Learning to Love Yourself Through Meditation (659 words)

When you think of meditation you probably imagine a simple method that can be used for spiritual renewal, stress management and inner peace; but did you also know that meditation is a great tool for developing a stronger sense of self-love?

Just the act of sitting quietly and releasing scattered thoughts can go a long way in helping you feel more loving and accepting of yourself, but there are also specific techniques you can use to enhance the process. Here are a few that you may find helpful in your own meditation practice:

1) Surround yourself in a pink cloud of love.

One reason many people lack a strong sense of self-love is because they often feel disconnected from their spiritual center. This meditation will help you to feel spiritually connected and enveloped in a loving embrace.

First, spend a few minutes quieting your mind and relaxing your body. Then imagine a soft pink cloud descending from the universe and settling around your entire body. Imagine that this cloud is comforting and warm, enveloping you like a soft embrace. Allow yourself to feel surrounded with a sense of tender acceptance and nurturing, secure in the knowledge that you are truly loved. Stay with this sensation for as long as you like, and also try to recall the sensation of a warm embrace whenever you feel in need of a little reinforcement.

2) See your true inner beauty.

Are you used to seeing yourself as a flawed, limited physical being? Try creating a new self-image of the REAL you!

Once you have quieted your mind with meditation, call up a mental image of yourself as you would like to be. See yourself at your perfect body weight and size, the type of clothing you would like to wear, the hairstyle you would like to have, and so on. Generate as much detail as you can and include the best qualities and characteristics you have right now, plus any others you would like to develop. Think about your personality, level of confidence, skills and talents, and include them in this new self-image. Imagine this new version of yourself merging with your current self and affirming that you are now one. The more you do this, the more you begin to identify with this dynamic version of yourself, and the more it will begin to shine through in your everyday experiences.

3) Self-Acceptance NOW meditation.

One of the major reasons many people have trouble truly loving themselves is because they think they must become more or better than they are right now in order to be lovable. This meditation will help you learn to accept and love yourself NOW � regardless of any changes or improvements you may make later.

Start by finding a quiet place to lie down where you won't be disturbed. Take several slow, deep breaths and release scattered thoughts from your mind. Relax your body and let go of physical tension, and then gradually imagine your body becoming lighter and lighter until you feel like you are floating. Feel the lightness and peace in your body, and affirm mentally that you are perfect exactly as you are right now. You may also find it helpful to recite a mantra to that effect, such as, "I am whole and beautiful right now. I am full of the light of love. I completely love and accept myself right now."

Though the last two meditations seem to be at odds with each other, they can actually work quite harmoniously together! Loving and accepting yourself now does not prevent you from growing and evolving into the dynamic version of yourself you hope to be. In fact, you'll probably find it easier to grow and evolve if you start with a solid foundation of self-love and acceptance.

These meditations will work best if you do them frequently. Aim for a daily practice, but at minimum a few times a week will be okay too.

Meditate Your Way To Wellness (575 words)

Many people think of Eastern religions when they think of meditation, and too often those who know little about meditation are greatly confused by what it really is and what it really does. We may hear how meditation is good for our well-being, but we fail to find a simple "how to" manual when we decide to incorporate it into our lives. The fact is, most people make meditation much more complicated than it needs to be. To meditate is to simply eliminate excessive thought, enter awareness and narrow our focus. Once thought of as an enhancement only to our spiritual being, medical research is also now touting the physical benefits of regular meditation.

Doctors nowadays often advise the use of meditation as a way to reduce stress and fatigue, and studies have shown that it may provide positive benefits to the circulatory and respiratory systems. Since stress is linked to life-threatening disease such as diabetes, stroke and heart disease, it seems practical to make daily meditation a part of preventative medicine along with proper nutrition and regular exercise. While there is no one right way to meditate, it is the general consensus that one must do it consistently to achieve optimum wellness.

Here's a simple way to get started. Set aside 15 minutes of uninterrupted time, change into comfortable clothing and sit in an upright and relaxed position. Close your eyes and breathe consciously: in for a count of 4, hold for 2, and out for another count of 4. Concentrate only on the breaths you take, focusing solely on the air filling your lungs�and then leaving your body. As random thoughts enter your mind, acknowledge and release them, returning to your breath meditation. After just 15 minutes of this, you'll be on your way to less stress and better health.

Additionally, this same process can be used to enhance your mental and spiritual health. Simply by consistently releasing stressful thoughts and sitting quietly, you will clear your mind, strengthen your focus and get better connected with your spiritual core.

Regular meditation can also help you to adopt a whole new way of thinking. For example, if you are typically in the habit of dwelling in negative thoughts, you can use your meditation sessions to begin changing that pattern to automatically become more positive. Try reciting empowering phrases (affirmations) like the following to yourself once you feel completely relaxed physically: "I always expect the best. Great things always happen to me. I am usually very lucky. I love myself and take good care of myself. I am a good person. I get along well with others."

Basically, you can include any type of positive message you want to sink into your subconscious mind. Because you will be very relaxed physically and mentally during and after a meditation session, it's the perfect time to absorb some positive new messages because your subconscious mind will be less resistant to them.

Likewise, you can do the same thing with spiritually empowering messages, like: "I am never alone. I am guided and supported by a loving universe. I am surrounded and protected by angels."

Even if you don't initially believe these statements, consistent repetition will begin to change that! Keep working on it and before long you'll find yourself feeling calmer, more centered and balanced from within.

Wellness Affirmation: I am centered and peaceful in body, mind and spirit. I enjoy caring for all aspects of my well-being.

Begin Your Day With A Stretch (584 words)

If you have cats, you have probably noticed that the first thing they do after awakening is stretch their little furry bodies. Arching their back and extending their limbs is not just a way to tone their muscles - it's also a way to get the blood flowing in preparation for the activity they're about to embark upon. Similarly, if you begin stretching each morning, you'll likely notice the immediate positive impact on your own overall health and wellness. Stretching is no longer something that is saved only for your pre- and post-workouts.

Among the many benefits of stretching, you'll most likely be impressed with how it can wake up your mind and body in preparation for the day. Stretching increases the circulation in your body, getting oxygen to your brain and blood to your muscles. Why wait for your cup of coffee to fully wake you up? Other physical benefits of stretching include increased flexibility of your muscles, a better range of motion in your joints, stress relief and the ability to maintain proper posture throughout the day.

How then can you be sure to get the most from stretching? It's simple: move slowly and hold each stretch for at least 30 seconds. Practice conscious breathing during your stretch and you will maximize oxygen to the blood. Remember your stretches should be pain-free and you should target all major muscle groups. For a more thorough introduction to stretching, you might also consider learning yoga or another movement exercise, such as Tai Chi. Those who practice these regularly report an improved mood and better clarity throughout the day.

Stretching your body regularly can also have a positive impact on your mind. After all, increased blood flow and oxygen intake also feeds your brain! You'll probably notice that a good stretch along with some deep breathing wakes up your mind and helps you to think more clearly. You may also notice that you seem to be better in touch with your creative faculties too.

You can enhance this effect by also choosing to "stretch" your mind on a daily basis. Most of us tend to live very routine lives, rarely doing anything new or unusual. We work at the same location, interact with the same people, undertake the same routines, watch the same programs on television . . . day after day after day! Is it any wonder that we often feel like we're sleepwalking through our lives?

Begin stretching your mind by introducing it to something new each day. You can read a book or magazine you normally wouldn't be exposed to, watch different types of television shows or movies, introduce yourself to someone who appears to be quite different from yourself, and so on. Jar your mind out of its rut and you'll likely discover that there is awe and beauty in places you never would have thought to look before!

You can also adopt this same process in your spiritual practices. Visit a new church, read about the religious or spiritual traditions of other cultures, ask friends about their beliefs if they are different than yours, and otherwise strive to learn more about the unknown.

Stretching yourself body, mind and spirit is a great way to enrich your life and expand your enjoyment of everything you do!

Expansion Affirmation: I stretch and expand my body for greater flexibility and strength. I stretch and expand my mind for greater understanding and wisdom. I stretch and expand my spirit for greater compassion and peace.

How Meditation Can Boost Your Confidence (596 words)

For most people, meditation is a simple way to get connected spiritually, manage stress and create a more peaceful way of living. But there are also other benefits that come along with a daily meditation practice, one of which is stronger self-confidence.

There are many ways that meditation can help strengthen your confidence, but probably the most important is the way it connects you with a deeper part of yourself. Most of us are used to connecting with our thoughts more than anything else and it's easy to forget that there is more to us than that.

Regular meditation helps you transcend your thoughts and connect to your true inner essence, whether you want to call it your spirit, your soul, your higher self, or even divinity. The more you connect with this inner core, the more you tend to live your life from a calmer, deeper perspective.

As a result, you are less likely to engage in negative self-talk or be overly critical of yourself. You live each moment with the awareness that you are valuable because of who you are, rather than anything you do. Before you know it, your confidence grows and you find yourself feeling more courageous, willing to take bigger risks and overcome perceived failure. Your very sense of self is no longer tied up in a false perception of who you think you are, but the very core of your being.

Though much of this process happens automatically through regular meditation, there are also a few things you can do if you want to help it along:

Build yourself up with positive self-talk.

Before, during or after your meditation sessions, spend a few minutes speaking positively to and about yourself. It's best to say things that you won't have trouble believing because your subconscious mind is more likely to accept them.

Try statements like these:

"I am proud of my past accomplishments. I am capable of becoming great at anything I choose to do. I believe in myself and my capabilities. I give myself permission to be confident and successful. I thrive on challenges. I am unstoppable. I have faith in my dreams."

Envision empowerment.

Visualization is a perfect complement to meditation and can dramatically improve your results. Spend a few minutes a day imagining yourself feeling completely strong and confident in whatever you do. What would it feel like to be super strong and purposeful every day? Generate some mental pictures of yourself doing just that, and allow yourself to feel that way. The more you imagine yourself feeling and acting confidently, the easier you'll find it to do in your day to day experiences.

Redefine failure.

One common cause of low self-confidence is pervasive memories of past failures. However, the problem lies not in the failed attempts themselves, but what you concluded from them. You convinced yourself that failure was the end, that you would never be successful � but does that have to be true? What if you began to see "failure" as an opportunity to try again?

Use your meditation sessions to affirm and visualize that you can be successful regardless of how many times you've failed in the past. Imagine yourself encouraging others by sharing stories of your past failures � and eventual success! Imagine yourself saying to them, "Do you know how many times I failed before I succeeded? If I can do it, so can you!" If you change your perception of failure into something more positive and empowering, your confidence will skyrocket. You'll find yourself eager to try again and again until you succeed.

Supplement Nutrients When Necessary (673 words)

If I were to open your medicine cabinet, I bet I'd find bottles of vitamins, supplements, and other nutritional enhancers, all aimed to create and maintain health. If not, then you're in the minority. Along with the rise of nutritional education in America, many of us use capsules, powders, drinks and other products to supplement our poor diets that result from too little time or money. The fact is however, that most of us get enough of what our bodies require through food. Supplementation is important when necessary, but can be toxic and damaging if not carefully monitored. Our bodies are surprisingly effective in using the fuel we feed it, despite what the vitamin companies report.

There are several reasons for which supplementing is important. This includes during pregnancy and recovery from an illness or surgery. At such times, our bodies are in need of extra nutrients such as protein and vitamins such as Calcium and Vitamin C. In some cases, a person may need lifelong supplementation in order to keep their body systems working properly. Severe malnutrition can result from certain gastrointestinal disorders, and those with sections of bowel removed are most at risk. This includes those who have undergone a gastric bypass surgery for weight loss.

For most of us, a simple once-a-day multivitamin in addition to a well-balanced diet that includes all food groups is sufficient. Some believe that mega-doses of Vitamin C (up to 3,000 milligrams a day) are beneficial, but the medical community is still divided. The same goes with the high-protein fad. And remember, certain vitamins are toxic, even deadly, when taken in high doses. Your best bet is to eat a variety of foods each day, remain within the Recommended Daily Allowances for nutrients, and supplement only when necessary.

That takes care of the bodily requirements for most people, but you may also want to consider how often you make your spiritual nourishment a priority. Sadly, most of us are so busy each day that we end up shoving our spiritual wellness onto the back burner because it seems less important than our physical needs � but is that really true?

There are clear connections between spiritual and physical wellness, and both seem to have a powerful effect on each other. Spiritual emptiness or disconnection can often trigger physical illness, and physical pain and illness can also leave one feeling spiritually disconnected. Mental well-being is also closely tied in with spiritual and physical wellness, especially when you consider the powerful influence our thoughts have on our overall quality of life.

For total harmony, we need to consistently provide nourishment for body, mind and spirit. None are more important than the others. As already described, nourishing the body is easy, but how do we nourish our minds and spirits on a regular basis? How do we make time in our already-overloaded schedules for activities that will boost our mental and spiritual well-being?

Here are a couple of quick and easy ways to start:

Mental nourishment is as easy as feeding your mind with positive, empowering thoughts throughout the day. Build yourself and others up by thinking and speaking positively. Start expecting great things to happen to you. Eventually, this positive mind-set will become a habit and have a beneficial effect on your physical and spiritual well-being too.

Nourishing your spirit can be as simple as sitting quietly in meditation for five or ten minutes a day. Simply find a quiet place to be alone, close your eyes and breathe deeply. Focus on releasing all tension from your body and all worries from your mind, and just "be". Within a few days you should notice that you feel calmer, clearheaded, centered and balanced from within, and the benefits will continue to accumulate the longer you stick with the practice.

Nourish your body, nourish your mind, nourish your spirit � and the result is a whole, happy, balanced you.

Nourishing Affirmation: My well-being and happiness is my top priority. I give myself permission to be loved and nourished on all levels.

Find Balance Between Work and Play (558 words)

Finding a balance between working and having fun is one of the hardest things to do for most people I know. Often, what makes us choose one over the other is guilt, the root of all evil. Truly, it's difficult to find balance in any aspect of life. Stop and ask yourself if you see your life as balanced. Do you spend endless hours working to support your family, or cleaning to impress your friends? Perhaps instead you care only about your needs, and instead use every available opportunity to have fun, regardless of the consequences.

Living a balanced life is important not just for your mind, but for your body as well. Perhaps you have been feeling stressed, irritable, anxious? Emotions such as these that result from inner imbalances can often lead to negative physical or outward manifestations. You might notice this as depression, lack of sleep, neglect of your nutritional needs and the interruption of other bodily system functions. When these symptoms appear, you react with more feelings of stress and irritability. You can see how stopping the cycle by finding some balance is important.

Making time for both work and play is as easy as setting boundaries and sticking to them. Not so easy, you say? Try this. Write down on a sheet of paper the tasks you absolutely MUST accomplish for the day. Add an equal number of fun and/or extracurricular activities. At first glance you may think there isn't enough time in the day to do it all, but this only means your priorities may need to be revisited. Use this method for at least a couple weeks and see if you don't start to feel more whole inside, a sign you're giving equal time to all aspects of your life.

Creating balance with your thoughts and spiritual habits is equally important, because it's difficult to feel truly balanced unless all aspects of your life are in order. Once you've made some progress in balancing work and play, consider how much attention you give to nurturing your mind and spirit. Do you set aside time to read, learn and explore? Do you have a daily or weekly spiritual practice? You may not think these things are crucial, but making them a priority quickly helps you realize what you were missing without them.

Here's a quick and easy way to create balance both mentally and spiritually: set aside 15-30 minutes daily to nurture yourself from within. Spend a few minutes reading first thing in the morning, and again before bed at night. Try to choose reading material that uplifts your spirit and soothes your mind, or at least material that leans more toward the positive than negative.

After you finish your reading session, spend just a few minutes breathing slowly and tuning in to your spiritual center. Direct your attention to the center of your chest, or slightly lower to your abdomen. You may not notice anything right away, but over time you should notice a sensation of fullness, aliveness or connection in those areas, as well as a greater sense of peace that seeps into every other aspect of your life.

Balance Affirmation: I deserve to be happy and balanced in my body, mind and spirit. I trust my inner wisdom and allow it to lead me in creating a balanced, harmonious life.

From Om to Ahh . . . (463 words)

Many people start a meditation practice to foster a deeper spiritual connection, but quickly realize that it's a powerful process for managing stress too. In fact, experienced meditation practitioners are keenly aware of the many ways these two objectives can intertwine with fantastic results.

If you've ever doubted that regular meditation can dramatically improve all aspects of your life, consider the following benefits:

1) Spiritual connectedness, emotional tranquility.

Daily meditation does indeed strengthen your connection to your spiritual center, but you might not be aware of the positive impact such a connection can have on your mind and emotions.

A deep connection to your spiritual self helps elevate your consciousness above the mundane. Over time, you realize that you are less easily unsettled by minor problems or obstacles, and even big issues seem more manageable. In all of your experiences, you have a keen awareness that there is more to life than the little problems and obstacles you face each day, so you react to them calmly and confidently with a certain sense of detachment.

2) Think less, be more.

Our thoughts are always moving at such a rapid pace that spending too much time "in our heads" can leave us feeling scattered and stressed.

On the other hand, regular time spent in meditation helps us move out of our scattered thoughts and live our lives from a state of peace and well-being. Our thoughts are still there but we are no longer dwelling in them. We dwell instead in a quieter, softer place within us. As a result, everything in our daily experiences seems softer and calmer too.

3) Spirituality and self-esteem.

Surprisingly, regular meditation can do wonders in healing low self-esteem and self-worth too. Once you have connected with the true beauty of your spiritual center, it's hard to get upset over minor flaws. Along with inner peace comes a genuine sense of self-love and acceptance. And the longer you continue to meditate, the brighter your inner radiance will grow. Before long, you see yourself in a completely different way than you used to.

No longer are you a flawed, frightened, lowly human � but a gorgeous, confident extension of divine love. Not surprisingly, you are not the only one who benefits from this transformation. You share this same spiritual essence with everyone you encounter and help affect positive change in the world.

The greatest thing about these benefits is that you don't have to make them happen on your own, they simply happen naturally through the regular practice of meditation. These benefits (and many more) are the natural result of being deeply connected to your inner core. Simply set aside some time to quiet your thoughts on a regular basis and watch the magic happen in every area of your life.

Detoxify And Cleanse Your Whole Self (589 words)

If you think about it, our bodies are a lot like refrigerators. They come in all sizes, configurations and colors, and they hold our food and drink for utilization at the necessary time. And like refrigerators, our bodies occasionally get overcrowded, filled with stale or overripe food, and in need of a good scrubbing from the inside out. Over time, toxins can build up in our system, digestion becomes sluggish, and we begin to feel generally ill. Surprisingly, many people don't realize that what goes on in our gut can affect the rest of our body.

The road to feeling better is as simple as detoxifying and cleansing your system on a regular basis. Some common and less serious conditions that may be helped by an occasional detox include constipation, intestinal cramping, frequent urinary infections and even chronic bad breath. Symptoms of the more serious digestive disorders like Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn's Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome may also be relieved. However, detoxifying is in no way intended to treat or cure any disorders that require proper medical care.

Detoxifying your body can be as simple or complex as you make it. If you're frequently ill, eat on the run, or have digestive issues, a complete colon cleansing may be required to feel your best again. However, if you eat well and rarely get sick, you can cleanse by simply taking part in a 48-hour fast consisting of clear liquids. Just remember you are trying to rid your body of toxins and balance out the natural bacteria in the gut. Many cleansing products on the market help you accomplish this by flushing the kidneys, reviving the liver's functions, and restoring the bacterial balance. Your body will thank you for the cleaning, trust me.

That's a great start to get you moving back to wellness, but it's not just your body that needs occasional cleaning. When was the last time you detoxed your mind?

Do you ever find it difficult to concentrate? Do you constantly berate yourself for your "failures" or neglect caring for yourself properly? If you have spent years besieged by negative or limiting thoughts, holding on to old grudges, emotional traumas and generally thinking badly about yourself, you probably have a lot of mental toxins that interfere with your day to day performance.

Clearing these toxins out of your mind can be as simple as going on a "negativity fast" for a few weeks. Do your best to turn away from negativity in all forms. Avoid spending time with people who leave you feeling stressed or drained. Turn off the evening news and invest that time into reading positive material. If you absolutely must find out what's happening in the world, do a quick skim of the headlines on a major news network website � but do not read any of the stories unless there is a compelling reason why you need to do so. After a few days of this, you'll quickly realize that the majority of stories don't affect you personally and you really aren't missing anything by avoiding them.

Once your mind begins to clear, you'll probably realize just how deeply enmeshed in negative thought patterns you really were. After a week or two of more positive thought patterns, you'll likely find yourself feeling lighter and happier on a regular basis, nurturing your spirit and making your self-care a priority.

Cleansing Affirmation: I release all thoughts, feelings and habits that detract from my inner well-being. I embrace everything that makes me feel alive, energetic and happy.

Take It All In: Breathe Deep (623 words)

Breathing is one of life's most basic necessities. Adults take in an average of almost 25,000 breaths each day, and that's just at rest. While it's true that most of us don't stop to think about the breathing we do each day, it's important to recognize the health benefits of doing so. Take in a breath right now. It comes so naturally, doesn't it? You may not realize that you can greatly improve the way you feel inside and out, just by consciously controlling how you breathe, for even as little as an hour each day.

When you breathe in the air around you, your lungs transfer the oxygen into your blood. This oxygen is necessary for life's building block, our cells, to live and create within us. When you breathe out, carbon dioxide and other metabolic wastes are removed from the blood and back out into the air. For those with impaired respiratory function, such as cardiac patients or asthma sufferers, the result of improper breathing is a catastrophic build-up of toxins and extremely low levels of oxygen in the blood. The good news is that even those of us with impaired respiration can benefit from intentionally controlling our breathing.

Through maximizing each of your breaths in and out, you can increase the oxygen and minimize the wastes in your blood. To do this, sit up straight and tall, allowing your lungs room to fully expand with each breath in. Relax, and breathe in deep and slow, to the count of four. Don't just "nose breathe." Look down and watch your chest rise up and out as you fill your lungs, and then hold it for the count of two. Slowly release the toxins back out to another count of four. Your goal is 6 breaths per minute. Practicing this "yoga-style" breathing just an hour a day will increase your blood oxygen levels, something some scientists believe leads to greater heart and overall health.

Even beyond the physical benefits, proper breathing can have a powerful effect on your spiritual and mental well-being. Shallow, rapid breathing often accompanies a state of stress and anxiety, even if we're not consciously aware of feeling pressured. As a defense mechanism, stress and tension cause us to "constrict," not only our breath but every part of our bodies.

Unfortunately, this constriction also greatly dampens our creativity, inspiration, mental clarity and more. If we stay in this repressed state for too long, we find ourselves feeling increasingly confused, spacey and disconnected from our center � which only makes us feel more stressed and constricted, and the vicious cycle continues indefinitely.

Proper breathing not only refreshes and energizes your body; it also connects you more deeply with your spiritual self. In fact, you may be surprised to know that the word "spirit" is derived from the Latin word, "spiritus" which means "breath". Many cultures and spiritual traditions around the world revere controlled breathing as a crucial aspect of spiritual ascension and connection with universal forces.

You may not think that spiritual fullness has much to do with your day to day life, but consider the difference between feeling scattered and depleted, or enjoying abundant creative inspiration, joy and peace. Being connected and fulfilled spiritually makes everything in your life seem to flow more easily. When you breathe properly, mental confusion is cleared away, your intuition is awakened, and every moment is infused with a welcome sense of clarity and purpose.

So go ahead, take it all in. Breathe deeply, love deeply, live deeply.

Breath Affirmation: I breathe in clarity and creativity. I breathe out fear and worry. I breathe in joy and abundance. I breathe out scarcity and stress. I embrace the flow of abundant wellness and peace within me.

Fuel Up With Fresh And Unprocessed Foods (662 words)

Just like a diesel engine that will not run on unleaded gasoline, our bodies cannot run optimally without feeding it the proper fuel. Nutrition is as important to our wellness as is drinking clean water and breathing unpolluted air. Most fitness professionals know this, and many of them dedicate their lives to eating clean, which in part means eliminating foods that are processed, overly-refined and calorie dense. The emphasis is on fresh and local produce, lean protein and complex carbohydrates. High-fat and sugar-laden foods are avoided, as is alcohol.

There are many reasons why you should take care when choosing the food you put into your body. Besides eliminating saturated fats in order to maintain a healthy body weight, there is also the issue of getting enough nutrients and avoiding unhealthy food additives. The goal of optimal nutrition is to get all you need from your food, without having to supplement with vitamins. Think about what's in the food you usually eat. Processed foods will be filled with man-made chemicals, many of which have been linked to thyroid disease, diabetes, and even muscular dystrophy.

For optimum wellness, choose foods that have been touched as little as possible by man. This means choosing fresh fruit and vegetables, whole or unrefined carbohydrates, hormone-free meats and dairy, and natural sugars such as honey or stevia. Foods from an organic or wild environment are best, and be sure to avoid trans-fats (fats listed as partially hydrogenated). Choosing your food-fuel this way will help eliminate added chemicals and preservatives, while allowing your body to receive all the nutrients Mother Nature's bounty has to offer.

At the same time, carry this same concept into other areas of your life by considering the quality of your daily activities and experiences. Do you spend time with positive, productive people regularly? Or do you find yourself surrounded by negative, judgmental people who leave you feeling drained? Are you fulfilled by your work, or do you spend much of your day feeling bored and uninspired? Do you make time for creative pursuits, spiritual connection and personal development on a regular basis? Or are you so busy taking care of everyone else's needs that you neglect your own?

Just like poor quality food results in physical deficiencies, constant pressure and dissatisfaction from our life experiences will deplete us mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

The greatest challenge is knowing where to start to improve the quality of our lives. It's overwhelming to contemplate improving our diets, changing careers, creating a new spiritual practice and more - but we don't have to do it all at once!

Start by reviewing how you feel about the major parts of your life: physical health, mental attitude, relationships with your spouse and family, social connections, career path, financial situation, and spiritual practice. How satisfied are you with these areas? Rate them on a scale of 1 to 10, ten being very satisfied and one being not satisfied at all.

With any area that rated high for dissatisfaction, consider just one thing you can do to help improve it. It might be as simple as reducing your sugar intake, making one new friend, applying for a better job, telling your spouse you love him or her, and so on.

Small changes can add up to big results if done consistently over time. As you begin to "clean up" one area of your life, don't be surprised if you suddenly feel inspired to do more simply because it makes you feel so good to be making positive changes. However, try to avoid taking on too much at once because burning yourself out is one sure way to fall back into old habits. Simply take it one step at a time, one day at a time and before long you should see some wonderful changes taking place before your eyes.

Quality Affirmation: I honor myself with high quality nourishment on all levels. My body, mind and spirit deserve the best of everything.

Meditation in Times of Crisis (455 words)

Meditation is most often used on an incremental basis to help prevent and relieve stress or develop a deeper spiritual connection, but did you know that you can also use meditation techniques to handle an emotional crisis when you need to feel better quickly? It does help if you're familiar with meditation before attempting these techniques, but they can work moderately well even for beginners.

Before we get to the techniques, it's important that you strengthen your resolve to use them in the first place, which is not always easy to do when you're feeling unsettled or frightened by a crisis. Most of us are used to blindly reacting to our outer circumstances without a thought of how we might better handle them. However, in order for these techniques to work, you'll need to be willing to distance yourself from turbulent emotions long enough to choose a different response. Doing that might take a bit of willpower and practice, but like any habit the more you do it, the more natural it will feel.

Begin by practicing saying phrases like these as often as you can: "It's okay, I can handle this. I'm strong enough to handle this. Everything is going to be okay." These calming words will trigger your emotions to begin shifting from fear and agitation to peace and acceptance, even if the transition is a bit shaky at first. Even if you haven't been practicing these calming statements for long, you may still notice that they help you feel more settled.

Enhance the calming effect even further by taking slow, steady, deep breaths. When we find ourselves in a tense situation we automatically begin breathing quickly and shallowly, which only keeps us feeling tense and constricted. If you instead make a conscious decision to slow and deepen your breathing, you'll notice that the rest of your body begins to relax, and your emotions will also follow suit.

Finally, close your eyes for just a few moments and consciously release turbulent thoughts and emotions. Imagine that your mind is an empty vessel, and try to keep it that way for a few minutes. This can be incredibly helpful because our natural impulse is to focus obsessively on the situation that has upset us � which keeps us locked into a cycle of negative thought and negative emotion. If you take just a few minutes to break the circuit and clear your mind, you create a space for peace and calm to enter.

Just minutes after beginning these techniques you should feel much calmer, more optimistic, and able to handle whatever comes your way. Then you can focus on possible solutions to the problems, or simply work on coping if that's the only available option.

Physical Forms of Meditation (572 words)

Meditation is most often considered an inactive process of quieting your mind and engaging with stillness, but there are also several ways to use physical activity to enter a meditative state. Both types of meditation can be incredibly effective in inspiring a sense of peace, harmony and well-being, but they differ greatly in their approach.

Mental meditation involves sitting quietly and focusing on your breathing or a soothing mantra, or emptying your mind by disengaging from your conscious thoughts. Physical meditation at first glance seems to be the complete opposite because your body will be in motion the entire time, but the mental result of peace and stillness is very much the same.

If sitting quietly in silence has always been difficult for you, you may want to explore various forms of physical meditation instead. In fact, you have probably engaged in physical meditation before and not even realized you were doing so!

Here are a few of the most common types of physical meditation activities:

1) Walking.

Walking is not only good for your body; it helps clear your mind too! Repeatedly placing one foot in front of the other while you breathe deeply and observe your surroundings can be incredibly meditative. Just a few minutes of this can melt away weeks' worth of tension.

Start by choosing a pleasant location, like a park or pretty tree-lined street; lace up your walking shoes, grab a bottle of water and you're ready to go. As you walk, try to avoid thinking too much. Instead, do your best to set your conscious thoughts aside and focus instead on the sensation of your muscles flexing, and oxygen flowing in and out of your lungs. Or tune into your surroundings more completely and focus on the beauty of the landscape, sky and wildlife.

2) Dance.

Dancing is more often considered a recreational pursuit, but it can also be quite relaxing and hypnotic in its ability to distance you from fear and worry.

For stress relief and strengthening your spiritual connection, choose slow, soothing music and move your body gently and smoothly too. Set your conscious thoughts aside and focus only on moving your body along with the music. In no time at all you should feel refreshed and renewed � just as you would from a mental meditation session.

3) Hobbies and menial work.

You may not consider hobbies and chores to be meditative, but they are powerful in their ability to move you from a state of thinking to a state of "being" � and that's exactly what meditation does! The next time you engage in any physical activity like cleaning, yard work, hobbies or organizing, make a point of focusing your attention fully on it. Let go of worries and scattered thoughts and immerse yourself fully in the act of moving your hands and body. As you do so, you are releasing stress, calming your thoughts and entering a stress-free state that will stay with you for hours.

Nearly any physical activity can be turned into a meditative experience, as long as it's one you don't have to focus intently on. (Obviously, driving and skydiving wouldn't be good candidates for physical meditation.) With ordinary activities, however, simply get into the habit of stepping outside the flow of your conscious thoughts and allow yourself to settle into a state of calm, steady movement � and you'll be meditating! See, it was easier than you thought, wasn't it?

Invigorate Your Life With Movement (690 words)

Most people love it or hate it. Even for those who love it, it often took weeks of daily practice to reach the point at which it became enjoyable. Yes, I'm talking about exercise. If you haven't incorporated some form of daily movement into your life, it's time to get moving! Studies show it takes just 21 consecutive days of repeating an activity to make it a habit, and exercise is a great habit to get into.

Incorporating movement into your daily activity is important for the overall health of your body. Increasing your heart rate strengthens your circulatory system, while the increased oxygen intake and muscle use provide benefits both inside and out. A lack of exercise in your routine may be the cause of your sluggishness, depression, physical weakness and weight gain. Studies also link sedentary lifestyles to diabetes, coronary disease, and increased risk of cancer and stroke. You can see how just a small amount of movement can be so beneficial.

So exactly how much exercise do we need? Generally the recommendation is one hour of activity per day, more if you are trying to lose weight. How much exercise you need depends upon how much basic movement you already incorporate into your day. A person on their feet all day at their job will need less than someone who sits and types all day. An easy but effective goal would be to walk 10,000 steps per day, using a step-counter. Adding movement in this way makes it fun, much less tedious than exercise. However, the health benefits are just as great � the benefits of walking include more energy, a better mood, a gain in muscle and extra burned calories. It's a simple change that can add noticeable and lasting change.

If the thought of walking 10,000 steps a day doesn't excite you, how about dancing 10,000 steps? Dancing is one of the best (and most fun) ways to get moving and invigorate your body, and the benefits extend well beyond physical wellness to include spiritual fulfillment too. In fact, dance is an important part of many spiritual traditions. In cultures all around the world, dance is used to inspire creativity, enhance awareness and connection with the divine, and even convey stories and ideas.

You can use dance in much the same way in your own life. Dance to express your heartache and disappointment. Dance to relieve stress. Dance away your fear and anxiety � and dance to call in a sense of joy and well-being!

Here are a few simple ways to get started:

First, forget trying to dance perfectly. Many of us have adopted a belief that we shouldn't do something until we can do it perfectly, but the only way to improve our skills is to do it often, right? Don't worry about how well you are dancing. Let go of negative thoughts and focus on how dancing makes you FEEL. Concentrate on letting your movements soothe and inspire you, energize and excite you.

Dance by yourself, or with others. If you feel self-conscious about dancing in front of other people, wait until you have some time alone at home. Then close the drapes, put on your favorite music and dance to your heart's content. As you become more comfortable with dancing alone, you may want to branch out and go dancing with your spouse or friends.

You may find that different kinds of music inspire different moves (and moods). If you want to purge anger or frustration from your body, you might choose music with a heavy, intense beat like rock or techno. If you're feeling joyful and lighthearted, you might choose classical or new age music to enhance the mood.

Whether you dance, walk, bicycle, skate or engage in any other kind of physical activity, find a way to stimulate your mind and spirit at the same time. As you do, exercise ceases to be a chore and instead becomes a valuable vehicle for stress relief, spiritual exploration and self-expression.

Movement Affirmation: I flow with the rhythm of love, joy and beauty within me. My body, mind and spirit move harmoniously as one.