I am not a meditator, but there are plenty of reasons that I should be.  Once during a mind swirling episode where thoughts fly faster than jumbled worried words, a friend told me to calm down and try meditating.  I calmed right down and started eye rolling.  Immediately I pictured that serene portrait of a woman with flowing hair perched patiently inhaling and exhaling with her chin tilted up toward the heavens.  BaHaHaHa!  I have got STUFF to DO!  Who, first of all really has hair that great and secondly has the TIME to just sit there inhaling and exhaling?

However, there seems to be lots of time to do other healthy stuff and research totes that meditation might just be the push up for the brain.  Athletes benefit immensely from meditational processes as it reduces and reuses STRESS.  Let bad stress out.  Use good stress to excel.  Sharpen your mind along with your body because it is all connected.  Also meditation can change the brain mapping to actually help anxiety, depression, insomnia and perhaps even certain illnesses.

ALRIGHT!  Let’s do this thing!

What do I do?

Exactly.  I don’t know.  I picked up Jon Rasmussen: Practical Meditations for the Modern Lifestyle to get me started.  For the month of February, I will try to meditate a little bit everyday and I invite you to join me on this mental adventure.

Peace be with You

There are many ways to be insufferable on Facebook. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m guilty of every single one of these on any given day. I’ll do my time in the corner. There are many ways I love Facebook- connection, seeing friend’s vacation photos (I LOVE THOSE!), baby photos, wedding photos…. quirky weird status updates as long as you aren’t updating every five minutes…..puppy photos. Love those! I like seeing youtube videos of my friends whizzing down ski hills and their babies spitting Gerber out their noses. I don’t mind seeing pictures of your awesome food or cool cocktail and I never get bored of the sunset photos. Snap and post. Go on!

However, so much on Facebook….admittedly is not real. It’s like High School. High School wasn’t real. Sure I went. I was there. But that doesn’t mean it was real.

Regina: But you’re, like, really pretty.
Cady: Thank you.
Regina: So you agree?
Cady: What?
Regina: You think you’re really pretty?
Cady: Oh… I don’t know

Personally I don’t like being told by a 20 year old to Eat Pray Love. I didn’t even like it when I read the book and I was told by the thirty year old. Was I the only one who didn’t like that book? Perhaps. However, when it comes down to it who are any of us to question another person’s emotions? Ah-Ha! Like this High School was real!

“You don’t KNOW how I feel!”

There is no one uniform feeling and in a digital world Lost in Translation seems to be more common. Connection is important.

When was the last time that you had a disagreement with someone and you simply picked up the phone OR walked up to them and privately discussed before you texted, emailed, or vaguely Facebooked your status?

Tone can be easily misinterpreted. Or perhaps we have grown to not only accept this, but “like” it. I give you the emoticon!

Did you know that you can say whatever the Fuck you like as long as you end it with a smiling yellow face?

Example:

You looked so awesome today! You’re one sassy fat bitch :)!

I totally HATE you :)!

I hope you break your leg, then I can have your job :)!

Pervert :)!

Porn Star :)!!!!

I met your mother :). Wow :). The apple never left the tree :)!

I’m shopping with your credit card

It was me. I farted

Just kidding. It was you. You smell like ass

SEE! No offending anywhere at all ever

So whatever you say……….. Say It with a