Releasing Resentment

Do you ever feel stuck? How about frustrated? Do you wonder why it just drives you nuts when someone does something you think they should not do or why you hold on to really old anger? The root of these feelings could be resentment.

Resentment comes in many forms, though it is usually deeper than we consciously acknowledge. It can be tempting to look at resentment very superficially. For example, others have something you wish you had and you resent them for it. The problem with this thinking is that it doesn’t really get at the root of the resentment. The problem isn’t really your wishing you had something that someone else has, the real problem is your feelings of deprivation, feelings regarding what you do or don’t deserve, fear or pain that holds you back and keeps you from getting what you want in life etc.

Every emotional wound we do not heal can be fertile ground for resentment. Sometimes the biggest obstacle to really healing and letting go of the wound is that we’re afraid that somehow if we do so, we are letting the person that hurt us off the hook. It’s as if we keep the wound tender and decide that it really can’t heal completely until the person that hurt us changes, or does something for us to make up for what was done in the past. The problem with this thinking is that it nearly guarantees we stay wounded.

Resentment weighs us down. Resentment can make us bitter, give us an unhelpful edge, and blind us to the love and beauty that surrounds us. Releasing any amount of resentment can make us feel lighter and frees us to pursue what matters most to us. There are many tools that can help us achieve this release including writing in a journal, therapy and doing some kind of volunteer work. Freely giving of ourselves to others can inspire a sense of gratitude and well being that can help loosen the grip of resentment. Meditation can also be useful in helping to identify why we are holding on to the resentment and various images of release can help to affirm an actual release.

For more help with this, check out my guided meditation Releasing Resentment, available from my CD Epic Meditations. It takes you on a journey to release the resentment you have been carrying with you. It is from my CD Epic Meditations, available on iTunes and Amazon. A newly developed extended version is also available on www.NatureMusicDownload.com. This version includes beautiful background music to enhance the meditation experience.

Copyright © 2009, Lisa Wagner

Chakra Meditations

The Seven Chakras are energy centers located along the center of our bodies. When they are open, and the energy flow is in balance we feel clear, secure, and grounded. We are fully aware of the mind, body spirit connection and there is a sense of ease in how we relate to the world. The key words here are flow and balance. If the energy is not flowing, and the chakras are out of balance, then we are more likely to feel uncomfortable emotions and struggle with our self expression and access to our intuition. We can also feel tired – not necessarily sleepy, but an overall lack of energy as if our personal gas tank is low on fuel.

This chakra balance is similar to the maintenance of our body chemistry. When we are strong and healthy, our bodies can compensate more easily for our lack of physical care. They can maintain this complicated and delicate balance even when we don’t get enough sleep, eat the wrong foods, etc. We reach a point though where this neglect can take it’s toll and we have to make changes in our self-care and lifestyle, as well as seek the help of healthcare professionals and healers to help the struggling parts of our body work the way they are supposed to work.

This is also true for our chakras. If one or more of them are closed or if there is too much or too little energy flowing from one or more of them, then we are out of balance. Eventually this too can take its toll and the symptoms of chakra imbalance can be physical, emotional, or mental. There are many ways to open and balance the chakras. These methods can include almost anything that nurtures our mind, body and spirit. There are also ways to more directly balance the chakras that include using crystals, reiki, sound therapy, and meditation. Meditation can be a powerful tool in helping us to strengthen and balance our mind, body, spirit connection, and our energy balance can especially benefit from chakra meditations.

There are many variations on chakra meditations that include imagining the energy centers as vortexes, spirals, wheels and imagining the energy moving in one direction and then another. The one thing that is generally consistent is the use of color and the association of specific color to each chakra. I like to imagine colored light flowing into my body at the point where the chakra is located, and I believe it is most helpful to start with the first chakra and work up the body towards the head. As the light enters each part of my body, I feel a sense of renewal and balance.

Below is a list of the seven chakras, including the color associated with it, some key words and its location to help you get started on developing your own chakra meditations.

1. Root Chakra (red) – survival and grounding, base of the spine
2. Sacrum Chakra (orange) – stability and self confidence, lower belly
3. Solar Plexus Chakra (yellow) – will and determination, stomach
4. Heart Chakra (green) – wisdom and compassion, center of chest
5. Throat Chakra (blue) – creativity and intuition, base of throat
6. Third Eye Chakra (indigo) – concentration and self-mastery, between eye brows
7. Crown Chakra (violet) – feeling of connection and bliss, top of head

If you’d like some additional help using meditation to balance your chakras, you can check out my guided meditation titled “Rejuvenate.” It uses the color imagery of the seven chakras to help you feel rejuvenated and replenished. It’s from my CD Epic Meditations, available on iTunes and Amazon. A newly developed extended version is also available on www.NatureMusicDownload.com. This version includes beautiful background music to enhance the meditation experience.

Copyright © 2009, Lisa Wagner

Exhale Your Stress

Deep breathing is often the fastest, easiest way to get immediate relief from stress. You can do it anytime, anywhere. When you find yourself feeling anxious, scared, angry, frustrated or just generally stressed out, try taking a few deep breaths.

To begin, breathe in slowly and deeply gently pushing your stomach forward.  You want to breathe in from your diaphragm which is below your chest. As the air comes in, you’ll feel your chest swell. Hold the breath for a few seconds, then slowly release the breath. If you can, breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. If you can’t do this, that’s okay, just breathe in and out in whatever way is comfortable for you. Give yourself several seconds to fully release the breath and to breathe normally a few times, then take in your next deep breath. If possible, do three deep breaths. If you are able, five deep breaths can be even better.

Taking a minute to focus on your breathing and taking in the deep breaths is very powerful. You will feel your breathing slowing down and you will get calmer. If you can, stop whatever you are doing and bring all of your attention to your breathing. Even if you must continue with whatever you are doing and your attention is divided, try the deep breathing anyway. It can still make a huge difference.

Perhaps, the best thing about this breathing technique is that it works immediately and the more you do it, the more effective it becomes. Not only will the sense of peace come more easily and quickly, but it will last longer. You’ll also find that sometimes you can even calm yourself with just one deep breath. In the middle of a difficult situation or conversation, you’ll be able to use deep breathing to bring you back to a more centered and relaxed place. As soon as you notice that you’re starting to feel irritated or stressed, take a breath.

Deep breathing is a great way to start meditation. It’s also a good way to transition from one activity to another. It clears your head and helps you to change your focus. Even when you aren’t feeling stressed, it can be helpful to take a minute once or twice throughout the day and just take a few deep breaths.

Copyright © 2009, Lisa Wagner

Creating a Day of Purpose

The sound quality isn’t as good as the CD or digital download, but it’s an easy way to check out a meditation from my new album.  

Why are you REALLY angry?

Feeding anger about things we can’t control is distracting, and while that is sometimes exactly why we do it, it doesn’t make our lives any better.

The above sentence was a closing comment I just made on a message board and I think it is something we all need to be reminded of from time to time. Maybe the reason I’ve noticed this with people so much recently is because I need to remember it. (I do get that.) In the hopes that my introspection will help you, here are some reasons why I get into misdirected anger …

1. Being angry about something I can’t control distracts me from dealing with something I want to ignore. I should be dealing with it, I can have an impact, but I don’t want to deal with it so I divert my energy onto something else that is futile and drains my thoughts.

2. Being angry that others are not doing what they can/should be doing to address their problems is both a distraction (see #1), and it is a way of consoling myself … at least I don’t that, I would do that differently etc. Their problems may be ones I have and/or are willing to address, so I can pretend that I deal with all of my issues since I deal with THOSE issues.

3. Distracted anger keeps me angry. If I delve too much into why I am really angry, I’ll find that I feel hurt.

Anger masks pain, and until I am willing to deal with the pain, until I am willing to know my real intentions, until I am willing to move forward, it’s just easier to stay angry and the best way for me to stay angry is to be angry about something I can’t control.

There is no end to that anger.

Copyright © 2009, Lisa Wagner

Miracle Thought

If you are a student of A Course in Miracles, if you enjoy listening to Marianne Williamson, or you just want a five minute boost in living a more miraculous life – check out Marianne’s Miracle Thought podcast, new each weekday. It’s available through iTunes or get all the info from her site www.marianne.com.

It’s a joy and a blessing.

Ultimate Relaxation

Ultimate Relaxation and Daily Renewal: Nourish Your Mind, Body and Spirit

I have a new guided meditations CD now available on iTunes.  It should be at Amazon in April 2009.  Here’s a little about it:

Ultimate Relaxation and Daily Renewal:  Nourish Your Mind, Body and Spirit

This collection of 10 guided meditations includes beautiful music, ocean waves and falling rain. They are designed to help you manage anxiety and stress from the moment you awake and begin your day, and each one contains a unique focus providing you with several different ways to relax, and eventually drift off to restful sleep at the end of your day.

Sunrise: Morning Renewal - This gentle awakening helps you to begin your day with peace and clarity, leading to a more peaceful and centered day.

Creating a Day of Purpose - This meditation brings clarity and purpose to each day, even those filled with quiet, simple actions.

Calming Waters for Anxiety Release - Learn to detach from your anxious thoughts and release them while listening to falling rain.

Mental Oasis - Let this short meditation help you to find an oasis of tranquility in the middle of a hectic day.

Silencing the Mental Chatter - Silence the runaway chatter racing through your mind.

Midday Break - Enjoy this short break in the day for a quick renewal.

Releasing Anxiety - Release the anxiety you are feeling in the moment, as well as sources of more persistent anxiety.

Decompress and Release the Day’s Stress - Release all the thoughts that have collected throughout the day.

Ultimate Relaxation - Experience deep relaxation from your day at a beautiful beach.

Sunset: Falling Asleep - This meditation will guide you to relax your mind and body, and drift off to sleep.

Copyright © 2009, Lisa Wagner

He Wishes For The Cloths of Heaven

Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

W.B. Yeats

Form vs Content

This will be my last post in 2008, so I’d like to close out the year with one more entry on ACIM.

“Take not the form for content, for the form is but a means for content. And the frame is but a means to hold the picture up, so that it can be seen. A frame that hides the picture has no purpose. It cannot be a frame if it is what you see. Without the picture is the frame without its meaning. Its purpose is to set the picture off, and not itself.” (ACIM, page 485 of text)

The distinction the course makes between from and content is significant. This distinction has dramatically altered the effectiveness of prayer for me. For instance, instead of praying that God guide me to a new job, I pray that God guide me to find peace and joy through the work I do in the world. Sometimes this has led me to a new job, sometimes this has led me to experience my current job differently.

According to the teachings of ACIM, the content here is peace and joy, or you might say my desire and willingness to find peace and joy in my life. Whether or not I get a new job, the circumstances of my current job change, or simply something in my perception about my current job changes, is about form. The course teaches me to focus on content; to attach to content, but not form. Rather than decide on form and then ask God to deliver peace and happiness to me in a certain way, I cultivate my willingness for peace and joy, and then follow where my heart leads me. The same thing applies to relationships, how and where I live … to every aspect of my life.

This understanding of form and content has also opened me up to new possibilities, and deepened the gratitude I feel for the blessings in my life. By focusing on the content and recognizing that God knows what form is best for me, I have been able to embrace opportunities I would have never noticed before. I have also experienced a renewed appreciation for things already in my life. An instantaneous miracle occurs when I suddenly see and embrace what is in my life right now.

We may say that we believe in the power of love, a limitless God, an ever abundant Universe, and yet we limit our opportunities for fulfillment because we fixate on the form of how that fulfillment is supposed to look. No matter how perfect a particular form of your dreams may seem to you, consider the possibility that God holds even bigger dreams for you and knows exactly how to shape the form of that dream to bring you the most peace, joy & contentment.

Daily Meditation: Today I surrender all my desires to God, and open myself to His perfect gifts for me.

Copyright © 2008, Lisa Wagner

There is no order of difficulty in miracles

Continuing with A Course in Miracles …

“There is no order of difficulty in miracles. One is not ‘harder’ or ‘bigger; than another. They are all the same. All expressions of love are maximal.”

Accepting this first Principle of Miracles from page one of the course is crucial to living a miraculous life. Is it possible that some miracles are harder for God than others? This may sound like a ridiculous question, but it is an important one to answer if we want peace and joy to flow freely through out lives.

Every time we don’t take something to God, we are limiting His power in our lives. When we do not pray because we believe that something is not important enough to pray about or because we feel hopeless, we don’t give God a chance. When we choose not to pray because the issue is “big” and we’re afraid we may not like God’s answer, we are insisting that we know more than God does. It is our beliefs and fears that limit miracles.

As long as we are willing to stay stuck in seeing God as simply the granter of wishes, rather than the unlimited power of love that He is, we will continue to believe some miracles are more difficult than others. They aren’t. Living a miraculous life is not about asking God to intervene in our lives to make specific things happen, it’s about inviting God in to every part of our lives and being willing to see things differently. Experiencing miracles happens when we surrender our attachments to the way we believe things should be, and become willing to see things as God would have us see them. It’s not about deciding if something is too big or small for God to help. It’s about asking for God’s help all of the time, and choosing to align ourselves with His presence in our lives every day.

The course teaches us not to focus on how possible or impossible something may seem to be in this world. Rather, we are taught that when we align ourselves with God, everything is possible. Pain that you thought would never go away can be released. Relationships that you thought could never change can be transformed. We get stuck thinking that a miracle is like getting what we want for Christmas, rather than seeing love where we thought it could not exist.

Call to mind your most limiting and damaging belief about yourself. Now, suppose God was able to heal this place inside of you, would you let Him? Which is more likely, that He hasn’t known how to heal you or that you haven’t been willing to believe that He can?

Daily Meditation: Today I will ask God to guide me in every moment, and I will allow miracles to flow freely in my life. With God, all things are possible.

Copyright © 2008, Lisa Wagner