Change Your Mind, Change Your Life: dreams

As a meditation teacher, I've heard countless students share their excuses for why they didn't meditate in the past week. They wanted to. They know it would be good for them. They just didn't do it. At least, not consistently.

Something always seems to get in the way: they need more sleep, the dog needs to be walked, the kids are up, they had to work late or had an early meeting, they felt too anxious, worried, or irritable... Meditation just didn't seem as important as other things they had to do. Yet, all those things they did didn't give them the peace of mind they desired.

Of course, meditation is about changing your relationship with all the events, worries, and anxieties in your life. It's a daily ritual-like eating, sleeping, and brushing your teeth-that creates a more relaxed, healthy, meaningful, and intentional way of living. It's a powerful practice to realize the deep peace of mind we all desire. So, what's the secret to moving from excuses to practice?

The answer is: you've got to have a strong "Why?"

Where do you find your Why?

The answer may surprise you.

The Secret is Body Awareness

Your body is not just a mechanical vehicle for carrying out all the activities in your life. It is a highly-sensitive bio-feedback system.

Your body can tell you what is good for you to eat and how much, when you need to rest, when you need to relax and have fun, when you need to get up and move, and when you need to be alone, have contact with others, be in nature, and spend time in meditation. It connects you to when, why, and how much to do anything. If you're paying attention.

In our context, it connects you to WHY you might want to meditate in the first place. At least it has the potential to do this-if you pay attention. Yet, how often do you pause and really pay attention to your body's signals? How often do you stop to sense what it is telling you?

Why aren't you doing this?

First off, we have a culture that encourages just the opposite. We are encouraged to focus outwardly rather than inwardly. We are encouraged to do as much as possible. We are encouraged to gather as many products and as much wealth, data, and sensory input from the external environment as we possibly can.

We are encouraged to react quickly and are discouraged from taking time for well-considered and deeply felt responses. We are conditioned to quick reactions and sound bites on news and social media. We are impatient with anything that takes time. We go, go, go, until we are too exhausted to continue.

Do you feel this exhaustion?

Yet, are you worried about what might happen if you stop? Are you worried you'll fall behind and be left out? At a certain point, you may decide you just don't want to live this way anymore. When you reach this point-or preferably long before that-take a moment to pay attention inside. Notice what all this thinking, doing, worry, accumulation, and stimulation is doing to you.

Is there another option?

Meditation Creates a New Way of Being

Meditation interrupts nonstop thinking and doing and gives your body a chance to relax deeply-something you may not even get to do in a restless sleep. Consciously relaxing, as you do in meditation, unwinds tension accumulated beneath your awareness in the past 24 hours as well as in the years of your life up to this point. It slowly dissolves the reactive mental-emotional patterns that drive you on the hamster wheel of nonstop activity. It quiets your mental chatter.

Now, when you first start to meditate, you may not notice this relaxing, quieting, and calming effect. You may become even more aware of how busy your mind is, how conflicting your emotions are, and how tense your body is. If you have mistreated your body through over-stress for a long period of time, initial moments of Body Awareness in meditation might not feel so great.

Or, you may feel little to nothing at all. All that thinking, doing, and pushing yourself to do things you feel you "have to" or "should" do may have cut you off from how you feel. You may have lost touch with your vital sensations and feelings. You may just feel bored without external stimulation keeping you distracted.

Yet, discomfort, boredom, or numbness, when you face them honestly, directly, gently, and without judgment, as you do in meditation, can alert you to just how much you need to activate another way of being.

If you heed this signal and take time to sit, breathe, and mindfully notice what's happening inside-the layers of stress will begin to unwind and your vital senses will reawaken. As you unwind, Body Awareness may tell you just how exhausted you are from the way you are going about your life.

As you pay close attention to what your body has to say, you might find that all those things you've been chasing after may not be as important as they seemed. You may discover you don't want to live on the human hamster wheel of incessant activity, worry, and anxiety any longer. You may be inspired to make new choices that reflect your soul's deeper desires.

Meditation beckons you to a more relaxed, healthy, meaningful, and intentional way of living-and your body will tell you just how important this is-if you pay attention.

Want to get started meditating? You'll be gently guided into deep relaxation and calm clarity with Clear Quiet Mind Meditations. Just click "Play" and follow along. Download on CD Baby or Download on ITunes

Kevin Schoeninger is a writer and teacher of Mind-Body training, including Mindfulness, Meditation, Qigong, and Reiki. He is the author of the book "Clear Quiet Mind" and numerous guided meditations and programs in the field of personal empowerment and spiritual growth.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Kevin_Schoeninger/31493

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9973951

To succeed in life requires a lot of courage because there is almost
nothing in this world that is 100% risk-free. Winning or losing comes
from the mind that is why a winning mindset is crucial to achieving
set goals irrespective of the difficulties or challenges encountered.
No matter how small your goals are or how lofty your dreams may be,
you cannot achieve much without a winning mindset, which is the force
that generates the power and enthusiasm that drives you.
When you see successful people, they not only have a winning attitude
but also possess the winning mindset. Giving up is not among the
traits of winners and following through to the end is never the habit
of losers. To get to the pinnacle of success, you must have a winning
mindset that results from positive thinking and perspective to issues.

Tips to Having a Winning Mindset

Do you see successful people and wish to follow in their footsteps?
Are you searching for ways to develop a positive mindset? Do you want
to nurture your mind with the winning attitude? Here are the tips to
help you have a winning mindset.

1. Have an It-Is-Possible Belief

There is a great connection between what you believe and the result
you get from your efforts. The best way to start creating a winning
mindset is to have a positive belief and be addicted to that thought.
By having an 'it-is-possible' mindset, you are setting your mind above
all limitations and obstacles on the path to achieving your goals.
When this thought gets into your subconscious mind, it will become
effortless to see possibility in having things go your way.

2. Set Goals and Have a Detailed Plan

Remember that every success has an equal chance of failure. As a
result, do not attempt anything without setting a goal and creating a
detailed plan to achieve your goal. Identify factors that could cause
your failure and plug every necessary hole and take advantage of the
factors that can drive your goals to success. Be meticulous in planning.

3. Spare No Efforts / Never Think About Quitting

To have a winning mindset, be ready to go all out and leave no stone
unturned. Do not spare any efforts and you must be prepared to see
your goals achieved regardless of how long you need to labor or how
much pain you must endure. You must not think of quitting - it is the
habit of losers.

4. Declare Your Anticipated Result to Yourself

There is a strong force behind positive confession. Make a declaration
(speak out) of the result you are expecting to yourself every time.
Let this positive thought fill your head then get into your heart; let
it take over your mind and finally get into your subconscious mind.
Doing this will embolden you with positive energies and a winning
mindset that will push you beyond your limit to achieve your dream or
set goals.

Innovator, Trendsetter, Author and entrepreneur... These are few words to describe Carl Mathis. While some may know him as a minister and a teacher, others have become fond of him through his written work, "Think Like A Winner." For speaking engagements or to find out more about Carl Mathis, visit http://www.carlmathisbooks.com or email carlmathis4u@gmail.com

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Carl_Mathis/362444

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10123773https://ezinearticles.com/?Secrets-to-A-Winning-Mindset&id=10123773