Exercises From the Book, The Divine Within

This mindfulness exercise is based on the teachings of Neil Douglas-Koltz. He teaches a meditation using the Aramaic words for the elements. I am changing his meditation slightly but the premise is the same. We are meditating on the Aramaic words for the elements as a way of connecting to the vibration and energy of the words. I say chant the words, but I actually mean breath the words, and say them in your mind. This can help us to connect to the energy of the elements. This is a way to connect to the divine within, specifically the inner compass which is our essence and part of the collective divine.

In many Eastern spiritual traditions they chant what they consider to be sacred sounds. OM is the sacred sound for ultimate Reality or God. It is though that by chanting OM you can connect to the God spark within yourself, or your inner compass.

In the chapter on spiritual traditions, many of them discuss that the breath is the connection to our inner compass and to God. The breath is the gateway to the divine. For this next exercise we will experiment with being with the breath. Being with the breath and learning to control and regulate your breath is a powerful tool in developing self-awareness. Many of us have breathing patterns that either result in our bodies being in a stress response that is hyper alert or in a stress response that is collapse. Learning to recognize the sign of an unregulated body is the first step to learning to regulate your body through the breath. This helps us live in the present moment more fully.

Our bodies provide powerful messages of where we hold tension and when we are feeling unsafe. Yet many of us are detached from our body and have forgotten how to pay attention to these powerful messages. For others we might notice the sensations but ignore them and push through. Others of us might have learned to listen and respond. In this exercise we will experiment with noticing what is happening in the body. This is another great self-awareness exercise as when you notice sensations of discomfort in the body it is often a sign that you have a need, or a boundary has been violated, or it is a sign of an ailment. Learning to pay attention and respond to our body is a way to heal.