Spirituality What are Chakras?
February 18, 2018 Sandy
You are pure energy. There is energy all around you but there is also energy flowing inside of you. This invisible energy is called Chi or Prana. This vital life force keeps us vibrant, healthy, and alive. In Meditation, Yoga, and Ayurveda we connect with our Chakras. The Sanskrit word Chakra translates as wheel. Just imagine a swirling wheel of energy in each part of your body. That is where matter and consciousness meet. There are seven main Chakras, the centers in our bodies in which energy flows through. If you open those  seven Chakras then you are in alignment with the divine. The Chakras start from the base of the spine all the way through the crown of your head. These swirling wheels of energy correspond to massive nerve centers in the body. Each of the seven main Chakras contains bundles of nerves and major organs as well as our psychological, emotional, and spiritual states of being. Since everything is moving, it’s essential that our seven main Chakras stay open, aligned, and fluid. If there is a blockage, energy cannot flow, and this often leads to illnesses. Therefore I recommend that you clear your Chakras as often as possible. I like to clear my Chakras during meditation. I visualize each Chakra and breath consciously into each chakra at a time, starting from the spine all the way up to the head. So it’s important to understand each Chakra and therefore I want to give you all a quick summary of each of the main Chakras: The Seven Main Chakras First Chakra / Root Chakra: The Root Chakra is the chakra of stability, security, and our basic needs, like food or financial stability. It encompasses the first three vertebrae, the bladder, and the colon. When this chakra is open, we feel safe and fearless. Second Chakra / Sacral Chakra: The Sacral Chakra is our creativity and sexual center. It is located above the pubic bone, below the navel, and is responsible for our creative expression, our overall well-being, and our abundance. Third Chakra / Solar Plexus Chakra: The Solar Plexus Chakra means lustrous gem and it’s the area from the navel to the breastbone. The third Chakra is our source of personal power. When opening the third Chakra you feel more confident and in control of your life.   Fourth Chakra / Heart Chakra:  Located at the heart center, the fourth Chakra, is at the middle of the seven and unites the lower Chakras of matter and the upper Chakras of spirit. The fourth Chakra is also spiritual but serves as a bridge between our body, mind, emotions, and spirit. The heart Chakra is our source of love, joy, and inner peace. Fifth Chakra / Throat Chakra: The Throat Chakra is the fifth Chakra, located in the area of the throat. This is our source of verbal expression and the ability to speak our highest truth. The fifth Chakra includes the neck, thyroid, and parathyroid glands, jaw, mouth, and tongue. Sixth Chakra / The Third Eye: The sixth Chakra is located in between the eyebrows, and therefore also called the Brow Chakra. It is also referred to as the “third eye” Chakra. The third eye is our center of intuition. We all have a sense of intuition but we may not listen to it, or heed its warnings. Focus on opening the sixth Chakra will help you hone this ability. The Third Eye Chakra is also connected to imagination, wisdom, and the abiliy to make decisions. Seventh Chakra / Crown Chakra: The Crown Chakra or the “thousand petal lotus” Chakra is located at the crown of the head. This is the Chakra of enlightenment and spiritual connection to our higher selves, others, and ultimately, to the divine.
Sending you Love & Light, Sandy  
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Spirituality The 30 Day Meditation Challenge
January 28, 2017 Sandy
I am so excited to finally share with you my experience with meditation. Now, don’t forget this is supposed to be fun. So please don’t stress out if it feels like a big challenge in the beginning. I have to admit that I also struggled once I started meditating on a regular basis. But after the 30 Days were over, I realized that now this habit is a huge part of my life and therefore I can’t live without meditating at least once a day. If you have never meditated before in your life you probably worry about those 5 things:
  1. Where do I meditate?
  2. For how long do I meditate? 
  3. How do I sit down while meditating?
  4. How do I meditate?
  5. Do I need special equipment for meditation?
You really don’t have to worry about those 5 things because I tell you the best way of getting started with meditation. I want you to make meditation a habit in your day to day life. Therefore I will show you a variety of meditation techniques that helped me to become more relaxed, more centered, and more balanced in my life. For me personally meditation was the key to become the divine person I now am. So let’s get started on the challenge:
  1. Where do I meditate? It really does not matter where exactly you meditate. You can meditate anywhere in your home, including the bathroom (which was my favorite room to be when I got challenged to find a quiet place for meditation). You can also meditate outside in nature if you want to. Just find a comfortable place like in your backyard, at the beach, or maybe in a public park. The most important thing is that you don’t get disturbed at all. If you have kids or other family members around just make sure they are not at home or are all asleep. When things really started to get hectic I just locked myself in the bathroom, and told my family members, that I needed some privacy for a little while. 
  2. For how long do I meditate? In the beginning I challenged myself to meditate for at least 3 minutes a day. This does not sound like a very long time, but trust me as a beginner it can feel like hours. You will not believe how long 3 minutes can be, once it is all quiet around you and you are just by yourself with your own breath and your very own thoughts. After two weeks I challenged myself to meditate for 6 minutes a day, and the last ten days I already tried to meditate for 10 minutes a day. Please, don’t get mad at yourself if you can’t make it to 10 minutes. This is really a very long time when it comes to meditation. But once you get used to this habit 10 minutes will be over in no time.
  3. How do I sit down while meditating? You can sit down any way you like. If you want to, you can sit on a chair, or on a pillow or blanket on the floor. If you prefer to lie down, this is also fine. But please make sure you don’t fall to sleep. Most people prefer the lotus position while meditating, but sitting comfortable on your knees is also fine. Just make sure you feel comfortable and you don’t have any pain in your body while sitting down.
  4. How do I meditate? I suggest that you set an alarm clock in order to stick to the time for your meditation session. Once you set the alarm close your eyes and relax. You have to take a deep breath in, hold it in for about 3 seconds, and then exhale slowly. If thoughts start to drift in and out that is OK. Especially the first meditation session should be simple and easy on you. Just allow you to be, and experience this sensation for yourself. If your body starts to twitch a little bit, or if you feel a little itch, that is alright. Just be with your breath and be in the now. To focus on your breath can be also a saver, once you start to drift off with your own thoughts too much. If this happens, just try to comeback in the now and focus on your breath again. Keep telling yourself in the mind: “Breath in, hold your breath for 3 seconds, and exhale slowly.” I personally feel more comfortable breathing in thru my nose and breathing out thru my mouth. But you have to try for yourself what feels best for you personally. Just simply feel what you are feeling. I suggest you relax your shoulders and put your hands on your knees. Your mind is probably dancing around: see those stories, see those thoughts and after come back to your breath. So with each exhale just let your thoughts go and try to come back in the now. But there is no reason to force you to let go of something in particular. Please don’t put any kind of pressure on you. Just trap and hold your mind in a particular place. Feeling your breath travel in and out is the best part of meditation. Knowing that you have the capacity and ability to meditate is amazing. It is easy and simple as that. Towards the end of the meditation session I suggest that you bring the palms of your hands together and rub them, because especially in the beginning your hands will feel very heavy. Rubbing your hands will put heat in them. Then you put the palms of your hands on your eyes and keep breathing slowly in and out. Once the alarm clock is turning on you slowly open your eyes. That is all you have to do.
  5. Do I need special equipment for meditation? I definitely recommend listening to calm and relaxing music while meditating. You can easily find tons of meditation music on YouTube. Just make sure the music is only instrumental. That way you can better focus on your breath. If you are concerned that you are getting distracted by your own thoughts too much, I suggest that you try out so called guided meditations. There are also tons of guided meditations on YouTube. But especially in the beginning I recommend that you only set an alarm clock and just be with yourself for at least 3 minutes. If you prefer you can sit on a chair or lie down on a bed. I personally prefer sitting in the lotus position on a special Zen blanket. But you can use any blanket, a yoga mat or even a special meditation pillow. Choose whatever equipment you feel most comfortable with. To make your meditation session very special I suggest that you turn on a candle or some incense. As always I hope that meditation will help you to bring more Zen into your life.
Love & Light, Sandy
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Spirituality My Way of Zen
April 28, 2016 Sandy
Ever since I went to the United States I became tremendously interested in Buddhism. I searched for books at Barnes & Nobles about Buddhism, because I always thought of Zen as a very peaceful state of mind. I also strongly believe in the concept of reincarnation. During my search on the topic of Zen I stumbled upon Feng Shui, which translates as 'wind and water'. Feng Shui is actually the art of designing your home to promote success in life, health, wealth, and happiness. I got so interested that I started to take classes in Feng Shui at a College back in the days. In 2015 I also started to integrate meditation in my daily life, and since then I don't want to miss out on this habit anymore. Zen, actually means 'deep meditation' and is a form of Buddhism that helps you to reach Nirvana. To be precise, Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty as Chán. It was strongly influenced by Taoism, and developed as a distinguished Chinese style of Buddhism. From China, Chán spread south to Vietnam, northeast to Korea and east to Japan, where it became known as Japanese Zen. Zen emphasizes rigorous meditation-practice, insight into Buddha-nature, and the personal expression of this insight in daily life, especially for the benefit of others. Because of all the benefits that deep meditation brought into my life, I want you all to join me on my journey to spread love, light, and abundance. I truly believe it is necessary that body, mind, and spirit are all taken care of and need to be balanced at all times. Therefore I suggest you all bring more Zen into your life. Love & Light, Sandy
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