Another Loving Kindness Version

Picture taken by Judy Hirst during 2023 winter with snow deeper than usual for beginning of March.

As we wait for winter to end, sometimes, we suffer from the blahs.

I have a solution for the blahs that also qualifies under “love” and is guaranteed to make you feel fine. Anyone that has studied with me knows that I believe in the power of meditation – not only “the sit in silence and let your mind be blank” meditation; I believe in active meditation. 

Active meditation means that you need to be part of the meditation and not have the meditation “happen” to you. Over the years, I have taught variations of the “LOVING KINDNESS” meditation. I have recently learned this one and wish to share it with you. 

Say it out loud when sitting in meditation. Say it out loud as a walking meditation, even when you walk your dog. My dog loves it! Say it at night before you go to bed. 

May I be free from inner and outer harm and danger. May I be safe and protected. May I be free of mental suffering or distress. May I be happy. 

May I be free of physical pain and suffering. May I be healthy and strong. May I be able to live in this world happily, peacefully, joyfully, with ease!

This is actually the first step in the “loving kindness” meditation. However, it is a beautiful, empowering, feel good message that lets you feel fine.

Don’t give up if you do not feel a shift in the first several days. Keep trying.  This mantra works well to relax you and to help you fall asleep when sleeping seems difficult.

Many blessings 

Judy

Email - lightstationwisdom@gmail.com

Welcome to March 2023

 

The season in the North is beginning to change from winter, with its snow and cold, to a milder, lighter time as March rolls in.  We equate March with the return of the sun and look forward to the equinox on March 20 this year.  We are anxious to smell the changes that come with the melting snow, and the rising rivers and rising sap in the trees.  

Note: In 2023, this is on March 20, at 21:24 UTC. For locations that are 10 hours or more behind UTC, it will take place on March 19. This is because of the time zone difference.

It is a time to start clearing and cleaning out those things that we no longer need/use/want.  It can be physical things or spiritual things.

It is a time for letting go.

Many blessings,

Judy

Some More About Karma

  

Rolling the memories of your life, back and forth on the big screen of your life, you will see moments when it seemed luck was on your side, and that nothing can go wrong.  Then, you see times where you were unkind and life smacks you with something grim that you have to deal with.

The Spirit Guides talk to us about Karma, the idea that what we put out to the world comes back to us, sometimes as much as ten fold or ten times.  To explain this, think about something very loving and kind that you did for not just one person, but for a group of people.  Not only did you feel a sense of rightness after the action, you also saw "rewards" from doing that particular action.  Send out – get back.  

The Spirit Guides tell us that karma has a long reach through many life times.  So, if you were a taker in a previous life time, in this life time, the Universe might reverse that action, and you will need to be constantly giving, at expense to yourself.  

There are not hard, fast rules of karma.  Today, think of all the good things that you can do for people, and begin doing them.

Many blessings,

Judy

Why Am I Sad?

 

The question rises to the heavens – Why am I so sad?  Why is it that I feel like doing nothing?  Why does sadness dog me?

The answer from Spirit:

Everything in life must be in balance.  When you have what you call “good times”, then your energy ebbs up to a height.  To be in balance, it must come down – you call this sadness.  If you stayed in the middle, without emotion, you would not feel happy or sad.   This is the way of things.

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Remember that all things are part of life and life balances through ups and downs.  

Many Blessings,

Judy

On Being Happy - A Buddhist Story

 

 

  Picture of Buddha's first sermon - from Wikipedia

Clients come to see me for a variety of reasons.  Recently, however, clients come in and talk about how they feel, and they talk about how they are not happy.  The best teaching story about happiness that I have read comes from Buddhist teachings.  

Here is a story about happiness.

"Once I was staying with my mother in London. At the time she was the housekeeper for a very wealthy Canadian who lived in a luxury flat just off Hyde Park. They all went off for a while, and I had the flat to myself. There I was in London, living in this luxurious flat with two huge colour television sets and all the food I could possibly eat! I had enough money for whatever I wanted, lots of records, lots of everything. But I was so bored!  I told myself, "Please remember this. If you are ever tempted to think that physical comfort gives happiness, remember this." 

But then, another time I was staying in a cave, not my cave but another cave, which was very small. It was so small that you couldn't stand up in it, with a tiny box you could only just sit in, and that was the bed as well. It was full of fleas, so I was covered in flea bites. You had to go half a mile down a very steep track to bring up water. There was also almost no food at all, and it was hot. But I was in bliss. I was so happy. It was a very holy place, and the people there were wonderful. Although from a physical point of view the situation was difficult, so what! The mind was happy. I remember that whole place as being bathed in golden light. Do you see what I mean?"   from Ani Tenzin Palmo, from "Reflections on a Mountain Lake: Teachings on Practical Buddhism'

Each person reading this story will have a different take away, and that is a good thing.  What I hope that everybody understands from this story is that our happiness stems from how happy we are at the time we examine our happiness.

As the last line of the "Loving Kindness" Meditation says, "May you be happy!"

Many blessings,

Judy

Some Thoughts About Karma

 

A while ago, a reader asked me to write more about karma.  Here are some quotes about karma that come from Buddhism.

I started learning and practicing Buddhism several decades ago.  And, I am still learning as there are so many nuances to the Buddhism way of life.

The online Dictionary.com defines karma as:

kar·ma

NOUN

1. (in Hinduism and Buddhism) the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existence.

   
   

I translate this as meaning that how you manage yourself in your past lives will determine how you are treated and regarded in this lifetime.  Many think that karma is only about past evil deeds coming back to haunt them in this life.  However, past life kindnesses and closing of loops of bonds with people are also part of the clearing of karma.  More about this in a later post.

Some thoughts:

"I am the owner of my karma. 

I inherit my karma. I am born of my karma. I am related to my karma.  
I live supported by my karma. 

Whatever karma I create, whether good or evil, that I shall inherit."

The Buddha, Anguttara Nikaya V.57 - Upajjhatthana Sutta

Many blessings,

Judy 

Feverfew - A Healing Herb

 If you were out in the wild, and could not get to a doctor, would you know what plants could help you with various ailments?  Probably not!  If earthquakes or tornados or some other natural disaster cut you off from getting your regular medications, could you use a plant to substitute what you are missing?  Folks all over the world that are in places of natural disaster are facing some of these questions.  

Feverfew picture from www.migraine-facts.co.uk

 

 

 

  

 

We are so close to spring that one can almost smell it in the air!  Many folk are now planning their gardens and/or planting seeds into containers to be transplanted to the garden.  More and more folks are planting herbs not just for flavouring food, but also for use in healing.  There is an old saying that goes “For any malady that man doth know, God has caused a plant to grow!”  Essentially, for each known illness, there is a plant that holds a cure.

One plant that grows very well in North America is feverfew. It has some very specific uses.  Feverfew seems to help:

1.  headaches and migraines by reducing blood vessel spasms and by depressing the release of serotonin and prostaglandins which cause migraines.

2.  control the redness in irritated skin, due to inflammation.

3.  relieve stomach aches.

4.  treat menstrual cramping.

5.  reduce fever from colds, pneumonia, and flu.

www.plantcare.com

 

 

This sounds like a plant that we should all be growing.  I suggest that you add it to your flower bed or flower pot or garden this spring.

Remember that before you eat or drink any herb, you should check with your doctor to see if this plant is good for you and to see if it works with or against any medication that you are taking.  Some herbs counter the effects of medication so do be careful!

Many blessings,

Judy