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Living in the present. In order to understand what that means, you must understand the word, being, existing, or occurring at this time or now; current: the present ruler.

How many times a day do you worry about tomorrow?  You contemplate next week, next month and often next year. Living in the present means just that. You embrace the very minute you are in, right now. This is the only way you can learn to enjoy life.

Next time you catch yourself thinking idly; watch the thoughts that flow through your mind, what are they? Constant living and awareness of the present develop a new kind of awareness-consciousness. It is awareness of freedom, of being alive, of happiness and joy. You come to realize the peace, calmness, joy and freedom from thoughts that the mystics talk about.  Cheers to my moment!

I think that one of the most common mistakes that we make is to try to present ourselves as something we’re not. We make implicit or explicit claims about ourselves that are inaccurate or incomplete. We do it because we think that molding our image in a certain way will produce positive results, helping us gain happiness and success.  Unfortunately, it’s just the opposite. Inauthenticity is a sure path to misery.

We might find ourselves tweaking our outward personality at work in order to climb the corporate ladder or make an important sale. We might suppress parts of who we are to our romantic partners out of the fear that they won’t really like us if they saw the whole picture. We might mold ourselves to fit a particular social group in which we’re trying to gain or maintain entry. There are so many different situations that tempt us to withhold this part of ourselves here or exaggerate another part of ourselves there. All to fit into a box that we’ve convinced ourselves we just must squeeze ourselves into in order to gain something good in return.

The problem is this never gives us what we truly want in the end. Any time we begin to notice that we’re not being our authentic selves, its sign that we’re heading in the wrong direction. And our problems will only mount if we don’t fix it.  You were born to be YOU.  Cheers!

Yes, that is easier said than done. We all spend hours trying to get our lives in order and someone comes and just blows it all to bits with actions or in-actions. We become entrenched in screaming matches and frustrations stating we “expect so much more”.

How many times have you said that?

The truth is that as soon as we embrace the fact that the only thing we can ever truly control is ourselves the better we will be.

At the start of each day remind yourself where your true control lies.  That is within.  Cheers!

1. Know Thyself

Remember who you are and be open to the wisdom within. Devotion to ‘Me Time’ Rituals is essential to connect with yourself and spirit. It helps you to awaken to your gifts, calm your mind, and listen clearly to your higher power. Self love is an inside job!

2. Trust Your Intuition

Learn to trust that feeling in your gut. The gut never lies! Tap into your intuition and begin to trust what messages or feelings you receive about people, situations, or what steps to take next. It’s a gift we all have. Learn to embrace it. Listen, trust, and take each guided action with confidence.

3. Nourish Your Body

Fuel up with loads of greens, water, and whole foods to create a healthy diet. Balance that out with regular exercise to keep your body energized and up for any challenge that comes your way. You might be surprised at the results of exercising 30 minutes 4 days a week.  Try it!

4. Remember Your Inner Power Circle

Friends and family all need your attention. Don’t forget to make time for your loved ones — time to listen, support, and nurture them when they need you. Don’t get caught up in being so busy that they become a just footnote to your day! This one can be challenging.

5. Be a Person of Integrity

Keep your word and do what you say you were going to do. If you can’t, be honest with yourself and others. Honor your work. Finish what you start. Keep and respect your commitments to your personal projects that bring you joy.

6. Make Your Soul Dance Again

Explore those things that make you exude joy. Is it singing? Writing? Painting? Carve out moments in your week for these little treats that nourish you soul. Most importantly, seek careers and businesses that allow you to weave in your talents, passions, and profits together as one.

7. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

If you want to transform your life, you need to challenge yourself. DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT! Face your fears. Have courage! Recognize and take the baby steps necessary to reach your goal. Breakthroughs will help you take leaps forward and steadily move you away from the excuses that have held you back from your greatness.

8. Make Room for Abundance

Begin allowing success and abundance in all areas of your life. Explore ways to earn income from your talents by unleashing your entrepreneurial spirit. It’s important to LOVE WHAT YOU DO!

9. Balance the Scales of Love

When giving and receiving love, keep in mind how important it is to reciprocate. Are you a giver or a taker? Try your best at being both. If you are more of one than the other, you will drain yourself and the one you care about deeply. Compromise and strive for a 50/50 love!

10. Pay It Forward

Be a shining example of giving back. Community service, mentoring, and charity work are positive ways of helping others and those causes you’re passionate about supporting.

Cheers!

As a person who resists change until it actually occurs, I know how it feels to be put in an unfamiliar environment and being unsure of the next step.  It can be tough letting go of the reigns sometimes and embracing change.  While it’s always important to be alert and aware of where you’re going, isn’t it also good to keep up with the moment and enjoy where you are? I know it’s all been said before, but I truly believe that it’s important to let go once in a while and let beauty surround you. Sometimes, it’s healthy to give yourself a bit of leeway and take small risks to make life more interesting: a break from the routine. Embrace your surroundings when you’re somewhere new.  Sometimes it’s fun to make memories that you wouldn’t normally make, and never let someone take your memories simply because they aren’t making any of their own.

I suggest you mix it up once in a while. Change up your routine and go walk around your city or town after work.  Go somewhere you’ve never been and live in the moment.  Just do what feels like it would make your life more interesting.  Be strong, independent, and adventurous!  Cheers to change.

It’s not always easy to “let it go”.  When people say “Let it go,” what they really mean is “Get over it,” and that’s not a helpful thing to say. It’s not a matter of letting go—you would if you could. Instead of “Let it go,” we should probably say “Let it be”; this recognizes that the mind won’t let go and the problem may not go away, and it allows you to form a healthier relationship with what’s bothering you.

That’s what mindfulness is all about: Paying attention—without judgment—to whatever is happening in the present moment. You can do this by thinking of your mind as an ocean. Just as waves are affected by weather, our emotions can be blown around by the winds of change and circumstance, and our troubled thoughts can create turbulence in our minds. However, if you went below the surface of the ocean, you would find calmer, gentler undulations. You can achieve the same thing with your mind. When you begin to feel anxious, take a moment to feel the breath in your body. Imagine your thoughts as waves; see them rise, linger, and pass. Keep breathing deeply and slowly, and keep watching your thoughts. You’ll be able to live in the moment, even when it’s difficult and scary, with greater calmness and balance. That is letting things be.

This exercise isn’t easy, but the well-being that can come of it is huge. It lets you come to terms with reality—the good, the wonderful, and also the bad
and the ugly—without being completely torpedoed by it. This doesn’t mean that if your worries turn out to be justified, you’ll hurt any less. But it will
keep you from losing not only your mind but your common sense, just when you need it most.  Remember “Let It Be”.  Cheers!

Lately, I have been pondering the idea of failure and considering that maybe there really is no such thing. What we perceive as a failure may simply be our inner being’s way of telling us that we are ready to move to a new level of growth.

No matter how well we think we know ourselves, we all have blind spots. And we all have an inner being that connects with something much wiser than ourselves, that sees the larger picture of our journey toward wisdom and wholeness. All too often, when we rely only on our conscious mind, we resist or overlook opportunities to grow. So our spirit has to get our attention. Failures are a very efficient way of doing just that. Personally, I desire growth, wholeness, fulfillment, peace and all the joy I can stand!  How about you?  Cheers!

You’ll never come upon a mistake that doesn’t contain within it a lesson, so make sure to grasp hold of it.  Ask yourself, “What did I learn from this ‘failure’?” “What did I learn from this experience?”  How valuable is the lesson?

Think about how this lesson will benefit you in a month, year, or decade ahead. Now sit quietly for a moment in a state of gratitude, giving thanks for the wisdom imparted upon you by what you call failure.  From this state of gratitude, you emit a positive vibration that attracts your most wonderful desires.  This is the perfect place to start again.  Remember the lesson so that you won’t have to visit the same situation again.  Cheers!

Lately, I have been pondering the idea of failure and considering that maybe there really is no such thing. What we perceive as a failure may simply be our inner being’s way of telling us that we are ready to move to a new level of growth.

No matter how well we think we know ourselves, we all have blind spots. And we all have an inner being that connects with something much wiser than ourselves, that sees the larger picture of our journey toward wisdom and wholeness.  All too often, when we rely only on our conscious mind, we resist or overlook opportunities to grow. So our spirit has to get our attention. Failures are a very efficient way of doing just that. Cheers to a better place!

As we embark on a new year, so many of us make resolutions to lose weight, stop smoking, go to church, stick to a budget, and the annual list goes on. A few years ago, I decided I was no longer going to make resolutions each new-year and instead develop mantras that I would focus on living my life throughout the year. Last year, one such mantra was to find joy and happiness in every situation good or bad.

Last year I didn’t know it then, but I couldn’t have picked a better mantra for 2011 because I surely encountered some of difficult situations. To put it lightly, 2011 was interesting. Needless to say, I was happy to usher in a new year and optimistic about the possibilities. More importantly, I learned a valuable lesson that there is joy in every situation and I’m in control of it.

“Happiness is a choice, not a gift!” By going to gratitude and focusing on the things that were good in my life I was able to tackle the crazy stuff with a smile. Sure, I didn’t like it, but wasn’t it enough that I had to deal with it? I refused to let mere temporary situations affect my overall happiness. So, I often found myself saying, ‘it is what is.’ And, once I stopped going against the flow of the universe I was able to accept the situation, try to move passed it and still stay happy.

“So, what?!”  Stuff happens, but you have to make the choice to focus on the bad parts. You have to make the choice to be miserable. You have to make the choice not to accept it for what it was, deal with it and move on.” I am not diminishing the severity of anyone’s issues. Instead, I am encouraging the power of your spirit to guide you to make the choice to find joy in life in spite of any issues that you may encounter in this thing called life.  You have to make the choice!

We create our own reality into existence. If we say we’re miserable and focus on the bad then, we’re miserable. Conversely, if we focus on the good in our life and proclaim joy then, we become that too. So, my hope is that as you begin a new year that you go to gratitude in all situations, especially the bad ones, and remember that happiness is yours.  And you have to want it, receive it and embrace it!

This year mantra for me is “Living well in 2012”.  So far I am doing just that, as God planned for my life.  Cheers!