Meditation Series Update – Cultivating Calm

As you may recall, I registered to participate in Oprah & Deepak Chopra’s free Meditation Series, “Expanding Your Happiness”. The series was 21 days. I completed 15 days and then lost track. Overall, though, I enjoyed the experience, and I would happily do it again. Meditation, calm, relaxation, and the journey inward are all part of a practice, and for me it really does take practice. It wasn’t a perfect journey, but I enjoyed the days that I did put the effort in.

I thought I would share the 15 days’ worth of centering thoughts that were so helpful to me:

1. “happiness is my true nature”
2. “I am filled with spirit”
3. “I am peace”
4. “I am love”
5. “I am playful”
6. “hope lights my path”
7. “I am wholeness”
8. “we are here to enjoy”
9. “my actions have purpose”
10. “I am content just as I am”
11. “kindness expresses the gentleness of the soul”
12. “life makes me smile and laugh”
13. “I am thankful for all I have”
14. “my happiness energizes and inspires me”
15. “my happiness shines everywhere”

I’m slowly trying to cultivate more calm in my life, and that can mean a lot of things from sitting quietly without electronics to spending time in the garden to focusing on simple words to help me sleep. I also love Calm.com for a quick chill-out in the middle of a work day, and this great one-minute meditation video:

What do you do to ‘keep calm’ ?

Reading List

There are few books on my reading list right now that I’m either currently reading or planning to get to in September and beyond:

1. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

( a re-read, of course)

Welcome – New

There are also some great additional resources found here:  http://www.thesecret.tv/gifts.html (I love the secret and magic cheques), and I especially love the gratitude page found here : http://www.thesecret.tv/wallpaper-and-pdfs.html

2. A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

I have had A New Earth worksheets printed in my personal development binder for a while now, and the Oprah & Eckhart Tolle chapter discussions saved on my PVR for some time now. I have started this book a couple of times, but I’m looking forward to really diving in!

Lots of great reading resources found here: http://www.oprah.com/app/a-new-earth.html

3. Lost & Found by Geneen Roth 

“New York Times bestselling author Geneen Roth galvanized millions of readers with Women Food and God, a book that drew upon Roth’s thirty years of teaching about the charged relationship between food and our inner lives. Her deeply compassionate and insightful approach to some of the most painful issues surrounding eating revolutionized the way women perceive their life-long battles with weight. Now she turns her attention to the other great secret in American culture: our conflicted relationship with money.

Precipitated by the loss of her entire life savings in the Bernard Madoff scandal, Roth took a hard look at her own habits — and realized that there were direct parallels between her relationship with food and money: binge-shopping followed by periods of budgetary self-deprivation, “treating” herself in ways that ultimately failed to sustain, and using money as a substitute for love. She discovered a haunted and compulsive quality in her relationship with money – and faced with a crisis, she needed to find out why. What she learned was a revelation.”

– http://geneenroth.com/books/

4. Re-Awaken The Giant Within (E-book) by Tony Robbins

This is the one I’m most excited about right now.  I have been wanting to read the classic Awaken The Giant Within for as long as I can remember. Now there is a free E-book offering the highlight reel:

“To celebrate over two decades of radical transformation, we’ve compiled the best insights from Awaken the Giant Within—including how to crush your obstacles, how to use your personal values to achieve what you desire most, and how to use pain and pleasure to shape your destiny—into this special gift edition, Re-Awaken the Giant Within. “

– http://www.tonyrobbins.com/ebook/

What is on your reading list?

Meditation Series Starts Tomorrow!

What a great way to start a Monday and have a great morning– Oprah & Deepak Chopra have a new, free 21-day meditation experience beginning tomorrow, August 11th, 2014. It’s called Expanding Your Happiness. Don’t you just love that? I’m so excited.

It runs through to the end of the month, and I love that this is a great tool to get connected and ready to be at my best- just in time for September 01, 2014 when I start working on my 16-month goals.

As previously mentioned, I’m looking forward to participating, and I’m just posting this little reminder in case you’d like to join in:

Guided Meditations

{this little beauty arrived in my inbox when I registered}

If you’re nervous (or just curious), here’s a good beginner’s resource:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/whitneyjefferson/deepak-chopra-answers-questions-about-meditation

For the record, I am totally one of those people who is terrible at relaxing… I need this more than most people probably. It doesn’t come easy to me, but I’m doing it anyway. Life happens outside your comfort zone!

Here’s to being calm and connected and to Expanding Happiness!

Meditation Series

I can always use more calm, centered time in my life, so on Monday I’m beginning a free guided meditation experience with Oprah and Deepak Chopra called Expanding Your Happiness. I attempted a meditation series with them earlier this year and I only made it partway through the three weeks, but I’m going to try again.

Until Monday I’m going to be working on getting prepared… doing yoga and getting connected and also preparing the yoga space in my home office for meditation.

I also received an email with this printable door hanger with meditation tips on the reverse that I think I’ll put to good use on my home office door:

http://www.chopra.com/ccl-meditation/images/21DME_DD_DoorHanger.pdf?utm_source=eyh-nurture&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=eyh-nurture-1

I think this series aligns itself with my Good Morning intentions.

If you’d like to participate in the free 21-day series, here’s the link:
https://chopracentermeditation.com/invite