For years I have heard others suggest meditation as a tool for personal growth, self-discovery, enlightenment. For years I have ignored this topic. I felt that I was doing an adequate job managing my life, my challenges, along with my personal growth. So what changed? What prompted me to look into meditation and what I have learned and applied so far? Is there value to meditation? If so, what and how? This is the focus of this post, a sort of, “meditation for those who have ignored this topic.”

There are multiple levels or layers to self. The outermost layer is what we are most aware of. This is what we know about ourselves, or typically this is limited to what we see. Similar to the analogy of an iceberg (see image), we are conscious (portion of iceberg above the water), of only about 10% of who and what we really are. What lies beneath the surface represents our subconscious, or largely unaware of, which represents our beliefs, values, biases, prejudices, etc. This accounts for 90% of self, which is largely hidden from us, and requires a conscious effort to learn about our hidden self. It is what lies beneath the surface, our subconscious, that plays a major role in our behaviors and consequences. Hence the value of self-discovery is to undertand this connection so that we can change our unhealthy patterns, negative consequences, into more healthy beliefs and positive consequences. We are the cause of our own unhappiness which is so difficult to initially grasp!

Although turning 65 is just a number it was the psychological impact that “hit me like a Mack truck” (slang that shows my age). It represents entering the “home stretch” in life, asking a whole new set of questions, and confronting your mortality.

Why come to Earth? I share the following thoughts in my talk, “Welcome To Earth“, an orientation to the biggest adventure and most amazing journey we will experience in this life…Our Life Here On Earth! If we live in perfection in the afterlife, call it Heaven, Utopia, or whatever, why in heck would we come to […]

For those who work in companies, they are accustomed to the annual performance appraisal. This evaluation by your manager, if done well, is often used as a basis for raises, promotions, and continued development. We are measured on our performance and results compared to the goals we were assigned. Therefore this is considered to be […]

One of the toughest challenges for those that have experienced a lot of abuse, trauma or struggles in their life is finding joy and happiness. We become so accustomed to the struggle, that this is all we know. The absence of joy results in feeling depressed, sad, angry and unhappy. With this lack of genuine […]

Life is challenging at times. What I am continually reminded of, is that the only real thing I truly have under my control is my attitude. Attitude is a choice, something we can make every day, every moment. Not easy to remember at times when we feel we have been victimized by other’s choices or […]

“We learn our belief systems as very little children, and then we move through life creating experiences to match our beliefs. Look back in your own life and notice how often you have gone through the same experience.” -Louise L. Hay I was in my early thirties when a traumatic event in my life caused […]

How do people deal with difficult events that change their lives? The death of a loved one, loss of a job, serious illness, terrorist attacks and other traumatic events: these are all examples of very challenging life experiences. Many people react to such circumstances with a flood of strong emotions and a sense of uncertainty. […]

An up close and personal account of letting go.