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one way to get started on meditation

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There are so many different ways you can meditate. There’s no “right way”. I think you have to explore and find what fits you the best. Over these 21 days I will post a few different things you can try or think about.

If you are new to meditation, it might be a good idea to start with a guided meditation. You can find a lot of free apps, podcasts and youtube videos with someone guiding you. You can sometimes even find free guided classes to attend in your city, just check your local listings. You can find everything online from guides focused on breathing, guides working on specific topics and guides to help you fall asleep. When I was a little girl, I would borrow my moms relaxation cassette and listen to it at night to be able to fall asleep. There were four different guides. Some guides can be more related to feeling your body and other guides will go deeper and let your mind focus on other things. My favorite one on this tape was the last one where you would enter your own fantasy happy place (ya, like when Phoebe in Friends is trying to guide Monica to fall asleep). I still remember that place and it still makes me happy. It’s a peaceful place where there is no room for worries or fear or negativity. 

Anyway. To sit in silence can sometimes be hard. Some days we have more thoughts, more worries, more tasks and problems to solve than other days, and to tune into yourself can be a real challenge. A guided meditation is an excellent way to help you relax your brain. 

21 Day December Challenge

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Maybe you are tired of all these challenges that circles around the internet. There are challenges before Christmas, after New Years, around Easter, before the summer, in the beginning of fall etc etc. But I think it can be a good way to get started, whether it’s yoga, weight lifting, no added sugar, no alcohol, no smoking, work or hobby related or eating a healthier diet.

I want us to have a meditation challenge together starting December 1 until December 21 (yes from tomorrow, I know, short notice). Why 21 days? Well, that’s how long they say it takes to form a new habit.

First, let me tell you; I only use the word “meditation” because that is a popular word in our world these days. I have been meditating since I was a little girl, long before I had ever heard the word “meditation”. If you are unfamiliar with what meditation actually is then maybe you have heard the expression “I’m going for a walk to clear my head”. That’s what it is. Declutter your brain. We have roughly 60.000 thoughts per day, and do you know how many of these are useful to us? Yes, you guessed it right, not many. A lot of us (maybe all of us) have thoughts that destroys us more than helps us. We have creative thoughts, we think about love, we have fun memories, but we also have judgmental thoughts against ourselves, thoughts that brings us fear and doubt and sometimes we live more in the past or future memories rather than in the moment. “Meditation” or “clear your mind” will help you find the important thoughts and stay away from the useless ones.

If you are new to “meditation” then I suggest you to start small. Turn off your phone, your computer and everything else around you and sit with closed eyes in silence for one minute. 1 min might not seem like a long time, but it can be if you are not used to it. While you sit there, focus on your breathing. Inhales and exhales. Thoughts will appear. I don’t want you to ignore them, just tell your thoughts to pass right by and continue to focus on your breathing. There will most likely be noises around you; from outside, from the fridge, maybe a dog barking in another apartment or whatever daily sounds. Same thing, don’t ignore it, replace it with listening to your own breath.

Every day for 21 days, I want us to take a moment to tune in to ourselves. It doesn’t matter if it’s for one minute or for three hours, but make it a priority every single day.

Are you with me?

Please share your experiences along the way with me and the other readers in the comment.

Video: Thanksgiving weekend in Chicago

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Good morning guys! Here’s a video from our Thanksgiving weekend. I wanted to show you guys how it is to celebrate Thanksgiving in the suburbs of Chicago. I’m still pretty new to this whole filming thing so I keep forgetting to film, but there is some footage for you and I kept filming til Sunday when we were back in Stamford. 
I hope you enjoy this video:)

Our Thanksgiving 2017

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Rizzo, J’s moms new puppy. Super cute little guy

Our trip to Chicago for the Thanksgiving weekend was very short. But we had a great time. The food on Thanksgiving Day was actually fantastic. We had a great time with J’s stepdads side of the family. Half of the people that was supposed to come didn’t make it but we were still a lot of people at the house.
We spent most of Friday at J’s grandparents house. Relaxed and nice. We were watching football, ate yummy food and had a good time together. In the evening we went to see our friends, Bob and Sarah. They had a fun game that we played and we laughed a lot. 
On Saturday, we had to drive to the airport around noon and at 6pm we were back in Stamford (the flight was slightly delayed). Thor was with our other neighbor who had picked him up from the first sitter, so he seemed to have had an awesome Thanksgiving weekend as well. 

Overall, this years celebration was very relaxed, we had a great time and we got to spend time with a bunch of people. Sometimes Thanksgivings or Christmas’s can seem rushed and messy, but even if this was one of the shortest trips we’ve done, it felt like we got enough time with everyone. 

J just got home from a work dinner and I’m waiting to watch the VS Fashion Show. It starts at 10 and I’m already super tired, so it’s gonna be a long night, hahah. 

Relaxed Sunday

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After breakfast this morning, my hubby and I walked to Target to buy some ornaments and stuff for the tree. Back home, we put up the new lights on the terrace we had just bought. Looks pretty nice out there now when it’s dark. Put up a new light in my “Funny Room” too and changed some things in there. In the afternoon, J had football on in the background and I was knitting my scarf. Ya, that’s right, I knit:) 
I’m hanging out upstairs doing stuff on my laptop now and J is trying to find a movie to watch by himself. A very relaxed and easy Sunday. I will try to go to bed early tonight so that I can get up early tomorrow morning.