Sage and Crystals Magazine is a virtual wellness and lifestyle magazine created to support and promote the richness of ethnic and cultural diversity that exists in the Second Life® virtual world. We are proud to deliver to you our inaugural issue, Diversity.
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Sage and Crystals Spring/Summer 2021
We are starting a weekly mindful meditation for grief and loss on Sundays at the Center for Mindfulness.
Whatever kind of bereavement or grief or loss you are experiencing, we can’t predict what thoughts, feelings, or sensations will arise at such an impossibly hard time. Maybe the huge sense of loss will leave us numb. Maybe the sadness will envelop us. Maybe we’ll feel waves of anger. Whatever arises, the pain will feel intense, and for a lot of us, we might even wonder if we’ll ever get through it and feel the same again.
We all grieve in different ways. For some people, it passes quickly; for others, it takes a long time. The truth is that when we lose somebody we really care about, we never really move past it. The loss, the void, the hole they leave becomes part of our life. It becomes part — and a really important part — of our journey. We change and adapt to life without a particular person and eventually, we reach a point where we find a resting place in our hearts for the memories to reside; a place where we can learn to smile and be at peace with those memories.
Obviously, meditation for grief and loss isn’t the be-all and end-all to help people navigate through grief. If you are really struggling, it’s advisable to reach out to a health professional, and, of course, lean on friends, family, or support groups. Whatever works best for you. Nothing can really hurry along the healing process; we all heal in our own time, so be gentle and patient with yourself. Healing — coming to a place of acceptance over the loss of a loved one — takes the time it takes, however short or long that might prove to be.
At whatever stage of the grieving process you are currently experiencing, you’ll know how tortuous the bombardment of thoughts, emotions, and memories can be. It might also feel like you are going through a unique sense of loss, but the thing about grief is that it’s a universal experience — everyone goes through it, to varying degrees, at different times of their life. It’s worth remembering that you are not alone in that regard, and we all emerge from the experience forever changed, in some way.
The mere idea of sitting with the mind — our thoughts, feelings, and memories — at such a difficult time can feel overwhelming for many people. But what meditation teaches us when grieving is that we can create a space for ourselves: a space of acceptance, a space for healing, and a space, ultimately, for letting go. By “letting go,” we mean letting go of the tension and any additional thinking that often exacerbates the pain and heartache we are experiencing. No matter how challenging it might initially be to sit and meditate, we meditate to create room for our healing; a safe space that allows us to connect with ourselves, and eventually with the person or thing we are grieving.
When we practice meditation for grieving, we allow ourselves to sit with what we’re feeling, even if that feeling is numbness. We create a healthy environment for our pain and emotions to rise to the surface, and what can follow is something magical: a cathartic release of emotion that leads to healing.
Grief is the natural human response to loss. While the death of someone you love might bring on the most intense form of grief, painful loss can come in so many different forms, including (but not limited to): the loss of a partner through a breakup, the loss of a friendship, the loss of a job or financial stability, the loss of a pet, the loss of your health due to illness or injury, and the loss of a marriage.
Each person’s grief process and healing journey is different. Emotions can range from shock, disbelief, anger, guilt, and irritation to loneliness, anxiety, despair, and sadness. And because our mind and body are inseparable, the physical symptoms associated with grief are very real. These can include changes in appetite, sleeping problems, loss of energy, illness, and physical pain.
The rollercoaster of emotions and sensations associated with loss can sometimes feel like too much to handle. While meditation doesn’t change the way we feel, it does change our experience and perspective of those feelings. Practicing mindfulness meditation for grief, or observing thoughts and feelings without judgment or reaction, helps the body and mind find peace and refuge in a time of great change.
When we are grieving a loss, it’s normal to be in a state of disbelief or to feel a strong sense of anger and injustice. Whatever emotions arise, judging and/or suppressing those emotions only exacerbates them. But when we use meditation to sit with our entire being, we can embrace and process what is happening now. Acceptance does not mean forgiving, ignoring, or excusing what has happened. It simply means recognizing what has happened, processing it, and in time, finding that you are a stronger and different person because of it.
Remember, every individual’s grief process will be different. Someone might suggest that “you should get over your sadness already,” or that “you’ve been grieving for long enough.” You don’t need to pay attention to these comments. Gently remind yourself that your journey is your own, and you will benefit immensely from taking the time you need to heal.
Article by Headspace.
We are delighted that Quincy Robin highlighted the Center for Mindfulness in her April Vlog, One Step at a Time!
Quincy is a very talented videographer and photographer. She has a way of taking a nice scene in Second Life and showing off how stunningly beautiful our second world can be!
A family in Minnesota, USA, who lost their infant son to cancer started a charity to help families in their native Nepal. The children often have to travel for the cancer treatment that helps them. The Leonardo Edward Shrestha Foundation contributes any type of support that families need while caring for their children.
Why wait for a big solution to come along, when a small effort helps a few people every day? More info from the Foundation and a Youtube video.
You can buy the book or audiobook here
A version of YouTube to listen to you can find here
The power of now is a life changing book that not only needs to be read but completely understood to grasp its concepts.
World-renowned spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle conveys simple wisdom that transcends any particular religion, doctrine, or guru. His #1 NYT bestselling book is a modern classic in the field of personal growth and spirituality; Oprah Winfrey credits The Power of Now with helping her to "get through September 11, 2001" and she featured it on her December 2002 "Oprah’s Favorite Things" show. A native of Germany, Eckhart Tolle attended the University of London, and upon graduation went on to become a research scholar and supervisor at Cambridge University. At 29, a profound spiritual awakening virtually dissolved his personal identity and sparked a radical change in the course of his life. It marked the beginning of an intense inward journey and he devoted the next decade to understanding, deepening, and integrating that transformation. For the past ten years, he has acted as a counselor and spiritual guide, facilitating sold-out groups in Europe and North America. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Yesterday we had the introduction to the Mindfulness workshops (weekly for 8-9 weeks) Next week Mindfulness and the influence thoughts have on our day to day life. Come and take this journey with us ♥
This weekend the Center for Mindfulness moved to Niuka owned by Cythe, she owns the Center now and will be managing everything for you ♥ The calendar (check the top of our blog), meditations and guides stay the same but the immersive nature of this sim makes the Center even more stunning, all event spaces are now simwide at same level. Even your most favorite Dreaming Buddha scene is up all the time. A teleporter at the landing spot makes it easy to visit all spots if you don't like walking, but exploring all the paths and places adds to the experience. New now is the little coin store (slightly north of the landing spot) where you can see the rewards you get for meditating with us, you also find our group gifts there!
Latest one added a beautiful wooden printer tray with a collection of 60 different stones!
Come check it out!
