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 – 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 the … More Allowing Luminosity
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
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 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?
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
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 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
Each summer we offer the opportunity to bring some silence into your meditative experience… actually, two chances! Join us in June and/or July for Silence: A Living Awareness Retreat. Our silent meditation retreats focus on mindfulness practices as a way of generating a living awareness. Summer offers so much splendor for the senses: local … More Silence: A Living Awareness Retreat
We’re exactly half way through the current round of meditations. Seven weeks behind us and seven weeks ahead. Sounds like a nice time for an interlude. We’ll take a week off from new meditation posts and let it all settle in. This week we’ll let you know what’s been going on at Spirit Fire… … More The Energy of Will
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; the culmination of a life … More Stillness. Movement. Joy.
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, between songs. It’s all so … More The Space Between
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 this week’s step. Interludes are important. … More The Sweet Lull
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 times, silently or aloud. We start … More Loving Kindness Meditation
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
Spirit Fire’s Practice of Living Awareness seeks to highlight the consistently unfolding awareness that is alive in all of us. Alive, yes, but often overlooked and undervalued. Meditation offers us direct access to qualities that are innate to each and every one of us: truth, beauty, kindness, and peace. Practicing meditation, and particularly, developing … More Foundations Meditation Retreat ~ this weekend!
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
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
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
Meditation changes everything! It brings a “living awareness” to your life choices, relationships, career path, and all creative endeavors. Making meditation a part of your day-to-day is incredibly life-affirming, but sometimes we need a little help in creating a lasting practice. Spirit Fire’s Foundations Living Awareness Retreat is the perfect way to build a … More Group Meditation… Yes!
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, 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, 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 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
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
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 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
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
Tip of the Nose Meditation – Day 2 Two deliberate aspirations of meditation are peace, which could also be referred to as alignment and it leads to happiness; and focus, which could also be called concentration and it leads to clarity. In order to cultivate peace and maintain focus, we’ve got to train the … More The Sweet Vantage Point
Tip of the Nose Meditation – Day 1 Step 2… the 2nd week. 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 is a natural place to rest your … More Second Time Around
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
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 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
Hello friends. We have moved into a new year for the next round of Living Awareness meditations. Mid-winter is upon us and it offers wonderful opportunities to settle into meditation and explore our interiors. Although, when is it not a wonderful time for meditation? Each season seems to delight in its offerings: Winter’s stillness; … More A New Year, a New Round Begins on February 4th
From all of us at Spirit Fire, we wish you a happy new year. May your days be filled with peace and inspiration. We pause for a few weeks as we have just completed the current round of meditations within Practice of Living Awareness. The past year saw three full rounds of our online meditation … More Setting Intentions
This is the final meditation of the current round. You’ve arrived! The secret is, you arrive continuously. That’s the beauty of awareness. Each moment holds something new, something you’ve created as a result of your presence. Establishing a ‘living awareness’ in your life serves to make each experience one worth celebrating. And it … More Your Dynamic Living Awareness
These are amazing time we are living in. We are discovering more and more about our outer space and simultaneously we are discovering more and more about our inner space. What are we finding? Both are vast and mysterious.. The more we discover, the more we learn that there is THAT much more to … More You Are Awareness
Heavenly peace. May it be so. Happy holidays. Downloadable Podcast: Living Awareness- Day 1
“Each time a person stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, they send forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, these ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest … More Ripples of Hope
As we generate alignment, we generate an increased capacity to receive and release; to invoke and evoke. We become toroidal. As we generate lightness of being, we send that quality out into the world and it intermingles with other toroidal flows, each communicating and informing. Now add the intention of generating goodwill into your toroidal … More Intermingling Vibrations
Toroidal flow is related to the spiral flow of everything from the water going down a drain to the spiral arms of our galaxy. It is also related to the cyclical nature of life. from the coming and going of days to the coming and going of breath. The heart is a perfect example … More The Torus
What does it mean to feel “centered?” Most would say that when they feel centered, they can sense the fullness of their being. They feel poised or collected or aligned. We could use any number of terms that refer to a sense of equilibrium. If I were to invite you to center yourself, most … More Back To Center
The image above is an artistic representation of the lotus which represents your solar plexus chakra. The solar plexus is the seat of your emotions as well as the energy center which regulates self-realization and self-empowerment. It also governs your digestive system and all of the organs and glands involved in that process. It … More Chakras & The Central Channel
The Central Channel step of our practice brings awareness to the stream, or river, of energy that moves along the spine connecting the energy centers to higher levels of consciousness. “Body” and “ground” are now a part of our meditation training, providing the stability necessary to focus on some of the inner energy … More The River Makes The Riverbanks
Our heart is the centerpiece between our spiritual self and our physical self. Energetically, the heart charka is centered between the crown chakra and the root chakra. These energy centers cascade our unique vibration, one to the next, precipitating our expression downwards into form. Similarly, they lift energy upwards illuminating the fullness of that … More Rooted To The Earth
Once we’ve established “ground,” we get to go places. Firm ground allows us to leap higher. Healthy ground allows us to grow things. Ground supports and enables. In today’s meditation, we use our ground-of-being to magnetize the affirmation, “In the Infinity of life where I am, all is perfect, whole, and complete.” Then off … More Leveraging Your Ground
