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I've been busy..... busy writing about love and attention for my next book.
It's a great topic, one I'd like you to consider with these questions....Where does your attention come from? What is the source of your attention? What if your attention, your non-judgmental, gentle attention is truly love? How do you feel when someone pays attention (without judgement) to you? Conversely, how do you feel when you are ignored?
What if you began to think of your attention as a currency, a gift, that you can offer? I encourage you to see it that way, and if it makes a difference in how you focus your attention and what you choose to pay attention. How does this change the way you relate? Any insights? please do let me know!
I'm involved with some powerful meditation and mindfulness programs this spring and summer, and we're expanding our Meditation Teacher Academy into Europe! I invite you to visit my website to see the schedule. You'll also find lots of resources to support you in your meditation practice there, too.
Let's meditate together soon! Sarah
Director, McLean Meditation Institute Sedona, Arizona
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Loving Kindness Meditation with Sarah McLean
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| | From the Meditations with Sarah McLean playlist on YouTube |
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Ask Sarah
I don't even know whether I'm meditating properly. Is there something I should feel? I know of a lot of people who receive guidance and directions through visions while meditating. I would like to attain this in order to gain direction in life, but the starting point: knowing how to start properly and progress
from there is something I would love some help with! -
When you approach meditation without expectations and with ease, welcoming whatever experiences arise, then you are doing it correctly. It's important to avoid trying too hard and avoid controlling your experience.
You may have preconceived notions of what is supposed to be going on during meditation - how you should feel or what you should experience. Many of us have seen pictures of the monks in robes or yogis sitting cross-legged and they look like they're totally at peace. Some of us have heard stories about the wild experiences some meditators have and the visions they receive. I can say that we can never really know what other people are experiencing in meditation. What we should concern ourselves with is our own experience.
 During meditation, you'll have all kinds of experiences -- some you'll like better than others, and some you'll want to repeat in your next meditation. Rather than judging and waiting for something to happen while you are meditating, it's ideal to have receptive, non-judgmental, open attention.
Meditation is natural, it's like sleep. And having expectations and waiting and watching for them to be fulfilled can really interfere with the natural settling down of the nervous system. Instead of expecting something to happen or wanting your meditation to go a certain way, allow your body and mind to naturally eliminate stress and let the natural nourishing effect to unfold.
First-timers come and sit with me for 15-20 minutes and then report that they felt great and that meditation was easy. I attribute this to "beginner's mind," an open mind, a mind free from expectations, labels, and judgments. It's important to treat each meditation as innocently as the first time you learned.
Trust that the process works. It's been proven effective. You'll know you are doing it right when you notice the changes in your life. You'll find you're happier, more relaxed, less stressed, more creative, more perceptive, and more appreciative.
When I ask meditators when they experience their insights and aha moments, more often than not they report that their guidance and insights occur when they are not meditating! You see, meditation is a tool to purify your nervous system. It releases stress, thereby increasing your sensitivity. You will be more alert to your inner wisdom and guidance. Remember meditation only works if you do it!
Read about the 5 Essentials to a Successful Practice here
New to meditation or looking for tips to enhance your meditation practice? Send your questions to Sarah@McLeanMeditation.com. Put "Ask Sarah" in the subject line. I'll answer your email privately and perhaps feature it in an upcoming issue.
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Upcoming Events with Sarah McLean
March 21, April 18, May 2, May 23 & July 25
Learn to Meditate: Take the Simple, Easy, Every Day Meditation classes offered at the McLean Meditation Institute in Sedona, AZ
Learn to meditate and practice mindfulness sing a variety of techniques in a half-day class with Sarah McLean. Learn how you can easily meditate and enjoy the myriad of proven meditation benefits. $225 per person. Special rates for seniors and students. Bring a friend and each save 10%. C
an't make it to Sedona? Find an MMI certified meditation teacher near you!
May 28-31
Join Deepak Chopra, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sarah McLean & Joan Borysenko for a weekend retreat for women seeking to create their best lives. Want to know more, and get the best price? Call Gabrielle Forleo, your Chopra Center program consultant at 760-494-1639 and tell her Sarah sent you!
June 19-21
A weekend meditation retreat is the perfect way to explore the power that silent and guided meditations can give to your life. During this relaxing weekend at this majestic resort, you'll be expertly guided into meditations with Sarah McLean and Chopra Vedic Master Suzi von Mesenkampff. Tap into your intuition
with Avianna Castro... and enjoy a complimentary spa treatment! Call 928-204-0067 or in Europe, call (021) 4770904. Hurry! Early registration discount expires March 31. Click here to find out more.
July 25-August 1
Become a certified meditation teacher. Learn to teach various meditation and mindfulness techniques in a vigorous 200-hour program which includes a self-paced distance learning foundationcourse, followed by an intimate 8-day Teacher Training Intensive. The Intensive is offered in a retreat venue in the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona. Additional dates and locations are now scheudled. Find out more about how you can learn to teach peace. Call (928)204-0067. Program information available here.
July 12-18
Dreams Come True Retreat with Sarah McLean at the Mii amo Spa at Enchantment Resort in Sedona, AZ
Sarah McLean facilitates this intimate retreat to help you to discover your true essence and the peace accessible to you in any moment. Fall in love with yourself and your inner landscape, discover how to live with gratitude and confidence, and see yourself through loving eyes. Call 888-749-2137 or 928-203-8500 or email: info@miiamo.com to make your reservations.
Visit www.McLeanMeditation.com for more events!
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Sow the Seeds of Your Desires
Look outside at a tree. Consider this: every bit of intelligence needed to create another tree like it can be found in the seed that this tree produces. All the information for when and how to grow, thrive, and mature and all of this potential and intelligence can be found in the seed of this tree.
All that is needed for the seed to germinate and grow is the nourishment from the elements, such as rain and sunshine, earth, air, and space.
Using this metaphor, you can consider that each of your desires is like a seed, and your attention to the desire is the nourishment. You don't need to know how, or when the object of your desire will be grow, you simply plant the seed of your desire in the field of pure awareness, and let go of the details, and count on nature's intelligence to create the right circumstances for it to grow. All you need is your attention.
Shine your light of your awareness (energy) on the seeds of your desire (information).
Desires are not random or accidental. It's said you are born with a certain set of desires. They are that which can lead you to your destiny, your purpose in life. Desires are not always simply personal, nor do they exist only for your own personal benefit. Rather, your desires can exist for the good of all. They are a part of the orchestration of the intelligent field of awareness which flows through every thing. Desires are how this field expresses itself and creates reality. The field lives through you, as you.
I'm reminded of a passage in the Upanishads, a sacred text from ancient India: You are what your deep driving desire is. As your desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny.
Desire itself is the doorway between the unmanifest and the manifest. It's okay to want what you truly, deeply want. However, don't worry if you don't know what you want. YOu can practice self-inquiry. You can ask yourself, and eventually, the answers and realizations will meet your question.
There's a great self-inquiry practice you can do anytime, anywhere. I prefer to do it before I go into my meditation. It's best to do this practice with a beginner's mind.
When you put your attention on your intention before you meditate, you sow seeds for your desire to manifest. Here's how:- Sit comfortably. Keep your eyes closed. Let your breath be soft and normal.
- Relax your body and bring your attention to your heart center, focus your breath on your heart.
- If you already know what your heart desires, put your attention on those desires and simply acknowledge them during this time.
- Be sure to let go of any clinging or attachment to how and when your desire will manifest.
- Let go of any aversions, too, meaning what you don't want.
- If you don't know what you want, you can silently ask yourself, "What is my heart's desire? What do I long for?"
- Then, be still.
- If the answer meets the question in meditation, then focus your attention to what you want for a few minutes before going into meditation.
- Don't try to answer the question by figuring out what you want or by making something up.
- You may or may not hear, see, or feel an answer right away.
- Don't worry. The desires will make themselves known. They'll arise in their own time now that you have given yourself permission to want something.
- After being in the self-inquiry or attending to your desire for a few minutes, you can shift into your favorite meditation.
- During your meditation, keep your attention on the practice, not on your desires.
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In it you'll find the 5 Essentials to a successful meditation practice, along with step-by-step instruction for over 20 meditation and mindfulness practices, including an eating meditation, various walking meditations, and seated silent meditations.
You'll also discover the many transformational effects of meditation which include becoming more self-aware, becoming more joyous, being less judgmental, treating yourself and others with more compassion, feeling more connected to your true self, expressing yourself more honestly,appreciating your life, and establishing a nourishing lifestyle. Order your copy!
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