This podcast is focused on indentifying and transforming blocks to peace.  Through this guided meditation you will identify three specific blocks to peace and begin to heal the blocks easily and effortlessly with your thoughts.  Please join me on this transformation by listening to the podcast to the right.  Peace be with you.

Guided meditation was at the center of my own personal transformation years ago.  I discovered what was blocking me from my best life was my own self-sabotaging believes that cycled over and over in my mind, and body dooming me to repeat the same mistakes again and again.  These beliefs stemmed from my own childhood – created as a way to survive a very dysfunctional environment. 

 For example, I have always struggled with “not enough.”  What I remember of my childhood sucked – alcoholic, violent and little money.  It is no wonder I had a “not enough” believe system.  I learned from an infant, “there was never enough love, money, time, safety…”  This ”not enough” belief carried over into my adulthood driving my choices and decisions in desperate ways.  I became stressed, panicked and fearful…Then a therapist suggested guided meditation. 

 Through guided meditation I was able to “re-write” my thinking.  It was like I had these old, negative tapes looping within myself and I needed new, positive messages to replace them.  Listening to guided meditations daily allowing me the space and time to create a new, healthy inner dialog. 

 It took awhile and I kept at it.  Before long I realized I liked these new beliefs.  I liked seeing myself as lovable, capable, safe…and doors opened, opportunities appeared.  My life transformed.

 My two meditation series are a result of this transformation.  They are really a step-by-step guided path out of a blocked life through meditation.  I like creating spaces for you to discover specific issues that are blocking you today.  And most importantly, to experience the process of healing over and over within the meditations - a healing that expands outward touching all aspects of your life.  It is magic to discover the keys to all your dreams already waits inside – only to be revealed by you. 

Yes, it’s stick season again – frigid temperatures, no snow, no green grass, only dead brown for miles and miles with barren trees appearing like sticks planted in the ground.  Warm sunshine seems far off and the dampness begins to seep into your emotions.  Maybe you are a little more irritable, have a nagging cold or even just feeling a little blue…These are a few suggestions I’ve used in my own life and offered to clients to bring a little sunshine back, days before Spring has sprung. 

1.         Buy fresh flowers.  Put them wherever you can see many times a day.  The room will immediately brighten and you will feel just a little bit lighter inside.

2.         Get a birdfeeder and watch spring come to you.  This gives you something to look at besides the blur of sticks and brown that your backyard has become.  I have hung one right outside my kitchen window and I watch them while I am cooking or washing dishes.  Now, instead of seeing a barren, lifeless space out my window, I see families of nuthatches having breakfast while I sip my tea.

3.         Read a book or go to a movie about someplace warm you would like to visit.  You can fall into a different world - soaking up the fresh berries and brilliant colors to your heart’s content. These images can become postcards in your mind to revisit for their warmth as you shiver in your cold car on the way to work, usually in the dark.<

/span>4.         Plant seeds.  I know you did this is first grade, but you will love it, again.  It is like watching a miracle unfold before your eyes.  Pansies are easy to grow and a longtime bloomer.  Take it one step further by getting a pretty pot, dirt & seeds (under $5) and give it to a friend – share the sunshine! 

5.         Get back into your community.  Winter can be very isolating.  I personally struggle with not becoming a hermit.  Not because I don’t want to see anyone – but because it is so cold out there!  Get out there anyway.  Go to church, meet friends for lunch, go to a party, even throw a party yourself, anything to reconnect with people.  I think January sometimes becomes a month of retreat.  The holidays can be a time of stress for many.  Retreat is a good option, but only for awhile - too long and your healthy retreat becomes isolating and depressing.  So call a friend and make a date.

6.         Take a class or workshop.  Try out something new and that appeals to your “fun” self.  You will meet new people and maybe even discover a new skill you never new you had before.  And I bet when the workshop is over, Spring is right around the corner.

7.         Plan a vacation.  This is my all-time favorite distraction from cold weather and brown – beaches and umbrella drinks.  Go to Tripadvisor.com and begin dreaming, planning and manifesting.  Pick a place and visualize yourself there on vacation.  Feel the water, the sand between your toes, the sun caressing your cheeks…The more you do this, somehow things begin to fall into place…money shows up, time frees up and you are on the beach.  Thinking it into being. 

  I hope these suggestions help you as much as they have helped me and my clients.  My kids and I planted seeds this weekend and we all are eagerly anticipating the miracle about to unfold.  Are there any tips you have discovered?  Please let me know as I am always interested.

Please listen to a discussion about possible blocks while meditating and some easy solutions to “fix” them.

Several years ago I was introduced to the concept of Chakras.  Balancing Chakras became my tool to “see” into another’s body and discover what was blocking them from their best life.  My clients were amazed at the clarity of information derived from these blocked Chakras.  I soon discovered how much my clients benefited from a basic knowledge of the Chakras system and some simple techniques to clear the blocks themselves.

I work with seven Chakras.  Others believe there are more Chakras (9, 11 and higher,) but for me, (I’m Irish), “7” is about as holy and lucky a number can get.

Your first Chakra is found at your root, your sex center.  This is the foundation of your life and survival, your ancestry, even relating to the house you live in.  The color of this chakra is red.

The second Chakra is found above, two inches below your belly button.  The uterus of a woman.  This is the seat of your creativity and abundance — the birth place of your ideas.  Your career and prosperity is directly connected to the orange, second Chakra.

Just below your rib cage is your third Chakra, related to your self-worth.  This is how you feel about yourself and how you project that self into the world – self-confidence and self-esteem.  Your ego and power are found here.  The color of this Chakra is yellow.

The forth Chakra is above to the right of  your heart.  This is your green Heart Chakra holding the energy of joy, bliss, compassion and love, your feelings.   This is where you begin your quest for inner peace.

At the center of your throat is your fifth Chakra, your truth.  This relates to whether you speak your truth and actually feel heard.  Light blue, topaz is the color of the throat chakra.  Many people suppress rage and tears in their neck and jaws causing great pain throughout their lives.

Almost all of us have heard of your third eye, your sixth Chakra, intuition and wisdom.  Your third eye rests between your eyebrows.  This concerns listening to your inner voice for guidance and achieving enlightenment.  Sapphire blue radiates from your third eye.

Finally your seventh Chakra, your crown is found just above your head.  This is your connection to the Universe, Spirit.  The color ranges from lavender to white in the Crown Chakra.

That is the basics of the seven Chakras.  Now try this game with yourself, scan your body –  Are there any pains or shadows?  Does your stomach hurt?  Do you have a sore throat?  Headaches?  These pains could be an indicator of a block.  Ok, now review the placement of the Chakras on the body and read the descriptions.

For example, so many people have stomach aches.  Look at all the products on the market with sure cures.  The third Chakra is found in your stomach – self-esteem and self-confidence.  Who hasn’t heard the expression “getting butterflies” before speaking or an event?  Ringing any bells?

Review your body again and if you discover the problem — how to fix it?  Try this exercise:  Let’s use the yellow third Chakra, found right below your rib cage.  Take a deep breathe in and as you exhale, blow out through your third Chakra.  Pushing yellow light out of your body, clearing all the blocks from your third Chakra with your breathe.  Repeat two more times.

Notice how you feel — slightly calmed inside.  Your breath relaxes.  All is well…You may use this technique with any of the Chakras and just change the color of the light associated to the specific Chakra as needed.

Working with Chakras is just one of the many ways to connect to the guidance of our bodies.  As you read and listen to the messages, you become empowered to create your best life every day.

Meditation sounds so evolved, so Eastern philosophy, “way out there.”  But I’ll tell you a secret; it works.  Through meditation, I am able to bring into my life today that which I seek, be it peace or abundance.

This isn’t a new concept.  Oprah has been talking about “The Secret” all year.  By focusing your thoughts on a specific issue or desire, you bring it into your life.  For me, it is during meditation I am able to manifest my best self and bring that force into my life today.

Years ago, when someone first suggested meditation to me, it seemed too hard.  How could I possibly focus on one thing and be quiet?  I imagined myself sitting in a room with a flickering candle, soft new age music in the background and smiling like a lunatic.   Are you kidding me?  Not likely. However, the concept achieving a quiet mind through meditation was still very attractive to me as I struggled constantly with a busy, worrying mind.    Then I found guided meditation.

Guided meditation differs from other meditation practices, because you are verbally led throughout the experience.  The “experience” being at the core for me as I can finally be free of my incessantly thinking mind by concentrating on the unfolding meditation.  I become part of the true present and this is where I find my quiet mind.  It is within this quiet place I find healing and am able to create a beautiful life.

That’s why I began using meditation with my clients.  Early on in my private practice I discovered at the end of the sessions, my clients were in a balanced and receptive state for positive change in their lives.  I began using short guided meditations at the end of sessions to ground positive change into their bodies and open their lives to the abundance that always surrounds us.

Quickly, my clients and I noticed how effective this process had become.  It is through meditation that each of us can connect with our deepest desires and needs.  The more you stay in touch with these needs or desires, the quicker they can manifest in your life.  You become your highest self and begin living your best life every day.