Here it is, the end of 2011 and the beginning of a New Year!  It is such a special time of the year, that we are reminded to stay awake to the powerful energy of transition.  It is an opportunity to learn lessons, to let go, to celebrate, and to step forward with intention.  As I do each year, I invite you to join me in a year end exercise.  Relax and reflect with me on the journey of the past year and all it has brought our way.   On New Year’s Eve I will sit down and journal.  These are the questions that I will answer and I invite you to do the same:

FOR 2011:

How have you been challenged?

How have you grown?

What experiences were new for you this past year?

What important lessons have you learned?

What will you let go of that no longer serves you?

How have you been blessed?

Who will you thank?

Take time to mindfully answer these questions and you will be rewarded with the depth and richness of life and inspired to move forward into the New Year with more clarity.

For 2012:

How will you become more mindful in 2012?

What states of being will you cultivate?

How will you most joyfully give your gifts to life?

What are your top 5 priorities and values for life going forward and how will you honor them?

What are your intentions for your health, relationships, career, creativity, adventures and joy in 2012?

How can you love more?

If you take the time to answer these questions, you will be richly rewarded with mindful purpose in the New Year.  And if you share your insights, thoughts, questions, or ideas – we will all be inspired!  Thank you and May you be blessed with a prosperous and joyful New Year!

TO DO lists help us remember and get things done.But have you noticed that often these lists are ever present in our minds?We’re always wondering what to do next, what we forgot to do, and what we need to add to the list?

How might it be if instead we were vigilant about a TO BE list?

Be present
Be compassionate
Be peaceful
Be joyful
Be alert

A TO BE list is not a list to check off the way we mark things DONE on a TO DO list, because Being is never done.We use the list to clarify our intentions for the NOW rather than to evaluate past performance.Our TO BE list reminds us of the choices we have every moment and inspires us to always put our best feet forward.In the words of the late Coach John Wooden, “It isn’t what you do, but how you do it.”

Choosing How to BE is perhaps more subjective than choosing What to DO and it’s more powerful in terms of quality of life. For example, charging ahead on a TO DO list frequently results in feeling rushed and overwhelmed, not enjoying the doing. In consciously choosing a state of Being like BE Alert, you will be surprised and enriched as you notice things unnoticed before. Choosing to BE Compassionate, many ordinary conversations become rich and meaningful.

Are you ready to really enjoy Getting Things Done? After all, you’ll be doing things on the list anyway, right? Try lining up your TO BE list right next to your TO DO list. Whenever you decide on the next thing to do, ask yourself “How will I BE in the doing of this?”

For example, if you need to contact a company about an error in your order, how do you want to be as you do it? Open? Relaxed? Understanding? Clear? If laundry is next, how do you want to be in the doing of it? Calm? Mindful? Playful?

Hint: Things like “BE productive” “BE perfect” violate the spirit of the TO BE list. BE careful what you choose to BE!

“I didn’t make any mistakes,
I just know a thousand ways not to make a light bulb.”
—- Thomas Edison

Looking for the life lessons in our challenging circumstances isn’t always easy, for sure. However when we do, we capture the gems of our lives that may have gone unnoticed. Sometimes, just facing the challenge is the lesson – we learn how to persevere.

Wishing you a Mindful Mother’s Day! Whether you are spending time with your Mother, with your children, with your spouse, with your friends, with your pets, at work, time alone, or all of the above, you may find the following meditation practice helpful in experiencing greater joy and peace, no matter what your mothering experiences have been. This practice can be particularly helpful for those who have some pain associated with motherhood, perhaps loss of a mother or loss of a child, or painful relationship issues.

This is the practice of Metta, which means Lovingkindness. What better way to describe the qualities of true mother-nature? Loving…kind…nurturing. To begin the meditation, take several slow deep breaths and let go of mental and physical tension on each outbreath. Make a conscious choice to set aside judgments, release all past stories about being a mother or having a mother and embrace the qualities of this meditation, even if it is just for now.

This abbreviated version of the original Metta meditation is simple, sweet, and powerful. We start by mothering ourselves, blessing ourselves with lovingkindness so that we have lovingkindness to share.

Slowly and peacefully, say silently or out loud:

May I be safe.
May I be happy.
May I be well.
May I be free.
Read more of Mother’s Day Mindfulness Meditation

Because of human conditioning to be mentally ‘anywhere but here’, we find it isn’t easy to simply be present. But when we can have just one moment of acceptance of ‘what is’, one moment of internal silence, one moment of mindfulness, one moment in the Now, there is an indescribable peace that we recognize as wisdom and truth.

Inspired by the words on my tea bag today: Where there is love, there is no question.

To support your mindful transition from 2009 to 2010….

Please share your favorite Tolle quotes – or any others!

Enthusiasm means there is a deep enjoyment of what you do plus the added element of a goal or a vision that you work toward. … You will feel like an arrow that is moving toward the target – and enjoying the journey.

Knowing yourself deeply has nothing to do with whatever ideas are floating around in your mind.  Knowing yourself is to be rooted in Being, instead of lost in your mind.

Joy does not come from what you do, it flows into what you do and thus into this world from deep within you.

No matter how active we are, how much effort we make, our state of consciousness creates our world, and if there is no change on that inner level, no amount of action will make any difference.

What you react to in another, you strengthen in yourself.

The source of all abundance is not outside you.  It is part of who you are….The acknowledgment of that abundance that is all around you awakens the dormant abundance within.  Read more of My favorite Eckhart Tolle quotes

Having trouble finding the perfect item for someone special? Need a thoughtful hostess gift? Looking for a way to share cheer at the office without exchanging one more round of Santa mugs and reindeer ornaments? Read more of Mindful Holiday Giving

“What you get by reaching your destination is not as important as what you become while reaching your destination.”

This quote from Dr. Robert Anthony is a good reminder that each moment is a precious opportunity to be completely mindful and present to the unfolding or our essence.  Perhaps the moments of “becoming” are actually the destination?  As Eckhart Tolle says – our primary goal is to be present to evolving consciousness, and everything else is secondary.

If Chicken Little showed up on your doorstep crying, “The Sky is Falling!  The sky is falling!” what would you say?  Would you jump right in and list your woes and fears, or would you help her change her perspective?  A little gratitude can go a long way toward changing perspective, as can helping others.  As part of my commitment to a Mindful Life Community, I will be hosting a FREE conversation titled “Bridge Over Troubled Water – An Emotional Survival Kit for Uncertain Times,” on Wednesday March 18.  I’d like you to be there!

I’d like to know ahead of time what specific emotional concerns the changing times are bringing up for you.  I’d also like to know how you are being called to Be the Change, to be a contribution in your own community right now.