Clean up your Mind for New Growth, Dreams, JOY & POSITIVITY!!
Spring it the perfect time to look around and clean up! We often look at our closets, garages, physical health — which are all great! But, in all that clean up, what we’re really searching for is that mental feeling of “ahhhhhhhhh…. that’s better!!”
We all want to feel positive emotions like joy, contentment, gratitude, compassion. We all want to feel connected, confident and love ourselves a little more.
The good news is that Spring is the perfect season to Spring Clean your MIND!! Declutter negative thoughts, dust off the shelves of self-doubt, sweep out the cobwebs of critical voices–replacing them with fresh, clean, beautiful positive thoughts. The BEST news, is that you can do it at home, for free, with a little bit of time and energy.
The thing is, we’re changing every minute, every day – whether you believe it or not, whether you are aware of it or not. You and I are changing every day. That means you have control to get more of what you want.
Your body is changing moment by moment.
Our tastebuds only live a few hours, your white bloods cells live 10 days, your muscle cells live about 3 months, even your bones are made anew over time. Scientists estimate that you replace about 1% of your cells each day, roughly 30% each month. That means you have the power to be 100% different in just a year.
And what impacts those changes at a cellular level? Your emotions.
Several breakthrough studies suggest that we may have more control over how our brains function and develop throughout adulthood—our thoughts, behaviors, and emotions—than previously assumed.
Why does this matter? Because by learning how to control our mentality, we may be able to deliberately reshape our neural pathways and rewire our brains to make ourselves more successful and fulfilled.
In other words, you can shape your brain and you can shape your life.
Positive Emotions can Transform YOU for the Better
In her book Positivity, Barbara Fredrickson shows how regularly practicing loving-kindness mediation produces positive emotions like joy, contentment and gratitude. Studies also found that doing loving-kindness meditation increases your compassion, helps you feel more connected and improves your self-image.
Here’s an example of a loving-kindness mediation:
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Find a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted. Sit or lie down comfortably and close your eyes. For a few moments, focus on your breathing to get in a relaxed state of mind.
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Start by placing your hands near your heart. Notice how that area begins to feel warmer. Now imagine how that warmth slowly grows, covering your chest and belly.
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As you mentally expand that warm feeling until it covers your entire body, gently say a few reassuring phrases to yourself:
May I be well. May I be safe. May I be happy. May I be healthy. May I be at peace today.
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Bask in that feeling of loving kindness for a while. If your mind drifts off, just bring your attention back to that warm sensation in your body.
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Next, you can extend your compassion to someone you care about. Picture your partner, child, parent or best friend and let your love for them slowly swell. Send your loved one positive thoughts by repeating your well-wishes:
“May you be well. May you be safe. May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be at peace today.”
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Now stretch your loving-kindness to other important people in your life: your relatives, friends, favorite co-worker. You can gradually expand your warm feelings to acquaintances, neutral people and even individuals you dislike. When you realize how all people just want to be happy and protected from suffering, say to yourself:
“May everyone be well. May everyone be safe. May everyone be happy. May everyone be healthy. May everyone be at peace today.”
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Finally, you could even include the Earth and all its living creatures in your well-wishes. Feel grateful to be a part of this wonderful thing we call nature.
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When you’ve completed your meditation, try to remember this loving-kindness sensation. That way, you can easily revisit that warm feeling when you can use some peace.
