Category: Uncategorized

Peace

by Karen Lang, posted in Uncategorized

“You find peace not by rearranging the circumstances of your life, but by realizing who you are at the deepest level.” Eckhart Tolle –The Power of Now

I used to say to my children when they were young,…..”Just give me five minutes peace!”  Of course that never seemed to happen because I was always looking for peace outside of myself and not within.

How often do we say, “I can’t wait to have a break from work” or “I can’t wait to go somewhere far away from family and the stress of life”.  The fact is, the turmoil and anxiety that we are trying to escape from are within us, so how do we actually get away from it?

Having a holiday or retreat is a great way to disconnect from the day-to-day stress and it sometimes puts a different perspective on situations, helping us understand how to balance the busyness of our life but when we only believe peace can come from having a holiday or from disconnecting from normal life, it will always be short-lived.

When you return from the tranquility of your getaway holiday, what you find is that the world is still spinning, the kids are still wanting your attention and everything you left is waiting for you and so, it doesn’t take long to get caught back in it all over again.

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.  Mother Theresa

Finding deep peace, is making a conscious decision each day to let go and to be accepting of all situations that present themselves.  Instead of reaching for a glass of wine or cigarette to calm you, you only need to practice stillness and breathe.

By practicing daily meditation and breathing you will connect to your inner peace.  It will balance your life and you will gain self-control, more discipline, and the ability not to let outside events influence your emotions, actions, reactions and decisions.  You will find that what used to stress you lessens and you will find you have more patience with those around you and more time for yourself.

Making small steps each day to help connect you to inner peace, you will feel more calm  amongst the chaos and even though you will still look forward to a holiday or break, you will not live every moment waiting for it.

“Peace comes from within.  Do not seek it without.” – Siddhartha Gautama

Understanding Anger

by Karen Lang, posted in Uncategorized

“I would not look upon anger as something foreign to me that I have to fight…..I have to deal with my anger with care, with love, with tenderness, with nonviolence”  Thich Nhat Hanh

How many of us were told as children, not to show our anger or tears? Where does all that anger go when it is suppressed over a long time?  Unfortunately it doesn’t go away and if you were not taught how to let go of anger, it can be a time bomb just waiting to explode.

Of course anger is unleashed everywhere in society today.  It’s almost a given right now to show your anger to anyone who is in your way.  Road rage, Disgruntled employees, Students angry at teachers, Husbands, wives and children all fighting about who isn’t doing enough or that no-one feels listened too.

It never feels good to see someone get angry or lose control but the only reason people lose control is because they have ignored their feelings.  When we don’t acknowledge and deal with the first signs of anger or rejection, we allow a build up of emotion.

People will forget what you said to them….but they will never forget how you made them feel.   Carl W Buechner

We need to become aware of our feelings each day, we need to let go of our fear of being heard and become conscious of our thoughts towards ourselves and others.

How often do you share a story with someone about how you have been wronged by a family member or friend that was rude or angry at you.  Instead of us saying something to the right person at the time, (which takes courage)…..we decide it’s easier to spread the negative story to friends, which in turn helps our anger grow, and feeds our victimhood.

Anger blinds us and fatigues us physically, emotionally and spiritually.  Although anger often gives us a feeling of power and allows us to intimidate others, when we give in to anger, we continue to foster the situations that feed that rage.

We discover we are constantly surrounded by unfriendly people, from the shop owner or work colleagues because anger unconsciously invites others to feed off our irritation and resentment.

Many of the faults you see in others, dear reader, are your own nature reflected in them.  Rumi

Genuine power lies in the ability to practice peace when confronted by someone else’s fury.  When we don’t engage in the drama of another person’s anger we can learn to see the pain in ourselves and others.

Don’t pretend that anger is not apart of our emotions, feel it and let it go. If we can practice stillness and peace each day, we will learn to see the emotional blockages we have created and allow change and freedom in our life.

Any time we feel those negative emotions come up, it’s a voice from deep within ourselves asking to be heard. Somewhere inside, there’s a being that is crying out for love and caring, because it’s feeling hurt, afraid, lonely, or is just simply in pain. That suffering being is you.

To create peace, you have to let go of your need to be right.  If you believe you can’t experience peace until you have worked through your anger, you are wrong.  We need to make peace a conscious choice each day and allow forgiveness and acceptance of ourselves and others inside our heart.

 ” Love knows no answer for it does not question.”   -silent lotus

Chanting OM

by Karen Lang, posted in Uncategorized
“Om is not just a sound or vibration. It is not just a symbol…. If you think of Om only as a sound, a technique or a symbol of the Divine, you will miss it altogether. ….. Om is the mysterious cosmic energy that is the substratum of all the things and all the beings of the entire universe. It is an eternal song of the Divine. It is continuously resounding in silence on the background of everything that exists.”
― Amit Ray, Om Chanting & Meditation

You may think that chanting OM (Aum) is something you only do in a Yoga class or on a Buddhist Retreat but it actually has a much greater effect on the state of your health than you may know.

“Research has found that chanting in general (and singing certain sounds) stimulates the vagus nerve which is the most important nerve in the body. It passes through the throat and services the heart, lungs, intestines, and back muscles. This vibration directly affects the nervous system. The deep prolonged breathing that accompanies the chant helps oxygenate the body, relaxes the mind, and lowers blood pressure.” -International Journal of Yoga

Sound practices like Om/Aum alters the electro-chemical activity in your brain, and it redistributes the energy evenly and equitably across both hemispheres. As you chant Om, your brain waves slow and stretch out, so that “alpha” waves predominate. You suspend consciousness, but neither dream nor lose consciousness; you enter what legitimate scientists call “the alpha state.” If you can describe it, you have not experienced it;, because the alpha state defies language.

It’s hard to believe that chanting OM daily can have such amazing effects on our body and yet I wonder why more doctors don’t recommend this simply technique to help alleviate anxiety and depression, instead of antidepressants or Valium.

Chanting Om helps to create a relaxed state of being. Practicing often will create stronger connections in your brain and eventually that relaxed state of being will carry over into our daily routines.

Other BENEFITS….

  • Strengthens the immune system.
  • Oxygenate the blood as breathing deepens.
  • Reduce the production of stress-related hormones like cortisol.
  • Release endorphins, producing a feeling of well-being.
  • Increase levels of melatonin, a hormone that helps you get a good night’s sleep.

Be creative when singing OM, as it is available for you to do in any environment and not just in Yoga or meditation.  Try singing it in the car on the way to work or sing it as you walk or even in the shower!

Whenever you feel angry or stressed during the day, sing strongly Ahhhhh and then OOmmmm for at least 20 seconds and feel the vibration of the ooomm…..I guarantee you will feel lighter …besides who doesn’t want to feel lighter?

“AUM or Om is not related to any religion because Om was practiced before the birth of all the religions of the world.”
― Amit Ray, Om Chanting & Meditation

Death

by Karen Lang, posted in Uncategorized

Death is not the end
Death can never be the end. Death is the road.
Life is the traveller. The Soul is the Guide  – Rumi

Ask yourself.  Do I fear death? I did for a long time until death faced me.

We would like to believe that death won’t find us. That if we are always on the move and constantly busy we will be okay.  I think that we tell ourselves, Im living a good life so why would death come knocking at my door?

After my first brush with death, I had to face that not only was my 9 year old son not immuned from death, but none of us were.  I realised that my time here on earth was very limited and fragile and that I needed to use my time wisely.  I began to question all my decisions in life and asked myself, “What was important to me now”?

We need to stop making excuses about change and avoiding that decision in our life that we continually postpone.  Making a move on a career change, spending quality time with the children, rather than squeezing another hour at work or taking the holiday that you have always wanted or forgiving a family member you have been angry at for years.

Why do we think that death won’t face us?  I think if we did know it may come at any moment, then we would live differently.

It’s only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth – and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up – that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.  Elisabeth Kübler-Ross    Death

It seems only on our death-bed or a family member’s death-bed that we start to reflect on our actions in life and how we have treated ourselves and each other.  Knowing our vulnerability, we can begin to see the big picture of life and realise there is more than our ego to worry about.

Once we are awake to our immortality, don’t let fear ease in.  Don’t let the mind dwell on thoughts of how life may end for us or our family, or how we are running out of time.  Don’t let busyness be the distraction to avoid what we know is true.

Learn to slow down and become still.   Silence and meditation will start to show you how you are living your life and this at times is very confronting.  Work through each fear as it arises and learn to trust in a different process.  Confront the unknown we all have to face and don’t wait until your death-bed to see how life could have been different for you.

Waking up this morning, I smile,      
Twenty four brand new hours are before me.     
I vow to live fully in each moment     
and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.  Thich Nhat Hanh

Giving

by Karen Lang, posted in Uncategorized

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
― Rumi

If I asked you if you were a giving person, what would you say?  Apparently most people say YES.  What does it mean to be giving?  What conditions do you place on others when you give?

Giving freely isn’t something we achieve easily.  It is a practice that takes a long time to get right and we often need to stop and question our motives behind the giving.  Most of us will find that we are giving with an underlying expectation.

When we give to receive more love, more attention or more recognition, we are giving from a place of fear and a need in ourselves that hasn’t been recognised.  For example, the business man who is constantly seeking the boss’s approval, or the Mother who only gives to her husband and children to receive more love, or the friend who is always there for you but wants the same attention given back to them.

When we are constantly expecting, we will find that we are often disappointed in life and that the world isn’t treating us with the love and care we think we deserve.  It is a common feeling.  How often do you hear people say, “No-one understands how much I give.”  “Why does no-one appreciate or recognise all my hard work?” In fact, when you are giving based on fear, you will never feel satisfied.

When we give from a place of love without conditions, rather from a place of expectations and fear, you will find that not only will you receive exactly what you need but more than you imagined.

I have been guilty of this.  It took me a long time to realise that giving freely means not expecting any outcome, not even a thank-you.  Of course there is nothing wrong with someone thanking you for your kindness, it’s about becoming conscious of your thoughts when you are giving to others.

Ask yourself, “Why don’t I feel appreciated?”.  Ask yourself, “What do I expect from others when I give?”.  If you find yourself saying “when I give…., I want to receive, love, attention, happiness or peace etc, then you are not giving freely from a place in your heart. No matter how hard we search, no-one can fulfill ours needs or expectations.  When we truly learn to love ourselves, appreciate ourselves exactly as we are, then overtime, we can learn to give to others in the same way.

“Do not be satisfied with the stories that come before you. Unfold your own myth.”

Trust there is a process of learning to love yourself.  I have learnt this by becoming still and aware of my thoughts and my expectations.  See and feel what it is that you lack inside and then begin to search how you can fill your heart with love . What you will discover is that you hold the key and in unlocking it, you will receive exactly what you need.

Everything in the universe is within you. Ask all from yourself.”
― Rumi