Mediation is for Mystics ONLY!

Or so I thought. When I first started meditating twenty years ago, it was arduous work. Lots of sitting, chanting, breathing and time wasting. As an adult with ADHD, there were days when I fought my thoughts like dragons; mental daggers to keep them from swooping in and destroying my reverie. Worse was the time commitment; every morning at 5am for the only hour to myself and often locked in the bathroom. Yes, the bathroom. My kids and husband knew not to bother me there.

But when my first symptoms of what I now know was RA started to fight with me ten years ago, I had to give it up. Pain and fatigue prevented me from long sessions of deep meditation on a daily basis. Fortunately, I had learned a new form of connection with God from a seminar taught by Matthew, Dennis and Sheila Linn in San Angelo, Texas of all places, and it didn't require long hours absent from my family. All that is required is love and imagination.

Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down. No need to cross legs or sit up straight. Ask yourself this question: Who loves you most in the world? A parent, sibling, spouse, lover or friend? Living or Dead? Focus on this person and remember a time when you felt his/her love for you. Imagine this love as energy and it flows through you like lifeblood. Now remind yourself of this simple truth:

God  loves you even more. (Insert your name for the Divine: Yahweh, Allah, Jesus, Shiva, Nirvana -- you get the idea.)

Then feel the love as God wants you to experience it. Let God's love flood your brain, lungs, heart, mind, spirit, limbs, arms, legs, fingers and toes.  God's love courses through you as light and everywhere it touches, cells are transformed, energy is renewed, broken places are mended, and healing flames your heart. Bathe in this love. Luxuriate in it. Breathe it in as if it were oxygen.  If part of you resists then let the love speak for you to these dark places -- "Honey, s/he deserves this," and watch the love wash over those doubting, limiting thoughts.

Your time is up when you decide even though you may want to stay forever. You will feel grounded, centered and able to give and receive love from the day ahead.

You can also read this post on my Facebook Page - www.facebook.com/aprilDcoldsmith.