The Peace Mudra

"Every day brings a choice:
to practice stress or to practice peace."
~Joan Borysenko

On this day of remembering, I found myself focusing on the need for  peace in our world. This led me to think about the peace sign we make with our hands.

from Wikipedia

"It has various meanings, depending on the cultural context and how it is presented. It is most commonly used to represent the letter "V" as in "victory"; as a symbol of peace (usually with palm outward); as an offensive gesture (palm inward); and to represent the number 2. It was adopted by the 1960s counterculture movement as a sign for peace."

 As a Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioner, I am always interested in anything that we do with our hands. I am especially fascinated by the tradition of healing mudras (hand gestures) and after my ponderings today, I have come to think of this peace gesture as the "peace mudra".

Think about it....This gesture involves all of the fingers of the hand, either holding them or extending them with intention. 

• The index finger balances the limiting attitude of FEAR and brings LOVE. 
• The middle finger balances ANGER and brings PEACE. 
• Holding the thumb to the ring finger opens the lungs and trades sadness for happiness while clearing our tendency to get stuck in worry-mode, which in turn allows us to be present. 
• And the little finger enables us to let go of pretense and be true to ourselves. 

I can't think of a better way to bring peace to our inner being while projecting a positive force in our world. So now as I perform my daily practice of holding  fingers to clear limiting attitudes, I do it with a new way to think about peace and harmony.  

"Each of us by our daily acts of peace and our commitment to building a better world can inspire others and help create a groundswell for peace too powerful to be turned aside."
~David Krieger

Stay at the Center

"Stay at the center of the circle and let all things take their course." ~Tao Te Ching   The Main Central Universal Harmonizing Energy Flow (the Main Central) is the Source of Life Force Energy for our bodies. The Main Central can be compared to a sensitive antenna as it connects us directly to Universal Source Energy, maintains our connection to Source and serves as the energetic blueprint for our total being. It is the energy flow that created and sustains us, setting our other energy flows in motion and becomes a strong regular force for our bodies when it is allowed to flow freely down the front and up the back.When energy circulates easily and abundantly, body, mind, and spirit are all nourished. But when the flow becomes blocked, constricted or stagnant, disharmony results. The Main Central is a valuable daily self-help tool as basic energy hygiene.  It is the primary harmonizer for all body functions and is responsible for renewing, maintaining and sustaining our manifested form on all levels-physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. Harmonizing the Main Central regularly helps you to feel centered and ensures that you will have plenty of energy.  For me, the Main Central is my primary self-help tool. It has become my daily basic energy tune-up. Most days, I do this flow in the morning before I get out of bed and at night before falling asleep. When I am abusing my body (gardening, dancing, painting, computer work, etc) during the day, I take a break and do this flow. It re-centers me and takes the kinks out of my body.  It is simple self-help. Follow the steps in the picture...  1. Right hand (RH) on top of head.  - Hold till last step.     Left hand (LH) between eye brows (3rd eye)  2. LH on tip of Nose. 3. LH on Throat  4. LH on Top of Sternum.  5. LH on Base of Sternum.  6. LH on Pubic bone.  7. RH on Coccyx. Hold each step for 2-3 minutes, or until the pulses you feel at each hand synchronize with each other. "I want you to be everything that's you, deep at the center of your being." ~Confucius

Nurture

"The best way to nurture children's inner lives is by taking care of our own inner selves  for their sake." ~Sylvia Boorstein Nurturing ourselves may well be one of our greatest challenges in life. As women, we tend to put everyone else first, thinking that our role is to please and accommodate our loved ones and our jobs before tending to our own emotional, physical, or spiritual needs. For many, it takes a "special" day like Mother's Day or our birthday to allow others to DO for us! But when our habit is to put others first, the result is that we are stressed out and depleted and have little left to give. However, when we make the time to take care of our own needs, we have so much more to share with our families and our jobs!  Eda LeShan says, “When we truly care for ourselves, it becomes possible to care far more profoundly about other people. The more alert and sensitive we are to our own needs, the more loving and generous we can be toward others."  It is important that we find ways to nourish ourselves, to listen to our bodies and to tap into healthy resources like Jin Shin Jyutsu to maintain a sense of balance and to nurture our spirit and well-being. It might be helpful to think of caring for yourself as if you were your own child.  According to Lauren Mackler, author of 7 Steps to Nurturing Your Inner Self, "A great technique for treating yourself better is by developing your Inner Nurturing Parent. Imagine you had a little child in your care. You'd make every effort to keep her healthy and safe; to love and support her; to be forgiving of her mistakes, her inevitable slips; and to let her know how precious and important she is. That's what a loving parent does. Only, in this case, you're the parent and the child." Mary Burmeister, the mother of Jin Shin Jyutsu encouraged her students to, "BE your own testimony." Think of nurturing yourself as setting the example for your children and those you care about by giving to yourself at least as much as you give to others. Love is the great healer. The capacity for self-love and the ability to self nurture is bigger than you and me, it will bring balance and peace to the world.  "We've got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can't just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it's going to get on by itself. You've got to keep watering it. You've got to really look after it and nurture it." ~John Lennon