The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.

-W.B. Yeats

Welcome to the Reflection for January!

In the Christian tradition, today, January 6^th, is the day of Epiphany.  It is the day that we hear the story of the Wise Men looking up in the night sky and discovering an unusual star that beckons them to follow it.  The star leads them to a foreign land to pay homage to one who is destined to bring about great change in the world.  This is a story filled with adventure and the harolding of new beginnings.

I love the energy and the symbolism surrounding this day.  It holds the energy of making an illuminating discovery, of realizing or recognizing something that we had not known before, and of the possibility for great change.  This day holds an element of adventure and discovery that beckons toward newness.

And so, as we embark on not only a New Year, but also a new decade, I have decided that our first Spirit Garden Reflection of the year would be based around Epiphany.  If you would like to read the scripture story that Epiphany is based on, you can do so by clicking here.

May listening to this reflection help you to remember some of your own epiphany moments.  May it open your heart and your eyes to noticing where new insights and fresh perspectives are beckoning you forward.  And may it help you recognize the unique ways that God/Source/Universal Love is calling you into new adventures in this coming year.

Prayers for Peace

Over the past week, I have been feeling nudged to create a Spirit Garden Moment that offers some suggestions for offering prayers for peace.  As we enter this new year and this new decade, my heart aches when I watch the news and see all that has been happening on the political scene and in the natural world.  I experience a rising need to be actively praying for peace in our world.

I firmly believe that prayer has an impact on the world around us.  Our prayers can hold our deepest intentions and when they arise from our heart, they spread the energetic vibration of love…something that we all need.

I also believe that prayer and meditation has a transformative effect within us and this impacts and alters the world around us.  It can change the energetic vibration within us so that we resonate with the energy of what we are praying for.  In this way, I believe that prayer and meditation can help us be the change that we need in the world.

So I would like to share with you a few methods that I have been using to pray for peace in these first few weeks of the year. I offer them to you as suggestions that might inspire you to find the ways of praying for peace, resonating peace and sharing peace that feel natural to you as the year unfolds.

1.       In my morning meditation, I have begun using the word ‘peace’ as my mantra.  After settling into my chair, and grounding myself into the energy of the earth, I introduce the word peace.  Every time my thoughts begin to wander, I say the word ‘peace’ to bring myself back to centre.  Eventually, I begin to feel a sense of peace settle within my heart.  The area around my heart begins to open and expand and I sense my energetic field begining to resonate with peace.  You may wish to try this yourself as you sit quietly for 2 minutes, 5 minutes, or more of meditation.  I firmly believe that every second we align our own energy with peace, we anchor that energy in our world.

2.      Another simple practice is to do a breath prayer with the word peace.  Whenever you have a pause in your day, like sitting at a red light or standing in line at the grocery store, you can practice this breath prayer.  On the in-breath, breathe in peace.  On the out-breath, breathe out peace.  Continue breathing in peace and breathing out peace for the few seconds or minutes that you have to pause.  Then move on with your day.

3.      If you are a visual person, this prayer practice may resonate with you.  At the times when I am at a loss for words to pray, I will simply cup my hands together and imagine them filling with the energy of peace.  Then I envision that I am holding the earth within my hands and that the whole world is being bathed in the energy of peace.  All the oceans, trees, people, mountains, animals…all of it bathed in the energy of peace.  When the prayer feels complete, I bring my hands together in prayer position over my heart saying ‘May it be so’ to close the prayer.  To make this practice easier, you may wish to hold a stone in your hands to symbolically represent the earth.

Finally, I offer you this guided meditation inspired by Jonathan Ellerby that envisions the energy of peace and love spreading throughout the world.

Here is a link to Jack Johnson singing the song:

In Closing

As this year unfolds, may we each find our ways of offering our peace-filled prayers to our hurting world.  May we embrace and live our epiphany moments and allow awe and wonder to replenish our hearts.

Peace-filled blessings,
Kathy

Connect & Share

Please share any comments about this Reflection in the comments below. Make sure to check out what others are posting and encourage each other!