Mothlight & Meditation - #AtoZChallenge

Mothlight

by Adam Scovell

“The idea was lost but the memory was here.”

Phyllis Ewans, a prominent researcher in Lepidoptera and a keen walker, has died of old age. Thomas, a much younger fellow researcher of moths first met Phyllis when he was a child. He became her carer and companion, having rekindled her acquaintance in later life.

Increasingly possessed by thoughts that he somehow actually is Phyllis Ewans, and unable to rid himself of the feeling that she is haunting him, Thomas must discover her secrets through her many possessions and photographs, before he is lost permanently in a labyrinth of memories long past.

Steeped in dusty melancholy and analogue shadows, MOTHLIGHT is an uncanny story of grief, memory and the price of obsession.

Meditation

Meditation is an approach to training the mind, similar to the way that fitness is an approach to training the body. Here is a video about body scanning...

But many meditation techniques exist — so how do you learn how to meditate? (click the highlight text or the picture to view a much larger picture to read text)

It’s extremely difficult for a beginner to sit for hours and think of nothing or have an “empty mind.” Here are a few tips to get you started:

Last Ones Left Alive & Loving Metta Meditation - #AtoZChallenge

Last Ones Left Alive

by Sarah Davis-Goff

LAST ONES LEFT ALIVE is the story of Orpen, a young woman who must walk on foot across a ravaged Ireland in the desperate hope of saving herself, and her guardian Maeve, from the zombie-like menace known as the skrake. Sarah Davis-Goff's strikingly original debut will appeal to readers of dystopian literary fiction such as STATION 11 or THE END WE START FROM.

Watch your six. Beware tall buildings. Always have your knives.

Growing up on a tiny island off the coast of a post-apocalyptic Ireland, Orpen's life has revolved around physical training and necessity. After Mam died, it's the only way she and her guardian Maeve have survived the ravenous skrake (zombies) who roam the wilds of the ravaged countryside, looking for prey.

When Maeve is bitten and infected, Orpen knows what she should do - sink a knife into her eye socket, and quickly. Instead, she tries to save Maeve, and following rumours of a distant city on the mainland, guarded by fierce banshees, she sets off, pushing Maeve in a wheelbarrow and accompanied by their little dog, Danger. It is a journey on which Orpen will need to fight repeatedly for her life, drawing on all of her training and instincts. In the course of it, she will learn more about the Emergency that destroyed her homeland, and the mythical Phoenix City - and discover a starting truth about her own identity.

Loving a.k.a Metta Meditation

Also called metta, loving-kindness meditation is the simple practice of directing well-wishes towards other people. Here's How to Do It. The general idea is to sit comfortably with your eyes closed, and imagine what you wish for your life. Formulate your desires into three or four phrases.

The practice of Metta meditation is a beautiful support to other awareness practices. One recites specific words and phrases evoking a "boundless warm-hearted feeling." The strength of this feeling is not limited to or by family, religion, or social class. We begin with our self and gradually extend the wish for well-being happiness to all beings.

Killing November, Kundalini & Kid Yoga - #AtoZChallenge

Killing November

by Adriana Mather (Goodreads Author)

It’s a school completely off the grid, hidden by dense forest and surrounded by traps. There’s no electricity, no internet, and an eye-for-an-eye punishment system. Classes include everything from Knife-Throwing and Poisons to the Art of Deception and Historical Analysis. And all of the students are children of the world’s most elite strategists—training to become assassins, counselors, spies, and master impersonators. Into this world walks November Adley, who quickly discovers that friends are few in a school where personal revelations are discouraged and competition is everything. When another student is murdered, all eyes turn to November, who must figure out exactly how she fits into the school’s bizarre strategy games before she is found guilty of the crime…or becomes the killer’s next victim.

Kundalini Energy

(Click for more info)

Kundalini is a universally acknowledged and deeply revered energy that pervades everyday life. While it is recognized by many different names (Holy Spirit, Shakti, etc…) based on the contextual belief system or religion, there is a commonality in this realization of a cosmic energy.
The term is derived from the Sanskrit kundal meaning “coiled one.” Dharma teaching dictates that this internal energy is coiled (like a serpent) near the base of the spine.
The aim of Kundalini is to awaken that slumbering energy. Those who decide to pursue Kundalini as a practice to release this coiled energy are said to be rewarded with spiritual enlightenment and higher conscious awareness.
Kundalini energy rests like a coiled serpent at the base of the spine. When this dormant energy is freed it flows upward through the seven chakras – which are the energy centers of our body – and leads to an expanded state of consciousness,  known as a kundalini awakening.
The diagram below shows how this energy flows through the chakras.

Just My Luck & Jagadguru - #AtoZChallege

Just My Luck
by Jennifer Honeybourn (Goodreads Author)


Marty has terrible luck and she knows exactly why. While working as a housekeeper at the ritzy Grand Palms hotel in Maui, Marty made it a habit to steal small items from the guests. What better way to stick it to the rich snobs they have to clean up after? Marty knows how to turn her luck around -- she just has to return all of the items she stole.

When Marty meets Will, a new guest who is staying for the summer, she does the one thing she always promised herself she'd never do -- fall for an out-of-towner. But Will's special, different from the other guests at the hotel. Maybe Marty's luck is finally turning around.

After a string of misunderstandings and accidents threaten Will and Marty's relationship, Marty has to find a way to fix her luck for good -- or say goodbye to Will forever.

Jagadguru


Jagadguru is a term used for a guru whose influence on the world has the power to transform it. The term – literally meaning “guru of the world” – comes from the Sanskrit, jagat, meaning “world,” “Earth,” “the cosmos” or “mankind”; and guru, which means “teacher” and usually refers to a spiritual master.
The title of jagadguru is typically used in traditional orthodox Hinduism, particularly for acaryas (spiritual teachers) in the Vedanta school of thought who have written commentaries on the scriptures.

The Invited & I Am Meditation - #AtoZChallenge

The Invited

by Jennifer McMahon (Goodreads Author)

A chilling ghost story with a twist: the New York Times best-selling author of THE WINTER PEOPLE, returns to the woods of Vermont to tell the story of a husband and wife who don't simply move into a haunted house, they start building one from scratch, without knowing it, until it's too late...

In a quest for a simpler life, Helen and Nate abandon the comforts of suburbia and teaching jobs to take up residence on forty-four acres of rural land where they will begin the ultimate, aspirational do-it-yourself project: building the house of their dreams. When they discover that this charming property has a dark and violent past, Helen, a former history teacher, becomes consumed by the legend of Hattie Breckenridge, a woman who lived and died there a century ago. As Helen starts carefully sourcing decorative building materials for her home - wooden beams, mantles, historic bricks -- she starts to unearth, and literally conjure, the tragic lives of Hattie's descendants, three generations of "Breckenridge women," each of whom died amidst suspicion, and who seem to still be seeking something precious and elusive in the present day.

IAM Meditation (click for further info)

IAM – Integrated Amrita Meditation Technique® is a powerful practice synthesized by the world-renowned spiritual leader and humanitarian Sri Mata Amritanandamayi, affectionately called “Amma”. IAM practice helps people find fulfillment in life.

The meditation technique introduced here is called ‘Integrated Amrita Meditation Technique’® because its goal is the integration of body, breath, and mind. It is a combination of Relaxing yogic stretches, breathing and concentration exercises and takes only 30 minutes a day. IAM is a suitable practice for people of all faiths; it is not bound to any religious or spiritual belief system.

Daily Mental Maintenance

The mind is like a machine. But it is completely up to us to maintain that machine properly. Only then will we get the maximum potential from it. We should also know how to turn the machine off. This, sadly, has become a lost art, and the very reason we see so many people around us “blowing fuses.” IAM (Meditation) Technique is a daily mental maintenance system. Through focusing on objects, sounds and sensations during meditation, our power of concentration increases. Observing our mental and vital functions, we gain awareness. Relaxing the mind removes stress. Expanding our concept of self similarly expands our thinking in general, making us more creative.

House of Salt and Sorrows & Holistic Healing - #AtoZChallenge

House of Salt and Sorrows

by Erin A. Craig (Goodreads Author)

Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls' lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last—the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge—and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods.

Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn't sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who—or what—are they really dancing with?

When Annaleigh's involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it's a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family—before it claims her next.

Holistic Healing (click to further expland your knowledge)


To pursue a life of holistic health or to use holistic healing to recover from illness or injury, consider the following:

• Environment: consider your exposure to natural light and fresh air, pay special attention to the effect of seasonal changes.
• Nutrition: evaluate your relationship with eating and drinking, pay special attention to stimulants and depressants, as well as noting where habits override actual needs.
• Exercise: incorporate exercise with recuperation, strike the right balance to find a rhythm of relaxation to reduce stress and tension.
• Strengthen the bones;
• Strengthen the lungs and heart with increased oxygen intake;
• Improve management and elimination of stress hormones;
• Improve muscle coordination, which strengthens our brains and improves concentration;
• Stimulate metabolism, including the elimination and detoxification of internal organs.
• Improve mood
• Increase energy
• Improve sleep
• Sleep: observe sleep hygiene practices, taking into account the time of day and length of productive sleep cycles.
• Excretion: manage an efficient digestive process to preserve the balance of bodily fluids, or “juices”.
• Passions: engage in your passions without being controlled by them.

Mind/Body techniques for holistic health

• Acupuncture
• Acupressure
• Aromatherapy
• Chiropractic
• Biofeedback
• Reflexology
• Yoga, Tai chi, Qi Gong
• Reiki
• Meditation
• Progressive Relaxation
• Guided Imagery
• Hypnotherapy
• Cold water therapy
• Rolfing Structural Integration
• Osteopathic manipulation

Natural products for holistic health

• Herbs & Botanicals
• Dietary supplements

Practice areas for holistic healing

• Homeopathy
• Energy Healing
• Spiritual Healing

Integrative Medicine

Integrative medicine is an approach to patient care that puts the patient at the center. It addresses the full range of conditions that may influence a persons health and wellness, including:

• Physical
• Emotional
• Mental
• Social
• Spiritual
• Environmental

The Grand Dark & Grounding - #AtoZChallenge

The Grand Dark

by Richard Kadrey

From the bestselling author of the Sandman Slim series, a lush, dark, stand-alone fantasy built off the insurgent tradition of China Mieville and M. John Harrison—a subversive tale that immerses us in a world where the extremes of bleakness and beauty exist together in dangerous harmony in a city on the edge of civility and chaos.

The Great War is over. The city of Lower Proszawa celebrates the peace with a decadence and carefree spirit as intense as the war’s horrifying despair. But this newfound hedonism—drugs and sex and endless parties—distracts from strange realities of everyday life: Intelligent automata taking jobs. Genetically engineered creatures that serve as pets and beasts of war. A theater where gruesome murders happen twice a day. And a new plague that even the ceaseless euphoria can’t mask.

Unlike others who live strictly for fun, Largo is an addict with ambitions. A bike messenger who grew up in the slums, he knows the city’s streets and its secrets intimately. His life seems set. He has a beautiful girlfriend, drugs, a chance at a promotion—and maybe, an opportunity for complete transformation: a contact among the elite who will set him on the course to lift himself up out of the streets.

But dreams can be a dangerous thing in a city whose mood is turning dark and inward. Others have a vision of life very different from Largo’s, and they will use any methods to secure control. And in behind it all, beyond the frivolity and chaos, the threat of new war always looms.

Grounding & Earthing (Meditation)

GROUNDING Techniques when you are feeling anxious or stressed.

The 5-4-3-2-1 Technique

Sitting comfortably, close your eyes and taking a couple of deep breathes. Now open you eyes and list out loud, the above list: 5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, and so on.

Hold something and focus on it



I call these "worry stones". Hold an object in your hand and really bring your full focus to it. Look at where shadows may fall on parts of it or maybe there are shapes that form within the object. Feel how heavy or light it is in your hand and what the surface texture feels like under your fingers.

Distract Yourself



EARTHING - What is it?

A fast-growing movement based upon the discovery that connecting to the Earth's natural energy is foundational for vibrant health.