// Visualize the Prize //

Ever want something so bad that you think you are going to explode?  Well, then you should be visualizing it!
I can remember laying in bed in high school, the night before a big soccer game, and visualizing myself doing something totally awesome.  Sometimes, my visualization would be something that I had never even done!  I just pictured myself doing it and then did it!
When Christian and I were struggling with my infertility, I would just visualize us with a family, and how we would be... and we made it happen through the wild process of adoption.
Two years ago when my husband suggested that I create a journal for people to use like the one that I use for myself, I had to visualize it.  I had to picture myself running a business, calling on retailers, designing covers, and formatting layouts.
I truly believe that if you want something, you have to VISUALIZE it.

How? It is really simple -
- sit down in a quiet space
- close your eyes, scan your brain left and right, then find center
- in that center, create the image - whatever it is
- focus on it, put yourself in with it, watch yourself doing something incredible
- when you are satisfied with how far you went, get up, and go do it!

The mind is everything.  What you think, you become.

Buddha

xoxo

Katie

// Favorite Meditation App ~ Headspace //

It's Meditation Monday!  Today I am sharing my ultimate favorite app for meditation - Headspace.
I love this app because it offers easy, guided, ten minute meditations.  The Headspace guru, Andy, walks you through the process helping you to get the most out of it and it doesn't hurt that he has the voice of an angel.

One suggestion that he makes in the very beginning is to make meditation a habit - so you should choose a time to do it everyday.  For me, I do my meditations in the morning.  I start my coffee and head over to our sitting area and launch the app. Ever since I started spending my first ten minutes of the day in meditation, I have felt a HUGE difference in my mind and how I carry on with my day.
Meditation clears my mind allowing more space for creativity.  After I finish my meditation, my brain feels ALIVE!  It is like I can feel all the synapses firing giving me clarity, ideas, and happiness.  Then I go to my journal and set my intentions for the day :)

Headspace has a super clean design and the interface is very user friendly... oh, and it is FREE!  When you first start the app, it gives you a great animated tutorial on how to start.  Then, you begin with the 10 minute exercises.  Once you complete your first ten, then you can begin unlocking deeper meditation experiences.  The deeper experiences focus on health, relationships, and other topics that you do eventually have to subscribe to and pay for.  Some of those topics get even more specific -some focusing on addiction and even creativity.  Get this, they also have a kids series!

The benefits of mediation have been well researched and science backs it up.  Headspace promises that you will smile more, have better focus, stress less, love better, eat better, and best of all, sleep better.  I promise you that it is all true!

Go download it and let me know what you think!

xoxo

Katie

// Meditation Monday //

Mondays are hard.  That is why we are going to start a new series on the blog ~ Meditation Mondays!
We hope to share some of our favorite tips and inspiration for stress free meditating and how your prayer and gratitude journal can assist in documenting it!

First and foremost, ANYONE can meditate.  You do not have to be in the lotus pose in a cave in Nepal to be able to benefit from the practice - although that sounds awesome!

In our Praise & Petition Journals, I have created a space for a morning meditation and mind setting activity each day.  I think it is SO important to command your mornings.  I am strongly against rolling out of bed and looking at my phone or reading emails.  I have found that waking before everyone else, heading downstairs, getting a cup of coffee and spending about 10-15 minutes alone in peace and quiet helps me set the stage for my day.  Most days I use this space to write what I am feeling but other days I may feel overwhelmed and decided to meditate and journal that experience there.  Once I am done with my morning practice, then I read emails.  Reading them after meditation makes you more proactive, not reactive.  Command your day!

Here are three tips that can help make meditation less intimidating :

1 ~ It only takes a few minutes
You do not have to set aside thirty minutes for meditation... you can achieve huge results in just five!  I rarely time myself, I just start and stop when I am ready.

2 ~ Any position will do
Please people, you do not have to be in some special pose.  The commonly used "lotus pose" is only recommended because it helps you keep your focus and keeps your lungs in the best breathing position.  You can benefit from meditation while standing, laying down, or sitting in a chair at work!

3 ~ Just focus on breathing
The hardest part about meditating when I first started was clearing my thoughts!  I felt anxious just sitting still when I had a million things to do.  The best way to stay on track and clear your mind is to BREATHE.  Focus on breathing, pay attention to how it feels, take note of your lungs expanding and contracting, envision air moving through your body and feeding your organs.  Envision light bright air entering in your body and dark air moving out. After a minute or two, you will see a huge difference.


So, there you go!  Three easy tips for meditating.  Try them out and let me know what you think!


xoxo

Katie