Adapting To Change By Meditation

Adapting to any kind of change in your life can be very stressful. The one thing I have learned when it comes to any kind of change is to keep it on a positive level. To do that I stay calm and sometimes use meditating to help keep it all in perspective. A friend of mine related this story about how they used meditation to stay calm in a stressful situation and how by doing so, she gained a new friend.

“I walked out of the house just in time to see an old VW bus scrape the front fender of my brand-new car. I knew I needed to stay calm and knew I began to meditate to help me get focused on the situation. The driver got out of his car, threw his hat on the ground, then hung his head, holding it in his hands. I knew that he obviously didn't have the money to pay for the damage to her car and he almost started to cry.

I continued to meditate to keep things in perspective and walked up to the man and I could tell he was very nervous and expected me to say something like “What an idiot, are you blind”, or something just as mean that so he would feel more terrible. As I walked up to the man I looked at the scrape, saw it was something that I could live with and I simply said don't worry about the scrape and to have a nice day.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He began to cry tears of happiness and hugged my friend. He then ran to his wife who was in the car wondering what they were going to do and he hugged his wife and introduced her to me.

As we talked I told hem how I used meditation to keep as calm as possible because I had a temper in the past that caused me a lot of problems. The man and his wife and I became the best of friends. Here it is 20 years later and even though the man has now passed away and his wife is in a home for the elderly I still visits the wife every week and we still talk about the day they had met.”

Using meditation will certainly help you think about the situation you are in and to not act on impulse, but to handle whatever situation it is you are in you will act responsibly. After my friend and I talked I thought how I meditation could help me adapt to the change. I thought by meditating I would have a chance to channel my mind to positive thinking and could make a bad situation into something that could have a special meaning in my life. 

Never Stop Learning with Continuing Education Courses

Has anyone ever told you that they are too old to go back to school and pursue continuing education? If so, you can tell them that they are full of baloney! A 93 year-young woman was recently in the news for finally graduating from college. She never gave up on her dream of continuing education and eventually succeeded in her goal, even though it took almost eighty years to do it.

When interviewed by the media, she said that she was even thinking about going to graduate school (at 94 years old!) to earn her Master’s Degree in education.

We are never too old to learn something new. Learning does not have to stop once we graduate high school or college: it should keep going until we move on from this life. If we do not use it, we lose it. That is the case for our brain as well. Pursue continuing education and find that you have the capacity to learn something new each day.

So, if you are ready to get starting on your continuing education path, start now. Even if you have to start slow, that is better than doing nothing and letting your brain go to mush. Search on online for courses that interest you. They can be ones that require very little of your time, money and energy. However, if it will get you interested in learning, it will be worth it.

Or, you can call your local college or university to find out more about the selection of continuing education courses they offer each month. Most colleges have a vast selection of programs that you can choose from that will interest you and provide you with the educational stimulation your brain craves. You can even learn a new hobby like writing, genealogy or painting!

You can even go all out and pursue your continuing education degree. Colleges have many flexible degree options these days: from online courses to evening classes to classes that meet on the weekends. If you can dream it, there is probably an Associates, Bachelors or Master’s degree program that will fit into your schedule and lifestyle.

So, get up and get started today. There are no more excuses and once you get started, you will find that education can be an amazing thing and that you have so much more potential and intelligence than you ever thought possible.

Make the first step by calling a friend or relative and tell them of your plans. If you tell someone else, they can make you accountable and make sure you follow through with your plans. You cannot have excuses if they won’t let you off the hook.

Believe it; you will thank them in the end. You will forget what your life was like without constant education and coursework. And your life will be happier and richer because of continuing education.

A Fun Way to Keep Your Mind Active After Retirement

You have been a hard and dedicated worker your whole life. You worked with for your family on the farm or in business or in your trade. In fact, you have worked for so long that it is all you have really known.

You have dreamed of the day when you could hang up your working boots and retire to a life of leisure and possibly travel the world with your spouse. However, you have been retired for a while now and the travelling thing is fun, but getting old.  You still have energy and cannot see yourself sitting around the house just watching soap operas and fishing shows all day.

In short, you want mental stimulation and you would really like to meet new people while you are at it. How can you do that without taking up gambling, going to MacDonald’s or Starbucks or the community center, and playing bridge every day? Well, one of the best ways to do that is by signing up for some continuing education classes.

Continuing education classes can help keep your mind sharp and help you learn a new hobby or subject all the while meeting new people who share the same interests. Most community colleges, recreation centers and universities offer a wide variety of continuing education courses throughout the year.

The easiest way to find these classes is to call up or go online to the website of your local colleges and recreation centers to find out more about their upcoming class offerings and how you can register. For example, you can take a class to learn how to make jewelry, learn how to sew or knit, learn how to throw pottery or write the next great American novel.

Or, you can take more of an education type course like a Spanish language class or a literature course. The choices are only limited by your imagination and drive to learn.

The best part, you will probably find like-minded people in your courses. More than likely, they are probably in the same boat as you and are looking for a way to occupy their time in retirement. You could form a friendship with these people and build new relationships. And who does not like having a lot of friends and acquaintances?

The most important thing, it helps you continue to feel like you are doing something productive. You have spent the majority of your life doing things for others: your parents, your spouse, your children and your employers. Now it is your time to take up a hobby that you have always wanted to try but did not have the time for. Why not! You have worked hard your whole life and completely deserve this time.

So, pick up the phone or go online and find out more about the upcoming courses in your area. By this time next week, you could be creating the next blockbuster novel or painting a masterpiece that will eventually land in a famous museum. If you dream it, it is possible and continuing education can be the missing piece to make that happen.

Massive change starts small

Avalanches landslides, fires, mudslides or floods are very scary if you have witnessed one or have seen one close up you know that they can be life-changing. All of these massive events can start out as massive events, but more than likely they start out as small perhaps even insignificant events. A fire can start with a tossed match or a massive lightning strike; a mudslide can start with a pebble or a cliff giving way; an avalanche can start with a snowball or a side of a cliff dropping suddenly. 

No matter how they start, they can grow into massive life-threatening or life-changing events. It is the same for any action you take, any small step or decision you make can lead to massive action on massive dreams even amidst massive uncertainties.  You know this is is pretty much where anyone who's ever done anything massive had to start. The problem is not the massive action, it is the starting of the action that causes us so much pain and uncertainty. Once we start, things just get way easier as we get caught up riding the massive event we started. The key is to be on top of the action, not caught up in the action. For that to happen requires courage, strength, planning and good luck.