Live With Meaning Podcast

Listen as I guide you through a meditation practice on Body Sensations using tension.   Visit www.livewithmeaning.net for more information. Look for the Live With Meaning podcast on iTunes and Stitcher.

I believe we can all relate to the feeling of getting excited about something and the, "I'm going to do this!" attitude, and then after some time it turns to, "Meh, I'm over it."   How many projects have we started and then stopped mid-way? Are short-term goals better for you, while looking at the long-term goals is difficult? I fall into the category of liking short-term goals. I was never good at answering the question, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" A lot of things can happen in five years, and I'm just trying to figure out the next six months.   Keeping ourselves motivated in all areas of life, takes time and attention. When we start something that is going to take some time to grow and nurture, it's easy to get sidetracked. The big picture of how it will feel when that goal is accomplished can get lost over time.   Here are some ideas for staying motivated when you want to throw in the towel.   What is your "Why?" It's important to be clear why you wanted to do this in th

Listen as I guide you through a meditation practice on Breath and Images.   Visit www.livewithmeaning.net for more information. Look for the Live With Meaning podcast on iTunes and Stitcher.

In the past month, I’ve had to examine the topic of, “Teaching people how to treat you.” I’ve had to look at what I’m letting into my life, and how I’m allowing myself to be treated.   How we are being treated applies to our personal relationships with those closest to us, our co-workers, and even the stranger on the street.   We need to look at how we carry ourselves in our day-to-day lives, and what kind of energy we project to others. If we present ourselves with confidence, we will be treated with respect in return. If we project shyness or victimization, the energy we receive in from others will most likely not be that of respect and courtesy.   What we put out there into the world is what we get in return. The value we place on ourselves will determine the value in which others see in us, and we cannot expect to be held in high regard if we do not see ourselves as worthy. If you feel you are being treated badly, or are often disrespected by others, mayb

Listen as I guide you through a meditation practice on Awareness.   Visit www.livewithmeaning.net for more information. Look for the Live With Meaning podcast on iTunes and Stitcher.

Negativity is not only a sneaky habit that can slowly penetrate our lives and wreak havoc on our happiness, but we tend to let it stay a little longer than it should. I know I've had times in my life when I was negative about the people I worked with, and the people I had to interact with every day. Negativity had taken a hold of me, and it took a long time for me to realize it.   In order to notice what we are feeling and how it affects our daily lives, we have to be aware of what we are doing and saying during every interaction and every encounter. Many of us are sleepwalking through our lives, and are unaware as to how we interact with ourselves and those around us. It’s easy to get complacent in our routine of work, taking care of the family, and the same old conversation we have day in and day out. But if we bring more awareness into how we interact with ourselves and those around us, we might notice some negative traits that we have unintentionally embraced. Oftentimes, this negativity hinder

Listen as I guide you through a meditation practice on sensations in the body.   Visit www.livewithmeaning.net for more information.  Look for the Live With Meaning podcast on iTunes and Stitcher.

Driving in Northern California has tested my patience more than a few times.  Going the short distance to Costco in the middle of the day on a Tuesday shouldn't be an hour commute, but due to traffic and other hold-ups, sometimes it is.  The other day I caught myself waving my hands and getting upset when a large truck cut in front of me.  I took a deep breath and thought, "We're all doing the best we can, and I will get there when I get there."     There are things in life that are out of our control, and I see people lose their s*** while driving, waiting for a table at a restaurant, or trying to get to Costco on a Tuesday.   I laughed at myself and thought of the phrase, "Patience is a virtue." There was nothing virtuous about my reaction that day, but it made me think about how we can bring a little more patience into our lives, and the benefits of keeping our composure in situations we find ourselves in on a daily basis.   Here are some tips and benefits of finding a li

Listen as I guide you through a meditation practice on beliefs.   Visit www.livewithmeaning.net for more information. Look for the Live With Meaning podcast on iTunes and Stitcher

Have you ever been in a bad mood and someone cheery and smiley tells you "everything will be okay"? Am I the only one that sometimes wants to scream at this person?   I am usually a happy, even-keel person. That wasn't always the case, but I've learned how to be more like my father and let things go. My whole platform for my blog and podcast is to bring a little more happiness to your life.   I've found that there are times in our lives-and hopefully it's only for short periods of time-that we are simply not doing okay. We are not ready for someone to tell us that everything will work out, because we don't believe it in that moment.   Most of us have experienced some difficulties in our lives, and it's never a good idea to compare your pain to others’. Whether you are experiencing pain now, or are reflecting on challenges in the past, it’s okay to not be okay.   Here are some tips to be okay with not being okay, and how you can help someone who is currently struggling.  

Listen as I guide you through a meditation practice on feelings.   Visit www.livewithmeaning.net for more information.  Look for the Live With Meaning podcast on iTunes and Stitcher.  

Recently I saw a video where there was a chalkboard on a street in New York City, and it said, "What's your biggest regret?"  People were looking at the chalkboard, and then they started to write things such as, "Wasting time, not saying yes to things, staying in my comfort zone… “A woman said she did Plan B and didn't take the chances she should have in life. I remember in my 20's saying I wasn't going to live life with regrets.  Then life happened, and there are plenty of things, situations and conversations that I wish I could do-over. So how do we live a life with no regrets and wipe the slate clean and say to ourselves that we CAN start again?  1. Don't waste time.  We tend to push things off into the future.  “I will do that when”.... Our time here is not as long as we might like to think.  There are no guarantees that tomorrow will come, so if there is something you want to do with your life, or learn, or teach, whatever that is, don't waste any mo

Listen as I guide you through a meditation practice focusing on the breath.   Visit www.livewithmeaning.net for more information. Look for the Live With Meaning podcast on iTunes and Stitcher.

It's now February 2016, and I hope we are all moving closer to our goals we set for ourselves just a short time ago.  It's been a busy time for me as more job opportunities have sprung up, but I've also had to take a step back and ask myself why I'm willing to say yes to some of these connections because even though I would like to, I can’t say yes to everything.   I've taken some time and asked myself, "What is my why for what I'm trying to accomplish?"  What is my goal and how am I going to get there.  It's time to get laser focused on what I want to achieve.  My best friend, who challenges me in more ways than one, always says to me, "What is your why?"  Why are you doing something?  This question applies to my business and my personal life.     I want to share some ways to help you find your why and how to be laser focused on achieving your goals.   1. What makes you feel alive?  What do you do in your life that you look forward to more than an

Listen as I guide you through a meditation practice on Joy.   Visit www.livewithmeaning.net for more information. Look for the Live With Meaning podcast on iTunes and Stitcher.

Learning to set an Intention is vitally important in all areas of life. What are you trying to accomplish? What are your goals? Where are you trying to go? It’s all based around Intention.   If you’ve ever attended a yoga class, the instructor may ask you to set an intention for your practice that day. When I first started doing yoga and I heard the word Intention, I thought, “I just want to survive this class.” I wasn’t sure what the instructor was talking about, but I was hoping to make it through class without embarrassing myself.   After attending yoga class for a while and listening to the instructors explain more about what Intention means in yoga, I started to change my objective for class. My intention moved from survival to what I was wanting for my life in that moment. My hope would be peace for myself, or to love myself more, or for understanding in whatever was troubling me that particular day.   Setting an intention doesn’t just apply to a yoga c

Meditation Monday   Listen as I guide you through a short meditation practice.   Visit www.livewithmeaning.net for more information. Look for the Live With Meaning podcast on iTunes and Stitcher.

When times are difficult it’s hard to see past what is so prevalent in our lives. When we wake up thinking about what is troubling us, and when it doesn’t leave our thoughts so much so that we even dream about it, it can feel as if we are drowning in whatever is happening. During these times we can’t seem to see a way out of it.   Spending time with family for the holidays made me think about where I was a year ago with my life and what the past year has brought me. I thought a lot about my sister-in-law who has endured one of the most trying times of her life.   With her permission I’m sharing some of her story. I feel it shows how when we are drowning in a difficult time, we can pull ourselves out of whatever we’re stuck in, without even realizing that is what we are doing.   My brother Darwin was killed in a motorcycle accident in October of 2014. My brother and his wife, Becky had been married just shy of three years. The love between Darwin and Becky was not a

Listen as I guide you through a short meditation practice.    Visit www.livewithmeaning.net for more information.  Look for the Live With Meaning podcast on iTunes and Stitcher.  

Vulnerability can be a tricky word for some people. When you mention the act of being vulnerable, sometimes the initial reaction is that it means weakness. However, it’s actually the opposite. So why is it important to talk about vulnerability?   We all have what’s called our ego. It’s this persona of who we are that we project out into the world, and we often use the ego to face the day to day challenges of life. I think of the ego as the person you meet for the first time at dinner parties; they talk about their job, their family and what they have accomplished in their life. The ego isn’t a bad thing, but it’s important to learn how to put the ego aside and be vulnerable.   In the early 90’s when I was a young police officer, I was asked to attend a weeklong camp where they brought in underprivileged youth. These were young teenagers who lived in poor neighborhoods, and didn’t have the best upbringing. For the whole week the other officers and I acted as