Abundance, Blessings And Frustrations

Sometimes in life when things seem so difficult or off balance, try this exercise. It is one that focuses on not only our frustrations in life but on our abundance and blessings. Sometimes, we need both sides of this part of life in order to see the contrast and all that we have. So try this exercise out in your daily meditation and see just what it does for you. See if your day doesn't change from frustration to abundance and blessings.

Take a piece of paper and draw a line down the center of the page. On one side, write the word "frustrations" and on the other side write the words "abundance and blessings". Number from 1 to 10 on each side of the page giving yourself plenty of space to write. (Or you can download the following pdf file, Abundance, Blessings and Frustrations).

In quiet meditation and reflection, begin listing all your current frustrations in life. Often these things can come easily and readily to us especially if we are in the difficult moments of life. After you are done listing these, begin writing down all the ways that you experience abundance and blessings in your life at this moment. If you feel like your stuck at any point, take a moment to stop and allow whatever thoughts to come through that are being blocked.

Once you are finished writing, reflect on the things you have listed on the page. See how these things make you feel. Notice how the frustrations may have given way to thoughts of abundance and blessings. Allow all of these things to sink into your consciousness and awareness. Let your inner heart and mind take it all in. Allow yourself to see that no matter what, life is more than frustration. It is full of abundance and blessings.


*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog

Meditative Journaling

Here's a simple exercise for journaling along with your meditation time. If you feel you can not journal, this might be a good way to try something different. Sometimes recording what we feel and experience helps us connect with what we are seeking or trying to understand or just needing to connect with. This is a very simple exercise and you can adapt it to your meditation time or a moment of silent in your day. Let it work for you and be something that fits into your life.

Find a quiet place where you can be alone. Outside in nature is nice but even in a quiet room where you won't be disturbed is good. When you find that place, spend a couple of moments just centering yourself on your breath and feeling your body support and balance you as you sit there.

When you're ready, grab a piece of paper (on a clipboard or in a notebook can work great). Then begin to list every single word that comes to your mind, one right after another. No matter how silly or unimportant the word may seem, make a list of these words. How many you record is up to you.

Next, after you have listed the words - try writing a short sentence that comes to mind about the word. Why did it come into your mind? What were you thinking about? What prompted you to write it down. Let that sentence flow as you give life and meaning to the word.

When you are done writing your sentences, take a moment to read back through them and then just sit with what you have written. More than likely, you're going to see a pattern emerge and all of these words together will tell a story of what you need to hear in that moment. It is like an opening in to finding that which you want to connect to. Of course, you may realize that all the time, these things were just part of you. This was but a simple exercise to help you connect with them.

And now if you are one of the people who say writing is difficult and you struggle to journal or sit in meditation - well guess what - you've just done all those things!

*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog

How Do I Quiet My Mind?

From my morning meditation time on June 28., 2010. As I was sitting there in my refreshing, cool and simply peaceful surroundings, my mind was racing. There were many thoughts swirling around as to what I needed to accomplish, someone that was struggling with pain, and just about everything else that I could think of. So my thoughts turned to the question of "how do I quiet my mind? ". While I realize, there are many ways to do this, the ideas I am listing here were what came to me during this time.

1) Keeping perspective for this moment.
2) Recognize fears and worries.
3) Honor the unknown
4) A conscious decision to let go
5) Noticing my body and my breathing
6) Feeling all of my body including the areas of discomfort
7) Realizing that this is a sacred time
8) Making the conscious choice to just be in this moment
9) Loving myself enough to give myself permission to quiet my mind
10) Gently breathing in and breathing out
11) Noticing the joys in my life
12) Knowing that all things will work out as seen by my path to this point
13) Offering myself a new day to create, mold and shape it as I desire and sense that it needs to be done.

Music Connects Us

Music can lift us from our current plane into a world where nothing matters, where no stress can be found and where true peace abounds. The individual notes combined together can transcend our hearts and minds.

We all have a favorite song, CD or band that picks us up when we are down and energizes us. Have you ever stopped to consider this and consider just what the music does for you? How does it take you from your current state and leave you feeling fulfilled, ready to fight whatever it is you need to or just feel empowered?

I firmly believe that music is the way that the innermost parts of our lives and the universe communicate with us. Music speaks where no words are found. Music creates a language where there is a void. Music knows no boundaries put in place by cultures, governments or laws.

For a long time in my life, I have played the piano and created music of all kinds. In recent years, I have focused on letting my innermost soul release the sounds that it holds. Just a few years ago, I would find a piano and sit down and play for hours at a time. I never used sheet music as I did not need it. I would just play whatever came out of my fingers. This music was a combination of notes that had never been heard before. And yet I found, that I did not really hear the music that I was playing until one day I recorded a session. When I listened to what I recorded, I could not believe what I heard. I did not realize just what I was creating.

Up to this point, I’ve not been able to replay anything that I have created. It is like the music I create is a conversation and we all know that you can never repeat a conversation once it has been spoken. You can paraphrase it but there is no way to repeat it. This is why I believe that music which comes from deep within our souls is such a pure form of communication and it goes where words can not form.

I began to share my music with a few trusted friends and saw their reactions. It was at that point that I decided it was time to share my music with the world. The more I have shared the music, the more I have seen the effects of it upon the lives of others. I can see when someone hears it and it affects them in such a deep way. For I know that when someone’s ear tunes into the songs I create, I know that they have connected with the deeper language found deep within the music and they have connected with a much broader source, the Universe.

My music and the music of many others that I know, come from a greater source than we find in ourselves. It is the universe that provides this music and it has the ability to do whatever we need at that moment in our lives. For the universe provides peace, healing and power to everyone and one of the ways it does this is through the music that it provides. I’ve seen how my music reflects the times I am in and how it has changed as I changed. Each song I create gets a title so as to keep it separate from the next song and reference it to what actually was taking place in my thoughts while it was created.

So as you go about your day, stop for a minute and think about the music you listen to. What is it trying to tell you? What is it connecting you to? What is your mind and body needing at this very minute. Remember we are all connected to something greater than ourselves and that connection is kept together by a force called music.

If you haven't had a chance to hear my music, you can check out the link to the left "Relaxing Spa Music" on Amazon
or you can listen to it as well on iTunes and Spotify.

© Don Shetterly 11/9/05

Epic Meditations (Lisa Wagner)

Available On



I sat down with Lisa Wagner to talk with her about her CD of guided meditations, Epic Meditations. I hope you enjoy reading the conversation as much as I enjoyed speaking with her. To hear more, make sure you click on the images above for samples of her work on iTunes.



1) What is Epic Meditations all about?
It’s a CD of 11 guided meditations, each with a very specific purpose. In general, guided meditations use imagery and verbal cues to guide the listener through the experience, usually with the intent of relaxation, renewal or spiritual growth. The meditations on my CD guide the listener to a very specific experience, like releasing resentment, facing the truth about oneself, feeling empowered by choice, etc.


2) Why did you decide to create this project?
The inspiration for this CD was a perfect experience of synchronicity. I had several different thoughts and dialogues going with people, and then one day it all came together and I was just lit up with the idea. I was feeling open to starting something new, and wanted it to be something I would feel passionate and excited about. I wanted to try to find a way to share some of my thought processes, and some of the information/advice that seems to come up often when talking with other people. All my life, people have responded very positively to the sound of my voice, and one day it just hit me - guided meditations.


3) What is your hope or goal that people using these meditations will gain for their lives?
My intention for these meditations is that they help every listener improve the quality of his or her life. It can seem tempting and reasonable to connect the circumstances of our lives to the quality of our lives, but I believe it is more about our intentions, thoughts and perceptions, shaping the quality of our lives. Two people can encounter exactly the same circumstances, and yet have very different experiences. I’m hoping that by helping people connect to their inner voice, their personal truth, their ability to perceive they have a choice, etc., they will deepen their understanding about how their thoughts shape their reality and the quality of their lives.


4) If there is someone that doesn’t normally do this type of thing, is it really for them or is it just for people who already meditate?
No experience is required. Every listener is guided through the whole process. I start off guiding you through a few deep breaths, and then towards the stated intention of the meditation. Some of these meditations are only a couple of minutes, and some are several minutes. The longest ones are 12 minutes.


5) Do people need to use these meditations every day or is this an occasional thing that they can do in their life?
Some of them could be helpful on a regular basis. I have a short meditation titled “Quieting Your Mind.” It’s only a couple of minutes and I guide the listener to quickly and easily quiet the mind. There are lots of times when this would be helpful. My hope would be that eventually people can achieve the same result not only on their own and without the meditation, but within just a moment. Practicing how to get there with my meditation, teaches people how to get there in a few minutes on their own. My hope is that they eventually get there with a breath - in seconds. Each meditation can be used as needed, whether it is once, occasionally or on a regular basis.


6) What has meditations such as this or the other forms you mention on your website done for your own life?
Okay, that is question I really could spend hours answering, and I feel like this CD is just the tip of an iceberg. I guess the simplest answer is this - meditation brings more clarity. There are lots of ways to meditate. In addition to all the more structured techniques that are taught and discussed, even just day dreaming, watching it rain, staring at a flower can be a meditative experience. Allowing the mind to quiet, and then being willing to know what comes into the space, whether it is a feeling or a thought, can provide great clarity. I feel that a big part of why I make most decisions easily is connected to my ability to very quickly quiet my mind and allow my intuition to clearly be known. Being able to connect to a sense of what is important to me, what is best for me, to understand my intention, to know the truth of the moment … these contribute to my life consistently coming together in a joyful and fulfilling way. What I want to do through this first set of meditations, and the others to follow, is to help people enhance that inner connection by helping them to consciously experience it and acknowledge it.


7) Does the meditation put me in a hypnotic trance where someone really won’t be aware of what’s going on?
Not at all. While people may feel relaxed by the sound of my voice, and guided to let their minds wander in the directions I suggest, this is not hypnotherapy. It’s not trance-inducing in anyway. This is about focusing the mind on a particular area of life, an issue/concern, or just quieting the mind. Listeners will know they are in control the whole time.


8) Where can people purchase this? Can they download it or buy the cd?
It is available for download on iTunes. Search either by Lisa Wagner or Epic Meditations. There are also direct links on my website: www.epicmeditations.com, and I will update my site once the physical CD is available for purchase. I had intended that all 11 tracks be available as single downloads for 99 cents. Most of them are, but 3 of them are “album only.” I didn’t know until just recently (after it was released and on iTunes) that any track over 10 minutes is made album only on iTunes. I have 1 track that is just over 10 minutes, and two that are just over 12 minutes, so they are album only. The other 8 meditations are 99 cent downloads.


Closing comment
Thanks so much for your interest in my work, Don, and giving me this opportunity to share it.

For The New Year

As said in the movie “What The Bleep Do We Know”

From: http://www.whatthebleep.com/create/


I Create My Day

The most often referenced interview in the film is Dr. Joe Dispenza's comments on creating his day. In response to the numerous requests, the following is the transcript of that part of the interview.

"I wake up in the morning and I consciously create my day the way I want it to happen. Now sometimes, because my mind is examining all the things that I need to get done, it takes me a little bit to settle down and get to the point of where I'm actually intentionally creating my day. But here's the thing: When I create my day and out of nowhere little things happen that are so unexplainable, I know that they are the process or the result of my creation. And the more I do that, the more I build a neural net in my brain that I accept that that's possible. (This) gives me the power and the incentive to do it the next day.