Thoughts on Meditation & Shielding

Meditation and prayer is the practice of making oneself larger than the physical self can encompass.

I recently set up an altar on top of a short piano we have. My original goal was to "sit with the Goddess" everyday. I should have been more realistic - with a baby any sort of "schedule" is a myth. But I have sat with the Goddess far more than I have in the past. Every few days (or sometimes once a week), but hey, it's improvement.

As I sat there today with the "ca-king ca-king ca-king" of the baby swing in the background, I thought about meditation. My favorite meditation is becoming a tree. Sounds weird, yes, but I feel so grounded and at peace afterward. I throw my roots out into the earth and replenish my own energy, drawing it into myself. Then I grow outward, above my head, imaging pushing branches and leaves into existence, imagining my leaves fluttering in the wind, being at peace. It's a renewal and also a reminder that I am so much more than my physical self can contain.

Today the Goddess wanted me to work on shielding. How many of you out there work on shielding as part of your practice? So often we run into unpleasant energies out in the world. If we have no shield, those energies are welcomed right in to mix with our own. (Hence why grumpiness is contagious). We've been having some unpleasant energy in our house and although that comes with the territory - families are hard work - I don't think I contribute positively when I let their energies affect me. This is why I think the Goddess wanted me to practice shielding. It is hard to do in the moment, if you aren't practiced. I practice just by pushing my shield outward, firming it, then exploring it with my hands. Where do I feel it strongest, what happens when I push against it - does it expand or weaken.

Shielding is something I was VERY good at when I worked in retail. You really have to be! But it's been awhile since my retail years and I definitely notice it is harder to throw up an impromptu shield. My favorite shield memory (and I may have shared this story before on this blog, no idea) was when I worked at East West bookstore in California. They were having an event that drew in an "interesting" crowd. I won't say anymore about the event or the crowd because I don't want to offend anyone by wild generalizations. Anyhoo... one of the people that came to the event saw me looking tired at the counter (I was working 2 or 3 jobs at the time). She asked me if I like dolphins. When I said sure, who doesn't, she backed up and started forming an "energy dolphin". My co-worker and I looked at each other and psychically said "Uh-oh" and we both threw up our shields. No energy dolphins for us. Sorry, but you don't just throw your energy at someone else without asking. That's like picking a booger for someone else, you just don't do it. Especially if that person is paid to be nice to you. LOL - thank goodness we were very practiced in "retail shields" or I'd still be walking around with "dolphin" energy.

This can't be a super long blog post - I have laundry to fold and a baby about to wake up. But tell me, what are your thoughts on shielding and meditation. Do you have any pointers for creating fast and strong shields?

Happy weekend to all of you! I hope your weather is as glorious as ours is this weekend!