You all know how we feel about Meditating. Guided meditation is the best because you can LISTEN to a voice which will get you there. When life is overwhelming, try it. Once you do and remember that feeling of peace and how wonderful it feels, you will turn to the guided voice over and over again. Thank you Jennifer Krause for your dedication to finding our Monday Meditations for us and this amazing piece on the importance. 

"Meditation is a practice in which an individual trains the mind or induces a mode of consciousness, either to realize some benefit, or as an end in itself." There many benefits from Meditating. Meditation can help clear the mind, lower blood pressure, ease anxiety or depression, or to bring a sense of inner peace, bringing mindfulness to the moment. There are many ways to meditate, and the best way is what works for you. Some can sit quietly for hours on end while some have such "Monkey Mind", a couple of minutes can be more than enough. Something just as simple as taking 3 deep breaths can be a wonderful way to start. In meditation we learn to become the watcher of the mind and become aware of the gaps in our thoughts, and in those gaps there is an opening. A few examples of ways that one can meditate are: guided mediations, walking meditations, meditation music, getting out in nature, silent meditation, chanting or mantra meditation, singing, praying, breathing...... Taking the time to experiment with different types, will guide us to what will work best for us. As we are all parents that have suffered the greatest loss, that of a child, grief has become a close companion. Grief is such a strong emotion, adding a daily practice of meditation can truly help on this journey of healing. Namaste

Im constantly in awe of the tremendous strength of the grieving parent. They are rock solid even though they feel they stand on a slippery slope. VOOA members constantly amaze me in that they are the kindest, most compassionate, understanding people that the world will ever encounter. Sometimes they are down, sometimes they are up but their behavior remains in check despite the horrific walk they are journeying. Many a member has come to the aid of another despite their own pain. They put others first and for that I am so grateful. Occasionally we encounter someone who uses grief as an excuse for their bad behavior. I say it over and over... there is no excuse for bad behavior. We have all learned this together and the results are more than expected. We don't enable each other but rather give each other strength. We know that there are others in our shoes and we are not special to this situation. WE ARE DIVINE STRENGTH, DIVINE DETERMINATION AND DIVINELY GUIDED IN OUR JOURNEY... and for that I am grateful <3