Hello,
Opulent in Mindfulness.
Welcome and Happy New Year.
If you're anything like me,
You are sitting with a well of energy and inspiration and ideas and creativity and you want it to all get done now.
We've rested for a little while there at the end of the year.
We hibernated because it was winter and now we're flushed with ideas and inspiration and energy to go forth.
But hold on.
If not managed properly,
This newfound well of energy could leave us feeling frazzled and fried and right back where we started.
So in order to preserve and make the most of this,
We'll need to harness the energy and direct it fruitfully and purposefully.
And this takes discipline.
The monkey mind is more outrageous than ever.
And so we must not heed the call of every curiosity and urge to fidget.
It is especially a time to become calm and steady,
Transforming the brain from reactivity into response and ultimately purposeful results.
Now is your time.
And luckily with a clean slate,
We get to choose where and how we spend our energy,
Our mind and our heart.
So that when we're sitting in this same space next year,
We can look back and reflect and praise ourselves for having done the hard work,
Which really is nothing more than not reacting to every whim of the mind.
All right,
So enough talking.
Come to your comfortable seat.
Drop down into your bones and press your heart high.
Take a big belly breath in and a long and easeful breath out.
Starting with the physical fidget,
Allow your palms to rest comfortably in your lap.
Your feet are squarely on the floor or maybe you're sitting on a cushion or lying on the ground.
This is a time to exercise a little bit of effort so that we're sitting in a dignified posture,
Sharpening our minds,
Brightening our awareness and improving our stillness and strength.
So where are you now?
The lists are longer,
The calendars are fuller.
And of course,
The days are even growing longer already,
Requiring us to remain even more fed steadfastly at the helm of this ship we're driving forward.
And it is going forward.
Time does not stop.
But it's important to rest the agitated heart and the anxious energy and own your day.
So notice in your body where you're holding any frenetic energy and by simple acknowledgement,
It cracks and sloughs away,
Leaving you in a state of ease and contentedness.
And I've talked about this before,
Contentedness is not complacency.
It means that you're satisfied and completely engaged with what's right in front of you at this very moment only,
Allowing your entirety to be involved,
All the senses,
Mind,
Heart,
Body.
So in this new year,
Free yourself of the trappings of holiday rush and the pressures to return to familiar circles,
Roles.
We get a fresh new start,
Rewiring,
Retraining and transforming the brain.
Yes,
You get to choose.
It's a beautiful gift.
And in this new year,
Looking forward,
Being present,
I'd like to offer brightening your mind,
Brightening your mind.
It's easy to get tired and sluggish and lazy in our thinking,
Lazy in our actions,
Cutting corners.
Heavy emotions will drain our energy.
So much like a physically fit body,
We have a fit,
A mentally fit mind,
Which can easily return to bright the more we train it to do so.
So detach from all the negativity,
Obligations,
Responsibilities and immediately arrive at bright,
Bright mind,
Free mind,
Light mind.
This is also not to say that responsibility is negative,
Not at all.
Taking care,
Contributing,
Making a difference in others lives,
It's very rewarding.
So our mental agility will allow us to see it as such,
Brightening the attitude with an eye toward optimism and readily accessible joy.
Find your heart space and observe the texture there.
And in this moment,
Transform,
Brighten,
Lighten and shine.
Imagine you're walking along under gray skies and it's cold and crisp and all of a sudden,
For a brief moment,
There's a break in the cloud cover and a hot beaming ray of sunshine hits your face and you pause and you look up and you receive this powerful warmth,
Radiant heat onto your face.
Bright mind,
Bright face,
Pause,
Receive,
Glow.
This is you anytime,
Anywhere.
Namaste.
