Steve Kramer is President of the Board of Directors at Spirit Fire, a teacher of The Practice of Living Awareness meditation technique, and a host of Spirit Fire Radio. He is a student of the trans-himalayan teachings known as The Ageless Wisdom, as well as a certified teacher and practitioner of Esoteric Healing through the International Network for Energy Healing, and the National Association for Esoteric Healing.
Step #3, Flow – Day 1 Day flows into dusk which flows into night. Night becomes dawn which flows into day. Youth flows into adulthood. Migrating animals follow the flow of available resources. Words flow from an inspired writer’s pen. Flow is fundamental to each and every aspect of life. Life is flow – … More Life is Flow
Step #2, Tip of the Nose – Day 3 We experience the outside world with our senses; we hear it, touch it, see it, taste it, smell it. They help us navigate the terrain and inform our choices. Meditation allows us to give our sensory organs a rest from their usual roles… the eyes … More Follow Your Nose
Step #2, Tip of the Nose – Day 2 The essence of this week’s theme, Tip of the Nose, is captured in the photo above. This child is still, focused, captivated, and fully present. Perhaps the outer environment is crowded and hectic, and needless to say, the plane is moving 600 mph… but no … More Taking It All In
Step #2, Tip of the Nose – Day 1 We meet here again to meditate. Wonderful! Meeting places can be quite specific. Perhaps you have readied yourself for meditation in a specific place; perhaps a designated “peace” zone for an allotted time each week which allows for quiet reflection, your own specific … More The Meeting Place
Step #1, Smile – Day 3 “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile is the source of your joy.” – Thich Nhat Hahn Happiness is a brainwave, and smiles directly affect your brain. It is a physiological fact. It’s revealed in the delightful quote above. The very fact that you can … More Respond with a Smile
Step #1, Smile – Day 2 The shape of a smile is quite common: raised at the edges and curved from side to side. It’s the shape of a bowl or a basin. It’s the shape of the hammock above… it has a similar function as well. A smile holds and supports; it contains … More Delightfully Held
Step #1, Smile – Day 1 “We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.” – Mother Teresa This is true… a smile has a vibrational ripple effect that extends far beyond our perceptive reach. But, we can sense quite a bit of the goodness that it brings by simply … More Smile and the World Smiles Back
Sparks initiate. They bring each new moment to light. Sparks reveal. They bring forward the possibilities that each one of these moments hold: creativity and peace, truth and insight, or goodness and beauty. Meditation could be likened to a spark that leads us through the doorway of “now” and into the field of … More And Begin Again
The latest round of online meditations has completed and we will pause for a bit before beginning again. The full round of meditations is on the blog if you’d like to enjoy a guided meditation during the break. Perhaps you’ll take-up self-led silent sittings for a while… set a timer and go. If … More Meditative Momentum
Smile Meditation – Day 1 Welcome to The Practice of Living Awareness, or welcome back! We are excited to begin a new round of guided meditations… in fact, we’re all smiles! Meditation is a wonderful gift to give yourself. Your mind thanks you, your body thanks you, we all thank you. Right on! … More A Breath and a Smile
Smile Meditation – Day 2 Your smile will fill you with all that the present moment can bring… this is its design. It lifts and curves and catches. We’ll start every meditation with a smile so as to cash-in on this feature. What’s more, your time spent in meditation generates a universal smile in the … More A Smile is a Bowl
Smile Meditation – Day 3 Have you ever woken up in the morning to stressful thoughts about the day ahead which lead to a sour mood which then leads to obstacles great and small that seem to turn your whole day into a wretched mess? We all have. And then… someone graces you with a … More Choose a Smile
Tip of the Nose Meditation – Day 1 We are on the 2nd week of the practice or Step 2. The number 2 is awesome because, well… have a listen. It is RE-vealed in the meditation (that’s a hint). Tip of the Nose is the second step of the Practice of Living Awareness. This spot … More Second Time Around
Tip of the Nose Meditation – Day 2 Two deliberate aspirations of meditation are peace, which could also be referred to as alignment, which leads to happiness; and focus, which could also be called concentration, which leads to clarity. In order to cultivate peace and maintain focus, we’ve got to train the lower mind. … More The Sweet Vantage Point
Tip of the Nose Meditation – Day 3 When we find ourselves caught in a sudden rainstorm, we take cover. Whether it’s an awning, a bridge, a bus shelter, or a newspaper, the space you choose offers refuge from the prospect of getting drenched. It also offers a pause and a new view. Once we’re … More Immerse Yourself
Flow Meditation – Day 1 We begin a new step with a familiar concept – flow. We have all experienced flow in a multitude of ways. Time flows, especially when we are full of enthusiasm. Rivers flow, especially when the seasons have been balanced with sun & rain and heat & cold. Breath flows, … More Flow Forward
Flow Meditation – Day 2 Triplicities abound. If you are old enough to remember Schoolhouse Rock, you know that 3 is a magic number… or so the ditty goes: Somewhere in the ancient mystic trinity You get three as a magic number. The past and the present and the future, Faith and hope … More Intention, Relation, Momentum
Flow Meditation – Day 3 Patience is being at peace with the flow of life. Wisdom is striving to live in harmony with the flow of life – as it is – in any given moment. One aspect of that wisdom is that we are all in this together, creating the world around us, breath … More Peace In the Process
Soften, Open, Receive Meditation – Day 1 Our human form masters receptivity from the moment of conception. It is consistently receptive to the flow of life force inside the womb. It is nurtured throughout infancy as well: hunger is fed, thirst is quenched, cold is met with a blanket, cries are met with affection … More Softening the Body, Softening the Self
Soften, Open, Receive Meditation – Day 2 Every aspect of you is designed to receive. As a conscious being, this is innate. You are also designed to move along with the expansive nature of the universe. As each new moment unfolds, you are presented with the opportunity to receive it, process it, and decide if … More Universal Abundance
Soften, Open, Receive Meditation – Day 3 We complete this particular step of the practice with this meditation and something to ponder for yourself… can I receive and remain fully present, and then linger there? In other words, can you create the space for an experience, allow it into your awareness and then stay … More Namaste
Soften, Open, Release Meditation – Day 1 Paying attention to the breath inevitably leads us to the lungs, those masters of receiving and releasing. Notice that the bronchi pictured above look like branches? Tree branches? Well, your lungs have a lot in common with the other masters of receiving and releasing – trees. Have … More Loveliness and Your Lungs
Soften, Open, Release Meditation – Day 2 Second only to our consistent release of the breath, is our consistent release of sound in the form of words… talking, talking, and more talking. We are creative beings so our tendency to make conversation is strong. Words are thoughts clothed in speech. We use our words … More Golden Silence
Soften, Open, Release Meditation – Day 3 We live in a material word. We hold things. In the summertime, we hold sunglasses & beach towels. In autumn we hold caramel apples. In the wintertime, we hold snowballs. In the springtime, we hold wildflower bouquets. And then the sun goes down, our sunglasses come off … More Release and Let Go
Heart-Mind Meditation – Day 1 When we center our awareness in the heart, we are accessing the space within ourselves where we find our true presence; where we often put our hand when we refer to “I” or “me” in earnest. As we breathe and gently focus upon the heart, we begin to vibrationally … More Heart-Mind Awareness
Heart-Mind Meditation – Day 2 In the mid-nineteenth century, scientists realized the Earth is a closed system, which means that the only thing that can be transferred with its surroundings is energy. It receives lots of energy from the sun, but its exchange of matter is near zero. That means that the elements in our environment … More Circulating Goodness
Heart Mind Meditation – Day 3 Heart/Mind combines the unifying qualities of unconditional love with the expansive qualities of inner-wisdom. Love and wisdom are foundational aspects of consciousness and both are put to right use in the Loving Kindness Meditation. The words to this guided meditation are pictured above. Each stanza is read three … More Loving Kindness Meditation
Interlude Meditation – Day 1 As we begin a new week of meditations, we begin to experience the efficacy of the steps we’ve worked with thus far and we begin to recognize that, in fact, we are meditating. Fullness of any kind often leads to a pause, an interlude, which is the name of … More The Sweet Lull
Interlude Meditation – Day 2 It’s the sweetest space, the space between. The space between Friday and Monday. The space between doing this and doing that. The space between what was and what will be. The space between thoughts. The space between break-ups, between breakfast and lunch, between Act 1 and Act 2, between hugs, … More The Space Between
Interlude Meditation – Day 3 Joy arises from a stillness of sorts, deep within the center of our being. We can locate this center by moving our awareness to the space of the heart. Heart-focus connects us to our livingness. Stillness resides there, as well. A stillness made possible by immovable truth and wisdom; … More Stillness. Movement. Joy.
Asana Meditation – Day 1 As we move into the second half of this round of the Practice of Living Awareness, we’ll spend some time each week considering the ways that the second set of seven steps is a spiraling upward or a conscious extension of the first set of seven steps. For instance, … More The Body
Asana Meditation – Day 2 What are the various parts that have come together to make the whole of you? Certainly these are not limited to your physical apparatus. As we include all of the cooperative components in our awareness, we support the fullness of our being. Proper physical asana allows the body to be … More Cooperative Components
Asana Meditation – Day 3 In early 1960, four young men walked into Woolworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina, took a seat at the counter, and asked to be served lunch. They were denied because they were black. Their refusal to leave without service began a civil rights sit-in movement which quickly spread to college … More Taking Your Seat
Mind Meditation- Day 1 Judgement and criticism have been described as great human heresies. Why? Because they are divisive at their core. They inevitably lead to separateness. Negative thoughts lead to negative emotions which have a negative impact on our physiology, relationships, outlook, and our lives in general. Ponder the last time someone cut you … More What’s On Your Mind?
Mind Meditation- Day 2 The Eightfold Path was consistently presented by the Buddha as a guide to end suffering. The eight parts are divided into three groupings: ethical conduct (right speech, right action, and right livelihood), mental discipline (right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration), and wisdom (right thought and right understanding). If we take … More Samadhi
Mind Meditation- Day 3 Awareness is omnipresent; it just is. Our mind operates within the field of awareness and wisdom precipitates from it. As we create stability in the mind through non-judgmental attention (mindfulness + concentration), we create a doorway into the vast field of awareness. This doorway can easily become obstructed or even slammed … More Vastitude
Luminous Perception Meditation – Day 1 As we go-with-the-flow of our experience of breathing, we feel lighter. After all, aspiration means to rise up and it is derived from the Latin, spirare, to breathe. As we inhale, there is a subtle sensation of being lifted up. We can find a certain lightness at … More Allowing Luminosity
Luminous Perception Meditation – Day 2 “In the infinity of life where I am, all is perfect, whole, and complete.” Now that is a luminous perception… and this polar bear seems to be in a position to take it all in! The perception aspect of ‘luminous perception’ is as much about receiving as it … More The Luminous Mind
Luminous Perception Meditation – Day 3 Energy follows thought; this is a fact. Scans of a brain that is processing thoughts of a dramatic event show that its response is the same as if the dramatic event where real; that is, if it were happening in the physical world. Perceived stress is every bit … More Universal Beingness
Ground of Being Meditation – Day 1 Your thoughts arise from your brain, yet your mind exists beyond it. Emotions are the result of your neurobiology and its relationship with a wide variety of organs, glands, and hormones. Your physical body manifests as the result of… well, mostly pure magic. All of these … More Of the Earth
Ground of Being Meditation – Day 2 “Clear and sweet is my soul, and clear and sweet is all that is not my soul.” – from Song of Myself, by Walt Whitman Nature provides the perfect soundtrack for this meditation on Ground of Being. Clear and sweet. Crickets being crickets. Happy meditating. Meditation Podcast: Ground … More Singing the Self
Ground of Being Meditation – Day 3 The heart is a centerpiece between our spiritual self and our human self. Within our energy architecture, the heart charka occupies the middle-ground between the crown chakra and the root chakra. Chakras cascade the light of our spiritual beingness, one down to the next from the crown … More Earth Centered
Central Channel Meditation – Day 1 The Central Channel is an important feature of the symbol of the caduceus. It is the rod encircled by serpents and topped with a winged headpiece. This symbol has quite a bit to report on our energy architecture, which we’ll take into meditation this week. The caduceus goes … More Caduceus & the Central Channel
Central Channel Meditation – Day 2 Above is another representation of the dynamic energy architecture of the human being. There are many. This one illustrates the chakra system and the network of energies that allows you to experience the world around you and express your uniqueness. The central channel is pictured in yellow and … More In Charge of Your Experience
Central Channel Meditation – Day 3 The Crown Chakra, the Heart Chakra, and the Root Chakra: these three energy centers, when aligned, support our becoming… becoming connected, becoming grounded, becoming essential. Happy meditating. Meditation Podcast: Central Channel – Day 3
Toroidal Flow Meditation – Day 1 The torus is a fundamental energetic mechanism. Its circuitous motion creates a toroidal flow, where energy comes in through the top, circumnavigates in a spherical shape on the inside, comes out through the other end, and moves around the outside to return again to the top. We have … More Toroidal Flow
