My "soothing" "irritating" voice - thoughts on being oneself

If you are reading this post, chances are you are someone who likes my voice, the style of my guided meditations and Richard's music. I get lots of comments about how soothing and reassuring my voice is. That feels good, of course. But everyone's reaction to my voice isn't so favorable.

There have been reviews that said I sound like a Valley Girl, a Saturday Night Live skit, too sing-songy, aggravating, irritating, annoying, even drunk! Reactions to a person's voice and style of speaking, especially in a guided meditation, can be so different. Something in a voice can trigger a difficult or unpleasant association. What soothes one person annoys another.

Obviously, there's no "best" guided meditation style or "right" voice for everyone. People's tastes are so varied. Nevertheless, the first time we got a negative review on our first CD, it made me want to quit. I listened to myself and thought "oh my they're right, I sound ridiculous". It didn't matter that many people were already getting benefit from the meditations. My confidence in myself was so low. On top of that, I have a way of seeing things from all different sides. So I could easily feel that someone's criticism was the truth of the matter.

Thank goodness I didn't give up. It took a lot of reminding myself that a few people not liking what I do doesn't negate the value many others were receiving from my work. It took accepting that as soon as you express yourself fully, in your own unique way, some people are not going to like what you do. It also took understanding that the more you express your true self, the more you had to offer those who resonate with you.

For much of my life, I didn't fully express my creativity and talents because I preferred to hide and not give anyone the chance to criticize me. But that is no way to live. We all have gifts and we need to share them to be really fulfilled. If you express yourself and share your gifts, not everyone will enjoy them, but some people will absolutely love what you have to offer. And that's what matters - that you give what you can to those who can benefit from it. Perhaps what matters even more is that you give the gift of yourself to yourself!

Now when I hear a criticism, it doesn't phase me. My perspective is much more balanced, and my self-love and respect so much stronger. Day by day, I gather more courage to be more fully myself. The more I express myself, the less I care what others think, the more fulfilling life becomes. It's an on-going journey for me. Some fortunate people grow up with that kind of confidence, but others have to gain it later. How about you? What has your experience been?

Winter blues? Some ideas for lifting your spirits!

Dan on Facebook asked for some thoughts on seasonal depression. A lover of the outdoors, he's finding it challenging to spend so much time inside. Winter is a challenge for me too, even here in California where the winters are far milder and shorter than in my native New Jersey. Finding ways of getting through winter has been a big focus for me, and for the first time this year, winter's not so hard. In fact, at times I'm even enjoying it! Seasonal depression is quite common, and it can range from simple "winter blahs" to something much more intense. The darkness of winter, combined with the cold and the necessity to stay indoors, can all lead to feeling blue. But I think sometimes winter can also trigger a stronger depression that has to do with unresolved emotional issues that surface when winter forces us to be less active and we have less things to distract us from what lies within us. In that sense, winter can also be an opportunity to see what parts of yourself need healing and attention. For example, for most of us, there's grief from a variety of losses in life that we've never fully processed. Our culture doesn't do grief well. We get a "stay on the sunny side of the street" kind of message that causes us to avoid the painful feelings of grief. But avoiding, suppressing and distracting ourselves from feelings doesn't make them go away. Given the more restful time of winter, these feelings can surface.

Although I'm going to share list of some things I've done to make winter easier, I have to start by saying that inner work I've done in the past has a lot to do with my good spirits this winter. Your everyday, garden-variety winter doldrums might be helped by some of the things I'll share, but it may take more than that if the depression is more intense.  If you feel your depression is more than simple winter blahs, I'd encourage you to explore the possibility that there is more going on. You can find lots of reading online about depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder. It may be that winter is helping you to see that there's some inner work to do. Attending to your depression can lead to a more fulfilling life later on. There are lots of good therapies for depression, so I hope you'll get some help if needed.

And now, as someone who has always dreaded the coming of winter, here are the things I've found that are making a big difference for me:

  • I bring more light into my home - light candles, have some pretty lamps lit. If I had a fireplace, I'd make lots of fires. It's amazing though, how much even one lit candle can mean in winter. Whenever possible, I spend a least a few minutes in the sun, really soaking it in. Full spectrum lighting can help as well.
  • Exercise. Exercise helps with depression, and part of the blahs may come from being more sedentary in winter. I used to rely a lot on walking and when it was too cold to go out in winter, I was at a loss. A few things have made all the difference -- an elliptical machine, a bodybar and the hula.
  • I do whatever it takes to stay warm. Lots of layers of clothes, especially yummy wool sweaters with beautiful colors that lift my spirits. I use an electric mattress pad to warm my bed before I get in. If I feel chilled, I'll even warm my clothes in a dryer and put them on. I can't tell you how good the heat feels. I have no shame when it comes to keeping warm. People joke about it when I wear two wool hats, one on top of the other, but my comfort comes first!
  • Find enjoyable indoor activities. For me, lately, it's been the hula. I can't tell you how happy it makes me. Find something that really lifts your spirits and do it!
  • Bring nature indoors. If you, like me, are a lover of nature, having plants indoors can really help. Taking care of them, seeing them grow brings a bit of spring and summer into your home. Forcing bulbs in winter is also wonderful. How about some lovely, fragrant narcissus or hyacinth? The Nature Attunement Meditation is perfect for this as well!
  • Attitude. Oh yes, lest I forget, that all important ingredient. Cognitive therapy is effective in depression, and I think of an attitude adjustment as being just that. If I focus on how long and dreary winter is and how much I want it over with, it does seem incredibly long and dreary. Instead I'm learning to focus on the positive side of winter -- the opportunity to be more restful and go within. It's a time to hibernate and meditate. It's a time to contemplate.
  • Surrender. Finally, perhaps the most important ingredient is surrendering to the melancholy when it's present. We're conditioned to fight it and resist it, to feel it's bad or wrong. It's a natural part of life. So often our suffering comes from feeling we should be different than we are (as in always happy and upbeat). Life as we know it couldn't exist without the poles of opposites - joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain. Let it be OK to feel blue.

Perhaps some of these things will be useful for you. Or you may have some other strategies to share. I'd love to know what works for you!

Winter as Meditation

A friend just shared a beautiful poem she wrote about winter. Although the title of the poem is Winter's Resurgence, I titled this post "Winter as Meditation", because for me winter is a season of meditation. It brings an invitation to go within. In the dormancy of winter, all sorts of things are going on underground and these underground stirrings are the foundation of the blossoming of spring. In the same way, the deep rest of meditation is a foundation for creativity and productivity when meditation is finished.

Here is K's poem. It spoke to me on so many levels and in so many different ways, but I'll be quiet now, like winter, and let the poem reveal its special meaning for you. I'd love to hear what it means to you...

Winter's Resurgence

Winter has come upon us with her majestic stillness and fierce storms Blanketing us in her winter's lair Beckoning us to breath in rhythm

And it is here that I speak my prayer:

'Take a part of me deep into your forested womb Keep me there, giving me rest, away from worldly desires and despairs Cover me with your insight and love Hold me like there is no where else to go, nothing more to become Heal me of my tired and disenchanted ways Let me be still inside, my belly connected with yours like the dormant snake of winter lying securely in you'

And when your mists begins to lift, may your nurturing womb flow me out and birth me new

K. McCauley A.
Winter's Resurgence 12/20/08~1/13/10
dedicated to Sarah Dole, teacher and friend

Opening the Heart Guided Meditation

Many of us long to have a more open heart, to be able to give and receive more freely. We want to experience more love more easily, but it can be so difficult at times. The heart chakra is the gateway to loving connection with others. At the same time, it contains pain from past hurts. This meditation gives you the opportunity to relax into whatever the heart may hold, allowing held emotions to resolve and the loving energy in the heart to be felt. The meditation takes you through a number of steps. First you relax. Then you connect with your heart, simply being present to whatever you experience. This is followed by visualization to help you expand the energy of the heart and connect with others. As always, be creative with the visualization and use it a way that works for you.

I've had many requests for a meditation for compassion and forgiveness. I do think these will come about, but hopefully this meditation will speak to these themes as well. Both compassion and forgiveness require the ability to be present to pain, our own as well as that of others. Both require an open heart.

I hope the meditation serves you well, and would love to hear about your experiences with it. (Listen to it here.)

Finding Harmony in Diversity with Meditation

I've been finding myself deeply affected lately by a growing awareness of the tremendous diversity of our Meditation Oasis "family". Facebook more than anything has made me aware of how different we all are and yet we are drawn together by our common human experience and the deepest aspects of our inner life which we reach through meditation. From time to time I like to click on the faces on the Facebook page. It's been so fulfilling to see people living in so many different countries with such different interests. Many of us could probably fall into heated discussions with each other at the drop of a hat over politics and find ourselves world's apart in our musical tastes. Yet we can all sit together and meditate and experience a place of complete harmony.

Many of us are busy with holidays now, but some are not. We all experienced the solstice yesterday, but for some it signaled the shortest day of the year while for others it was the longest. We moved into winter where I live, but some of you are experiencing summer. Awareness of these differences has caused me to pause before sending a year end message. Yesterday instead of writing "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Hanukah" (which most people celebrate where I live), I found myself looking for a more universal greeting. I could have sent out a "Happy Solstice" message, I suppose. We all experience the changing seasons thanks to the tilt of the earth moving around the sun. But then I remembered that for people on or near the Equator, the Solstice doesn't mean much. All of this has brought me to this place today where I want to send a different kind of message, one that we can all relate to no matter what we all do or don't celebrate and believe.

As I searched for the perfect holiday/non-holiday message, I remembered the message Richard and I have often used. That's the message I'd like to send to you all today. I think it's something we can all relate to and a desire every human being shares. And it's something many of us move toward through meditation --

"We wish you a peaceful mind and an open heart."