Davidji's Blog, page 9
July 31, 2023
Managing The Fight/Flight Response
The fight / flight response is a primal response in our bodies for self-preservation – a function of the autonomic nervous system that, essentially, keeps us alive during times of great stress.
When we perceive a threat, the first thing that happens in the body is perspiration – and the second is changes in the breath. We may either begin breathing rapidly, or we may hold our breath – either way, our blood starts flowing more quickly, enabling us to prepare in an instant for the threat lying before us. We may choose to fight, or we may choose to run, but either way, adrenaline, glucagon and cortisol surge into our physical body, preparing us for what is to come.
The fight / flight response was part of a biological evolutionary process so that we could fight or flee from the threats of the ancient world – such as tigers, lions – maybe even a wooly mammoth? – but in today’s world, most of us don’t live with those threats.
Police officers, first responders, and those in the military or living in a war zone deal with these types of stressors every day, but the majority of us don’t – however the fight / flight response is still strong in our bodies and can get activated numerous times each day as we navigate the stressful situations and people in our orbit.
We don’t have any control over when the fight / flight response starts, but we can definitely control how we manage it once it arrives. Turning to our breath is the key.
There are two breathing techniques that work as a pattern interrupt:
Taking several long, slow, deep breaths – the slower the better!
Practicing 16 Seconds – inhale to a count of 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4.
Try either of these practices the next time you find yourself entering into that fight / flight zone, and notice how quickly you can turn it around.
Thank you for joining me today – I look forward to seeing you in the gap!
Namaste. -davidji & Peaches the Buddha Princess
You are beautiful and doing a great job! Don’t forget to LIKE & SUBSCRIBE to my channels to keep your ripple flowing in our community & support this content!!! Check out my Mind Shift membership too [image error] Sending you expansive love, personal growth, and forgiveness. Be well.
Namaste. -davidji & Peaches the Buddha Princess
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July 7, 2023
18-Minute Guided Meditation: Ahimsa
Is it true?Is it kind?Is it necessary? Ayurveda – will this create Ojas (sweet vital nectar), or Ama (toxic residue)? What will be the legacy, of the seeds that we plant? We will use the mantra ‘Ahimsa’ – nonviolence – in this meditation. Simply repeat this mantra over and over again. Anytime you find yourself drifting away, just be gentle – nonviolent – with yourself and drift back to the mantra. Thank you for meditating with me today. Remember to be kind, compassionate and gentle with yourself and with every seed that you plant in the world. P.S. Don’t forget to LIKE & SUBSCRIBE to my channels to keep your ripple flowing in our community & support this content!!! Check out my Mind Shift membership too 
Sending you peace, presence and surrender to the divine within you. Be well. Namaste – davidji & Peaches the Buddha Princess The post 18-Minute Guided Meditation: Ahimsa appeared first on davidji.
July 4, 2023
How To Stop Playing Small
There is a magnificent calling that the universe has bestowed upon each and every one of us, and we have a responsibility to hear the call, and to step into our grace, our power and our magnificence.
It’s only human to play small – we get lazy, or tired, or dull, or acting out of fear. But this is a normal part of being human! It happens to the best of us.
We shouldn’t beat ourselves up when we notice ourselves leaning away from our magnificence – allow these feelings, instead, to be a calling to you, a reminder that you deserve more – to be your highest expression and shine your light into the world.
Simply acknowledging these moments is the first, and most powerful, step to take in order to go beyond it. This is our opportunity to look at it with curiosity and even laughter (“Listen up, self! You can do better!”)
We can use playing small in order to be the inspiration to play big. Let the playing small be a reminder that we want and deserve more from life than how we may have been showing up for it.
Never forget your magnificence – the world needs you to shine!
P.S. Don’t forget to LIKE & SUBSCRIBE to my channels to keep your ripple flowing in our community & support this content!!! Check out my Mind Shift membership too Sending you peace, presence and surrender to the divine within you. Be well.
With love from davidji & Peaches the Buddha Princess
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July 3, 2023
Progress, Not Perfection
In Leonard Cohen’s hit song, Anthem, he sings
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack in everything – that’s how the light gets in.
Newsflash: if you are human, you are not perfect!
Yet if we can just make progress towards our best version, then we are living in our perfection.
Where are your cracks? How can you use those cracks in order to work towards your best version?
Embrace the light from that crack, and become the best version of yourself possible!
Namaste – davidji & Peaches the Buddha Princess
You are beautiful and doing a great job! Don’t forget to LIKE & SUBSCRIBE to my channels to keep your ripple flowing in our community & support this content!!! Check out my Mind Shift membership too [image error] Sending you expansive love, personal growth, and forgiveness. Be well.
Namaste. -davidji & Peaches the Buddha Princess
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16-Minute Guided Meditation Always Do Your Best
Please enjoy this 16-minute meditation on Always Doing Your Best.
In the Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz tells the story of a man who wanted to
transcend his suffering. So he goes to a Buddhist temple to find a Master to help.
He asks him, “Master, if I meditate four hours a day, how long will it take me to transcend?”
The Master looked at him and said, “If you meditate four hours a day, perhaps you will transcend in ten years.”
Thinking he could do better, the man then said, “Oh Master, what if I meditated eight hours a day, how long will it take me to transcend?”
The Master looked at him and said, “If you meditate eight hours a day, perhaps you will transcend in twenty years.”
“But why will it take me longer if I meditate more?” the man asked.
The Master replied,
“You are not here to sacrifice your joy or your life. You are here to live, to be happy and to love. If you can do your best in two hours of meditation, but you spend eight hours instead, you will only grow tired, miss the point, and you won’t enjoy your life.”
Trying too hard or not trying hard enough is where we get off track.
Finding that sweetspot where we are just trying our best, is how we live our best lives.
One of the best ways to get there is to come from a place of stillness and silence – without our conditioning driving us from moment to moment – so please join me right here and now to tap into that sacred space of presence.
We will use the mantra Aham Brahmasmi, which means I Am the Universe. When we transcend our ‘human-ness’ and remember that we are a divine being, we are able to let go of all of the DO-ing and allow ourselves to rest in the light of our BE-ing.
Thank you for taking this time to meditate with me today. I’ll see you in the gap.
Namaste. – davidji & Peaches the Buddha Princess
P.S. Don’t forget to LIKE & SUBSCRIBE to my channels to keep your ripple flowing in our community & support this content!!! Check out my Mind Shift membership too [image error] Sending you peace, presence and surrender to the divine within you. Be well.
Namaste. -davidji & Peaches the Buddha Princess
The post 16-Minute Guided Meditation Always Do Your Best appeared first on davidji.
May 27, 2023
20-Minute Guided Meditation Connecting to Tantra
– with the self, with others, and intimacy with the divine universe, and intimacy with oneness.
How do we touch oneness? By surrendering. It’s a letting go.
Tantra is meditation.
When we let ourselves merge from the intellectual aspect of our being, we surrender into our heart, and all of the forces that keep us stuck in the mind.
Let’s go on a journey through the body using the ever so subtle senses – sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.
Before beginning this meditation practice, remember that comfort is queen. Feather your nest and settle in as we take this journey inwards towards connecting intimately with the divine.
Thank you for taking this time to meditate with me today. I’ll see you in the gap.
Namaste. – davidji & Peaches the Buddha Princess
Let’s meditate ♡
In every single moment, there are infinite possibilities available to you, and through meditation, you can make nourishing life-affirming choices. In those choices, you can also choose what you want to manifest in your life. Don’t forget to LIKE & SUBSCRIBE to my channels to keep your ripple flowing in our community & support this content!!! Check out my Mind Shift membership too [image error] Sending you expansive love, personal growth, and infinite possibilities. Be well.
Namaste. -davidji & Peaches the Buddha Princess
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Core Principles of Meditation
Meditation isn’t just some woo-woo thing that we do to connect to our spiritual side. There is so much scientific proof that meditation is good for us! In this video, I break down the scientific benefits of meditation as well as share some other valuable tips to help you develop and solidify a meditation practice that you love.
But first things first – the science!
Here’s just a few ways that meditation affects our bodies and minds:
Eases inflammationHeightened immunitySlower and deeper breathingSlower heartrate / lower blood pressureMeditation suppresses stress hormonesWe sleep betterWe are more patientMore focused and engagedWe make more purposeful choices / decision-makingThe 16 Seconds to Clarity exercise that I share with you in this video is a way to instantly access the present moment, and allow the stress surrounding you to dissipate,no matter what it is, at any given moment. Simply inhale for four, hold for four, exhale for four, and hold for four. In that 16 second breath practice, you started making huge changes to your body and mind – with just that one breath!
And finally, in this video I also introduce you to the 6 Stages to the Present Moment.
While the present moment is a space of timelessness, it also is fluid and can have many ebbs and flows as we continue connecting to it.
Stage 1 is Settling – remember that Comfort is Queen!
We will never get to be fully present if we are busy thinking about all the ways in which we are uncomfortable.
Stage 2 is Witnessing.
Once we settle in, we begin to witness all that is going on within.
Stage 3 is Drifting.
This is a very natural occurrence and it happens because we are human! Our attention drifts around to sounds, thoughts, or physical sensations in the body.
Stage 4 is Judging.
Eek! This is where our inner critic comes into play. But when we allow that inner voice to tamper down, we can enter into the next stage.
Stage 5 is Surrender.
Finally! We have gotten past all of the things listed above.
Stage 6 is Stillness.
We have reached our destination! This is where we enter into what I like to call ‘The Gap’. And as you flow through your meditation, you will notice yourself going into and out of all of these stages! Let yourself be curious about what you find within each stage, and you will begin to know yourself on a deeper and more profound level.
It is my sincere hope that these teachings help you develop and solidify a meditation practice that works for you.
Namaste – davidji & Peaches the Buddha Princess
You are beautiful and doing a great job! Don’t forget to LIKE & SUBSCRIBE to my channels to keep your ripple flowing in our community & support this content!!! Check out my Mind Shift membership too [image error] Sending you expansive love, personal growth, and forgiveness. Be well.
Namaste. -davidji & Peaches the Buddha Princess
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May 11, 2023
17-Minute Guided Meditation What is Mantra
Please enjoy this 17-minute meditation on what mantra is and means.
In Sanskrit, man means mind, and tra means vehicle, or instrument.
A mantra is a mind vehicle, or a mind instrument. We use a mantra as an object of our attention, and it allows us to step away from the 60-80,000 thoughts that take over our mind every single day.
It allows us to be fully present in the here and now – not consumed by the future or the past. We can simply rest in this sacred, precious present moment.
By touching that space, and allowing ourselves to just be in that space, we transcend time and space.
There are thousands of mantras – and in today’s meditation, we will work with a bija – or “seed” – sound. We will use the mantra ‘Om’ (Aum).
By repeating om, om, om over and over, we connect to nothingness, which connects us to everything.
Silently repeat om over and over and over. Whenever you notice that you drift away, ever so gently return to the mantra.
Thank you for taking this time to meditate with me today. I’ll see you in the gap.
Namaste. – davidji & Peaches the Buddha Princess
Let’s meditate ♡
In every single moment, there are infinite possibilities available to you, and through meditation, you can make nourishing life-affirming choices. In those choices, you can also choose what you want to manifest in your life. Don’t forget to LIKE & SUBSCRIBE to my channels to keep your ripple flowing in our community & support this content!!! Check out my Mind Shift membership too [image error] Sending you expansive love, personal growth, and infinite possibilities. Be well.
Namaste. -davidji & Peaches the Buddha Princess
The post 17-Minute Guided Meditation What is Mantra appeared first on davidji.
What is Mantra?
This week we are diving into the topic of mantra – our mind vehicle (or instrument), and how powerful reciting mantra can be for us.
Mantra has been used in countless traditions – hinduism, buddhism, sikhism, jainism, tantrism, they are meant to be repeated over and over and over again until we reach that place where we are connected to the stillness and silence that rests within.
When we repeat something over and over again, it begins to intersect with the 60-80,000 thoughts that we have every single day – and at some point, they cross each other out and we enter into that space where everything is quiet, and still. I like to call that space the gap, or also known as atma darshan – “glimpsing the soul”.
We use mantras as sacred tools to reach to the depths of our sacred stillness.
One of my favorite mantras is Aham Brahmasmi – I am the Universe! Find a mantra that resonates with you today and use it in your meditation practice.
Aham Brahmasmi, Baby!
You are beautiful and doing a great job! Don’t forget to LIKE & SUBSCRIBE to my channels to keep your ripple flowing in our community & support this content!!! Check out my Mind Shift membership too [image error] Sending you expansive love, personal growth, and forgiveness. Be well.
Namaste. -davidji & Peaches the Buddha Princess
The post What is Mantra? appeared first on davidji.
March 27, 2023
18-Minute Guided Meditation Reflecting on our Karma
Please enjoy this 18-minute meditation dedicated to karma.
Karma means Action. Every action creates a memory – a samskara – and every memory leads to a desires, called vasanas. Every desire then leads us to another action – another karma.
Picture a giant row of dominoes that ultimately lead back to you. You tap the first one, hundreds of dominoes fall, and the last one comes back to tap you.
Every thought we have, every word we speak, and every action we take has impact, has consequences, and creates a ripple. This ripple has led to every other choice in your life.
Let’s close our eyes and reflect on the choices we have made in our lives – where we live, our physical body and the choices we have made around it, our careers, passions, and where we spend our time. Our relationships – family, partners, friends, companion animals, and more. How we communicate with others, our value systems, our emotional responses to life happening around us.
When we realize that we are responsible for every single domino that has been placed in our path, we realize that we are able to lay down our dominoes in any ways that we wish – we have the power to choose.
The mantra we will use is sankalpa, which means subtle intention. Repeat it silently as we move through our meditation, planting it like a seed in the fertile soil of your heart and soul. The universe will sort out all of the details.
Thank you for taking this time to meditate with me today. I’ll see you in the gap.
Namaste. – davidji & Peaches the Buddha Princess
Thank you for taking this time to meditate with me today. I’ll see you in the gap. Namaste. –
davidji & Peaches the Buddha Princess
Let’s meditate ♡
In every single moment, there are infinite possibilities available to you, and through meditation, you can make nourishing life-affirming choices. In those choices, you can also choose what you want to manifest in your life. Don’t forget to LIKE & SUBSCRIBE to my channels to keep your ripple flowing in our community & support this content!!! Check out my Mind Shift membership too [image error] Sending you expansive love, personal growth, and infinite possibilities. Be well.
Namaste. -davidji & Peaches the Buddha Princess
The post 18-Minute Guided Meditation Reflecting on our Karma appeared first on davidji.
