Search Results for: wp-content/uploads/2010/08/wholesomeresources.com/2961/twas-the-time-before-christmas

Honoring Mother’s Day with Story, Poems & Quotes

May 3, 2016 by Julie Lusk

The idea for Mother’s Day originated in 1870 by Julia Ward Howe, the author of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” She believed that peace and equality were two of the most important world causes and challenged women to rise up against war in all its forms. She wanted women to unite by coming together across national lines to recognize what people have in common over what comes between us in a “Mothers Day for Peace.” Although this didn’t happen, Julia inspired Anna Jarvisto to start her own crusade to celebrate a memorial day for mother’s in 1907. The rest is “herstory.”

Here’s to peace and equality for all. Julia’s declaration follows:

Arise then…women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
“We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,
For caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”

[Read more…]

The Inner Eye of Awareness Meditation ©

March 28, 2014 by Julie Lusk

Time: 15-20 minutes

Summary: This meditation opens the door to your inner awareness and to a place of deep inner stillness by focusing your awareness upon the inner pulsation that is seen behind the closed eyes. Yogis have used this practice for thousands of years.

Guided Meditation:

Begin with settling your body/mind in a meditation posture that is comfortable for you. This may be sitting upright on a firm chair, or on the floor with or without a meditation cushion. Choose a position that allows your spine to be upright and erect, respecting your knees, hips, shoulders, and back.

Refine your seat by settling more firmly onto your sitz bones…level your pelvis…circle your shoulders up, back and down…lift your sternum…place your chin so it’s parallel to the floor…and lift the crown of your head gently upwards.

Place your hands either on your lap with one had cradled into the other with your thumbs touching or place one on each knee and touch the pads of your thumbs to the tip of your index fingers. The hands can face up or down.

Speaking from your heart, quietly set an intention by saying something like “I’m going to be still for 15 minutes focusing my breathing. As soon as I notice I’m thinking or distracted, I will let it go of the distraction and return to my breath.”

Take a few moments to get in touch with the sensations present in your body … ask for and receive permission from your body to meditate.

Get in touch with your thinking mind …and your emotions … ask for and receive permission from your mind… and emotions to meditate.

Ask for help and grace from your inner teacher and your connection to the divine (Jesus, Buddha, the Divine Mother, etc.)

Follow your breath for a few minutes, or use whatever method works best for becoming centered.

Take a moment to offer your meditation to be of benefit to all sentient beings.

With your outer eyes closed, become aware of your inner eyes by looking at what you see behind your eyelids …turning your attention inward to your consciousness… simply observe your own inner world with your inner eye so you can become more aware of what you actually see behind your closed eyes…

Perhaps you see a field of gray…or a mosaic of color…something like the night sky… a ruby red…or a bluish-gray light … The shapes and color you see doesn’t matter at all, what’s important is to impartially watch whatever you see as you see it.

You are looking at mind stuff; the inner consciousness…this is the place from which all thoughts, feelings, perceptions and sensations arise and subside. It’s the energetic ground.

If you would like to spark your inner experience, blink your eyes tighter, even though they are already closed and pay attention to what you see…Another way is to rub your eyes through your closed eyelids very softly and tenderly.

Now notice the dynamic quality of this inner consciousness…Notice if what you see constantly shifts and changes, forming new patterns of subtle movement …a kind of dance of images…color…or shapes…vibrating and pulsing… expanding and contracting… …this is your inner consciousness and it’s made of energy… merely watch the pulsation and it’s ongoing nature.

Take as much time as you wish to follow the patterns of the coming and going of the designs that are a part of your inner world of awareness.

When you notice your mind has drifted into thinking, bring your awareness back to looking behind your eyelids.

If you would like to deepen your experience, find a point of inner awareness that captures your attention right now and in this moment…perhaps it’s a darker, or maybe a brighter spot, and focus there…watching and witnessing …and allowing it to take you inward still…and deeper.

It’s time to make the transition back…Bring your attention back to your breath and without changing it, follow along with your mind’s eye…following the inhalation and exhalation and the coming and going of your breath.

Focus your attention on the rest of your body … shift your weight … and stretch a little bit…and return to being still.

Open your eyes just a sliver and then close them, returning inside for a little longer…slowly blink your eyes open, being aware of blending the inner sight with the outer world…Sit a bit longer and gradually open your eyes and stretch more fully. Notice any changes that have happened since your inward journey into the eye of consciousness.

Author’s Note: This practice is one I discovered on my own as a little girl. More recently, I have returned to this form of meditation and it is particularly effective for capturing my attention and holding me in the moment. This rendition was inspired by Sally Kempton and is included in her book named “The Heart of Meditation: Pathways to a Deeper Experience” published by the SYDA Foundation in 2002. Sally shares a wealth of her vast knowledge and experience in her book and it is one of my favorites.

Reprinted with permission from Yoga Meditations: Timeless Mind-Body Practices for Awakening by Julie Lusk.

Mouth Yoga

March 4, 2015 by Julie Lusk

According to the yoga tradition, 80% of your problems can be solved with mouth yoga. That is, what you eat and drink and put in your mouth, what you say, and who you kiss makes a big difference.

Wise yogis ask us to consider 3 things before saying something:

Is it true?
Is it necessary?
Is it kind?

Practice smiling, whether you feel like it or not, is the advice given by Thich Nhat Hahn, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by the Rev. Martin Luther King, He said you will feel more positive and at peace. He says in his book, Be Free Where You Are, he gives us the exercise of “Breathing in, I smile. Breathing out, I release.”

If you’re wondering why you should smile when there isn’t joy inside, he answers, “Smiling is a practice. There are over three hundred muscles in your face. When you are angry or fearful, these muscles tense up. The tension in these muscles creates a feeling of hardness. If you know how to breathe in and produce a smile, however, the tension will disappear – it is what I call “mouth yoga.” Make smiling an exercise. Just breath in and smile – the tension will disappear and you will feel much better.”

Belleruth Naparstek calls smiling “affirmations for your face” and promises you’ll start getting smiles back from others. I call it smile-asana. Go ahead… and Smile Now!

Smiling may help you live longer. Wayne State University researchers studied major league baseball card pictures from 1952. They found that smiling players lived an average of 7 years longer than non-smiling players.

Smiling stimulates the brain equivalent to eating up to 2000 chocolate bars or getting up to $25,000 in a study by UK researchers who used electromagnetic brain scans and heart-rate monitors to generate “mood-boosting values.”

Do you have jaw tension? Do you grip your teeth tightly? Try opening your mouth and moving your jaw up and down and sideways to relieve tension. Another method is to rub your scalp around the half-moon circling over the top of your ears. While you’re at it, rub your outer ears with your fingertips and thumbs for a nice energizer. Lowering your caffeine levels may relieve jaw tension too. Come on now, let go … and smile!

Do you know what the yoga police say? “You have the right to remain silent.”

What you see and hear matters too. Habib Sadeghi writes about a phenomenon called the Illusion of Truth Effect. Basically, it says that repetition increases our mental validation of anything we’re exposed to whether or not the information is true or not. Hearing or seeing something consistently is viewed as more valid than messages we’re exposed to only occasionally. A weak message repeated twice becomes more valid than a strong message heard only once, according to research from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Therefore, be careful of the messages you’re being exposed to since repetition matters. Think again about all those political messages and evaluate their accuracy with facts. Sadeghi offers these recommendations in his article:

1. MAKING WORDS WORK. To consciously harness the power of words for your benefit, start with the ones you’re using.

2. NO NAME-CALLING OR SELF-CRITICISM. Everyone is doing the best they can at any moment in time with the consciousness they have to work with, including you. Be kind and offer yourself the same empathy and compassion you’d extend to anyone else.

3. STOP ALL SELF-DEPRECATION. Never make your body, or something you’ve accomplished, or anything else in your life the butt of a joke. Words have power, and quantum energy doesn’t have a sense of humor.

4. RESIST GOSSIPING AND SPEAKING ILL OF OTHERS. It’s impossible for your words to resonate in anyone else’s body but your own.

5. GO ON A NEGATIVITY DIET. Instead of saying that a meal was terrible say, “I’ve had better.” You’ve basically said what you wanted to say without putting negative energy through your body—you even used a positive word to do it!

6. BOOST THE POSITIVE ENERGY OF WORDS. Instead of saying something like you had a good time at a concert, ramp up the positive energy by saying great, terrific, or fantastic, instead. These feel much better and generate a bigger energetic response in the body.

7. IF YOU HAVE SOME NEGATIVE NOAHS OR NANCYS IN YOUR CIRCLE OF FRIENDS, limit the time you spend with them or find better friends. Negative energy has a way of dragging everything surrounding it in, like a big black hole. Avoid it when you can.

8. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH POSITIVE, UPLIFTING WORDS. Put affirmations on sticky notes around your home and office that say wonderful things about you, your family, or your goals. Wear clothes that have positive messages or phrases on them. Imagine the kind of positive energy you’ll be generating for yourself when you’re wearing positivity all day long. As you keep doing these things, you use the power of repetition in a highly effective way for your benefit. You have the power to change your world, and using words consciously is one of the quickest ways to shift the energy you bring into your life.

—

SoulCollage® Workshops – Zoom

Experience the Magic of SoulCollage®

Info & Registration

SoulCollage® is a fun process of making small collages from pictures and images that catch your eye. It boosts creativity, intuition, and self-discovery using a special and unique process to nurture your well-being. It’s different than typical collages, scrap-booking or vision boarding. It’s a special way to give expression to your inner voice by making collages and through conversation. Register now to find out for yourself.

No artistic talent is needed – cutting and pasting is all that’s required. New and experienced folks are welcome. Scroll down to pre-register.

SoulCollage easily becomes very empowering due to combining the proven process with the special supplies used. A personal deck of cards are made one at a time to weave parts of yourself into wholeness. You’ll learn to consult your cards using a simple, yet elegant, process for gaining insights, answering questions, and getting more meaning from life.

5″x8” mat boards and special see-through sleeves are used. To spark your creative imagination and intuition, it’s customary to use pictures with no words on them. Precut images are supplied from a variety of sources. Your own photographs and images can be added. Participants typically make from 1 to 6 cards during a session.

You use your own supplies for Zoom workshops. ♥ BUY supplies here if needed.
All materials are supplied during in-person workshops – even snacks.

Comments from Participants

“I like the sense of community, the creativity, using my intuition, looking at images and finding beauty and meaning.”

“I like how it helps me see life through a different lens, a different perspective.”

“I love the soul-searching, self discovery, and connecting with others.”

Julie Lusk is a trained SoulCollage facilitator since 2015. She loves sharing it with others.

What is SoulCollage FAQ handout (pdf) explains what SoulCollage cards are, how to make them, types of cards, and how to use them on.
Get Julie’s Soul Collage READING Worksheet 2 per page 2021 (002) here. (pdf)
See the supplies needed. Order a packet.
Get detailed information from founder Seena Frost’s book, SoulCollage® Evolving.
Register below ↓↓

2026 SoulCollage Schedule

Come to one, some, or all!
All times are in the Eastern Time Zone
Schedule is subject to change
Click here to contact Julie Lusk to save your spot or make inquiries.

Jan	July
Feb 21 \|10 – 1:30 pm on ZOOM	Aug 8 \| 10 – 1:30 pm on ZOOM
March	Sept
April 18 \| 10 – 1:30 pm \| on ZOOM	Oct 24 \| 10 – 1:30 pm on ZOOM
May	Nov
June 20 \| 10:30 – 2 pm on ZOOM	Dec

Registration

Pay online below OR send a check to payable to Julie Lusk to 5678 Willnean Dr., Milford, OH 45150
$30 on Zoom for a virtual workshop from your own home using your own materials. Purchase supplies and have them mailed to you in advance if needed. Options include just cards & sleeves or a complete workshop supply packet including instructions, mat boards, sleeves, frame, glue stick, and a variety of inspiring, trimmed images. Get supplies here.
Register now for all 5 in 2026 for $125 to save time and money.
Schedule is subject to change. Verify dates and times here.
Cancellation/ Refund Policy: Contact Julie for details. No refund or credit for no shows.

SoulCollage (r) Workshop

Register now! Checkout at "View Cart." A confirmation email is sent prior to the SoulCollage workshop with details and directions.

Price: $40.00

Price: $30.00

Go to CART to review your order & check out.

Julie T. Lusk, M.Ed.
Wholesome Resources
5678 Willnean Dr.
Milford, OH 45150

Greater Cincinnati Area

Alternate Nostril Breathing: Nadi Shodhana

October 20, 2018 by Julie Lusk

Alternate nostril breathing, also called Nadi Shodhana or Nadi Suddhi, creates a sense of physical, mental, and emotional well-being. It is done by alternating nostrils while breathing. Doing so balances right and left-brain integration, promotes mental clarity, and whole brain functioning. It can relieve headaches and sinus problems. It calms emotions and fosters feelings of deep inner contentment and balance. Due to its soothing effect, it is ideal preparation for deep relaxation or meditation.

Time: 2 minutes of daily practice. Increase gradually to 10 minutes or longer

The nadis (pronounced NAH-deez) are the non-physical nerve channels within the body. The nadis deliver prana, the life force, throughout the body. While there are thought to be over 72,000 nadis that travel throughout the body, there are three primary ones that run along the spine. Alternate nostril breathing balances these nadis.

The ida (pronounced EE-dah) is energetically to the left of the spine and is activated by the exhalation. It is associated with the receptiveness, intuition, and passivity.
The pingala (pronounced pin-GAH-lah) is activated by the inhalation and is energetically on the right. It is associated with activity, logic, and objectiveness.
The sushumna (pronounced sue-SHOOM-nah) is the central channel. It is activated by the gap between breaths. It is linked with wisdom and the balancing of our active and receptive nature.

The first step to the practice is to learn the proper hand position to aid in the alternation of the breath. Two hand positions (mudras) are offered. Both are effective. Try them both to find out which feels easier for you. Take a few minutes to get used to switching between nostrils with the hand positions before adding the breathing patterns.

The first way, named Vishnu Mudra, is to take your right hand and bend your index and middle fingers toward the palm. Your thumb, ring, and pinky fingers are upright. Next, get used to gently closing your right nostril first with your thumb, and then release the thumb and close your left nostril with the ring finger of your right hand. Switch back and forth until it feels smooth.

Nasagra Mudra is another hand position that can be used. Begin by making the peace sign with your right hand. Next, bring your pointer and middle fingers together and then release your thumb. Place the pads of your index and middle fingers in the center of your forehead or between your eyebrows and then use your thumb and the knuckle of your ring finger to alternately close and release your nostrils.

The rhythm of the inhalation to the exhalation is usually uneven at first. With practice, it will smooth out so they become equal in length. When this is easy for you, begin slowing the exhalation down so that it becomes longer than the inhalation until eventually the exhalation is about twice as long as your inhalation. More breathing ratios are below. Maintain alertness of your breath instead of breathing mechanically.

Process

While either hand position can be used, the Vishnu Mudra is used to describe the pattern for the sake of clarity. The pattern alternates nostrils after each inhalation like this: Exhale – inhale / change nostril / exhale – inhale / change nostril, etc.

Here’s how to practice one round of alternate nostril breathing:

Come into a comfortable seated position with your spine erect.
Form your fingers of your right hand into Vishnu Mudra by curling your index and middle fingers into your palm, straighten the ring and little fingers, and place your thumb against your right nostril.
1. Gently exhale and then inhale through your left nostril.
2. Close the left nostril with the ring finger.
3. Release the thumb. Gently exhale and then inhale through the right nostril.
4. Close that nostril with the thumb and continue with step 1.
In other words, repetition is done by alternating nostrils after each inhalation.
Begin practicing for two minutes and gradually, very gradually, increase to ten minutes. Avoid strain or force.

Breathing Ratio Variations for alternate nostril breathing: Take your time with these ratios. Never rush. Do not force or strain. Do not use breath retention if you have hypertension or other cardiac conditions.

The examples given are to the count of 4. This can be adjusted to 3, 4, 5 or 6 depending upon your comfort level. Count by silently saying Om 1, Om 2, Om 3, Om 4, etc.

Ratio of 1:1 – Develop breath control so that the inhalation and the exhalation are exactly the same length of time. Inhale for the count of 4. Exhale for 4. . Do not proceed until perfected.
Ratio of 1:2 – Double the length of the exhalation. Inhale for the count of 4. Exhale for 8. Do not proceed until perfected.
Ratio of 1:2:2 – Addition of breath retention. Inhale to the count of 4. Hold the breath for 8. Exhale for 8. Do not proceed until perfected.
Ratio of 1:4:2 – Inhale to the count of 4. Hold 16. Exhale 8. Do not proceed until perfected.
Ratio of 1:4:2:3 – Inhale 4. Hold 16. Exhale 8. Hold the exhalation 12. Do not proceed until perfected.

Note: Alternate Nostril Breathing was adapted and reprinted with permission from Julie Lusk’s books

Yoga Meditations: Timeless Mind-Body Practices for Awakening, published by Whole Person Associates, Duluth, MN
Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation & Stress Relief, published by New Harbinger Publications, Oakland, CA