Inner peace is the ultimate state of mind.  Inner peace is difficult to maintain since we humans are intricately tied to the outer world.  It takes a clear and open mind to consciously create and maintain peace within.  The good news is that we all have the capacity to cultivate it through mindful practices.  As 2013 draws to an end, inner peace will be the focus of the five remaining posts with hopes for a lighter and brighter new year for all!

Tip#1: Maintain healthy boundaries with your outer world.  Filter out what does not serve you well and incorporate more of what doe serve you well.  Practice unconditional love for yourself.  Free yourself from judgement and your inner critic.  Love yourself as you would a best friend and nurture your mind, body and spirit.  Remind yourself that the quality of your thoughts reflects the quality of your life.  Purify those thoughts to bring out the very best in you.

Your body is your vehicle in life.  Take care of your body and your body will help you to achieve all that you aspire for in life.  Make healthy food choices, exercise regularly and ensure adequate rest.  Embrace solitude whenever possible and connect with your higher self, that loving nurturing side of you that brings wisdom and insight.  Heed this intuitive voice within, for this voice is your very own personal guide to inner peace.  When you align yourself with your most authentic nature, inner peace comes as naturally as blossoms come to a tree!

Information overload leads to brain fog.  Too much information and too little processing time affects our ability to remember details.  How can we avoid brain fog when this happens?  Aside from ensuring adequate rest and downtime, making conscious effort to absorb new information is key.  Once it has been added to our long-term memory, recall is more likely and with even greater detail than we realize.

Take time to absorb new information on a deeper level.  Find answers to what you ponder, establish key points and consider a variety of ways for looking at these.  Examining key points from different angles is a highly revealing exercise that can also be quite amusing.  For instance, if I am learning strategies for increasing happiness, I would also consider ways for increasing misery in my life.  My list might include things like isolating myself, neglecting a healthy diet, regular exercise, and spiritual needs.  Each of these points highlight very clearly what I need to do to increase happiness in my life.  

Review this new information in as many different ways as possible.  Share it in conversation, write a story or poem about it, sing it, sketch it and even act it out, if possible.  The more ways you engage yourself in learning, the greater your retention.  Take a pro-active approach to maintaining clarity throughout life.  Be vigilant against brain fog and steer yourself towards clarity.  Happiness awaits you in the clearing!  

Brain fog is thick and heavy when we are energetically out of balance.  When we have tipped the scale too far towards depletion, brain fog arises with all of its drama.  Unable to receive any more information or methodically process what is currently going on, our mind signals to us loud and clear the need to pull back and practice self-care.

Adequate rest and downtime is vital to maintaining clarity.  Similar to a charging an electric vehicle, sleep provides our minds with the necessary time and space for restoring mental abilities.  Meditation and practices in mindfulness can also help to refuel mental reserves throughout your day.  Incorporate breathing and walking meditations for immediate relief and profoundly powerful benefits.

If you find yourself feeling tired throughout your day and performing below your expectations, this may be a signal for you to make sleep and downtime a priority in your life.  Ensuring this most basic need is met will help to keep brain fog at bay!

What do you do when your mind is consumed with worrisome thoughts?  How do you move beyond this to a place of peace and clarity?  Overwhelming negative thoughts can block our ability to see clearly.  Similar to anxiety, worry hinders natural our thought processes and keeps the mind in a state of foggy confusion.  Break through worry-induced fog by trying one of the following strategies.

Consciously give your mind a break and focus on the current task at hand.  Bring your full attention to the moment, using all your senses.  Feel the satisfaction you get from immersing yourself in the experience.  This mental break may be all you need to return to clarity.  If not, repeat as necessary with activities you enjoy, such as walking in nature or creating something with your hands.  Other alternatives include scheduling 20 minutes of worry time when it is conducive to your wellness, connecting with a support person, or journalling your stream of thoughts to flush out lingering concerns and brainstorm possible solutions.  Experiment with one or any combination of these.  The important thing is to take action and not allow worry to take over.  Move through mental fog with definitive action and just as blue skies eventually  return, so too will clarity!

Brain fog blocks our ability to think clearly.  The fog is especially thick when accompanied by anxiety and intense emotions.  Emotions are a strong force that impedes logical thought processes and problem solving abilities.  How do we maintain a clarity in the presence of strong emotions.  The answer is with mindfulness.

Bring yourself to the moment with your breath.  Focus on each inhale and exhale as you relax and allow brain fog to dissipate.  The key word here is ‘allow’.  This involves letting go of all thoughts and attachment to the turmoil you are experiencing in your mind and rest in the reality of the moment.  The reality involves your body’s senses, your breath and the physical environment just as it is, without interpretations.

Tune in fully to the moment and what is.  Focus on grounding yourself in this moment and like debris settling in water, the chaos of your mind will gradually settle to renewed clarity.  When this happens, rest in this clear and easy space  you have created for yourself.  Take a few deep breaths to further relax yourself and as you do this, solutions will rise within like bubbles rising to the surface.  Clarity awaits in moments of intense emotions, when you practice mindfulness.

Mind Master is pleased to present its newest program, a 3 part series entitled G.L.A.D., the remedy for S.A.D.  GLAD is an acronym that reveals 4 proven effective strategies for dealing with SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder.  SAD is a type of depression that affects many people who live in northern countries like Canada, where significant changes in daylight hours dramatically impacts quality of life for many.

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, Seasonal Affective Disorder affects 3% of the population at some time in their life.  SAD generally occurs between September/October and April/May of each year.  Many people in Metro Vancouver experience six months or more of decreased energy and low moods.  What can one do to ward off the effects of SAD and minimize its impact?

Join insightful conversations in this participant-centred, dialogue driven series where you will discover keys to overcoming SAD and becoming more resilient in winter months.  More than just strategies for releasing negativity and embracing positive thinking, this program covers proper diagnosis, various types of treatment and available resources in the area.  Embrace a mindful approach as you assess your strengths and create personally effective goals that are realistic and achievable.  Treat yourself to the true gift of lasting Joy this season.  Sign up for all 3 sessions at the special price of $99+GST or choose one session for $40+GST.

Session #1 opens your mind to possibilities with enhanced awareness of your situation and strategies for releasing negative thought patterns and beliefs that keep you in a depressed state.  This session takes place on Tuesday, November 19 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm at Douglas College, David Lam Campus, 1250 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam, in Room C1004.  Register now!

Session #2 teaches mindfulness with techniques for generating greater peace of mind, compassion and better choices for enhanced quality of life.  This session takes place on Tuesday, November 26 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm at Douglas College, David Lam Campus, 1250 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam, in Room C1004.  Register now!

Session #3 promotes authentic alignment with techniques for drawing out natural strengths, talents and positive energy in life.  This session takes place on Tuesday, December 3 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm at Douglas College, David Lam Campus, 1250 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam, in Room D1020.  Register now!

ALTERNATE OPTIONS:

Join an afternoon discussion at Glen Pine Pavilion on Wednesday, December 4, 2013 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.  This session covers essential habits for warding off Seasonal Affective Disorder.  Register on-line at coquitlam.ca/registration, by phone 604-927-4386 or in person at 1200 Glen Pine Court, Coquitlam.

Create your own discussion group with 4 or more friends at a local coffee shop.  Click on S.M.A.R.T. Cafe to register.

Fog hinders our ability to see clearly while brain fog impacts our ability to think clearly.  Clarity is a much desired state that allows us to move ahead with comfort.  Without clarity, we may wander aimlessly, lost in a fog.  Everyone experiences brain fog at some time in their life.  What can you do to achieve clarity when brain fog seeps in?

For the next few weeks, I will offer strategies for overcoming brain fog in a timely way.  Similar to an autumn road trip where you pass through areas of dense grey fog, you will eventually come to blue skies when you have driven far enough.  Your journey to clarity is a process that requires forward momentum.  This is the single most important step to moving beyond brain fog.  Choose one thing that you can do and act upon it.  Be confident that every act you take will bring you one step closer to the clarity you desire.

The first strategy to get yourself out of brain fog is to check your stress levels.  Are you managing your daily stressors or have they accumulated to overwhelming proportions?  It may be time for you to step back and re-evaluate your priorities once again.  Have you taken on too much and if so, which tasks can you delegate, delay or dismiss.  Revisit your values and re-assess what is most important to you.  Commit to only those that meet your highest values and relieve yourself from the rest.  Limit your load and clarity will surely return!

Your beliefs create your reality.  If you believe you are strong and capable, it is likely you will take more risks in life.  If you believe you will not fail, it is likely that you will persevere until you meet success.  If you believe there is great danger in our world, chances are you will guard yourself and take precaution with the many perceived risks.  Whatever you believe will be your reality.

Believe in greatness and possibilities.  Believe that you have untapped potential.  Live life beyond your current place of knowledge and understanding.  The world awaits your discovery.  If you seek growth and wish to improve your circumstances, the answer lies beyond your current level of thinking.  Look up and beyond.  Believe that there is so much more to life than what you have experienced to date.  Aim high and at the very least, you will land among the stars!

Are you ready for Aging Brilliantly?  Aging Brilliantly: Mindful Wellness takes place next Tuesday, October 15 from 7:00 – 8:30 pm at the Gallery Bistro, 2411 Clarke Street, Port Moody.  There are still seats available for this fun and adventuresome workshop where you will journey towards great clarity and embracing conscious wellness for years to come!

Aging is similar to a road trip with unexpected speed bumps, surprising detours and new destinations.  Do you have the essentials for a positively rewarding journey?  Do you know what they are?  To give you a clue, they involve a healthy mindset, the ‘right’ attitude, healthy habits and inspiring plans.  Of course, compatible companions are the icing on the cake!

Whether you choose to venture alone and enjoy a variety of friendships along the way or journey alongside a partner and a few good friends, designing a future of optimal wellness requires mindful intention and commitment to your best life possible!  No two paths are identical.  Create your path to future wellness by attending the Aging Brilliantly workshop.  The best is yet to come!  Are you ready?

For many, the onset of Fall with shorter daylight hours and cooler temperatures brings a change in moods.  Grey skies and rainy wet weather can dampen our enthusiasm for life if we allow.  Bring awareness to resisting the winter blues by reaching reach deeply into the bag of self-nurturing strategies.

View Fall as a time for replenishing your inner sources.  Just as the earth requires rainfall for sustaining plant life, humans require time and space to fortify mental reservoirs.  A good place to start is with a gratitude journal.  If you have not already done so, write down each morning 10 things you are grateful for.  This is a wonderful way to start each day and an extremely powerful tool for maintaining a positive attitude in life.

Commit to at least one self-nurturing activity each day.  Everyone has their favourites and if you are prone to the winter blues, this is the time to really indulge yourself.  Schedule time for meditation, time for friends, time for a leisurely bath and time to cozy up by a fireplace and read an inspiring book.  Treat yourself to a new adventure and engage your senses in the wonders of Fall.  Revel in the scent of a freshly showered world, observe glistening foliage, and feel the cool droplets of rain water on your skin.  Take control of your happiness and vow to remain engaged in life.  Joy comes in the most unexpected places!