Archive for category Energy Work
Walking the Labyrinth
Posted by Beth Hansen-Buth in Energy Work on October 26, 2009
“The labyrinth is an archetype of transformation. Its transcendant nature knows no boundaries, crossing time and cultures with ease. The labyrinth serves as a bridge from the mundane to the divine. It serves us well.” – Kimberly Lowelle Saward, Ph.D., The Labyrinth Society President
Walking a labyrinth takes us on a spiritual journey where we experience release, increase our receptivity and return in the healing presence of our Higher Power. Standing at the entrance of a labyrinth, our eyes trace the path before us, turning back and forth, ever taking us inward to the center.
It is the journey, not the destination, that is the ultimate goal of walking a labyrinth.
With your first step, you begin to leave the world you know behind, seeking to travel through layers of self-exploration. Breath joins with movement as your awareness of the NOW increases, leaving past and future behind. The first turn commits you to shedding your ego, and listening to Spirit as you pause and contemplate your surroundings. What sounds do you hear? How does the earth feel beneath your feet?
Experience each breath as you continue on, open and receptive as you shed another layer of misconceptions, softening your heart to fill with self-love.
Each gentle arch in the path carries you like a river, flowing easily at it’s own pace. There is no beginning, no end, only the placement of your feet one in front of the other. With every turn, every pause, every segment of the labyrinth, we discover the unity of the universe. For our life path is that of the labyrinth, ever folding and unfolding, repeating the pattern each time a little differently. It is familiar, and we learn our lessons through the repetition.
By constantly changing directions, we look at our challenges with a new light. Sometimes we walk towards our own shadows, sometimes we walk towards the sun.
Adjusting our orientation as we walk, our breath moves in and out, bringing in new energies and releasing all that does not serve our highest good. Deep into the labyrinth now, our intention becomes experience as this initiation takes place on every level. Body, mind, and spirit unite as we turn towards the center which has appeared before us. Giving thanks for clarity, the sense of wonder increases as we become the center of the labyrinth itself. The curving folds of our whole selves surround us, as we are enfolded in the arms of the joy of life.
Beginning again from the center outward, you may be inspired to leave a trail of joy-crumbs on your return journey.
Sharing the healing and love with your fellow travelers, you know that you’re in the presence of those who have gone before in the NOW. Folding and unfolding, your steps deepen your memory of the moment. Every turn is a new beginning, every entrance becomes an adventure in the discovery of the god/dess within. There are no wrong turns on the path to the center. As you leave the physical presence of the labyrinth, you take the center with you and all its layers.
Beth Hansen-Buth is an Artist, Intuitive, and Reiki Master Teacher & Practitioner working out of her home in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. For more about Beth visit her website: www.reikiartist.com
Focal Point Meditation
Posted by Beth Hansen-Buth in Art & Culture, Energy Work on October 26, 2009
In a work of art, the center of visual attention is called the focal point, and is often different from the physical center of the work. As an artist, I create my composition to guide your eye to that focal point, as it is the subject or most important aspect of the art piece. One of the most daunting things a painter has to face is a blank canvas. There are so many possibilities that it’s hard to know where to start.
When I decided to begin a daily meditation practice, I was intimidated at the thought of clearing my mind. Being an artist has gifted me with an active imagination, which made the idea of shutting it down completely a seemingly impossible task. If the thought of emptying your mind intimidates you – learn to focus your thoughts on a single subject – your focal point.
Many people find this approach to meditation easy to learn, and the possibilities for personal transformation are endless. By pointing your mind in a single direction, you are practicing mindfulness, which with practice, flows into your daily life. It becomes a habit with repetition, an oasis you can call upon in the midst of a storm.
When I was learning to paint, a mentor of mine told me that nobody gets it right the first time, it’s just a matter of being willing to redo it until it works for you. I applied that knowledge to my goal. Over the past year, I have learned to harness that overactive imagination and channel it into a meditation practice.
Finding Your Focus
Finding your subject can be as easy as lighting a candle, holding a crystal, or writing a word on a slip of paper. Chanting a mantra is a type of focal point meditation. The important thing is to begin with a purpose, and explore that purpose for the best focal point for you. That means narrowing down all the possible focal points to the one that is most meaningful to you personally, for this particular purpose.
They key is to simplify. Maybe what you want from your daily meditation is to feel grounded, so you could use a heavy stone, a bowl of sand, a picture of the earth, or even a houseplant as your focus.
Compose Your Environment
Find a comfortable chair with back support and place your focal object in front of you. Allow all your senses to get involved, play music that reminds you of your subject, or use incense or a scented candle that helps you to relax. These are extra tools to keep your mind on your subject, so make sure that they don’t distract.
Before you Begin the Focal Point Meditation
If there is something in your environment distracting you, get rid of it and return your attention to your focal point. Go ahead and turn off your phone, and close the cats out of the room.
Let Your Subject Speak to You
Once your environment matches your intention, it’s time to start exploring your subject for its importance to you. This how your meditation is like a work of art. Ask yourself how it makes you feel, experience that feeling for as long as you like. If your mind wanders off, use your focal point to bring you back to the present. If it is an object, touch or hold it and allow your inner eye to inspire you again. Allow yourself to just be present with it for as long as you like. You are done whenever you say you are done, this isn’t a competition.
Keeping a journal can help you explore what you learn from your meditations, as you record the insights you gain from focusing all your attention on one thing. Just as it takes time and practice to create art, meditation takes the same amount of care and attention. I think of meditation as finding my focal point for the day, and I compose everything else to work along with that, supporting and directing my intention.
Beth Hansen-Buth is an Artist, Intuitive, and Reiki Master Teacher & Practitioner working out of her home in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. For more about Beth visit her website: www.reikiartist.com
A Snake of a Different Color
Posted by Veronica Cummer in Energy Work on October 26, 2009
An Exploration of the Chakras
In Norse mythology, there is a rainbow bridge called Bifrost that links the world of Men and the realms of the Gods, but there is another rainbow which bridges the physical and the Divine, and that is the system of the chakras.
Chakras are spinning vortexes of energy that sustain our spiritual bodies, as food and water sustain our physical ones. There are seven of them in number, though some traditions add to that number by also naming additional chakras at the feet and hands.
These vortexes are further connected to lines of energy called nadis, which create a network throughout the body. These vortexes and lines are vital to existence and good health, for “the freedom with which energy can flow back and forth between you and the universe is in direct correlation to the total health and well-being you experience,” and so any blocks in this energy flow in your chakra system will be “expressed as disease, discomfort, lack of energy, or an emotional imbalance.” 1
The first chakra is known as the root chakra and it is associated with survival needs, with the element of earth and the color red. Some people downplay this chakra, preferring to focus on the “higher” chakras, but it is from this chakra that the need to have the basic necessities of life comes, necessities such as food, clothing, shelter, protection and even the desire to procreate.
As any successful undertaking needs to stand on a strong foundation, so the root chakra must be in order and stay in order so that the rest may be built upon it. It is through the root chakra that you remain in touch with what is necessary and “real.” It is our connection to physical reality and mother earth and it is through the root chakra that excess energy can be grounded out.
This can be done through normal grounding exercises that most pagan traditions teach, or it can be done through physical activity such as walking, dancing, or even cleaning. This chakra is all about feeling alive and self-reliant. It is our anchor to the earth, without which we can feel lost or run the risk of living only in our heads.
When this chakra is unbalanced, a person is insecure about having their basic needs met. And, until your basic needs are met, it will be difficult to concentrate on other pursuits, including those of spiritual exploration and growth. You may also be uncomfortable with your own body and its needs or continually feel tired or clumsy.
It is the root chakra that is stimulated in some religious traditions in order to waken the kundalini, also known as the serpent power since it is depicted as a snake coiled at the base of the spine. When the kundalini is aroused, energy shoots up through the chakras and you feel an incredible rush of power and strength, strength enough to perform physical miracles and face incredible hardships. You feel intensely alive and aware and wildly creative for as long as this “rush” lasts.
But there is a danger to rousing this energy without proper preparation, because if any of your chakras are blocked or damaged in some manner beforehand, then this rush of energy—especially if you are not really ready for its effects, or if it is not grounded out properly afterwards—can further damage them or even leave them unnaturally wide-open. All of which can lead to mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion and other health problems, depending on which chakras are involved.
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