Let's Get Back in the Driver's Seat!

With Fall on the way, many of us are gearing up for our packed schedules to come.
I found this article and thought I'd share it with you.

Are you a "Passenger"?

Too much on your daily plate lands you in the passenger seat when you should be in the driver’s seat.

It’s easy to go through this fast-paced world feeling as if you are being dragged through your weeks on the back of a wild horse. Many of us go from one thing to another until we end up back at home in the evening with just enough time to wind down and go to sleep, waking up the next morning to begin the wild ride once more. While this can be exhilarating for certain periods of time, a life lived entirely in this fashion can be exhausting, and more important, it places us in the passenger’s seat when really we are the ones who should be driving.


When we get caught up in our packed schedule and our many obligations, weeks can go by without us doing one spontaneous thing or taking time to look at the bigger picture of our lives. Without these breaks, we run the risk of going through our precious days on a runaway train. Taking time to view the bigger picture, asking ourselves if we are happy with the course we are on and making adjustments, puts us back in the driver’s seat where we belong. When we take responsibility for charting our own course in life, we may well go in an entirely different direction from the one laid out for us by society and familial expectations. This can be uncomfortable in the short term, but in the long term it is much worse to imagine living this precious life without ever taking the wheel and navigating our own course.


Of course, time spent examining the big picture could lead us to see that we are happy with the road we are on, but we would like more time with family or more free time to do whatever we want at the moment. Even if we want more extreme changes, the way to begin is to get off the road for long enough to catch our breath and remember who we are and what we truly want. Once we do that, we can take the wheel with confidence, driving the speed we want to go in the direction that is right for us.


This article is printed from DailyOM - Inspirational thoughts for a happy, healthy and fulfilling day.

Meditation for Beginners

Top 10 Reasons to Meditate



1. Clear your head
2. Take a "power nap"
3. Be in touch with your amazing spirit
4. Unleash your creative potential
5. Hear amazing insights from your intuition
6. “Zone”
7. Release physical, mental, emotional and spiritual stress
8. Get away from it all
9. Allow your breathing rhythms to fully regulate themselves
10. Give your body and mind a complete oxygen bath


And there are so many more . . .


What's Simplest, Fastest, and Still Gives All These Benefits?

You can meditate in less than a minute...try this Centering exercise:


Settle back in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and count three full, deep, easy breaths to yourself. Now for these next several breaths as you inhale, say the phrase Let Be to yourself; and as you exhale, say the phrase Let Go to yourself. Be as fully present with all that happens as possible, and when you feel complete for now in this experience, gradually return to full, waking consciousness and open your eyes.


How Do You Feel?


See what comes up inside you in response to this question, noticing all your sensations. Fifteen minutes of meditating has been said by Dr. Herbert Benson, author of The Relaxation Response, to provide the equivalent of a full night's restful sleep. I might also add there are no side effects, it is FREE (and what in the world other than breathing these days is?), and there is no required certification, higher level degree, or additional equipment necessary than your own amazing mind and central will.


I rest my case, and your well-being, on your willingness to set your breath - and yourself free. Happy experimenting!