METTA CENTER

Thanksgiving Day usually involves getting together with one's own family. For some people, that is both good news and bad news. If it's bad news to you and you'd like to find a way to be appreciative rather than grumpy while you are with your family, here are some simple tips: Using EFT , you can tap with the setup phrase of: " Even though I don't like my family, I deeply and completely love and accept myself ," and tap on all the points. Don't worry if at first you feel guilty admitting you don't like your family. After tapping, you most likely will see that there are aspects of your family that you DO like after all. Then, you can choose to focus on those aspects to maintain a loving connection with your family while you are together. Even I don't like my family all the time, and after tapping using this setup phrase, I am able to realize and remember that I LOVE my family. Using TAT , get in the TAT Pose and focus on whatever it is tha...

As November rolls to an end, the holiday season is also just around the corner for many people. For some, the festive season can bring added stress as well as painful memories. There are many ways to manage the holiday season so that you can enjoy the season with more ease, grace and peace. Here are some tips: Set your intention as to how you would like to feel during the holiday season. Decide what activities you would enjoy doing. Let go of or delegate activities you don't enjoy. If you find yourself feeling resentful or uptight, use EFT and tap.  If painful memories come up, acknowledge your feelings. Use EFT to help dissolve these painful memories and bring more peace to yourself.  Eat healthily, avoid sugars and alcohol as much as possible. Just because festivities are typically associated with these substances, doesn't mean your body does well with them.   Take time to nurture yourself with quiet moments to journal, walk in nature, and breathe fully and co...

It is winter here in the Bay Area. The temperature has plummeted, the rain has visited, the sunlight is paler, and many of  the trees have dropped their leaves. Mother Earth is making space for a new beginning. Winter inspires gentle stillness within me. In that stillness, I can feel the acknowledgment of what has been and the quiet excitement of what is to come. Winter teaches how we can hold a graceful balance between the old and the new. It teaches how we can honor the process of transformation. Take a moment to be still and go inward. Honor that place, where what has been and what is coming can come together in peace.

The following post was first published as an article in December 2006 Metta Center Newsletter.   As the holiday season approaches, I couldn't help but read all the messages of peace, hope, joy and love everywhere I look. These messages delight me because, whether or not they are consciously noticed at all, they subliminally invite us to explore and experience these wonderful qualities of ourselves. Ask yourself: Do you give yourself the license to feel and accept these high vibration feelings, or do you shrink away from them? This season also brings me to contemplate the topic of faith, particularly faith in oneself. What is “faith” really? Is it a conviction, or is it trust? What does it feel like, to have faith in yourself? How do you know if you have enough of it? And, if you are short of it, where do you get more? To me, having faith in myself means having complete trust that I contain within me all the skills, talents, guidance and wisdom I need to manifest my spirit, m...

On this coming Thursday, in the U.S. we will be celebrating Thanksgiving Holiday. A special day in the year that is set aside to appreciate our blessings. Receiving all the myriads of blessings in our lives with joy and gratitude is a powerful and uplifting spiritual practice that can be easily done on a daily basis. It is easy to be grateful when things are going our way but what about when the events in our life are not to our liking? Accepting our "fate" may feel like defeat and where's the glory in that? Here are some tips to help you to feel good (and grateful) about your life, even when things are not going well: Take the time to find something in your life that is going well . I found that when I pay attention to the beauty, the peace, the harmony, the quietness, the gentleness, the ease, the spaciousness, the safety, and the love that IS around, the ordinary becomes extraordinary. It is so helpful to remember that we are all worthy to receive grace by v...

 "Gratitude is heaven itself." ~ William Blake Offering gratitude is way to open your heart. Gratitude is an outflow of positive feelings and, in return, you receive an inflow of positive feelings. This flow of energy exchange keeps your heart soft and open, ready for more blessings and giving. It improves your mood and attitude about life, and it opens you for more wonders in life. As we approach Thanksgiving Day and the holiday season, I invite you to take some quiet time for reflection. Just remember and appreciate all that you are, all that you have and all that you have done. Notice what that does to your heart chakra. About five years ago, I started my daily ritual of giving thanks when I woke up in the morning and when I go to bed at night. This daily ritual helps me honor and value the everyday blessings in my life. This practice also helps me be aware of the wonders of the world and be in the child's mind, open and receptive. Here's another gratitude p...