Category Archives: Spiritual Practices

When I began my journey of recovery from alcoholism, I became interested in studying all types of spiritual principles. I am a Christian and I believe that there is one God. And I also believe there are many roads to one God. The God I know isn’t judgmental or punishing. Life is tough enough without having God against you, too.

I know God is always available to anyone–regardless of the level of perceived separation on our part. We were created to be joined to the God who gave free choice. Love is like a boomerang–send it out and it will return to you.

The first meditation technique I learned was learning to center myself. When you begin to meditation, find a quiet spot and practice breathing. With your eyes closed, think each breathe you take in. Say or think one thing for the intake breath like “Heal me” and something else on the breathe you expel like “Heal others”. With this practice you learn to breath deeper and fuller. Many believe that this proper breathing helps our bodies in countless benefits.

Deep breathing methods are generally similar. From one of the books in the Changemaker Library, Stress Control for Peace of Mind, deep breathing is included to bring on the relaxation response. Practicing deep breathing helps to make this response automatic when stress occurs. The author, Linda Wasmer Andrews, suggests the following steps:

1. Sit in a comfortable position.
2. Close your eyes. Place one hand on your belly, just below the navel.
3. Take a long, deep breath in. Try to make your hand rise slightly as you inhale.
4. Let the breath out slowly. Try to feel your hand fall slightly as you exhale.
5. Keep taking slow, deep, even breaths for a few minutes. Focus on the steady rising and falling of your hand.

She also adds, “If you have trouble getting the hang of belly breathing at the outset, try lying down and placing a book (instead of your hand) on your belly. Then concentrate on making the book move up and down with your breathing. Many people find that the visual cue helps at first. Once you’ve mastered deep breathing, you’ll be able to do it anytime, anywhere, in any position.”

Amazon link for Stress Control for Peace of Mind.

More links about breathing:

1.  From Stepcase Lifehack: “5 Ways to Immediately Regain Control of Your Day”

2.  From pickthebrain: “How to Breathe–Literally”

3.  From One Crafty Mother: “Fortress”

Photo credit.

Today’s post fits into the “changing you” and “changing others” categories. We tend to focus too much of the negative aspect of our personality without remembering that every negative aspect of us has an equal positive side. Today’s post was written by Marelisa Fabrega. Her blog is Abundance Blog.

In her post written for DumbLittleMan In this post, she teaches us how to be effective mediators by following these suggestions:

1. Sit down to talk about the problem with a willingness to resolve it. Help everyone to agree to find a compromise for the conflict. If one or both parties appears to be only interested in restating the fixed positions, agree to meet at another time.
2. Establish ground rules. Meditation helps people change the way they interact with others. Some of these may be:
3. Each side will take turns speaking. In addition, each person gets a predetermined period of time to speak, during which they cannot be interrupted by the other. If the other hears something that they want to respond to and it’s not their turn to speak, they should write it down and wait until it’s their turn to say it.
4. Only one person can get angry at a time.
5. Focus on one issue at a time.
6. Establish a statute of limitations on old grievances. That is, don’t bring up events that occurred two years ago.
7. Refrain from using phrases such as “You always . . .”, or “You never . . .”
8. Try not to blame the other person, speak for the other person, or speculate about the motives of the other.
9. Refrain from name-calling.
10. Each side should strive to take responsibility for their contribution to the conflict.
11. Treat each other with respect

She also offers additional suggestions:

• Separate the people from the problem.
• Develop the skill of active listening.
• Practice empathy.
• Learn to express yourself.

Conclusion–Don’t look for a single answer. Both sides need to feel heard and understood. Be sure to come up with a plan for change.

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