Become a driver rather than a passenger in your own life.

3 baby robins have hatched

only 2 weeks later, see what they've become.....

"If you know what you could become, it would leave you breathless." Ben Herbster

Think back to how your parents dressed when you were a child.

Those fashions were appropriate then, but if you were to see someone sporting the same outfits today, that person would probably receive quite a few stares.

Styles change; skirt lengths rise and fall, men’s ties become wider or thinner as designers shape the current fashion trends.

Positive Change
Change has always happened and while most people are wearing more recent clothing styles, you have to ask yourself if you are still wearing the same memories and attitudes of things that went wrong, or memories of things people told you like “You’re not smart enough.”

Holding on to other people’s opinions only holds you back. Life does change and by being ever vigilant you can observe what is arising internally in response to specific events or comments.

Change challenges us to look at what we are doing, where we have been, and what we want to do with our lives. Change is positive when you can take a fresh look at all the old expectations that you still carry around with you and do something about it, rather than riding along with what life tosses your way or what other people think is best.

Become a driver rather than a passenger in your own life.

You have the ability to persevere, be resilient, and successfully create the life you want through the thoughts that you keep.

So, tear off the labels that other people apply/have applied to you. Do it now! The more you tolerate phrases like "You're not clever enough, or You can't do that" the more you believe them.

Show who you really are and begin living your ideal life.

 

Affirmations

I choose my path

I am clear on my goals

I am taking action to reach my purpose.

Every day I am closer to my ideal life

I am grateful for my opportunities

I know that as I help others along the way I also receive guidance

Successful You

Are you seeing the Light and reaching your goals?

How are your New Year Resolutions progressing?

Are they going or have they gone?

Meditation helps maintain the mindset that all is well and helps you to flow with what life puts in your way. It also helps you to overcome perceived problems and see solutions to difficulties. True, no one actually knows for certain what the future holds for any one of us, but unseen obstacles need not be a deterrent or permanently hold us back.

Positive people believe that there are no "problems", only "situations". Your perspective alters when you view the world from a positive view-point rather than seeing walls and closed doors that appear in your way as insurmountable.

It means that anything is possible; all of your dreams, your aspirations, your successes.

Situations that are less than ideal can be overcome. If you can change a situation by correct action then keep on moving and act, however if a situation is unfortunately beyond the control of human ability then we can only accept what has happened and move graciously from it.

All that you desire can come true.

Starting today, resolve to be more positive! Look at what you have achieved, not what you have not accomplished, yet. No matter how small the success, focus on what is working, give thanks, and look at your next goal and determine a time when you will achieve it.

Revise your strengths, knowledge and goals. Closely examine what you are doing right and what is helping to empower you to achieve what YOU desire.
Decide what you need. You don’t have to have everything in place in order to start making your way towards your goals for 2010.
Add dates that you will begin/achieve each step toward achieving your goal.

Spend time in the presence of positive, successful people either in person, in books, or online. Let them know what you are doing. Share your plans with those whom you now trust and can confide in at this point in your life’s journey. They will be constructive and supportive. Eliminate naysayers from hearing about your aspirations.

Review your plans and desires frequently, and especially every 6 months, because circumstances will evolve, you will grow, and people will enter and leave your environment.

As your goals become clearer and you begin to realize them, you will be spurred on to reach higher and higher.

Carry affirmations with you. Memorize them. They really do block out unwanted and pessimistic thoughts.

Meditate daily. Find the time. Make the time. Prioritize your time in order to meditate. It is during your daily meditation practice that you will recognize and subsequently address self-limiting patterns of behavior and take the first steps that will release them.

Concentrate on what you want to achieve and be inspired by your own achievements, both the small and the large. The more you recognize and appreciate success, in yourself and others, the more success will follow!
Meditation is your own tool that will help empower you toward maintaining a forward momentum to living the life you want. It costs you nothing except time and the benefits are amazing.

So believe in yourself.

You CAN do it.

GUIDED MEDITATION

TRAIN THE MIND TO MEDITATE BY FOCUSING ON A SINGLE OBJECT

Steps for Concentration for Meditation
• Find a pleasing object that holds your interest such as a flower, a lit candle, a rock.
• Sit in a comfortable seated position that you can stay in without fidgeting.
• Gaze at the object without any eye strain. Notice how beautiful it is. Marvel at it's creation.
• After a few minutes, close your eyes and hold the memory of the object in your mind's eye.
• If it disappears, gaze at your object again for a little while longer then close your eyes and concentrate on your chosen image.
• With practice, you will be able to close your eyes and bring the object to mind instantly.
• Now you can focus on more subtle objects such as the breath, inner light, healing sound such as OM.
Benefits of Concentration
Whatever you focus on, your mind forms thoughts, emotions, and actions around a particular stream of thinking.
For example, if you focus on a strawberry, notice the colors and the perfume of the fruit, your mouth waters in memory of how sweet and juicy the fruit tastes and so you decide that you must have one.

During Meditation, when you are able to focus not on physical objects but on pure objects such as love or God, you become like the essence of what you are concentrating on.

You Can Do It
Meditation takes practice, but it is easily doable. Many people struggle because they try it once or twice by attempting to empty the mind, but that is too challenging because the mind is not under control. It keeps on leaping around.

The simple steps above will help you to achieve concentration and take control of the mind.

In turn, you will find that you progress very quickly from holding an external image in your mind to one where you enter into meditation and find the peace, bliss, and determination of purpose that emerges as a result of meditation.

Guided Meditation

Observe your life for one whole minute. What difference does your being there make?

Interesting, isn’t it.

If you’ve never tried it before, the results might have surprised you.

As a yoga and meditation teacher I have found that while students enjoy learning how to meditate and experiencing the wonderful benefits, what is more challenging is releasing the “stuff” that prevents complete joy and bliss from manifesting. Sure, there is a sense of peace, but there are other even more wonderful experiences that will happen, if room is made for them. The “stuff” that I’m referring to here is different from one person to another but it acts like a pile of boxes that are stacked in front of a closed door. Once they are removed, meditation unlocks the door and then you have the choice to open it and enter.

Give yourself permission to evolve and change

How do you value yourself?
Prioritizing your life lets you see where you put your own needs and then do something about it.

With meditation, there’s no room for you and your excess thoughts. If you allow thoughts to enter and then follow them, that’s when you find that you’re not experiencing the bliss that you know is there, inside.
If you are new to meditation, thoughts WILL intrude. But hold onto either an affirmation, a mantra, or the image of a light in order to use them like a shield to protect you from unwanted thoughts.
Like all practices, once it becomes a regular habit, you become better at it and can enter it with ease.

Building confidence relies on thinking you are worth it and by acting upon it. In the opening question at the start of this posting, what was your mind drawn to?
If it was an event or attribute that made you feel happy, then that’s good. If, however, you found that you were drawn to past mistakes, then it becomes necessary to stop judging yourself, or others, and look at ways to create a mind-shift.
There are two inner voices, or thoughts, that can form in your mind; one is always wrong. These mistaken and erroneous thoughts are formed by habit, just as thinking positively about yourself and the world in general develop through continued practice.

You CAN change your mind and not cling to past opinions if you know or find them to be wrong.
It is never too late to begin meditation, nor is it too late to change your mind. Just because you are walking down a certain path doesn't mean that you need to follow it all the way to the end. It’s hard to take a different path, leaving what you knew, but you can make a mental (or physical if that’s what you want) break from what’s preventing you from making different choices. Sometimes all it takes is a word from someone, an inspiring book you have read, or a strong internal feeling that arises from meditation to spur you to make a positive difference in your life.

Researchers have conducted sensory meditation studies and have found that mental characteristics that were previously regarded as fixed and unchangeable can in fact be altered by mental training such as meditation.

The brain has an ability called Neuroplasticity, in which new pathways (thought patterns) and new brain cells can form.
You’re not stuck with your current way of thinking, unless you choose to.

Additional studies have also found that electrical activity is in fact heightened during meditation in an area of the brain called the left prefrontal cortex, which is situated just behind the forehead. Scientists have associated activity in this region with positive emotions, as opposed to the right prefrontal cortex, which is associated with negative responses in an individual’s feelings and emotions.

Out With The Old, In The New
Few people can honestly say that they know what they should do with their life. They wander and drift having some moments of clarity, only to find that what they are doing loses its momentum.

Meditation trains the mind to maintain single-pointed focus. This promotes greater awareness of what is empowering and what is detracting you from living your best life and having fun while you do it.

I’ve always found it useful to make a list of my goals and intentions. I encourage you to do likewise; otherwise before you know it every good thing that presents itself will seem like the right thing. After all, when making a meal, you don’t add every healthy item to the recipe. You are selective to ensure that the food turns out just as you want it to.

Meditation is one of the simplest methods to help you look deep within and determine what will actually make you happy. Then the steps that you need to take and live by in order to attain it fall into place with ease.

Life is a wonderful gift and meditation helps to sweep away confusion and reveal a clear path free from obstacles.

Guided Meditation

Surroundings
As always before you begin your meditation practice, ensure that you find a quiet place with no distractions such as the telephone and that your clothes are comfortable. Your chosen place for meditation can be either indoors or outdoors but ensure that the temperature is not too hot or cold.
Try to develop a habit of meditating in the same place. Then once you are ane to enter into meditation with ease, you will find that you gravitate to meditation easily and oblivious to potential disruptions.

Sit as comfortably as you can, with the spine lengthened.
Close your eyes, and use the power of the breath to relax the body and mind
Follow the breath from the tip of the nose to the base of the lung
Follow the breath all the way out again.
Don’t rush this process
Continue following the breath until you feel completely relaxed

Allow the exhalation to become twice as deep as the inhalation.
Continue to notice the rate and rhythm of the breath.
Maintain attention only on your steady and even breath

With each breath, release your thoughts. Do not follow them or struggle with them.
Acknowledge they are there and allow them to drift by.
If you are visual, you can see the thoughts as images of clouds and let them drift away against the backdrop of a blue sky.

Return to the flow of the breath

With the breath gentle and flowing, notice the stillness within you. Focus on the space between each breath.
Thoughts lessen.
Stay with the deep, rhythmic breath
Enter into the space between each breath

NOTE: Even if this stillness lasts for a few seconds, you have been meditating and with practice the stillness lasts longer. When you come aware that you are experiencing stillness, it occurs with a thought such as “I am experiencing stillness.” Release that thought and return to the breath and then the stillness.

Feel the expansive abundance of the stillness
Feel the oneness with peace

When you are complete, allow the eyes to slowly open.
Notice how you feel and the state of your mind.

Know that you can return to this state of mind, simply by returning to observing the rhythmic flow of the breath.

Action
Developing awareness in all situations, including your own feelings and reactions, enables you to take control of what you think and therefore do. It’s up to you to determine what kind of reaction, and ultimately reality, you are going to create.

Keep a journal where you can write down your experiences and any goals or aspirations that arise.

Focus on the present and carry peace and joy around inside you. You will eliminate feelings of irritation and anxiety and live a healthier, happier life not only when times are going well, but especially when they are tough because you have the resources now to draw on the happiness and bliss that flows within.

Meditation is a great teacher and you have the resources within you to have a truly amazing life. It is YOU who has the ability to empower yourself and take the first steps to move forward on your life’s purpose, rather than standing still.
You are a remarkable individual with untapped possibilities and you CAN have amazing success with all of your endeavors.

Observe Your Life
Next time you observe your life for one minute, what is it like this time?

Creating a Mind-Shift: Releasing Self-Doubt

"The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours."

Ayn Rand

When life is frantic, people are angry, traffic is hectic, and the world seems to be getting crazier, how do you respond to this?
When you are faced with a hectic day, how can you tap into the tranquility that you so desperately need if you cannot find it?
When thoughts and past conversations keep replaying in your mind, how can you find peace?

Downbeat and pessimistic thinking is an acquired habit with its own internal mantra, so in order to stop thinking in terms of restrictions, failures, and obstacles you have to create a mind-shift and start thinking in terms of possibilities.

Looking Inwards
Meditation is a wonderful tool in helping you to look at what you believe about yourself and the world around you. By looking inwards, you discern and review what you may hold as unshakable truths and change your opinions one by one.

We all have this enquiring mind yet many of us don’t use it.

Developing awareness in all situations, including your own feelings and reactions, enables you to take control of what you think and therefore do. It’s up to you to determine what kind of reaction, and ultimately reality, you are going to create.

You Know It’s There

If you are climbing a hill, you can’t see the other side but you know it is there.
Likewise, if you are walking on a woodland trail, it is often difficult to see the end of the path, yet you know it is there.
Even on a road with no obstacles to obscure your view, there can be a bend in the way that prevents you from seeing the end of your journey, and yet once again you know it is there.

While we can’t be sure about what the terrain that lies ahead for any of us is like, we can each be certain that the most wonderful opportunities are waiting for us to get to them.

What you want to achieve you can, by resetting your attitude and developing habits that reinforce what you want to achieve in your life.

Prepare yourself to live the life that you want to achieve from this point on. Be determined and sure in your certainty that while you can’t see your exact destination, you know it IS there.

Intuition and Meditation
Once you train your mind and body to relax and receive answers and blessings during meditation, you will find it easier to return to a peaceful state by remembering what tranquility feels like, and thereby using the breath to be fully present and conscientious.

When you establish a regular practice, you discover an additional benefit of meditation; Intuition.

Sitting or lying down, depending on your physical abilities, close your eyes and focus on creating a rhythmic flow of breath.

Stay with the flow of the breath as it becomes slow, steady, and even.
This may take several minutes.
With each inhalation, breathe in the richness of life.
As you exhale, release the breath in a slow and steady stream.
Feel tension and stress leave the body on the breath.
Slow the breath down even further with each inhale and exhale.
Consciously release all anxiety, allowing the facial muscles and the limbs to relax.
Feel peace fill the inner space where tension once resided.

Maintain inward focus on an object or the breath.

If you are new to meditation:
You may like to focus on a candle. The shape and type of candle is your choice. Now focus on the candle flame.
See the light, explore it.

As you continue to focus on the light, your surroundings dissipate
With each inhalation, draw the light from the base of your spine to the crown of your head
With each exhalation, see the light pour from the crown of the head to surround you
Feel yourself enter into the light
Become surrounded by the light
Be as one, with the light.

If you are experienced at meditation:
With each inhalation, see a light at the base of your spine and draw the light in a column from the base of your spine to the crown of your head
As you exhale, see the light pour from the crown of the head to surround you.

After 5 rounds, focus on the breath
Slowly focus on the space between each breath
The space between each breath will lengthen
Enter into the space between each breath.

This is a peaceful place and the more you concentrate on the space, the wider it becomes and the greater your peace. Experience the peace of this relaxing environment.

In both cases, stay in meditation until you feel that it is time to complete your session.

Knowledge appears in the form of enhanced intuition.
You will have awareness of the source of Love, Purpose, and the certainty that all will be well.

When you have completed your meditation, slowly bring awareness back to your body.
Allow the eyes to open.
Keep the breath calm and steady, the body relaxed.
Feel recharged, invigorated, and contented.

Know that you can return to this peaceful safe place simply by following the breath’s journey.
Peace and knowledge resides deep within you.

With practice, you will restore balance and harmony simply by returning to a calm and peaceful flow of breath.
Embrace your ability and make wisdom and peace a daily reality.

Releasing The Habit of Self-Doubt
It’s a gradual process as you uncover and release the habitual thoughts that keep intruding when you need them least. But take comfort in knowing that the incidences of negative self-judgment and views will be less frequent, the gap between each undesired thought will increase, and you will find yourself living in a very beautiful cycle of peace and tranquility.

Two thoughts can't occupy the space!  As you focus only on that which is positive, the mind likes the happy feeling and wants to stay in that place.  When you catch yourself experiencing self-doubt, which is negative thinking, either replace it with a positive affirmation, or follow the breath to your place of wisdom and peace.

Examples of positive affirmations are:
I choose my thoughts
I have abundant energy to complete all my tasks
I am filled with vitality in body, mind, and spirit
All aspects of my being are filled with love
A wonderful life exists for me

As self-doubt is stripped away, your hopes and aspirations arise as you know with certainty that you are loved, and that an exhilarating life filled with purpose does indeed lie ahead for you.

You know it’s there.

Peace.

PURPOSE

View from where I lived in Scotland of The Forth Road and Rail Bridges.

Journey of a Lifetime

No journey is possible if you don’t believe that you will ever reach your destination.

Even the most rugged vehicle equipped with a state of the art navigation system will keep on driving in circles and weaving its way around the wrong routes if not provided with a clear purpose or idea of which direction to head in. Eventually it will run out of fuel, forced to stay put.

This is where trusting the guidance that emerges through introspection and meditation becomes important. It’s like having your very own Spiritual Global Positioning System to guide you on your way.

ONE BIG QUESTION
Whenever I lead motivational workshops, one question is always asked; how can I find my true purpose?
The people who seek an answer have many reasons why they are unwilling to believe that they are special or have a purpose beyond what they are doing right now:

• They don’t think that they can ever be good enough
• They don’t know how to listen within
• Their life is too full to allow guidance to flow

All too often, they rely solely on the success of their own plans because of fear of the unknown and the disbelief that there is a perfect plan for them.

Don’t you think that you have a map to follow, an equipped vehicle to travel in, and a good set of lights to illuminate the way?

MEDITATION SHINES LIGHT ON THE WAY AHEAD.

On any journey, you can anticipate every twist and turn of the road using a map, but there are times when even the best map-reader gets a little lost. Eventually, you come to the point in the road when you realize that the only way forward is to move with the guidance that emerges from your inner place of Higher Knowledge.

You have infinite possibilities within you. If you continually face obstacles and people who tell you that there’s no point in persevering, you’ll eventually give up and turn back to the place you came from.

Meditation reveals your own pre-conceived ideas and self-imposed limits that obscure the truth of your potential and deny you the legitimacy of living fully. Recognize what holds you back based on other people’s expectations of you. The light of truth exposes these inconsistencies and illuminates the way forward.

INNER KNOWLEDGE
Knowledge emerges by maintaining a regular meditation practice whereby you experience revelations at any time of the day or night through a variety of instruments including prayer, meditation, and by your interactions with other people.
Silence centers the mind from distractions, honing the mind fully on the emerging space within. With practice and patience, an awareness of purpose emerges through the enfolding silence.

It’s not enough to gain sufficient knowledge if you don’t physically do anything different. Thinking appropriately is a start but it won’t move you along. Every journey has its delays and detours and staying true to your destination allows you to move under the guidance from within.

Your future potential lies inside you if you have the ears to hear. This revelation takes place deep within you and it is here that you receive divine insight.

FAITH
Faith requires you to say okay, the source of your knowledge knows best. You may not feel equipped or skilled, telling yourself that there’s always someone better for the task, but you are not being set up to fail.

Negativity through fear and a lack of faith in your purpose will prevent you from reaching your destiny. Disapproval comes from a variety of external sources and reinforces your doubts and uncertainties. Success is not about staying still. It is about learning and gaining freedom from what restrained you in the past.

“What you sow, you shall reap,” is applicable here. Endeavoring to create positive change also brings wonderful opportunities into your life. When you give freely and with kindness then your reward is one of love and abundance.

CHANGE YOUR ROUTINE AND HABITS

You have to be in the right place, physically and mentally to understand and carry out your purpose. If there is no conscious process guiding the resulting actions, the consequences are often disastrous. Changing your thinking clears away the debris that blocks the mind from leading a successful and productive life and transforms your life anew.

Altering your routine and habits sets you up for success, not repeated failure. Replace one bad habit at a time with a good habit. This is a simple premise that works.

Create space in your heart and mind by relinquishing those situations which detract you from your affirmative intentions. If your life is too full of unnecessary activities, how can you find time for what’s truly important?

With all forms of prayer and meditation, hearts are renewed and filled with gratitude for what we already have and for what we are about to receive, even for those things that we don’t even know are going to happen.

They teach us to think big, for all things are possible.

There is one direction that leads us to happiness.
We are all traveling in different vehicles, some of us stop from time to time, and others have a faster vehicle. Many of us take detours that lead to confusion and distress.

How far are you willing to go?

Release the preconceptions that hold you back, create space in your heart to hear answers, and remember that you are a chosen vehicle here on Earth.

Embrace all that life offers knowing that when you do not waver from the path you succeed at fulfilling your divine purpose in a bright and hopeful world.

Om Shanti Peace

Gratitude

What are YOU grateful for?

Today is Info Friday where I highlight anything that is relevant to meditation. I’m not involved in any of these products or areas. They are simply something that I thought was interesting and thought you might enjoy too.

I came across Joy Bing Fleming’s gratitude blog several months ago and was immediately delighted to see that someone else was sharing their positive feelings and attitude with the universe. Every day, Joy and her partner Keith post several statements and affirmations about why they are grateful. It’s a simple expression of love, hope, and thankfulness for the smallest moments and the largest events that occur daily in an individual’s life.

While acknowledging that life does not flow as smoothly as you had planned when curve balls head your way, there is always something that you can be grateful for. Joy and Keith’s blog is a quick pick-me-up and will provide you with inspiration if you have encountered a tough day.

Joy says that “When you think about what you’re grateful for, that re-directs your thoughts to something positive. This will make you feel better, and it will bring more wonderful things into your life.”

You can check out their Gratitude Blog at the following link and post comments too. -
power of gratitude

Joy and Keith are also active on FaceBook and have started a Life Passion Group:
“Making you aware of the power to create your life as you desire.”
Life Passion


This is a global community to help like-minded people come together to be positive, exchange ideas, be a source of inspiration and many, many more motivational topics.
They have a weekly newsletter packed with tips to help you to create the life that you want through positive steps and affirmations.
They are constantly adding content and it is worth checking out to see if it is something that speaks to you, and if you can use some of the tools in your life.

I hope that you will find Joy and Keith’s blog inspirational and uplifting and look at your own life and discover something to be grateful for today and every day.

Write to me on my blog and let me know what you or someone you know is doing to create positive change, whether it’s through art, writing books, blogging, or any other manner that helps other people live a happy and rewarding life.

Om Shanti Peace