44serenity

Author: geoff

  • Cycles

    I have been here before. It’s a cycle. Get pumped to get results, get some results, then shrink back to where I started. How am I going to break the cycle?

    This time around, I am focused on a specific outcome. I want to lose 30 pounds. But see, that’s the thing: it’s a want. It’s got to become a must. I must lose 30 pounds. That’s more powerful.

    Why?

    I am tired of being overweight. I have been overweight for 20 years. I have said I was going to do things about it in the past, but the net result is that I haven’t really. The only time that I have lost significant weight is when my wife passed away in late February of 2022. I was in constant motion because I was so disturbed. I lost about 25 pounds by just walking and not eating as much. That didn’t last long, and it wasn’t really purposeful. It was grief.

    How am I going to get in control of my diet? My current habit is that I don’t plan meals. I just wing it. I go out to eat most dinners, and it’s just whatever I feel like eating that night. That has to change if I am going to experience the results that I want. I have to plan healthy meals. It’s the only way. That will be a big shift in habits for me. I can do it. Just one day at a time.

    The other habit that I need to build is being more active. I am sedentary. Most days I sit in front of a computer. I need to walk and move around more. I need to get into a stretching routine. I need to get into a workout routine. One step at a time, though. I’ll focus on getting the habit of walking down, and then add in the other things one thing at a time.

    I must focus on this. It’s important. I’ll be 50 in a little less than 6 months. I don’t want to enter my 50s being all overweight and out of shape. I did that in my 30s and 40s. Not again. It’s over. I refuse to do it. There’s a fork in the road, and I am choosing my health over being comfortable. I have been comfortable for way too long.

    These next days are critical. I have to build a good foundation of habits in order to reach my goal. I can do it. I will do it. I must do it.

    Meditate. Enjoy!

  • The Promise

    I promise myself that for the next 50 days, I will do my absolute best to lose 30 pounds. That means that I will go from 250 lbs to 220 lbs.

    I will achieve this goal by eating healthier, intermittent fasting, and exercising. My exercise will be a minimum of walking 30 minutes each day and other activities as I learn how to exercise in a way that is sustainable for me.

    I have a trip planned to Portland, Oregon on the first full week of 2027. I plan to be in good enough shape by then to snowboard. My goal is to get at least one great day of snowboarding during our week-long vacation. Ideally, we will do a total of 3 days.

    Let’s go!!!

    Meditate. Enjoy!

  • Never Give Up

    When I was in college, I experienced a heavy, deep bout of depression in my last year. I was struggling to sleep. I was struggling to stay asleep. I was a wreck. I went almost a month in that state with almost no help. Even when I talked to an on-campus doctor about it, he said that only crazy people don’t sleep. He wasn’t joking, so I remember going back to my room at my apartment completely defeated.

    Somewhere in there, my mom printed out a copy of Just For Today which is credited to Abraham Lincoln. I distinctly remember her giving it to me and telling me three very powerful words. Never give up. She sincerely meant it.

    Never give up. Those words I live by today.

    Yesterday, I caught myself mid-morning not having done my morning meditation. I was frustrated because I had a streak of over two weeks going. I decided right then and there that I wasn’t going to give up. I wasn’t going to worry about it. I would get my afternoon meditation in and call it good.

    Progress, not perfection. That’s another slogan I have learned over the years. I don’t have to be perfect with my meditation practice. When I miss one, I make a concerted effort to make the next one. Nothing in life is perfect. My meditation will not be perfect either.

    I am really glad that I didn’t give up and got my afternoon meditation in yesterday. I meditated this morning. And then, this afternoon, I found myself too busy to meditate. That’s okay. I am doing way better than I have in the past several years. According to my TM app, my record is a 30-day meditation streak. I’ll get there again. Steady wins the race.

    I am noticing the benefits of daily meditation. My mind is much clearer. I am more focused. I have more energy. I have been sleeping more deeply. I attribute it all to Transcendental Meditation.

    If you haven’t given it a shot, I highly recommend considering it.

    Meditate. Enjoy!

  • Choices

    I was presented with an interesting option in my life—to become a certified TM Consciousness Advisor and help clients in various areas of their lives.

    I could take the course to enhance my own life, but what would be the fun in that? I think it would be way more interesting to be able to provide value to other people as I grow alongside them. Being a Consciousness Advisor is a type of personal development coach focused on the essence of consciousness itself. The price is steep, but you don’t get something for nothing. The return seems limitless. Being able to truly help people is priceless.

    I have many things that I am working on right now. Full-time employment as an Application Support Analyst. Building a bookkeeping business. Learning about financial blocks through Mary Morrissey. I feel a pull here, though. I have always wondered about the deeper meanings of life, relationships, and purpose. Money is great, but it’s just a result of adding value, and there’s always an abundance of money.

    This is definitely a fork in the road. Do I commit the next 6 months to this endeavor, or do I let it pass me by? I am leaning towards commitment. Why? That’s what I really need to dive into more deeply. I have tried many things in the past and haven’t had the success that I was looking for. Who is to say that this will be any different?

    I have two weeks until the application deadline. I’m planning on deciding in the next week. So, ideally by next Sunday, I’ll know one way or another.

    In the meantime, I have really been enjoying my TM practice more lately. I am getting so much out of it. A deeper sense of calm, maybe a little bit more creativity, as evidenced by this blog. I feel better mentally and emotionally. That’s a huge thing for me, as I have been in bad spaces in those areas in my past.

    Thank you for reading. I am really excited about what my future holds.

    Meditate. Enjoy!

  • 44 minutes a day

    44 minutes a day. That’s all it takes to achieve serenity with Transcendental Meditation (aka TM).

    A 20-minute mantra-based meditation followed by a 2-minute wind-down phase.

    Once in the morning upon awakening.

    Once in the afternoon before your evening meal.

    With that simple discipline, you can change your life for the better!

    I started my TM practice almost 10 years ago. I haven’t been the best at practicing, but it has benefited me greatly. In the last couple of weeks, I have been more regular, barely missing a day. I feel more alive, more connected, and calmer. It’s simply amazing!

    My goal from here on out is to not miss days without practicing. For me, the morning meditation is easier to get in because I am in more control of the beginning of my day. The afternoon meditation is more of a challenge because I am already in the groove, and it takes a reminder many times to get me to meditate.

    Overall, I would highly recommend TM to anyone. Please visit tm.org for more information. If you live in the Indianapolis area, my TM teacher is a wonderful resource, and I can help you get connected to him.

    Meditate. Enjoy!