The Jar
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How to Meditate for Beginners
So, you’re interested in meditation. Many people are and ask me how to get started. I have been practicing meditation and mindfulness in some form since my early teens, then I took a deeper dive after divorce.
Benefits of Meditation:
- Eases anxiety
- Sharpens awareness of emotions
- Promotes better sleep
- Improves breathing and blood flow
- Strengthens the brain
In our loud, fast-paced society, most are unaccustomed to being alone in the quiet. Maybe this idea seems overwhelming, perhaps scary. When just beginning a meditation practice, I recommend small increments that gradually increase with experience. There is a reason it is called a practice.
Start Small
Find a quiet place to sit or lay still. Set a timer for two minutes. Breath in through your nose for 4-counts and out your mouth for 6-counts, focusing on your breath. If this is easy, repeat for two more minutes.
Don’t worry if your thoughts wander. When this happens, return to focusing on your breathing.
Guided Meditation
Guided meditation is an excellent way to learn how to meditate. My current go-to is Relax with Yogi Byran – found on most platforms.
I prefer early morning meditation but anytime is a good time. However, be warned; you may fall asleep and experience the best rest of your life. And lastly,
The Number One Reason to Meditate:
To go inside and listen to the soul speak.
For more on meditation and spiritual growth visit: Grow Spiritually Stronger Every Morning with Meditation.
Thank you for visiting The Jar! ✨ Let me know if the comments how meditation has helped you on your journey.
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Grow Spiritually Stronger Every Morning with Meditation
An old hymn reminds, He’s as close as the mention of His name. God is as close as the breath that we breathe. He dwells inside of us, and meditation helps us find Him.
Meditation is a powerful tool helping to observe our thoughts and emotions and become more in tune with God.
💪 Do this: Sit or lay still and close your eyes. Breathe in through your nose for 4-counts and exhale from your mouth for 6-counts. Repeat five times while focusing on your breath.
To take your meditation practice a step further visit my post: How to Meditate for Beginners.
Spiritual growth comes through consistency. A little bit of somethin’ is better than a whole lot of nothin’. Daily morning investments will, in time, build a stronger spiritual life.
Thank you for visiting The Jar! ✨ Please comment if you have meditation tips or if meditation has helped you on your spiritual journey. 🧘🏻
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How to Pray: Outlined
I offer good news today. Prayer does not have to be intimidating, mysterious, or reserved for “the called.” Prayer is simply acknowledging and connecting with our Creator. It can be as simple as a pause and a whisper, or it can be an hour in tears when life falls apart. And, it can be many things in between. Short or elaborate, it’s a promise that God hears our prayers.
Jesus spoke about prayer in the first book of the New Testament of the Bible. One afternoon, He climbed up the side of a mountain, sat down, and began teaching the crowds how to pray.
We can use this easy-to-follow outline as we strive to connect with God.
| Our Father who is in heaven | Acknowledge God |
| Hallowed be your name | Show thankfulness |
| Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven | Invite His will into all situations |
| Give us today our daily bread | Ask for help to meet daily needs |
| Forgive our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors | Receive and give forgiveness |
| Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil | Ask for help to live a Godly life |
This type of prayer can look something like this:
God in heaven, you are so good. Thank you for this day and my family. We desire your will for our lives, jobs, and relationships. Please meet our needs today. Forgive me for wrongs I have done when I have hurt you, myself, and others, and help me forgive others who have wronged me. I want to live a Godly life; please help me stay on the right path. Amen.
Thank you for visiting The Jar! Please let me know in the comments if you’ve given this prayer outline a try. For more on prayer visit my concise post: Growing Spiritually Stronger Every Morning with Prayer.
Cover Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
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Grow Spiritually Stronger Every Morning with Worship
Worship deliberately and vulnerably proclaims, God, we need you in our day, and we are thankful for you; through singing, spoken word, or silent thoughts.
We don’t always feel like worshipping. A former pastor once said, “Worship Him even if you don’t feel like it, and soon you will.”
💪 Do this: Speak what makes you grateful. “Thank you for ____________ today!”
Remember that spiritual growth comes through consistency. A little bit of somethin’ is better than a whole lot of nothin’.
Daily morning investments will, in time, build a stronger spiritual life.
Thank you for visiting The Jar! ✨
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Grow Spiritually Stronger Every Morning with Prayer
Prayer can seem intimidating but it is simply connecting with our Creator. Acknowledging Divine presence in the morning creates a more peaceful and powerful day.
Prayer can be a simple pause or a longer time set aside to seek God. Visit my post How to Pray: Outlined for an easy-to-follow prayer guide.
💪 Do this: “Good morning, God, thank you for this day!”
Remember that spiritual growth comes through consistency. A little bit of somethin’ is better than a whole lot of nothin’. Daily morning investments will, in time, build a stronger spiritual life.
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New CDC Guidelines Require 6′ Distancing From Computers
This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced new guidelines on computer usage for children, teens, and adults. A distance of six feet is now required from a computer to protect oneself and others.
These guidelines come in the wake of breakthrough, long-known, scientific data: 15 minutes of computer exposure within 24 hours causes harmful radiation, damaging blue light, and toxic propaganda.
In addition to distancing, the CDC strongly advises tight-fitting goggles and snug radiation vests to be worn when occupying any space containing a computer, whether powered on or off. These mandates are effective for ten days following exposure; while around others, near an animal, or alone on the toilet.
A 10-day outdoor quarantine with no access to computers or the MSM must accompany these safety protocols.
For more information on the CDC and radiation visit: https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/default.htm
Thank you for visiting The Jar! ✨
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
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10 Dating Tips For Men From Her to Him
Ah, dating advice. It can be found everywhere and it probably feels like you’ve tried it all. How do you know what advice will actually work? These 10 dating tips are observations from this blogger’s real-life dates. Give them a try and comment if these tips helped you to land the girl.
10 Dating Tips From this Blogger’s Dates
1. 🚿 Shower. Ok? Ok.
2. Clean out your 🚘 car. One man – boy’s – backseat was submerged in trash. I saw a sign sticking out announcing, I put in no effort. Next. ➡️ Cleanliness, and effort, matter.
3. Tell the truth. I’m 35, he declared, babbling about classic rock music. I questioned him immediately, but dude had a story and was sticking to it. So, what year did you graduate? I later asked. He forgot. 🤥 🧢 Don’t be that guy.
4. Make Eye 👁 Contact. No eye contact is a 🚩 red flag. He locked eyes with everything except me. When I declined a second date this man threw a child-like tantrum bemoaning that no one likes him and never will. Maybe because that 👆, I responded. Red flag saved the day.
5. Pay. I know, old school. But on an actual date, pay. And when she offers to pay because she’s an independent woman, pay anyway. 🌷
6. Ask to ☕️ coffee, not dinner. It’s a pass to a first-date dinner invite, and I regret when I bend my rule – as in money guy below👇. An entire meal on a weekend evening with a stranger: that’s a commitment. Keep it short and simple and make us hungry for more.
7. Impress her, but not with 💵 money. It was awkward how he devised a way to reveal the price of his house. If you have to tell me you have money, you don’t have money.
8. Skip 🍻 alcohol. Personal preference, but I rather the first few dates, at least, be dry. I want to know if there is a real connection, crutch-free.
9. Dress appropriately 🥾 . Like it or not, how you dress speaks volumes. It’s not required to be the most stylish, but try to be.
10. Don’t do it 🙅♀️. (Date…. I mean 😉.)
Give these tips and try and share them with your friends! For more dating advice visit: 8 Dating Rules for Women in the Apocalypse and Don’t be a Florence and Other Vintage Dating Advice that Should be Used Today.
Reader’s Dating Tips
“My #1 overall tip is don’t be ashamed to seek professional help. If you wanted to get better at something, it’s perfectly reasonable to get coaching just like you do in sports, dance, etc.” – @kentee817
“Guys can be in a relationship or be right (about anything.) But never both.” – @GaryGoode
Dating tip #1. Shut up. She doesn’t care about your car / sports / what you made last year / how you are “the best” at ____. Stop talking. She can’t judge you when she has minimal info due to you being the “silent type.” – @AliciaDawn
“So you think you’re spongeworthy 🧽?” – @TomBont
If you have a dating tip, please share! 🥰👇 Thanks for visiting!
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Surgery, Bones and Building
I had surgery on December 3, 2021. An expansive team of Mayo Clinic surgeons extracted the fibula bone and artery from my right leg and inserted them into my left arm as a new, living, humerus bone. My existing humerus had eroded from an “intraosseous hemangioma,” aka bone blood tumor. The surgery took 12 hours. The hospital stay took 7 days. The recovery will take a minimum of one year.
“I’m ready to build in 2022!” I declared to myself. But now, my life – and writing – feels like it is on hold. I hunt and peck these keys with my only working hand in an attempt to feel productive and a sense of normalcy. It’s going to be ugly, difficult, imperfect: both my writing and this time of my life. I’m going through it anyway, hopefully with a bit of sass.
I am reminded by someone close to me that I am building: building bone and building a stronger body from an ailment that has plagued me since childhood. But can I be honest and say this isn’t exactly what I wanted to be doing on the heels of being 41 years old? This isn’t exactly where I wanted to be. I’ll also be honest and say I don’t know exactly what I thought any of that would be. The older I get, the more I realize how much is out of our control.
I draw comfort from knowing that I was prepared for this time. God is so good. I believe more now than ever that it is imperative to listen to our inner selves. If told to rest, rest. To spend more time alone, do so. To eat healthier, to leave a relationship, to try something new… whatever it may be, we must listen because there is no doubt there is a reason.
I embrace this phase of my life even though I desire to push it away. I wish to speed up the clock; to walk, to move my arm, to dance, but I can’t, damn it. I’m determined to wring the most out of this potentially rich time.
So, today, I went to therapy. I listened to a relatable podcast. I read and prayed. I slept. I ate healthy food and drank lots of water. I spoke with my kids. I meditated. I dreamed.
I built.
If you know of a song, podcast, sermon, teaching, etc. that is a must for making the most of this time please send it my way! Originals welcome; I will give feedback.
Lots of love and thank you for visiting The Jar.
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My Fibula Is Now My Humerus
“Enjoy your night,” blurted the phlebotomist. Inside, hysterics as blood-filled tubes dangle from my body. My fibula is now my humerus.
#21wordtruestory
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From My Daughter’s Desk: Life Is a Mystery
Life has always been a mystery to me.
I look around every day and I see people who don’t even get what’s going on. Everyone gets caught in a web of random things from social media or random fights. But sometimes people just need to stop and get into a place that’s better for them.
I think that is why the world gets crazy because they get caught in stupid things. Through the years, which aren’t much, I have seen the most calm person ever, you can’t make him mad, it kind of gets annoying. But you need to be patient with people. That is the best thing you can do if you have someone in pain.
The best thing that you can do is to not get caught in the web. It makes them better.
– Thank you to my 10 year old guest blogger –
The Jar 