Blissipline

Hi, loves!

How are we doing with the goals we set for the New Year? Miraculously, I'm actually sticking to mine more often than not. I'm far from perfect but I seem to have found a schedule that works for me and most days I'm moving in the direction of my goals. Hallelujah!

One thing that's helping me to stay grounded is that I've started bookending my day with quiet time. It's a simple spiritual practice which doesn't take long but it does wonders for my sense of well-being. I take a little time to read something inspirational (from one of my favorite spiritual authors or poets), then I set an intention for the day, and think about what I'm grateful for. No big fancy tada, but enough to cause a shift in my perception of my life. I find myself noticing things I'm grateful for all throughout the day. Tonight while I was out walking the dogs (I'm grateful for them every minute) I was thinking how lucky I am to live in such a quiet condo complex. I was grateful for the warm air (40's felt downright balmy), the nearly full moon, and even the pavement I was walking on.

A consistent spiritual practice was one of my goals for this year. Writing and going to the gym regularly were also at the top of my list. I am proud as hell to say that I've been more consistent with exercise over the last year than I have ever been in my life. I still need work on my meditation practice. Part of the problem is that in my anal Virgo-ness, I feel that it isn't good enough unless I sit down for at least twenty minutes. Yet I know that the only bad meditation is no meditation. Today, after I did forty minutes of cardio, I sat down to meditate with the album "Eternal Om" on my ipod for only four minutes. But it's better than nothing, right? I'm still figuring out where in the day meditation works best for me. One thing that's helped me tremendously with exercise is that I no longer force myself to do it first thing in the morning. I've never functioned at full throttle in the morning, so now my routine looks like this:
After my morning quiet time (which I do before my feet even hit the floor), I have coffee and check email, maybe facebook, and read a few of my favorite blogs. Then, I get to work on the book. I write until my brain hurts and by then I am actually looking forward to the gym. My body is anxious to move and my head longs to rock out to Jason Mraz, the Dreamgirls soundtrack, or (I admit it) soft rock from the seventies. (Yes, I saw that infomercial with Air Supply and bought the Time Life collection. It makes me insanely happy. "Summer breeze makes me feel fine...")
Then, it's shower, dinner, laundry, bills, and whatever else needs doing. Late night is tv time with the hubby, usually with Murphy snuggled between us on the couch, a fire in the fireplace, and a glass of wine. By bedtime, I have a long list of things to be grateful for.

Now I do not always stick to my schedule. I blow off the gym sometimes or spend more time surfing than writing. But when I am consistent, I feel pretty darn blissful. I learned the silly and fabulous word "blissipline" this week from Michael Bernard Beckwith's book "Spiritual Liberation". (He's the dude with the long braids from "The Secret" and his book is fabu so far.) Now in the old days when I would fail to live up to my standards, I used to come down very hard on myself for it. Big loud swat with the yardstick for you, Sandra, you worthless, lazy, good-for-nuthin' slug! Guess what that kind of self talk made me want to do? Crawl under the covers and never come out. So, these days I'm trying a new approach. When I have an unproductive day, I simply let it be without judgment. I refuse to base my self-worth on my level of productivity. It simply backfires. Instead, I choose to judge myself on only one thing--my ability to love myself unconditionally. If I have been a slacker, and I can still look in the mirror and like who I see, then I've had a successful day. But if I've cranked out a new chapter or done a performance and all the while I'm thinking what a talent-free loser I am (not that I've EVER had that experience...) then the day has been wasted. My goal above all others is self-compassion because out of that generous spaciousness I am able to give the best of myself to others. Now that makes me want to get up and out, to dance with the world, to play and create and sing and write-and to enjoy this precious time on planet earth, and love all the people I love.