Guest Post by Amy Barbato

Comfort Food: the words themselves elicit nurturing feelings of contentment and joy. Inspired by several Food Network shows devoted to this topic, I found myself contemplating what it is about the concept that speaks to so many of us in similar ways. I watched as the TV cooks blissfully shared their own favorites, many of which were attached to family memories and cultural connections. From decadent mac ‘n’ cheese to wintery stews to warm, sticky toffee pudding, these recipes are often of the rich and hearty kind that stick to your ribs, while soothing your spirit.

Certainly, an abundance of only these lush foods is not what we turn to for our daily aspirations of a balanced diet and weight management. However, they remind us that food is not the enemy — its purpose is to nurture and sustain us. We’re not talking about mindless, emotional eating here. Rather, these recipes, which are often linked to memories of home and hearth, are the occasional indulgence that connects us to our heritage and feeds our soul. It was when Nigella Lawson shared her favorite, her mom’s Warmed Sugared Bread in Milk, that I saw how even the simplest, and most pedestrian of recipes, can be overflowing with love.

This brought to mind my own favorite “go-to” comfort food, my mom’s Pasta Fagioli. This is a simple, rustic, “peasant dish” of Italian heritage, consisting of olive oil, garlic, tomato sauce, white beans, and small cut pasta — topped off with fresh, grated cheese. The consistency is somewhere between a soup and a stew, or what TV cook Rachel Ray calls a “stoup”. While inexpensive and easy to make, this dish is hearty and, for me, full of home and love.

For the last 5 years, I’ve been facing a constant stream of challenges in nearly every area of my life, including finances, job loss, relationship issues, health problems, and the loss of a loved one. While I’m doing the best I can to stay afloat, there seems to be no end in sight, and I struggle to make sense of it all.

I’m a spiritual person, and I’m usually pretty good at keeping things in perspective, but I’m finding it really hard to keep the “faith”. I’m in therapy and have a good support system, but I still feel stuck.

In the face of so much challenge and chaos, how does one keep the “hope” alive and not turn into a completely faithless person? I would appreciate any thoughts you may have on this.

Thanks,
M.

Virginia O'Hanlon

This time of year, it seems everyone is in search of the “Christmas Spirit”. The topic brings to mind the true story of Virginia O’Hanlon, an 8-year-old girl who wrote a letter to The New York Sun in 1897 asking whether or not Santa Claus was real.

While the child’s inquiry itself may not be remarkable, the response from the newspaper certainly was. It seemed to capture the “essence” of the Christmas Spirit and created an immediate sensation among its readers. It was so extraordinary that it was reprinted every Christmas for the next 50 years until the newspaper went out of business.

Translated into over 20 languages, the editor’s response has appeared in books, movies, plays, and a variety of other media outlets. Over a century later, it remains the most reprinted editorial ever to run in any newspaper.

Francis Church

The author of the famous response was Francis P. Church, a veteran reporter who had covered the Civil War for The New York Times. Having witnessed great suffering and a corresponding lack of hope and faith in many people, Church was inspired to write something that would be truthful, yet that would not dash the dreams of a young girl who still felt the magic of Christmas.

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To the Mineral Nation, that has built and maintained my bones and all foundations of life experience, I thank you.

To the Plant Nation, that sustains my organs and body and gives me healing herbs for sickness, I thank you.

To the Animal Nation, that feeds me from your own flesh and offers your loyal companionship in this walk of life, I thank you.

To the Human Nation, that shares my path as a soul upon the sacred wheel of earthly life, I thank you.

To the Spirit Nation, that guides me invisibly through the ups and downs of life and for carrying the torch of light through the ages, I thank you.

To the Four Winds of Change and Growth, I thank you.

You are all my Relations, my Relatives, without whom I would not live.

We are in the circle of life together, co-existing, co-dependent, co-creating our destiny.

One, not more important than the other. One nation evolving from the other, and yet each dependent upon the one above and the one below.

All of us a part of
the Great Mystery.

Thank you for this life.

Mitakuye Oyasin (Mee-tock-way Oh-yah-sin), which comes from the Lakota Sioux Tribe, is a prayer of oneness, gratitude, and harmony. The phrase translates to “All My Relations” or “We are all related”. It is spoken during prayer and ceremony to honor and acknowledge the sacredness of all “relatives”. While, to most of us, the word relative means a blood relation in our family lineage, the Lakota definition is far more encompassing. They think, see, and feel the oneness of creation. When they say “all my relations”, they include the air, the earth, the rocks, the animals, and all human beings. To them, even a blade of grass carries a “life force” that deserves to be honored. Sit with this powerful gratitude prayer. See the truth in it. To say it is to bless and honor the sacredness of all creation. When we truly begin to understand and appreciate our connection to each other and to the universe, this creates a field of awareness which strengthens not only the person who prays but also the entire planet.

]]> http://inspiritnow.org/wordpress/2009/11/19/general/mitakuye-oyasin//feed 5 http://inspiritnow.org/wordpress/2009/11/16/general/cultivating-gratitude/ http://inspiritnow.org/wordpress/2009/11/16/general/cultivating-gratitude/#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:59:26 +0000 Amy http://inspiritnow.org/wordpress/?p=1205 Thanksgiving isn’t only about sharing a wonderful meal with your loved ones. It’s also a time to meditate on all of the things you are grateful for.

Gratitude can be a powerfully transformative practice. According to Dr. Robert Emmons, the world’s leading expert on this topic, the practice of gratitude can drastically improve a person’s physical and emotional well-being. In his ongoing Research Project on Gratitude and Thanksgiving, he found that people who kept weekly gratitude journals had fewer physical symptoms, exercised more, slept better, and felt more positive about their lives as a whole. In fact, his findings point to gratitude as one of the strongest contributors to a deep satisfaction with life.

If you could use more gratitude in your life, here are some tips to get you started.

Scary Ghost

As Halloween approaches, we are bombarded with ghastly visions of ghosts, goblins, and spirits from other worlds. Although the mood of the holiday is light and playful, it does touch upon profound questions deeply embedded in the human psyche: What happens to us when we leave our bodies? Do we become “spirit”, and are there spirits around us?

I have always been a “believer” and had a deep knowing that there must be worlds beyond this one. As a child, I had lots of “imaginary” friends and believed that angels would always protect me. Growing up as the only girl amongst 3 brothers, my need to feel “protected” was very high!

As a young adult, I had an experience that would reinforce my belief in protective spirits. I was riding in a vehicle with several friends. Just as we approached an intersection, I took my seat belt off to retrieve some music CDs from a container under the seat. While scanning the CDs, I suddenly heard an urgent voice in my head shout, “Get out of the way!” Startled, I immediately looked up, and I saw a car barreling towards me at full throttle! With total calm and complete presence of mind, I instantly dove from the front seat into the back seat, miraculously escaping the violent impact. Nobody else was hurt either (except perhaps the person I landed on in the back seat!). After observing the damage to the passenger side of the vehicle, the responding police officer couldn’t get over how “lucky” I was and said that he had never seen anything like this in his life. “Somebody upstairs must be looking out for you,” he said as he shook his head in disbelief.

As a teenager, my curiosity about the spirit world unfortunately led me to experiment with a Oujia Board. Wanting to contact deceased human spirits, my friends and I took the Ouija Board into a cemetery. Although we made many “connections” that night, some of them were extremely frightening, and several spirits warned us to discontinue the activity. Having always been sensitive to “energy”, I remember getting a very heavy sensation in my chest and then actually feeling energy drain out of my body. I was so haunted by the experience that I later contacted a member of the clergy, who explained to me the danger of opening “portals” to the spirit world.

Meditate

Although these days I stay very far away from Ouija Boards, I still long to connect to the spiritual realm. While in the past I always searched outside myself for “connection”, I now realize that the only true gateway lies within. Thus, my new tools of choice are meditation and prayer. At the start of each day, I offer a prayer of gratitude for all that is good in my life and ask for guidance in areas where I need help. I then play soothing music and meditate for about 20 minutes. As long as I stick to my daily practice, I find that I am rewarded in countless ways. During my meditations, I often see a kaleidoscope of beautiful colors, receive insights and inspirations, and feel embraced by a loving presence. Throughout the day, I sometimes get a gentle tingling at the top of my head, which sends a wave of calm down my spine. To me, this feels like a loving reminder from above that I am never alone and that I can “connect” to divine energy any time I want.

Since we are all spiritual beings at our essence, I believe that everyone has the power to connect to the universal consciousness. It doesn’t take any special talents, just an open mind and a willingness to “receive” the many gifts of spirit.

Although meditation is the cornerstone of nearly every spiritual tradition, it is widely misunderstood. Many think of it as a severe practice requiring a lot of time and effort. They may even think they have go to a mountain top and sit for hours in a lotus position!

The reality is much simpler than that. All you need to do is to sit in a relaxed position and focus on your breath. Since the mind is very busy, it can be helpful to concentrate on a mantra or listen to calm music. If thoughts enter into your meditation, don’t judge them or try to eliminate them, just bring your attention back to your breath. Some people find it useful to count their breaths, when thoughts intervene.

The effects of meditation are cumulative so it works best if you make it a habit. You can start with very short meditations, such as 2 or 5 minutes, and then gradually work up to longer periods. Since the purpose of meditation is to quiet the mind, it provides an excellent way to keep worry and anxiety in check. For many people, it takes just 10 or 15 minutes a day to reap the benefits of meditation. Even a very brief meditation can make a huge difference in your ability to handle stress.

Sitting in the Archway

A common mistake that beginning meditators often make is starting out with some type of “expectation”. For example, they may expect to get a mystical experience, such as an incredible feeling of peace, a divine vision, or a miraculous healing. However, the whole purpose of meditation is to clear the mind and return to the “present moment”. As soon as you expect something to happen, your mind has left the present and is in the future. While many have reported mystical experiences during meditation, it’s not up to you to make that happen. Your job is simply to be still and focus on your breathing, which will open a channel that allows good things to flow to you.

Thus, don’t get frustrated if it feels like “nothing is happening”, especially at first. Just as you wouldn’t go to the gym, lift a few weights, and expect to immediately walk out with huge muscles, it may take some time before you feel the effects of meditation in your life. Take it on faith that if you meditate every day, you will develop your “spiritual muscles” and open a gateway to your higher self.

Stressed Out

Understanding and managing worry provides an excellent starting point for “getting out of your own way”. Worry can be thought of as a barrier that blocks you from your best self. When you are in a state of intense worry, you have extremely limited “access” to things like intuition, knowledge, talent, peace, love, and appreciation. Instead, you have increased access to emotions that are more “compatible” with worry, such as anxiety, fear, and depression.

As an example, many people fear public speaking. Studies show that people fear this as much or more than death! Why do you think this is? I believe that the intense fear is triggered by worry. Once you start worrying about what others are thinking, fear and anxiety creep in. And if you are caught up in a rash of negative, fearful thoughts, it can be very difficult to perform. In essence, this fear blocks you from your knowledge and talent.

However, in the absence of these fears, you are not worried and once again have free access to your abilities. As another example, how often have you struggled to find the right words in the middle of a stressful argument, only to have those perfect words come easily to you after the argument has ended?

If you take a close look at worry, it’s simple to see that it serves no useful purpose. You will not change the outcome of anything by “worrying” about it. The only thing that worry will accomplish is to increase your suffering and to choke you off from your true self. Author and teacher, Leo Buscaglia, put it best when he said, “Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.”

If you would like to learn more about worry as well as strategies for managing it, be sure to check out my e-book, “Kick the Worry Habit!”.

Keukenhof Gardens, Netherlands

Thoughts are like plants in the garden of your mind. Think of your mind as an all natural garden. Without any effort on your part, many different types of plants will arise. You have very little control over what shows up.

Now, there are some plants that you’ll want to cultivate and share when they blossom. And the cultivation is the easy part – as all that is required is love, attention, and gratitude.

There are other plants, however, that you’ll want to remove immediately. If you aren’t diligent in this process, your garden will quickly become overrun with weeds, which eventually choke out all the blossoms.

In order for you to have peace in your life, you must tend to your “inner garden”. This means paying close attention to your thoughts and quickly weeding out those that do not serve you. It’s important to be vigilant because negative thought patterns, just like weeds, can easily gain momentum.

“Your mind is a garden, and your thoughts are the seeds. The harvest can be either flowers or weeds.” ~anonymous

As stated in the movie, The Secret, it’s not enough to just think about what you would like to attract into your life. You need to be able to see it clearly in your mind and actually experience the feelings of already having it.

While most of us were great at visualizing when we were children, it is something we often lose as adults. Most likely, this is because adults are rarely rewarded for being imaginative. Instead, we are taught to be practical and realistic. However, with a little practice and a healthy dose of determination, you can get back in touch with your childhood abilities.

The best way to practice is through visualization exercises. To get you started, I have created an exercise containing a list of questions, broken out by category. The exercise  provides a framework in which you can visualize what your “ideal” life would look like. You can focus on your job, your relationships, where you live, or all of the above.

When you are answering the questions, remember to be VERY specific. I would suggest spending time thinking about your ideal life and jotting down notes. You should act as if you were “placing an order” with the universe. Imagine that a customer service representative is on hand, ready to process your order.

This exercise works best if you can do it with a group or at least one other person.  After you have visualized your ideal life, tell the others about it as if it were really true, and then allow them to ask you questions. This will help you crystallize in your own mind the exact life you want to attract. If you are doing the exercise on your own, write up a highly detailed description of your ideal life. Good luck!

Today’s quote: “The greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world is to see something. To see clearly is poetry, prophecy, and religion, all in one.”   ~John Ruskin, art critic

View Visualization Exercise