HEALTH: START MEDITATION -- A TIMER CAN HELP

A Timer Can Help

Using a Meditation Timer

When you are first experimenting with meditation, you may only be able to clear your mind for 3 to 5 minutes at a time.

If you use this handy timer, you can build your meditation skills one minute at a time.

One method is to start with 3 minutes set the intention to sit quietly and do not entertain any thoughts.  When you make it a habit to take 6 deep breaths each time you start to quiet your mind.  This will be a signal to your body that you are ready to begin.

Close your eyes, you will see black.  Begin by visualizing a blank place on your forehead that you can use as a dark, empty room between your ears.  Simply set your intentions that you will not entertain any thoughts for 3 or so minutes.

No doubt a stray thought will enter your mind, but simply ignore it and gently usher it out your ears.  Visualize the thought drifting out one of your ears and don't stop to think about it.  When you will hear the sound of your timer, it does not indicate that you should sit up straight and go about your day, it is a gentle reminder that you have met your goal for quiet time.  The timer will remind you to wiggle your toes, begin to move and stretch and gently bring yourself back to awareness of the world out there waiting for you.  When you are ready, you will get back to your day more refreshed.

Increase your meditation time by one minute each time! There is relaxing meditation music online that you may want to play softly while you enjoy this time.

By the time you are up to 15 or 20 minutes -- 3 times a week, you will feel calm and peace as a part of your life.  Each person develops a long term meditation routine, but most people like to practice it daily shortly after they get up.

Experienced in meditation? You may want to set this timer for 20 or more minutes to remind you to get back to work or to get on with your day.  I guarantee meditation will help you stay focused and bring intuitive awareness to you. A meditation timer will help.

Take time out of your busy day for quiet time.

Time

Joy Harris

Success Coach

Copyright © 2019

HEALTH: TRY AN "ALLOWING" MEDITATION

Repeat “Allow” into a gentle wind.  One short and easy experience is to practice saying the word "allow" outside in nature.

                             Ohio Winter

I have enjoyed practicing this mediation outdoors many times.  Sit quietly.  When you hear the gentle sway of the tree treetops or any sound of the wind, repeat the word “allow, again allow, allow”.  

Allow is the only word you will think.  It keeps mundane thought from coming into your mind and welcomes the experience of allowing.

Ohio Spring

For that short period of meditation time, you are simply allowing the world to be.  

No judgment or corrections needed on your part, just allow.  

For now, it is what it is, and all is right from where you are seated.

Simply sit in nature and allow.  It helps you to calm down.  There is nothing so pressing right at that moment that you cannot take 10 minutes or so to feel the benefit of allowing.

Ohio Summer

“Even if you locked your keys in your car,

you are not going to do anything about it

for the next few minutes”.

Right Now, You Are Simply Going to Allow

Take your Self away

from the cares of the world.

Simply Allow.

My Patio in Full Bloom

Allow ... Allow ... Allow ...

Allowing is a relaxation period.  It is nice to sit up straight but be comfortable.  

Remember it does no one good to be so rigid that you are afraid to move a muscle or cover your mouth when you cough.

Allow until you feel refreshed by the wind.

Let me know when you try this exercise of "Allowing"

Joy Harris

Success Coach

Copyright © 2019

WEALTH: WIN-WIN-WIN Everyone Wins

John & Gussie Herbert's Marriage License

Everyone Knows That Winning is Success

No doubt you have heard of a win-win situation where every party feels some degree of success.  A win-win situation or win-win result is described when a conflict is resolved by both parties getting at least part of their original objective while conceding to something in the other parties’ point.  It is thought of as an agreement.  It is an agreement that while you did not get everything you originally wanted, you kept an open mind to see some benefits of the other person’s point and you were successful in getting them to see at least part of your side.  This allows for both sides to gain and not feel as though they conceded and lost everything.  In short, everybody wins.  A good goal is for everyone to compromise but get some success from the final result.

For example, there are business opportunities where two competing resolutions to a problem must settle on a course and agree on how to proceed.  The same situation arises in our home and family life where everyone must state their opinion on how things could be resolved, but there are divergent opinions, and someone must make the final decision.  Normally everyone is competing to get their point across, and everyone wants to get the most out of a negotiation.  It is only when you agree to some type of mediation or agree to have a discussion bent on coming out of it with a solution that you find people willing to accept a win-win. 

Steven Covey says in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” “Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood”.  It is not until you agree to listen to the other person that you can agree to find a compromise or be willing to engage in finding a win-win situation.  In a perfect world, both parties come out of the discussion with their most important points winning.  Both parties have learned the art of compromise and to see another’s viewpoint.  They have entered a cooperative area where they are looking for the solution to be mutually beneficial and yet not have to give up their key desires.  Completely understanding all points of view and favoring the best resolution instead of getting your way is one definition of a win-win.

I have facilitated discussions where the opposing parties did not even seek to understand the other’s position and then found that the other person's opinion was not that disagreeable once they did understand it.  Through a thorough discussion, you have the opportunity to hear what your opinion sounds like when spoken out loud and that allows you to hear someone else’s perspective of how to make something work out.  The goal is to ensure each side comes away with an acceptable outcome and can walk away with the satisfaction that they did “win” in part. 

Coming to a win-win solution involves collaboration.  It involves not only thinking through your perspective clearly but putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and imagining the other side’s perspective.  The goal is to learn to be flexible and allow yourself to be open to how the use of cooperation to win over fighting it out endlessly.  The more stubborn, obstinate or competitive person will insist in coming out of a discussion with a win-lose scenario, but open-minded people find happiness in at least having a “small win” and seeing others satisfied with their “small win.”

Success is feeling happiness and satisfaction even during negotiations and compromise.  It is satisfying when you come out of a conflict, dispute or discussion feeling like you got a win.

WIN, WIN, WIN – Everybody wins

Now, let’s talk about win-win-win.  During these conversations and debates, does it ever come up that you must also satisfy an outside entity to get a win, not just the two opposing parties?  If you are looking for an outside win, think of how your final resolution impacts others.  The most obvious example is the environment.  Can you come away with some level of satisfaction for both parties, but also see the win for someone or something else?  Perhaps it is something bigger that can be improved such as the community.  That is the challenge for a win-win-win – success for all impacted.  

Have you had a Win-Win-Win Discussion?  At Home?  At Work?  Comment below.

Joy Harris

Success Coach

You Define Success

#Negotiation, #Compromise, #HolisticSuccess, #Success Coach Joy, #Writer, #Author,  #Weath

Copyright © 2019

HAPPINESS: WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL SUCCESSFUL?

MY SUCCESSFUL DAY

I talk a lot about what makes people feel successful.  It comes up with every client that we all start out with dreams when we are young, but many times life gets in the way. 

Today is my day to feel successful.  I see my name in print as a contributor to the book "What We Love" and it shows me that I can write and demonstrate follow through.  It helps me to “feel” successful and know that I can accomplish any goal I sent out to complete.

Much of my past is filled with writing.  I spent over a decade editing newsletters for professional organizations.  I wrote and edited many articles and essays for empowering women.  I learned there are so many women who write for fun.  It starts with diary writing and moves to journal writing.  There are paper journals and journals you can keep in an online journal which can be kept private or shared with the world.

Order from Amazon

Writing can be personal or educational, entertaining or delight your imagination.  Whether you intend to write for the public or not, it is a successful feeling to see your book in print.

There are many reasons to write.  Clients are asked to write out their dreams, their feelings and the goals in the process of taking an amazing journey and feeling successful.  During the process of writing, it generally comes up that they like to write.  Sometimes they want to do more of it.  I truly believe that everyone has a book in them, they just need to get it out.

For those who know they have a book in them, they will need to determine what they want out of becoming an author, they need to find their “why”.  Everyone needs to know the real reason they wanted to write.  There are answers from everything to “I just want to document a part of our family’s story and I will be satisfied if only those close to me ever read it” to “I want to become famous and sell millions of books or make it a part of a series”.  No matter what your “why” is this is the time to make those dreams come true.  

Steps to Success

Writing starts with pen on paper on day one or keys on the keyboard.  Once you have decided to write, you just get to writing.

“You can’t edit a blank page”

Order "What We Love" from Amazon and find my article entitled “Love is the Answer!”.  Leave a review on Amazon and comment below to let me know you were here!

Joy Harris

Success Coach

You Define Success

#Book Review, #What We Love, #Success Coach Joy, #Writer, #Author,  #Happiness 

Copyright © 2019

HAPPINESS: Loving Your Amazing Journey. Start where you are.

In love with Your Amazing Journey called Life.

No matter your age, you have embarked on a journey that will eventually amaze you.  It starts with a home town, a family, a childhood home or many childhood homes and sometimes several families.  I read somewhere that everything we go through is preparing us for where we are now.  One fascinating thing is that we can use our past to have excuses for why we are where we are, but studies show that people with the same background … hometown(s) or families … can take a different path and result in various types of success, or no success at all.

Your Amazing Journey

What I am trying to say is that it is our background that has an impact on who we are but more important than that is the choices we make in life as to where we are on the path to success.

First, we need to assume that everyone wants to be on a journey to success.  Next, we need to assume everyone believes they deserve success or that they believe they can really attain it.  That is where we get to ALLOWING.  Not everyone chooses to allow joy, happiness and unlimited potential to be part of their reality.

It is a pretty tall order to expect coaching to help your journey in the areas of health, wealth AND happiness, but it is a holistic expectation for a well-rounded journey to success.  As you read through the essays here, you will find many similarities with coaches who help you define goals and build a roadmap to your ideal destination.  Here, there is no difference in that.  The difference is the emphasis on the groundwork, the background work of defining a dream, believing you can have it all and then allowing it to happen.

So many people are looking at the obstacles in their lives and realizing that they are their own worst enemy.  We may make many excuses, but it is important to understand that it is a circumstance and an excuse, and we need to move past that.  We need to journey to the place where we expect situations to resolve with grace and ease.  We must expect to come out of a bad situation on the other side where we learned something that can move us forward on our journey.

Steps to Success

Picture life’s journey like on an upward staircase.  Sometimes we can feel the downward momentum and yes, it is important to feel those sad moments of life, but we must move toward the upward spiral.  It is the upward moving momentum where we can place our focus for success.

Believe me when I say the physical, emotional and even spiritual momentum of the upward spiral can change the way you look at life and the way life spins toward you.  Success is allowed, expected, and welcomed on your amazing journey.

Let me know where you are on your journey.  

Leave a comment, even one word. 

Let me know you were here!

Twyla Jane

#HAPPINESS, YourAmazingJourney, #Dream, #ExpectSuccess, #AllowSuccess

Copyright © 2019

HEALTH: O for the love of Nature

The Awareness of Loving Nature.

Do you go hiking, exploring caves or backpacking through the wilderness for days on end without seeing a car or a single soul?  If you do, you probably already know the love of nature.

This is for those of us who never knew nature and don’t know what they are missing.

Sometimes people say, “when is the last time you stood with your feet planted firmly on the ground?”.  What they mean can be when is the last time you stood up for yourself or someone else or something you believe in.  But, what if they mean when have you stood on the ground, bare feet, right on the ground.  Last summer?  When you were a kid?  Never?

Many of us know what it is like to stand for something, but we do not know what it is like to actually stand with our feet touching grass.  It’s not so much about identifying when we last were barefoot, but about feeling the warmth of the soil, the feel of mud or dirt or the feel of the forest floor?  There is something to say about looking at nature, whether it’s the birds in the trees in a city park or the cliffs and barely visible trails in the woods.  There are actual health benefits to being in nature.

Being outside helps us feel better emotionally if we give it a chance.  Science is proving that nature contributes to our physical wellbeing.  It can help reduce blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension and the production of stress hormones. 

 

Nature provides us with more than food and water.  It provides us with building material, fiber and is a natural medicine for our bodies.

Spending time in nature is recommended for depression, brooding and other mood disorders.  It can increase our creativity and allow us to feel free.  This can result in opening ourselves to discovering our innermost dreams and sharing those dreams with others.  It allows us to consider really connecting with other people.

It is well known that walking is good for our health but walking outdoors involves our curiosity to combine exercise with awareness of the many ecosystems around us – that of the insects and other animals.  It can inspire painting and other works of art as well as our creativity for expressing ourselves through words flowing like poetry.

Getting in touch with nature can be as simple as exploring your neighborhood or driving to a nature center or park but the feeling of fresh air can’t be bought at a store.  The scent of flowers and plants affects the levels of serotonin and brings about focus, relaxation, and feelings of joy.

Even sitting in nature is better than not.  Walking, hiking, backpacking or serious camping may not be in store for you, but the benefits of being in nature outweigh the known impacts of being sedentary indoors.

How has being in nature impacted you?

Comment Below:  Winter Bloom in my yard

#HEALTH #LoveofNature #BenefitsofNature

Copyright © 2019