My meditation story did not start from seeking enlightenment! But rather in search of a survival tool first! After hitting a tree skiing and waking up with massive multiple traumatic brain injuries, life looked kind of scary! loss of memory, disorientation, sleepiness, sleeplessness both, panic/anxiety attacks, inability to concentrate or focus on any thing, just to name a few! Forget problem solving! Depression from realizing that who I was, had disappeared, and that now I had to accept who I woke up as… someone who does not know what is coming next. I found myself thinking I was becoming crazy and really sad, thinking I could never be user friendly again, I was lost, scared and angry!!
The recovery protocol from main stream medicine was even scarier and limiting! Pills for sleeping, pills for calming, pills for happy moods. In brief everything to kill the symptoms and not much to get to the root of the problems.
MEDITATION taught me how to BREATHE.
Which allowed me to concentrate on the breath, that kept me from freaking out and eventually, I was able to keep a sense of calm and thus think clearly before moving through the panic attacks and watch them dissolve to the beautiful rhythm and sound of my breathing, like a wave gently crashing on the seashore!.. so nice!
Meditation also was a great teacher in being able to become aware, an observer of my conditions/thoughts and develop the ability to let go… and accept each present moment as they came and went… and find some ease with it. I could go on and on about the benefits of meditation… my life speaks for itself. I learned we really see the world as we are and not as “it is”. It is not what is happening but rather our relationship to what is happening that determine our experiences of life… and yes our habit patterns/beliefs are debilitating!!! So are our own destructive emotions rising from fear, and anger…
Mindfulness is the exterminator of those weed thoughts which keep on crawling up unless we master the art of attention. This is the biggest present we can give our self, our beloved ones, and humanity. I wish to invite you to explore meditation with a sense of humor. It is the biggest adventure you’ll find yourself in… and… you will learn to BE peaceful and at ease no matter what. Imagine THAT!
I create retreats a la carte to meet your personal needs for your evolution.
Feel free to contact me, if you have any questions.
Blessings,
Love and Respect
Nathalie
DEFINITION OF MEDITATION
The practice of meditation is essential for the development of mental clarity, insight into conditioned reality, freedom from negative states and ultimately cessation of suffering. Meditation rests on the development of Mindfulness and on the two keys elements :
Concentration and Insight
Meditation is you new best friend. It provides you with the time and space to observe your thoughts. To familiarize yourself with the movement of your own mind. In doing so, you will notice your unconsciously repetitive, negative,destructive thinking/behavioral patterns that keep you enslaved. In a meditative state, you find yourself fully present. Not judging your thoughts but watching with attention. This is mindfulness; your act of participation in your own existence.
Self mastery allows you to express: right view- right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right concentration and right mindfulness. You will then be on the path leading to the end of your own suffering. While understanding that we are, in some ways, ALL suffering and that we are ALL seeking peace and happiness, we can start speaking our own truth with care and wisdom.
THE POWER OF WISDOM CREATE COMPASSION
When we are compassionate we become part of the solution, the beauty, not the problem. The choice is yours, You always have the freedom to choose the right path.
How do you define what is right?… well, do your thoughts, speeches, and actions bring kindness to yourself and others ? Are you peacefully engaged in present situation with awareness and a sense of calm, not judging… just being… noticing the changes… as you remember that everything is impermanent.
Meditation is action. You may practice, chanting, sitting, walking, focusing on your breath. Ultimately you will bring your calm meditative state of awareness into any situation: when you are stuck in traffic, cleaning, late for an appointment. Whatever the challenge, slow down your breath and see how everything will settle. Your relationship to the world will reflect your state of mind and heart. We see the world as we are not as it is… Knowing that… what will you bring to Life?
Enjoy practicing, and notice how inevitably you will develop the ability to bring a relaxed sense of ease to every situation.
Creating for yourself a life free from suffering and full of kindness.