“The quieter you become, the more you can hear.” – Ram Das

Welcome to a new week spiritual warriors!!! And welcome to a new exploration of the deepest parts of ourselves – our unconditioned Self, our best version, our most divine expression. Many of us begin our journey on the spiritual path as we deepen our understanding of life’s twists & turns. Some of us have received a diagnosis or experienced a loss and we are looking for answers; or perhaps you are finding yourself at a crossroads and you’re not sure which way to go; maybe you woke up one morning and came to the realization that there is something more to life than what you thought; or maybe you’ve just acknowledged that it’s time to take your life to the next level.

Connecting with the teachings that bring us relief or closer to answers can be a powerful tool in this process. There are ancient bodies of knowledge and rivers of timeless wisdom that have guided people for thousands of years. But this is a new dawn…a new day. Our current level of intelligence is growing at light speed – every kid under 18 has a tablet or smart phone; children in middle school are developing aps; our understanding of the scientific benefits of meditation & yoga are accelerating and being accepted by the mainstream; holistic thought & ideas seem to be more commonplace in business, politics, & the media. What was once considered kooky & woo woo…is being accepted as trendy.

It’s time to take stock of our lives. It’s time to ask deeper questions. And it’s time to dig deep, pull back the bow, take a long slow deep breath in…and shift our lives to the next level. This starts with awareness – awareness of self, awareness of others, awareness of our surroundings, and awareness of the inter-relatedness between all three. The foundation for this deeper awareness begins with a daily practice of stillness & silence – whether that’s for 16 seconds…or for 30 minutes – or anywhere in between.

The wisest minds on the planet are now trumpeting the value of a break in the action – a pattern-interrupt that can allow us to spend a few minutes each day in quietude, so we can come from a place of stillness before we speak or act.

We know it increases creativity & intuition; boosts our health & immune system; and supports more conscious choice-making. We know it nourishes our bodies, allows us to sleep better, and be less reactive.

And we know it makes us more loving to those close to us; more compassionate to strangers; and more nurturing to ourselves. It makes us better people!! How do we not cultivate this when the world hangs in the balance? As we cultivate our daily practice, we start to own our impact, and begin to recognize the power of our ripple. And that flow takes on a life of its own. And yes…it all starts with those first 16 seconds of stillness & silence that we give ourselves by breathing in to the count of four as we witness our breath; holding it in to the count of four as we watch the breath in our belly; gently releasing as we observe the breath move up our chest into our throat and out through our nostrils; and then finally, witnessing the breath for four seconds as it slowly dissipates into the ether.

We can all use that as the seed of our meditation practice, and add one minute each week until we are at the fifteen minute mark. That’s less than four months; it’s a slow and incremental process; and you won’t overwhelm yourself. (We all have time for one more minute each week)

So join me in the gap every day starting NOW as we connect with tens of thousands around the world who are stepping into the sweet present moment – out of the past – out of the future by simply following their breath.
peace. –davidji

“If you really want to learn something, learn to teach it.” -davidji

What you think, you become.

What you feel, you attract.

What you imagine, you create.

– Buddha

Namaste dear ones – We keep moving through life. Powering, limping, soaring, staggering, crawling, leaping, sliding, dancing, clawing, stumbling, running, pushing, blasting, racing, sitting…and BEing. Wow! It can get pretty intense – especially with the relentless swirl of thoughts, responsibilities, appointments, duties, jobs, commitments, and promises.

To add more to that plate can be maddening. There needs to be another way to move through this existence with greater grace & greater ease. And I believe I’ve found one. As the Buddha said, “All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we create the world.” As meditators we learn to control and direct our thoughts. And a powerful set of tools that I have cultivated can help in this process.

Our meditation is the pattern interrupt – the space BETWEEN our thoughts – that allows us to BE present and flow stillness & silence into the world. If we can embed a thought flow into us either before or right after we meditate, we will start to move in the true direction of our dreams – or as Martha Beck calls it, “our north star.”

Here’s how it works. Right before or right after I meditate – (I change it up depending how I’m feeling each day), I plant a series of thoughts called sutras into my consciousness. Sutra is pronounced soo-tra and literally means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the Sanskrit root siv-, meaning to sew. Essentially, I have crafted my own set of personal heart-opening sutras from the myriad translations of the Buddha, Osho, the New Testament, Thich Nhất Hạnh, Dr. Deepak Chopra, Pema Chodron, & St. Francis of Assisi and merged them with my interpretations of various books of the Upanishads. And I use these sutras, each morning, in a process that is akin to planting intentions like seeds in the fertile soil that rests within. By implementing this pre- or post-meditation ritual over the past few years, I have learned to make more conscious, nourishing choices in my life. I refer to this set of meditation tools as the Five Secrets of the SweetSpot. They provide me with an evolving foundation for reflection, growth, love, and deeper understanding.

Each morning, after I have sat in stillness and silence for about 30 minutes, I drift my awareness to five personal expressions of the universe. For example, this morning it was:

• Patience,
• Acceptance,
• Defenselessness,
• Compassion, and
• Abundance.

As the last moment of my meditation drifts away, I repeat each word like a sutra over and over and over for about a minute and then drift to the next. Sometimes I find myself in thought and then I’ll gently drift back to the sutra and begin repeating it again. Sometimes I get lost among the sutras. That’s okay. It’s sort of fun. When it happens, I’ll smile and start again with whichever sutra appears first in my mind.

I have found that repeating these sutras after coming out of stillness and silence is a gentle process that eases my transition from a state of restful awareness into more active awareness. One powerful, tangible result is that these affirmations ripple through my awareness all day long and the practice has helped me to be a more conscious choice maker. I also believe that placing my attention each day on five principles that will help me grow will lead to a better life for me and everyone I touch. Whatever happens, it’s five minutes of connection to principles that I honor as core to a life of happiness.

Each of these secrets also provides the foundation for a healthy and evolutionary meditation practice. And at the deepest level, they connect me to more universal aspects of myself so that I can more fully experience life outside of meditation.

In their most essential way, the Five Secrets of the SweetSpot express the qualities I would like more of in my life. Of course the qualities I desire shift and evolve as I transform – but some aspects are timeless & universal.

I plant those seeds, let them go, and then move into my day. Try it today before or right after your meditation.
And don’t forget to join me on Thursday at 11a PST/2p EST on hayhouseradio.com, where we will take it deeper and I will share more Secrets of the SweetSpot. Keep it real & keep meditating.

I’ll see you in the gap! Peace. –d

“You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.” – Pema Chodron

Happy Weekend Spiritual Warriors!
Peace. -davidji

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“If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.”
– Pema Chodron

Hello spiritual warriors. This week we continue the exploration of healing our heart. We have all been through heartbreak, heartache, and the dissolution of a dream. We need to grieve our losses. But we don’t need to live in the pain or define ourselves by those losses.

The bodhicitta rests inside – our noble, awakened heart rests at the core of our being. All of our heart healing comes from the seed of the bodhicitta. And here are seven tender steps to start that healing process:

1. Meditate. Spend time in stillness & silence. Allow a break in your pain. Give yourself the gift of communing with your most divine self.
2. Breathe. Throughout the day –as you feel your chest constrict or your belly ache – stop, take a long slow deep breath in, and sigh as you exhale. Release your pain. Release your sadness.
3. Make peace with your pain. The most common response we have to our heart pain is leap beyond it with a rebound relationship, emotional eating, or building walls to protect us. All three are short-term solutions that will not nourish you for more than a few minutes. Accept the pain, grieve, cry, sit with your sadness and allow it to teach you.
4. Shift your attention from your own situation to some one else. Reach out to someone you know who is suffering. Flow your compassion out into the world – and see how much easier it is receive self-compassion when you have been rooting for others’ suffering to end.
5. Pump up the volume. Turn up your favorite music. Dance. Rock it out. Music is a power healer and your favorite tunes will always have a comforting effect and drift you out of your malaise.
6. Keep your awareness on your heart. Don’t allow your pain to define you. It’s okay to visit the land of wounds & hurt; but no one benefits by living there. When you realize that you’ve been sitting in pain for more than a few hours – change up your activities and revisit steps 1-5.
7. Forgive someone who hurt you. Forgive yourself. Remember the Sufi poet Hafiz’s words: when all of your desires are distilled, you will have but two choices: to love more & to be happy.

If you can commit to these seven steps, you will heal in a nourishing way. And slowly – I guarantee it – you will gently move through your pain. If you find yourself struggling right now, join me in June and, together, we’ll take your life to the next level. And of course join me & peaches – the Buddha princess this Thursday at 11a PST/2p EST on Hay House Radio.

In the meantime, let’s stay connected. Feel free to share this email with anyone you know who may be in emotional pain. I’ll see you in the gap! Peace. -davidji

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“Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself.”
-Tony Robbins

Welcome Spiritual Warriors to a week of forgiveness…a topic near & dear to our heart – and yet something that we are challenged with on a daily basis. Sometimes we tell ourselves in a convincing way that holding onto our grievances feels better. This is an illusion. Letting go feels better. I have often quoted the New Testament, “When we forgive, we free ourselves from the ties that bind us to the one who hurt us.”

Forgiving is a liberation! To hold onto something that doesn’t actually serve us – only constricts us and leads us into deeper pain.

Studies show that forgiveness can lower our blood pressure, lessen the flow of stress hormones, strengthen our immune system, and reduce physical and emotional pain. While getting into forgiveness mode may be challenging – especially when your grievance is filled with emotional charge – starting today will gift your life with greater understanding, deeper awareness, a lightness of being, and a way for you to move on.

Let’s take it deeper this Thursday at 11a PST/2p EST on hayhouseradio.com.

There are three directions of forgiveness: Forgiving another person; being forgiven by another; and forgiving ourselves. Here are a few remembrances to help begin your journey of letting go – or at least loosening our grip on our blames, regrets, grievances, and resentments.

Remember: Forgiveness is for you; not for anyone else. Forgiveness does not mean that you have made peace with the person that hurt you, or that you bless their action. We can define forgiveness as the understanding that comes from blaming that which has hurt you a little bit less. When we do this, we take the event & action of the other less personally; and this allows us to change our grievance story.

Remember: Your primary distress is coming from the hurt feelings, sad thoughts and physical upset you are suffering now, not what offended you or hurt you. Forgiveness can act as a balm on those painful emotions.

Remember: Your story of what happened and your relationship with the offender has been played over so many times in your mind, that you have started to define yourself through it. You can change the story, write a new chapter, and shift yourself from where you are to where you want to be.

The process starts with you giving yourself permission to loosen your grip on the hurt. Can you do that? – Just release the emotional charge you have over the incident or event? How about in this moment – breathe in the unconditional love of the divine – and allow the universe to sweetly kiss your soul. Practice this self-love – self-forgiveness process throughout the day, and you’ll start to feel a bit better. The rest will start to unfold automatically. Take your time…it’s okay to visit the land of hurts and wounds once in a while – but no one is served by living there.

In the meantime, keep meditating! I’ll see you in the gap! Peace. -davidji

“The soul loves to meditate, for in contact with the Spirit lies its greatest joy. If, then, you experience mental resistance during meditation, remember that reluctance to meditate comes from the ego; it doesn’t belong to the soul.”
– Paramhansa Yogananda

Happy Weekend Spiritual Warriors!
Peace.-davidji

Even if it’s for one day…today…release the fear, doubt, anxiety, and allow the universe to handle the details. Everything is exactly as it should be and will be delivered unconditionally if you open your heart and TRUST. We’ll take it deeper today on Hay House Radio.
peace.-davidji

Listen to this quick MP3 message on TRUST!

SWEETSPOT ANNOUNCEMENT

Dear Meditator,

Back on 11-11, two years ago, we launched the very first Secrets of Meditation Healing Immersion. The only workshop of its kind dedicated to cultivating your spiritual practice, healing your heart, and communing with the ocean, the sand, and the sweet prana that flows within us.

Since that first collective merging, each of my retreats, workshops & teacher trainings has quickly over-subscribed. It has been a blessing but many of you who have been traveling on this journey with me have found yourself on the waiting list. We just announced the next Masters of Wisdom & Meditation Teacher Training & the May Secrets of Meditation Healing Immersion to the world, and I wanted to share it with you – so that you could register or share this info with your friends and family who might be interested.

Wherever you are in your daily practice and whether your desired outcome is finding clarity in your life, coping with stress & anxiety, emotional healing, slowing the overwhelm, taking your life to the next level, or sharing this timeless wisdom, I’ve designed these experiences to help you awaken your inner healer and begin a powerful transformation. The Healing Immersion begins Thursday May 8; and the Teacher Training begins June 15 on line & culminates with a week together in the SweetSpot September 22-28.

In the meantime, I will be traveling around the world sharing these timeless teachings in person, on line, & thru the airwaves. Remember, you can always access multiple years of my blog, which contains over 100 FREE guided meditations! and you can on-demand the past three years of my HayHouseRadio show once you have joined the wisdom community.

Here are a few upcoming events:

April:

Discover Your Dharma Life-change Immersion – the Meditation Nest

Seduction of Spirit w Deepak Chopra – La Costa, CA

Meditation 101 w Ashley Turner –online

May:

MY birthday – May 5 – wherever you are, celebrate & eat chocolate!

Secrets of Meditation Healing Immersion – the Meditation Nest

For more details, or to connect with me directly, email me at info@davidji.com.

See you in the gap! Peace. –davidji

Welcome Spiritual Warriors to April Fools Day:

“A fool is one who goes on trusting; a fool is one who goes on trusting against all his experience.

You deceive him, and he trusts you; and you deceive him again, and he trusts you; and you deceive him again, and he trusts you.

Then you will say that he is a fool, he does not learn. His trust is tremendous; his trust is so pure that nobody can corrupt it.

Be a fool in the Taoist sense, in the Zen sense. Don’t try to create a wall of knowledge around you. Whatsoever experience comes to you, let it happen, and then go on dropping it. Go on cleaning your mind continuously; go on dying to the past so you remain in the present, herenow, as if just born, just a babe.

In the beginning it is going to be very difficult.

The world will start taking advantage of you…let them. They are poor fellows.

Even if you are cheated and deceived and robbed, let it happen, because that which is really yours cannot be robbed from you, that which is really yours nobody can steal from you.

And each time you don’t allow situations to corrupt you, that opportunity will become an integration inside. Your soul will become more crystallized.” Osho

So no matter how your heart is feeling right now, give yourself permission to keep dying to the past – to let go of what no longer serves you. Make believe that you are going on a long journey and you can only take your heart. You can only take your tenderness. You can only take your vulnerability. You can only take your self-forgiveness and your self-compassion. Don’t worry about anything else. The universe has your back…always.

Start today…right now…trusting that this moment is perfect. It was designed by the divine creator to give you everything you need to grow, to love, to thrive, and to shine.

Be a fool today!! I’ll see you in the gap! peace. -davidji

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