Intuitive Journal » Meditation

Guided Meditations for Relaxation and Healing

Laura Warnke — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:02:08 +0000

A guided meditation allows you to reduce stress in your life, re-center yourself and gain back inner peace that may be escaping you during the busy holiday season.

I woke up this morning thinking about the upcoming Christmas holiday and once again wondering if I would be able to get all of the shopping, baking, visiting, and decorating done in the time line I wanted. I made a list of what still needs to be done and it is quite long. Talk about feeling tense and overwhelmed!

Christmas shopping in particular is something I don’t view as a lot of fun anymore because I find myself absorbing energies from strangers and come home totally exhausted. I know many of you have told me that you feel the same way. Gotta love being an empath! Thank goodness for online shopping!

Then there is also dealing with family and relation that you may only see a few times a year. Some you look forward to seeing, others maybe not so much. It all starts adding up to tense shoulders, raised tempers, and a feeling of not having control over a situation. Even in the best of families, this can still be a stressful time of year. Last year I wrote about forgiveness and letting go. A guided meditation can help you to do that.

Over time, I have come to appreciate what a guided meditation can do to bring stress levels into check. You can literally feel the stress leaving your body. I have tried out other meditations on occasion, some free and some that I purchased, but until recently hadn’t found any I really connected with.

That changed when I discovered The Healing Waterfall website. These meditations are the cream of the crop — high quality classics that have sold over 100,000 copies in stores and on the web, and are head and shoulders above anything else I’ve heard. (You can hear samples, and get downloads and CDs on the site. And there’s a special sale on now.)

The Healing Waterfall

There are lots of great meditations on the site. Here’s more about one of my favorites:

The Healing Waterfall meditation has the kind of mesmerizing script and immersive music that puts me into wonderful state of relaxation. The narration is professionally done by a veteran TV actress, and the whole piece is just so… healing!

From the Healing Waterfall Meditation:

“Slowly walk forward into the pool, as this healing water caresses your ankles, your calves, and your knees, as they too absorb this gentle energy… and completely relax. As you run your hands across the surface of the water, you find yourself becoming more and more comfortable, and at home in this pool. And you have the feeling that you’re completely safe, and totally free to be yourself.”

That sounds relaxing even without the background music! One of the best things about the website is that you can try before you buy. There are sound clips to all meditations so you get to hear what you are getting before buying.

Testimonials

Here are just a few testimonials, from the web site:

“I purchased the Healing Waterfall meditation series many years ago and absolutely loved them. I haven’t listened to them for some time and then began doing so before bed and remembered how much peace they give me. I purchased 6 Guided meditations from you last night and started on them and they are wonderful. You have a beautiful gift. Thank you for producing such high quality meditations.”

“The Healing Waterfall and Healing Waterfall II are my absolute favorites. I purchased the CD’s from a local music store and have listened to them may times over. They helped me through a very traumatic time in my life. Thank you for them! I don’t know what I would have done without them.”

“I first owned this exceptional piece on cassette 20 years ago. The bought the CDs to give as gifts. Best guided meditation ever!! The voice is beautiful and soothing. The music soft and supportive. The journey is healing and powerful. I love both Lightbeing and The Healing Waterfall.”

Give a Gift to Yourself

Ready to get a handle on the holiday stress? Consider a guided meditation as a gift to yourself or give a few as a gift to those hard to buy for people on your shopping list.

Check out the meditations, hear samples, and purchase MP3 downloads and CDs, all at The Healing Waterfall website today!

Spiritual Weightloss by Nannet van der Ham

Laura Warnke — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 13:00:38 +0000

Is weight loss just about cutting calories and exercising regularly? If it were so simple, why are more and more people hanging on to unwanted pounds? This is a review of the e-book For Oprah Spiritual Weightloss by Nannet van der Ham.

Nannet van der Ham is a writer, spiritual weightloss coach and Pilates instructor from the Netherlands. Her weight loss philosophy is: a lighter mind, lighter body, lighter life.

What is Spiritual Weightloss?

In her e-book, For Oprah Spiritual Weightloss, Nannet opens our thoughts to losing the weight in our minds first before the transition will occur in our physical bodies. She explains that the reason extra weight stays with us is because other areas of our life and thoughts are overweight. The weight becomes a physical reminder of the heaviness in our homes and minds.

Here is a quote from the book that I just loved!

“I came to realize more and more: losing weight is not about dieting and about ‘I can’t have’, it is about loving yourself enough to give yourself only the best.”

Nannet believes that the mental and physical have to work together for weightloss to be effective. She takes a longer term approach to losing weight. There are no “diets” here! This is about making a change at the spiritual level that you will honor yourself and treat your body with respect.

It is amazing to read about the correlation of de-cluttering your home and losing weight. By releasing the weight from your home, it enables you to also release the weight from your body. Nannett gives some solid tips in de-cluttering and clearing the energies of your home.

Here is another quote from the book:

“Your body loves you, it wants so badly to be loved back.”

My Thoughts

This is a book that will really give you pause to think about how you treat your body and how dramatically it can effect all other areas of your life. It has good solid practical tips and I really appreciate her viewpoint about loving our bodies. I would recommend this book if you have struggled to lose weight with traditional diets.

Buy the E-Book

Wondering if this might be the right way to approach losing weight for you? It is available as an e-book for purchase here for $10.00USD. Please also take a moment to visit Nannet’s Website: Now For Real. Her website is available in English, just click on the flag in the upper right corner.

The Physiological and Psychological Benefits of Yogic Meditation

Laura Warnke — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 15:00:32 +0000

Learn to clear your mind with the benefits of Yogic Meditation. Find out how combining yoga and meditation can help relieve stress, improve immune function and augment self confidence and happiness.

The following article is a guest post written by Maria Rainier. Please take a moment to welcome her and leave a comment.

The Physiological and Psychological Benefits
of Yogic Meditation

Guest post by Maria Rainier

I have tried both isolated meditation and meditation in combination with yoga, and like many others, I have found the latter to be more effective. There’s something about the interaction between the physical aspects of yoga and the mental characteristics of meditation that provides a host of holistic health benefits.

I begin and end every yoga session with pranayama, or breath meditation, which helps me associate physical tension with mental stress so that it can be completely dissolved. Getting rid of just physical or only mental stress doesn’t work, but combining them allows me to uproot them simultaneously.

The basic principle of pranayama is simple: sit with your legs crossed and your hands folded on your belly, thumbs gently touching. Breathe in deeply through your nose and hold your breath for a few seconds, then inhale again to completely fill your lungs. Expel this air through your mouth and repeat the exercise several times before starting to breathe normally.

Focus on the sensation of air flowing into and out of your body, meditating on the healing power of your own breath.This process can both prepare your body for yoga and help you maintain a relaxed state after a session, so it’s also useful at any time when you feel stress encroaching on your life.

The following are a list of benefits associated with the combination of yoga and meditation.

The concept is simple and accessible, but the myriad benefits may surprise you. There’s nothing to lose but stress and tension, so if any of these benefits appeal to you, try starting a yoga and meditation regimen to see how your physiological and psychological health can improve.

Deepened State of Rest

By combining yoga with meditation, you can significantly lower the following bodily function rates:

Breathing – slower, deeper breaths will relax you and improve air flow, allowing your body to enter a deeper state of rest.

Heart rate – the work load on your heart decreases.

Metabolic rate – the amount of energy you expend while at rest decreases.

Improved Immune Function

Yogic meditation also helps you improve your immune function with these benefits:

Skin resistance – by decreasing the amount of stressful chemicals in your body, this practice increases your body’s ability to prevent infection through the skin.

Free radicals – yogic meditation reduces these, preventing potential tissue damage.

Cellular resistance – meditation increases the number of cells in your body that naturally fight bacteria and cancer cells.

Reduction of Stress-Inducing Chemicals

Meditation and yoga reduce the amount of:

Cortisol – the “fight-or-flight” hormone, which is associated with stress.

Lactate – also referred to as lactic acid, it can indicate an impaired flow of oxygen and blood throughout the body.

Augmented Self-Confidence & Happiness

In addition to improving your mood by reducing stress, yoga and meditation can increase the following:

Happiness and emotional stability – the increase in serotonin can reduce the likelihood of depression, obesity, insomnia, and headaches.

Creativity – when your mind and body no longer have to deal with a high load of stress and tension, they naturally put more energy toward whatever you love to do.

Vitality and rejuvenation – less stress means more energy, which will help you feel more alive.

Self-confidence and self-actualization – without focusing on stress and other problems, you can dedicate your thoughts to further improving your quality of life by fully embracing your own body, mind, and spirit.

Maria Rainier

Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education where she writes about education, online schools, and the future of online degrees. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

The Luxury of Negativity

Laura Warnke — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:37:20 +0000

Can you really afford the luxury of negativity? You may wonder why I am calling negativity a luxury. It is because you have the power to consciously choose and change your thoughts. In a previous post I wrote about learning to love yourself and this is one more part of the journey.

Think of negativity as the opposite of love. Negativity is defined as containing, expressing, or implying a denial or refusal. When you allow yourself to have negative thoughts you are separating yourself form Source and from Divine Love.

Unfortunately, I know all too well about negative emotions and thinking. Years upon years have gone by thinking the worst about people’s intentions and the worst possible outcomes. It was like a mental tape in my head, replaying itself over and over again, with many of those outcomes coming true. There really is something to the point that you attract what you think about.

I guess the myriad of personal development books I have read so far in my life may have finally paid off. One day, I guess I just realized that I was exhausted of hearing it. Completely exhaused. That was probably the turning point. I was so tired of not being in control of my emotions. I began to think about how my life would be if I continued these thought processes for another forty years. That wasn’t a pretty thought.

It is not say at all that I have been able to release all negative thoughts and emotions. They still creep up in certain situations. But these days, I can stand back and look at them a bit more objectively and mostly not let the mental tape in my head get turned on again.

Any more, I do consider choosing to be negative a luxury. My brain apparently has enough down time to go down that path. What does that mean? That means that I have enough food, clothing, and shelter not to be in survival mode.

It means that I am not wanting or in need of the basics of life and therefore have the time to indulge in negative thinking. I guess I realized and finally internalized that my thoughts create my emotions, and my emotions create my behaviors.

So, what did I do? I started examining the core of each issue that appeared for healing. When you have a negative emotion or thought pop into your head, take a few minutes or longer if necessary to dig for the root cause.

For myself, I found many of them going back to childhood. I am sure that would be the same for many people. Allow the anger to surface, acknowledge it, say thank you for it and then release it. I believe Reiki and meditation were two contributing factors to the emotional healing that needed to take place.

I would love to hear your thoughts and any successes you have had with getting rid of negative emotions. Please feel free to leave a comment below.

I am now offering Intuitive Readings. Click here to learn more.

The Sacral Chakra Energy Center

Laura Warnke — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 21:29:16 +0000

The Sacral Chakra energy center governs creativity, reproduction, and daily relationships. Learn to heal and balance your second chakra by the use of meditation, crystals, and forgiveness. The Sanskrit name for this energy center is Swadhisthana.

This is the second in a series of posts regarding the energy centers of the body. You may be interested to read my previous post about the Root or First Chakra also.

The second chakra is located just below the naval in the lower abdomen area. Physically, this chakra represents the area of reproduction and sexual organs. It governs your hips, groin, bladder, and large intestine. It is represented by the color orange and the element of water.

Balancing the Sacral Chakra

When the sacral chakra is in balance, it represents an outpouring of creativity through newborn thoughts and ideas. It also governs healthy relationships and your everyday interactions with people in your daily lives, the ability to cope with day to day events, and healthy emotional attachments to people. This chakra is about learning to consciously interact with others around you in a healthy manner. It represents physical grace, the Law of cause and effect, and choices that you make.

The sacral chakra is perhaps best known for governing sexuality. This involves warm and loving attitudes about the creation of life, sex, fertility, procreation, and emotions.

When this chakra is out of balance, issues regarding self respect, fear of losing control, financial loss, ability to survive and thrive, and poorly balanced relationships will be present. Eating issues such as anorexia and bulimia, along with buried emotions and depression are associated with an unbalanced second chakra.

Blockages can manifest into sexual problems such as infertility, impotence, lack of sexual desire, and physical awkwardness, all having their roots within this second energy center.

Negative thoughts and actions arising out of fear also drain energy from this chakra. Energy given to dead end jobs or relationships, domination by others or situations, gossip and manipulation drain life from this energy center. Problems with survival or the ability to survive hit home here too.

Orange and the Second Chakra

The color orange is a warm vibrant color that represents the sacral chakra. It has an intense high energy. Think of it as a bed of glowing embers that radiates warmth and heat to the rest of the body.

Wearing the color orange can bring this chakra into balance. Even touches of it, such as jewelry or earrings can have a balancing effect. Decorate your home with orange flowers or pumpkins or other orange accent pieces to bring the chakra into harmony.

Foods

Eat fresh oranges, pomegranates, raw carrots, pumpkin, salmon, and other orange colored foods.

Drinking plenty of water helps the chakra to flow properly as well.

Essential Oils

Try the scents of tangerine, cinnamon, jasmine, coriander, and sandalwood.

Chakra Balancing Crystals and Stones

The use of crystals can help to bring chakras into balance. Wear them as jewelry or carry one in your pocket.

These stones are good choices to balance the second chakra: Carnelian, Tigers Eye, Moonstone, Garnet, and fire agate.

Sacral Chakra Balancing

Learn how binaural beats can balance your Sacral chakra quickly and easily. Take a look.

Reiki Healing Music

Laura Warnke — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 02:46:37 +0000

I found this relaxing Reiki healing music on You Tube and thought I would share it with you. It is short, less than 5 minutes long and is perfect for relieving a bit of stress in your day.

Even if you don’t know much about Reiki, you can still benefit from the calming and healing effect it has on your mind and body. Who couldn’t use a relaxation break?

I am currently a Reiki Level I Practitioner. I will be taking the Level II Class this fall. If you want to know more about Reiki, here are a few posts I have written: The Healing Benefits of Reiki, and What is Reiki?.

For me, Reiki has been a wonderful self healing tool that I use almost every day. I thought it appropriate for myself as I will be enjoying a few days off on holiday (we really call it vacation in the States, but I like the term holiday better).

Time for a bit of rest, relaxation, calm and rejuvenation. Even if you are not going on holiday soon, take 5 minutes and you will be amazed at how calm you will feel.

Please enjoy and feel free to leave a comment below.

Find more videos at HealingHandsReiki.net.

You can find more books on Reiki at this page.

Spiritual Networks – Social Networking for Spiritual People

Laura Warnke — Sun, 30 May 2010 21:55:55 +0000

Spiritual Networks – Social Networking for Spiritual People is a website dedicated to bringing together those who share a spiritual approach to success.

Whether you want to develop relationships with like-minded people to build your spiritual business or just connect with inspiring people, I invite you to check it out for yourself.

I know that there are way too many social networks out there these days, but www.SpiritualNetworks.com is different in that it takes a spiritual approach to networking. It is a place to find an online home full of people who think much the same as you. Yes, there are real human beings there. You are not alone!

You can find a community of people interested in self help, psychic abilities, spiritual awakenings, alternative healing, angels,personal development, and many other similar subjects.

You can advertise your business, write blog posts, share photos or talk via the forums. Registration is free, so go take a look around.

I also want to note that Jason McElhone, Founder of SpiritualNetworks.com is one of the most involved website owners I have seen in a long time. He is an inspiration and always working on something with his site to benefit its members. All he asks is that you get in the game and add some of your own thoughts, via talking to or sharing with others.

I think as someone that follows a spiritual path, it is becoming more and more important to make connections with people who have similar beliefs and values such as your own, but also allows you to grow through new thoughts and ideas.

This site is a chance for you to get to connect with like minded people in the areas of spirituality, psychic abilities, angels, and generally people who follow a spiritual and healing path in life. Even if you are new to the area of spirituality, as I was not too long ago, there are some great souls to get to know.

Here is my profile, for those who are interested: http://spiritualnetworks.com/IntuitiveJournal/

Click here to sign up: www.SpiritualNetworks.com

Balancing the Root Chakra

Laura Warnke — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 03:05:35 +0000

The root chakra, or base chakra is located at the bottom of the spine and is known for grounding and physicality. Learn how to balance and connect with your first chakra. It is the first of the main seven chakras in order from the spinal base to top of the head and is represented by the color red in the photo to the left.

Chakras are energy centers within our bodies. Each of the main seven chakras focuses on different areas of our body. The Muladhara root chakra, or first chakra, governs our physical world, grounding and connections with ourselves and others. It governs feelings of connecting yourself to the earth and being one with your physical surroundings.

Red and the First Chakra

Red represents the first chakra and fiery hot emotions, thoughts, and feelings. The types of negative emotions ruled by the root chakra include humiliation, embarrassment, belonging, crimes against our body, fear and grounding. It is related to the Earth element. These emotions can lead to this chakra being underdeveloped, almost as though it is in hiding. In order to balance this chakra, you first need to learn how to connect with it.

Connecting with your First Chakra

First imagine that the bottom of your spine has roots extending from it going deep into the ground. Imagine these roots traveling deep into the center of the earth, connecting with your core energy. Meditation is quite useful for learning to connect. Here are a few recommendations for meditation CD’s.

Learning to find love within yourself and accepting yourself as you are now can help to balance and align the energies in this chakra. By balancing the root chakra, you will begin to feel more in touch with who you really are as a human being and how you fit into this life. Approval of self has a lot to do with an unbalanced base chakra.

How to Balance the Root Chakra

The use of affirmations is a technique that can be done anywhere, such as “I approve of myself”. Repeat this at least 50 times daily or as needed. It goes to your core being. I have used this particular affirmation and had great success with it. It seems to help you regain your center.

A barefoot walk in the grass in warmer weather is a wonderful way to balance the root chakra, as the earth under your feet helps to deepen your connection with source.

You might want to consider this binaural beats chakra meditation as well.

Incense and Essential Oils

Another way to balance the first chakra is burning a woodsy incense made up of sandalwood and cinnamon. You can also purchase essential oils in those scents as well. These earthy scents balance the energies of our bodies to bring the chakra back into alignment. Here are two of my favorites: Golden Pavilion (Kin-kaku) and Abundance (Full Moon) both by Shoyeido Corporation.

Chakra Balancing Crystals

Try wearing a necklace or bracelet made with crystal stones like bloodstone, hematite, and red jasper to stimulate the root chakra. Garnet, agate, onyx, ruby, black tourmaline, smoky quartz, red corral are nice choices as well. Etsy.com is a wonderful place to shop for handmade jewelry using beautiful crystals like the ones mentioned.

Here is a quick video to help you with balancing the first chakra:

Note: This is the first in a series of articles on the chakras. The next one will talk about the sacral or second chakra.

Image credit: Photosani – Fotolia.com

Intuitive Books and Music

Laura Warnke — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:29:41 +0000

Find intuitive books and music recommendations for developing intuition, connecting with your spirit guides and angels, meditation, oracle card decks, spirituality, inspiration and Reiki healing.

Intuitive Books and Music

I wanted to let everyone know that I have put together a new resource section of my blog. Intuitive Books and Music includes some of my favorite books that I have in my collection plus a few that are on my wish list and soon to be purchased.

There are book selections for developing your intuition and learning how to connect with your spirit guides and angels along with links to guided meditations that I really enjoy. There is also a section with beautifully decorated Angel Oracle Cards to choose from and books exploring Reiki energy healing.

Stop by and take a look: Intuitive Books and Music.

Meditation Music Reviews and Recommendations

Laura Warnke — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:14:13 +0000

A selection of soothing meditation music for traditional and guided meditations. Learn to awaken your higher consciousness by listening to a calming voice guide you through a visualization to connect with your inner mind and higher self. Quiet your mind and soul.

Most of the CD’s listed below are available in mp3 format and each song can be purchased individually, along with the option to buy the entire physical cd. Clicking on the link will take you to additional reviews and recommendations of each of the mediation cd’s.

Guided Meditations

A Time for Relaxation, Vol. 1: Guided Relaxation Techniques for Wellness Everyone could use a break from the hurry and stress of life. This relaxation training CD features four pleasant, effective relaxation techniques to calm the mind and body: Breathing, Awareness of Body Relaxation, Guided Imagery, Loving Kindness Meditation. Beth Freschi’s calming voice will guide you through the relaxation techniques, while the beautiful music of composer Nathan Schilz adds a wonderful atmosphere to the relaxation experience.

Chakra Balancing: Body, Mind and Soul There are two CD’s in this set. One is an instrumental that is based on relaxation and the other is a guided chakra meditation by Deepak Chopra. The music uses vibrational toning to bring your chakras in balance.

Journey Into Meditation: Guided Meditations for Healing, Insight & Manifestation In Journey into Meditation, Lisa Guyman guides you into a chakra healing meditation, a meditation for accessing your intuition, and a meditation for manifesting. Her soothing voice is backed by the tranquil musical compositions of Rob Wallace creating the perfect combination for deep meditation. This CD contains three guided meditations.

Meditation Music

Soothing music for quieting your mind and your soul.

Reiki: Hands of Light
This bestselling CD, loved by therapists and healers around the world, is excellent music for any kind of deep work: Reiki, meditation, massage, or relaxation. Long sonorous tones and a rhythmic underlying pulse create a gently supportive, ambient soundscape. An essential addition to any healing collection.

Satori – Music For Yoga And Meditation A very deep, spiritual experience of music. Great for yoga studio background music or for use in your own home. Soothing, relaxing and a nice pace to the music.

Sound Medicine: Music for Healing An easy to listen to healing CD that will bring relaxation and healing to your mind and body. Use it to unwind, relax, drift away and help yourself to fall asleep.