Starr’s Comments (group member since Jan 02, 2009)

Starr’s comments from the Open Mind, Open Heart group.

Jacqueline wrote: "Hi Cynthia:
Yes, the group is not too active, but don't get discouraged. I personally read a variety of spiritual and quasi metaphysical genres. I have read a lot of Doreen Virtue and Brian Weis..."

Cynthia and Jacqueline, please feel free to start threads about any of these books. I'm sure we'd all love to read what you have to say. :)

@Ananda - I love that Oscar Wilde quote, though to be honest I love Oscar Wilde in general. SO many people are afraid to be who they are not because they are afraid of failure, but afraid of shinning. :)

I've added another book to the shelf because I feel that this is a great guide for anyone interested in learning more about Kundalini. This is the most straight-forward book I've ever read on the topic. Poses are laid out in ways that help you understand proper sequence (in other words,you learn which poses prepare you for others). Overall, it provides a great framework for establishing your own Kundalini practice.

The book is called "Kundalini Yoga" by Shakta Kaur Khalsa.

If any of you are interested in meditations that help you work through addictions and in general manage your emotions, then you might be interested in John Ruskan's emotional clearing meditations. You can find them on his website, http://www.emclear.com. I've read his book, Emotional Clearing, and the meditations are a way to practice what's outlined in the book. I experienced one of those meditations today and felt such a wonderful peace afterwards. It's truly some remarkable stuff!

I've been thinking about how food can support or hinder a person's spiritual journey. Think about it. If you indulge in comfort foods to sooth your nerves, often you're left bloated and lazy with little energy for meditation or other spiritual tasks. I've been reading about the sister medicine of yoga, Ayuvedic medicine, and how food can help heal you (see the recent book added to the shelf if you're interested).

Well, I got to wondering what role food plays in other people's spiritual journies. Do you any of you fast? Have any of you found certain foods help nourish your soul? Just curious.

Books placed on the shelf by a "deleted user" were recently deleted by from the book shelf by me. I feel like a censor, because I made the decision quite hastily. I figured Goodreads "deleted user" was banned for nefarious reasons, so I deleted the books that person added to our bookshelf. It's been bugging me ever since because I don't want to discourage anyone from adding books to the shelf. I wasn't familiar with the books that were added, so I figured if the person was deleted by Goodreads, I better get rid of the books he or she added. If anyone misses those books, please feel free to add them again.

I know! Squirming lets me know I'm on my path. lol.

OK, after some reflection, this exercise, which has taken me over a month, makes you squirm a bit, but in a good way. Ignoring an insecurity can seem so much easier than facing it head on. But, as this exercise demonstrates, reflecting on how insecurities affect our choices can reveal a pattern that helps you see the root cause.

Ok, so two pages into this book there is an exercise to make you reflect on whether everything in your life - who you married, what you drive, where you work - is the result of insecurity. Can anyone honestly say they haven't just taken a job to pay the bills, and is there really anything wrong with that? Every step we take propels us to our higher self, even if it means falling down a flight or two until we figure out how not to trip. And so what if we do trip. Maybe we hook up with a hot nurse or an equally hot doctor who sidetracks our spiritual journey with many nights of blessed distraction. I want to love this book. I love A-Ha moments, and self-reflection is how we get there. But can we honestly expect a person to relfect on every aspect of their life in order to sniff out all evidence of any decision that was made out of insecurity or as the result of insecurity?! HELLO...we are human after all. Maybe I'm just thankful for the blessed distractions of life (I do love a hot doctor...Grey's is on an hour!).

Just picked this book up and I'm excited about it. Has anyone read it or heard about it?

Welcome Jef. Feel free to start discussion threads or add books to the shelf. It has been pretty quite around here, so if you've got some ideas, please go with them and post! Thanks!

So, I've finished the first in a series of morning meditations presented in this book.

For those who aren't familiar, the book sets up the importance of taking just 5 minutes to ground yourself by setting an intention for your five minute practice, a mini lecture on having patience if visualizing is difficult, and an explination of mindful breathing. This intro section was pretty basic with some useful information. For those who have never breathed mindfully, you may want more information on how to stay with the breath, especially if you are really impatient, which is something I struggle with when I feel busy. There's a Five Minutes at Work book that I want to check out to see whether it includes some helpful tips on finding patience to breath when your busy. Anyway, back to the first meditation.

The first meditation was to promote a feeling of security. I found this meditation difficult because I had problems visualizing the scenario. You are basically supposed to visualize yourself holding yourself and whispering words that make you feel more secure. Even though the book warns that you will more than likely not do these meditations in chronological order, because your intuition may guide you to a specific mediation, this first meditation didn't resonate with me.

Has anyone else had trouble visualizing during meditations? If so, how did you overcome it?

Thanks Emily for letting us know about these other books! Your post made me think of how I naturally distrust what I don't understand. And the book I tried to read was probably way over my head, so I just judged it rather than finish it. I appreciate the awareness! ;)

LOL! I like that "deep-pockets." To be honest, I've only attempted to read one book that he wrote and that was about five years ago. To me it felt like he talked in circles and took pleasure in confusing me, but I figured I was confused because of my lack of knowledge about all things metaphysical/spiritual (especially since it was one of the very first books on the subject that I attempted to read, but never finished). These are definately books that I would check out at the library, because I'll be honest, I know I might lose interest.

Sorry, hit enter before asking if any of you have read this book or Chopra's books about Jesus and Buddha. I'm curious to know what you think.

So, I found this review http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09...
on CNN that discusses Deepak Chopra's book, "Muhammad: A Story of the Last Prophet," and was struck by how the reviewer appreciated how Deepak humanized Muhammad. The reviewer calls this story an "intimate" portrait that helps us understand Muhammad the man. I love that! So often I think we forget that Muhammad, Jesus and Buddha were great teachers, leading people to God, but were not in fact Gods themselves.

Now I want to reach this book and the stories Chopra has written about Jesus and Buddha. How wonderful to get another perspective.

Mine too, Emily! I bought that one a few months back, but just haven't had a chance to get to it.

While reading John Bradshaw's book, "Bradshaw On: The Shame the Binds You," he mentions that toxic shame is spiritual bankruptcy. What an interesting concept.

Bradshaw defines toxic shame as feelings of isloation, self-contempt, and distrust. He calls toxic shame a "sickness of the soul," because it disconnects you from yourself. When toxic shame is internalized (meaning the shame becomes who you are) a person feels ashamed for feeling any feeling, drive or expression of self. Toxic shame is often caused when a person is emotionally or physically abandoned.

OK, so people experiencing toxic shame are spiritually bankrupt because they are essentially disconnected from their inner self. Bradshaw writes, "When you are contemptable to yourself, you are no longer in you." To me, this reinforces the importance of being present and in your own body, which I define as being mindful of your emotional state and owning feelings. These thoughts are reinforced when Bradshaw talks about toxic shame making a person a "human doing" and not a human being. That makes sense because if you are busy doing, without regard for what's going on inside, how will you connect with God? Also, if meditation is the act of listening to God, how will you listen to God if you can't hush the negative self-talk long enough to hear?

Bradshaw goes on to talk about how toxic shame causes codependency, which is basically a dependence on things outside of yourself. So as I see it, this reinforces thoughts I have that if you want to find God, you have to look within, not depend on someone else to tell you.

I've only just begun chapter 2 of this book, so I can only imagine what else I'll discover!

The gap between more and enough never closes for those who are always seeking. That's what popped into my mind after reading this verse. Those who are truly rich understand themselves and are connected to a greater God consciousness because they've chosen the difficult road of going inside...a scary prospect for anyone living in a world that measures success by ladder rungs climbed and dollars in the bank.

This verse sounds like a lesson in "letting go." Letting go of control and allowing for what will happen to happen takes less energy and allows greater perspective than getting lost in the details. There's a gentle thought here that perhaps by letting go of the outcome and allowing others to be as they are that they will recognize universal truth through their own mistakes or misdeeds. Hmm....food for thought.