Tag Archive for: meditation

Mother’s Day Magic

I hope this finds you well and enjoying the glorious month or May (or the new June, as many of the moms I know have dubbed it it’s so full and busy!).

With this time of year so heavily focused on getting the kids to the end of the school year, we need to remember to take a few moments for ourselves each and every day!

I saw first hand the power of this when I was up in my hometown of Syracuse, NY for a couple of Mother’s Day events.

The first event was a wonderful gathering for the NICU expansion at Crouse Hospital where I spoke about my first book, Preemie: Lessons in Love, Life, and Motherhood. You can read more about that here – CROUSE HOSPITAL NICU FUNDRAISER

The following day was to be an evening book signing for A Mom’s Guide to Creating a Magical Life at Barnes and Noble, but before that, an opportunity to appear on the local evening news popped up!

Was I nervous? Of course, but mostly I wanted to get it right.

I studied some newscasts and noticed how most of the women dress, typically in more form-fitting dresses.

“I’m going to wear the same pink dress I wore last night for the talk and then quickly change for the book signing,” I declared to my mom and Andie.

“And because timing will be tight, Andie, you and Papa Jer can go ahead to Barnes and Noble and set up the food, drinks and books.”

Everyone nodded their heads.

And then I strode out to the car to pack my extra books, seltzers, cookies and the outfit I’d quickly change into once the news segment was over.

On the way back in my mom mentioned that Andie might want to see the television station, but I assured her we were on too tight a time crunch and that wouldn’t work.

I quickly moved up the stairs to grab a shower, but remembered I’d promised myself to take a few minutes to listen to a meditation.

So I did.

And within moments of lying down on the bed and listening to the calm, serene words of the meditation wash over and into me, I saw a vision of myself on the news, wearing the loose and comfy outfit I’d planned for the book signing – and there Andie, right there watching!

I was tempted to pop right up, but I listened to the rest of the meditation, and found even deeper stillness and quiet.

And once it ended, I took out my earphones, walked over to Andie and said, “I’m back, and I’d love for you to go to the news station with me.”

“What about the bookstore set up?” she asked.

“Who cares if we’re throwing cookies on a plate when people arrive,” I said and went to put on my cozy outfit.

What I realized during that meditation was that the news channel wasn’t interested in having another news anchor on the air. They were interested in a woman who shows up as her authentic self and speaks about what lights her up.

I hope that’s what I did, and I hope that inspires you to do the same in your life!

NBC3 Mother’s Day News Segment

Walking into the news station, Andie looked around and said, “This is dope.”

4

Setting the Tone

photo credit – David Mao on unsplash

What’s the first thing you do in the morning?

Do you grab your phone and see what text messages and emails arrived overnight?

Do you flip on the tv and start your day with a dose of morning news?

Do you jump out of bed and go from 0-60 to start the daily race of taking care of everyone else?

No judgement, truly. Just asking you to invite in some awareness.

One of my coaching clients shared the most beautiful moments with me the other day. She recognized that she had fallen in the habit of waking each day and immediately grabbing her phone, followed by turning on the tv and dosing herself with the morning news. Looking to create new habits that set a more positive tone for the day, she began waking a little earlier and beginning each day with a quiet meditation. She reports that it has totally changed how she feels throughout the rest of her day. And here’s the ever so beautiful part. She noticed that her pre-teen daughter was waking up crabby and out of sorts nearly every day, so rather than playing her meditation alone in her bedroom, my ever-so-wise client, now goes into her daughter’s room every morning and lies on her floor and plays her meditation there. She says that it has completely changed the tone of their mornings and her daughter leaves for school happy and centered. How gorgeous is that?

Now I know many of you say, but I don’t even know how to meditate. Really? Do you know how to sit on a chair? Or lie on the bed or the floor? Of course you do! Really, that’s it. Just give yourself a few moments of stillness. And if you like, play a piece of music that soothes your soul, or choose one of the many amazing free meditations from this great app – Insight Timer

Remember, you get to choose how you begin each and every day. Start to notice your habitual behaviors and decide whether those habits are serving you. And if not, make a shift. You may be amazed to find that these simple change can have profound effects on your life.