Over the past 10 years there have been many profound changes in my life that have been out of my control. I didn’t have time to prepare or create a plan-I was taken by complete surprise and was left spiraling in shock and awe. Looking back, I am ever thankful for the tools I have cultivated over time to help me through the pain of caring for a child with cancer and the profound grief of losing my soul mate, my husband Brad of 29 years.

People often ask me how am I doing so well?

Although it has not been easy by any stretch of the imagination, my answer is always the same. My daily practice of self care and meditation are the key.

I can’t imagine what I would be thinking, how I would be reacting and living my life without these valuable tools. Today I am passionate about sharing and teaching these practices with you. When things get messy in life-it is important that you have a safe space to build self compassion and know that you are not alone.

Very recently, I went to Maui to attend a meditation retreat with Deepak Chopra. This trip was a graduation gift from my late husband Brad, who urged me back in January, to go on the trip alone. He was excited for me to meet my teachers and guru’s and fully embody the experience.

For those of you who knew my Brad-you would know he lived life to the fullest- always pushing and exploring the limitless possibilities that life had to offer.

This quote from Osho reminds me of him:

“You have to LIVE it – that is the only way to know it.”

I was thrilled and honored to meet Deepak in person, and I asked him about grief and how experiencing it affects our consciousness and the ability to process such loss. His answer was simple-grief is not to be avoided but to be felt fully. Grief needs to be released and not resisted.

What you RESIST-PERSISTS.

This hit me hard because the reality was I had been so overwhelmed for the past 10 weeks since he died that I was scared of the pain. I had never met grief before. I had never been alone-I and was suddenly a widow with 2 teenagers. It was time to make space and trust in the process. As I have done before in my life-I leaned into my tools and share them with you today.

What are U Resisting?

_________ will continue and endure if you refuse it.

You can fill in the blank with whatever you are fearful of whatever it may be that is holding you back. Take some time to journal about it. Why are you resisting? Is it true? What would you be without what you are resisting? To be successful every day in facing what you resist, you must first set up your day for success. I do this with a morning meditation.

Here is what I recommend:

🌸 Start your day by waking up 10 minutes early.
🌸 Get up, brush your teeth, go to the bathroom
🌸 Drink some warm tea or lemon water.
🌸 Find a quiet, comfy space to sit down (this could be in a chair or on the floor on a pillow-whatever position you feel comfortable in).
🌸 Try not to lay down-this will signal your brain that you are getting ready to sleep and sitting will keep you restfully alert.
🌸Close your eyes and begin listening to the meditation.

I know that if I don’t meditate before anything else in the morning it will not happen.

I would advise setting up the space the night before and setting the intention to get up and meditate as you are falling asleep.