if Anderson Cooper does it...

Well, we all get to where we are on our path when we are supposed to. It's just that when Anderson Cooper gets there, it becomes mainstream, which is a good thing!  Last night, Anderson did a story on 60 minutes about mindfulness. I admit, at first felt a little concern that he was not going to to give it the importance it deserved, or talk to the people who really know what it is.  Thanks for coming through Anderson! 

He spoke to the master, my guru and the man I consider the penultimate authority on mindfulness in the Western world, Jon Kabat Zinn.  He has been bringing mindfulness to us for 40 years and NOW:
  

• Google has a full time person who leads mindfulness and stress management,
• Congress has an Ohio rep bringing it to the staffers and people on the hill and 
• they've made 60 minutes.  (Ego moment:) I was so ahead of my time!!  

Have Meditation, Will Travel has been around since 2004.  It is my Reiki practice, meditation/mindfulness coaching and stress management education company. But you shouldn't try to start a company - even when you know it's the next BIG THING - if you don't have the time to devote to it.  I split my time between my GED teaching, then went full time with that and decided that HMWT had to be a hobby, because it just wasn't going to pay me enough to get my kids through college with a minimum of debt on the other side.  So I back-burnered it and mindfulness, stress management and meditation took off without me. 

But what is it I really want it to be? In my mission statement, I say, "... full service stress management and relaxation [need to change that!] education company.  Classes are offered to teach and maintain a stress management, meditation or relaxation practice for women, couples, families, teens, ministry teams, organizational departments or anyone else who experiences stress in their life.  Workshop lengths vary from one hour to a two-day retreat and include presentation and practice of a variety of stress management, meditation and quiet prayer strategies and techniques (Have Meditation). Sessions can be set-up in a variety of locations (Will Travel) including private homes, offices, churches and community venues."  See what I mean about ahead of my time????

So, I'm really happy that 60 minutes did this story. I'm really happy that Anderson is finding his bliss and I'm glad Jon Kabat-Zinn got the credit for beginning the movement. But, (you knew there was a but coming didn't you?) the fact that I've been using this with my students in the jail classes and Lakeshore classes and adult basic education world for years does rankle the ego a bit - OK, more than a bit, I'm human!  So my journey will be to accept that if it's infinite, there's room for everyone to take part and if I really want it, I have to work for it, it's not just going to happen.  I am the Lake County, IL Google person who runs meditation/stress management classes for a big company (Like Abbott), I'm just biding my time while I finish my soul work to get there...

I am going to email the congressman about MindUP, the Goldie Hawn foundation program that's been in schools for a LONG time already.  Don't want them spending my tax dollars to reinvent the wheel!

Anyone else getting these messages???

This week, the long awaited mini-series The Red Tent, based on the book by Anita Diamante, aired on Lifetime. I'm sure they'll be replaying it often.  It is about women, sharing, connection and the (fictional) hidden ancient practices of the biblical Jacob's wives, daughters & other women.  What I loved about the book, and the miniseries, is how the women knew that they were the key to life.  They were the teachers, the nurture-ers, the connectors, the listeners. They sustained each other through sharing traditions, stories and ritual. All the things we can be if we are PRESENT to those around us, PRACTICE those ego-releasing listening skills and help our world PROGRESS to a better place.  

In that light, this morning, Parker J. Palmer had a wonderful story he shared on his FaceBook page that I also want to share. It shows that we CAN still hope, work and create a world of sharing, peace & presence. Enjoy! 

Pre-Christmas & Winter holiday practices...

Good day to you! For me, Advent is a time of quiet reflection and waiting. I used to get caught up in the holiday crazies, but finally decided it just wasn't worth it.  So I found some great resources to keep me grounded and centered, learned about other cultures winter rituals and traditions and am pretty much able to stay present and keep my perspective.  I admit is was significantly more difficult when my kids were little, but now I have the luxury of having more time to myself without all the fundraisers and bake sales and competitions and commitments. I wouldn't give up that time in my life for anything, it was wonderful and fun and my kids are amazing people. I do wish I had stayed present for more of it and included some of the mindfulness practices I now use daily, but you know what "they" say about hindsight - while I don't usually listen to them, this time they have a point!

So, I'm sharing a couple of links that I just love for your December, hope you enjoy them and take time to breathe and dream every day - even just for two minutes! Pax.

Vinita Hampton Wright - Days of Deepening Friendship

Another one of my favorites:
Advent in 2 minutes from Busted Halo 

And, in honor of those with other traditions:
mindful.org
Thich Nhat Hanh column 
Interfaith Voices podcast on the season of darkness 

Know that I think of you and send blessings and peace every time I see holiday lights of every kind!

Thanksgiving as a portal to a peaceful & joyful season.

Several of my Reiki friends have asked for tips to manage mindfulness during the holiday season. Just from the way I used to be crazed and resentful of the holiday expectations (all self-imposed, I assure you!), I know this is something many need to re-frame and refocus on the peaceful and joy-filled purpose of the season. Here are a few of the tips I shared - and don't forget to check the practices page for a few more. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and eat whatever you want - mindfully and slowly - then you won't eat too much and will truly be thankful for the food and traditions we have to be grateful for!

Reiki helps me stay focused and centered during the holidays - here are some of the ways I use it for myself and my family/friends:

1) Before I write my holiday cards, I bless the stack of address cards with Reiki, asking that those who receive our greetings be peaceful, joy-filled and blessed for the season and next year.  As I seal each envelope, I use the power symbol to seal it with divine love.

2) Whenever we do holiday baking, we gather all the ingredients and ask that Reiki blessings be given to everyone who shares our goodies. Then we bless them as we put them in the oven and again when we make the cookie trays or boxes we share with others.

3) Every day, I take 5 minutes to sit in front of the Christmas tree and give myself Reiki while also being grateful for each of the ornaments we have had handed down, gifted or created over the years.  This is different than the Advent meditations we do around our traditional advent wreath, though we use it to remind us of the peaceful reason for the season too.

4) We purchase gifts for the giving tree or angel tree programs at our church.  I bless each gift with a little Reiki so the recipient will feel the genuine concern and care we are sending with their gifts. 

The best explanation EVER...

I love Fr. Richard Rohr.

Today's Daily Meditation is just awesome. It's called Wholeness and talks about Connection, Reflection and all the stuff I've mentioned on here lately. I believe there is a huge shift toward a more universal spirituality happening worldwide and I am excited to be a part of it and share it with anyone who's ready. 

If you haven't signed up for Fr. Rohr's daily emails yet, they are what keep me grounded and focused on what's really important. What I love is that they are open to any tradition or philosphy.

Part of his message today: We are all little flickers of a Big Flame of Love. Here's today's link tiny little flickers!!
Have a wonderful Sunday and a great week.

Happy Saturday Practice....

Here's a great way to wrap up your week from BustedHalo - a gratitude retreat! You can download a printable .pdf to go over when you're not at your computer. Click the link to access the page. You will also find the link on the Practices page. Enjoy! 

Also, sending birthday wishes to a dear friend - may it be a wonderful year of blessings and abundance for you! 

Reflect & Connect (aka Women need Goddess Circles)...

When I was growing up, I was fortunate to be raised in a close and loving family with lots of relatives, visits, holidays and church.  I am one of the few people I know who had a good Catholic education all the way through. My all-girls high school isn't there anymore, but it was my first in-depth exposure to feminism, the feminine divine and contemplation and meditation practices. Yes, it was Catholic - there is a huge contemplative movement and many female mystics through the history of the church that seem to get overlooked when people think of spiritual practices.  There is a reason all cultures have some type of contemplative and reflective practices - it connects us to each other and to our Creator.

I think one of the biggest holes in our amazing, modern society is connection. I know, there's Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Blogger ;) etc. etc. I get it, but it's not giving us the ancient practice of conversation, discussion and connection. 

I am an Usui/Tibetan and Karuna Reiki Master Teacher. In my search for stress management and ways to deal with a lot of anger and hurt from my past life (note: I did NOT say liveS), I discovered this wonderful, complementary healing practice that is the center of my mindfulness and health practices.

Through this practice, I have met the most amazing women, and men, who have brought back the deep conversations and gatherings I needed to find. We call one of these gatherings a "goddess circle" because we realize our connection to the feminine divine is also our connection to each other and to the Great Divine. The other group I am blessed and grateful to be affiliated with is The Reiki Share Project , who share Reiki with cancer patients, caregivers, first responders and others who need to learn Level 1 Reiki.

Just today, while leaving work, I ran into some co-workers and the course of our conversation (very synchronistically) went to Goddess circles, Reiki and the need for support and loving friendship all women need. I think I freaked a couple of them out, I don't talk much about this side of my life, but there was recognition and agreement from others that this is an important missing component of our age. Spiritual practices, natural healing and gatherings with story and sharing are what we need to grow peace in the world - and in ourselves. So it emphasized to me once again that we need to reflect, connect and cherish all our opportunities to help each other and get some more Goddess Circles going! You are amazing, let's share that energy. Pax.

By the way, I'm fat...

For some reason, people have an issue with getting healing and life balance advice from a fat person. Well, it's a journey and we all have to discover things in our own, right time.  I've been fat forever, always looking for the perfect (there's that word again) "eating program" to quote my mom.  Spent too many years obsessing, counting every calorie, failing, feeling bad - start cycle again.  Then I discovered Health At Every Size® . I finally realized my body was doing exactly what it was supposed to do - when you eat more than you need, it grows adipose tissue.  When you have a genetic history of metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and diabetes in your family, you will never be a size 2, but you CAN be very fit, healthy and balanced.  It just took me a while (50 years) to get it together.

Last November, I discovered 5:2 Intermittent Fasting and it kind of pulled together all the things I've been working on for decades.  I have finally started losing fat, practicing a much healthier life style and feel a lot better. I now have the energy to share this part of my journey with you through P3.  I stay PRESENT and mindful while I PRACTICE my HAES® philosophy and note my (very SLOW) PROGRESS through a forum called FastDay .  I have learned so much about myself over the past year through just fasting two or three days a week, having a 500 calorie dinner on those days and eating to my TDEE the other 4-5 days a week.  If you haven't seen the documentary "Eat, Fast & Live Longer" by BBC Horizon with medical correspondent Dr. Michael Mosley, check it out - changed my life.  

So, I know how hard it is to stick to anything. I know biology is always trying to outsmart you and now, I know there is a very slow, but effective & sustainable way to get and keep my health a priority without it being an obsession. Now, that's PROGRESS.

Let it go...

If there's one thing Disney's Frozen© has done, it's to add "Let it go..." to the lexicon of mainstream America.  This is a good thing, because frankly, we are all way too uptight.  Our life journeys lead us to realize NOTHING MATTERS, but that's usually in our second half of life (Richard Rohr, Center for Action and Contemplation).  Please don't spend your young adulthood living in perfection world. I spent a lot of time there and it made me miserable, it made everything a dramatic crisis and it made the people around me walk on eggshells.  My poor husband and kids...

In 2003, I was diagnosed with uterine cancer. This was my "hand of God" moment. If I had been one day earlier or later with the doctor's appointment that found it, they wouldn't have found it so early and I might not be here today. One of my mom's friend's daughters was the same age as I was and was diagnosed with the same thing at the same time. She's been gone for 10 years, I celebrated my 11 year survival in September.  It was then that I realized that all the stuff I was watching on Oprah was correct. We needed to be grateful (Sarah Ban Breathnach - Simple Abundance), we needed to be mindful (Joh Kabat-Zinn - Wherever You Go, There You Are) and we needed to count our blessings with every breath.  

If you haven't gotten to this point in your life yet, if you're still angry, resentful and feeling victimized, let me tell you, you're only hurting yourself by carrying that stuff around.  I carried mine around as extra weight. I was just always so MAD. Then, I learned I wasn't mad at all, I was hurt and it expressed itself as anger because I felt the hurt so deeply.  One of Oprah's shows was about forgiveness - I believe it was Iyanla Vanzant - but the message was that forgiveness opens the door to a peaceful, joyful life.  I really think carrying around all that toxic goop is what caused my cancer.  Today, while I still have to PRACTICE mindfulness, those who know me now would never recognize the person of a dozen years ago. I'd say that's PROGRESS.

So, here's a quick activity for you: Breathe in - really deeply, all the way to your toes.  Now, blow it out and state out loud "I forgive myself, I forgive everyone I've ever perceived as hurting me, and I am going to LET IT GO instead of carrying it around - all of it". Great, don't you feel better?? Don't forget to check out the "practices" page for some quick and helpful PRACTICEs as you PROGRESS. Pax

Welcome -

I invite you to think about your life at this moment in time. Are you happy with where you are RIGHT NOW at this moment? Are there things you would change? Things you would keep? Things you'd like to add? 

I've been there too. I'd like to share my journey and offer some ideas of the small changes I used to make me happier, healthier and joyful.  Let me first introduce you to P3 - Present (prez-ent), Practice, Progress. This is my 3 step model for simply changing the things you want to change to improve your life in every area.  I first used the P3 model in my adult basic education classroom, but then it was "Present (pree-zent), Practice, Process" - a way of teaching that allowed students to see a model, practice it, then talk about what they had just learned and decide if it was something they wanted to continue.  My new model as applied here is for tracking the small changes and reflecting on them and how you will add them to your day.

So, right now, take a deep (belly) breath. Connect with yourself in this moment - are you sitting at your computer, reading on your phone or tablet? Connect with yourself where you are right now, in this PRESENT moment.  This takes PRACTICE, but all the masters tell us that connecting to the breath and bringing yourself back to your breath is what it takes to be mindful, calm and centered. At the end of the day, look at your PROGRESS - can you think of one thing you did today to work toward your goals of being healthier and happier? That's progress, celebrate it. That's P3 - Present, Practice, Progress in a nutshell. It's a new way of being patient with yourself, beginning the small changes, getting unstuck and moving forward each day.  It's nothing new, there are a million other blogs and people who will tell you about similar practices, but mine is based on my personal journey that I want to share with you.  Good luck and please use the resources and links that have helped me.

Peace & blessings,
Have Meditation, Will Travel