Welcome to the Lake Tahoe Spiritual Living Center!

I will be once again offering the very popular meditation class, only this time with a twist:  it will be offered in one day (instead of in ten weekly classes) and will be combined with Visioning.

Visioning is not visualization.  Visioning is a powerful spiritual tool that can assist you in the transformation of your life.  You will leave this class with the necessary tools to incorporate both meditation and visioning into your daily spiritual practices.

Date of the class is Saturday, March 20 from 10 am to 3 pm.  Location is the Lake Tahoe Spiritual Living Center, I will give  you the address and directions when you register.  Registration is $39 in advance, or $44 at the door.  You can register by emailing me at karen@laketahoespirituallivingcenter.com (be sure to give me your phone number) or by using the pay pal button at the bottom of the home page.

I am so excited about this class and I look forward to sharing some adventures in meditation and visioning with you!

Today is the first  day of not only a new year, but a new decade. 

Most of us are making decisions as to how we want to change in this new  year.  I’ve been writing, updating my lists of things to do, mulling over some decisions.  I no longer make New Year’s resolutions, as I have found that practice is simply a way to beat myself up.  What I do each year at this time is review:  what is working in my life, and what isn’t?  Then I head in the direction of doing more of that which is working, and less of that which isn’t.

But mostly I turn within at this time of year. I have been spending a lot of time alone lately, by choice, doing the introspection and spiritual stuff that is so necessary to peace in my life.  I’ve been planning and thinking up cool stuff which I will share with you later in the  post.

So I ask you:  have you made some New Year’s resolutions?  Are they the same ones you make every year, having not followed through with it last year?  Are you feeling some guilt or shame behind that?  Why not do it differently this time?

Instead, make a list of how you would like your life to be.  Make sure to include inside stuff:  how you want to be and feel.  And also  include outside stuff: career, relationship, health.  After you’ve described how you want your  life to be, then write the steps you think it will take to get there.  Then your  job becomes to implement those steps.  Sometimes there is nothing on the outside  to be done, just an inner acknowledgement and a joining with Spirit in declaring your intention is sufficient.  And sometimes you might need assistance doing what you want to do or getting where you want to go.  If that is the case, don’t hesitate to give yourself the gift of asking for help.

If you have been reading this post for a while, you know that I am a licensed Practitioner, and that one of the things I do is help people.  I provide  Practitioner sessions in my Center at Lake Tahoe, or I can meet you in the Center in Carson City.  Contact me if you want more information about this.  I think you will find that I can, in a very short time, help you get past what is stopping you from achieving your dreams.

Another thing I do is workshops, only I call them Playshops!  So, I will be scheduling a series of Playshops this year, and the first one is all set to go:  Saturday, January 30, we will be Treasure Mapping!  I’ve got some great plans for this day of play so I hope you will join us!  You can register by calling me at 530-906-9336, or by using the Pay Pal button on my web site.  Cost for the Playshop if you preregister is $34 ($29 for the Playshop and $5 for materials).  If you wait till the day of the Playshop to register, cost goes up by $5. 

On tap for February is a Spiritual Practices Day.  We will talk about meditation and other spiritual practices, and work through any blocks which prevent you from regularly implementing spiritual practices in your life.

I’ve got some other exciting things planned as well so stay tuned!  And if there is a subject you wish to cover in a Playshop, let me know!

I’m drawing a blank today, so I thought I would give you a recap of all that has happened in this last year, the first year in business for the Lake Tahoe Spiritual Living Center, and some of the plans for next year.

This last year I’ve done client sessions in my Center, and found it to be a peaceful and safe place. It feels good there! The energy is positive, the furniture is comfy and the decorations allow one to feel relaxed immediately upon entering. I’m quite proud of my converted storage area! We did a ten week meditation class last year, and it was so popular I will do another this year, but it won’t be for ten weeks. I’ve had requests for various workshops, among them marketing for Practitioners and other spiritual coaches, so I am currently designing the program for that. I’ve also had a request for a workshop to learn all about social networking. And I’m putting together a fun day centered around new beginnings, letting go of old stuff. I was going to call it Status Quo or Status Go, and that still sounds like a good name, but given that I’ve spoken to so many folks who have had the circumstances of their lives changed by the economy, I’m headed in the direction of helping folks find their heart’s desire in the area of work and career. A book study is also planned, with a different book each month, to correspond with a similar book study being done at the Center for Spiritual Living in Carson City. I will be doing that with my friend and fellow Practitioner Brenda.

Speaking of the CSLCC, in this last year there has been a bunch of exciting happenings. First of all, I am there every Tuesday and Wednesday evening. Tuesday nights I have the pleasure of facilitating a Science of Mind textbook study from 7 to 9 pm. It has been nothing short of magical. It’s a book study, so it’s on going, and you can drop in anytime. On Wednesday nights I’ve been opening the doors for a 12 step metaphysical meeting that has been quite rewarding. We have folks from all different 12 step programs attending who also have an interest in metaphysics, and we talk about the spiritual concepts embodied on both ways of life, and how they are quite compatible. That is a meeting, also ongoing, so feel free to drop in as well, it’s from 7 to 8 pm.

All of these except the marketing for Practitioners will be local. The marketing one will be a webinar style, my first, and I’m still working out the technical bugs of doing a webinar, but it’s coming along nicely!

This blog has been quite rewarding. Originally I started writing it as a way to get the word out about my services, and it has done that and so much more! I have incorporated the writing of it into my daily spiritual practices and find that it has become much like writing in a journal (except this is for public reading, so I can’t get too personal here!). I take a spiritual concept and develop it and discover that it really has been on my mind and I needed to write about it! This blog is now published in four different places on the web, with a possible fifth on the horizon. What are the four places you say? Well, here of course on my own web site, also on Facebook, also on the CSLCC web site, and also on a web site called Examiner.com. I just love technology!

Personally, I have been accepted into the Holmes Institute Masters Degree program in Higher Consciousness Studies. I start online classes in January. I am excited, honored, humbled and just generally tickled pink to be able to do this. My grandmother Nikky has been the main source of encouragement and support for this venture, and she is funding my schooling. Thank you Nikky! I promise to study hard!

So there you have it. I am in the development stages of the various workshops and seminars and if you have a request for something, chances are someone else wants it too, ask away!

************************

If you got value out of this post, won’t you consider making a contribution? Love offerings are not required but are greatly appreciated! You can make a love offering through Pay Pal or by sending a check. I have a Pay Pal button on my web site at www.laketahoespirittuallivingcenter.com. Or you can go directly to the Pay Pal web site, click on Send Money Online, and type in my email address: karen@laketahoespirituallivingcenter.com. Checks can be sent to P.O. Box 3326, Stateline, NV 89449. Thank you!

My heart with filled with joy and love at the successful completion of another eight week meditation class.  Not because the class is over, in fact we didn’t want to close last night!  It’s because it was such a good class:  my students were awesome!  Everyone did their homework, everyone participated, everyone showed up consistently.  We all shared openly and developed a beautiful bond that I know will last forever.

I want to thank all of you, my students, who took this class, who trusted me enough to guide you through a journey of learning and experiencing all those different kinds of meditations.  You have enriched my life.

So, you are consistent about doing spiritual practices, and you sit to meditate just about every day.  And you sit to meditate one day, and…it’s not working.  Your mind wanders all over the place.  You keep at it….not working.  Still wandering all over the place.  You pull out your bag of tricks, thinking that perhaps you need to change your style of meditation this time.  Still not working.  You sneeze right in the middle.  While you’re disturbed anyway, you look at the timer, thinking it’s got to be real close to the end, and discover it’s only been 8 minutes!  ACK!

Do not be disturbed.  No worries.  Meditation is not about judgement.  It’s not about worry, or dismay, or any other negative thought you might try to  manufacture because your practice did not go smoothly. 

You sat in the silence.  You simply come back the next day and do it again.  Without judgement.

Now, there are some schools of meditation who will tell you that none of this is accurate or true.  They will say that there is only one style of meditation that works (theirs), and that in order to do it correctly you must do this and that and be this and that and blahblahblah.  The upshot is more dogma, more blame and shame, more judgement on yourself.

I’m not up for that and I don’t think you are either.

What I am up for is a daily spiritual practice that helps me to remain peaceful in a sometimes turbulent world.  What I am up for is a daily spiritual practice that helps me to remember that I am a part of the One.  What I am up for is a daily spiritual practice that strengthens my immune system and lowers my blood pressure.  What I am up for is a daily spiritual practice that creates good in my life, that is uplifting, not worrisome.

I have a friend who wanted to start meditating.  No matter how hard he tried, it wasn’t working for him.  He was getting upset and frustrated because his idea of meditation wasn’t, apparently, his body’s idea of meditation.  This  guy is Catholic, so he went to his priest and told him of his troubles.  The priest discovered through a series of questions that my friend goes for a long walk in the forest every morning with his dog, and that during these walks my friend contemplates the trees, sky, weather, the antics of the dog.  He walks every morning, no matter what.  The priest responded, rightly so, that this was a form of medition, and that my friend didn’t need to worry so much about it, he was doing just fine.  So now my friend goes on his walks every morning, confident in the knowledge that he is doing a daily spiritual practice, and that he doesn’t need to worry.

This is what meditation is all about.  It’s not about technique, it’s not about worrying that  you aren’t doing it right.  It’s about simply doing something on a consistent basis that takes your mind away from the specifics of daily living for just a little while.

Don’t worry, be happy!

I’m starting a new meditation class at the Carson City Center on April 1.  This eight week class goes from 7 to 10 pm.  And no, we don’t just sit and meditate for three hours!  It’s a fun class, and each class will introduce  you to a new form of meditation.  When you leave the class, you will have a good foundation of daily consistent practice under your belt, plus enough knowledge about some different types of meditation to be able to choose the style that is right for you at the time.

I’m very excited to announce that I will be doing the talk this Sunday at the Carson City Center for Spiritual Living!  Yep,  your’s truly, speaking from behind the podium at services on Sunday, February 15.  It all starts at 10:30, with fellowship and my favorite part:  potluck, afterwards.  My topic is Love In Action.

I’ve been working on the talk all week, which is why the blog posts this week have been a bit sparse.

Also, due to overwhelming demand, I have scheduled another meditation class to start April 6.  That’s a Monday, it will be for 8 weeks from 6 pm to 9 pm.  This one will be at the Carson City Center for Spiritual Living, not at my Lake Tahoe Spiritual Living Center.  The meditation class is a fun one, it’s called Meditation is More than you Think.  It’s an accredited course, with credits applicable towards Practitioner studies.  The curriculum exposes the student to several different kinds of meditation, and my goal for you as student is to emerge from the class with a meditation practice solidly in place.  You can sign up by sending me an email to karen@laketahoespirituallivingcenter.com.

We had our first meditation class last night, it was wonderful!  I am so grateful for the students that showed up to learn and to participate in the process of finding out all about meditation.  I was talking with someone from the home office via email the other day.  Apparently this new meditation course is different in that it exposes the student to several different forms of meditation, advocating none, simply allowing the student to make his/her own choice as to which form is right for that time and place.  For me, when I saw the curriculum, I loved it.  While I know the advantages of sticking to one form of meditation for a while in order to get the full benefits from it, I would never dream of limiting myself or anyone else to one form.  Life is all about choices.  Our choices help to create our experiences, and each person’s choices should be up to them.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and am looking forward to the rest of the class!

Tonight is the first class of the first happening in the Lake Tahoe Spiritual Living Center.  To say that I am excited is a slight understatement!  It will be so good to have all those folks in there, coming together to talk and learn about meditating.  I am excited about filling that room up with all that good energy, and about all the possibilities that this new practice is bringing!

I’ve been working all summer long getting the LTSLC ready and the day is almost here! Our first class will start on November 20!  By popular demand, it will be a meditation class.  This class is an accredited class.  If you think you might ever wish to become a Practitioner, this class will count as credit towards that goal.  However, most of the folks I have spoken with who requested this class simply want to learn to meditate.  There are a lot of misconceptions out there about meditation, I’ve discovered.  But it’s really not that difficult to meditate.  All it takes is practice and discipline. 

The class is 8 weeks long, we will meet on Thursday evenings from 6 to 9 pm. Cost for the class is $120, which works out to $15 per class.  I think it is a small price to pay to learn a skill which will make you healthier and happier!  In addition to paying for the class, the fee will pay for your workbook and a required text, but there is one other book to buy which will cost you about $10.    Contact me for more information at karen@laketahoespirituallivingcenter.com.

The class covers several different types of meditation.  Some schools teach that there is only one way to meditate, this is not true.  There are a bunch of different ways, and one key to a successful meditation practice is to find the way that works best for you.  And, sometimes you will have to adjust your practice as you grow spiritually, so it helps to know about different ways to meditate.

Why meditate at all?  I can’t really list all the benefits, but here’s a few:  medition lowers blood pressure and strengthens the immune system.  It helps relieve stress.  It creates peace.  In other words, if you meditate regularly you will be a healthier happier person!

I hope to see you on the 20!