Seven Simple Ways to Nurture Your Inner Spirit By Kate Everson Copyright 2011 Kate Everson Smashwords Edition Thank you for downloading this free ebook. Please encourage your friends to download their own copy at smashwords.com 1: Meditation There are no words to describe the experience of meditation. Because it is beyond words, it is the basis for the nurturing of our inner spirit. Teachings are given on a very subtle level. It is like seeing a magnificent masterpiece, or hearing a symphony, or feeling a gentle breeze on your face. Something speaks to you inside, and you are touched with its purity. In meditation, we strive to silence the mind, put away our every day thoughts and worries, and become one with that deep, inner peace. Relax into the One that loves you. There is no fear, no tension. All is forgiven. All is perfect. All is sublime. The best way to learn to meditate is to practice. Every day find a quiet place, a peaceful time where you can be alone with no distractions. Sit comfortably, feet on the floor. Look at a candle or a flower for inspiration. Concentrate on one small point and let your thoughts diminish. Let them go. Feel the peace. You may like to chant for a minute to focus the mind. Aum is the universal sound and can be chanted once or several times all in the same key. Then listen to the silence that follows. Meditation is all about listening to God. You can pray all you like, but in meditation you listen. Hear only from Him. Feel His peace as your own. You can also meditate from your heart. Imagine a beautiful blossom opening up inside you. Feel the love expand. Offer gratitude for all your blessings. Thank God for all He gives you. Become one with the eternal smile. 2: Nature There is a purity and simplicity in nature that soothes the soul. Whether it is a murmuring brook, an elegant white birch or a tiny Mayflower, something in their essence speaks to us. In them, we feel connected to a deep primal source. Take a walk alone in the woods. Be silent with your thoughts. Hear the birds singing. Feel the wind and the sun. Watch the clouds move across the sky, forming shapes before your eyes. Find a wild flower and look at it from ground level. Appreciate its beauty. Sit beneath a tree, feel its sturdy bark. Look up at the limbs stretching to the sky. Sense the deep roots beneath the earth. Walk beside the water. Listen to the sound. Feel its coolness. Be still and feel one with its essence. Every day find some way to connect with nature, even if it is a single rose in your garden. That rose is you. 3: Gratitude Nurture an attitude of gratitude. The value of being grateful cannot be underestimated. It replaces a sense of lack with one of fullness. There is always something to be grateful for. Even if it doesn’t immediately come to mind, if you look just a little deeper, there is a huge well of abundance that is yours. God is there to be praised. As your heart opens up to Him, praise Him. Thank Him for all your many blessings. Thank Him for life. Thank Him for a beautiful world. Thank Him for the lessons that are so difficult, but necessary, for your progress in the school of life. Through adversity to the stars... through all the pain, the struggles and the tears, we become stronger. Praise Him for being there, guiding us and comforting us along the way. 4: Get Personal. God is not just in His heaven. He is here on earth. And He is with you, much closer than you think. All you have to do is stop and listen. He is here right now. His presence can be felt. There is nothing that can separate you from the love of God. You don’t have to be a saint to know that He loves each one of us, unworthy as we are, with all our human frailties. He sees us as perfect, because he sees our souls. He knows everything about us, and does not miss a thing. Yet He loves us. We can turn to Him in the small things of life, as well as the huge ones. When you get up in the morning, smile at the sunlight on the window pane, and know that He made the sun rise that day. Watch a bird land on the feeder and know that He is in that bird. Sit down for breakfast or a cup of coffee and invite Him too. When you get in your car, take a moment and ask Him for protection and guidance. And know that He is near. If there are joyous moments, include Him, your dearest friend. Share the joy, and praise Him for creating it. If there are dark times, invite Him to share those too. He will comfort you, and if you listen, explain why it had to be. Thank Him. Smile with Him. Laugh with Him. Cry with Him. Share with Him. Praise Him. Be still and know that He is God. And He is here for you. 5: Humility When we are truly humble, without ego, we can be the most divine. We become surrendered to the highest power in us, and let our small self go. There is a temptation to take credit for what we do. To claim the glory. But it is not ours to claim. Without God as our guide, we can do nothing of value. Only following our highest power do we have the strength and clarity to do what is right and true and beautiful. Humility also keeps us in touch with reality. We see the world through a glass darkly, but when that filter is removed we can see clearly. Ask for guidance. Ask for strength. Ask for humility. Ask and it shall be given. 6: Patience If we have patience, we have the peace of God with us. We wait, not because we are afraid to act, but because it is the right thing to do. We wait upon God’s chosen hour for the world to progress, as it does gradually, as people become more and more in the Light. We wait for God to choose the time and the place for what things He wants to happen in our lives. He is the driver. We are just the vehicle. Cultivate patience as you would grow a garden. Plant your seeds and let them grow in their own time. Water them. Let the sun shine on them. Weed out the doubts and fears. And watch as a perfect flower blossoms. It is the flower of your own heart opening up to God in you. It is beautiful beyond words. And worth waiting for. Smile at the rain and the sunshine. Both are necessary for growth. And let your roots go deep so nothing can move you. And finally, when the flower fades, offer its seeds to the world, to make another flower for God. 7: Rejoice! When we smile, when we laugh, we feel inner joy. It is what makes life wonderful. There is no reason on earth why you cannot feel this inner joy every day of your life. You were made by God. He loves you. Take your burdens and give them to Him. Feel the freedom. You have every reason to be glad. Life is a joyful journey, even if it doesn’t feel that way sometimes. It is joyful because we are all here to play. The game is not all serious, if we look beyond the first impressions. There is a very subtle smile behind it all. Behind the curtain, God is laughing and smiling in perpetual delight. If we could only join hands with Him, we would get the joke. I entreat you to extend your hands, beyond the veil, and become part of the wonderful, eternal smile that is your birthright. Be a beacon of joy to all you meet. Reflect God’s Light, his Love, his Joy, in everything you do and say. Walk with Him, talk with Him. Become like Him. The world is yours. You have a reason to be glad. The End Read more inspiring words at: Christ Consciousness, and God Consciousness and Deliver Us From Evil.