Agenda: September 29 - October 5

Why do I meditate each day? Why do I lead Mindful Mondays at work? Why do I continue to send out Mindful Week by Week? What's my agenda? Time to be transparent.

1. Self-Care

2. Present Moment

3. Freedom

4. Heart Connection

5. Change the World

For many, meditation starts out as a daily habit like flossing or working out. The reason I pay attention to my body, mind, and spirit is to fully enjoy life and wake up to its beauty and mystery, but it doesn't stop there. Mindfulness allows me to see beyond the daily noise and to discover true inner freedom. Ultimately, this is not an ego trip but rather a collective journey. Mindfulness continues with a transformation of the heart. As my heart heals and grows, I connect more authentically with others. Hopefully I'm becoming a guide for those on the path, a lamp in the darkness, a resting place for the weary. The secret to changing the world is to start with the heart. And that's my agenda.

I'll develop each of these themes over the next several weeks.

Practice

In the meantime, pick your own adventure. Get out in nature and enjoy the beauty of autumn. If that's not possible, check out any of these meditations and challenges. 

• Self-Care Here's a body scan meditation to breathe in calm from the soles of the feet to the crown of the head.

• Present Moment Here's a breathe meditation to arrive in the here and now.

• Freedom Here's a meditation to use awareness as a vehicle to travel within, without, and beyond.

• Heart Connection Here's a lovingkindness meditation to wish wellbeing to others.

• Change the World Make a plan to vote in the next election. In the US, that's just a month away. Once you learn to pay attention through mindfulness on the inside you can't help but pay attention on the outside. Being and doing are flip sides of the human coin.