But What Now?

Hello from my hotel room in Portland, Oregon! I’m here on business again, or rather I’m somewhere on business again, and again, not doing a very good job of taking care of myself.

Last night before I went to sleep, while feeling overly stuffed after having dinner with my team, I wrote a list of five things that I have done, or am currently doing, that help me feel more centered and healthy.

1. Meditation

I have been meditating on and off for many years, using a variety of different techniques and tools. There are lots of books on the market to help get a deeper understanding of what meditation is.

The two I recommend the most are Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD (he has a companion CD set which I own and have used called Guided Mindfulness Meditation) and Insight Meditation by Joseph Goldstein.

Joseph Goldstein & Sharon Salzberg also offer Insight Meditation: A Step-By-Step Course on How to Meditate that I think I may consider myself once I am retired and have the time

I almost signed up for Transcendental Meditation because I had heard such wonderful things about it for so many years, until the woman doing the orientation wanted $2500 from me to learn it.

A few years ago my partner and I learned Deepak Chopra’s Primordial Sound Meditation. We invited a local teacher to come to our home and do the teaching. It took 2 sessions each taking about 2 1/2 hours and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I still use the mantra to help me center and relax, although I have not been meditating on a daily basis, twice a day, as recommended by the program.

Most recently, I purchased a meditation program called, of all things, The Meditation Program. It uses binaural beat frequencies to gradually bring our minds to more and more relaxed states. I’m on the 2nd week and definitely feel more relaxed and stress free during and after listening. I also love the trance music woven around the beats.

2. Eating right

Isn’t that what we’re always told to do? What does it really mean? I think it means different things to different people. There are a lot of books and blogs about conscious eating. I think they’re probably useful, but what I have seen from most of them is what to eat rather than how to eat. Of course, eating whole, natural foods is much better for us than eating processed and fried foods, so when I am eating out I do my best to eat healthy food. Sometimes I love a hamburger, fries, and a beer, though.

For me, especially on my heavy (pardon the pun) travel schedule, it means being conscious of what I’m eating so that I do not overeat. Last night I decided that I am going to get into the habit of saying a little “consciousness” prayer before I eat. This is my first stab at one!

I eat this food to become nourished, body, mind and spirit.
Each bite will be taken with full conscious awareness
While I enjoy all of the flavors, smells and tastes.
My higher intelligence is guiding me to know when my hunger is satisfied.
I give thanks to this meal.

3. Being present in the now

If you’re reading this, you’re probably aware of Eckhart Tolle and his teachings. Being in the now helps us get centered in every way, but the best benefit for me, when I can truly practice this, is being free from worry.

Worry is the state of thinking about something that didn’t go right in the past or something we’re afraid isn’t going to go right in the future. Worry is not our present reality. In fact, many of the times I’ve worried the most about something really going wrong, it turns out completely different. Then I wonder why I spent all that time worrying (and not sleeping, etc.).

4. Exercise

I know I feel so much better when I exercise regularly. Getting out and walking for a half hour to an hour a day is beneficial for many reasons. It gets me out of the house, away from my computer, and out into the sunshine (that is when there is sunshine in Seattle). My body feels energized and alive. Sometimes I will take conference calls while walking, which is my testimonial to Blackberries being not all bad.

Weight resistance training also has multiple benefits. It increases my metabolism, which in turn helps me burn more calories at rest. For every pound of muscle, we burn about 50 extra calories per day.

I have been working out on and off for most of my adult life. To get the best results, join a gym close to where you live. For most people, if you have to travel too far you won’t go.

I highly recommend an exercise program called Power of 10 : The Once-A-Week Slow Motion Fitness Revolution developed by Adam Zickerman, founder of Inform Fitness in New York City. The Inform Fitness site provides a wealth of information on how this works. What I love about it is that I go to the gym once or twice a week for 15 to 20 minutes each time and really get a good workout.

5. Know when and how to say no

If we want to stay centered, we can’t be all things to all people. Setting boundaries with others is vitally important to our health and well-being! Not only that, but we also cannot take on every project under the sun. This has been an issue for me. I love to learn and get information. There is just too much to learn all at once, though, and way too much information to take in. I have to decide what is most important and most beneficial and do those things.

I need to manage my time and projects at work, as well. I still think that Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is the best resource out there to help us become more effective and centered.