December 31st  is the day that everyone around the world creates their new year’s resolutions. I know at my gym I will not be able to find an elliptical machine and have to wait to get on the nautilus because of all of the people that have resolved to lose weight and get in shape this year. The good news is that by mid February the gym will be back to normal because everyone will have given up on most of their resolutions and gone back to “normal.”

With such great intentions and excitement on New Years to make our life changes, it’s interesting to me that so many of us can’t make that change and hold it not only for the remainder of the year but for their lifetime!

I have a theory on why this is and what to do about it.

When we have an idea, it comes from our conscious mind, a thought. On New Year’s Eve, we have thoughts about what changes we would like to make within our lives for the year. We decide, “THIS is how I am going to change and I’m sticking to it!”

The problem with just a conscious thought about a change is just that, it’s just a thought about it. To make a lasting change, it needs to become a belief, to go deeper into our mind, our subconscious.  This is when  resolutions stick. But the majority of us, have resolutions that lose steam after a month because they are simply a conscious thought.

For my birthday in November I was given the cd/book “Getting into the Vortex” by Esther and Jerry Hicks. I have never seen such profound results so quickly within myself, friends, family and clients.

This is a guided meditation cd broken into 4 -15 minute meditations-Well Being, Physical Well Being, Financial Prosperity and Relationships. 15 minutes a day CAN and WILL change your life. Spend 15 minutes a day with this and before you realize it, you may notice an unexplained calmness, peace, abundance, relationship improvement/healing, anger fade, work improvement. This guided meditation eases conscious thoughts into the subconscious mind where resolutions will hold.

Going deeper than the conscious mind and even subconscious mind, this cd meditation reconnects us with our “source,” where we came from, the greater part of who we are, God. This is not a religious cd, simply a guided meditation with breathing.

So when ready, purchase this amazing gift for yourself. It will help to make resolutions stick as well as change your life in ways you can’t imagine.

This morning I woke up feeling overwhelmed as I had a “to do list” longer than the hours in a day and it just kept growing. This anxiety had been coming on for days as my work schedule, kids sports and school schedule,  and simply maintaining a home was taking over my life and the hours in a day to “get it all done” seemed to evaporate and before I knew it I would be looking at 11pm every.

My mind kept telling me that it would only get worse as the work/travel for work/sports/school- schedule went on. Less time, more to do, less time, more to do….(the broken record in my head). I began hearing myself state to my friends and family, “I have no time to get it all done!”” I’ll never get everything done.” “I’m so stressed!”

The kind, ever so perfect universe and the law of attraction simply matched my thoughts and beliefs of “so stressed and not enough time” and created for me more and more items on my to do list! So today I awoke with rapid heartbeat and the slight anxiety that I had had for days was full on anxiety, as I replayed my drama in my head.

I knew the only way out of this anxiety was to sit. Meditation is THE BEST drug on the market AND it’s FREE!  My ego/mind kept telling me for days that I had so much to do that I had no time to sit and “do nothing” (as my mind would tell me-(to meditate) so I kept pushing it off.

I chose to do it anyway…

In my meditation after a few minutes of silence I asked for guidance on how to help me to “find my way home.” I needed to hit “reset” on my life and get back to balance.

I immediately felt a “whoosh” in my heart center and then felt warmth fill me up and then expand out into the room. I sat in silence for minutes (which felt like an hour) and asked how to maintain this state. I heard very clearly the word, “Live in the Present.” I felt so light and peaceful, as if a warm comforter had been wrapped around me. I sat in gratitude for a few moments and decided to get up and go for a walk.

As I walked I saw the birds and the colors so differently, they were vibrant and beautiful, like I had never seen! I then had a thought about how I could not wait to blog about my experience and I began to think about what I was going to say. As my mind began to race again I heard very softly, “present.” I realized that I was completely out of the present and had allowed my ego/mind to take over and bring me into the future of writing my blog. I couldn’t believe how easily I had slipped out of that magnificent state. I chose to jump back in and as I did my power walk, I looked at everything as if seeing the outdoors for the first time. It was work to stay present moment as throughout the rest of the hour my mind kept drifting to the past or future and then I would redirect to present.

What an amazing walk I had. For those of us that have a difficult time sitting in silence and meditating, this is another fabulous way to meditate-Walking Meditation. It takes work and practice to live in the moment but the more we do it the easier it becomes.

Anything that can shift anxiety to peace in minutes is worth trying and incorporating into our daily routine. Even if it’s just for a few moments a day, practice living in the present, it’s where anxiety and stress DON’T live.

In my meditation this morning, I was sitting in silence and began asking a few questions about my day and how I may serve. I immediately “knew” the answers. It happened so quickly it amazed me.

I realized that all of life’s answers are in the present moment because this is where God sits and waits, patiently, lovingly and without judgment, for us to come and merge with him.

When we sit present moment and stop our thoughts, we begin to feel and remember we are part of something MUCH greater. We merge with the divine and we remember there is no separation, only the oneness. It is the ego that wants us to believe we are separate, not worthy, not good enough, not loveable etc. and wants to pull us away from the silence, the oneness.

I was amazed at what I automatically just knew this morning. Even more than what I knew it was the feeling that came over me, the calmness and peace. God emerges through us and we step into the all knowing stream of truth. All of the answers and wisdom that we seek are sitting there waiting for us in the present moment.

This is a partial re-post from a post I wrote months ago and felt the need to post it again due to my “rebirth into balance.” One of the things I had let go for 6 weeks were my meditations. This is a brief explanation of meditation as well as how to meditate.

Enjoy!

MEDITATION

Meditation is sustained and unbroken concentration that leads to a highly focused mind. Meditation moves us from using our subconscious mind to our conscious mind. Living in the conscious mind, trains us to live with more focus, proficiency and creativity and less disorganized, chaotic and scattered.  Meditation will actually help you to think in new ways and gain deeper perspective on experiences. You will find that you are not bothered by things that might have bothered or even upset you in the past.

Other benefits of meditation include:

• Slows the release of hormones in response to stress
• Stronger immune system
• Reduction of anxiety
• Lowers blood pressure
• Decreases muscle tension and headaches
• Increases serotonin production (low serotonin levels are linked to   depression, obesity, insomnia and even headaches)
• Substance abuse, alcoholism and cigarette smoking have all been helped by meditation
• Increases compassion for others
• Self Acceptance

The list goes on and on and these are just a few ways  that meditation can be life changing.

HOW TO MEDITATE?

Find a nice peaceful area, and sit quietly (don’t lie down), set your timer (by setting a timer you are not constantly interrupting your practice by opening your eyes and checking your clock) and just clear your mind. As thoughts come in, imagine an ocean wave rolling in and pulling them away, gently, slowly then return to silence. Another visual is to see the words falling off a cliff then the cliff is empty. Any visual will work, have fun with it. Remember, meditation is a practice and even people that have done meditation for years for hours per day still call it a practice. The human mind must be trained NOT to have thoughts and it takes practice! So be easy on yourself.

Meditation seems difficult to some people, I often will hear, “I have tried but I can’t!” YES YOU CAN! Meditation is the simple act of quieting your mind. For many people having a focus, like a mantra helps them with mediation. Pick a mantra like “peace” or “OM” or any word that you are drawn to and simply state it over and over again, slowly. You can even sing it out loud or to yourself. The point is to concentrate fully on that word and that word only. When other thoughts drift in, repeat your word/mantra.

You can meditate while walking, riding a bike or even driving! It’s simply clearing your mind and thinking of nothing! Try driving home from work without your cell phone to your ear or the radio on and repeat your mantra out loud for 10 minutes, it’s so incredibly powerful. The next time you go for a walk be present moment with what you are noticing, do NOT bring your iPod or your cell phone, remain present moment and focused on what’s around you!

HOW LONG TO MEDITATE?

Meditation is not something that you have to do 60 minutes a day to begin with. When you first begin a meditation practice, begin with 2 or 5 minutes per day. Stick with that for a week until you feel you are ready to extend your time. Continue extending your time to 15-20 minutes per day and if you can maintain this amount of time-great! If you can only commit to 10 minutes per day this is great too. Spending even a few moments a day of being mindful is far better than not spending any time. It would be nice to have a goal of 20 minutes per day at some point; this may take some time to accomplish and it’s OK.

Be easy on yourself and celebrate even your smallest accomplishments, even your 2 minute victory. You may feel like 2 minutes is nothing but I guarantee you, you are benefiting your brain in more ways than you could ever imagine.

As the holidays quickly approach, there is a feeling of not only excitement in the air but also the impending dread of cooking for days, shopping with 10 times the people in the stores, driving on the roads with people that are angryand in a hurry and seeing relatives that you  just don’t care to see or be around. So what can a person do to make through the holidays with peace and even joy?

There are actually many ways to keep in balance and not get sucked into the collective consciousness of “holiday stress.” The holiday’s can be joyful from Thanksgiving through New Years. In fact the tools that you will read about throughout the next 6 weeks are tools that can be used throughout the entire year to maintain peace, balance and joy in your daily life! So learn the techniques now and continue using them throughout 2010.

The first tool that in this holiday series is:

MEDITATION

Meditation is sustained and unbroken concentration that leads to a highly focused mind. Meditation moves us from using our subconscious mind to our conscious mind. Living in the conscious mind, trains us to live with more focus, proficiency and creativity and less disorganized, chaotic and scattered.  Meditation will actually help you to think in new ways and gain deeper perspective on experiences. You will find that you are not bothered by things that might have bothered or even upset you in the past.

Other benefits of meditation include:

• Slows the release of hormones in response to stress
• Stronger immune system
• Reduction of anxiety
• Lowers blood pressure
• Decreases muscle tension and headaches
• Increases serotonin production (low serotonin levels are linked to   depression, obesity, insomnia and even headaches)
• Substance abuse, alcoholism and cigarette smoking have all been helped by meditation
• Increases compassion for others
• Self Acceptance

The list goes on and on and these are just a few ways (relating to holiday stress) that meditation can be life changing.

HOW TO MEDITATE?

Find a nice peaceful area, and sit quietly (don’t lie down), set your timer (by setting a timer you are not constantly interrupting your practice by opening your eyes and checking your clock) and just clear your mind. As thoughts come in, imagine an ocean wave rolling in and pulling them away, gently, slowly then return to silence. Another visual is to see the words falling off a cliff then the cliff is empty. Any visual will work, have fun with it. Remember, meditation is a practice and even people that have done meditation for years for hours per day still call it a practice. The human mind must be trained NOT to have thoughts and it takes practice! So be easy on yourself.

Meditation seems difficult to some people, I often will hear, “I have tried but I can’t!” YES YOU CAN! Meditation is the simple act of quieting your mind. For many people having a focus, like a mantra helps them with mediation. Pick a mantra like “peace” or “OM” or any word that you are drawn to and simply state it over and over again, slowly. You can even sing it out loud or to yourself. The point is to concentrate fully on that word and that word only. When other thoughts drift in, repeat your word/mantra.

You can meditate while walking, riding a bike or even driving! It’s simply clearing your mind and thinking of nothing! Try driving home from work without your cell phone to your ear or the radio on and repeat your mantra out loud for 10 minutes, it’s so incredibly powerful. The next time you go for a walk be present moment with what you are noticing, do NOT bring your iPod or your cell phone, remain present moment and focused on what’s around you!

HOW LONG TO MEDITATE?

Meditation is not something that you have to do 60 minutes a day to begin with. When you first begin a meditation practice, begin with 2 or 5 minutes per day. Stick with that for a week until you feel you are ready to extend your time. Continue extending your time to 15-20 minutes per day and if you can maintain this amount of time-great! If you can only commit to 10 minutes per day this is great too. Spending even a few moments a day of being mindful is far better than not spending any time. It would be nice to have a goal of 20 minutes per day at some point; this may take some time to accomplish and it’s OK.

Be easy on yourself and celebrate even your smallest accomplishments, even your 2 minute victory. You may feel like 2 minutes is nothing but I guarantee you, you are benefiting your brain in more ways than you could ever imagine.