“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