Meditating on Gratitude

This post is for a friend of mine who wants to start meditating (I hope you don't mind me calling your out here, Tee!). Like many of us, the question looms out there: "How do I start?" Meditating can be intimidating; actually, it is intimidating for most people trying to start the practice. However, keep in mind, there are many types of meditation, and you can pick which one you are most comfortable with. Meditation does not have to be about trying to clear your mind of all thoughts – especially not when you are just starting. Meditation can simply be about calming your mind for a bit. One great way to do this is to concentrate on just one thing. To make it easier – I’m going to tell you the thing!! Gratitude. I’m sure you’ve heard the hype about gratitude. But it really does work. I have gotten myself out of almost any funk or stress by focusing on what I’m grateful for. With gratitude, you can focus on the current moment or pick a specific aspect of your life – it’s that easy!

You can double the benefit of gratitude by incorporating it into meditation; meditation allows the feelings of gratitude to really soak into your being. A favorite way of mine to be grateful is to think about all the things that happened (or didn’t happen) throughout my day and try to pick which I’m most grateful for. This is a great practice right before you go to bed….it is usually the last thing I do before I fall asleep (and it can help you get a great night’s sleep, too!) You can also do it in the morning and think about the prior day...starting your mornings with gratitude will have you singing through the day!

So, simply pick your time (I like first thing in the morning or last thing at night – or both!), get comfortable (I often am lying in bed or sitting cross-legged on my couch – whatever you like, do it!), breathe deeply and slowly ( 3-count in, pause, and out is a good breathing rhythm), and start thinking one-by-one about what you are grateful for. If you want to set a timer, so you don’t need to pay attention to the clock, go ahead. You just want to slowly think through your day and consider each thing that you can be grateful for. When you are done thinking on one and ready to move to the next, take a moment to concentrate on taking a few breaths again. Then keep going! After meditating on gratitude, you will physically feel yourself being uplifted. It is an amazing experience. And an awesome way to start meditating and focus on the joy in your life every day. Try it for a week or two and then we will start another meditating practice. Happy Meditating!

A little Frankincense....

Although Marcey is the “potion-master” when it comes to oils (you name it, she will create it!), I’ve decided to do a little experimenting myself.  Leaving the mixology to her, I’ve decided to simply add an essential oil to a habit I’m already doing to see how much of an impact it will make. I’m starting with Frankincense – one of my favorite oils and one that I often diffuse in the room when I have some serious thinking to do. However, Frankincense is also great for supporting you when meditating or praying (hence its use in biblical times!). So, I’m going to use Frankincense when I meditate over the next few days to see if it changes my experience. I’ll try it in my room diffuser and in my necklace to compare as well. Anyone care to join me?

Morning Routine

Mornings can be difficult. I personally have never been a fan. However, I've started incorporating a morning routine into my life that provides personal development and some exercise. I've tried this before, but after reading Hal Elrod's book "The Miracle Morning", I figured out a way to make this work!

In his book, he suggests adding 1 hour into your morning that's split into 6 activities (listed below)

10 minutes - Meditation (silence, focus on breath, prayer, gratitude, guided meditation)
10 minutes - Reading (read a book that will help you grow: self-help, business books, the Bible ...
                                    whatever inspires you and will help you grow). 
10 minutes - Affirmations (you can create your own or find ones given by other people)
10 minutes - Visualization (you could visualize your day, life, goals, dreams, whatever you're feeling)
10 minutes- Journaling (for me, I write a little about what's on my mind and then I focus on gratitude)
10 minutes - Exercise (this could be whatever you want!)

I did this for a week straight and was more energized and productive than I can remember!


Now, I know 60 minutes is a lot to add to your morning routine; I felt the same way. I suggest trying this out so that you can see the benefits which will encourage your to wake up 60 minutes earlier every day!

If you slept in or in a rush, you can modify this! You can do 1 minute of each activity so that you're only taking 6 minutes out of your morning to do this. I've tried this, but felt it wasn't as effective as longer practices. You can also cut down the times of certain activities. For example, I'll do 5 minutes of meditation,  10 minutes of reading, less than 5 minutes of affirmations, 5 minutes of visualization, 5 minutes of journaling, and 10 minutes of exercise. This is about 35 minutes and it works well if I'm rushing or slept in a little!

What's your morning routine?

Anyone want to play the Glad Game with me?

I was recently reminded of the "Glad Game" from the Pollyanna movie. Does anyone remember that? In the movie, she thinks of as many things as she can to be glad about a situation, which is why she had such a “sunny” disposition!  

This is a variation of being grateful for what you have to help focus on the positive rather than the negative. So, I’m going to give it a try today!  Any time I have a negative thought or am in a negative situation, I’m going to come up with as many things about it that I can be glad about. Even as I’m writing this, I just thought, “Boy, my neck hurts today.”  So, here I go….what can I be glad about for that? I guess, I’m glad that I have the pain to remind me to sit up straight and to stretch throughout the day. I am glad that I have feeling in my neck – some people don’t.  Hmmm…that’s all I have for now. Hopefully I’ll get better with practice!

I'm going to add some Purification essential oil in my diffuser today to help create my own "sunny disposition":) Although many use Purification for neutralizing odors (think - "I just cooked fish and my house smells like it"), I find that it really enlivens me. 

So, what do you say? Anyone want to play the Glad Game with me?

Rest Day!

Do you have a rest day? This is an old concept that we first heard about in the Bible, specifically in Genesis. God rested on the seventh day, so why don't we? I was reintroduced to this topic while watching Dani Johnson's "Time Secrets" DVD. In this DVD, she introduces viewers to the concept of working for 6 days and having a rest day on the 7th. This allows the body a day of absolute rest and relaxation to re-energize ourselves for the upcoming 6 days of work. Well, easier said than done!

This has been my 3rd Rest Day and I finally was able to enjoy it and relax! The first 2 tries were difficult, because I either felt guilty for not working or I had the urge to clean, do dishes, cook, etc. The rule is no cooking, cleaning, laundry, picking up dog toys, work, homework! It's all fun and relaxing activities! What really helped me was on the day before my Rest Day, I did my laundry, cleaned, prepped a meal, and finished all of my work. On my Rest Day, I didn't have anything to do, so I had to rest!

Here are some things I do on my Rest Days:

Sleep in!
Read for fun
Watch a movie or TV show
Play a game with my husband
Go for a nice walk with my husband and dog
Meditate
Whatever else I find fun and relaxing!


After I do this, I'm completely refreshed and ready to get to work the next day!