mon. 3/31/08

okay, so monkey mind again this morning. i thought maybe it would be better to meditate first thing this a.m. to help avoid the monkey mind, but it was there again this morning. hummm, what's this about? i feel like the goal of meditation for me now is to learn to disregard the monkey mind until complete w/meditation as then i will be better suited to deal w/such manic-y thoughts, as it appears to be mostly anxiety... plus upon meditation a lot of the thoughts can be disregarded all together! how nice! i completed about 3 asana's and plan to complete p.m. meditation tonight prior to bed.

sun. 3/30/08

yikes, monkey mind is on the loose... it took all i had to complete my meditation this morning! any and everything kept coming to mind! this afternoon my husband, son, and i completed several asana's together. i really do enjoy doing this together as there are sooo many benefits for all of us. i did complete meditation right before bed too which was much easier than this morning, only issue this time was almost falling asleep while sitting up meditating. i do want to really put an effort in making sure i save energy for the night meditation as i like how it helps me to gently and purposively move into sleep. i'll keep trying so not to have to change my p.m. meditation time.

sat. 3/29/08

i completed only one meditation today and a couple of asana's. i didn't complete the evening one as i fell asleep on the couch upon watching my undergrad college, university of louisville get beat by unc tarheels. my son completed some asana's w/me today, that was fun!

fri. 3/28/08

i completed 2 meditations and went to another yoga class this morning where i completed many asana's. it was nice as my aunt met me there after much urging to go w/me. she loved it and complemented me on my practice. that was very nice. it does feel good to know i'm on the right path, though sometimes i forget this! i'm sure i'll get a great reminder if that continues not to be the case as that's how it always happens, at least for me. it's just that now the reminders don't have to be so big!

thurs. 3/27/08

i completed 2 meditations and many asanas as i went to a new yoga class today and liked it a lot... still going well though i am experiencing some resistance in the evening meditation as i'm so tired at night so i may have to change yet again my 2nd meditation time.

tues. 3/25/08

i completed a.m. but not p.m. meditation, i also completed a couple of asanas. didn't get to go to my regular yoga class as jon and i attended our local county democratic meeting. we definately enjoyed this... mom offered to keep our son overnight so we had a sort of date night which was wonderful!

wed. 3/26/08

i completed morning meditation and it was wonderful! i missed it! i can't wait to get to a yoga class today too! i completed 6-8 asanas after meditation and will complete evening meditation tonight, i forgot how beneficial it is...

mon. 3/24/08

confession, i didn't meditate today. i did complete asanas but it just didn't work out. i woke up and usually it's first thing i do however jon was out of work and home working on his school work when i awoke. then last night i fell asleep on the couch watching a movie. wow, i didn't realize how attached i am to that routine. okay, sorry...

sun. 3/23/08

okay, so no morning meditation today as we were up and in church by 7 a.m. for sunrise easter service. i did get one in however that evening. another busy day as i hosted easter lunch and it was so fun!

sat. 3/22/08

so i did morning but not evening meditation. i had family in town for the holidays and i found it very difficult as once everyone was gone i was exhausted and went straight to bed. i did get in a couple of asanas during the day though!

fri. 3/21/08

i completed meditations a.m. and p.m. and about 6 asanas. i had friends and family over for dinner, very fun!

thurs. 3/20/08

happy spring!!! right? it's spring equinox, yes? anyway, i completed morning meditation and approx. 4-5 asana's. i was planning to go to joyce's yoga studio for yoga this evening however i will have to use my "5 day pass for the month" instead... oh, well, better luck next week! jon and i plan to attend the kickoff mtg. of the unifour democrats in hickory this evening and i will complete my 2nd meditation of the day tonight before going to bed as these times seem to work best for me... easy does it for me today, happy spring!

wed. 3/19/08

so yesterday was very exciting! in addition to completing both meditations and 4-5 asanas my son and i went to see barack obama speak in charlotte! it was all spur of the moment and totally God... i have to also give credit to my time w/meditating and asanas as i know i wouldn't have listened and found out about this opportunity if i'd not been practicing as i would've been too "noisy" to hear.

it was a little after 2pm yesterday and that little, gentle voice (i know this to be God) inside my heart/head told me to turn on CNN. i'd been listening to obama's speach on race, etc. prior so was keen on his goings and comings for the day. about 3-5 minutes after turning on CNN (thanks to God's prompt) cooper anderson came on, he was live and aboard a plane w/barack just leaving fayetteville and heading for charlotte! he stated obama would be speaking at 3:30pm at the grady cole center! i got so excited and told my son (3 yoa) that we were going to see barack obama! he said "yeah! he'll be so happy when we tell him we painted his house!" (he and i had painted the new unifour democrats headquarters on sat. and all day there he kept talking about painting for "arock obama"... anyway, i called a few folks on the way and found that you were supposed to have tickets however i knew we would get to see him. sure enough, we got there about 5 minutes after he started speaking and we got to go in! it was so awesome and i was so excited that my son and i got to witness this wonderful piece of history!

i have no doubt that in the past i would've dismissed that quite, gentle voice or may not have heard it at all if it were not due to regular meditation and asana's/yoga in addition to my prayer and worship habits. all of these combined have made huge, positive differences in mine and my family's life in a very short amount of time and i can't wait to see what else is in store!

tues. 3/18/08

again, i continue to start feeling the flow in this newly forming habit of daily meditation and asana's... i completed one med. session in the morning and one last night before retiring... i also had quite a bit of meditation in my yoga class yesterday, it was wonderful and very enlightening... very gentle and healing. i'm so thankful God has shown me all of these tools to aid in a much more peaceful, serene, and solid foundation for growth in Him and each other!

mon. 3/17/08

so, sunday night i did complete meditation prior to going to sleep... monday morning and monday night before going to bed i completed meditation. i'm noticing it is becoming more and more natural and continues to aid in contentment and peace throughout my daily doings. i completed 1 asana.

sun. 3/16/08

i didn't do morning meditation this morning as it would've made us all late for church (as we all overslept this morning, all that yoga and painting for barack:-) ofcourse we pray and meditate at church too but it's not the same. i have mixed feelings about having to skip it this morning but ultimately am not going to be hard on myself about this as i realize i'm in the midst of forming a new habit of regular meditation. though i understand the importance of doing it at the same time each day, i also understand the importance of going w/the flow so, i went w/the flow and was able to get my alone meditation in just moments ago. my intention is to try some asana's in just a moment (before cooking dinner) and then do another meditation tonight before bed. i think i really like the first thing in the morning and last thing at night as it seems to help "seal" the day and pave the way for the next... still having difficulty knowing when it's been 10 minutes but, that's okay too, as it really isn't the point, the time w/God is!

sat. 3/15/08

what a day packed full of yoga! i completed 2 yoga classes (one alone, the second was w/jon and ian as it was kid yoga) today! it was wonderful. also completed 3 meditations today... afterward ian and i volunteered at the newly forming unifour democrats (burke, caldwell, alexander, and catawba county democrat headquarters) in downtown hickory. we painted for about 5 hours and had a wonderful time! ian kept talking about how we were painting for "arock obama", he made me very proud and i delighted that we shared this time together! he said obama will be so happy when he see's what we've done! i'm sure he will;-)!!!

fri. 3/14/08

so after i read ian 3 stories i knew i only had enough left in me to do the meditation and not enough to journal too. on fri. i completed both meditations, one in the a.m. and one in the p.m. completed. i completed a quarter of the standard session asana's and am excited to get to the point that i have it memorized and can teach. i plan to teach my husband...

thurs. 3/13/08

so, i'm actually typing this on fri. b/c thurs. was just a day packed full of fun... jon's b-day, friends and family over, nice out to eat, and much more!!! i thought i was not going to be able to get my second meditation in however i tried a new time (by default) which was immediately before going to sleep... ian and jon were falling asleep, as we were all in bed, and i just sat up and did it. i loved it! it really helped me to fall asleep easily as opposed to maybe a bit more tossing and turning that would've followed instead (as i wasn't totally ready to go to sleep as the other two in the house). i felt so content and calm upon laying back down and quickly went to sleep. normally, that could've been a night of racing thoughts (definately would've been in the very recent past, before leaving my job). anywho, thankfully, it's not the case now!!!

although i'm quickly reaping and recognizing the benefits of regular time w/God through meditation i'm still experiencing some resistance (psychologically, and i'm sure ultimately spiritually). i'm very aware of this as i always do this (as far back as i can remember) when newly forming habits that are good for me... too bad i don't have this problem when forming new not-so-good for me habits;-) regardless, it's definately needed for myself, family, and all who are around me so, i'll keep it up. speaking of which, i'm gonna break, do my second meditation for today (fri. 3/14/08) and then i'll be right back to write about that (if all goes as planned ;-)...

wed. 3/12/08

okay, so i did both 10 minute sessions of meditation, once first thing this morning upon reading my devotional and the second just now (approx 5p) before ian get's up from his nap. i also completed about 6 asanas. i feel so much better upon meditation. i found myself getting very frantic about money as i'm currently not bringing in any income and i just took care of some bills and we're just going to bearly get through this month. if it weren't for credit cards we wouldn't be making it. i do feel calmer now though and know that we will make it. the time w/God reminds me of that. i'm glad to be starting this set time w/God, God knows i need it!!!

tues. 3/11/08

i did meditation later in the day today so i was kind of not looking forward to it as it seemed more of a chore as opposed to doing so right when i wake up. however i was so glad i did as afterward i was so relaxed, focused and positive in mood. i am going to yoga class this evening so i'll do my asanas in class.

also today, i realized i was supposed to be doing meditation 10 minutes 2 times x day and i thought it was once x day so now i have to make sure to wake up early. yesterday i meditated first thing in the morning as i woke up before ian, however today we woke up at the same time. i did it during his nap and after getting over a little resistance it was very nice! i know night won't work. okay, that's all for today!

mon. 3/10/08

this morning i completed meditation and 4-5 asanas... though the meditation was a bit more difficult at home i am very glad i did this. it really makes a difference in my ability to focus and be grateful...

looks like it's gonna be a beautiful day for being outside!