Stilla Meditation

Gratitude is a great antidote for disappointment and dissatisfaction.

In your center there is always peace

I learned yesterday that when a storm comes, buffaloes will face it and charge straight towards it. By doing so they minimise the time they need to spend in the discomfort of the storm. As humans, we very often do the complete opposite. We try to run away from the storm, and when the storm eventually catches us we continue to try and outrun it. Of course this only means that we will stay in the st...

“There is no audience to perform for, there is no approval, no admiration to attain. There is no role worth playing, there is no one to convince. Let it go.” - The Artidote Take a few moments and let it sink in a little. There is no audience. Your life is not a performance. You are not here to fill any role. There will be no applause at the end. No one will thank you for your excellent performance...

Fear is interesting, because it tends to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Example: I long for being accepted as I am. But out of fear of not being accepted as I am, I hide that which I don’t think will be accepted; sadness, anger, shame, hopelessness and loneliness. In this way I make sure that my fear will come true. Because how can anyone accept me as I am if I don’t show myself? Fear tends to...

If the world cease being beautiful, it’s because I no longer see. How do you experience beauty right now?

The three poisons The first poison is believing that you are better than others. The second poison is believing that you are less than others. The third poison is believing that you are equal to others. You exist beyond comparison. Your value is not relative to anyone.

"Boundaries define us. They define what is me and what is not me. A boundary shows me where i end and someone else begins, leading me to a sense of ownership. Knowing what I am to own and take responsibility for gives me freedom." ~Henry Cloud Or more simply "If you want to say yes, say yes. And if you want to say no, say no." ~Yusuf / Cat Stevens https://open.spotify.com/track/3UGpUUtC5r93zMDZXcg...

Why meditate? Leo Babaouta from zenhabits.net describes it like this: Why practice mindfulness through meditation? Actually, there are lots of great reasons. Here are a few (read about research on meditation for more): - It relieves stress and helps you to relax. - When you practice mindfulness, you can carry it out to everyday life. - Mindfulness helps you to savor life, change habits, live simpl...

Why meditate? The Swedish buddhist munk Björn Natthiko Lindeblad says it quite beautifully I think. “I no longer believe all my thoughts.” We carry so many thoughts, opinions and beliefs about ourselves and the world and we tend to identify with them a lot. This is why we react to harshly when we are criticised and questioned, because it’s a threat to our identity. But your thoughts are not actual...

It’s so easy for us to be critical and judgmental about ourselves and others. Hidden underneath those defences lie our true being, the one that is overflowing with love, compassion and understanding. Today we will do a loving-kindness meditation. With this practice we strengthen our connection with this delicate and powerful part and hopefully we can meet ourselves and the world with more love.

One of the seven pillars of mindfulness is Trust. In this case trusting yourself and your experience. “How am I really feeling today?“, “What are my needs right now?“, “Does this make me happy?” By practicing staying connected to our lived experience moment to moment and being more attuned to what is going on inside, we will develop our emotional compass that guides us towards what we want and nee...

After six days of food poisoning I’m so grateful that my stomach is working again! :pray: I don’t want to go into details, so let’s just say it’s been a shit show... I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. Anyway. To have my health back inspires me to do a gratitude meditation today. Gratitude has this magical capacity to open our hearts and soften our Being. And there are so many things to be grateful for...

"We thought of life by analogy with a journey, a pilgrimage, which had a serious purpose at the end, and the thing was to get to that end, success or whatever it is, maybe heaven after you're dead. But we missed the point the whole way along. It was a musical thing and you were supposed to sing or to dance while the music was being played." - Alan Watts "And those who were seen dancing were though...

The Driver's Seat Imagine sitting in a car, next to the driver. You don’t really know where you are going, but the driver seems to know. “I know the way”, he says. So you cruise along for the ride, going wherever the driver decides that you should go. It’s comfortable; you can tilt the seat back, maybe sleep a little, the radio has some pretty cool songs, and you don’t need to pay so much attentio...

Excitement; that rush of energy; that “Hell Yes”-feeling in your chest; that’s your compass, and it points straight at what makes You feel Alive. Move towards that. Don’t wait for your nervousness to go away. Don’t wait for the critical voice in your mind to become silent. Don’t wait for the right time. You will wait forever. You live NOW! DO THAT THING!

Loving kindness is one of the most powerful ways to sooth the inner critic. You can read more about the inner critic here: - https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/breaking-the-chains-finding-relief-from-harsh-superego-0426175 - https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/silencing-the-inner-critic-the-power-of-self-compassion-0608154 - https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/working-with-the-inner-critic-essential-to-in...

This is one of my favourite lullabies O, I love you O, I love you O, I love you most of all https://open.spotify.com/track/1K18ZkRjuOTFEH0rxo5Zwq?si=e1901528048d4b6f

-A letter to a human- Remember that you are human You are the divine You are the infinite Yes And you are human Your brokenness is not a sin It's the natural state of things Feeling lack and loss and lonely That's what life's about Not all about But parts about A game without restrictions Is not a game at all So play your limitations They are what makes you You

During the week I watched this video that describes the difference between the Ego self and True self, that I found really useful https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfrkVMCif9M&ab_channel=JuliaKristinaCounselling Here’s a summary: The Ego is like this shield that is trying to protect us from shame. It is There is nothing wrong with it, but acting from it is usually not what we want because it keeps u...

Mind the gap Mindfulness is the gap between input and response in which we can bring in our wiser parts. If we don’t have this gap, we are merely reacting to life. Auto-pilot mode. Without this gap, you are not aware of why you are thinking and acting the way you are, you are simply letting the automatic internal program run. This is a great way of saving energy, but it’s not a very useful way to...

Our bodies carry so much of our inner resources; Our strength, our intuition, our compassion, but we tend to lock them down by tensing up. When we allow our bodies to deeply relax and let go, we gain more access to those resources. Body scan meditation can be a nice way of nurturing this kind of relaxation while also growing a deeper connection to the body. There’s magic in our bones A north star...

The more I struggle and fight Trying to get it all right I push away the very thing I want Thinking it's all up to me Deciding how it will be Forgetting that I am guided by the One - Fia For me, this song is a reminder to let go and have trust in life. All I can do is to act in alignment with my heart to the best of my ability, and sometimes that ability is great and sometimes it's tiny. When we s...

When time pulls lives apart Hold your own When everything is fluid, and when nothing can be known with any certainty Hold your own Hold it 'til you feel it there As dark, and dense, and wet as earth As vast, and bright, and sweet as air When all there is Is knowing that you feel what you are feeling Hold your own Ask your hands to know the things they hold I know the days are reeling past in such...

Trust When we cultivate a deeper intimacy with ourself we also cultivate a trustworthiness with ourself and with our body. When trusting the breath to take care of itself we let go of control and relaxation occurs. When trusting that the ears will hear without us interfering we come into a more receptive and open mode of being. Becoming aware that the organs function to our support without us need...