Category: Meditation

Hexagrams and me

On By Ka Malana - Fiestaestrellas.comIn I Ching, Meditation6 Comments
Hexagram 4

Once upon a time when I was an undergraduate student at the University of Pittsburgh, I took a class called “Great Minds of China.” This was year 2000, fourteen or so years ago. At that time I was already “using” tarot cards, mostly as an exercise to discover what was it “in me” that was speaking (was it just my intuition? I wasn’t getting auditory experiences upon waking until later). I also needed some help that no one really was effective at giving me. So, I did it myself. There was something deeper pulling me into awareness, seeking me. I had to know it – directly.

During 2000, I discovered the Yi Jing or I Ching from my Taiwanese teacher, who also taught me about Confucius, Chuang Tzu, among others who I probably forget, or remember, but don’t care to go into elaborating on right now. I’m sure these ancient sages wouldn’t be so hard on me for forgetting, as I am on myself. It is ironic, I know. But, maybe this just helps me boil down to the essentials: what is remembered.The Tao is effortless, after all.

I immediately began learning the hexagrams in 2000, and had the Bagua (or 8 trigrams, how I referred to them then, memorized). I kept most of this as a secret study. Just about everyone who knew me, though, knew about the astrology (accept for my family). It was simply easier that way, for me, to delve into things that didn’t seem very “scientific” to the outside, judgmental eye. Plus, this was scientific study for me! I wasn’t convinced about anything! I wasn’t deterred, either. I prefer direct experience.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago when I was still using Yi Jing for divination but mostly for study. Around the time I discovered it, I was taking a course about basic programming with Java. So, I was psyched about the binary code that is yin and yang.

Later, a couple of years ago, I tuned my mom into it, and she then found and told me about some interesting books that she started discovering to help her with casting and interpretation. However, that made me lose interest a little bit because we were on separate paths with it, despite the fact that it was somewhat fun to share something important to me. She’s (my mom) always been an interesting person, I might add. I’m so appreciative of that fact.

My guide was taking me on the journey that I was meant to travel, so I followed my guide & not my mom. I’m sure she’ll find it in her heart to forgive me. I’m sure she’s also benefited by my explorations as well. I pretty sure that she told me that she has, indeed, benefited.

Meanwhile, I had turned my attention elsewhere, but I never would have forgotten what I had begun.

It was only recently that I was reading a text on Qi Gong that I received recently from my father-in-law about someone that he respects, that I *finally* realized I haven’t cast a hexagram for quite some time.

Okay, so I realized it before he gave me the book. I added the part about the book to dramatize the story- and to show you how many connections and moving parts there are in this huge web of connection. Leading me to…

I’m meant to be exactly where I am.  (One day I’ll write about my Kung Fu and Qi Gong experiences in 2009) If I don’t, it’s probably because I’m writing about something I find to be more in alignment with my present.

Back to the main story: I hadn’t cast a hexagram using the coins that I brought back with me from China during my visit there in 2001.

Now I am learning about Chinese Medicine. Pretty cool.

As many things are coming full circle for me, I feel as though I’ve just begun. And, I have!  The hexagrams I cast today are “Youthful Folly” with all changing lines to “Revolution.” I cast them for my readers. I asked the Yi Ching what it wanted me to say to you.  I’m also leaving the meaning up to you. You decide.

Hexagram 4 (the beginning) changes to Hexagram 49 (fullfilment of the beginning)

 

 

Guided Meditation, Vipassana Tradition

On By Ka Malana - Fiestaestrellas.comIn Meditation, Vipassana16 Comments

 

Hello friends, new friends & visitors!

Last week I led the meditation for our Clinical Counseling class. I received some good feedback.

Today, I thought about adapting the script and posting it here. From what I understand, this is from the Vipassana tradition.

Here’s a good description of Vipassana

“To focus impartial attention on the present moment is the hallmark of vipassana. There is awareness and acceptance of whatever is occurring in the immediate now, without judging or adding to it. We see things as they actually are, free of subjective associations. Systematic vipassana practice eventually eliminates the cause of mental and physical pain, purifies the mind, and results in a stable happiness that isn’t affected by moods or outward circumstances.

Vipassana meditation comes from the tradition of Theravada Buddhism. (The Theravada school is based on a group of texts called the “Pali canon,” which is widely regarded as the earliest surviving record of the Buddhist teachings). But you don’t have to be a Buddhist to practice vipassana or benefit from developing mindfulness. It is not a religion. Vipassana is a simple, gentle technique suitable for men and women of any age, race or creed.”

I often practice Vipassana, also Zen buddhism, as I understand it to have no goal – not even the goal of “seeing.” It depends on what type of meditation practice I have dedicated myself to practicing for whatever time period. I give myself some freedom with it. In fact, I find different meditation styles suit different needs of mine.

The following meditation below is one I adapted to share with the rest of our class. Maybe you’d like to read it aloud to yourself. I’m thinking of recording it for myself and playing it back if the opportunity arises for me to do so. If you’d like to look into meditation scripts for yourself, as this is sort of a “guided-meditation” style, check out this link.

Sit quietly, and Breath freely.

Close your eyes and turn your attention to your breathing.

Become aware of each exhalation and inhalation.

Notice how the air feels as it enters your nostrils, fills your lungs, and leaves again.

As you inhale, follow your breath all the way out to the point where it turns and you begin to exhale.

As you exhale, follow the breath all the way out to the point where ti turns and you begin to inhale again.

Be mindful of this rhythm: inhale, turn, exhale, turn, until you feel centered and at peace.

Expand your awareness to include the sounds your breath makes.

Listen to the sounds around you. Allow them all to be Equally important.

Expand your awareness further to include touch. Feel your clothing against your skin?

The texture of fabric beneath your hands, or the weight of your hair on your head.

Focus on the weight of your body in your chair.

Be aware of every sensation. Let each one be equal in importance with every other and with all the sounds you hear.

Open your awareness to include the other senses one at a time. Smell everything. Taste everything.

As you softly open your eyes, keep them still and gentle, with a soft focus.

Be aware of everything in your field of vision equally. Allow yourself to be will all of your senses fully. Smell, Taste, Touch, Sounds

If any one thing draws your attention, consciously let go of it and gently stretch out your consciousness once more to embrace everything within your perception.

Now, begin to focus on those things right in front of you more sharply, and allow yourself to move and stretch.

_/1\_

Namaste

My new yoga mat has words

On By Ka Malana - Fiestaestrellas.comIn Astrology, Meditation, Yoga - Whatever I need type15 Comments

New Yoga Mat

This weekend I got myself a new yoga mat.

Who’d have thought that wrapped inside my new yoga mat would be Lao Tsu?

It reads, “The One Who Knows Others is Learned; the One who Knows One-

Self is Wise.”

This is the first time that I’ve ever seen text on a yoga mat. *And* I will be bringing it to class! When I started to see the words as I unfurled it for the first time, I had my knee-jerk reaction, “oh great, what’s this gonna say that I’m stuck with?!” *sigh of relief*  I completely agree with you, Lao Tsu! Lao Tsu, by the way, is anonymous. No one knows who Lao Tsu was FOR SURE.

Time to prepare for Leo – the lion ~ Where all the roaring and leadership is within. Trust me. No one ever pays attention to me!  Oh, wait, isn’t that such Leo thing to say?

Express yourself to the fullest extent that is possible to yourself. You’ll find that some of your best feedback is right there coming from your soft-belly center. The Unity of your experiences is best left to the voice who speaks when no one is watching.

What good can you do when nobody notices? What fulfillment do you get from just simply living your life in a happy, child-like way?

photo (5)

To have peace of mind is to empty

On By Ka Malana - Fiestaestrellas.comIn Creative Writing, Creatrix, Meditation4 Comments

To have peace of mind is to empty

Mind completely

Like overturning your purse

Stuff might plop out,

Not all neatly one by one, in single file.

That’s not what this work is about.

It is about digging deep into

the purpose.

What’s behind the cobwebs’ shadow?

From where did your first thought emerge?

There’s no voice in the empty mind,

It is a silent angel of energy neatly settled

In your womb.

From here everything learns to whisper.

Ka Malana© 6.12.14

HeartMath and Coherence: the Science of Syncing up

On By Ka Malana - Fiestaestrellas.comIn Meditation5 Comments

I’ve been using a special tool sometimes when I meditate. It’s a device that measures your Heart Rate Variability. It’s a biofeedback tool. I just think that it’s a very useful tool. Since I’ve been using it, I’ve managed to increase my coherence, achieving up to 89% high coherence during my meditation. You will understand the measurement algorithm better once you read about it and experience it, but it is not necessary to understand it in order to benefit. Heart Math

Here is the gist of it. The brain and the heart are in two-way communication via the nervous system. Studies show that emotions determine heart rhythms. The electromagnetic field generated by the heart changes based on the rhythm pattern of the heart. Regulating stress and transforming it is based on modifying your behavior by modifying your perceptions. What heart rate variability measures is the differences from beat-to-beat in the heart rate. Research has demonstrated that a calmer person exhibits more variability in the HRV wave form, and that certain pathologies correlate with low HRV. Higher coherence indicates synchronization within the autonomic nervous system, since heart rate and rhythm are mostly under the control of the autonomic nervous system. Research also indicates that a person can train and improve there coherence through a biofeedback tool, developed by HeartMath, a tool that measures HRV.

“A number of studies have shown that HRV is an important indicator of both physiological resiliency and behavioral flexibility, reflecting an individual’s capacity to adapt effectively to stress and environmental demands. It has become apparent that while a large degree of instability is detrimental to efficient physiological functioning, too little variation can also be pathological. An optimal level of variability within an organism’s key regulatory systems is critical to the inherent flexibility and adaptability that epitomize healthy function.

The normal variability in heart rate is due to the synergistic action of the two branches of the ANS, which act in concert with mechanical, hormonal and other physiological mechanisms to maintain cardiovascular system parameters in their optimal ranges and to permit appropriate reactions to changing external or internal conditions. Many people are surprised to learn that the heart actually sends more information to the brain than the brain sends to the heart via the ANS, and that the rhythmic patterns produced by the heart directly affect the brain’s ability to process information, including decision-making, problem-solving and creativity.” (Source, n.d.)

Also, if you are interested in this device, or learning about, I encourage you to review the following book:

Childre, D. & Rozman, D. (2005). Transforming Stress: The HeartMath solution for relieving worry, fatigure, and tension.Oakland, CA:New Harbinger Publication, Inc.