resolve

I'm a little late on the whole New Year's resolution thing, I know, but things have been really busy around here. I've been trying to decide on a few specific ones for myself, and after hearing a few others- work out, eat better, be nicer, work harder, finish school etc.. -I've decided on one big one. My goal? It's the same as everyone else's. Be Happier! Think about it, everyone wants to resolve to do something to make themselves just a little bit happier. No one ever says, "this year, I want to curl up in the fetal position in my house and stare morosely at the wall". We all want the same things, right? Almost everything we do is striving towards those little elusive good feelings.

I have narrowed it down a little more than "be happier", of course. But my goal isn't be more rich and be more thin and hopefully that will make me happy. My goal is more happiness itself.

So, my first goal is: Meditate regularly every week. Remember my last post said that I was going to give you the "cream of the crop" in positive habits? Well, here it is. The big Kahuna. My number one pick for happiness increasing bliss.

What do you think of when you hear the word "meditate"? I'll tell you what I first thought (and sometimes still do). I picture a Tibetan monk atop a high misty mountain, swathed in orange fabric, sitting cross legged with a look of pure serenity gleaming from his face as a car sized gong is being rung, echoing off the mountains...

"Psh! That has nothing to do with an American house wife who grew up in Idaho!" I though it was just something weird that eastern cultures did and I couldn't fathom why. But you don't have to be a Tibetan monk in order to get that look of serenity to cross your face. If you can close your eye's and imagine the back of your own hand, you can learn to meditate. Every single book I've read, without exception, mentions meditation as one of the top reducers of stress and anxiety. We all have stress, right? And often we think, as soon as this project (or whatever the stress-er might be) is over, then I won't be stressed anymore. But what about when life keeps throwing up challenge after challenge. Are you really going to wait months, maybe years, to feel calm again? Especially when you can learn, right now, to be calm and serene no matter the ups and downs.

This is how I feel about meditation:

Diet and exercise = healthy body (very important)

meditation = healthy mind (also very important)

Exercise for the mind. Plain and simple. I have a veritable laundry list of things meditation can do for you, like:

-reduction of stress

-better focus

-improves sleep, and can even cure insomnia

-helps with weight loss (good one, eh?)

-helps to dramatically reduce headaches

-decreases muscle tension

-less sickness

-helps lower blood pressure

-and, people who meditate report less acne!

Here are 100 more reasons to get you motivated to meditate. I'm thinking I might even print it off and stick it to my wall where I meditate to keep me pumped!

I have only been meditating regularly for about 2 weeks and I'm hooked, but just like learning to play the piano, it takes time with not much in the way of instant results. In fact the research studies I've seen say that it takes about 9 weeks to begin to see quantifiable results. However, as long as you keep practicing, the results are permanent. It can lastingly change your brain for the positive! There's so much information on meditation I can't possibly relay it here, nor have I seen all the info. there is to be seen. So to keep you from being overwhelmed I'll be writing a little more in the next few posts about meditating.

If this was enough to peak your interest in meditating and you would like to try it, then I suggest Jon Kabat-Zinn's guided meditations for beginners. His CD's are the first ones I happened to stumble upon so I've been using those. You can order them from his website. I promise I'm not getting any sort of kick back from this guy, so you know this is purely because I think he does what he does well. Also, pick up his book "Wherever you go, there you are". It's a seriously good read, even if you don't think you would be into meditating.

I also have a resolution to eat more healthy and work out more! I just want to clarify that those are also things that can make you happiness lift. As for meditating, I am really going to stick to it for the next 9 weeks and let you know how it goes. Wish me luck!

Zen to you all,

Janae