Hey artists -- close your eyes!

 Deepak visits Pugwash

Acrylic on birch panel

5 x 7 inches

Barbara Muir © 2014

A friend I met on Facebook has helped me start
feeling really great.  She wanted to start meditating,
which every health, and mental health professional
highly recommends.  Years ago I did the meditations Louise
Hay put on tape, and super hypnosis tapes and CDs
by Dr. Lee Poulos.

But it's been a while. My friend asked me to
 commit to meditating every day for a month.
I said I would for five minutes a day, but
frequently do longer guided online meditations,
because that's what works for me.

 The vision 
Saturday morning at a ridiculously early hour
Steven went for acupuncture, and I went
with him.  Our acupuncture man sticks the
needles in and lets Steven lie still for half an hour
with the lights out and classical music playing.  I
decided to try meditating on my own.  I knew the
setting was perfect sitting in the dark in a firm
 chair, feet on the floor.

I began with, "you are going down a hill --
 deeper and deeper," which is actually
hypnosis.  You are always asked to picture a
beautiful spot in guided meditations, so I imagined
 our beach in Nova Scotia.  And this is what I saw.
Someone had set up a large, beautiful wooden
gazebo with trellises covered in pink and white
roses (my favorite), and people were
having tea.  They were all in gorgeous, white clothes
and invited me to join them.  I did, had a cup of tea,
then decided to go down on the beach.

Guide Jackpot
I asked for a guide, and who should I see walking
towards me all laughing and happy but Oprah,
Deepak Chopra, Steadman, Mike Dooley and his wife and
Louise Hay. What a line up!  I said hello to Oprah and
 told her how much I had always wanted to meet her
and she hugged me.

I saw Deepak talk in Toronto years ago. I
told him about it,  and we shook hands.
Mike and I met a few years ago when I heard
him speak (my picture with him is
on the blog here.) With Louise I said that I had
loved her forever and we hugged.

They were all dressed in beautiful white clothes like the
people at the tea party, and we walked along
with them giving me advice, none of which
I remember.

At this point my acupuncture guy came in
and that part of my meditation was over.  He
checked my husband, took me to another room
for a treatment, then I was back in the chair,
imagined myself back on the beach and having
 a party with my whole extended family.

Note:  I have never gone to the beach dressed
up and in white clothes.  But the imagination
can take you anywhere and make anything
happen.  Try it.  Do a few deep breaths and
close your eyes.  I've felt a real upswing in
energy since that lovely vision, and I have
been supremely happy.

I painted this little portrait of Deepak Chopra
visiting the beach we love in Pugwash, Nova
Scotia to go along with my meditation vision.

Have a closing-your-eyes-and-visualizing day.