All articles, tagged with “mind”

We are frequently asked how to make a practice routine more habitual.

What about you? Are you ever baffled about how to reach goals without getting thrown off course?

Do you sometimes wonder how you could make each day more meaningful?

Are you seeking ways to effectively install creative activities into daily life?

If these questions interest you, keep reading . . .

Three Powerful Steps to Effortless Achievement

1. Write it down
When you commit any of your intentions to paper, your chances of following through are far greater than if you just think about them and hope to remember them later. By putting plans in writing, you crystallize the details. You also use your creative imagination to further energize the idea.

Write down the things that are important to you and plan ways to include these items in your life. This concept can be a life-changing exercise because you learn how to install the things that matter to you into your daily routine.

2. Visualize your goal and plan backward
You read that correctly! See your goal already attained in your mind’s eye, then write it down on top of a piece of paper. Just below the goal, write down the last step that needs to happen just before you reach the goal. Below that step, write down the second to last thing that needs to happen en route to your goal.

Continue this backward planning process until you reach the step that you will complete just after the moment of planning. This magical exercise clearly illuminates the path to your goal because your creative imagination is fully engaged throughout the process.

Many of us have been taught to plan from where we are to where we want to be. Try this process backward and watch the results come to you with effortless ease!

3. Quiet your mind at least two times daily
We could be talking about meditation, visualization, focus on the breath or any technique that allows you to “press pause.”

If you’ve never taken time out of a busy day to experience stillness, you will be amazed at how taking just a few minutes twice daily can center you, calm you, release stress and create deep peace.

Try this exercise:

a) Close your eyes
b) Visualize yourself in a darkened movie theater
c) Look up at the imaginary blank movie screen and just watch
d) Whenever a distracting thought enters your mind, just gently put your attention back on the blank screen
e) After about two minutes (feel free to use a timer), open your eyes and smile
f) Begin your next activity with a new sense of peace, creativity and clarity

These three steps work for us every day. We hope you find these tips helpful!

All of us can use ways to find calm, right? Well here are just a few ideas that can help you experience peace and relaxation.

1. Calm your mind with meditation or breath awareness. When you wake up or just before you go to sleep for the night try one of these techniques:

a) Follow the movement of your abdomen as you breathe calmly. Just observe without feeling the need to control your breath. Whenever your mind drifts and you become aware that you’re no longer observing your breath, just gently come back to focusing on your breathing and the rise and fall of the abdomen. Start with 5 minutes and increase by one minute each successive day. Use a timer if you desire or just do it for as long as you want. With practice, you can get to 20 minutes each day. You will find that this practice will become a part of your active, waking day as well, bringing you tremendous calming benefits.

b) Practice visualization for five minutes a day. Create pictures in your imagination that reflect your life as you desire it to be. Feel the feelings of already having the life you desire as you imagine your mental movie in great detail. You can build details into your imaginary film every day. Try this for 21 days in a row and observe any changes you experience in your ability to think about things in your life as you desire them to be (even when you’re moving through your day). Also, remember Einstein’s great quote:

“Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.”

c) Observe your thoughts without judgment. Pretend that your mind is the sky and that thoughts are like passing clouds. There’s no need to label thoughts as good or bad, just allow the thoughts to come into your awareness and pass through without you getting attached to them. When you resist the thoughts you don’t want, you give them power to stay around and become stuck in your field of consciousness. When an unwanted thought comes about, just observe it with a “there it is,” unattached approach. This practice is really great for helping you to develop greater clarity of focus. Try it for 5 minutes a day.

2. Fully engage yourself in a creative activity. Whether it’s practicing piano, learning a language, developing a business plan or playing with your kids, engage in these activities on a regular basis with your full attention. Turn off your cellphone and put away your electronic devices (unless your creativity is taking place on the computer) to help put you in a dedicated mental space. Plan time for this activity every day for 21 days so that it becomes an effortless habit.

3. Take a walk outside in nature. Few activities calm the mind more effectively than the act of communing with nature. You become connected to something larger than yourself when you open your focus to the variety and connectedness of the outdoors.

4. Listen to relaxing music or watch videos that make you feel tranquil. If you’re in the middle of a hectic day, music can be that “take it anywhere” elixir to help soothe your stress. As readers of the Studio Blog already know, we make videos specifically for that purpose called, “Water Films.” “GCMusic” is also a good resource for relaxing music.

We hope you find these techniques helpful as you journey toward greater peace in your everyday life. All of these ideas give you greater benefit with regular practice because you’ll find what works best for you. I find that something as simple as looking at a picture of a flower (like the one below) can immediately raise my vibration. Enjoy!

For more hibiscus photos, check out our Hawai’i Hibiscus album on our Facebook page. Click here.