Set an intention. Plan consciously to enjoy your well deserved vacation before the time comes. Tick off the days on your calendar until you leave, talk out loud about how excited you are to be going away, and consciously look forward to a truly restful but fun adventure away from home.

Start packing several days before you leave. Select, fold, and put aside the outfits you plan to wear. Do not wait until the last minute to pack, and do not pack too much! You will likely end up wearing your most comfortable shorts and t-shirt more frequently than you think.

Avoid overextending yourself before vacation. Plan to get several good nights of sleep before leaving. Do not cram in extra-long hours at the office in anticipation of your absence. If you have trouble sleeping, consider Melatonin, an over-the-counter supplement that is most effective on a short term basis for sleeping difficulties due to jet lag. There are several herbs that are helpful for sleep, such as valerian and chamomile, which have a calming effect.

Make your room as familiar and comfortable as your home. Bring your most comfortable pajamas, your own pillow if possible, and relaxing music. Often the front desk can provide a CD player if the room does not already have one.

Be patient and “roll with the punches.” Inevitably, things will happen that may be contrary to your well-laid plans. If there are delays or you have to wait in line, first, accept it as being inevitable and then use the opportunity to do something. Make sure you have a good summer read with you. Welcome unscheduled “downtime” with your family or travel partners as an opportunity to just be.

• The present moment: When rush from moment to moment, looking for your next pleasure or anticipating a problem, you miss the beauty and immediacy of the present. Meditation teaches you to slow down and take each moment as it comes.
• Become your own best friend: When you live up to expectations and images or racing to reinvent yourself to survive in a competitive situation, you lose the opportunity to really get to know yourself. Self-doubt and self hatred are usually at the root of the issue, but remember these negative thoughts fuel negative mind-states such as fear, anger, depression and alienation which prevent you from living up to your true potential. When you meditate, you learn to welcome every experience of your being without judgment or denial. You then begin to treat yourself as you would treat a close friend.
• Connect deeply with others: When you awaken to the present moment and open your heart and mind to your own experiences, you naturally extend this quality of awareness to your relationships with family and friends. This breaks the barrier of expectation and projection of our own desires. When you accept others the way they are, you open up the channels for deeper love and intimacy by practicing meditation daily.
• Relaxing your body and mind: As health researchers have shown, the body and mind are inseparable. An irritated mind produces a stressed out body. As the mind relaxes during meditation, so does the body. In time this peace and relaxation will grow in every aspect of your life including your health.
• Detach and experience freedom: Nonstop thinking and worrying, fears feeding on fears, problems magnified, create feelings of being overwhelmed. Meditation encourages an inner mental spaciousness in which difficulties no longer seem so threatening. Solutions can naturally arise creating a sense of detachment allowing for greater objectivity and perspective.
• Getting in the zone: When you get involved in an activity whole heartedly the outside world disappears. Think about this as it would relate to playing a sport, creating a work of art, tending to a garden. Through meditation, you can discover how to give the same focused attention and derive the same enjoyment.
• Getting grounded and balanced: When you practice meditation daily, your body, breath, sensations, and your feelings grow to realize that you’re always home. No matter where you go. In knowing yourself you can embrace the dark with the light, the weak with the strong and you will be able to survive all insecurities of a fast paced world.
• Work and Play: Basic meditation practice enhances perceptual clarity, creativity, self actualization which contributes to superior performance. Meditation practices can be customized for specific goals and a variety of activities for enhancement.
• Gratitude, Love and Happiness: Imagine gazing at the world with fresh eyes.  As you begin to open to your experience without judgment, your heart opens as well.  Forgiveness and appreciation for yourself and others will be enhanced in your daily practice.
• Purpose: when you align yourself with “just being” and you shift away from doing and thinking, you discover how to be yourself with a deeper sense of meaning and belonging. You may actually get in touch with feelings and aspirations that have been dormant from your conscious mind. Only to discover your true-self now inspired with new goals and a vision for your future.
• Spiritual Awakening: as your meditation opens to each moment, you will be able to see through the veil of appearances to a sacred reality of the heart of things and you will eventually come to realize that the very same sacred reality is actually who you are in your own heart of hearts. Breaking through the illusion of separation eliminates loneliness and alienation and opens your beauty to the great human condition.

Meditation has been a powerful tool for me to see past the illusions of my preconceptions and living up expectations of others mostly from childhood.  Along with a holistic lifestyle of yoga, bowing and exercise, I have unlocked the secrets of the journey to help others after 25 years of research and development.

Lauren Larsen is a holistic clarity consultant specializing in energy medicine, healing and spirituality. She offers private and group programs that will assist you in how to become the “conscious observer” in your life by addressing your sense of identity, personal character, life goals, spiritual beliefs, and relationships. You will discover that true prosperity lies in becoming a total package. 

By: Lauren Larsen