{"id":3690,"date":"2010-06-01T01:10:24","date_gmt":"2010-06-01T06:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=3749"},"modified":"2010-05-18T08:11:41","modified_gmt":"2010-05-18T13:11:41","slug":"finding-balance-a-meditation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2010\/06\/01\/finding-balance-a-meditation\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding Balance: A Meditation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"justice<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Balance is tenuous, it is delicate and hard to maintain.\u00a0 The hustle and bustle of our daily lives often pushes us out of harmony with those around us and our spirituality.\u00a0 So, how do we pull everything back into alignment?<\/span><\/p>\n

I find the best lessons always present themselves when we need them and are ready to truly listen. I recently went to the Botanical Gardens here in St. Louis with a couple of friends. While we were enjoying the morning, taking photos, and discussing a variety of topics my friend related to me the story of the Japanese garden and how it was laid out.\u00a0 Everything had been done in a precise manner, being mindful of the areas that were open, those that were closed, and those that focused on a particular area.<\/span><\/p>\n

I had never taken the time to appreciate the layout before, just maneuvering through my previous visits and noting the plants and moving on.\u00a0 However, I took the time to hear her words, and pay particular attention to the landscape around me.\u00a0 The most striking aspect was the three standing stones in the lake.\u00a0 As we started the walk through the garden they were three distinct pillars.\u00a0 Through the journey they merged and seemed to become one as they jutted out of the water, and then as you emerged from the garden they again separated. The standing stones there mirror to me the way we all come into and out of balance.\u00a0 The moments of complete alignment are sometimes brief and intense or they can linger, but always it is a cycle. <\/span><\/p>\n

For this meditation it would be better to be outside if possible.\u00a0 Lie in the grass and close your eyes, feel the earth beneath you and let your troubles melt into the ground.\u00a0 Take a deep breath and let it slowly out relaxing into the earth a little more with each breath.<\/span><\/p>\n

See in your mind\u2019s eye a series of standing stones.\u00a0 You see them arranged in a cluster in the distance and you\u2019re mindful that you need to be in alignment with them.\u00a0 In doing so you\u2019ll pull yourself into balance with the mental, physical, and spiritual realms.\u00a0 Be aware of the path you take as you try to pull them into alignment.\u00a0 Which direction did you go; did you move closer or farther away?<\/span><\/p>\n

As they start to merge into a singular monument in your line of site notice how you feel.\u00a0 Do you feel balanced, grounded, centered?\u00a0 Stay in this position and take note of what it would take to pull this into your everyday life.\u00a0 When you move on know that you are not out of sync now, but merely continuing on your journey.\u00a0 The balance and centering you experienced is within you always.\u00a0 Be mindful of your surroundings and how you treat those around you.\u00a0 If you do those things, you will always be in alignment with your highest good. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Balance is tenuous, it is delicate and hard to maintain.\u00a0 The hustle and bustle of our daily lives often pushes us out of harmony with those around us and our spirituality.\u00a0 So, how do we pull everything back into alignment? I find the best lessons always present themselves when we need them and are ready to truly listen. I recently went to the Botanical Gardens here in St. Louis with a couple of friends. While we were enjoying the morning, taking photos, and discussing a variety of topics my friend related to me the story of the Japanese garden and how it was laid out.\u00a0 Everything had been done in a precise manner, being mindful of the areas that were open, those that were closed, and those that focused on a particular area. I had never taken the time to appreciate the layout before, just maneuvering through my previous visits and noting the plants and moving on.\u00a0 However, I took the time to hear her words, and pay particular attention to the landscape around me.\u00a0 The most striking aspect was the three standing stones in the lake.\u00a0 As we started the walk through the garden they were three distinct pillars.\u00a0 Through the journey they merged and seemed to become one as they jutted out of the water, and then as you emerged from the garden they again separated. The standing stones there mirror to me the way we all come into and out of balance.\u00a0 The moments of complete alignment are sometimes brief and intense or they can linger, but always it is a cycle. For this meditation it would be better to be outside if possible.\u00a0 Lie in the grass and close your eyes, feel the earth beneath you and let your troubles melt into the ground.\u00a0 Take a deep breath and let it slowly out relaxing into the earth a little more with each breath. See in your mind\u2019s eye a series of standing stones.\u00a0 You see them arranged in a cluster in the distance and you\u2019re mindful that you need to be in alignment with them.\u00a0 In doing so you\u2019ll pull yourself into balance with the mental, physical, and spiritual realms.\u00a0 Be aware of the path you take as you try to pull them into alignment.\u00a0 Which direction did you go; did you move closer or farther away? As they start to merge into a singular monument in your line of site notice how you feel.\u00a0 Do you feel balanced, grounded, centered?\u00a0 Stay in this position and take note of what it would take to pull this into your everyday life.\u00a0 When you move on know that you are not out of sync now, but merely continuing on your journey.\u00a0 The balance and centering you experienced is within you always.\u00a0 Be mindful of your surroundings and how you treat those around you.\u00a0 If you do those things, you will always be in alignment with your highest good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3690\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}