That Was Then – This Is NOW

Your yesterdays are now behind you…so, what are you doing TODAY? Be honest with yourself. Are you constantly thinking of the way things "used to be," if so you are not alone.

Many people wish for things that are in the past. They long for loved ones no longer on earth; the strength of youth now slipping away; a skill or career they used to do; broken relationships – the list goes on. But how does all of this looking back help you with today? In truth – it doesn't.

We are beings filled with energy. We create thoughts. Our thoughts have a trail that lead to or away from us. When you think a thought, you give it energy. If you continue to look behind you and are feeling a constant unhappiness or wishing whatever you long for is still here, you are depleting your energy. As we weaken our energy it effects our Auras (an energy field that surrounds all living things.) A weakened Auric field can lead to illness and dis-ease. This problem is compounded as your diminished state leaves you feeling low and vulnerable. You are longing for things that are from your past, lowering your ability to ward off negative energies and your thoughts become even sadder. How can we get off of this dejected merry-go-round of yester-year?

A good way to start is to "ground" yourself. This helps you to focus on what is in the NOW.  What is grounding? It is the act of re-connecting to the earth from which you are a part. How can reconnecting with the planet help you move your mind away from the past? When we incorporate a daily practice of grounding, it restores our minds to focus on the present. It allows us to release the thoughts of the past and focus on the NOW. That draining connection that has been constant will eventually slow to a trickle and hopefully cease altogether. You will feel lighter, you will become more engaged in your TODAY.

How to ground: One of the best ways to ground is to simply go for a walk. Leave your digital devices behind and put your feet on the ground and start moving. Without headphones you will begin to hear nature's soundtrack. As you incorporate this into your routine, you may begin to notice the beauty that surrounds you. Nature paints her own tapestry and it's waiting for you. Whether you live in the tropics or the frozen tundras it makes no difference. Bundle up and step outside. If it's raining grab an umbrella. Just do it. Make this connection and get moving. This action will free up your mind and open your senses to the wonderful truth. Today is NOW. All of the things in the past are behind you – let them go. You are probably saying to yourself…that's all there is to it, can it really be that simple? Yes, try it. Use the same technique used in meditation, release all thought, breathe in and breath out and LET THEM GO. Poof!

Learn to move your mind away from negative thoughts that are draining your energy and free yourself. You can do this. When you hear people discussing negative things, move away. If the TV is spouting negativity– power it off. If your environment is adorned with photos that make you feel sad, put them away for now. In time you can bring them out and hopefully smile as you are able to see them in a new light.

It took me years to realize I was holding myself back by constantly wishing for things of yesterday. Take control of your NOW. Understand that thoughts are LIVING THINGS. You have the ability to guard your mind. Get outside and explore other avenues of grounding yourself, such as hugging a tree. Make the connection and LOVE YOURSELF more deeply. Today is what matters, tomorrow you can begin another day of NOW. Move forward in good health and encourage others to find their own methods of LETTING GO.

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To learn how you can meditate please read my book Sæ-sii Meditation: How to Find Your Bliss in 15 Minutes a Day

Raise Your Vibration by Being Honest

Lately I have listened to the ongoing dilemmas by the characters that continue to interact in my book of life. I see my entire journey as a book and people come and go throughout my story.  Male and female they come in all shapes, sizes, colors and age. They each share their experiences and in doing so, they are sharing energy. But, birds of a feather should not always flock together.

When you sit and listen to these people that are in your company try to see them as energy. Positive energy will make you feel lighter and you will lean in and soak in the experience. If it is negative energy, and this does not mean this is a negative being, they are recalling or expressing something of a negative nature. You find yourself uncomfortable, withdrawing…and your body language even recoils.

As we continue to lend our ears to these people we are absorbing their energies. They come fully charged be it positive or negative and they are blending their auric field into ours. You feel it rippling through you–this current of bad vibes. How can we keep our vibration from becoming lowered during this process?

Be truthful. With yourself and others. If someone is using you as a venting object, be aware of the role you have consented to.  Yes, by listening you have given permission by allowing it to continue.
Do you have someone that is always sharing details about their relationships? Whether it's their lover or their children, it doesn't matter. Do you have someone that is always complaining about their job or lack of finances?

You must be aware that this can drain you and leave you feeling low. Why? Because they have altered your vibration. I realize that we must give our attention from time to time to encourage one another, this is perfectly normal. It is when it becomes habitual that we must be honest with ourselves AND TO THEM.
"No, I can no longer listen to this, it leaves me drained and derails my day. I have helped you many times by allowing you to vent, but I am no longer able to lend my energy this way."
Plain and simple, be direct.

You may lose a friend or have them feel flustered. Trust me, the sun will still come up tomorrow. This is called SETTING BOUNDARIES. If they are your true friends, they will thank you.

Now ask yourself a more important question… are YOU venting? Are you continually complaining to someone? Recognize this truth in yourself and address it…TODAY.

Use meditation to clear your head, remove negative energy that has collected and breathe in a fresh attitude.

Learn to find other ways of releasing negative energy like: take a walk, ride a bike, listen to enlightening music or stroll through a garden. Be true to yourself and others and RAISE YOUR VIBRATION.

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To learn how you can begin to incorporate meditation in your daily journey please read Meditation Mojo. 

Toxic Relationship Residue

As we continue to examine the living thoughts we have collected through the years, we can see that the torn and tattered remnants of negative relationships still linger in the shadows. Be these spousal, community or workplace relationships, does not matter. If they were toxic they have left their mark. There are people that will come and go throughout our lives much like chapters in a book. It is important to validate each of them and accept them for who they are and what they meant to you. Some of the characters, in the pages of your life story, may have been unsavory.

I have a few of those characters in my life that I would rather forget. Revisiting these negative experiences holds the energy and brings it to life. Just by opening up these living thoughts we are actively awakening negative energy. This unfavorable energy attracts more of the same. It can bring damaging effects such as: insomnia, headaches, irritability, mood-swings, lack of concentration just to mention a few.

As you look at your life today, examine the current chapter and see if you are keeping the residue of toxic relationships alive. If you have moved on from a disturbing lifetime experience yet still feel yourself hurting, then it is time to LET IT GO! How can you do this? By using your ability to switch off all memories regarding these harmful thought remnants that are holding you back. You are actually being held captive by your own mind. Take responsibility of what thoughts are allowed in and guard your beautiful space. You may try to convince yourself saying, “Oh, but that was years ago, I’m way past all of that.” This is all well and good, however your subconscious still brings it forward every now and again causing you to feel “less” about yourself. You are actually fanning the flames of negativity every time you revisit it.

I have lived with violence experiencing both physical and verbal abuse. It took me years to extract myself from this. Meditation helped me to release the energy that kept this self-loathing very raw. I would pick at the wounds of my heart like a scab keeping it bleeding. This did nothing to help overcome the pain and did everything to bring me poor health. Years ago I had the privilege of working as a volunteer with battered women. I watched the abused victims return to their toxic environments again and again. Many seemed like tethered boats tied securely to the dock unable to sail freely toward open peaceful waters. It was their thoughts that held them there. Thoughts like: “I have no money, my children need both parents living together, it’s not as bad as I think it is.” One of these victims said this looking at me through two black eyes holding a small infant that had suffered a broken arm in an angry burst of violence. She was in denial of the danger she was living in and she was allowing her child to remain in this horrific lifestyle.

Toxic relationships will continue to bring you disharmony until you truly see them for what they are. They are serving you absolutely no good and they are events that are now in the PAST (or for some are bringing them continued harm.)

As you proceed with your meditation, see these thoughts as negative energy being released with every exhale. Blow them away. Let them leave your peaceful, beautiful self and allow them to truly exit now and forever. Poof- gone.

This applies to all relationships in your life. Employment, neighbors, relatives, church, school, clubs, organizations and spousal relationships all can harbor toxic energies. If you have lived through a phase of disharmony regarding thoughts, words or deeds you need to release this energy. See it for what it is and move your thoughts to a more positive environment. Positive attracts positive – move in this direction fully accepting only thoughts for your highest good.

As you continue to release this through meditation, any negative thoughts that have been lurking in the shadows will be brought to your attention. You can now validate them and LET THEM GO. If you are engaged in a toxic relationship it will become clear to you that the path you are treading will need you to make a conscious choice – Do you want to continue with this or is time to move toward inner peace. Only you know what is best for you.

Allowing your inner voice to help you rise above the negative input will help you to make better decisions. Meditation enables you to tune out all thoughts and quiets your emotions. Your choices are made calmly with integrity. Will meditation solve all toxic relationships? Of course not, but it can help lead you down the path of self-love.

Loving yourself attunes your attention to your true value and self-worth. You are a beautiful person who has a right to live in peace. Meditation helps you to discover all the wonderful things about YOU. Your eyes will be open to new opportunities and exciting possibilities. Your heart begins to realize it can love and BE love to the world that so desperately needs this positive healing energy. This love begins with thought. Meditation brings thoughts of self-love that can help you proceed along your journey and navigate away from the residue of toxic relationships.

To learn how you can meditate please read my book Sæ-sii Meditation: How to Find Your Bliss in 15 Minutes a Day

Raise Your Vibration with THOUGHT

Where is your inner harbor of peace? If you were to close your eyes and imagine a place of total tranquility  –what would you see?

I recently asked my students this during a meditation class. For some it is a beach, others beside a mountain and for others it's in a garden. No two answers are ever the same. This is because we are each such diverse creatures. If I were to lead them on a guided meditation how would I know where to take them? Oh, of course they would follow along as I take them into a garden or along a beach foot path or even under a waterfall. But I am trying to help them find their OWN special place.  And they can do this by looking within.

You can find your secluded haven by rewarding yourself with quiet time alone. Take a walk, ride your bike…or just sit in a room by yourself. Pull your mind away from the struggles of the day and think of a place that makes you feel calm, safe and secure. Can you feel your energy shift? That was your vibration lifting. Yes, you actually raised your vibration by THINKING of a place. How can you use this positive energy in your life? By allowing this thought of this beautiful resting place to inhabit your daily routine.

As you go about your day learn to find moments of escape. You may be sitting at your desk, in traffic or waiting in a noisy supermarket. Whenever you need to calm yourself take a few cleansing breaths and think of your special space. This will help you to raise your vibration and remove negative energy that may begin to swirl around you as you become tense with anxiety.

The more you visit this retreat the better. You are becoming pro-active in training your mind to bathe in positive beautiful thoughts. It feels good and your body will feel lighter, your mood will seem more bubbly. This is your vibration raising and this is you harmonizing with the beautiful energy of your spirit. This is a simple practice that everyone can do … all ages...all people.

Meditation can take you wherever you want to go and is a wonderful tool to "let go" of thoughts. Remember, thoughts are living things and you are the guardian of them. Learn this simple method of finding your quiet space that was designed for you alone and be a happier person. This happiness will spread to your family, friends, pets and to the world around you. To learn how you can begin meditating please read Meditation Mojo. 

Mind Shift- Your Ability to Control Your Emotions

Close your eyes and relax. Unclench your jaw, your fists or any areas of tension. Breathe deeply and take a few cleansing breaths. Breathing in all of the beautiful energy of nature and now exhale all the noise and chatter in your head. Float along this current of nothingness. Now allow a thought to take residence in your mind. I can shift my mind to a better place.

The planet around us is struggling to survive. Global warming- sudden shifts in the earth - catastrophic weather patterns all bring their attention to us in a very loud way. Wake up! it seems to shout – Stop ignoring your environment – we are all connected and if we are hurting than you are suffering as well.

We are living in an age of technology that has connected our world in a way that no generation before us has ever seen. This communication can work both for and against us. It can bring encouragement and truthful insight or it can lead to utter chaos. We all like to think of ourselves as strong knowledgeable individuals, and many are, but many of us will follow a fool off a cliff. The only way to actually be led by this is to ignore your own inner voice and allow others to think for you.

For example if we know a storm is coming and we are able to use technology to “best guess” its course we should be able to decide for ourselves (unless we are relying on others because of mental or medical impairments) what the best plan of action should be. Many, many people have lived with the threats of all types of weather throughout the ages as well as the pets and wildlife that have gone before us. Did they have the weather channel, facebook or CNN? No, they simply took the warnings they were given, the necessary precautions and gathered with friends and family to wait out the storm. Many had to leave their homes to find a safe haven and many returned to find their dwellings demolished. We live with unforeseen natural environmental events that will continue long after we part this earth.

No one is advocating that we do not heed a warning. But there must come a time when we listen to our inner voice and “turn off” the hype, because that is what it is – in actual fact it sells advertisement. STAY TUNED…BREAKING NEWS…THIS JUST IN… If you were able to step aside and see how it was commercially packaged and delivered to you, you would see it for what it was, sheer drama which instills fear to make you come back for more. The music – the lighting –the flashing scrolling red text – the newsman strapped to a tree…none very helpful in preparing a community at all. You want to be able to rely on calm rational decisions and not whipped up emotional actions. This is when a mind shift is needed most. If you were trying to assist your children or elderly loved ones how would you approach them- careful and quiet purposeful direction to lead them to safety…or a burst of continued fearful updates?

There are many opportunities to practice this useful mechanism and if we wanted to we could probably fill pages and pages creating a list. Think of some events that you encounter in your daily lives in which you have no control. For example: (and I will only name a few as they can bring you down emotionally just listing them!)

-       Airport hell

-       Dr’s visit…the inner waiting room

-       Traffic jams

-       Unexpected weather…cancellations and loss of power

-       Trip to the Motor Vehicle Office

As we look at these examples we can feel the groans as they drag themselves through our lips. Now place yourself in one of these circumstances. For example you arrive at the Motor Vehicle office and you pull the number 63 and a voice calls out “number 31”. You look about and notice the bleak faces…the room is painted gray and actually looks as if it is getting grayer. But you need this document today and you have to wait. Others grumble and some start talking on their cell phones and you can feel the air thicken with negativity. It hovers about you like a cloud.

By quieting your mind and breathing easily allow your mind to shift. You have complete control of your thoughts, perhaps you were meant to learn something, and perhaps you were meant to use this very moment to understand that you have power over your own emotions. This is YOUR journey and you do not have to get swept along with all of the angry emotions of the people around you. Can you sit and see how unique you are – not better than others – no, just able to distance yourself enough to think upon positive things. Shift your attention and focus to a happy place. Maybe it’s a loved one, maybe it’s a good book or maybe a project you need to work out in your mind before you begin to create it.

This ability to shift your mind can truly remove unnecessary stress in your life. This skill can also help when you feel yourself spinning out of control. When you begin to feel yourself stiffen as a disagreement with someone is about to surface, catch yourself and say “mind-shift”… is this really how I want to respond? Am I prepared to allow all negative emotional energy have its free reign? What will this accomplish? Learn to use this mind shift as a lifeboat giving you safe passage to the calmness that you thrive in. When anger is all around you, don’t allow yourself to be carried in to the debris of negative thoughts. If this means turning off the media – hanging up the phone, than DO it. This especially means you will need to mentally turn off the media - a challenge as it adorns all airports and public places which are unavoidable today. Mentally tune away from the people on their cell phones and yes they even have conversations on the toilet, riding their bikes and even strolling a beach. Use your ability to shift your mind instantly.

Learn to take control of your emotions by adjusting your mind to a positive thought. It may take some practice to remind yourself. Sometimes I hear my spouse saying, “mind shift” as I become agitated and I reply “Mind your own shift” as I huff and puff, but for the most part this small technique has helped our relationship as well as our outlook.

Have you ever found yourself engaging in what started out to be a positive endeavor and the outcome was tears and frustration? Something wonderful and purposeful, and act of kindness shattered into hurt feelings and silence.

If your intention was something for example, “Let’s gather together to help our parents” and others have strong opinions of how this should be achieved, how can you shift your mind to keep the goal in focus? Another example may be joining together to help our children in sports, music, clubs, etc. Others will have their opinions on how the road to achieve this is pursued. Can you allow them to have an opinion in which you do not share? Can you shift your mind to give your assistance to fulfill what your initial intention was... to aid your children? If we begin at home perhaps we can help others nationwide. It is a concept in which we should happily meditate about, as focusing positive thoughts can move mountains.

By keeping this mechanism of your mind active you will begin to find so many ways to use it to your advantage. Some people count to ten… not me, nope too long. I think MIND SHIFT, and I have instant awareness and less wrinkles.

Even if we are that one smiling happy calm person in the storm we can actually make a difference. We can learn to move our anger, which is absorbed, into everyone and everything we encounter and redirect it, finding ways to create positive energy and harmony in our universe. We are all connected – tune in and take control over the uncontrollable events and you will be stepping toward a brighter future.

I have been given this MIND SHIFT information through the practice of meditation. To learn how you can meditate all on your own without any CDs  for FREE please click.