“Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.” ~ Vincent Van Gogh
Here are some beautiful words from a beautiful book…
Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom
By John O’Donohue
In the warmth of love, the soul can be itself. All the possibilities of your human destiny are asleep in your soul. You are here to realize and honor these possibilities. When love comes into your life, unrecognized dimensions of your destiny awaken and blossom and grow. Possibility is the secret heart of time. This quiet and secret world of the eternal is the soul. Love is the nature of the soul. When we love and allow ourselves to be loved, we begin more and more to inhabit the kingdom of the eternal. Fear changes into courage, emptiness becomes plenitude, and distance becomes intimacy. Love is our deepest nature and consciously or unconsciously, each of us searches for love. We do not need to go out to find love; rather, we need to be still and let love discover us.
Open your heart and let the LOVE in! Peace. – davidji
“If you want to be loved, be lovable.” ~ Ovid
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Love, love, love. John Lennon said it best, “all you need is love.”
Whether it’s receiving love from others, offering love unconditionally, or accepting it from yourself, love is an essential component to our wellbeing. The more open to love you are, the healthier you will be both physically and emotionally. The less open you are, the more you are at risk to experience feelings of diminishing self-worth, depression, anger, frustration, disjointed connectivity, and resentment towards others.
“Live the life you love, love the life you live.” – Bob Marley
Most of us built our understanding of love from our parents and caregivers during our first decade of life; then we layered that foundation with ideas of love from our popular culture. We came to believe that love is something that sweeps us off our feet. But the pop-culture ideal of love consists of unrealistic images created for entertainment, which is one reason so many of us are set up to feel “left out” of what seems to be “normal” delusions, and thus leading us towards greater isolation and depression. It’s part of our national vulnerability, like eating junk food, constantly stimulated by images of instant gratification. We think it is love when it’s simply attraction, distraction, or attachment.
One consequence is that when we encounter real love we don’t recognize it because we were looking for the “dream” that fits the cultural ideal. Some of us get demanding and controlling, wanting someone else to give us what we think our ideal of romance should be, without realizing our ideal is misplaced. We can spend our whole life looking outward for love; or we can look inside and allow our internal barriers that separate us from love to gently fall way.
Before we can truly love anyone, we must first love ourselves, and be open to receiving the exchange of love. This necessary part of our individual expansion can be easily overlooked when we are feeling “less-than” and living in a fear-based or constricted mode.
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“It is unconditional compassion for ourselves that leads naturally to unconditional compassion for others. If we are willing to stand fully in our own shoes and never give up on ourselves, then we will be able to put ourselves in the shoes of others and never give up on them. True compassion does not come from wanting to help out those less fortunate than ourselves but from realizing our kinship with all beings.”
~Pema Chodron
When we experience the illusion of love diminishing in our lives, we must move inward instead of outward. By asking our selves if the four needs of the heart; attention, affection, appreciation, and acceptance, are present in our lives, it promotes the opportunity for us to step in and replenish these essential needs for ourselves. We have the ability to self-love, self-attend, self-appreciate, and self-accept. Why not take matters of the heart into our own hands? Why do we instead look towards others to fulfill these very important needs? Because we are constantly being stimulated by the external forces of object referral states. This is when we need to reel it all back in, reel it WITHIN.
The Buddhist term bodhicitta (pronounced Bodhi – rhymes with Jody- chitta) means completely open heart and mind. “Citta” is translated as heart or mind; “bodhi” means awake. According to Pema Chödrön, love and compassion are like the weak spots in the walls of ego. If we connect with even one moment of the good heart of bodhicitta and cherish it, our ability to open will gradually expand.
The cultivation of the noble heart and mind of bodhicitta is a very personal journey. The very life we have is our working basis; the very life we have is our journey to enlightenment. When we tune into any of our feelings, become aware any of our feelings, they have the capacity to soften us and to dissolve the barriers we put up between our selves and others.
So let’s soften to one-ness!! Peace. -davidji
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GREAT hug video!
Meditate & explore the 5 REALMS on the Mayan Riviera November 16-23! Click here for more info!
We’ve spent a wild week awakening our inner healer through the power of nurturing touch. And if you’re feeling some elevation in your life from the hugs, caresses, massages, and heart touches…then keep it going because you are chemically raising your immune system, nourishing your cells, and releasing lots of feel-good chemicals and hormones with each moment of physical connection.
If you’ve been delaying this process because you got busy or distracted, do not despair!!! It’s never too late to start. And one of the easiest methods of starting the process with the least amount of effort is to breathe yourself back to the present moment.
We can do it right now. Simply take a long slow deep breath in through your nostrils and as you do, feel the spot that the inhale touches your body. It may land in your sinus, your throat, your heart, your chest, your solar plexus, or your belly. Now breathe in a few more times with your eyes closed and really FEEL your breath touch the spot and as you continue, you will start to feel the connection and you will drift away from everything else that may be going on.
This form of mindful meditation can go for as long or short as you’d like. The ideal scenario is for you to lay down and totally surrender to the process but you can access this beautiful space while waiting in a line, sitting on a train or bus, even while riding in a taxi!
So let’s spend the weekend connecting to ourselves and those in our lives through the healing power of touch. And remember to keep breathing!!!
Only Breath
Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu
Buddhist, sufi, or zen. Not any religion
or cultural system.
I am not from the East
or the West, not out of the ocean or up
from the ground, not natural or ethereal, not
composed of elements at all.
I do not exist, I am not an entity in this world or in the next,
did not descend from Adam and Eve or any origin story.
My place is placeless,
a trace of the traceless.
Neither body or soul.
I belong to the beloved, have seen the two worlds as one and that one call to and know,
first, last, outer, inner, only that breath breathing human being.
From Essential Rumi
by Coleman Barks
I’ll see you in the gap…breathing there with me. Peace. -davidji
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Hello spiritual warriors and welcome to the healing power of touch!
Our skin is the largest organ in our body. In fact, the average human is covered in 18 square feet of flesh!! And because of that, the nourishing power of touch can have a profound healing impact on every cell that rests only millimeters beneath the surface. Whether you receive a caress, a hug, or a massage, modern science is now revealing long-lasting positive benefits to our physical AND emotional wellbeing.
I begin each morning with a gentle Ayurvedic hand, foot, and ear massage known as a self-ahbyanga (pronounced ahhhb-yanga) using my favorite relaxing Vata oil from Shankara. A daily self-ahby increases blood flow and has the herbs in the oil penetrate my skin- moving into the tiny capillaries in my hands, fleet, and ears – the aroma moves into my nostrils and lungs settling me down as it floats into my nervous system.
Watch the video below on how to do a daily self-ahbyanga You may need to refresh the page
On a physical basis, this daily routine will plump your skin, drain toxins from your cells making room for more nutrients, revitalize your complexion, and bring luster to your hair. On an emotional level, the healing power of touch has been scientifically proven to relieve anxiety and help ease depression by reducing the stress hormone cortisol, increasing the feel-good chemicals serotonin and dopamine, and lowering your blood pressure.
And in recent years, we’ve seen meditation, yoga, and healing touch practiced to boost the immune system by increasing white blood cells while they help manage nausea, anxiety, and pain in those diagnosed with cancer.
Do you get headaches? Massage can help reduce the frequency and intensity of migraines. Feel bloated or moody from PMS or menopause? Healing touch can pattern interrupt the puffiness, swelling and associated emotional symptoms of irritation, annoyance, and anger.
And it is this break in our non-stop flow of thoughts and daily behaviors that awaken us to this sacred, precious, present moment. So whether you kick-off a daily massage practice, cuddle with your pet, or snuggle with your lover – make the commitment to celebrate the healing power of touch!
Peace. – davidji
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Join me for a weekend of meditation, yoga, and beachfront healing!
Happy Mother’s Day – hug your mama today!!!!!!!!!! Send her healing vibrations and know that right now…someone is also sending you healing LOVE as well.
“Music is the mediator between the life of the senses and the life of the spirit.”
~ Beethoven
The mind is capable of all things which includes returning us to the memory of wholeness before all this conditioning began…before all these expectations in life that we placed upon our self to try to navigate these wild and turbulent energetic flows of our existence.
But we are not our mind; we are not our body. We have a mind, and we have a body but we are neither. Those are simply the layers of our human existence. At our core – beneath this flesh casing and deeper still beneath the fluctuations of our mind…we are pure, infinite, perfect, whole, and abundant. When you close your eyes and step away from your ego and your physical body, you become aware that the witness rests within, deep, deep, deep within. Beneath all these layers of your physical self, your ego, your intellect; beneath all the possibilities that exist in the physical and the subtle realm, the eternal rests in the space between our thoughts, between our words, and between our physical actions and behaviors.
And so –in each moment- we have an opportunity to expand that space, connect more deeply to it, and move into the next moment with grace, ease, and the expressions of our most divine Self.
The power of sound is a magnificent tool that can help us connect to the pure, present moment when we are feeling weakened, stressful, anxious, less than, constricted, sad, depressed, or needing a little pick-up. When we can step into the space that rests deep within, we can transcend any limiting belief, any emotional challenge, and any physical constriction.
So this weekend, let’s use SOUND to help us heal…to help us connect to the wholeness that is the hallmark of our most genuine Self. When we listen to sounds of nature, the gentle movement of our breath, or the soothing vibrations of music, we surrender to the healing flow of life and innocently let the universe speak to us through our body and our mind. The silent messages that the whispers of the universe send to us are magnificent ones to follow: trust more, believe more, love more, give up control more, blame less, finger point less, embrace your impact, and celebrate your glorious ripple.
As you go about your day in conversations where you are waiting for the other person to stop talking so you can speak – LISTEN. In instances where you wish you had more patience, or more grace, or more compassion, or more acceptance – LISTEN. In moments where your body is jittery and your mind is swirling – LISTEN.
And it is in our willingness to listen rather than speak, that our heart and mind opens up just a little bit. And in this sweet expansion, we connect with our most divine self – that part of us that is pure, healed, whole, infinite and abundant. Join me in this meditation where we will access our inner healer through the power of SOUND. I’ll see you in the gap! Peace. -davidji
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“One dog barks at something and a hundred bark at his sound” ~ Chinese Proverb
Welcome to a celebration of sound
Every moment we are in activity and whether we like it or not, our sweet ears will capture all the vibrations flowing around us from miles away to within inches of our body.
Sound vibrations can drift us away from our thoughts – they can move us to tears and ecstasy; from comfort to discomfort; from sleep to awake and back to sleep again as they relax and calm our mind and then our body.
We can even feel the vibrations of sound through our skin and deep into our soul.
Sound therapy is an age-old healing practice that connects at the deepest level of our physiology firing the neurons in our brain to the tempo it’s played at. Since there are an infinite number of vibrations that exist, there are infinite amount of variables that come into play through sound healing but the powerful ability to bring wholeness and oneness into the moment is universal.
From the primordial sounds of nature, to bells, drums, chimes, gongs, and bowls, to the voice of a sentient being whether human or animal, sound vibrations subtly bypass our intellectual stimulus in the brain and move directly to our subconscious the doorway to the soul.
Music has been scientifically shown to have influences on our immune system, blood pressure, heart and respiratory rates, and even our perception of pain. I detail this in depth in Secrets of Meditation (link to book page)
Most cultures consciously an unconsciously value the importance of music and sound as a healing power. From the ancient cultures of India, Asia, Africa, and Europe and especially among the Native, Aboriginal and American Indians, the practice of using sound to heal, balance, and awaken transformation is deeply woven into their rituals and practices of daily life.
Sound healers such as the group SacredFire can use their gifts to effect changes in our physiology, our communication, our cognitive abilities, our social interactions, and the core emotional aspects of our being. Sound healing can elevate our learning patterns, help to promote emotional, mental, social and physical growth, and can even awaken our own internal healing abilities. We will explore these healing practices this November in Tulum, Mexico.
Sound healing captivates our attention and stimulates nourishing chemicals and hormones. It transcends time – moving us beyond the physical realm. It connects us to memories, awakens emotions, and aligns us with experiences of the past reminding us of our wholeness.
There’s only so much info that we can absorb before our mind shuts down but at the level of the soul, we crave healing sound and healing silence.
So meditate…dance…and surrender to sound! Because in each moment…we are healing ourselves at the level of the Soul. In the meantime, I’ll see you in the gap. Peace. -davidji
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It’s my birthday – cinco de mayo – which is also the celebration of Mexican heritage and pride that commemorates the cause of freedom, democracy, and moksha (emotional liberation)!!! And I am so grateful for having you in my life. Thank you for being such a vital part of my spiritual voyage.
To keep the celebration going, I’m travelling to Mexico’s Mayan Riviera this November 16-23 for a week of transformation & deep connection – and my birthday wish is that you will join me on this magical journey.
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The theme of the week will be an Exploration of The Five Realms of our Life, which I’ve been teaching around the world for the past several months.
I’ve located a magnificent, spiritual oasis for us to commune on the sweet beaches of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula – Maya Tulum.
Each day we will rise with the sun and meditate on the tranquil shore as waves lap at our feet; we’ll learn and practice different types of yoga and meditation; in an intimate setting, we’ll explore the 5 realms of our life – the physical, emotional, material, relationship, and spiritual aspects of our existence. We will dine on delicious, fresh, local cuisine; have free time to hike, swim, lounge, laugh, dance and explore ancient ruins; and, return home newly invigorated and prepared to take the NEW YOU into the NEW YEAR. How does that sound?
You can come alone or with a companion and:
• Go deeper into the cultivation of your spiritual practice
• Swim in the warm, gentle ocean waters of Tulum
• Connect with like-minded people from around the world
• Release what no longer serves you in a healing fire ceremony
• Heal emotional wounds and grievances
• Discover your dream life and how to manifest it
This will be a small group to ensure an intimate, gentle, and powerful experience. To find out more and reserve your space at the 5-Realm Week of Transformation, click here. I look forward to spending this magical week with you in Tulum. And in the meantime…ARRIBA!! party on! And I’ll see you in the gap!
To quote the bard Rod Stewart: “Every picture tells a story?”
And our mind is filled with millions of pictures – sweet interpretations of every moment we have breathed life. Some of those pictures exist only in our head; others are snapshots we’ve taken with our mind’s eye. But our universal vision is the guide that leads us from one moment to the next.
When we can wipe the canvas clean, and start again, the result is infinite possibilities…pure potentiality…the ability to co-create the next moment with a word, a thought, and action that perhaps never existed before.
So much of what sparks us to take action comes from the realm of conditioning and it doesn’t leave us much room to break the chains of habit – especially when they are non-nourishing behaviors. But when we can connect to the stillness and silence that rests within, the universe gifts us a sliver of time/space to step into the unknown, the uncertain, the fresh, the new…the magnificent.
Please enjoy this visual meditation to help you wipe the slate clean and begin anew. You need do nothing but gaze and allow your mind to be bathed in stillness. When you step into the next moment, you will be pleasantly surprised at how amazing your next breath feels, your next thought resonates, your next word vibrates, and your next action gracefully unfolds.
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Here are some inspiring words by Luscious Jackson to awaken your inner vision.
“Naked Eye”
wearing nothing is divine
naked is a state of mind
i take things off to clear my head
to say the things i haven’t said
i live inside the elements
the earth and sky are my best friends
water is the evidence
that washes me from end to end
with my naked eye
i saw all the falling rain
coming down on me
with my naked eye
i saw all if i said it all
i could see
it’s not a choice i tried to make
it’s not a thought i couldn’t take
something told me it was time
to give you yours and leave me mine
my vision started to be clear
i watched the sunlight coming near
i knew the day i knew the night
i knew i could regain my sight
and it feels alright
last night i came into your home
to break some ice and throw some stones
i asked if we could be alone
i had some troubles of my own
knew i had to say goodbye
to all the old things held inside
if i let the moment fly
i knew they’d all be magnified
and it feels alright
came around after dark
you are nothing but a lark
know i snuck in like a narc
i knew i had to leave my mark
wanted to be satisfied
i tried to be dignified
wearing nothing is divine
naked is a state of mind
and it feels alright
it feels alright
Enjoy your weekend! Peace – davidji
Join me on the Mayan Riviera this coming November!
Click image to learn more and reserve your space today!
Healing through our eyes
Outward vision…inward awareness
We build our lives based on the verbal and non-verbal experiences ingathered in each moment. Through behaviors, responses, and patterns of repetition, we craft our perception of reality. As the Buddha said, “All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we create the world.”
When we repeat and reinforce positive images, chemicals are released that heal and soothe us allowing our body AND our mind to heal in the moment. And there is this sweet halo effect that keeps the positive energy flowing through every cell in our bodymind.
Here’s how it works. Let’s say you are watching a feel good movie – the couple makes up and lives happily-ever-after; or Babe – the pig makes your heart sing; or beautiful images of nature take your breath away. In those moments, your emotions generate feelings that turn into physical sensations. In these instances you receive positive suggestions through your eyes that produce emotions of happiness, lightness, expansion, and fulfillment, which turn into the physical act of smiling and the nourishing sensations of comfort.
Visual meditation uses positive images to produce positive emotions that manifest into positive physical sensations in our body. When we practice visual meditations, our sex hormone, our growth hormone (DHEA), and oxytocin (our feel good chemical) surge into our body – and your stress hormones (adrenalin, cortisol, glucagon) get suppressed. Even your immune system is boosted!!
The reverse happens when you repeat and reinforce negative images. Duh. Watch a horror movie or a painful image, and you suppress all those nurturing hormones and instead – chemicals are released that induce fear and anxiety – pushing us further away from healing. When we have the emotion of fear – EVEN FROM A MOVIE, A TV SHOW, OR A PHOTO…the flow of adrenaline trickles begins and we kick into the emotional version of fight-flight stress response. Yes! Even from a picture.
Where attention goes, energy flows and wherever your thoughts go, there is a body chemical reaction. Your hypothalamus – the emotional command center of your brain – turns your emotions into physical responses controlling your stress responses, appetite, sleep patterns, blood sugar levels, body temperature, food and water intake, immune system, adrenal and pituitary glands, heart, lung, digestive and circulatory systems.
The two sides of our brain respond differently to the world around us: the left side of our brain deals with life logically and with reason. The right side of our brain deals with life in a creative and heart-based way totally oblivious to logic, math, or science.
The right side of the brain automatically steers you to your goal. It totally accepts what you want to accomplish without giving an opinion and acts upon it without judgement. That is why visualization targets the right, creative side of the brain and not the left, logical side.
Sight Exercise
Each day ask yourself questions and then question your thoughts and feelings. Become aware of yourself and of all that you see around you.
Here are some examples of questions to ask yourself:
How often are you aware of your sense of sight?
Are any feelings triggered?
Are there memories associated with these sights?
How often do you experience positive sights?
How often do you experience negative sights?
How often do you catch sight of yourself?
What do you look like, and what do you see when you see yourself?
What do you see when you close your eyes?
Experiment with writing down your thoughts and feelings and see how acute your sense of sight develops when placed in your awareness.
Drishti
A picture is worth a thousand words.
On page 67 of Secrets of Meditation, I explore the practice of visual meditations – specifically drishti meditation.
The practice of Drishti is a gazing technique that develops concentration and teaches awareness. With our eyelids half closed, we focus on an object of our attention and gaze outward while bringing awareness inward – essentially, outward vision and inward awareness. You can experiment with objects such as a candle’s flame, night time stargazing, cloud drifting, water, or flowers in your garden.
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This principle is core to the exploration of the five realms. We can apply this outward vision and inward awareness to our development on a physical, emotional, material, relationship, and spiritual realm, For example: the fusion of the inner and the outer can apply to values, business decisions, matters of the heart, and even the union between ourself and others.
Join me in Tulum, Mexico this winter (summer if you live in Oz) for a deep exploration of these five realms and how you can take your life to the next level.
Now, open wide and enjoy with awareness the many wonders that await you! Peace – davidji
Nature flows effortlessly, gracefully, and easily. Whether it’s the wind in a hummingbirds wings, a thundering herd of elephants, or a babbling brook, the world around us consistently expresses the ebb and flow, the light and dark, the rise and fall, and the opening and closing of life. To see ourselves as separate from this universal flow is a separation that we create in our minds.
Connecting to nature with awareness allows us to merge with the cosmic flow, with the essence of life, and with the wholeness of existence. It is this ONEness – where we are purely aligned with the rhythms of the earth and the cycles of nature…where we are most deeply connected with each other. Whether you live on the prairie or in the heartbeat of the city, nature abounds. We are a mere breath away from connecting with this ONEness.
“Our task must be to free ourselves… by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and it’s beauty.”
― Albert Einstein
So take this weekend – wherever you are – to step outside your four walls and open your senses, your mind, and your heart to the flow of life. Get lost, find your spot of wonder, and take it all in. Have a picnic, sit on your city rooftop, take a drive on the open road, or walk amongst the trees. Nature is your forever friend of comfort and company.
Enjoy your weekend in nature! Peace-davidji
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Explore the 5 REALMS with davidji in Tulum, Mexico this November 16 – 23rd!
Email info@davidji.com for more information
Maya Tulum, Mexico
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