Headspace - learning to meditate...

Recently while on IG a post came up about Headspace, an app for guided meditating.  I had seen this come up before but just swiped passed it.  When it came up again, I stopped, and thought about why this keeps coming up in my feed.  I am a great believer in that things happen for a reason,  so maybe I was supposed to check this app out.  

I headed over to check out the app and really liked what I was reading.  I even read the reviews (which is not me, I don't really like reviews as I believe them to be a personal account and what I like someone else may no and vice versa) and most of them seemed positive.  So I check it out further and decided to take up the free "take 10" challenge.  The idea is to do a short 10 minute guided meditation every day for 10 days.  This is to give you a sample of what the app is like and also to see if it is something you like before subscribing (yes, there is always a subscription LOL!).

This year my OLW or mantra as I like to call it is "365 new day, 365 new chances".  I wanted to have something to keep me focused for a whole year, something to encourage me to live life in a mindful and positive way.  I am always looking for new things to try, new things to experience and new things to make me appreciate this life.  I thought that learning (or re-learning) how to meditate might help me to achieve this.  I also wanted to document this new experience in my "April 2017" travellers notebook.

I took the theme from the app (the orange circle) as my design element.  I took some of the words from the app and added them to first page.  My thought then was to create a page with 10 orange circles on it and each day when I completed the 10 minute meditation I would tick it off by adding a day of the week tag.  The days of the week are digital stamps from Kellie Stamps called "today was".  I also wanted to add some information from the app about meditating but didn't have any more room left.  I decided to print the information onto vellum and attached it to my notebook with washi tape.

I am up to day four and still going strong.  I am meditating at night, just before going to bed and I must say it is helping me go to sleep straight away.  My initial thoughts is that I love it so far.  I like calming myself right down before going to bed.  The speaker on the app has the most wonderful tone and speaking voice, very soothing.  Lets see what the rest of the week brings.

love me :-)

Hello February...

Hello February

Hello to turning 52 - really!

Hello to school going back.

Hello to continuing working on my OLW - mantra

Hello to a new Travellers notebook for February

Hello to going on school camp - love going on camp

Hello to working with a new teacher

Hello to doctors appointments and getting the all clear (skin check)

Hello to exercise

Hello to starting my gym membership - yep I finally did it and joined!

Hello to 21/90 - it takes 21 days to create a habit / it takes 90 days to create a lifesyle

Hello to sticking to my budget - well trying at least!

Hello to being a guest Creative Team Member for OLB - so excited

Hello to more decluttering

Hello to more blog posts

Hello to cooking - kinda missed this in January so making a big effort this month

Hello to more reading - I have started off the year well and I want to keep it up.

Hello to "unplug" days and weekends.

Hello to embracing my age - ???

Hello to keeping my stress levels down

Hello to using my essentials oils more - they made a difference last month in a positive way

Hello to more relaxing baths during the week

Hello to watching my savings grow - slowly but surely

Hello February - Let's do this!

Have a great month

Love me :-)

OLW... or in my case Mantra!

For many years I have done OLW by Ali Edwards and I don't know that I could have gone through any of those years without having a "word" to keep me focused.  I love the idea, the class, the prompts, the community, everything.

But this year I am trying something new...
A new concept for me.  Instead of having a word I am focusing on a mantra.  It all came about when Kellie from Kellie Stamps sent out the new digital stamps for us to play with.  I saw the image "365 days, 365 new chances".  I loved it.  It got me thinking.  It got me thinking so much that I needed to get a notebook and pen so that I didn't miss any thoughts.

I started writing down ideas, tons of ideas, too many ideas.  But I kept writing and writing, drawing diagrams and more writing.

 I came up with a concept  - "my fabulous year 2017"

Every year, as the year come to a close and before the next one started, I take pen in hand and make plans in a fresh new notebook.  I make many lists and notes, jot down dons of ideas all with the intention to have a well organised and fun new year.  I promise myself that the next will be better, that I wil fix all the things that I think are broken (or not) and vow to stop spending so much and have money in the bank.  Then there are the wild ideas I have about becoming the next "big thing" in something.  They say to "dream big" right!  As well as becoming the next big thing in something, having money in the bank there is always a list about how to keep my house clean, a list about all the books I am going to read, all the shows that I want to see and the adventures I will have...

... the new year starts and I set about living the exact same life I had previous.  For some reason my great plans and lists never see the light of day.  I continue my life just as I have in the past, not really changing anything.   I'm not being negative here or complaining, just saying it as it is  I love my life and all those who are in it.  but this is about being more mindful in life.

Making choices and decisions based on being open and in the moment instead of making them "because that's the way I always do it". 

 I love starting new things and trying out new things, which brings about another problem.  I am a great starter but not such a great finisher.  I start a new idea/project all full of enthusiasm, buy all the things to start said project and then "bam" I see something else to try.  So I put the previous project aside, vowing to finish it later, buy all the things for the next projects... and so the pattern continues.  See my problem LOL!

"My fabulous Year 2017" project is my way of documenting and keeping track of my year.  Helping me to stay focused, mindful and authentic.  Not to just plan for a better life but to actually do it

So let's see what happens in a year.

My Mantra is my way to remind myself that everyday can and is different.  It will remind me to stay mindful and authentic and remind me to make choices consciously and with thought.
Here's to a fabulous year!

Love me :-)

Please note: products used are by Kellie Stamps, Felicity Jane and Paislee Press.