Re-think

Meditation is a tricky practice.  A lot of people run away from meditation because they feel uncomfortable sitting alone with the mind spinning freely.  But meditation is not so much about being alone with a picture show of random images floating by.  It is about focus. At first, our mind may seem like a thunderstorm with thoughts crashing to the ground like random beams of lightning and this storm may overwhelm us. But the trick is to narrow the beam of light to one single stream at a time.

Think of watching clouds go by.  We don't attempt to view the entire sky in one sitting, our mind gets too overwhelmed. Instead, we watch one, single cloud roll by and witness it change shape before our eyes. This practice is calming and focused and beneficial to our mind.

I have a trick when meditating. As thoughts pop into my viewing space I wrap them gently in a bubble and watch them float up into the universe. Thought by thought I do this. I don't own the thoughts running freely through my brain but I guide them where I want them to go. This takes practice and discipline.

Do you have any meditation tricks that you could share with my readers? Much gratitude in advance for your thoughts.

People watching

Laughter from a stranger tickles my soul.
Bright colours of a skirt flirt with my tired eyes.
A waft of perfume forces me to inhale…ahhhh.

I am connected.
I am plugged in to life.

A musician plays a haunting tune that gently kisses my earlobes.
Children misbehave, testing their parent's patience.  Cute.
Green grass breathes a sweet scent as picnic goers create a gathering spot.

I am connected.
I am one with the world.

Alleyways

"Fast or slow
Take the shortcuts and side roads
Pay no mind to the signs or highway lines
We'll get there our way".

Hey Ocean

Fill your well with water

We shift and change each and every day.  On some days we may evolve so quickly that a hole is left where old pain or suffering would reside.  If this has recently happened to you, imagine that empty, cleared out space being filled by a trickle of fresh, pure water.  We are water.  Water is life.  Heal yourself with its magic elixir.

Mellow yellow

There is nothing wrong with allowing yourself to experience some mellow time.  We often think that if we are not rushing around from place to place, activity to activity, we are somehow lazy. This is simply not true.  Often it is important to put your life on cruise control then sit back and feel the waves of the day wash gently over your body.

Cat naps

Ever wonder why cats have nine lives? Perhaps it is because they take cat naps.  A little snooze during our busy day can restore the mind and refresh the body. Twenty minutes is all you need, and we all have a spare twenty minutes in our day, do we not?

Take care of yourself, nap for goodness sake.

Goal!

Reaching goals is an art perfected by humans.  In nature, the wolf may have a goal to take down one doe per week or a polar bear may make a goal to travel on seven ice flows in a day.  But we humans base our lives around key goals such as happiness, love, affection, gratitude, beauty, financial wellbeing and intelligence.

What if you could have fun with your goals?  Think of a measurable for each target you wish to set.  If you want to lose weight, you say, I want to lose 15 bounds in four months.  Then you backcast to determine what milestones are needed to reach that end zone. Then you take the whole pieces and split them into micro steps, choose five to seven for each step.  I am going to eat five less potato chips, I am going to drink 1 more cup of water, I will walk five extra minutes a day.

Small, achievable micro steps are key.  Once you have written down your game plan, think of ways to celebrate along the way.  And remember, whatever you did today - you did enough.