One of the consistent practices I have developed on my journey of hitting the 365-day snooze button on booze is regular meditation. Not that I’m headed for Swami status anytime soon, but I love the affects meditation is having on me and, in turn, on those around me.

Everyday, I take a seat on a small froufrou bench in my living room, tap the Headspace App and off I go for 10 or 15 minutes (Headspace gives options relative to how long you want your meditation session to be).

I would say that five key elements to living life fully, are:

• Clearly knowing one’s purpose and living it out daily in some way shape or form.
• Pursuing goals that align with our purpose and provide an inner sense of meaning.
• Feeling part of a connected, supportive community, family and/or tribe.
• Regular physical exercise.
• MEDITATION! Meditating helps with the above four things.

What I am learning from a daily practice of sitting still (I pray everyday too–more on that in a future post) is how to temper my monkey mind. I’m also discovering that everyone–even the Mother Teresas of the world– feels anger, fear and sadness at times so that’s normal. Mindfulness (living in the present) and mediation stimulate the mental flow to process and release these emotions rather than stuffing them down.

So if you have never meditated, give it a try. Ommmmmmmm!

Cheers,

Kathleen