Embarking on a Mindful Journey: Your Beautiful Internal Universe
By now, you should be used to going to your mindful place and beginning to integrate it into your daily routine. Stage 3 assumes that you can easily move into your inner universe and remain there for a while.
For Stage 3, prepare your space with a candle and light it, positioning it where you can see it and it can burn safely. If you cannot do that, then use a light source instead.
Be careful of your posture. It would be best if you were sitting independently of back support; think of the crown of your head going upwards into the sky and the base of your spine going down into your seat. Please check out Mindful Practices for Spine Health to remind you because it’s easy to damage your back if you are not sitting in the right way.
Follow this simple visual guide to entering into your mindful state.
Lighting the Path to Presence: The Power of Candle Gazing
As you light your candle or switch on your light, begin to get in touch with your intentions for doing so in this practice. The correct, sincere intention will make your practice rich and effective.
Take yourself to your mindful place and smile; it feels so good. Then, allow your eyelids to rise and gaze at the flame without describing, judging or criticizing. Just accept it as it is.
Soft gazing, listening to your outer and inner environments, and easy and deep breathing in rhythm with the Earth create a symbiotic relationship.
Discovering Our Inner Flame: Connecting with Our True Nature
Mindfulness is about connecting with your true nature in your inner universe, where you can truly be yourself. Your true nature is like a candle flame, sometimes guttering, occasionally going out, but mostly burning with a constant bright light out into the world. The flame will illuminate wisdom and insights.
By accepting the state of the candle flame as it constantly changes –flickering, glowing, guttering, extinguishing, reigniting– you are accepting the constant changes in the universe.
Embody this vivid flame in your daily life, and many people will be attracted to you. Radiate your light out into the world whenever possible.
Radiating Warmth and Light: Influencing the World Mindfully
Your inner light will have a noticeable impact on people around you. As you radiate, you also foster well-being and self-esteem. But it is not something you can force. It’s not something you do! It comes from your unconscious mind by deepening your mindful practices.
Cultivating Patience and Respect
Gradually, your mindful practice will help you overcome obstacles. You will crave to be back in your inner universe to refuel your inner light. Reflect on these words:
“When one is awake, when one has light in oneself, there is no seeking. One does not want any more expereinces.”
Jiddu Krishnamurti: Spiritual Leader
Buddha taught that all sentient or sensing beings are worthy of respect. He lived his life abstaining from harming or killing even the tiniest insect. If every being is worthy of respect, then he/she is a Buddha in the making.
Developing this awareness will bring a sense of well-being and happiness into your life. It will also affect all the people you encounter or spend time with. How wonderful to inhabit the beautiful Earth populated with Buddhas or Bodhisattvas (a Buddha in the making).
Looking forward to Stage 4.
If you have trouble maintaining your mindfulness when you get busy or overtired, receiving a Touch Your Heart Everyday Pick Me Up in your email inbox may help. I provide workday reminders (4/5 times a week) to invite you back to your inner universe and true nature. They are simple images or quotations/words, so they will take very little time to take in.
If you want to try this, please sign up for the mailing list here. You can unsubscribe at any time, and it’s completely free. You can read more about it here.