This is an excerpt from our upcoming release, Meditation Mama, soon to be released by Jupiter Gardens Press. This is a fascinating look at meditation and connection with your unborn child as well as a way to deepen your connection with your own child after birth. I hope you enjoy.

Meditation Mama by Sasha Vivelo

Meditation has the power to make us whole. When we give and receive love, we shine. We become the pure beings of light that we were born to be. There are dozens of types of meditation. Some are complicated and methodical. Others only ask you to sit still and wait. It does not matter what method you choose. Meditation simply means allowing the mind to become quiet and allowing your true nature to shine through.

This book contains guided meditations to help you to relax, enjoy your pregnancy and feel deeply connected with your unborn child.

It is common to feel confused or frightened when you are pregnant, planning for a pregnancy or even thinking about the distant possibility of future children. We spend much of our everyday lives struggling to get the next thing done and to strike the next item off our to-do list; we often fail to hear the quiet voice within. The quiet voice within always speaks in our best interest. That inner voice does not speak in words but it has a way of whispering that everything is going to be okay. Stripped to its bare bones, meditation is the calming of all the loud, clamorous thoughts so we can hear the whisper. Meditation is the stilling of the mind.

Meditation is listening.

When you practice the meditations given here, you will have an opportunity to listen to yourself in a way that will help you gain understanding of what you need most as a mother-to-be. You will have an opportunity to listen to the spirit or essence of your unborn child, which will help you to feel empowered as a mother. You will also have the opportunity to listen to your angels, your guides or whatever you choose to call your spiritual helpers, who will assist you in finding peace along the path to motherhood.

Meditation for pregnancy is simply meditation tailored to the expectant mother or to the future parent hoping to conceive. It makes use of ancient wisdom. For thousands of years, sages have known that a few minutes spent in quiet contemplation can make a world of difference to our outlook on life. In modern times, research has proven that meditation reduces stress and helps us to be healthier overall.

The most important thing to remember is that there is no wrong way to approach meditation during pregnancy. The meditations included in this book are a form of directed relaxation of body and mind. They make use of what is known as guided imagery, which means that they describe scenarios for you to visualize along with positive, healing thoughts, feelings and sensations for you to imagine in your body. Listening to guided imagery requires no work on your part whatsoever. When you listen, your only job is to relax.

There are several ways to use the meditations. You can have a partner read the meditations aloud to you. Alternatively, you can record yourself reading the meditations aloud and play back the recording while you receive the peaceful messages in your own voice. Or you can sit quietly and read the meditations yourself, pausing frequently to allow your mind to be still and absorb the words. There is no single right way to do it. Whatever way you choose will be the right way for you. The catchphrase for meditation during pregnancy is trust yourself.

The Cradle Wisdom section following each meditation comes from channeled conversations with my daughter’s spirit prior to her birth. Each one offers information lovingly conveyed by a compassionate being whose desire to contribute to the world has led her to make the choice to enter a human life. I want to stress once again that your connection with your baby’s spirit may not look, sound, or feel exactly the way mine did. Your connection may not come in the form of words. It might be a feeling, an image of lights and colors, or even a scent. I present my baby’s pre-birth communications as one example out of a vast range of what you might experience and share with your baby.

Throughout the book, I refer to the energetic or spiritual selves of unborn babies as spirit babies. In several instances, I also say your baby’s spirit to indicate your particular spirit baby. The information in this book works for a baby of either sex. For the sake of simplicity, I’ve chosen the pronoun “her.”

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One of the greatest gifts my mom (and my grandmother, and my great-grandmother) gave to me was a love of books and reading. We are a reading family. Grandma subscribes to some inspirational romances, which she shares with my mom (and sometimes with me.) If I pick up an interesting book (to them), I’ll share it with mom or grandma. We are a bookaholic family, proud and loud.

When my mom lost the sight in one of her eyes, it really impacted her ability to read. And I could tell how that affected her quality of life. Enter the Iowa library for the blind. With the help of an ingenious device and audio books my mom was able to listen to her books instead of reading them. And when she finally had cataract surgery in her good eye, well, she’s reading to make up for lost time now.

Our mothers pass on important gifts to us (as to other members of our family, and yes, our fathers).  I am very thankful that she imparted a love of books and reading, and so on this mother’s day, I ask you to think about the gifts your mother have given you, and share them here if you’re so inclined.

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When it comes to affirmations, the best thing to do is to phrase them as if they’ve already happened or are in progress of happening. I drive a new car is so much stronger than “I want to drive a new car”, and as I was listening to an audiobook talking about this, it dawned on me that it’s a simple as active voice versus passive voice. I’ll give you a few examples.

I feel as if I could do anything.
I can do anything.

I feel like I should be prosperous.
I generate prosperity every day.

I think we both can agree that the second of each of these options is the stronger, more active one. There’s more “mojo” around them and they feel energetically more alive and active. So the next time you’re crafting affirmations, make them active. Make them strong. Make them something your editor would like.

The universe is like a really tough editor; it doesn’t like, read, or follow extra words. That’s why when we say we don’t want something–don’t make me late for work–all the universe hears is everything after the negative word–make me later for work. The universe doesn’t quite understand how to UN something…it just does it. Likewise our character might think, feel, believe something, but most of the time they just do it, and our readers, like the universe, prefers that be the case, too.

So the next time you’re thinking about what you want or are doing actual affirmation work, make sure that your affirmations and statements pass the editor test. They need to be ACTIVE, not passive.

Happy affirming!

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As writers, we network with others to learn about our craft and improve our work. Many metaphysical writers also belong to other organizations. What organizations to do you belong to? Are they writing/craft related? Are they spiritual? Do they help you promote your work? I’m going to list several organizations here; some I belong to, some I once belonged to, and some I don’t. Take time to research them and see if any of them can help you grow!

• Romance Writers of America
• Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators
• Novelists, Inc.
• Pagan Packs
• Aquarian Tabernacle Church
• Metaphysical And Pagan Retailer’s Alliance
• COVR – Coalition of Visionary Resources

Are there any organizations you belong to that I missed?

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The end of this week is going to be a wee bit busy for me. I’m spending today and tomorrow as “visiting author” at my daughter’s middle school, which means two days of standing in front of five groups (each day) of sixth, seventh, or eighth graders talking about the writing and publication process.

By now, I should be used to doing this. I started doing author visits at this school when my daughter, now an eighth grader, was in sixth grade. The school librarian was thrilled to learn that the mother of one of her students was an author, and she’s invited me back almost every term since. This year, the library class format changed from kids having library for one quarter to them having it for an entire semester, and I missed going in first semester this year.

But that still means I’ve done seven or eight rounds of author visits. I haven’t met this year’s sixth graders yet, but the seventh and eighth graders all know who I am, and some of them eagerly greet me when they see me around town. I know what I’m talking about; I’ve been through the writing and publication process plenty of times.

I’m still nervous. Getting up in front of groups of kids is much easier for me than groups of adults would be; I’m a former teacher, including several years of substitute teaching, so I’m used to walking into a classroom and owning it. But being the speaker in front of a group of kids who may or may not be interested in what I’m talking about, while trying not to bore myself and the librarian by exactly repeating the same thing for all five classes, isn’t as easy as it sounds.

However, I am skilled at speaking, and at thinking positive. So I know these presentations will go well.

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By popular demand, I’ll be hosting my Energy Work For Creative People webinar again. A mix of metaphysics, practical advice, creativity boosters, and ways to make you feel good, I will help you break through blocks, bust out of your ruts, and get moving on the road to creativity.

When: Monday, April 30 at 6pm CST
Where: Online webinar
How long?: approximately 60 minutes, which includes Q&A time
Who: Taught by me
How much: FREE
What: An online webinar talking about energy work for creative people.

It doesn’t matter if you’re an author, an artist, a musician, or a crafter, creative people get burned out. As a writer, if you’re writing to deadline, sometimes the words won’t flow. Oh they have to if the writing is paying the bills, but we writers know how difficult writing can be when the muse is on vacation. The same thing happens to other creative people to. My hour-long seminar will teach you basic methods for working with and aligning the energy in your body so that your muse can be tapped in and turned on.

To register for this FREE event, click here.

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When you look at the Fool in the Rider-Waite tarot deck, he’s stepping off a cliff, a small pack of belongings over his shoulder and a little dog nipping at his heels. He appears to have no care in the world, not even caring about the cliff he’s about to step off of. And yet, we know the Fool has a large amount of trust. He trusts the universe to deliver him safely to his destination. He’s grounded, for he’s walking along a solid path, but he’s also at one with the universe and its energy. Flip this card into the reversed position, and our Fool is walking on air. He’s falling down, away from the grounding of his path, and he’s probably going to flail around before he lands.

Our writing careers can be like that. We can research markets, edit our books, revise, follow guidelines, get opinions and continue to educate ourselves on our craft. That’s the Fool upright, because while we are going to take the leap in submitting our work for publication, we’re also firmly on the path, knowing where we’re headed, and we have our companion (the dog) and our supplies (the pack) to help us.

When we lose sight of our path, and all the things we should do to get there, we flip the Fool on his head. This is what happens when we don’t work to improve our craft, when we don’t surround ourselves with helpers who can get us further along the path, and when we forget the tools of the storytelling trade.

There are many reasons why writers, like the Fool, can fall off the path. Many times we get caught up in our own egos. I’m sure we’ve all read works by big authors whose first works astounded us, and later works became very mediocre. These authors might have had additional pressures, such as deadlines that were too close together, or an editor who no longer did his or her job, but ultimately, whether the author had his or her feet firmly on the path rests solely with the author.

We might want to reevaluate our path. Are the rejection letters starting to pile up after our first sale? Did we get discouraged and let our domain name expire? If this is the case, then take a few moments to find your path again. Turn that Fool right side up and make sure you’re moving toward your destination once more.

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Members of the Jupiter Gardens Mission Team are critical in helping us get out the word about our books. Our Mission Team members will receive advance notice of books being published, coupons, increased affiliate percentages, and more! When you sign up, you’ll receive emails, no more than once a week, letting you know about what’s coming, and any special offers we might have. We encourage you to share these offers with others, and as an affiliate of ours (if you join us), you’ll also be entitled to a percentage of the sales.

The Mission Team will also be the first to know about any exciting swag, opportunities, and more.

So what are you waiting for?

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So I’m a self-confessed political junkie. And yet, I find myself not really drawn to the hours and hours of political shows and talk that others in my household watch. In fact, I’m moving away from most of that all together. When I think about why I’m not interested in those shows, especially ones on a specific channel that’s supposed to cater to people of my ilk, what it comes down to is that I don’t want to feel like I’m being preached at. I mean, I am a reasonably intelligent individual who is capable of thinking and forming my own opinions. In fact, I’ve got pretty darn good thinking skills when it comes to breaking things down and determining what they mean to me. And yet, these shows give me the “professor” feeling, as if they, because of their formidable street cred in the very circles I’m watching, know far more and need to educate us poor, small masses.

Nah. That’s not my style. The one show I do watch, I adore. The host is funny, snarky at times, and yet serious and thought provoking. The host connects with me and I can tell that the host is truly enjoying this job. There’s a sense of joy, of wonder, and yes, even when the news turns to WTFOMG!BBQ! territory, even then there’s a sense of “I am honored and humbled to be doing this and darn it, I’m going to do the best darn job that I can.”

Now I’ve deliberately not mentioned networks or names because the political aspect of this is not the case. It’s the fact that if we want to connect with others, if we want our message to be heard, we need to share our joy.

Not everyone has a “message” that he or she is trying to sell. But sometimes that “message” can be as simple as enjoying a spring day with friends or family members, or talking about a trip. Are we sharing our joy in every aspect of our lives?

Some of the best ways to share our message, our beliefs, our work with the world is simply to share our joy. On a spiritual sense, the pastor that will get the most bodies in his church on Sunday is probably not the one yelling at you about hellfire and brimstone and how horrible and wicked the world is. No, it’s the one who will lift you up, fill your soul with something larger, and elevate you to a joyous place of being. If you can walk out of church feeling buoyed by what you heard, and not crushed under its weight, then that’s a good Sunday. (Or any lecture or informational talk to take it out of the realm of spirituality.)

The next time you’re inclined to preach, stop and think…how can you share your joy?

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We all feel it when the weather is rainy or cloudy for a while. We get down, depressed, and our mood mirrors the weather. For those who suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), depression, or chronic illness such as arthritis or fibromyalgia, the weather plays an even more important role. I know, for example, when a line of storms is about to move through because my sinuses are horrible. I get throbbing pains above my eyes as the pressure changes, and soon enough the lightning illuminates the sky. When the weather changes, fibromyalgia pain acts up as well.

However, for most people sunshine cures most of these ills. On a sunny day, when we’re outside, even if it’s just to sit on our porch or in our yard, we can feel the rays of the sun fill our bodies with warmth and energy. The light does something, triggers some primal response we never quite got rid of like our circadian rhythms and our mood instantly brightens. The pains and aches that plagued us during the cloudy day disappear and we feel like our old self again.

The sun from a metaphysical sense, is a great purifier. (It’s also a purifier in a physical sense, for many people I know will wash horse brushes or bird cages outside and then leave them there to “sun dry”.) It illuminates all the dark places in our souls, filling them with warmth and light. It cleanses crystals and keeps the power of the universe coming to us. We see this in our gardens, how flowers perk up on a sunny day, and how our yard seems to grow overnight when the days are warm and sunny.

Sunshine is more than just beautiful, it’s beneficial. And from a spiritual sense, it may be the greatest reminder that there’s something out there, a presence that gives us light and hope and boosts our spirits. Simply put, sunshine is magickal.

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