CREATIVITY

Children are naturally creative.  They play, dance, sing, and paint with no inhibitions, for the sheer joy of expressing themselves.  Creativity is an essential part of human behavior that we shouldn't dismiss.

ART CLASS - As we grow up, we learn to suppress this natural spontaneity.  We dismiss our imagination as childish fantasy.

Meditation puts you in touch once more with your inner child and renews your sense of the joy and wonder of life.  Many writers, artists, musicians, and people engaged in creative pursuits find inspiration through this means.  It enables them to tap into a spring that constantly flows with fresh thoughts and ideas.

Try exploring your creative potential by having a supply of paper and coloring pencils on your table when you meditate.  After a period of stillness, allow yourself to draw or color.  Don't worry about whether you have any artistic skill.  Just go with the flow, letting your imagination be free and fully expressive.

Once you learn to link with your inner child iin this way, you will find that you become more creative in all areas of your life.  Gardening, cooking, writing a letter to a friend, or writing a report become opportunities for self-expression.  You might surprise yourself with your hidden talents.

CREATIVE KIT

Just a few pencils and

scraps of paper are enough to help you

express your creativity.  Many of us grow

up believing that we are not creative - in

fact all of us have a creative aspect.

LOOSE REINS

When you start to express

your creativity, just let your mind be free

to follow whatever path it chooses.  Don't

worry about making sense - you're just

exercising your creative muscles.



PROBLEM SOLVING

Meditation will not make your life plain sailing or remove all your

problems, but it will help you to deal with them.  Meditation can

help us to gain perspective and to make good decisions.

Practical Spirituality - Through meditation, you become more sensative and more able to empathize with others in their troubles.  This gives you a better understanding of how they think and feel, enabling you to be less judgmental and more tolerant.

When you have a problem, begin your meditation session by stating the difficulty clearly to yourself.  It may help to get things clear in your mind if you write them down.  Then go into your meditation in the usual way.  However, it is very important that you do not focus on the problem whil you are meditating, it will only become more firmly embedded in your mind.  Simply go within, seeking to find that still point of balance.

As you do this, insights may arise spontaneously.  Suddenly you might see a way out of the difficulty or realize how you can handle the situation better.  Even if this doesn't happen while you are actually meditating, don't be disappointed.  Often the answer will drop into your mind a day or two later; when you are relaxed and not thinking of anything in particular.  It might also come in a dream.

Meditation helps you to connect with your own source of wisdom and inner intuition, which contains all the answers you need to cope with life's challenges.

GOOD RELATIONS

Meditation helps us

to become more understanding of other

people.  We can then use this knowledge

in a loving and beneficial way.

INNER RESOURCES

Problems and worries

always benefit from meditation.  Write the

problem down if this helps to clarify it

for you.  Meditation as normal, without

focusing on the problem.  Even if

you don't get an answer,

meditation will help you put

the problem in perspective.

AID TO MEDITATION

There are many aids you can use to make your mediation easier and more enjoyable.  While these cannot do the work for you, they can help to create the right atmosphere for calm, focused meditation.

Sacred Smells:  Incense has been valued for thousands of years for religious and spiritual ritual, cleansing, and bringing about altered states of consciousness.  You can buy incense or joss sticks from any New Age shop, as well as many mainstream outlets.  Incense also comes in small cones.  My favorite place to get incense is PartyLite.  It may be a little pricey, however, the quality of the product is one of the best that I have purchased.

Ambient Aromas:  Aromatherapy oils, too, are an excellent aid.  Frankincense, jasmine and sandalwood are particularly suitable, either individually or in combination, but you can make up your own blends and experiment.  I love lavendar and violet essential oils - I use these fragrances most every day for the house.  I keep a curio cabinet in my bedroom with some of my favorite oils.

Heavenly Sounds:  Good music, playing softly in the background is relaxing.  There are many New Age CDs and tapes designed specifically for use as meditation aids.  Some people find that classical music, especially Mozart, raises the mind to a more spiritual level.  I have very large collection of music and I choose the music  based on my current mood and needs.

Subconsious Way:  Subliminal tapes work by bypassing the conscious level of mind which often acts as a barrier to deeper mental levels.  They are programmed with instructions which are too quiet for the conscious mind to hear; but which are received and acted upon by the subconscious.  Subliminal video tapes are particularly powerful because they combine spoken suggestions with visual images.

Flowers on the Brain:  Flower essences are increasinly being used by meditators.  In addition to the popular Bach flower remedies, there are numerous other adequate ranges now available.  These operate on a subtle level, increasing spiritual awareness.

Keys to Remember:

ATMOSPHERE - Oils, incense sticks, and

flower essences can all be used to create

a perfectly relaxing and yet stimulating

atmosphere for meditation.

HELPING HANDS - Meditation aids can

 help you to focus, but they are not a

replacement for simple will power and

persistence.  You still have to do the work.