More Lotus

My theme running through my craft right now seems to be the lotus flower. Ever since I found out it represents people who had a hard time in life and have overcome it has been my symbolic mantra.

My daughter had a wonderful time sculpting the center flower that I decided to use the design for this bracelet. It is not an exact botanical replica of the flower, save for the pointed petals, so I named it Abstract Lotus.

I feel like the character played by Richard Dreyfus in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" when he felt compelled to create the infamous "mashed potato" mountain over and over and over again. It was stuck in his brain by the aliens urging him to come to that particular spot for a mass visitation. Except I am being urged to create a bunch of lotuses!

Om Meditation

I've been practicing the Om type meditation for a couple weeks now and it is amazing how it clarifies the mind. It is basically just focusing on the breathing by using the exhaling of breath along with an Oommmmmm sound. At first I felt like a real idiot sitting there making funny sounds, but it actually has a lot of benefits:

1) The vibration of the sound clears up the nasal cavity...no joke...try it.

2) Helps remove negative junk from the mind and your pure essence comes out without all misconceptions, including falsehood created by other folks who try to define who you are.

3) It focuses the mind so that your activities are clarified and you do things in the moment very well, rather than running around doing a lot of things very badly.

4) If you are going through a lot of stress it helps relieve it.

5) It helps pave the way before you start meditation on particular subjects like compassion, how to improve oneself, solving complicated problems and dealing with difficult people.

This bracelet has a lotus engraving which represents an awakening to the spiritual side of life. The actual lotus flower grows up from the mud and sheds that muck and grime when it blossoms...so it is a popular symbol for overcoming life's troubles.

I like to wear this type of jewelry when meditating as it hones in on a positive thought pattern. Only positive thinking will help one get through obstacles as it strengthens and prepares us to look for solutions to problems rather than just focusing on the problem.