Meditative Monday Series for 2019: Mental Clearing – Week 1 

The Jump-Start Process

Today marks the 1st of our 30-day challenge journey to learn how to become more reflective in 2019 and beyond. Why? Well, because becoming more reflective is empowering and it helps clear out the mental clutter that likely is slowing you down. Last week I asked you to consider whether or not you’re hauling too much weight.  This week kicks off a process of showing you how to do it.

Reflective is defined as being “capable of reflecting light or other radiation” according to Merriam-Webster et al., but simply put here I’m additionally not only reflecting outwards and drawing inwards, but the process of quieting our mind for the purpose of engaging in deep thought, and being thoughtful. So, I’ll begin this new year with you going forward by sharing a few of my favorite concepts, with the hopes that you can glean something from them that is equally useful in your life as well. For example, I love the concept and the notion that “Only in the Silence Can You Hear”.  No, it’s not from a fortune cookie… I’m a witness, this is so true!!

Have you ever dared to admit that your hauling way too much weight?  Specifically, have you tamed your to-do list? BTW, a lean, manageable, and S.M.A.R.T. to-do list is essential if you want to be happy. Have you Cleaned up your actual clutter, Become a habitual putter-awayer, Created your own sanctuary? Do you Eat, Sleep and Live Well, Are you truthfully only living in the present?  

Too personal? No?  Then, cut your teeth on pondering… do you have too many entanglements with other people, toxic relationships, or immersed in the lives of others but can’t figure out how to break free?  Jump in an where you think your struggling a bit and ask yourself “What were or are your biggest challenges with loving yourself enough to do what you knew or know is right for you?”

I know I’m rapid firing a lot of questions at you, but these process questions are a little something to get you started in this 30-day journey towards the mental clearing journey that I’m going to take you on to help you clear out any mental or emotional gunk and it’s associated clutter which will enable you to jumpstart your new year. I am hoping that this platform will encourage you to share your “Ah Ha Moments” right here in this blog or within my Instagram (IG) Forum.  And, if you think you or someone you know would find value in this processing and coaching experience that I am presenting to you who equally would find this journey useful, please invite them as well.  In the meantime, get ready to take some notes… I’m coming back at you!!

However, until then I have developed some very useful essential tools that you simply must have and begin implementing for what we are trying to do here.  These action steps will help you power through your mental cleanse along our journey together.  Now, if your interested, willing, and accept this challenge over the next week here is where you should begin…

PART ONE (1):

The Process Exercise –   

A) Select any one of the areas cited in today’s IG/FB Post here or begin with your own challenging area that you have already have identified at the conscious level of your awareness that is keeping your mind cloudy, your focus muddy, and/or that you suspect is keeping you stuck or not forward moving with your intentions.  Commit for yourself a place to sit uninterrupted quietly for 30 mins each day. It will set the tone for your practice, demonstrates the love you have for yourself, and will give you meditative space that will ultimately lead you into your subconscious connections as your practice develops over the next 30 days.

B) There are seven (7) things that I want you to keep track of in a journal. Over the next 7 days, you should have completed no less than one (1) of these tasks below at least 1 time throughout the week until you can build up to having completed all 7 tasks daily for 7 days. Your target goal is that you will be doing all seven (7) task every day by the end 30 days.  Think 7 & 7 without the alcohol, a lot more healthy, and without the hangover (smile).

PART TWO (2):

The Jump-start Task –

Here is your list of the seven (7) Task designed to jumpstart your mental cleanse. You can implement them in any order that you decide.

1. Clear out all mental fog.  Yes, Brain Fog is a thing!  How? Swap out your snacks for antioxidant concentrated options.  If you don’t snack or are not a snacker, add this bit of added nutrition to your dietary intake. Brain fog can be caused by foods in your diet. Try to incorporate healthy antioxidant foods and snacks into your diet with antioxidant-rich foods i.e. dark chocolate, walnuts, ALL kinds of beans – black, pinto, red kidney beans, raisins, blueberries, barley, broccoli, orange veggies like carrots and sweet potatoes, tomatoes, green tea, etc.  And, don’t forget the water!! Remember to drink no less than between half an ounce and an ounce of water for each pound you weigh, every day, which is about 64 ounces, approx. 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids for men, and 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women according to The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Yes, the lack of water not only causes dehydration but brain fog as well.
2. Practice Non-Judgement.  Judgment is Ego Driven and is a primary reaction to thoughts, situations, or people that cause our Ego to feel challenged and/or threatened.  While measuring is part of our human experience, drop the judgment every now and then if for no other reason than to see what it’s like to take a step back and relax our mind. Practice trying to avoid comparisons.  Regardless of if your comparisons lead you to think you’re better or worse than someone else, in either case, it’s not healthy. Remind yourself that everyone has a combination of gifts to offer that no one else has. Respect everyone’s scars because everyone has a story, even you. Demonstrate your value for diversity with your humanity.  No one is the center of the universe and the world doesn’t revolve around our expectations of shoulds, must, and have to’s. If you distance yourself away from self-centeredness, you won’t have any reason to be frustrated over the judgment you’re reacting to anymore.
   
   For this task use the “Rubberband Method” of awareness by placing and wearing it on your wrist daily before you leave the house.  Everytime you either out loud or in your head find that your judging either yourself or someone negatively, “POP” yourself.  And, later jot down in your journal why you think you felt the need to characterize the thoughts, words, or deeds of the object of judgment to fit your opinion of how it somehow should be different. This process exercise allows you to bring awareness to it and brings awareness to how it is now in your conscious mind having crossed over from the subconscious to the conscious.
3. Commit to Affirmation Time to verbalize out loud your love for yourself. Check back on with me IG to get your “Focus Affirmation”.   I will give you one every other day, so work on the previous one until a new one is posted.  I suggest while you are brushing your teeth in the mirror to kick off your day, and later in the evening before your nightly brushing repeat your “Focus Affirmation”.  And, if you can fit one in on your work drive time, that extra third meditative moment will be an added bonus for your subconscious. Your 1st Affirmation will be provided to you from the start day of this 30-day cleanse journey.  For all others, you will need to check back on my IG feed every few days. 
4. Go paper-free! Begin purging paper, i.e. use a shredder. Begin going through your personal home files, scan important documents, or other documentation, and upload to a “cloud server” or a computer drive for storage.  Toss old magazines, newspaper, old bills, etc.
5. Adopt an Attitude of Gratitude. Express Gratitude. Identify someone or daily share with someone how much you appreciate them.  Also, think about the people, places, and things that have shaped and changed your life for the better and reflect on this for 5 minutes each day. At some point in the day jot down in a journal what those things are. However, as an added bonus the sooner you can reflect and write it down, the better.  You’ll likely notice a shift in your day as your serotonin is fortified because it will contribute to some new immediate feelings of well-being and happiness as it changes your brain chemistry in a positive way. Don’t be surprised if you feel happier, calmer, less anxious, more focused, or more emotionally stable.  WIN, WIN!! Right?  Your serotonin boost can help regulate your mood naturally. In the words of my posthumous mentor Dr. Wayne Dyer, “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change”.
6. Review, Recalibrate, and Regulate your bedtimes and wake up time.  Get a Sleep minimum of 6-8 hours. Did you know that people who sleep between 6.5 and 7.5 hours a night tend to live the longest? Check out “The Scripps Clinic Sleep Center Study”.  Again, jot down in your journal what time you went to bed and are waking up as a way of keeping track for now.
7. Engage in fitness-oriented physical movement. Select and commit to no less than 60 mins of physical movement that gets your heart rate up to near breathless. (**Check with your MD for authorization if you suspect you may have related health challenges that would deem it unwise to participate in exercise, or you have not had a physical within the last 12 months).

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