Sapphire Light Blog – Page 2 – Art and Alignment

Wild Rose

Bright pink against a grey wall, the wild rose is resilient, offering its delicate beauty in unexpected places and bringing a message of hope.

I was travelling to an appointment and as the train approached the city station, it came to a halt. We passengers shifted in our seats, sighed and then resigned ourselves to being neither here nor there but in a kind of limbo. I looked out of the window at the grubby sidings with piles of broken stone, rusting metal and rubbish.

Rays of Peace ~ Global Meditation

RAYS of PEACE is a project connecting individuals all over the globe to a weekly meditation focus. Distance is no object here! Wherever we are in the world, we can join together and focus a collective energy of peace through meditation.

Rays of Peace provides a new focus each week, inviting all to meditate, ideally at the quarters of the clock ~ 3, 6, 9 or 12 – am or pm, in our own local time. In this way, we can provide a wave of positive energy, assisting those in need around the world.

Planting Seeds

As I write this in early April, we are emerging from Winter and all around, the energies are shifting. The sun brings its welcome warmth and it is as if everything is waking up from a deep sleep.
The air is full of promise and in the exuberance of Spring, we have a sense of new beginnings.

Making Time

For many, the idea of taking time to meditate can seem like wishful thinking. When it seems as though there are not enough hours in the day, meditation can be a nice idea, which we’ll definitely try sometime – one day when we’re not so busy!

The Gift

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.” Albert Einstein

When we meditate, we bring ourselves a gift. Life brings up many questions and all of the answers to the questions lie within ourselves. First of all, we need to be willing to stop and to turn within. Then we can learn to look, listen, and trust. The word trust comes from the Old Norse ‘traust’, which held the meaning of ‘strong’.

Intuition

Meditation is beneficial to our well-being in lots of ways, physically, emotionally and mentally. So there are plenty of good reasons to make it a part of our everyday life.

A major benefit of regular meditation is an increasingly strong connection to our intuition – or ‘inner tutor’. Our intuitive self is open to spiritual insights and communications, which are quiet, not loud. To be able to hear the whisperings, we need to calm the noise and chatter of our thoughts.

Turning Up

Meditation can involve both wandering and wondering! The mind wanders and when we find it difficult to quieten our thoughts, we may decide that we are no good at meditation and so give up. It helps to remember that the mind will always judge and criticize our attempts to be still.

The mind is outraged at being sidelined and this is part of its defense. We can choose to understand and accept that.

Smoke and Gold

At the time of writing, it is winter in the North of England and lately there’s been snow, hail, sleet, frosty mornings and icy winds. I’m glad to be able to light a coal fire sometimes and sit and watch the flames.

There’s a whole process of clearing ashes, chopping kindling wood and fetching coal and this led me to consider a few things about tending the hearth. Recently the chimney-sweep came and I was reminded of my father, who used to be a fireman. He had often attended chimney fires and warned me of the dangers.

Creative Change

Every one of us emits an electromagnetic field. These fields of energy and the information contained in them change according to what we are thinking and how we are feeling.

Our emotions affect not only our own nervous system but others around us in profound ways. Each person’s individual energy affects both the collective energy and the environment.

Spinning a Yarn

In Art and Alignment, I tell of different ways that art, writing and creative activities helped in my recovery from a life-threatening illness. In the section called ‘The Object In Hand’, I describe how I was at home convalescing after a major operation and beginning to regain some energy. I found that sitting in a chair, sewing bits of textiles together, which wasn’t something I would normally have done, was helping me to feel better.