Loving Support – Relationship Tip #5

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In every relationship there generally comes a point where the person we care about begins to act in a way that makes absolutely no sense to us. They find a hobby that we simply don’t relate to or they make choices that we can’t understand. It can be any number of things. The question is, how do we respond?

The answer may be one of our greatest opportunities to be an expression of unconditional love – we can choose to navigate beyond our feelings and support the person we love in their choice.

If we react or respond to their choices with anger, disgust or fear, all we show them is that we don’t respect their ability to make decisions.

Everyone desires to feel valued and respected, especially by those they love. So, no matter how greatly we may feel our response is justified, we must always ask ourselves: what matters more – our response in that moment or the overall impact our response will leave on the person we love?

If we feel the decision our loved one is making could be harmful, seek to understand why they are making the choice. Get to the root of the desire, then navigate forward from this awareness. Is it a desire for attention? Are they seeking something else completely?

Above all, it is how each of us choose to respond that will determine if this opportunity will bring our relationships closer together. Be aware in each moment as you navigate through it.

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“We Must Go [Beyond The Mind] To Access The Answers”

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The mind, by its nature, functions on the basis that reality consists of things…things that can be broken down into individual bits of information and explained in a linear fashion.

To realize how flawed this mindset is, you must first accept that this is a relative world in which we live.

On the conscious level, we interact with other human beings and the rest of the universe in a linear fashion. This is the nature of the mind.

We must go beyond the mind to access the answers.

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“When we bring into our awareness that every moment we experience is a given moment [given to us], we can approach our actions to be in alignment with gratitude, honoring the present with each action we take…making the most of that action to better the world around us every single moment that we are gifted. And in return, bettering our own world from within.

We have the strength within to shift our life in any given moment. It is here, from the heart, where we begin to access answers from beyond the mind.

This now moment is the first moment of the rest of your life, make it your best”

-Austin

Relationship Tips 2017

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As we head into 2017, Austin and I would like to select some of our most requested topics for coaching and begin to dive into them on our blog and FB page. At the top of this list – Relationship Support.

Joining together with another person, be it romantic or otherwise, offers unique opportunities to observe qualities within ourselves. We may not always see it this way. Often, we allow our focus to travel to what we desire to ‘change’ about our partner. When we do this, we may not take that step back to understand what opportunities exist for us to grow within ourselves.

The fact is, most highly function and successful relationships are built by two individuals who have little to no desire to change one another. They may not agree with every quality the other chooses to express in each now moment, but changing that quality doesn’t come into discussion. Instead, the couple seeks to understand the quality or simply agrees to disagree and honor the perspective of one another.

For some reason, many of us have created this notion that when we are in a relationship with someone we have to completely and fully align. That if we don’t share exactly the same values, beliefs, desires, etc. that the other either needs to conform or we do in order to move forward. Why?

Many of the closest friends and happiest couples Austin and I have had the honor of meeting with are as different as can be…but they do share one common bond – a deep love and respect for one another. When this exists, all else aligns.

This is our first tip for 2017 – allow yourself to stop over-complicating relationships in life and build from this beautiful foundation — pure love and mutual respect.

~In Loving Service
Amber & Austin

How Do We Live In Oneness?

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The First of the Twelve Universal Laws is the Law of Oneness.

It reflects that everything is connected to everything else. In essence, we are all bits of energy that join together to create one energetic stream. Much like those amazing mosaics we see, we are each our own unique image joining together to create one beautiful masterpiece.

But, understanding this in theory does not easily allow us to understand how to execute it in practice. We, as human beings, have a basic understanding for how to live within our individual image – but how do we begin to expand beyond this and join our image to the masterpiece? How to we begin to see beyond our own reality and realize the Oneness?

One way is to begin to release the way we perceive our role. We, as a culture, are incredibly adept at understanding our role within our own picture. In our day-to-day lives we are relatively clear about the flow and, at some level, how that flow interacts with the images (people/experiences) that are directly around us.

For example, we know that our average day consists of meditation, holding sessions, writing, creating and implementing action steps, maintaining the sanctuary and a moderate amount of other activities. We touch other images (people/experiences) around our personal, unique images through many of these activities, creating a ripple effect to the images that surround them.

However, in Oneness, there is an entire masterpiece at play. We aren’t simply seeking to understand how our actions impact those images around us and so on. Instead, we become consciously aware that any actions that effect our image and those around us alter the entire picture.

In Oneness, we not only take time to view the beauty in each individual image, we deliberately and lovingly take moments to pull ourselves out of these images to see the masterpiece at play – to observe how our choices, our moments, our energy is contributing to the greater whole.

Today, take a moment to view the masterpiece. Are the choices you are making and the moments you are contributing creating the lasting image you desire?

Yours in love,

Amber & Austin

Meditation Ideas for Kids

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Are you looking for fun ways to get your young ones to meditate with you? Kid’s aren’t eager to sit still and zen out with their parents, but when meditation is turned into an active exchange, their interest increases.

Below are a few Active Meditation Ideas to consider. A link to all 20 ideas from our kid’s classes is also listed at the end of the article. Enjoy!

Body awareness method – Ask child to close their eyes and pretend that they are a tree, starting out as a small seed and growing toward the sky. Allow them time to shift their body however they choose as they grow into a large tree. If it is helpful for your child, guide them through the growth process: you are a tiny seed, now you are sprouting small roots into the earth, now you are growing out of the ground, now you are growing branches. Only do this if the child needs assistance, otherwise allow them to use their imagination and guide you through their growth process. This serves to bring awareness into the body. When done, ask what kind of tree they pretended to be. When they were growing, how did it feel? Did they think it was fun or funny?

Sound awareness method – Have the child close their eyes and focus on a sound. Begin by having them tell you what type of sound it is. Is it a bell, a whistle, a drum? Once the child is focused in and able to identify the type of sound, begin to move the sound around the room. Ask them to identify where in the room the sound is coming from. Is it coming from the right, the left, the back the front? This begins to bring focus out of the mind and out of the body and heighten sensory perception.

Visual imagery method – Both the adult and the child close their eyes, allow themselves a moment to relax and center into the meditation with two deep breaths. Once centered, the child begins to explore their imagination through stories. For example, if the child goes into their imagination they may see something like this and choose to share it so that the adult can share in the visual imagery: “I see us walking beside a rainbow river and there are animals that are part dog and part frog and they are hopping up and licking us in the face.” There are no restrictions or limitations placed by the adult on what the child can express. The adult allows the child to guide them through the meditation based on the child’s visual imagery in their imagination. This allows the child to share with the adult in a way that they may not otherwise be able to share. It is key that the adult does not judge or assess the guided meditation, only allows the child the ability to show the way.

Breath method – Make a game out of breath. Ask the child to begin by breathing normal. Don’t change anything, just notice how they are breathing. Is it at the top of their lungs, the middle of their lungs, the bottom of their lungs? Wherever it is, have them take a piece of masking tape and mark it across their shirt. Now, the object of this game is to have them focus enough on their breath that they can take new pieces of tape and begin to mark as the breath moves down, giving them a visual mark on their shirt for how their lungs are expanding and their diaphragm is dropping as they bring awareness to the breath (and body). In order to move the tape down their shirt, breath exercises are a must. Here is a great site to for some of these exercises. DO NOT OVEREXERT. Do not push beyond what you can handle. Take it slow and focus. http://cas.umkc.edu/casww/brethexr.htm

Singing method – In this method you combine song and touch. Take any affirmation or mantra – for example we can use the affirmation I am love, I am light – and form a tune that resonates for you and your child. As you sing the tune, touch a different finger to your thumb on each syllable. It isn’t always necessary to sing aloud, though it is often far more fun. A benefit of this method is that it can be used to quickly bring calm to the child in situations where they feel stress or anxiety.

 

>>> Click Here For 20 Meditation Options For Kids <<<