Cathy // May 30th, 2017
Lightwork meditation teaches you how to focus your energy.
It teaches you how to be aware of when your mind wanders, and you learn techniques that help you to refocus your attention.
It also provides opportunities to change things in your life so that you can live with less confusion, and fewer feelings of being scattered or not on top of your game.
This can affect life’s biggest and smallest things. For example, Lightwork has helped me become more organized simply by seeing that if I changed just a couple things in my daily routine, I would feel less stretched and overwhelmed. Instead of having many things on the go, I learned to bring things to completion as they came up.
With these changes I feel better about myself, more capable and settled.
Julia T. // March 29th, 2017
Learning Lightwork meditation has helped me understand how to manage my energy.
I can do a meditation to be more grounded. And I’ve learned that being grounded affects my perceptions and experiences of life. I feel safer. More present. I’m more effective in whatever I’m doing.
Now I know I can shift my energy by meditating. I’ve become much more conscious of my energy system, so I can assess what needs to happen for me to feel more at ease, more in flow. I can increase my flow of energy by doing a meditation.
Everything in the universe is made up of energy, so learning about how energy works is truly fascinating. It’s helped me understand myself and the world so much more deeply.
Denis P. // February 28th, 2017
For many years I felt that something was missing in my life, and also that this wasn’t even really my life, but rather a movie I found myself in, with no control over the direction it was going. Then at one point, a thought popped up in my mind – there must be more to this.
That thought was present for a while, and then I met my partner who’d been doing Lightwork for a long time. I kept asking her about meditation. I had many questions, but was looking for the information from more of an intellectual point of view, so one day she told me, “You can find all the answers from within, and meditation will facilitate that.”
I took my first Lightwork class shortly after. She was right.
Darci R. // January 23rd, 2017
I used to think that freedom meant you could just fly where the wind takes you without a care in the world. I equated being free with not having any responsibilities.
I was under the impression that there was freedom and then there was reality. The two did not intermingle. Now, though meditation I have deepened my understanding of freedom and I recognize it as an internal state. It is not about external things.
Analytically I knew that even people in tough situations of abuse or poverty or war could be ‘free in their mind’. I’d heard stories of historical figures such as Gandhi or Mandela who overcame great oppression and maintained a level of freedom but I didn’t understand how this could apply to my own life.
Through meditation, I continue to learn what an internal state of freedom feels like. I experience deepening levels of freedom that come with self-responsibility and internal peace, all while living a seemingly normal day-to-day life.
I’ve learned I can choose freedom.
Jacqueline // November 21st, 2016
This post is based on a recent class taught by Scott Robinson
So we find ourselves in a time of great change. Perhaps great stress. Great intensity. But you need to know, the effects of the U.S. election do not need to determine how you feel inside. Or how your spiritual path unfolds.
If you choose to be conscious, you are in charge of your reality no matter what is going on around you. You can live in a state of brightness and freedom. But you have to choose it, otherwise you are at the mercy of external forces.
The Buddha lived during a period of intense political unrest and violence in India. Not only did he find his own personal transcendence during this time, but he created a practice that has helped countless others transcend; a practice that is still going strong 2000 years later.
Tibetan monks continued to choose consciousness and spiritual freedom even when Chinese invaders overwhelmed their country, killing untold numbers and destroying 6,000 monasteries.
And consider that Nelson Mandela emerged from 20 years of imprisonment and hard labour, a brighter, freer, more conscious being.
Human beings are powerful. You can create what you want to create. But a bright, conscious existence must be chosen. You won’t fall into it accidentally.
The great news is, the initial steps to taking charge of your reality are simple. As you go about your day-to-day existence, are you bringing light into the world? Or are you participating in darkness?
Participating in darkness can happen so easily. Like being competitive with a colleague at work. Taking out your frustrations on your spouse. Angry annoyance at someone on the bus. Judging someone who has a different view than you. Immersing yourself in news coverage that gets your blood boiling. Posting charged comments on social media.
If you are aware of some of your own dark behaviours right now, don’t freak out. Don’t judge yourself. Just start to make different choices.
Meditation really helps with this. It is a very real, very powerful way to bring lightness and consciousness into your life. It can help you through life’s ups and downs; even your darkest moments.
Now more than ever before, with so many global challenges facing us, it will be important for you – for everyone – to have a way to process stress and live in a state of light.
Whatever your way is, find it. Choose it.
Julia T. // July 25th, 2016
The great thing about meditation is that it is a proactive thing you can do when stress starts to creep in.
What was once just “stress” has become a chance for me to learn more about myself. Now when I feel stressed, I ask myself what is at the root cause, and I meditate to release it. It works!
Meditation has not erased stress from my life completely. Even on days when I have long meditations, occasionally I can still be found fretting over some tiny detail, and forgetting to stop and smell the roses. So although I can safely say I am not immune to stress, meditation has definitely decreased my daily stress dramatically.
Instead of feeling like a victim, I’m in charge.
Darci R. // June 15th, 2016
As a nurse, helping patients through loss and grief is essential to my job. Becoming more neutral with the losses I’ve experienced in my own life has allowed me to assist others with theirs.
Meditation has allowed me to release my own grief in a simple and clean way, without drama. This has allowed me to grow; to evolve personally and professionally.
So I can really say my meditation practice helps me do my job effectively.
I can be there for others in their most challenging times. I can be more present and supportive because I’m not carrying the weight of my own losses around with me.
This is just one way meditation is a lifesaver.
Denis P. // May 10th, 2016
I grew up watching a lot of TV. I’d watch anything that was on – from the news and documentaries, to cartoons and movies. TV was the focal point of our family and we spent pretty much all of our time together just staring at the screen.
There was very little, if any, restriction from my parents on what I was allowed to watch or how much time I spent watching. They thought it was great I showed interest in world news and nature shows.
When I first started meditating, I still watched TV regularly. But then with time, the more I meditated, the more I realized that TV (and all other media) are just a distraction.
Meditation has helped me bring my focus back to what is really important: me.
Denis P. // February 12th, 2016
I work in a very dynamic and competitive industry. I always have many projects happening at the same time. The priorities change frequently with a fast-moving market, and there is an ever-present pressure to launch new products and services before the competition.
Before I started meditating work could feel overwhelming and at times, out of control. It consumed most of my energy. At the end of the day I’d feel depleted.
Meditation helps me release all that pressure and stress, and keeps me more focused. It helps me see the bigger picture, so I don’t spend much time worrying about small details. Meditation also brings structure to my day, which enables me to use my time more efficiently.
Tiffany // September 23rd, 2015
The fall can feel like a new year – the freshness in the air, kids returning to school and an overall sense of possibility. Here are three great reasons to take advantage of the season and learn to meditate.
#1: Improved Focus
Picture this: you’re at work on the computer or reading at home and suddenly you notice you’ve become completely distracted. Bingo – these are classic examples of when meditation can help.
Why? Well, like doing anything – sports, music or cooking – skills get better with practice. Meditation teaches you how to direct and redirect your attention on demand. With practice, the mind can overrule tendencies to become distracted, more of the time.
Replicate this in your home or work environment and say hello to a greater focus, potential for increased productivity and ultimately more control over what you think.
#2: More Energy for Life
According to the Journal of Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, mindfulness-based techniques – which can include seated and walking meditations, as well as mindful eating and yoga – correlate with structural changes in the brain known to play a key role in the stress response.
Two separate studies found that after only four months of practice, participants who learned to meditate had lower levels of stress hormones compared to non-meditators.
Similar research from the Centre for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School confirms that learning to meditate improves the ability to cope with stressful situations and leads to increased relaxation, greater energy and more enthusiasm for life.
#3: Personal Time
For many of us, as parents and professionals, we’re often facilitating new experiences for others. But when was the last time you signed up for a class or workshop that’s just for you?
Maybe now’s the time. Taking a meditation class is a great way have quality time for you.
Lightwork is a Vancouver-based meditation centre geared at training western minds to learn to meditate through simple, step-by-step instruction.
Check out our roster of fall Lightwork Level 1 classes – and keep in mind, more classes are added all the time.
Darci R. // June 9th, 2015
Since I started meditating, I’m much more present in all areas of my life — whether I’m at work, play or rest.
I began to understand the power of presence in nursing school. When I was really present in my interactions with patients, I could see a therapeutic impact. Just the act of of sitting down with them and deeply hearing them assisted their healing.
Sometimes they needed less pain medication. They ate more. They were often more willing to spend time sitting up in a chair, rather than lying in bed.
The impact of being present with patients outweighs the pressure to speed through my task list – even though some days I’m so run off my feet I’m lucky to get a quick break.
I apply the power of presence beyond my work. I am now more awake, aware and present for life’s daily activities. Even the smallest thing — brushing my hair, sweeping the floor or watering my plants — is filled with light and enjoyment when I am present for it.
And when I am in relaxation mode I can truly have that experience. I’m not drifting to the past or thinking about what the future may hold.
I can just be.
Julia T. // February 2nd, 2015
One thing I wish everyone could know about meditation is it can really change your life.
Not in a new-years-resolution-you-let-slide kind of way. But in a real, long lasting sense.
Meditation enables you to get to the core of your issues, where real change happens. It is one thing to know you have an unhelpful coping mechanism, but another to be able to let it go…and to let it go with ease.
Mediation can really help with this, making lasting change easily. The ways I have changed since beginning to meditate are among the reasons I am most grateful to have a meditation practice.
Cathy // January 15th, 2015
Meditation helps with major life choices.
I remember a time when I experienced major anxiety deciding whether to change my job. It was a dilemma: should I stay in a secure position or switch to a job where I could use my creativity?
At the time I had a young family so security was important, but my job involved long hours that limited my family time.
My analytical mind went back and forth trying to weigh the options. The more I tried to figure it out, the more confused and overwhelmed I became. My pros and cons list wasn’t working!
I wanted to give up. For a while I just stayed in the current job avoiding a decision, but I continued to be dissatisfied despite my best efforts.
Over time, using meditation to refocus my attention and tone down the chatter in my head, I was able to see the choice I really wanted to make.
I took a leap. I switched to the new job. And because I did I gained new skills, used my creativity and developed a family routine that was much more manageable and fulfilling.
I learned that security comes from within and I’m capable of creating what I need in my life.
Julia T. // December 3rd, 2014
Being present helps me face the worry that life is passing me by.
I find it empowering to be present, to be with my life however it is. With presence I’m not waiting for something to happen. I’m more at ease with the moment.
With presence comes the ability to be aware of every level of your experience. Whether it’s your senses — like the feeling of the breeze on your skin — or internal things like emotions, presence is where the richness of life lies.
By cultivating presence in meditation, I’m able to experience it in my daily life. It’s funny how what once seemed mundane is transformed into a glorious experience.
Cathy // November 9th, 2014
Through meditation, I learned to be aware of when my mind wanders and when I become distracted.
I started to see opportunities to change things in my life so that I could live with less confusion. I was tired of being scattered and not always on top of my game.
I became more organized simply by seeing that if I changed just a couple things in my daily routine, I would feel less stretched and overwhelmed. Instead of having many things on the go all the time, I learned to complete things efficiently.
I learned ease. I began to feel calmer and more aware.
With these changes I feel better about myself, more capable and settled.
Tiffany // October 5th, 2014
Meditation is my way of noticing what’s going on within me. These days it feels like stillness and quiet.
But it wasn’t always this way. Early on, I often cried when I meditated. I can’t say this felt awesome, but it certainly felt like it needed to happen. Meditation helped me see the reasons for my emotions. It’s helped me understand myself deeply.
My experience of meditating has really changed over the years. Now I’d say it feels powerful. Some days it feels like just being love.
I love the stillness of it and more and more, I see that this stillness is me.
Julia T. // July 31st, 2014
The Lightwork Ecovillage is a place I go to learn.On the face of it, there are many practical skills I’ve honed there over the years. Everything from how to strip bark off a post to how to cook for large groups — and a million things in between.
But more than these skills, I cherish the spiritual learning the Ecovillage provides. As the home to Lightwork’s summer meditation retreats, it’s a place of sanctuary from the bustle of city life. It’s a place to turn inward and connect with myself.
Nature has an amazing capacity for teaching. Just watching a leaf fall last autumn brought a tear to my eye — it was the tree’s potent reminder to me that letting go is part of the spiritual process.
It’s these kinds of learnings that I really love about my time at the Ecovillage.
Cathy // June 11th, 2014
Meditation has made me more aware of my emotions and provided me with a way to “run” them appropriately. I used to deny emotions of sadness and anger because they made me feel bad and I would often get stuck in them for a long time. If I got angry at someone I felt guilty and ashamed afterwards. If I was sad, I was worried that I would get stuck in the sadness if I allowed it to be expressed. Through meditation I learned that I be sad or angry, without it taking over. I learned how to identify the emotion bubbling up in me and how to use the meditation techniques to run the emotion cleanly. I no longer have fear that I’ll be stuck in an emotion; I have come to realize that I can be in charge!
I also learned what limited me having more joy or enthusiasm and I have shifted some of those perceptions. The result – a happier, more balanced life.
Jeanine // January 27th, 2014
Meditation has helped me notice my feelings – removing the numb sensation I used to live with and allowing me to experience life.
If I’m feeling a certain emotion that I’d prefer to not experience it at that exact moment (maybe I’m in the grocery store and for some reason I want to burst into tears), using my meditation skills I can choose to deal with that emotion later. Instead of crying or feeling sad in that moment, I can be amused and light.
There’s definitely value in feeling
a whole range of emotions, but it’s all about timing. Meditation allows me to choose when and where I experience certain feelings. It’s also helps me cope with stress. I focus on a gentle flow of energy that helps me create a state of ease.
The Lightwork meditation skills, ‘centering’ and ‘grounding’, are extremely helpful, and I use them throughout my day to touch in with my true self. If I’m feeling stressed, using these two techniques can help me create more ease. If I’m working with difficult emotions, it assists me in keeping them manageable.
When it comes to managing emotions, meditation is both comforting and powerful.
Tiffany // November 19th, 2013
Lightwork doesn’t place a huge emphasis on having a still mind. I mean, when I started meditating
my mind was racing a mile a minute. Being centered was sometimes really difficult because of all the traffic in my head.
Lightwork takes the view that however you experience meditation, it’s OK. There is no need to be hung up on ‘stillness’.
Instead I played with the idea of just being non-attached…not judging my experience.
With Lightwork, there’s a lot of room to just have your own experience. And over time, my experience of being centered and having more stillness did change and grow.
