Shamaret Meditation Monday 2 September

Welcome. Join me in meditation for one night or on a regular basis. We meet on the first Monday of the month (March to November).

Shamaret meditation brings together eastern and shamanic meditation techniques in a unique way, to support you journeying to your own consciousness and knowing. For further information go to http://www.maretstaron.com/meditation

Monday 2nd September 2019
7.00 pm – 8.20 pm (arrive around 6.50pm if you’d like a cuppa beforehand)
$10 per evening
Summer Hill, Sydney

Email me if you’d like to attend so I can send you location details: maret@maretstaron.com

Change and transformation are not the same thing

Change is often temporary. For example, you listen to an inspirational speaker and come away determined to change, act differently, practice a new skill … however some days or weeks later, you notice you’re back to the same old patterns or habit. Whereas, transformation is ongoing, the old conditioning no longer runs you or your perspective has changed and you no longer view things in the same way. As a teacher once said to me, change is like turning ice to water, you can always change the ice back to water; whereas transformation is like making toffee, you can no longer change the water in the toffee back to water.

The important thing about transformation is that we can no longer close our eyes to those moments when we step out of our own integrity. Transformation increases our connection to our true authentic self. With real transformation, we can no longer pretend to be someone that we’re not.

All we have to do is drop what blocks us being our true authentic self. Simple, but not always easy to do. Those blocks (or patterns or habits) have often kept us safe and helped us survive when young. And our body can get very distressed when we do things differently. In other words, our ego can feel threatened.

So when you are on your path of transformation, remember to talk with your body. He/she can hear you. Sooth your body, explain to him/her what you are doing and why you are doing it - as if you were explaining it to a friend, which is what you want your body to be.

Spiritual Transformation Demystified: 7 Signs You Are Having a Spiritual Awakening

In an article by Beau Norton, he writes about his experiences during spiritual awakening. His 7 signs of a spiritual transformation are:

1. You start becoming highly aware of your negative thoughts and emotional reactions to certain events and circumstances.

2. You lose interest in gossip or drama and what most of the world is focused on and feel pulled towards learning more about yourself.

3. You start to prefer more quiet and peaceful environments and can spend lots of time alone without feeling lonely.

4. Your desire for freedom becomes stronger and following the crowd becomes more and more unbearable

5. You start questioning everything you believe and begin desiring a deeper understanding of religious or spiritual concepts.

6. Negativity and violence (even in movies and TV shows) becomes less enticing and more repulsive.

7. You tend to enter deep depressions which have no apparent “cause” that are followed by periods of unexpected happiness and inner peace.

You can read Beau’s article at https://perfectlyatpeace.com/spiritual-transformation-awakening/

Cycles of spiritual awakening

We don’t experience just one spiritual awakening. We go through cycles of spiritual awakening because our growth and expansion is never ending ie. eternal and infinite. It’s about learning to align our human self with our soul or spirit on all levels - emotional, mental, physical and spiritual.

Everyone has a different pattern (or reaction) that they go through on the path of transformation or spiritual awakening. Notice your pattern – as it makes it easier to ride the cycles of transformation. For me, every time I went through a major inner shift I experienced grief (crying). However, these patterns lessen as you ‘wake up’ and become more conscious of your human experiences. They can even disappear over time or only surface rarely.

Shamaret Meditation Monday 5 August

You’re invited to join me for shamaret meditation this Monday evening.

Monday 5th August, 7.00 - 8.20pm.
Location: Summer Hill ($10 per evening)
You are welcome to attend for one night or on a regular basis.

Shamaret meditation brings together eastern meditation and shamanic meditation techniques and philosophies in a unique way, that supports you in journeying to your own higher consciousness and knowing.

For further information go to http://www.maretstaron.com/meditation

Email me if you’d like to attend so I can send you location details: maret@maretstaron.com

Moving beyond regret

Regret is usually about what we perceived we missed, mistakes we think we made or sadness we feel about something that we failed to do.

There was a time when I felt a lot of regret about the kind of life I could have lived if I’d been true to myself and worried less about the expectations of others or the conventions of society. During that time of regret, I learnt that it was important to give myself permission to grieve or mourn, that I hadn’t always lived by my own truth. It helped me to let go, to find my own truth and live my life more joyfully.

Sounds True have a podcast about regret. Tami Simon interviewed Bronnie Ware, who worked for several years as a caregiver for people who were dying. Bronnie identified 5 themes emerging from her patient’s reflections. She called them ‘the top 5 regrets of the dying’. They were:

• I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me

• I wish I hadn't worked so hard

• I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings

• I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends

• I wish that I had let myself be happier.

You can listen to the podcast HERE.

If you have regrets, allow yourself to mourn (if relevant for you) and then work out how you want to move forward so you can leave those regrets behind… and not still be focused on them at the end of your life.

Shamaret Meditation Monday 1 July

You’re invited to join me for shamaret meditation this coming Monday evening.

Monday 1st July, 7.00 - 8.20pm.
Location: Summer Hill ($10 per evening)

You are welcome to attend for one night or on a regular basis.
For further information go to http://www.maretstaron.com/meditation

Let me know if you wish to attend and I’ll send location details - email me: maret@maretstaron.com

What does it mean to be on your path?

Being on our path usually refers to us being on our spiritual path. Another way of looking at it is – how much of my human life is in alignment with my higher self (or soul)?

Being on our path leads us towards a life of synchronicity, grace and ease. It’s how life is meant to be. And it’s pretty clear when we have ventured off our path (or out of alignment) – we feel fear, unease, anxiety, unhappiness, depression, irritation, doubt, confusion etc. We simply don’t feel good and often we don’t know why. We can look at our life and all our successes and still wonder why we feel like crap.

To be on our path we need to be in alignment on all levels, physically, spiritually, emotionally and mentally. We need to be living from our own truth and choices in all areas of our life – not living by the rules and choices others make for us. However, even when we are on our path, fear can still pop up. And when that happens, we still need to do what we need to do despite the fear. Now that’s true courage. And what helps me is that when I’m doing something new and feel fear or am not sure whether it’s in alignment with my soul path, I say the prayer “If this is the way open the way, if this is not the way close the way”. And you know what, it’s worked every time.

Events

I thought this looked interesting and one of the instructors is my yoga and Feldenkrais teacher Margery Hellman.

Walking to Wellness
Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement: walking yourself to wellness!
Walking is one of the best forms of exercise for both mental and physical well-being

A 6 hour workshop held over two days, Walking to Wellness incorporates the powerful tool that is unique to Feldenkrais called Awareness Through Movement. These movement explorations are gentle yet fun and help you find a deeper connection to your body and mind.

We will be breaking down the movement patterns that are used in walking and exploring ways of moving that encourage you to walk with less strain and pain, walk with more joy, walk mindfully for relaxation and stress reduction, and walk longer and stronger.

Venue: Harold Park Tramsheds, 1 Dalgal Way, Forest Lodge
Dates & Times: Sunday 4th and Sunday 11th August 1pm - 4pm
Contact Details: Margaret Kaye | 0402 116 406 | admin@feldenkrais.net.au | feldenkrais.net.au
Bookings: https://www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=514070&

Shamaret Meditation Monday 3 June

You are very welcome to attend Shamaret Meditation, this coming Monday:

Monday 3rd June, 7.00 - 8.20pm

Location: Summer Hill

Attendance: $10

You are welcome to attend for one night or on a regular basis. 
For further information about Shamaret Meditation, go to http://www.maretstaron.com/meditation

Email me at maret@maretstaron.com if you’d like to attend (for setting up purposes).

Please arrive before 7pm so we can start on time or to have a cuppa.

Feel free to forward this email to anyone you think might be interested in shamanic meditation.

From procrastination … to clarity and action

Lots of people suffer from procrastination, an inability to make a decision or a choice, or putting off until ‘tomorrow’ what you want to do today. Procrastination involves your mind or thoughts, rather than your emotions. The opposite of procrastination is clarity and taking action.

Clarity is about being clear, no confusion. IF you think of a photo, it’s like comparing a fuzzy photo to a very clear image. Think of a time when you have had complete clarity in your life. Notice what that feels like. How did that happen? Can you recreate it, to have more of that in your life?

One way to move beyond procrastination is to become clear about what your choices are and more importantly, the consequences. Many people want to do ‘a’ but want the results of ‘c’. This keeps them stuck, as they keep doing ‘a’ while craving the results of ‘c’. If you want the results of ‘c’, you simply have to do ‘c’ not ‘a’.

So start addressing your procrastination by always looking at 3 choices. Don’t know why 3, but it seems to work much better than simply looking at one or two choices. One of your choices can be ‘doing nothing’. Whenever you feel you are procrastinating, simply think about or write down 3 choices and the consequences. Then choose to do what gives you the consequences you want.

Sound simply, but not always easy. It’s about training yourself to have a new pattern or habit. It’s an effective way of decreasing the procrastination in your life. And if necessary, seek help in resolving the underlying issues causing your procrastination.

Shamaret Meditation Monday 6 May

The next monthly meditation/journeying is on:

Monday 6th May, 7.00 - 8.20pm.
Location: Summer Hill
Attendance cost: $10
You are welcome to attend for one night or on a regular basis.
For further information about what Shamaret Meditation is, go to http://www.maretstaron.com/meditation

Let me know if you wish to attend and I’ll send location details - email me: maret@maretstaron.com

Note - in the future, you’ll be able to ‘register’ online for the meditation evening (I’m currently working on getting this up and running).

What is ‘alignment’?

Many people come to see me wanting ‘alignment'. Each person has a different view of what alignment is - for example, some think it’s about chakras being aligned and open; other view it as physical alignment within their bodies; others think of it as alignment to their higher self, etc.

I’ve been working on my own inner alignment for many years - and I’ve come to learn that it’s about alignment on all levels, spiritual, mental, emotional and physical. But what could that mean?

First of all, let’s look at the word ‘alignment'. Dictionaries define it as an adjustment of all parts (mechanical and electrical) in relation to each other - or that it’s an arrangement in a line. Some spiritual definitions write about bringing everything into harmony; or that it’s about discovering the essence of your being and deepest values by which you live.

Having considered many definitions, I now define alignment as:

Alignment is an adjustment, or series of adjustments, that bring our mind, body, being and heart into line with our core values, the essence of our soul (or higher self) and the universe.

How can we achieve this alignment? Well, it takes time and it takes practice. Practice allowing/opening to our essence (or resonance of our soul); practice easing our mind and realigning it so that it’s in alignment with our consciousness; practice healing our emotions and ‘mastering’ them; and finally what I’m currently working on for myself, physical alignment – so that all the physical things around me are in alignment with my essence, that the way I live my life is in alignment with my essence, and that all that I do is in alignment with my essence. This is still a work in progress for me.

This journey of alignment essentially involves us in a shift from co-dependency to interdependence, from living our conditioning to living our core values; and expressing our true essence and authenticity in all that we do, be and have.

One thing you can do is set a clear intention to be in alignment on all levels. Another thing you can do is vision your future self in optimal alignment – let yourself truly feel what that feels like – and practice feeling that every day.

Why bother focusing on alignment? In my experience, it’s been one of the most important things in my life. I’ve found with alignment, life began to move with synchronicity, ease and flow – initially, the synchronicity and ease always surprised me. Now I know that it’s how life is meant to be – filled with ease, joy, clarity and authenticity.

I wish you well on your own journey of alignment.

Sound Life Dome

I recently had a sublime 'sound bath' at the Sound Life Dome at the Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park, Sydney. If you haven’t come across it before, check it out at https://asoundlife.org/dome/?gclid=CjwKCAjwhbHlBRAMEiwAoDA34987Vfui7ypw3a8II8i9Iktof1pCc638qCa8UkkyuZn8rcCy3FYafBoCiSEQAvD_BwE