What am I passionate about?

There are a lot of things that I am passionate about.  The biggest being my boys.  They make me want to strive for better.  They make me want to become a better person.  If it weren't for them my goals and things wouldn't be worth pursuing.  They give me a reason for being here.  I want to create a better life for myself and for them.  Sure, I could still have my goals and such but the boys give me so much more motivation.  The whole reason I am pursuing this self-discovery journey is to become a better mom to them.  Sure, I want to do this for myself but they are the main reason I want to feel better about myself.  I have a lot of work to do to get there but I am willing to do so.  I do still need to figure out what steps to take but I am getting closer to figuring those out!

What do you like to do in your spare time?

Because I don't have a job right now or the kids at the moment, I seem to have a lot of spare time.  I love spending time on the computer chatting with my friends, crafts, and reading.  I love spending time with my friends online because they know the true me and they still support and encourage me without passing judgment or harsh opinions.  I also seem to be a pretty crafty person.  I can learn to do just about any craft with ease, but my passion in the craft category is stitching.  I feel like it is so relaxing and therapeutic.  I get lost in it.  I find it very calming and I can think about things going on or I can concentrate fully on my project and not think about anything else.  The patterns just amaze me too.  It's wonderful what can come from a needle and colored thread.  I also love to read.  I want to read every book on every subject, fiction or not.  I love getting lost in a book!  I love the knowledge you gain, I love that feeling you get when you have finished a great book and it makes you go back and think about it after you're done with it.

What Would I Do, Even if I Didn't Get Paid For It?

I've known since I was little that I have wanted to be an interior designer.  I would love to do this whether I got paid or not!  I enjoy it and seem to have a natural ability with it.  Now there if there was one thing I could do that I love and make enough money doing that to support myself financially I know what the would be.  Okay, actually, I have two I  would choose.  The first would be my stitching.  I so wish I could stitch fast enough to sell my finished projects and make enough to pay all my bills.  It would be a stretch so I don't think it's realistic.  It just wouldn't make ends meet.  The other would be to become a chatter online. I love it and my online friends really know the true me and they are so encouraging and positive, who wouldn't want to do that!  However, I have become aware of the fact that I have an addictive personality.  When I do something, like chatting I crave it so much that I neglect what I have to do, like dishes or laundry, with what I want to do.  I know I am addicted to chat because if i'm awake I have to be there.  I know chat is a very positive atmosphere so I crave it too much!  It's like smoking, which I do too.  I can't or don't want to function without chat.  Without it, I get very depressed.  I know I need to tone it down but I really don't want to either because it is helpful too.

What do I Love to Do?

Well, I knew how to answer this question right away because I love to do just about everything.  I know I want to be more specific than just saying everything but I didn't really want to list everything either because it would take forever to list them all.  It took me a bit but I came up with I love learning by reading and experiencing.  I seem to be a knowledge junkie.  I love gaining information about anything and everything.  I do seem to learn best thru experience.  The combination of both a knowledge junkie and learning thru experience means I want to read everything I can read about any topic and I want to do those things!  The more I read the more I want to learn!  So I guess I do have a lifetime to read and learn.  I never want to stop learning!  I believe I know where my need to learn comes from, my OCPD (Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder).  My need for knowledge come from my need to be perfect.  I feel that I have to know everything in order to be perfect.  I know I will never achieve this but yet I still strive for this need to know it all.  If I don't I feel like i have failed with it.  Then I start getting down on myself, especially for not reading more to gain that knowledge.  I will say that there is one thing I like to do almost as much as learning and that is crafts, especially cross-stitching.  Whether it's scrapbooking, or doing paint-by-numbers or my stitching, i just seem to get so lost in crafting and being creative!  I have to concentrate so much on what I am doing that I can't really think about much else.  This does bring up another example of how my OCPD affects my thinking.  I feel that, take stitching for example, I need to do EVERY single pattern or project there is!  Do you know how many cross stitching patterns there are in existence?  Millions probably!  So this also stresses me out not having them all done.  Kinda crazy huh?!!

If I Could Do One Thing for the Rest of My Life, What Would It Be?

If I could do one thing for the rest of my life it would be to like myself.  I want to like myself as a person.  I don't mean physically, I mean internally.  I have a lot of issues to deal with to get to that point.  I want to be satisfied with my decisions and right now I am NOT happy with them at all.  I want to change myself so that I am a person I like.  My decisions throughout life, for the majority, have not been the best and due to my upbringing I am constantly putting myself down about them.  I want to make good decisions so I can stop feeling so guilty all the time, especially about where my life is currently at.  From my goals, to my kids and oh so much more!  I want to be myself.  I cannot care for the boys if I don't take care of myself first.  So I need to learn to love myself and make good decisions!

What Are My Goals?

The next 3 or 4 posts all have to do with what I am passionate about!

Financial - To be financially stable is my goal here.  I really need to find another job so that I can achieve this goal.  I hate having to depend on others financially.  Take today for example, today I had to call my aunt yet again to have her fill up my gas tank.  I am also out of smokes and I'm barely making it by puffing on my electronic cigarette.  It sucks!  Probably tomorrow I will be without internet and have to go to the library to use their WIFI.  I am not asking to be a millionaire, I just want to be able to support myself on a monthly basis.  So tomorrow, I will be looking for a job on the computer whether it is at home or the library.

Relationships - I have a lot of work to do in the relationship category.  I kind of like being single but at the same time I get lonely too.  I have a lot of friendships but they are mostly, if not all, online.  That is okay but I like hanging out with people in real life too.  I definitely need improvement in my relationships with family.  From my extended family, to my mom, siblings, and especially my kids.  The one relationship I need to work on the hardest is my relationship with myself.  For the most part, I just do not like who I am!  Sure I like things about myself but the negatives outweigh the positives.  I guess, again, that is what this whole blog is about!

Fitness and weight loss goals - There is always room for taking better care of yourself and I am no exception to that.  I, for the most part, like how I look.  I do have about 30 pounds of baby weight I would like to lose.  I would also like tighter stomach muscles again.  I have been doing 100 sit ups frequently and they seem to be helping!  My diet, or choices of food I way, is a joke tho.  I tend to gravitate towards sugar and carbs.  I should probably look into additional ways to exercise to keep fit as well.  I also believe that personal hygiene need to be addressed here.  For awhile, I'm talking months, i was not taking care of myself hygiene wise.  I was showering only when I had to, about once a week on average.  I wasn't brushing my teeth, I'd change clothes only when I showered and I was only brushing my hair after a shower as well.  As a result of this, I need to go see a dentist and when brushing my hair before, I would get awful knots out and now my hair is't nearly as long as it was.  My hair went from down to my shoulder blades to shoulder length.  Well for the past week and a half or so I have been showering, getting dressed in clean clothes and brushing my hair every day.  What a difference in my mind set and the way I feel about myself.  I can definitely tall a big difference.

Career or work - As I stated in my financial goals, I need to find a job!  I have called Papa John's to get my old job back.  However, Papa John's is not what I want to do for the rest of my life.  My ultimate goal is to own my own interior design/architecture firm where I can design houses from the ground up.  I want to create or help create the floor plan and be able to decorate the interior of homes.  To do this I will need three college degrees; interior design, architecture, and a business degree.  I have tried college sooooo many times and boy, do I struggle with it!  I just wish I could finish what I start.  I seem to have poor self-discipline skills.  One day I WILL get there!

Who Am I?

This is a tough question to answer without doing the classic, 'I am a mother,' 'I am from Michigan,' answers.  I've thought about my answer for most of the day.  My answer is that I am me!  Good or bad, I am me.  Now I cannot go through my entire set of life events that got me to where I am and who I am today, but I will say that each and every event and thought I've experienced has made me who I am today.  This is kind of the whole reason I have this blog actually.  I do NOT like where my life is at and therefore I do NOT like who I am as a person.  So I have been doing a lot of research to figure out what and how to change the things I don't like.  Now let me state that I don't hate everything about myself nor do I think that I need to change everything about myself.  There are definitely areas that need vast change and improvement but there are some areas of myself that are great.  There are also areas the would be okay if left alone but I feel could use some improving.  I know that nobody is perfect but I'd at least like to like myself more and I believe that for me this is the way to do it.  I hope to make this journey of improving myself a life long one and I realize that I did not get here overnite so I do NOT expect it to change tomorrow.  I hope to learn a lot about myself, about who I am, in the process.  My next personal entry will be about 'what I am passionate about.'

How to Understand Different Types of Meditation

There are many ways in which to meditate, and one of the frustrations beginners have is to understand the various ways to do it.

Steps

1.  Consider the many forms of meditation.  They include:

• Focus on breathing.  Note that the simplest method of meditation (and possibly the most common) is to simply focus on one's breath.  Concentrate on your breath--it's that easy.
• Mantras, which are words repeated over and over.  Herbert Benson, author of The Relaxation Response (RR), recommends the mantra "one" which is said with each exhalation.  Many people use different mantras, such as "aum" or others.
• Focusing your attention on a specific sense.  For instance, you might focus solely on what you hear.  Alternatively, you might focus on what you feel.
• Visualizations (many forms of these exist).  These involve trying to envision a particular object.  One of my favorite forms of this is visualizing yourself from outside of your body (i.e., from a 3rd person perspective).  This requires great discipline for some people to do.  Others find it easy.
• Walking meditation.  This involves focusing on the process of walking.  There exists a multitude of books on this matter if you are interested in further reading on this matter.
• Passage meditation.  This involves memorizing and slowly repeating the words of a simple, positive, inspirational passage from on the world's great spiritual traditions (for example the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi).

2.  Research further.  For those interested in Buddhist meditation, you might consider reading up on Wikipedia's extensive collection of Buddhist thought.  A good place to start is with the article on "kammatthana," or the Forty Objects of meditation.

Tips

• Meditating while laying down is tricky due to the constant threat of falling asleep.  However, if one has insomnia, this can be seen as beneficial.
• It is helpful for the beginner to find the quietest environment possible for meditative practice.  Eventually, meditation can be done anytime, anywhere.
• A common theme among meditative practices is focusing one's attention on an object.  This might clarify the objective of the aforementioned methods.
• It can be helpful to sit for a short while in silence prior to meditating, until the heartbeat slows.
• The beginner meditator shouldn't try to meditate for a period greater than her or she is comfortable with.  In time, as meditation becomes more natural, one may find the length of meditative practice gradually increases naturally and without strain.

Warnings

• There are reports of hypoglycemia resulting from meditation.  This may be rectified by eating lightly prior to practice (overeating is strongly discouraged).
• Hypo tension (low blood pressure) may result from meditation.  Therefore, it is not prudent to stand up suddenly after a long sitting, as one might faint.  Although this has been noted rarely, it is feasible.

How to Meditate Properly: Seek Expert Guidance

It is strongly advised for novices to start with a serious course in meditation in a center or group under the advice of an experienced teacher prior to trying how to meditate properly at home by yourself.  This could give you a genuine feeling of the effect that meditation might have on the mind.  Many have tried to self-study but they're most likely to fail in reaching the aim of meditation.  Actually it may have adverse effects, which you don't want to

Before you begin to learn how to meditate properly, be sure that you are not too tired or hungry.  Wear loose cozy clothing as well.  Lastly, be sure that your seat is comfortable for you to have the ability to do the steps on how to meditate properly.

How to Meditate Properly in Your House

If you are planning to meditate at home, here are some of the steps that can help you on how to meditate properly.

Get a place where you can meditate.  Make a whole room particularly for deep mind meditation, or you can meditate in your bedroom or at the backyard.  The place you pick is clean and uncluttered as environment can have an effect on your meditation.

Pick a good time to meditate.  This is crucial on how to meditate properly.  The ideal time for meditation is during early mornings and in the evening, before you have your dinner.  These hours are great to be able to meditate without anyone bothering you.

Before meditation, get everything ready that you are likely to use in meditation.  Cell phones ought to be either turned off or are not in the same room as you.

Get into proper position.  There are 2 typical positions that you can try in order to execute how to meditate properly.  First is lying down on your back and the second is the sitting position.  If you are a beginner, do the sitting position.  Most beginners go to sleep during the lying position.  Sit comfortably and ensure you are comfortable since you're likely to be in that position for quite a few minutes.

Start meditating by closing your eyes as you concentrate on your breathing.  This is the key to how to meditate properly.  Inhale through your nose, hold your breath for 5 seconds, and breathe out by your mouth.

After mastering breathing meditation, you will be able to move to analytic meditation.  This is where you will reflect the meaning of a Dharma instruction (teaching of the Buddha).

How to Meditate Properly Guidelines

Meditation is worked out and performed ritually in India and other parts worldwide for years and years.  Health experts have proven its amazing benefits to the body, mind, and soul.  It is one of the most efficient ways to relieve stress, regularize a person's breathing pattern, and get inner peace.  But what's oct significant to learn how to meditate properly is its ability to train you on focus and concentration.

Many stars, personalities and athletes are actually involved with yoga and meditation.  Actually it is bit by bit turning into a trend for anyone who really wants to free themselves of the stress and anxiety brought about by work and stressful lifestyle.  By learning how to meditate properly, you'll be able to increase calmness and physical relaxation, improve wellness and well-being.

How To Meditate: A 10 Step Beginner's Guide

Meditation helps you to grow your own intuitive faculty.  It becomes very clear what is going to fulfill you, what is going to help you flower.

- Osho

Life can get a little crazy at times.  The hectic pace and demand we face on a daily basis often leave us feeling stressed, overworked, tired and even unhappy.  Meditation is a simple, effective and convenient way to calm your busy mind, relax your body, become grounded and find inner peace amidst the chaos of day-to-day life.

I was first introduced to meditation at thirty years of age by the idea of becoming a better person.  This lead me to discovering that I would like to be a more spiritual person.  I then came across an article, that I have shared on my page, that says in order to help become a spiritual person you should try meditation.  I've been really working at becoming a better person and it sounds like by meditating it will help to accomplish that!  I'm excited and I think I will DO my first meditation tomorrow after I wake up!  I cannot wait to quiet my thoughts, start feeling present and start enjoying a sense of relaxation and peace that says can happen when meditating.  I hope I will enjoy it and continue to explore different approaches and ways to meditate and hope to discover the benefits that I have read about in previous posts about the benefits...

Newcomers to meditation often feel intimidated.  They imagine a monk sitting in lotus pose for hours on end atop a mountain.  But the reality is that meditation is much easier and accessible than most people realize.

Here is a simple 10 step beginner's guide to meditation:

1.  Sit tall

The most common and accessible position for meditation is sitting.  Sit on the floor, in a chair or on a stool. If you are seated on the floor it is often most comfortable to sit cross-legged on a cushion.  Comfort is key.  Now imagine a thread extending from the top of your head, pulling your back, neck and head straight up towards to ceiling in a straight line.  Sit tall.

2.  Relax your body

Close your eyes and scan your body, relaxing each body part one at a time.  Begin with your toes, feet, ankles, shins and continue to move up your entire body.  Don't forget to relax your shoulders, neck, face, jaw and tongue which are all common areas for us to hold tension.

3.  Be still and silent

Now that you are sitting tall and relaxed, take a moment to be still.  Just sit.  Be aware of your surroundings, your body, the sounds around you.  Don't react or attempt to change anything.  Just be aware.

4.  Breathe

Turn your attention to your breath.  Breathe silently, yet deeply.  Engage your diaphragm and fill you lungs, but do not force your breath.  Notice how your breath feels in your nose, throat, chest and belly as it flows in and out.

5.  Establish a mantra

A mantra is a sound, word or phrase that can be repeated throughout your meditation.  Mantras can have spiritual, vibrational and transformative benefits, or they can simply provide a point of focus during meditation.  They can be spoken aloud or silently to yourself.  A simple and easy mantra for beginners is to silently say with each breath, I am breathing in, I am breathing out.

6.  Calm your mind

As you focus on your breath or mantra, your mind will begin to calm and become present.  This does not mean that thoughts will cease to arise.  As thoughts come to you, simply acknowledge them, set them aside, and return your attention to your breath or mantra.  Don't dwell on your thoughts.  Some days your mind will be busy and filled with inner chatter, other days it will remain calm and focused.  Neither is good or bad.

7.  When to end your practice

There is no correct length of time to practice meditation, however when first beginning it is often easier to sit for shorter periods of time (5 to 10 minutes).  As you become more comfortable with your practice, meditate longer.  Set an alarm if you prefer to sit for a predetermined length of time.  Another option is to decide on the number of breaths you will count before ending your practice.  A male is a helpful tool to use when counting breaths.

8.  How to end your practice

When you are ready to end your practice, slowing bring your conscious attention back to your surroundings.  Acknowledge your presence in the space around you.  Gently wiggle your fingers and toes. Begin to move your hands, feet, arms, and legs.  Open your eyes.  Move slowly and take your time getting up.

9.  Practice often

Consistency is more important than quantity.  Meditating for 5 minutes every day will reward you with far greater benefits than meditating for two hours, one day a week.

10.  Practice everywhere

Most beginners find it easier to meditate in a quiet space at home, but as you become more comfortable, begin exploring new places to practice.  Meditating outdoors in nature can be very peaceful, and taking the opportunity to meditate on the bus or in your office chair can be an excellent stress reliever.

Meditation is a simple, effective and convenient way to calm your busy mind, relax your body, become grounded and find inner peace amidst the chaos of day-to-day life.  Begin meditating today and reap the rewards.

How to Meditate

Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the conditioned, "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness.  To free one's awareness from associating solely with the mind and its thoughts.  There are many different meditation methods.

At the core of meditation is the goal to focus and eventually quiet your mind, thus freeing your awareness.  as you progress, you will find that you can meditate anywhere and at any time, accessing your inner calm no matter what's going on around you.  You will also find that you can better control your reactions to things as you become increasingly aware of your thoughts (letting go of anger, for example).  But first, you have to learn to tame your mind and control your breathing.

Steps

1.  Make time to meditate.  Set aside enough time in your daily routine for meditating.  The effects of meditation are most noticeable when you do it regularly, some like to end the day by clearing their mind, and some prefer to find refuge in meditation in the middle of a busy day.  Generally, however, the easiest time to meditate is in the morning, before the day tires your body out and gives you mind more to think about.

2.  Find or create a quiet, relaxing environment.  It's especially important when you're starting out, to avoid any obstacles to attention.  Turn off any TV sets, phone or other noisy appliances.  If you play music, make sure it's calm, repetitive and gently, so as not to break your concentration.  Meditating outside can be conductive as long as you don't sit near a busy roadway or another source of loud noise.

3.  Sit on level ground.  Sit on a cushion if the ground is uncomfortable.  You don't have to twist your limbs into the half lotus or full lotus position or adapt any unusual postures.  The important thing is to keep your back straight, as this will help with breathing later on.

• Tilt your pelvis forward by sitting on the forward edge of a thick cushion, or on a chair that has its back legs lifted off the ground 8 to 10 cm (3 or 4 inches).
• Starting from your bottom, stack up the vertebrae in your spine, so that they are balanced one on top of another and support the whole weight of your torso, neck, and head.  Done correctly it feels as if no effort is required to hold your torso up.  (A small amount of effort is in fact required, but with the right posture, it is so small and evenly distributed you don't notice it.)
• Relax your arms and legs.  They don't need to be in any special position, just as long as they are relaxed and don't interfere with balancing your torso.  You can put your hands on your thighs, but it might be easier at first to let your arms hang at your sides--the hanging weight helps reveal where things are out of alignment.

4.  Relax everything, and keep searching for things that aren't relaxed.  When you find them, (and you will), relax them.  You may find that you can't relax them unless you adjust your posture so that you are better aligned, and that place doesn't need to work anymore.  This commonly happens with muscles near your spine.  You may also notice that you are twisted a little and need to straighten out.  Little muscles in your face often keep getting tense, too.

5.  Let your attention rest on the flow of your breath.  listen to it, follow it, but make no judgments on it (such as "It sounds a little raspy...maybe I'm getting a cold?")  The goal is to allow the "chattering" in your mind to gradually fade away.  Find an "anchor" to settle your mind.

• Try reciting a mantra (repetition of a sacred word).  A single word like "om" uttered at a steady rhythm is best.  You can recite it verbally or just with the voice in your mind.  Beginners may find it easier to count their breaths.  Try counting your breath from 1 through 10, then simply start again at 1.
• To circumvent images that keep intruding on your thoughts, visualize a place that calms you.  It can be real or imaginary.  Imagine you are at the top of a staircase leading to a peaceful place.  Count your way down the steps until you are peaceful and relaxed.

6.  Silence your mind.  Once you've trained your mind to focus on just one thing at a time, the next step is focus on nothing at all, essentially "clearing" your mind.  This requires tremendous discipline but is the pinnacle of meditation.  After focusing on a single point as described in the previous step, you can either cast it away, or observe it impartially and let it come and then go, without labeling it as "good" or "bad".  Take the same approach to any thoughts which return to your mind until silence perseveres.

Tips

• For some people, focusing attention on a point or object does exactly the opposite of what meditation is all about.  It takes you back to the life of focus, concentration, strain.  In this case, as an alternative to the above techniques, some meditators recommend un-focusing your attention.  Instead of focusing attention on a point or an object, this type of meditation is achieved by attaining a state of zero.  Take your attention above all thoughts to a point where you lose all attention and all thoughts.

• What you do with a silent mind is up to you.  Some people find that it is a good time to introduce an intention or a desired outcome to the subconscious mind.  Others prefer to "rest" in the rare silence that meditation offers.
• You should be comfortable enough to concentrate, but not so comfortable that you feel the urge to fall asleep
• Make some effort to be mindful of your mood and thoughts when not meditating.  You may notice that you feel calmer, happier, and sharper on days when you have meditated, and notice a decrease in these qualities when you have not.
• It may be beneficial to mentally review or replay the previous day at the start of your sessions, if you can do so in a relaxed, passive way.  This often happens naturally, and sometimes it's best to allow this to happen, as long as you don't get emotionally wrapped up or let it go on too long before beginning meditation.  This procedure is known as "processing" of recent events, and becoming skills at a non-judgmental review of events does much to increase your awareness and emotional well-being.
• The benefits of meditation can be experiences long before the practitioner has been successful in maintaining focus or clearing the mind, simply as a result of the practice.
• Set aside a specific time each day for meditation, but don't overdo it.  If 20-30 minutes in the morning isn't enough, add another session later in the day instead of trying for a single, longer session.
• If you find it difficult to meditate for the length of time you have chosen, try a shorter time for a while.  Almost anyone can meditate for a minute or two without experiencing intrusive thoughts.  Then, as the ocean of the mind calms, you gradually lengthen your meditation until you have achieved the desired length of time.
• It is easy to lose track of time while meditating.  Being concerned about time can be distracting to meditation.  Some people find it liberating to set a timer and let it be concerned about how long you have to meditate.  Choose a gently timer.  If it is too jarring, the anticipation of the alarm can be distracting also.
• With good posture, it will be easier to breathe as your lungs will have more space.  In fact, you may notice how most of the muscles in your torso work to help you breathe, from the muscles at the base of your pelvis to the ones in your neck, centered on the main breathing muscle, the diaphragm.  They work just a little, assisting the diaphragm.  If you notice this, its a good sign you have established a good posture.  The right posture is easy and comfortable.  You almost feel like you are floating.
• Do what works best for you.  What works for some people might have other techniques that might not work for you.  Don't let that get you down.  Remember to relax!

Warnings

• Don't expect immediate results.  The purpose of meditation is not to turn you into a Zen master overnight.  Meditation work best when it is done for tis own sake, without becoming attached to results.
• If you find your mind wandering, try not to scold or beat yourself up about it.  Wandering restlessly is the normal state of the conditioned mind.  This is the first lesson many people learn in meditation and its a valuable one.  Simply, gently, invite your attention back to your breath, remembering that you've just had a small but precious "awakening."  Becoming aware of your wandering mind it a success, not a failure.
• Some people find it's difficult to meditate immediately before bedtime.  If you're very sleepy, you may find yourself nodding off.  Conversely, meditating may energize your mind, making it more difficult to fall asleep.
• As you meet other people who meditate, you may encounter a few who will boast about their endurance for long meditation sessions, even hours and hours at a sitting.  Don't be tempted to change your practice to "keep up."  Meditation is not competitive.  It's a way of life.
• If your posture is good, you will almost certainly feel a stretch on the back of your neck, and possibly in your shoulders.  Just relax.  If the stretch is so pronounced that it is painful, working on stretching and relaxing that area when you aren't meditating.

July 8, 2012

So I've been on a mission!  I've been researching how to become a more spiritual person, and I have learned so much!  I have been researching meditation for the last few days and have decided to give it a try after I'm done learning how to do it exactly.  I really like writing about things and I'm a knowledge junkie so this is kind of a big, but fun, project for me!  Another huge step in becoming a more spiritual person by researching and calling the church I'd like to go to.  I've even downloaded a Bible app for my computer to start reading verses and learning about Christianity.  My ultimate goal is to learn about all different types of religion to see which one(s) appeal to me the most.

I'm really excited about doing all these things and taking the (baby) steps to become a more spiritual person!  I truly believe these are the correct stepping stones to bettering my life, and I've barely put a dent in the research I would like to accomplish both about being a more spiritual person and better person.  Next on my blog I'd like to add some informational posts on meditation so I hope you are ready to follow me in this journey!

How to Set Goals Spritually

Setting spiritual goals can help you lead a more fulfilling life.  There are many types of spiritual goals depending on your individual belief system and your personal spiritual needs.  It helps to begin by praying, meditating, and studying the sacred texts of your belief system to get an accurate idea of the areas in your spiritual life that require improvement.  Speaking with clergy leaders can also help you get additional clarification on potential areas for improvement.

Instructions

1.  Consider the areas of your spiritual life that need improvement.  Examine your relationships with family and friends and determine whether or not you are living in accordance with the ideals you believe in spiritually.

2.  Envision what success in your spiritual goals would be like, and what behavior you would demonstrate to meet your goals.  Write down all of your conclusions in a journal.

3.  Make the changes in your behavior and actions that you envisioned previously to achieve your goals.  Determine potential obstacles that can hinder your spiritual growth and progress.  Eliminate as many of these as possible.

4.  Choose spiritual goals that will have a positive effect on yourself.

5.  Break down goals into manageable steps by getting to the root of problems or negative aspects in your life you need to change.  For instance, if your goals is to be kinder, work on the way you talk to others.  Steps would include using positive words, keeping you temper, and considering your words before you speak them.

6.  Set a realistic deadline to achieve the different stages of each spiritual goal.  Write each deadline in your journal to record your commitment.

7.  Write down methods you can use to measure your level of progress.  Using the prior example, you could measure progress in growing kinder by noticing when you are experiencing more love in your relationships with others.  Measuring progress gives you a more concrete thing to work toward so that you can stay motivated and moving forward.

8.  Record your progress in your journal.  You will be able to read how you set up spiritual goals, overcame obstacles and achieved steps.  This will help you meet future goals.

How to Be a Spiritual Person

Spirituality is more prevalent now than it was twenty years ago thanks to Oprah and magazines like Yoga Journal and Spirituality + Health.  If you're on a spiritual path and would like some fresh inspiration, you've found some here.

Instructions

1.  Don't judge yourself or others.  The path of a spiritual person is to release judgments for themselves and others.  You trust that there is always a divine plan to every person's life and every situation.

2.  Do not gossip or talk badly of others.  When you have an opportunity to speak a kind word, take it.  Humanity needs more love and support and less criticism and condemning.

3.  Add your light to the world.  Lend a hand to create positive change.  This can be through volunteer work, sponsoring a child or endangered species, donating to a cause you're passionate about, recycling and being conscious of the world you live in - from the environment to other people's feelings.

4.  Learn how to balance.  The joy of being a spiritual person is being aware of the life process and it's challenges, and striving to create the time to balance work, play, and rest.

5.  Respect yourself.  A spiritual person believes that self-love is necessary to love others.  Taking loving care of yourself through a healthy diet, exercise and quiet time allows you reflective healing time with the Divine, which in turn allows you to give more joy, love and wisdom to others.

6.  Stay in the now.  Being present is essential on the spiritual path.  Acknowledging that we are free from the limitations of time if we learn to truly live in the now allows us to receive new opportunities and manifest miracles.

7.  Don't give up.  There may be days when you feel doubt or fear creep in.  Being a spiritual person doesn't mean you have to be perfect.  Your coal is already perfect - it's your human self you're learning from.  Open yourself up to learning the lessons and try to find joy and humor in the process.

8.  Do not harm.  Try to avoid killing bugs.  This simple act of kindness can create a major shift within your consciousness.  Choose your words wisely.  As a spiritual person you recognize how powerful your words are and you express yourself from a place of love and compassion for others, always with the intention to heal, learn and grow.

9.  Avoid becoming a spiritual snob.  You can never know it all.  Your way is not better than someone else's.  Remain humble and in a state of gratitude and awe for this incredibly interesting world we live in.

10.  Keep learning.  As a spiritual person, you have a thirst for knowledge and self-discovery.  You are always working towards becoming a better person, a kinder and more loving person.  A forgiving person.  Read inspiring books and surround yourself with positive people.  Watch inspiring and education films.  Invite art and literature into your life.  A spiritual person is rich with passion and love for all of life and is on a lifelong quest to keep evolving and growing beyond self-imposed limitations.

How to Become More Spiritual

If you want to become more spiritual it only takes a few short steps and the results will astound you.  You'll feel better, think clearer and bring more joy into your life.  Spiritually has very little to do with organized religion, prayers or chanting.  It's more of a lifestyle and a state of mind.  If you loathe stress and living with a dog-eat-dog attitude, here's how to become more spiritual.

Instructions

1.  Meditate to find inner peace.  Often in the turmoil of daily life, people forget about the true meaning of life and what's really important.  Sit on a pillow or mat in a quiet place and clear your mind.  This will be hard at first, but with practice, you'll be able to eliminate extraneous thoughts and relax.

2.  Read spiritual works.  This can mean anything from the Bible to the Hindu sacred text, like the Upanishads and Vedas, from pop culture books like "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success" to books about Buddhism and Taoism.  Explore a wide variety of spiritual and religious texts to find what appeals to you.

3.  Help others.  Actions speak louder than words, so consider volunteer work for your favorite charity or simply baby-sit a neighbor's child so she can go to night school.  A spiritual person thrives on turning thoughtful words and feelings into reality.  Reciting Bible passages may calm the nerves, but help others to achieve true spirituality.

4.  Write and create by keeping a diary of daily feelings and observations.  You can include drawing collages, photos and other artwork in it.  Use the journal as one part healing therapy, and one part spiritual quest.  By combining the two, you'll learn how inward observation and selflessness can make you live a calmer, more centered life.

5.  Mind your manners--and your words.  Become kinder to people each day, in your personal life and work situations.  Be aware of other people's thoughts and feelings, and offer to help them when you can do so.  This will create good karma for you--but of course, that shouldn't be the motive for being kind.

6.  Commune with nature.  Go for a walk in the woods or on the beach instead of going to a crowded health club.  Hike a nature trail or take in a stray cat or two.  Forsake the usual materialistic pursuits and you'll feel better and become more spiritual in the long run.

Goal Setting Success Guide - How To Use A "To Do" List

Look over your to do list.

Do you believe that you can do it?

If you have doubts, take some time to think things through first.

• Are your expectations realistic?
• Have you succeeded or failed at tasks that were similar to this before?
• What can you do to improve your chances of success this time around?
• Are you a professional procrastinator?
• If so, what can you do to make sure that you will keep going until you reach your goal?
• Are you afraid of failing?

If so, work at improving the skills you will need. Or test the waters by taking an evening or distance education course before you sign up for a whole program.
If you are having trouble identifying your fears or figuring out how to deal with them, talk to people you trust. Ask for their suggestions, but always make your own decisions.
Put your plan into action from your to do list.
By this stage, you probably have more than one to do list. Now you need to put them all together into one comprehensive plan.
You must list tasks in the order in which you must complete them and set deadlines for the completion of any major plans.
Successful career planners keep themselves on track using a variety of methods, such as:

• marking tasks on a monthly calendar (noting important dates such as application deadlines or action plans)
• making a weekly or daily to do list and crossing off tasks as they are completed
• using a computer program to create timeline charts which give you your time limits for task completion
• using a commercial appointment book or a notebook

Use whatever methods work best for you. If it is absolutely necessary, ask a friend to check on your progress occasionally or question you on your successes.
You are more likely to get things done if you know you'll be asked about it.

Goal Setting Success Guide - Career Plan: Start Backwards!

A career plan often starts by planning backwards!
You look at where you want to end up with your career plan and then progressively backtrack, identifying each step which precedes the one under consideration.

Start by asking yourself if you can accomplish your goal today. If you can’t why do you think that is? What do you have to do first? Is there something you have to do before that?

Keep thinking backwards like this until you arrive at tasks you could do today. This will help you to attain the goal’s starting point and create the first step in your career plan.

For example, if your goal is to take a two-year business administration program, could you start today?

No, you have to be accepted to the program first. Could you be accepted today?

No, you have to apply first. Could you apply today?

No, you have to decide which post-secondary institutions to apply to. Could you decide today?

No, you have to do some research first and so on.

Four strategies can help you to develop an effective career plan.

• State your goal in very specific terms that you can accept
• Plan backwards from your goal for the best results
• Confront your fears and expectations immediately and progressively
• Put your plan on paper and into action as soon as possible

Planning a career move is much like mapping your route for a road trip.

If you don't know where you are going, you can't decide how to get there, but if you do know where you are going, you’ll get there faster.

Goals like “Go back to school” are too general and not specific enough.

You have to translate these goals into specific statements such as "Enter a college accounting program by next fall" or "For the next two months, search for work in the computer securities field.”

You have to know exactly what you want to do and when to go about it. So start backwards and formulate your career plan!

Goal Setting Success Guide - Career Goals: How To Set Them

Before creating career goals, draft a simple outline of the factors you may want to consider and identify when setting and analyzing your career goals in a step by step format.

Journalists have to answer all of these questions in order to get the full story. That is the same thing that you have to when setting career goals.

The Questions:

• Who
• What
• Where
• When
• How

Who will I ask for help? What do I want the outcome to be? Where should I start? When should I begin? How should I begin?

Who will benefit from my career goal? What will I do to get started? Where will my career goal put me in 10 years? When Do I want these goals to be reached? How will these goals affect my future?

Who will I work with to accomplish my goal? What will really make me happy? Where will I apply my resources? When will I apply my knowledge to begin attaining my goals? How do I really feel about the goals that I have chosen?

All of these questions have to be directed before you can begin to work on your career goals.

They will take some real thought and honesty to set them properly. When you have answered these questions you next have to begin to prioritize them.

Lets take a look at an example.

John Smith wants to be the President of his company one day. Right now he is a mere data entry clerk. His company is a large corporation that works with computer repairs and security. John knows everything there is to know about computer repairs and can fix almost any computer he will ever look at.

He is efficient at using and finding hackers and securing computers are not hacked into. His boss is currently ignoring his advice so John is not so sure how to go about getting his dream of being president of the company someday which he is more than capable of doing already. What should he do?

This is a time when John should begin to prioritize and decide how he can get to his goal.

When you see that your company needs help on something work in secret and bring in a finished product at the right time or schedule private meetings with your boss.

This shows that you are motivated and determined. You must take the steps in succession and not try to become a president in 1 year. That is unrealistic.

Although John will want to begin working for his long term goal he should also begin by setting short term goals that will lead him there.

The first goal can start with moving up one position at work and continue on in this method. That way he can celebrate each promotion and advancement separately and get satisfaction from the step by step progress he is making.

Just remember that you have to develop an action plan if you are going to succeed in achieving career goals.

Setting Realistic Career Goals

When it comes to planning your future, "realistic" can mean many things. Essentially, setting realistic goals means selecting ones that you can actually achieve. We only have so much time, energy, interest and aptitude for developing our career paths, and if you haven't set realistic targets for yourself, you may feel discouraged. In order to keep your career vision realistic, consider the following questions:

• Do you have the time to commit to the goals you've set for yourself?
• Do you have the needed education or skill sets? If not, will you be able to learn these skills?
• Do you have the resources available to meet your objectives?
• Do the items on your list suit you as a person -- your personality and interests?
• Do they fit the lifestyle you have or hope to have?
• Do your goals complement one another? In other words, does achieving one goal conflict with your attempts to achieve another?
• Is the market for your chosen career limited?
• Are your ambitions achievable in the time frame you've set?

Another way to make sure your plans stay realistic is to share your ideas with trusted friends and family members. Ask for an honest assessment of your aspirations from the people who know you well. While it's true that you know yourself better than anyone, it's also helpful to have an outside perspective on such an important decision.

Don't ignore your strengths and weaknesses -- realistic self-assessment is important. Mapping a career path is both an exercise in self praise ("I am fantastic at math!"), and an exercise in humility ("I'm not a very good singer"). You can always learn and develop the skills needed for almost any job, but you shouldn't ignore your natural talents since those are, after all, what you do best.

You can start this planning process at any time. Whether you're a high school student trying to figure out whether or not to go to college, a recent college graduate looking to land your first job, a professional seeking to advance in an existing career or a person who wants to change careers, it's never too soon (or too late) to start planning. To find out more about goal-setting and career planning, the links on the next page will point you in the right direction.

Short-term Career Goals

Now that you've thought about where you want to be a few years down the line, it's time to shorten the scope and think about the things you should be doing now in order to achieve those long-term plans. These intermediate steps are your short-term goals, or things that can be achieved in a short period of time.

Just as you did with your long-term ambitions, you'll want to consider both conceptual and operational short-term aims. When deciding on conceptual short-term objectives, think about things you need and want that can be achieved in five years or fewer.

Ask yourself questions like these:

• What skills do I need to have in order to achieve my long-term aspirations?
• What knowledge do I need?
• What industry should I focus my attention on?

Some examples of short-term conceptual goals include gaining more responsibility in a current position, furthering your education to make you more qualified for a position you want or even finding a source ofmoney to pay for school. Remember, your short-term targets should support your long-term objectives, so you should constantly compare them to make sure they line up.

The last piece of this planning process is developing your short-term operational targets, which are the specific things that you can do in a short period of time that help you achieve not only your short term conceptual ambitions, but all of your long-term objectives as well. These types of goals might include applying to five different publishing companies for an entry-level position, taking a computer class to learn how to design a Web site or asking for an opportunity to lead a project at work. Your short-term operational plan includes the small steps you'll focus on day to day. It'll act as a benchmark for measuring your progress, help you to stay motivated as you accomplish it and go a long way toward helping you achieve your long-term career vision.

We've talked about the planning process -- what to think about first and what to focus on now -- but when it comes to actually naming your goals, how do you make sure they're realistic and that they work for you? On the next page we'll look at a few of the ways you can make sure your career objectives are realistic and, most importantly, achievable.

Long-term Career Goals

As we just mentioned, creating objectives for your career involves working in reverse -- deciding where you want to go and then working backward to figure out the steps that will get you there. Why? To put it simply, it's hard to map a route without first knowing the destination.

To do this, start with your long-term goals, or things you hope to accomplish in the distant future -- say, in five years or more. Then, break these down into two parts: conceptual and operational. Remember, conceptual goals are broad and focus on your wants and needs, and operational ones are the steps you take to meet those wants and needs.

First, think about your long-term conceptual ambitions.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What do I enjoy doing?
• What am I good at?
• What characteristics of a job are important to me?

Use the answers to these questions to help develop your conceptual targets, which may look something like this:

• I want to work from home to be closer to my kids.
• I want a job in a creative profession.
• I want to own my own business.

Once you have an idea of what type of things you like, want and are good at, use those as a starting point for thinking about long-term operational plans. Consider specifics about what types of jobs or roles would help you to achieve your conceptual targets. For example, if one of your conceptual goals is to work in a creative profession, an operational aim might be to become a graphic designer for an advertising company.

If you're already in a profession and are looking to advance your career, think about what specific position you would like to have. If you're a recent graduate looking for your first job, you might want to research jobs that support your long-term conceptual aspirations.

Let's say you're a recent college graduate and your long-term operational objective is to become the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. A career accomplishment like that takes many years and many intermediate steps along the way. That's why, in addition to having a long-term vision, it's important to think about the short term, as well. In the next section, we'll look at how short-term steps act as a ladder to reach your long-term aims.

How to Set Career Goals

For a few very fortunate people, finding the right career is a matter of luck. But for the rest of us who don't wake up one day to our dream jobs, getting into the right career takes a little bit of planning. A major part of that planning involves establishing -- and working to achieve -- your career goals.

Did you know that average employed Americans spend more than half of their waking hours each day working [source:Bureau of Labor Statistics]? This means that your career is likely to be a huge part of your life, let alone your time. Also, studies show that having obtainable objectives can lead to increased job satisfaction, better self-esteem and improved overall well-being [source:Helms]. With these facts in mind, devoting some time to planning your career path makes sense.

So what are career goals and why are they important? Career goals are simply the things you want to achieve in your career -- where you want to end up and how you want to get there. Objectives can be broad, such as, "I want to have a job I look forward to every day," or they can be specific, such as, "I want to teach eleventh-grade world history." But whether ambitions are specific or broad, certain or uncertain, identifying them is an important step in career planning.

In many ways, setting career goals is like consulting a map before a trip. Without a map, there's a good chance you'll get lost or spend a lot of time wandering about aimlessly. If your career is a destination, your goals are the map.

Remember how we just talked about broad and specific goals? The broad goals -- the ones that deal with your ambitions, interests, preferences, values and aptitudes -- are called conceptual goals. On the other hand, operational goals are the specific jobs and tasks you set for yourself -- the steps you'll take to achieve your conceptual goals [source: Greenhaus]. Think of conceptual goals as the destination and operational aims as the journey, and it's important to have both.

So where do you start? In most cases, setting career goals is an exercise in backward planning. Begin with where you want to go, and then work backward to where you are. In this article, we'll walk through the backward planning process of identifying your career aspirations and look at some ways to make sure you're constructing realistic targets for yourself.

How to Set Career Goals

Instructions

1. • 1
     Take inventory of your strengths and weaknesses. Personal strengths often flow from the attainment of earlier goals in life and indicate areas where a professional may easily succeed. Weaknesses provide insight as to which goals you've struggled to attain along with an indication of which goals may help overcome previous limitations.
   • 2
     Determine an overall goal. This typically takes the form of the question: "Where would I like to be in X number of years?" where "X" represents the desired length of the major goal. Consider financial improvement, family and personal development as well as other interests when setting this first goal.
   • 3
     Evaluate the actions needed to reach the overall goal in the specified period of time. Consider which of these pertain to your strengths and which may provide difficulty due to personal weaknesses. Decide which difficult goals require assistance to overcome, and where or how to find that assistance.
   • 4
     Create career goals to measure the progress of the overall goal. Each of these provides a milestone on the path to the overall goal as well as a sense of accomplishment upon attainment.
   • 5
     Write down the overall goal and the milestones. Provide specific details on each including the definition of the goal, how it pertains to career advancement and difficulties to overcome. Career goals gain much greater weight when written.