Do you meditate? I started meditating daily about six months ago. It’s
something I should have done years before. I don’t handle stress well. Through
meditation, I feel calmer most days.
Besides helping me cope with the stresses in my life, I hope meditation
will bring back my writing mojo. I lost it in December 2017, and while some of
my enthusiasm has come back, I’m wrestling with giving up writing altogether.
My path to meditation started because of my quest to find the “meaning of
life.” After four family deaths in the past few years, including two very
sudden ones, I suffered a crisis of faith. I started reading books by religious
philosophers. One book was Deepak Chopra’s Life
After Death. Chopra, who integrates beliefs from Hinduism, Buddhism, and
Christianity, focuses much of the book on reincarnation, something I’ve always
kept an open mind about. Things have happened in my life that make me believe
reincarnation is real. I’m not sure I want to come back considering the state
of the world now. I enjoyed Chopra’s book, and like the others, it provoked
more questions than answers.
After finishing his book, I decided to see if he has a Facebook page. He
does, and I liked it. On his page is a sign up for a two-week free course on
meditation given by him and Oprah. I signed up. I highly recommend this to
anyone who is interested in learning how to meditate. Here’s his Facebook link:
https://www.facebook.com/DeepakChopra/
When the course finished, I got emails from Chopra and Oprah trying to
sell me other programs. I ignored them, and they stopped. The course is worth
having to put up with some sales pitches.
I found an app called Meditation Sound. I have it on my iPhone and iPad.
What I like about the app is there are about ten music choices, with a timer. I
meditate for ten minutes daily, mostly in the morning, but sometimes in the
afternoon. I sit comfortably in my quiet office with the door closed. Sometimes
a very vocal large cat named Brewster voices his displeasure at being locked
out. He cries and throws himself against my office door, interrupting my quiet.
But I love him so I try to ignore him.
For meditation I sit in my chair with my palms, upright and open, resting
on my thighs. As I repeat my mantra, I breathe in and imagine I’m taking in
calmness. When I breathe out, I imagine my stress and worry are escaping
through my open fingers.
I alternate my mantras among “Om,” which is the sacred sound of Hinduism
and means “It is,” “Will be,” or “To Become.” Another favorite is “Om Shanti
Om,” which is Hindu for “I radiate peace.” And “Siddho Hum,” which means “I am
perfect.” Sometimes, I say, “I am one with the universe.”
There are days when my stress level is high and meditation doesn’t help
much. Other days, I get so into it that I drift off into some sort of
semi-conscious state while meditating. I love when that happens.
I’m hoping to find my faith and my writing mojo. Meditation will help me
accept whatever happens.
Here are some of the benefits of meditation as found in Huffpost:
1. Reduces
stress
2. Improves
concentration
3. Increases
self-awareness
4. Increases
happiness
5. Increases
acceptance
6. Slows
aging
7. Benefits
cardiovascular and immune health
8. Encourages
a healthy lifestyle
Namaste!
For relaxation, may I recommend two fun reads?
A Groom for Christmas
Fun holiday read.
A GROOM FOR CHRISTMAS is a new twist on the classic Hallmark Christmas movie full of family, humor, love, and a little bit of redemption.
Family pressure just might make her do something crazy...
When a young woman hires her hometown’s former bad boy to be her pretend fiancé for the holidays, she finds she can’t wrap up her feelings as easily as a Christmas gift.
New York jewelry designer Graceann Palmer has two days to find a fiancé to bring home to Pennsylvania for the holidays so her matchmaking mama will quit fixing her up with jerks. The Falcon, a motorcycle-riding, leather-clad former high school crush, helped her out once before. Maybe he'll do it again.
Jake Falco, man of many mysteries, is back in town on a mission—one the people of Spirit Lake most likely won't appreciate. When Graceann presents him with her crazy scheme, it gives him something he's always wanted—a chance to get to know Graceann. It also gives him the perfect opportunity to add fuel to his project of revenge.
But as Jake and Graceann grow closer, their engagement-of-convenience begins to feel like the real deal—until Jake’s secrets are revealed.
Can a relationship that began with lies and secrets bloom like a rare Christmas rose into happily-ever-after?
2013 Snow Globes Award Contest Finalist
Winner! 2014 New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf Award
2014 Readers' Choice Nominee, Best Couple, Love Romances Cafe
2014 RomCon Awards Finalist
A GROOM FOR CHRISTMAS is a new twist on the classic Hallmark Christmas movie full of family, humor, love, and a little bit of redemption.
Family pressure just might make her do something crazy...
When a young woman hires her hometown’s former bad boy to be her pretend fiancé for the holidays, she finds she can’t wrap up her feelings as easily as a Christmas gift.
New York jewelry designer Graceann Palmer has two days to find a fiancé to bring home to Pennsylvania for the holidays so her matchmaking mama will quit fixing her up with jerks. The Falcon, a motorcycle-riding, leather-clad former high school crush, helped her out once before. Maybe he'll do it again.
Jake Falco, man of many mysteries, is back in town on a mission—one the people of Spirit Lake most likely won't appreciate. When Graceann presents him with her crazy scheme, it gives him something he's always wanted—a chance to get to know Graceann. It also gives him the perfect opportunity to add fuel to his project of revenge.
But as Jake and Graceann grow closer, their engagement-of-convenience begins to feel like the real deal—until Jake’s secrets are revealed.
Can a relationship that began with lies and secrets bloom like a rare Christmas rose into happily-ever-after?
2013 Snow Globes Award Contest Finalist
Winner! 2014 New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf Award
2014 Readers' Choice Nominee, Best Couple, Love Romances Cafe
2014 RomCon Awards Finalist
Universal Link:
Wedded in Vegas (Gambling on Love
Book 1)
A reluctant bride
A hot Hollywood actor
What happens in Vegas...
Bartending in Las Vegas is the means to an end for Analisa Barbero. As soon as she finishes school she can get her dream job as a teacher. With her hard-working single mom temporarily disabled, money is tight and the hours are long. Who has time for dating? But when a sexy nerd asks her out, Analisa does what everyone else in Las Vegas does: she takes a chance and says yes.
What happens in Vegas...
Bartending in Las Vegas is the means to an end for Analisa Barbero. As soon as she finishes school she can get her dream job as a teacher. With her hard-working single mom temporarily disabled, money is tight and the hours are long. Who has time for dating? But when a sexy nerd asks her out, Analisa does what everyone else in Las Vegas does: she takes a chance and says yes.
Some people come to Sin City to gamble. Some come to start over. And some come to hide out. Cole Lassiter is Hollywood’s hottest property. Fed up with phoniness and paparazzi parasites, he just wants to be an ordinary nobody for a while. But when his deception causes a pretty bartender to lose her job, he makes her the kind of offer that can only happen in the city of make-believe: Marry him for one year in exchange for a house, money, and all-expenses-paid tuition for school. If she agrees, maybe the tabloids will finally give him a break.
Neither Analisa nor Cole thought love was in the cards for them. But what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas. Is Analisa willing to gamble her future on a man who already deceived her once? Everyone in Las Vegas knows one thing: You have to roll the dice if you want to hit the jackpot. And love is worth the risk.
Universal Link:
