Are You Ready for a Challenge of a Lifetime??

Welcome to this journey! By joining the 10 Day Meditation Challenge, you have set your foot on the path of mindful living and it just might be the start of something that will make all the difference in your life. It did for me.

But more about me later. This is about YOU, my fellow traveler.

I'd like to invite you to take an interactive approach to this blog and consider it the first step of your pre-challenge training. So grab a journal and pen to make some notes, get comfy, and lets explore.

Soft Landing

I always start my classes and trainings with a Soft Landing meditation. You are here now, reading this in a physical sense, and I'd invite you to bring your hearts and minds into the present, as well.

* Sitting in any comfortable position you like, begin to notice any sounds in the room you are in. No need to identify or label, just letting sounds come to you, having a sense of sitting in the midst of them.

* Now imagine that you are looking at the room you are in from a bird's eye view and you find your own body where you are. Allow yourself to be open in welcoming yourself to the room and extending a warm greeting. Acknowledging yourself with an inner smile like you would a dear friend.

* Now having your awareness drop into your body and noticing any sensations and feelings as they come and go. Just observing, with curiosity, what's there for you right now. Maybe pleasant or unpleasant. Maybe neutral.

* If you notice any uneasiness, just breathing into that part of you that is uneasy.

* Now, giving yourself some gratitude and appreciation for showing up here for yourself and whatever good intention brought you to this challenge. That's already an act of compassion and self kindness.

* As you end your meditation, you may wish to jot some notes on your experience, paying particular attention to your felt senses in your body and what you notice there.

Welcome now to THIS moment.

So Why Are You Here?

I want to give you ALL the kudos for joining the 10 Day meditation Challenge! If this is your first, second, third, or FOURTH round, I say, Good for you! You rock!!!

Do you identify as someone who is brand new to meditation? Some experience with the practice? A regular practitioner? Someone who aspires to have a regular practice? Perhaps you are here to learn the skill of meditation on the advice of a doctor or other health care professional for the many benefits mindfulness and meditation has on one's well-being in body and mind? Maybe you simply want to be more present in your daily life and with your family? Maybe you would like to deepen your spiritual life and hope meditation can enrich your faith practice?

*Take a moment to ponder and journal, if you'd like, "What brought me through the door" to this challenge? Why am I here?

*Now, I'd like you to consider why you are REALLY here. Being open to "peeling back the onion" a bit and discovering something even deeper...Why now? Why at this particular point in my journey? Why am I really here?

*Now, imagining that you are looking into a well, peering deeper and deeper into the water, see if you can likewise peer more deeply into yourself. Why am I really, REALLY here?

So how was that for you? Did you make any new discoveries?

For whatever reason you are here, WELCOME! I am so happy to have you... Here. Now. In THIS present moment. Enjoy your journey! Stay tuned for the next portion of your pre-challenge training coming soon! And a live video in the group that will guide you through these mediations and give you the lay of the land before we begin.