power, the joy, the love and the bliss that lie within you, regardless of external circumstances.  As you learn this, your outer circumstances will naturally change to reflect these treasures (within).” - Diane. L Ross, Meditations for Miracles, p. 324

“There is only one cause of unhappiness: the false beliefs you have in your head, beliefs so widespread, so commonly held, that it never occurs to you to question them.” – Anthony de Mello

From Meditation for Miracles
 Bring Joy to the World, by Diane L. Ross

If you could feel any way you wanted, how would you feel?

If you could think any way you wanted, how would you think?

If you could be any way you wanted, how would you be?

   Decide how you want to be and then cultivate all your energies so they help you flow in that direction.  By being mindful of the thought, word, or action that you choose in the present moment, you hold the power to change your “vibration” or quality of your feelings. 

   This heightened energy level makes us more alert, more aware of our existence, more connected, more spiritually centered.  Our lives become deeper and richer. 

   Fear on the other hand is based on illusions, and you are paralyzed from experiencing Joy, your birth right.

 Practice

The following exercises allow you to raise your vibration, or energy level:

-          Reading or watching a comedy, or any means to make you laugh

-          Consciously focusing on one thing at a time

-          Counting your blessings

-          Participating in any activity that you consider pleasurable

      -          Mini-breathing breaks – a series of slow deep inhalations and exhalations

-          Repeating a Mantra or Affirmation in your mind – “All is Love”

-          Tapping your third eye chakra 20-30 times while saying a positive saying to yourself – “I am grateful to feel so positive, so connected and happy.” (This anchors the positive feeling)

Meditation

Let us begin by doing a series of slow, deep inhalations & exhalations with a count of 5 in, hold your breath for two seconds and 5 counts out.

Let’s do this two more times.

Now we are going to do a scan of each part of the body, to allow every bit of tension to be released completely.   Beginning with the crown of your head, inhale and exhale out all of the tension in your head. Imagine it coming out like smoke, and dissolving into the air.  Now move your attention to your face.   Breathe and be mindful of any tension that you may be carrying in our face.  Breathe and release it. Move down to your neck, and where it connects to your torso. Breathe and release the tension.   Be mindful of your upper body, your arms, your hands, your fingers.  Breathe and release all the tension.  Focus your attention on your abdomen, your hips.  Breathe and be mindful of any tension here, and let it all go.  Move your focus to your thighs, to your knees to your shins and calves.  Release the tension built up here.  Now move your awareness to your ankles, to your feet, to your toes.  Allow all of the tension to float away.  Now take a deep breath and let go of any lingering tension.  You are now free of the tension.  Notice that every breath that you take, you feel lighter and lighter and more and more relaxed. 

Now I want you to imagine a beautiful angel that is floating right above you.  This angel is iridescent, colorful and the most beautiful being you have ever seen.  This angel is incredibly nurturing and pure.  This angel is sprinkling magic dust that begins to evoke feelings of hope and love inside of you.  As your angel continues to sprinkle dust, you think about times in your life where your felt immense love.  It magically restores this positive, powerful memory. 

Take this time now to stoke the feeling of immense love inside of you with the power of this memory.  And then release the memory and expand in this feeling inside of you – as profoundly as you can.

Authentic

We all carry around non-dissipated feelings about "mistakes" that we have made in our past.  These un-dealt with feelings may also be from experiences in our childhood where we were taken advantage of by people that we trusted, or perhaps bullied by peers.  The pain from these negative experiences still lingers inside of us.  These wounded parts of our selves can hinder our ability to uncover our Authentic Self.  It is  like a physical injury that has not yet healed properly, and your body does not operate optimally.

Our Westernized culture does not encourage our emotional part of our selves to be fully engaged.  To be emotional is considered to be messy, irrational, unstable, self-absorbed and it is always inconvenient. 

But...our emotional self are just as much a part of ourselves as our beating heart.

If you ever want to uncover your Authentic Self, the very pure, real, genuine, best version of yourself - then you must acknowledge the value of every aspect of yourself.

Your mind, your body, your emotions, your spirit...

It takes time and practice to accept and love yourself fully.  Forgiveness plays a huge role in learning to fully appreciate yourself.  And because we are hardest on ourselves, then if we can learn to forgive ourselves,  it then becomes easier to forgive others. 

True Happiness can only be experienced by rediscovering one's own true nature or Authentic Self.


Through Meditation practice, you return to your true source of happiness, which is YOU.  By CONNECTING to your Authentic Self, you access the power within to deal with all of the changes in your life.  No fulfilled desire can match this power.  When you are in tune with your Authentic Self, you begin to identify desires that are EGO-based, and those that are in alignment with your Authentic Self.

"The Authentic Self is the "I AM" within that creates life, the originator of ideas, the "ONE", the possessor of Free Will" ~ unknown

"I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul." - William Ernest Henely

"Friends come and go, loved ones die, jobs shift, children leave home.  The only person you can count on to go the distance is you.  So, we must all develop IMMENSE self-love, so that when our worlds come unraveled, our Selves will remain intact and strong.  Because when all else fails, we still have ourselves, and selves that are grounded in truth and self-acceptance are spiritually indestructable." - Iris Krasnow

Emotional Guidance System ~ Abraham-Hicks

For the Law of Attraction to work for you, you need to raise your vibration with positive energy.  According to Abraham-Hicks, the authors of The Law of Attraction, your Emotional Guidance System is the ultimate tool.

Your Emotional Guidance System, communicates to you through your feelings.  It tells you whether or not your thoughts, actions and words are pointing you TOWARDS or AWAY form what you really want - at th deepest level of your being, not just on the surface. 

The key is to be aware of the sensations in your body. 

If you are feeling open and increasingly positive like: Optimism, Hopefulness, Excitement, Vitality and it then deepens into Joy, Love, Empowerment, and Peace...then you know that your thoughts and actions are moving you towards what your REALLY want.  And you are increasingly closer to your Authentic Self.

If you are feeling tension and increasingly negative feelings like: Discouragement, Frustration, Anger, Hopelessness, Shame, Despair, Depression...you know your thoughts and actions are pointed away from what you REALLY want.  And you are increasingly isolated and didsconnected from your Authentic Self.

What can you do about this?
Ask yourself : How am I feeling today?

If you are feeling negative - use this process:

1) Make a list of what you don't want - then from this list...

2) Make a list of what you do want.

For example:

I don't want to feel so busy that I don't take time to take care of myself. (What do you want?)

I want a balance life.  I want to enjoy purposeful, fulfilling work that energizes me, and allows me to have a balanced work load, where I can take time to tend to myself, re-center and practice Prensence,  no matter what I am doing.

This is a wonderful exericse to figure out WHAT YOU WANT!  So often we don't know what we want out of life, we just know we want to feel happier.  This exercise is great to fugure out specifics.  Then set an Intention of this WANT, and use this Intention as a daily Affirmation.

This is a link to a wonderful article with tips to live Authentically.  http://www.soulfulliving.com/living_authentic_life.htm

Meditation

Begin by focusing on your breathing - take a slow, deep inhalation counting up to 8, and a slow exhalation counting down to 8.  Repeat this two additional times.  As you breathe, imagine you are inhaling beautiful crystals (or diamonds) and you are exhaling old stale air.  Each breathe you take, you are freshening your body with beautiful energy.

In each moment that you are aware of your breathing, you are slowly sinking deeper into the comfort of your True Nature.  The eternal, flawless, complete YOU.  The Authentic YOU.

Imagine your breathe as a bridge - each time you are aware of your inhales and exhales you get closer and closer to floating over this bridge deeper into the realm of Your Pure Life Force.  This realm is unique only to you.  As you imagine your reconnection with this realm, where nothing and everything exist, you awknowledge a feeling of being home and feel connected to this perfection.  You also feel a sense of knowing that any time you feel a lack of peace, love or joy, this realm is always within your reach simply by breathing deeply and sliding aside your thoughts and looking beyond into this backdrop of infinity.

Take this time now, breathing easily and dwelling in this perfection that is YOU.

How Meditation Can Impact Your Life

"Prayer is when you talk to God.  Meditation is when you listen. “~ Author unknown

Do we listen enough?  Are we missing “signs” on a daily basis because we are caught up in our 50,000 thoughts per day?  What we all want is to feel happy – to have experiences that make us feel elated inside – pure joy.

"Happiness is a continuation of happenings which are not resisted." ~ Deepak Chopra

We very often live in this state of “resistance” or bracing ourselves from all of the “what-ifs” that can occur – according to the news, stories from acquaintances, friends, family.  We often are one stage away from being in fight or flight mode.  And so we are creating this existence that may not feel special very often.  We have expectations of what our experiences should be, and we try to control our outcomes.  And then we are disappointed that our lives are not what we want.

"The physical world, including our bodies, is a response of the observer. We create our bodies as we create the experience of our world."

Our Egoic minds are often in control, it dragging our bodies around, while our (eternal) spirit waits patiently.  In order to bring depth into our experiences we must deepen our relationship with our spirit – by becoming silent and acknowledging who and what our inner spirit is.  Learning about ourselves, by going beyond the realm of our ego – and seeing what we may learn – through feeling.

"Silence is the great teacher, and to learn its lessons you must pay attention to it. There is no substitute for the creative inspiration, knowledge, and stability that come from knowing how to contact your core of inner silence." ~ Deepak Chopra

“Born from the recognition that all is suffering, meditation is this stopping, this passionate inward turn that thirsts for stillness, clarity, space and insight. The ancient angst of being human cannot be solved by thought alone, or by technology, or by any kind of cultural amusements. One must stop. One must take stock. One must look within, deeply, passionately, resolutely to see what, if anything, resides in the silence of a mind that has temporarily ceased talking to itself. If something is found, one can then make a gesture of appreciation. One may even discover the miracle of compassion.” – Rocco L Bosco, Author of Buddha Wept

    Two Main Types of Meditation 

                                                                                     

There are two major forms of meditation: concentrative meditation and mindfulness meditation.

Concentration meditation focuses on a person's breathing and/or a single object- such as a sound or an image.  By quietly focusing on the object and the breath, a person will find that his or her mind readily opens up to invite in peace and the body starts to relax.

With mindfulness meditation, we take on the role of an impartial observer of everything that passes before our attention. Our intention is not to be focused, but rather to be mindful, that is, to be fully aware and awake of what is going on in the present moment. Often the breath is still used as an anchor to the present moment in mindfulness meditation, but apart from that, no attempt is made to direct the attention.

Whatever thoughts, so called distractions, sounds, images, ideas, or feelings arise, nothing is excluded. Everything is welcomed. We simply pay attention to whatever is there. We do not judge or evaluate. Whatever happens, whatever occurs is okay – we just sit quietly and observe.

Mindfulness meditation can be applied to all experiences in life. Whatever is happening, we should not try to hold the experience outside ourselves. Mindfulness is about embracing reality and the present moment, whether we are working, running or enjoying a meal.

By P. Wilson, www.healthandyoga.com/html/news/theory/spm_dmy.asp

Breathing

Take three slow, deep, breaths; simple meditation breathing techniques use a count of eight for your inhalation, then hold the breath for the count of eight and exhale for the same. This keeps the breathing even and also gives your body an oxygen boost which relaxes you even further.

Guided Meditation

Begin with a series of three slow breaths using a count of eight for the inhalation and a count of 8 from the exhalation.

Now begin to be mindful of each part of your body.  Begin with the crown of your head.  And move your attention to your face, and all of the features on your face.  Breathe and be mindful of the sensations on our face.  Move down to your neck, and how it connects to your torso.  Be mindful of your torso, how it feels, move your focus to your arms, your hands, your fingers.  Breathe and be mindful of the sensations.  Come back to your torso, and down to your pelvis.  Breathe and be mindful of this part of your body.  Move your focus to your thighs, to your knees to your shins and calves.  Be mindful of the sensations in your legs.  Breathe and feel the energy.  Now move your awareness to your ankles, to your feet, to your toes.  Be mindful of the sensations in this part of your body.  Now bring your awareness from the bottoms of your feet back to the crown of your head.  And do one more complete body scan from head to foot breathing, and feeling the Life force within your body.

Notice the gentle, subtle energy that flows within your body.

Imagine this inner Life Force as a glowing multi-colored energy field that spans through your entire body and spilling out beyond your body. Become aware of how this energy feels inside of you. As you breathe, you strengthen the intensity of this energy, and it feels warm, relaxing and fulfilling.  

Now take the next series of moments to quietly be mindful of this feeling in your body.  Remember to be freely observe of your experiences without attaching to any of them.

Acceptance

Acceptance

 

“Bless instead of blame today; seek to understand someone rather than to correct them; focus on their innocence rather than their mistakes.  The results will be miraculous.” ~ Marianne Williamson

“Each of us is born with an internal navigation system.  The thinking of the world has a way of switching the system off, but we can always turn it on again through prayer, meditation and forgiveness.  Doing this puts us back on track in our lives, making us wise, convicted and powerful.”~ Marianne Williamson

“As you follow the beacon of an invisible Light, you yourself become a beacon to other people.”~ Marianne Williamson

Life is designed with Duality – Yin and Yang; Man and Woman;  Day and Night;  Cold and Hot;  Up and Down;  Good and Bad; The balance of positive and negative forces.

What is amazing about life is that “Good” is always Good.

And “Bad” is also always “Good” – eventually.

Martha Beck, the author of Steering by Starlight, discusses in her book two types of pain: clean pain and dirty pain.

“Clean pain” is the unpleasantness you feel when something “bad” happens to you: You catch the flu, lose a relationship, or get in a car accident.”

“Dirty Pain” is any suffering that comes not from these events themselves but from your thoughts about the events.”

Our level of Acceptance of the lessons and growth from each of our negative experiences greatly diminishes the majority of the discomfort we feel.

And if we are willing to make ourselves vulnerable to the pain and suffering and focus on the lessons, we can move towards our true selves – Peaceful, Blissful – in love with life – no matter what happens.

Our Acceptance of others is directly related to how well we accept ourselves.

 From Steering by Starlight:

                                                      

The Shallows: Material reality; world of form; view yourself as separate from all other things.  Approval oriented, seeking wealth, status, etc.

The Ring of Fire: The process of disbelieving false beliefs & grieving – The things that we think define us burn up as we get closer to our core.

Core of Peace: (The Stargazer) – No untruth can exist at this level of awareness.  No separation from the fabric of the universe, no pain, no fear, no death.

The gravitational pull of the Stargazer self draws us inward, trying to get us to the place where our hearts can heal once and for all and our dreams can come true. 

The Stargazer reality is so intense; its light is so bright, that nothing impermanent or false cans survive it.

By staying focused on the present moment we can avoid getting sucked in by the “Dirty Pain” of fearful thoughts that try to project passed pain and what ifs.  The large majority of worries are never going to happen.  And those that do, allow us to grow and become stronger and wiser.

“Your job is not to judge.  Your job is to love.  The more you love, the more lovely the reality you create.  Begin with your thoughts.  Choose love.  Choose love even if at first you don’t feel it.  Love is a decision.” ~ Diane L. Ross

Acceptance Meditation

Begin by taking in a series of three slow, deep inhales…and exhales…

Establish your calm rhythmic breathing…

When a thought appears in your mind, exchange it for a deep breath.

Now use your imagination to visualize in your mind’s eye the Universe – all of the galaxies, all of the solar systems within those galaxies, think of our own galaxy, think of our very own solar system within our galaxy, think of all of the planets and the sun within our solar system, think of the powerful energy of the sun, think of our very own planet earth, think of the nation where you live, think of the town within your nation that your live, think of your community, think of your family and home, think of your very own self, and think of all of the components that make up yourself.

Now, notice the subtle energy that flows within your body.

Imagine this inner Life Force as a glowing multi-colored energy field that spans through your entire body and spilling out beyond your body.  Become aware of how this energy feels inside of you.  As you breathe, you strengthen the intensity of this energy, and it feels warm, relaxing and fulfilling.  It shares the same qualities of Peace and LOVE.  You are here to experience LOVE in as many forms as you can imagine. Accept all the people and things that you cannot change.  But remember that LOVE is a decision. Choose LOVE over fear.  It is what is real – Fear is an illusion.

Take this time to focus on Acceptance of the Collective Life Force within everything.

Turn from Habitual to Faithful

We are such creatures of habit.  We follow routines like drying off the same exact way after showering, taking a particular route to a destination, we hang out with the same people – to name a few.  All of these examples demonstrate patterns that are familiar, comfortable and safe.   This is a natural manner in which our Conscious Mind operates. 

-          Our Conscious Minds are made up of the following: will memory, perception, reasoning, intuition & imagination.

-          This part of our minds or brain is only 2-4% of our total brain function

-          It is always referencing the past  and planning for the future

-          It sets goals and judges the results

-           Beta brain waves are associated with this part of our brains.  These brain waves are considered the fastest with  frequency range of 12 Hz – 38 Hz (or 12 to 38 cycles per second)

If we decided that we wanted to become less routine- oriented, try new things more often, and live more adventurously, then we need to tap into the Non-Conscious Mind.

-          This portion of our mind is:

-          Where beliefs or attitudes dwell

-          where accomplishments are recorded

-          Operates in the present moment

-          Records EVERYTHING ever done

-          96-98% or your brain function

-          If you have ever experienced getting in your car and driving home and not remembering even driving, your Non-Conscious Mind got your there – force of habit.

-          In order to access this part of our minds we must be in Alpha or Theta brain waves

*A habit of thought is when you think something over and over.  A habit of thought over time becomes an attitude or a belief.  This gets stored in your Non-Conscious Mind.

*Alpha brainwaves are associated with creativity, with a boost to your immune system, with the ability to cope with life

* Theta brain waves are associated with the inner self, with your intuition, reprogramming your brain with ideas and beliefs that you truly want to believe, “Super learning”, etc.

*Groups of people that already experience Theta Waves include: people who meditate, people who are extroverted, children, artists, and inventors

How does all of the information about our Conscious & Non- Conscious Minds fit in with Faith?

The habitual, safe, comfort-seeking part of us has trouble with the notion of Faith.

 Definition of Faith:

~ Firm belief in something for which there is no proof

~ Sincerity of intentions

Quotes related to Faith

“Faith is setting an intention and surrendering to the invisible forces that allow Life to flourish.” ~ Me

“Leap and the net will appear” ~ Julia Cameron

“ Every problem has a gift for you in its hands.” ~ Richard Bach

“ Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” ~ Anais Win

Jesus said: “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

(What he is saying is children are Faith oriented, they are so in the present moment, they have high levels of Theta Brain Waves, and they do not have highly developed conscious minds yet, they are creative, they are “super-learners”, they tend to be fearless.)

“True Faith requires both parts of our minds to be in HARMONY. “ ~ Me

Our objective for increasing FAITH as a result of meditation is:

- Increase the presence of Alpha brain waves and Theta brain waves and to access our non-conscious minds.

- Allow your conscious mind to enter a state of rest

- Access the realm of pure consciousness – where pure energy comes from

- Embrace our natural state of “perfection” where everything is always okay

- Have a relationship with our inner selves, and maybe learn what our deepest, purest desires are

                  

From

www.tinybuddha.com

(Editor’s Note: This is a contribution by Kate Lamie)

The author wrote an article about major hardships that she encountered in her life that compelled her to change the ways she lived in order to live more authentically.

“The word challenge leaves a very different taste in my mouth nowadays. It feels like a dare, more playful and less painful. An excuse to meet a part of me I haven’t yet had the chance to bump into.”

Here are three tools I use on a daily basis to keep getting to know myself amidst (and sometimes because of) my challenges:

1)     Do one small thing to make today better than yesterday.

2)    Begin to embrace your own brand of happy. Don’t ask it to look exactly like “everyone else’s.”

3)    You’re holding the remote; go ahead and press the pause button when needed.

 Guided Meditation

Before we begin this guided meditation we are going to take a series of deep inhalations and exhalations – breath in as deeply as possible, hold your breath for a brief moment and exhale completely.  Do this three times.

Allow your breathing to return to a normal rhythmic manner.  We will take several moments to allow your breathing to regulate.  Focus your attention on your breathing.  Allow any thoughts to gently float away.  Try to stay with your breath and in this moment.  Nothing else matters right now.

Now – I want you to imagine yourself sitting cross legged in the center of a circular room.  This room is surrounded by beautiful multi-colored stained glass windows that allow a beautiful ambient light to come in and gently light up the room.  It is quiet except for a hint of peaceful music playing in the background.  The fragrance in the room is a fresh citrusy smell – and it is delightful.  As you sit here you feel comfortable, warm and secure.  You breath in deeply absorbing the peaceful state you are experiencing.  You assess the feeling in your body and you notice a radiating feeling from within that makes you aware of your life force.  You feel the tingling inside of energy, all through your body.  And you realize that your mind is quiet while you focus on the sensation of your body.  You awareness broadens back to the circular space that you are sitting directly in the middle of.  As you look up again in the window you notice that there are images made up of the stained glass that look familiar to you.  They are images of your memories.  They are from your fondest memories – the moments in your life that did not begin as pleasant experiences, but as time went on they revealed a beautiful experience as you persevered on.  They are the things that happened after experiencing uncomfortable, difficult, and seemingly never ending times.  What seemed like a hardship or tragedy became a triumph of your spirit.  And as you observe these images you realize that the pain you felt could have been avoided if you had exercised your sense of Faith. 

Take this time to reflect on something that you may want to turn over to Faith – imagine yourself allowing this something to be handed over to the Divine forces that allow Life to Flourish. 

Focus on this surrender – You may repeat to yourself – Let Go, Let Go, Let Go…