Please join me as I guide you through a short meditation to remove obstacles on you path to your most abundant life.  Each of us encounters difficulty in life, but only you hold the key to transcend these challenges.  This meditation creates the space within to unlock your own truth…Come, discover your answers today.

This is a short guided meditation to manifest abundance in your life.  Last week I focused on manifesting abundance through the imagery of a Chalice.  This week we will manifest abundance with the now well-known idea of the Law of Attraction  - “The Secret.”   In this meditation discover manifesting is a full-sensory experience - not just your thoughts!

This is a shortened version of my Chalice of Abundance Meditation.  Use this meditation to clear blocks and manifest your most abundant life.  Enjoy!

Spring is a great time to “smudge” your home or office.  “Smudging” or “cleansing the space of all negative energies” can be done any time of the year.  However, the Spring offers a certain kind of “forward energy” that can enhance any kind of intention or endeavor. 

 According to Eastern medicine, the energy of the Spring is “anger, a pushing through, sometimes even violent.”  This energy is required for new life to burst up through the ground – pushing the earth away, thus clearing the space for new life to grow.  Maybe you have noticed in your own life Spring is a time rebirth and renewal?  Maybe even new opportunities appear regularly during this season for you? 

 Smudging your home or office at this time helps to create more opportunities in your life today as well as setting an intention for the months ahead.  First, clean your home.  If you really want to maximize the positive effects of smudging, go through your closets and drawers too – giving away anything you have not worn or used in the past year. 

 Some people like to sell their old clothes/stuff – fine and beneficial, however, I invite you to donate the items if you can afford too (it is a tax write-off too!)  This act creates more positive energy for you because it activates a generous spirit and a feeling of plenty within. 

 What to smudge your home with?  I like to use Holy Wood just because I like the scent best – “brings the woods indoors.”  Some like Sage and others use rosewater, it really doesn’t matter.  It is the intention that is most important, not the scent.  Pick something that you have an immediate positive reaction to – that is the best indicator.

 Stand at your front door and begin saying something like…”I clear this room of all negative energies - to go back into the light from which it was born…This room now attracts love, joy, wealth, abundance, good health…”  As you speak these words, light your smudge stick and walk along the walls of the room.  The idea is to remove all negative energy from the room first and then replace these empty spaces with new positive energy of love and happiness. 

 When I “clear” homes and offices, this is when I “see” images that are stuck or blocking positive energies.  If this happens for you, just send these thoughts and images  into the light to be cleared as well.  You may even notice “solutions” to problem areas in your home as you smudge the rooms. 

 Don’t worry about your exact words you speak as much as the idea of clearing first each room and then setting the intention of what you want the room (your life) to attract.  

 Once you have smudged all areas of your home, you can also smudge the yard if you so feel compelled.  Otherwise go back into your house.  Play some great music.  Have something yummy to drink & eat and dream…Dream about the life you desire to unfold in your home.  See the love, hope, possibilities - all these for you, waiting for you to step into…And most of all – have fun.

Over the years, both through meditating myself and supporting my clients in their practices, I have discovered some blocks that may be halting your progress with meditation.  Here is some guidance to help you through these blocks…

 1.         “I can’t quiet my mind.”  I believe this is the first big hurdle in meditating to overcome.  First, try guided meditation instead of attempting to pick meditation up on your own in the silence.  This gives you something to guide you out of your incessantly thinking mind.  Don’t worry, as your practice develops you will be able to meditate in silence and find peace, but first, you have to open the door to this quiet place inside gently.  Berating yourself for “not getting it” fast enough just hurts you and really plays to your ego.  Think of it like any hobby or sport you pick up – it takes time and guidance to become comfortable. 

 2.         “I don’t have time.”  Almost all my clients in my private practice want to add meditation to their life, but time is a big stumbling block.  Even for myself I sometimes run into this problem.  That’s partly why I created my Everyday Meditation series – daily ten–minute meditations.  I’m not of the school you have to meditate for 20 minutes or more a day.  I’m a Mom, wife and  business owner…I do not live in an Ashram where I have hours to devote to a meditation practice – I live in the very real, busy world.  So if you only have 5 minutes right now, take it – spend five minutes concentrating on your breath.  I promise you will feel better and surprisingly, the 5 minutes will stretch longer as you feel more comfortable and relaxed with your practice.

 3.         “I fall asleep.”  During workshops this often comes up because my clients believe they fall asleep during the meditations. Upon ‘waking’ from the meditation they don’t remember anything, except they feel much better.  This “falling sleep” response is when your conscious mind goes to sleep because it is not interested in what is going on.  For example, maybe you’ve gotten in the car to go to the store and upon arrival you don’t remember driving there?  Well, you’ve probably driven there dozens of times and now it has become automatic, your mind is free to think of other things instead of directions.  Another reason for this “falling asleep” response is the topic of the meditation may be too upsetting to look at directly and again, your mind is protecting you by falling asleep and allowing the healing to first begin in your sub-conscious.  I often intentionally fall asleep to meditations knowing its healing affects on my sub-conscious.  If you are feeling better after the meditation, except it, don’t fight it.  Again, as you heal your sub-conscious, this ‘falling asleep’ response will just slip away and you will become more present and ‘awake’ during your meditation.

 4.         “I don’t like the imagery in the guided meditation.”  While I was teaching a meditation workshop a student complained that she hated meadows and couldn’t fall into the meditation due to this.  The meditation we had just finished was set in a meadow and connecting to safety.  She kept saying how barren and dead meadows are…This was surprising to me because meadows are magical places for me full of life.  I asked her to look at her language and her life.  The meadow she created was in her own mind – she made it barren, without life.  The meditation was in fact informing her of this barren view point.  I suggested she herself put life into the image in the meditation – adding trees, flowers, birds, etc.  This is actually a direct opportunity to heal.  This is a gift of meditation to gently heal yourself in your own time. 

 5.         “I know I’m not doing it right. I must be missing something.”    Maybe you’ve read you can be closer to God or manifest things through meditation, but you are not feeling this.  Relax. We live in a society that loves to compare – restrain yourself.  Ask yourself this, do you feel better – maybe calmer after meditating?  Yes, you are doing it right.  Let this practice unfold in your life gently.  I promise magic will happen.

 I hope this helps you overcome some blocks in your own meditation practice.  If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact me.  I am here to help.  So be it.   

Being successful is no far off place.  It is probably closer then you think, but, at this vantage point in your life it may feel a million miles away.  Ask yourself, do you have the mindset to see the opportunities to your best life?  Being successful is not about always making the “right” move every time, but about maximizing all your moves.

Once you’ve lived past thirty, you can finally get a little perspective on your life.  If you really look at your life, there is a pattern.  Even the mistakes, the “wrong” choices, taught you lessons.  You may not have enjoyed the process, but you can see the benefits in the chaos – the so called “silver lining.”

Sometimes delay is a good thing.  During delays you often acquire more knowledge and experience, laying a foundation for your future success.  However, it is during these delays that I believe people can veer off the path by becoming frustrated in the process.

Whether it’s losing faith in your product, yourself or the old “not enough time”, here are some suggestions that have helped my clients to remain on the path to success and may they support you…

1. Believe in yourself and your product.   This is where it all begins – you.  How is your self-esteem or self-confidence?  If you don’t think well of yourself, no one else will, plain and simple.  Which of course, will transfer to your product and you will miss opportunities.  So how you feel about yourself matters and directly impacts your success.  If this is an issue for you, try saying to yourself five different times a day, “I believe in myself.  Success enters my life easily and effortlessly from all around me.”  It may feel awkward at first, but soon you will notice a calming effect.
2. You deserve success.  How did that feel when you read this?  Any twinges?  If so, this is also an area to examine.  Not only do you need to believe in yourself, but you have to feel worthy of success too – back to you again.  You may try adding, “I deserve and accept a beautiful life,” to your daily mantra above to help support a new, deserving belief in your life.
3.  Have a plan.  It’s all well and good to believe that you deserve success, but what does that mean?  What would success look like to you and what are the steps to get there?  This is a big hurdle for many because it requires putting your words into action.  Just as your thoughts and intensions call new opportunities to you, you must be willing to act upon their arrival.  For example, maybe you want a new job making more money.  There are steps between today and a new job.  Do you know what these are?  Do you need more education?  Have you looked in the paper or online?  Think about what success is to you and then write it out.  Include the steps to achieve the success you desire.  Then each day, do one thing to move you in that direction – read an article, make a phone call, research, whatever, at least one a day.  You will notice your life shifting, easily and effortlessly almost, into a new, more successful direction.
4.  Be flexible.  This may seem a little confusing at first, but it kind of goes to the old saying, “Once you make plans, life happens.”  This is very true fortunately, so stay open.  Let me explain.  Once you shift your belief system to a successful mindset – you attract success.  Things that were blocked before come flying into your life.  This, in turn, disrupts your “plans” –  well, maybe not.  Sometimes, you discover your plans were too small and life has something better in store for you…So stay flexible, be ready to expand into the fullness of life as it unfolds.
5. Use your fears to balance yourself.  Whenever you get really close to success, fear walks in the door, almost its final hurrah.  Fear hides as doubts, anxiety, sleeplessness, certain people, the list goes on and on…but I now see fear as an opportunity.  Fear to me is an indicator of imbalance which means I need support.  Sometimes I can give this to myself through meditation and prayer, but sometimes it means I need to reach out to my husband, friend or a mentor for encouragement and reassurance.  Find  a support system for yourself as you transition to this new life.

Finally, remember patience and courage — the patience to allow yourself the opportunity to transform your life to its fullest potential and the courage to walk and stumble through that transformation.

Years ago a friend whispered, “Courage,” in my ear during a pivotal time in my life.  I can still remember the strength hearing that word vibrated through my body.  Courage, not condescending, “It’ll be ok.  Don’t worry,” but strong and faithful courage.  It actually helped me to be a little more patient too.  So I offer you courage, as you discover your path to a successful, abundant life.

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.