Spiritual Guidance Blog

If you have been following me over the past few years, you know that I love cycling. It has become a passion of mine. The more I cycle, the more I realize that cycling has become a moving meditation. Cycling has expanded to be a spiritual practice and teacher for me.

Turn the clock back 20+ years ago when I first moved to Ottawa, CANADA, and started exploring the National Capital Region by bicycle. Back then, other than public transit, my bicycle was my sole means to commute to and from where I wanted or needed to go. My rides would typically be leisurely outings along the amazing National Capital Commission (NCC) dedicated bike paths through parkland and meandering riverside pathways. Rides would typically range from 1 – 10 km in length.

Between 10 – 15 years ago, I started using my bicycle for more than just commuting to and from places I wanted or needed to go. Cycling became a pastime. I would spend the morning or afternoon touring around the region. My joy and love of cycling expanded and the distances I would cycle expanded too. I was now riding distances of upwards to 25 kms on a single outing.

About 10 years ago, I started to think of my cycling as an outing for part of the day. I would leave before noon, find myself a nice, quiet spot to stop and have a lunch I prepared for myself. Then I would carry on cycling for a while longer. Now my rides would regularly see me cycling 50 kms or more on an outing.

The more I adventured on my bicycle, the more I saw, and the more wonderment flourished. I became inspired to keep exploring further. I became energized to see what lay beyond ‘that’ stop sign, where ‘that’ road would lead me, what ‘that’ destination would be like to cycle to and through. My love for cycling just kept growing.

Then, 5 years ago, I started setting new goals for myself. I wanted to cycle 100 km in a single day. This was a big deal for me. I gradually worked myself up to the distance, first cycling distances of 60 km, then 70 km, then 80 km…on a regular basis. I remember how exhilarating it was to be able to cycle 100 km on a single ride. I was also becoming aware of how meditative my long(er) rides were becoming. I would lose myself in a blissful state of being, of cycling for hours at a time, stopping only for brief nature and nutrition breaks.

Today, my rides are typically 150 – 175 km in distance, riding for 8 - 9 hours. Earlier this season I completed one ride of 225 kms, taking me more than 10 hours of riding to complete. Next season I intend to join an international group of cyclists—with a Chapter here in Ottawa—called the Randonneurs. The Randonneurs is a long-distance and ultra-long-distance cycling club. Rides range from 100 – 1,200 kms. Yes, you read that right…upwards to 1,200 kms. The thought of riding for days on end excites and inspires me beyond description!

What’s the point?

The point is…when you are ‘in love,’ the energy of love expands. The energy of love never, ever stops expanding. The very nature of love is to continue to expand, without any incumbrances. My cycling journey and adventures are merely a metaphor for the expansive nature of love. My rides are symbolic of loves never-ending extension of healing energy.

Have you ever heard the expression, ‘Follow your bliss.’? Well, if you follow your bliss, you will not only find love, but you will be ‘in love.’ Your joy, peace, and contentment will be indescribable. Your life will be a meditation in grace and tranquility. You will live your life in the heart of the Divine, where love is all there is.

Robert Meagher has been ordained as an Interfaith Minister and certified as a Sacred Attention Therapy (SAT) Therapist. Robert is the Founder and Spiritual Director for Spiritual Guidance and Co-Founder of the Center for Human Awakening.

Emotionally-charged moments can offer us an abundance of opportunities for healing. We have a tendency, however, to avoid emotionally-charged situations. We have numbed ourselves to living our lives so that everything unfolds without us having to feel our emotions. Feeling our emotions has become so taboo that we have become a culture of automatons. Worse, we have learned to repress and suppress our emotions. A recent outing with my partner allowed everyone to experience the magical healing that feeling our emotions offers.

My partner, Sherwin, has been living with Parkinsons for over 20 years. At present, the symptoms are what may be described as advanced. Sherwin’s mobility is significantly compromised and it has become necessary to acquire an electronic mobility aid to help him perform daily tasks and activities.

For several months, we have been working with a local organization that matches donors of electronic mobility devices with those in need of these devices. During June, Sherwin was matched with a donor and we scheduled a day and time to visit the donor and view the device.

So, on the day in question, Sherwin and I ventured to New Edinburgh to visit the donor of the mobility device. It just so happened that New Edinburgh was the neighborhood that Sherwin grew up in as a boy. So going back to New Edinburgh was a trip down memory lane that brought up many emotions for Sherwin. As we drove through New Edinburgh, Sherwin would share how he used to play “over there,” and “visit friends over there,” and “attend school and church over there”…and so on. In recalling his childhood, there were precious moments where Sherwin became emotional and teared up. It was a wonderful mix of joy, as evidenced by the smiles on Sherwin’s face and excitement in his voice, and who knows what else as tears ran down his cheeks.

We finally arrived at the donor’s home. We were greeted by the donor (we will call him Fred) and a representative from the organization that facilitated the matching of Sherwin’s needs with the donor who had an electric wheelchair to be donated to someone in need (we will call him Phil).

Sherwin took some time to look over the electric wheelchair with Phil and tested it out. It was determined that the wheelchair was in good working order / condition and would serve Sherwin well. At that point Sherwin turned to Fred and asked, “Why are you donating this wheelchair?” It was a perfectly natural question to ask; but what unfolded was a most precious moment.

Fred responded, “My wife lived with MS, and she passed away last month.” Fred started to cry. Fred gathered himself and continued, “It was her wish to donate the chair to someone in need.”

Upon hearing Fred’s words, and witnessing the depth of emotion flowing from Fred, Sherwin started to cry. Sherwin managed to eek out through his tears, “Well, if you are willing to donate the chair to me, I sure could use it. Thank you.”

I glanced over at Phil and he too was crying. While I cannot know for certain why Phil was crying, I suspect it was a combination of being moved by the very touching scene unfolding, and knowing that he had played a crucial role in bringing together Fred and Sherwin to witness and experience this precious moment.

Surprisingly, I did not cry. I was moved beyond words, but I was moved with and to joy. I was so grateful to be present in the moment and experience these three men openly sharing their emotions with each other. I just smiled at everyone. As the intensity of the emotions gradually settled down, I walked over to Fred, shook his hand, and thanked him for his kindness and for donating the wheelchair so Sherwin may be able to improve the quality of his life. I did the same to Phil.

It was such a rare moment, to ‘be’ with these three people who were brought together by Divine intervention—to witness a depth of feeling that was so genuine, so heartful, and so heart-centred. I felt truly blessed.

Robert Meagher has been ordained as an Interfaith Minister and certified as a Sacred Attention Therapy (SAT) Therapist. Robert is the Founder and Spiritual Director for Spiritual Guidance and Co-Founder of the Center for Human Awakening.

One month not long ago I injured my right knee. I had lifted a heavy object one day, and the next day my knee was swollen and non-weight-bearing to kneel on.

I became distraught over this turn of events. I immediately went into worry mode and catastrophized about all the things I would not be able to do because of my knee injury. I became upset that my knee injury may affect my ability to ride my bicycle (a passion of mine). I became further upset when thinking about how the injury may affect my ability to fully participate in my upcoming Great Cycle Challenge---or if I would be able to participate at all! Even though I had no idea how bad, or not, the knee injury was, I immediately went into catastrophe mode and assumed the worst.

I immediately started my own rehabilitation, which focused on using various essential oils to treat the injury. I continued with my daily workouts, but with much less intensity. To my pleasant surprise, my knee showed gradual signs of improvement each day.

I made a full recovery in the following weeks. As a precautionary step, I had some xrays to see if there was any internal damage. The xrays came back negative. I gradually returned to my normal exercise regimen, at my normal intensity. I was able to enjoy my bicycle rides as I did before my injury.

When I reflected on my experience, I realized that my early catastrophizing was not helpful. Sure, I was upset and worried, but to have allowed my mind to run away with thoughts of how this was going to affect my life was way out of proportion at the time. It simply did me no good at all worry about what might be (or might have been if I had not lifted that heavy object in the first place!).

The experience was a welcome lesson for me in easing into all that life offers. Instead of bemoaning my circumstances, I need to welcome all that unfolds. Dare I say, I need to enjoy it all…even an injured knee. Worry, upset and fear is not the vibrational mode required for healing. The only vibration that heals is love.

Robert Meagher has been ordained as an Interfaith Minister and certified as a Sacred Attention Therapy (SAT) Therapist. Robert is the Founder and Spiritual Director for Spiritual Guidance and Co-Founder of the Center for Human Awakening.

An aspirant recently reached out to me with the following question…

Do you have many experiences with focusing on the heart as a place for finding peace?

Here was my response…

Thank you for blessing me with your beautiful question.

The practice you speak of (i.e., focusing on the heart as a place for finding peace…) most closely resembles what I know to be called ‘tonglen’. Tonglen is a Buddhist practice of breathing in the miseries of the world (in whatever form they may take), cleansing the miseries through your heart, and breathing out joy, peace, and love. In this short video, the noted Buddhist monk, Pema Chodron, speaks of the tonglen practice (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwqlurCvXuM). The Dalai Lama and other Buddhist masters speak of, and practice, tonglen.

The tonglen practice, or the practice as you describe John Selby sharing it, is encouraged in other spiritual teachings. There are many teachings that speak of breathing into the heart of compassion…which is what the tonglen practice is at its core, its essence.

As for my personal experiences…when I began studying spiritual teachings, other students/teachers shared and emphasized their practice of breathwork through their heart. I can remember trying this practice and experienced much peace. As I have journeyed on with my spiritual study and practice, I recognize the human heart is merely symbolic of love and compassion. It is a bodily organ that we humans have imbued with some significance. I have allowed myself the awareness that the entire body can equally be that vessel for love and compassion. No one part of my body is home for love and compassion. My entire body is home to love and compassion. So…if I feel the need to bring peace to a situation, I will breathe in with all my body, and breathe out with all my body. It is the breathe that is the ‘life force,’ as Taoism teaches.

Thank you for your blessed outreach. And thank you for being YOU!

Shanti,

Robert Meagher has been ordained as an Interfaith Minister and certified as a Sacred Attention Therapy (SAT) Therapist. Robert is the Founder and Spiritual Director for Spiritual Guidance and Co-Founder of the Center for Human Awakening.

I grew up in the Maritime Provinces, Nova Scotia specifically. Food, and eating, was a big part of the culture in the Maritimes. At least that was my experience, and a big part of the story I told myself about my relationship with food.

The house I grew up in saw the main door of the house enter into the kitchen. This was not an uncommon characteristic of houses in the Maritimes at the time. Where most homes today have a foyer, many homes in the Maritimes at the time saw the visitor or occupant enter the kitchen when entering the house. This lended itself to food being a central part of the culture of growing up in the Maritimes. When company would pop in for a visit, everyone would gather around the kitchen table to gab and socialize. It didn’t take long for food to appear on the table and for eating to commence.

I grew up in an era when wasting food was particularly frowned upon (when hasn’t it been!). Even if I wasn’t hungry, which was rare, I would still be encouraged to eat. “There are children starving in the world. Eat up!”…I can’t tell you how many times I heard those words. It was also very important to my mother that the children had plenty to eat, so there was always plenty of food around. And having a second helping was customary, sometimes a third serving, if for no other reason to demonstrate to my mom that I liked her cooking.

The above, brief description of some aspects of the food culture I grew up in unconsciously fed an elaborate story that I fabricated about food and my relationship to food. It wasn’t until my 30s that I began to even be aware of this story I had told myself.

I suppose I was one of the lucky ones. Even though my eating habits were overindulgent at the least, I wasn’t always overweight. Most of my family members were, however. Furthermore, the image of a ‘healthy’ person was obscured by a cultural story that plump, some might say fat, overweight people were indeed healthy, despite every known scientific journal and dietary guideline suggesting otherwise. A slim person was not considered a healthy person—not enough meat on their bones!

As I moved into my 30s, I became more aware of healthier eating habits and began to change my relationship to food. But, as the saying goes, … “old habits (or ‘stories’) die hard.”

As I moved through my 40s, and into my 50s, I learned to eat a healthier diet. I found that a vegetarian-oriented diet was very beneficial and improved my overall health. I was introduced to new ways of thinking about my relationship to food and what it meant to be healthy for my body type.

One of the aspects of my relationship with food that stayed with me throughout my 40s and early 50s, however, was a cyclical pattern of weight gain and loss throughout the year. I would typically gain 10-15 lbs over the winter months, sometimes more, only to lose the weight throughout the spring and summer months. I can remember accepting this story as normal, after having been told many times that gaining weight in the winter was a good thing—to ‘put some fat on the bones’ for the long, harsh winter ahead. This story was a leftover (pun intended) from my early years growing up in the Maritimes. It was something I accepting as normal. Yet, I began questioning that story as I moved into my 50s.

I became tired of the annual weight fluctuation. I learned about the physiology of weight gain and loss and learned that the process of weight gain and loss can take its toll on the body. Interestingly, its harder on the internal organs when the body loses weight than when it gains weight (the exception might be when quickly gaining excessive amounts of weight). Which is why those engaging in weight loss programs are generally encouraged to lose weight at a slow, steady rate—it’s easier on the body.

Last January, typically the time of year I begin to pack on those pounds, I decided I was going to try and stop the habitual, cyclical pattern of weight gain over the winter months. In addition to the stories I had imbibed from early childhood mentioned previously, there was another cultural story I became acutely aware of…and that is, once men and women hit their 50s, it’s typical to gain weight, and very difficult to lose weight. As the story goes, our metabolism slows down as we age and our ability to burn calories does also. I set out to throw all my personal and cultural stories out the window and transform my relationship with food once and for all, and for good!

So far, so good. I maintained my weight, even lost a few pounds, throughout January, at a time of year when I had always gained weight (at least that’s been the pattern for the past 20+ years). I maintained the same weight I was the previous summer. I’ve managed to change my story about the food I eat, my relationship to the food I eat, and my body image and structure. I feel healthier and liberated.

So, let’s review the stories I’ve changed:

First, overindulgent eating, some might call it emotional eating, is not the norm and it is not healthy for me. It is not how I want to relate to food. So, I changed my overindulgent eating story. I no longer overindulge when it comes to food. I eat modestly, and slowly, and see food as a critical, nutritional component of my overall health and wellbeing, rather than something that will make me feel better emotionally.

Second, being thin and lean, not underweight, but thin and lean, is not unhealthy. I had lived my life on the edge of being overweight for so long that I didn’t question it. I changed my story. I am currently sitting right in the middle of the recommended weight range for my age, height, and body structure.

Third, I had accepted cyclical/seasonal weight gain/loss was normal. It never worked for me, however. That is, it never felt good. So, I am on the path to changing that story too. I am the same weight in March as I was in the middle of summer. This is new territory for me; and I love it! It feels good.

Lastly, I had accepted that gaining weight when in your 50s was normal and that losing weight in your 50s was just too difficult, if not impossible. I’ve changed that story. With simple, moderate lifestyle changes, I’ve showed myself that this story was false. I can lose weight in a healthy way in my 50s.

The experience has been an eye-opening journey through the stories I have created and about re-writing those stories. While this article has focused on food, diet, and health as the storyline, the principal at play here is far reaching and touches every aspect of our lives. We create elaborate stories about ourselves that we may never be aware of. And the stories we create become so engrained in us that most never, ever realize what these stories are and, more importantly, that we can change them.

If there’s an aspect of your life you aren’t happy with, give yourself the gift of contemplation about the story you have created about that aspect of your life that isn’t happy. Then, change the story. You can do it. You’re worth it!

Robert Meagher has been ordained as an Interfaith Minister and certified as a Sacred Attention Therapy (SAT) Therapist. Robert is the Founder and Spiritual Director for Spiritual Guidance and Co-Founder of the Center for Human Awakening.