Over the last month, we have meditated with all five senses. Today, I have provided for you a guided meditation that will simply use your mind. Listen to the audio to see where this meditation takes you.

This month we have been studying different meditations that cover all 5 senses.  This week we will be doing a walking meditation to concentrate on our tactile senses.  

Watch the video to learn more. 

I suggest you take off your shoes and find a soft patch of grass to walk on. You will be connecting to the Earth. 

Ever so slowly, start taking small steps from the heel to the toe. You could do this with your eyes open or closed. The most important thing is to really feel each blade of grass on your feet, connect to the Earth, and get grounded. 

You don’t have to travel far. It’s more about being slow and methodical. If you would prefer, you could count to 100 while taking these small steps. I highly recommend  you end your walk at a tree and give it a hug, There is a lot of energy there. 

Enjoy your walking meditation this week.

Today we're going to meditate on focusing our attention on a picture. This could be a photograph, or something that's painted. For the purpose of this video, we're going to focus on this Van Gogh painting. Watch the video below to learn more.

You need to really look at the painting. It might sound strange, but you are going to ask the painting, “What are you trying to tell me?”

First, you want to start with the big picture. Notice the clouds and how they go all the way across a portrait. Notice the extra green patch that is in the middle, the hills, and the flowers that are in front (if that's what you interpret the red dots to be).

Now, I want you to walk closer, so you can see the detail of the colors. Notice the yellows, the greens, the purples, the blues, and the different shades that are present.

Before I did not see what I interpreted to the right side as possibly a bush. Maybe you didn't interpret the lines in the middle as a farmer's field. You could now interpret the base of the painting as the wind blowing through the grass.

Now, get even closer. Pick a square inch and look at the delicate brushstrokes that the artist has given you. Really look at the art, meditate on it, find what the artist was trying to tell you, and speak to it.

Give yourself 10 minutes to focus. See how many colors and designs you can see. You will feel more peaceful when you're done.

For the month of October, I am going to focus on meditation. I want to dedicate this to my dermatologist who is having a hard time slowing down. Watch the this video to learn about alternate nostril breathing to slow your racing mind or anxious body.

This technique is relatively simple. You will use your thumb and ring finger or pinkie.(your hand will look like the Y shape) to close off different sides of your nose. Start by placing your ring finger or pinkie on your left nostril and breath in on the right side of your nose for the count of four.

Next, close the right side of your nose with your thumb and breath out through the left side for the count of four. Hold for two seconds and breath in on the same (left) side. Close the left side with your finger, open the right side to breath out. Hold for two seconds and breath in for the count of four.

Move again to the left side to breath out and then in pausing between each breath.

If you would like to add to the practice, place your pointer and middle finger between your eyebrows. This represents the third eye which is our connection to the Universe and our sixth sense. Do the same exercise as above with your thumb and ring finger. If you so choose, you can close both nostrils and hold between each out and in breath.

Continue this exercise for 3-5 minutes. I guarantee you will feel more relaxed than when you started.

Alternate nostril breathing is a popular yogic meditation practice. In sanskrit it is called nadi shodhana pranayama which translates to "subtle energy clearing breathing technique."

This simple exercise can decrease your anxiety, calm your body and take you to a more peaceful state of mind. Watch the video below to learn how to relax your mind and body.

When you are feeling stressed, give yourself the opportunity to do this simple breathing exercise to get you back to a peaceful state of mind.

Meditation is an integral part of Spiritual growth. 

It also:

• Reduces stress 
• Controls anxiety
• Promotes emotional health
• Enhances self-awareness
• Lengthens attention span
• May reduce age-related memory loss
• Can generate kindness
• May help fight addictions.

Below is a rain meditation I recorded during a vacation. 

Please read the instructions before you begin

When meditating:

• Find a comfortable seat in a quiet area
• Uncross your arms and legs
• Place palms on your lab palms up or down
• Close your eyes
• Breath in for 5 seconds, HOLD the breath for 2 seconds and then breath out for 5 seconds. Repeat this 5 times
• Once you are in a relaxed state, begin your meditation
• Focus on the picture or the sounds
• If your mind wanders, bring your focus back to the meditation
• When the video is complete, take 5 more deep breaths

Previously I talked about creating your vision statement. Well, I know you got that done. So now that you have it written down, you may be asking yourself, "What do I do with that?" The next step I want to encourage you to do is to start doing a visualization meditation.

The reason we do a visualization meditation is because we want to send as much energy as we possibly can to this dream which will bring it into our lives.

A great approach to this is to sit down. It does not matter if you’ve got a meditation pillow or you use a kitchen chair. Make sure it's quiet, and that you won't have any interruptions. Close your eyes. Then start the five, five, and five method which is breathe in slowly, for a count of five, hold it. Breathe out, slowly with the count of five, hold it, and do it five times. This will get you in a more calm and meditative state.

Once you feel relaxed and focused, start visualizing in your mind your vision statement that you just created. See yourself walking through the streets of Paris and then standing in line to go up the Eiffel Tower, sipping red wine while eating a seven course meal.

Or maybe you’re walking into your new house, opening up the front door, and seeing an open concept living room with a couch that seats twelve. You walk into the kitchen, see your partner cooking and smelling how good it is, and then sitting at the table to eat an amazing meal. You walk into the master bathroom and it is bigger and bigger than you ever thought it could be with marble counter tops and a spa like tub.

When you meditate about your vision, I want you to imagine it with all five senses. What are you eating? What are you smelling? What do you hear? Incorporate all five senses. Maybe you are walking along the beach and you feel the sand beneath your toes. You then sit down to drink your coffee, watching the radiant sun come into the sky.  You hear the waves splashing towards you. You see the beautiful picture of this place that you've created in your mind. You feel at peace because this is the life you want to live.

It’s important that you read your vision statement every day, but now I want you to sit down, be still and quiet, and visualize it with all five senses as if it's already there. You are getting yourself on the same energetic vibration of your dream so, it can quickly manifest into your life.