For My Birthday: Simple Gifts Meditation

Hey, Readers, Viewers, Followers, and Others,

Tomorrow, 16 August, is my birthday. On this particular birthday, I reach three-and-twenty. (When I told Grams this yesterday, she made a sound like "Ew!" and when I laughed and asked her why, she said because this means I'm REALLY getting old. Says the 88-year-old Italian woman.)

Me, 10 August 2013

So tomorrow I turn 23, and last year around this time some people who wanted to give me gifts donated some money through PayPal (which you can still do, the links are always on my blog page, but I don't usually plug it) and I got some things on my birthday list with it: a Yoga mat, a DFTBA t-shirt, and a Mike Falzone t-shirt! This year, I haven't had very good internet, so I haven't been up to date with my videos in order to even mention that my birthday is approaching (except on Pagan Perspective, because the collab's 4th birthday is also that day). I haven't even made a birthday list, nor do I know what I'm doing to celebrate my birthday!

But I do know what I've just decided I want all of YOU to do for my birthday. Yes, YOU. If you're reading this, I want you to try this out. Even if you don't consider yourself a "magickal" person, this is something EVERYONE can do. Please just try, for me! This is a meditation or prayer, but can also be sort of a spell if you want it to be, and it's for me as much as it is for you and for everyone in the world. This just came to my mind about an hour ago, so it's not like I've been planning this forever. It's simple, it's easy to execute, and you can tweak it to make it fancier or simpler as you personally require. The important thing is not that you do it a certain way, just that you do it. Try it out!

What You Need:

• You.
• Some quiet time.
• (OPTIONAL) Three tealight or birthday candles, ribbons, or any other object that makes visualization easier for you. Again, this is optional, so the people who want to make it more spell/ritual-like may do so. The rest of you do NOT have to do this. You will just visualize/imagine everything.

What I'd Like You to Do:

1. Find some quiet time in your routine on the 16th (if you come across this a day or two later, go ahead and do it then, too). Sit down at the breakfast table with the paper and your coffee, take a moment as you get in the car to head out, a short hiatus after dinner--Whenever and wherever you need it to be.
2. A) If you're using candles or some other item you'll need a place where you can use them. If you're doing that, set them up. Three candles in a row, three ribbons pinned or tied together so you can hold onto them, whatever it is. This is mostly for the people who usually do spells, so those people should do it the way they see fit! B) If you've never done something like this before, or if you just don't want to use any extra items, all you have to do at this step is get comfortable and prepare to sit quietly for a few minutes.
3. When comfortable (and you can be sipping your tea during this or whatever is comfortable), close your eyes and think for a moment about the day. Think about birthdays, if you celebrate them, and what they mean to you. Think about gifts--material, spiritual, emotional. What makes a good gift? When do you enjoy giving gifts, and when do you dread being expected to give them? Think about the concept of birthdays or other special days, and about gift-giving, for a minute or so. This is just to get your focus ready for the next few steps.
4. For the first "candle" (If using tools, light the first candle or hold the first ribbon, etc. while doing this. The rest of you will simply think and visualize), think about what "gifts" YOU personally would like to receive. This can be physical, but more likely should be intangible, mental/spiritual. Do you wish to be more relaxed or have time to relax? Do you wish you were more motivated? Maybe you desire more recognition, or more anonymity. Whatever it is, take a minute or so to reflect on what it is that you personally want. Imagine yourself receiving or using these gifts. Either speaking aloud or just in your head, form these thoughts into sentences. Say to yourself, "I desire to spend more time with my kids." "I wish for more peace at work." Create positive affirmations by stating the sentences as though they are already true--"I have more time to spend with my kids," and so on. (If using ribbons, tie knots in the first ribbon as you affirm these things.) Then move on to the next.
5. For the second "candle" (again, if using tools, do what you need to do!), think about what gifts you would like ME to receive. This is where the birthday part comes in. It doesn't have to be something you could actually give me, or even help me to get. It just has to be something you wish for me. Maybe you know how I've been looking for work in my field, or a place of my own, or maybe you know something I'm interested in or something I want to accomplish. Maybe you barely know me at all, but there are things you wish for every human being. Whatever it is, think about it for a while, and then once again, form these wishes into positive affirmation sentences or simply state the wishes, aloud or to yourself. (*NOTE: If this part really feels weird to you, go ahead and skip it! Or think about gifts you desire for someone else in your life, if doing it for me is weird.)
6. For the last "candle," broaden your focus to the world as a whole. What does the world require that you desire for it? For all the people on the Earth, or maybe just for everyone in your country, or state, think about those gifts you wish for them. Think about gifts you wish to give the Earth itself. Chances are this one will be difficult for some people, if you're not used to thinking on a large scale. Take an extra couple minutes on this one, however long you have. But don't skip it. Think about all the other people doing this exercise and what gifts you want for them. Or think about the people you've read about in the paper or seen on TV and what gifts you want for them. Again, when you have a few ideas really strong in your mind, say them to yourself (and tie that final knot, or what have you).
7. Quickly recap the exercise in your mind. What are gifts, what do you want for yourself, what do you want for me, and what do you want for the rest of the world? At this point, I would close my eyes in a final moment of focus if they weren't already closed, but do whatever you need to.
8. When you're finished, get up and go about your day! If you used candles, I requested tealights purposely because they don't burn long, so you can let them burn out and toss them, or snuff them out to use later (relighting them will only reaffirm these positive wishes! Don't use them for another working, but you can light them again). Birthday candles would also be great here, because they're quick, and many of us associate them with this kind of thing! If you use birthday candles, go ahead and blow them out instead of snuffing--It follows tradition and releases your wishes to the Universe.

Hopefully, if enough people try to do this tomorrow, we'll have several people doing this at the exact same time. If I had planned farther ahead, I would have tried to plan a time for all of us to try doing it together. But whatever time you get to do it, make it count! And while you're doing this, I will be taking time in my day to do it, too. I will be thinking about the gifts I want, of course, but then I will think about the gifts I want for my viewers/readers/followers as individual people, and finally what I want for the World or Earth as a whole.

If you do this, leave a short comment here (don't share what you wished for!) or on Twitter or Facebook saying that you did, just because I'd like to get an idea of how many of us got to it during the same day. Feel free to do this any other time you want--For other people's birthdays, or for general well-wishing.

Well, that's what I want from you all for my birthday! Especially if you're the person who doesn't usually do this type of thing, your willingness to try something simple like this is a gift in itself. And who knows, maybe you'll find it's useful and start using this type of thing more often! Hey, it's my birthday. I can wish.

Blessings~

-C-