Being a New Yorker means being exposed to so many different cultures and different languages, different points of view, and ways of living in our world. If we look back in time, New York was a major entry point into the U.S. with people arriving from around the world with their hopes and dreams for a better life. Even today we see the many “sides” of New York and their corresponding ethnic flavors, cuisines and businesses, art and architecture. Central Park became our garden in the spring and summer and winter playground in fall and winter. As an upper east side family, my kids grew up with great museums and art galleries, wonderful restaurants and shopping. It was and still is an amazing city to live. Over time, with my kids attending school I began to realize just how stressful life in New York could be. It’s also a city of doing, not being. A restless city of comparison and competition. It becomes so easy to get caught in the machine of “wants and desires”. The machine that promises happiness, but not now, sometime in the future. If only my kids get into the right school and then do well at school and then get into the right next school. The extra classes and activities they need to get on and do well. The holidays, the parties and bar/bat Mitzvah, to which they will or will not get invited, which are now about the size and glamour of the event as the origins and true meaning of this rite of passage are lost in the need to compare and compete. It’s all based on doing and having and more doing and having because one day we will all be happy. With all these pressures to keep up, we must now add technology to the mix. The iPhones and iPads, the social media networks and the addictive tendencies these evoke in us and our kids. We now live in a city that never sleeps, where we definitely know what we desire and want but have lost sight of what we truly need. I ask myself why is New York like this. It’s known and loved as a fast city. A city full of exuberance and new ideas. A “big” exciting city, a world class city. All of this is true, but we who live here have to learn to adapt to the new pressures and stresses of living and loving at such a fast pace. We all know the feeling of being in the zone and mostly we like or rather love the outcome of anything that comes out of this moment of being in the Zone. All we do with a calm state of mind we seem to achieve better results more easily with better flow and more success with ease. To understand the value and importance of a daily meditation practice is powerful for us as parents and for our little ones to benefit from and for the quality of life we all want to get in touch with but stressful events minor or major can distract and derail us from time to time. Meditation is a great way to take a moment to reflect and to collect oneself to get back on track.I even teach meditation to my kids who love to sit with me and share such precious moments of stillness, peace and energetic togetherness. It creates real energetic bonding, just try it. Simply by connecting to your breath consciously will make a huge difference in your life in any situation. There are so many different techniques and kinds of meditation and research shows that meditation improves our quality of actions and decision making in many ways. There are also now many researchers proving that meditation has many health benefits and can improve the speed of recovery from illness and surgery by up to twenty percent. As we begin by simply focusing on our breath and breathing we relax and begin to experience quieting of our minds. Some minds don’t give in to being quiet so easily, so this may take time. I recommend at first to see thoughts as clouds simply moving through the sky. Some thoughts like clouds are light, others can be dark and heavy, but for those of us that have flown we know that above the clouds there are blue skies and in daytime the sun is always shining. Quieting our minds brings a sense of inner peace a place from where we can begin to accept the world as it is and be free from the need to obsess about why things happen as they do if there is no logical answer or way of knowing. As the serenity prayer explains we begin to accept the things we cannot change and develop a courage to change the things we can. Most importantly, we gain insight to know the difference between the things we can and cannot change or control. Meditation is not about being passive! It is about gaining insights and skillful means to be proactive and not reactive, in responding to events and how we can use our resources and energy wisely to make a real difference in our world as we so choose. I remind myself with a simple inner ritual to get to my heart center, that you can follow at first and then develop your own when you have experienced the benefits of meditation and gained confidence to explore and be playful. There are no rights or wrongs, just what works for you. Each stage I breathe slowly through until I feel at peace to continue with the next. “I am breathing freely and I let go of tension in my body with a huge sigh. My mind is now becoming quiet and I let go of my thoughts as they arise. I accept the world as it is and not the way I believe it should beI love and accept myself just as I am. I love and accept others just as they are.My Heart is open to expand and receive . I choose now to be here in bliss as I feel my heart opening and expanding. I breathe into this expansion and allow anything other than love in this moment to fall away” …. With meditation less is more. Breath awareness, making the mind still, being open to accept the truth and loving and accepting myself and others as I am and they are, really opens my heart and brings great emotional awareness and healing. As the Buddha said …. “Look within and be still. Free yourself from fears and attachment and then know the sweet joy of the way!”
