Visualizing Your Way to Travel

I subscribe to the belief that meditation is helpful to reduce stress, clarify goals, and become more comfortable in your own skin. When I do it for just a few minutes a day, I feel more centered and content. However, I also get lazy or busy or prefer distracting myself by spending more time trying to figure out who is part of the Oceanic Six on LOST than I do on the art of meditation.

However, I recently decided to start making a list of certain goals I would like to meet, including personal fulfillment. I then started visualizing some of these goals and how they would make me feel. Well, let me explain that I live below an elderly couple and their 40-something year old daughter. They spend their days fighting, screaming, and stomping around from the time they wake up until bed. It's worse than living below college kids. We haven't moved because we like our space and are both gone frequently and occasionally we get waves of silent relief.

In any case, I put the word 'Quiet' on my list and imagined how peaceful it would be to not have obtrusive neighbors. I had also been thinking about an anniversary trip with my husband come April. For the last 2 years, we've been able to go abroad to Rome, Venice, Edinburgh, and Dublin. But this year travel wasn't looking possible due to time constraints, general budget, and the fact that we have a wedding in Scotland to attend in the Fall. We had discussed returning to Montreal because of its close proximity to New York and our newfound love for the city. However, we haven't been able to motivate ourselves to move forward on plans due to our busy schedules as of late.

So a few interesting things happened this week. The elderly couple upstairs? Gone. No idea where they are and when they're coming back, but I've only heard their daughter make a brief ruckus when returning home. It's been absolutely and completely silent. In the past, we've gotten brief waves of relative quiet when they're watching a movie (with the noise bleeding through our ceiling) or are too tired to argue. But it's never been so still and serene in the nearly 3 years we've lived in this apartment. I've also discovered that I no longer want the TV on morning, noon, and night to distract myself from their noise and negativity. I've been enjoying days of peace and quiet, reading, blogging, and catching up on freelance projects.

My stress has dissipated, I've been more content, and arrived at work yesterday feeling refreshed. At the end of the day, my editor approached me and asked if I wanted to take a short press trip to Montreal and that she could probably arrange for my husband to tag along. The dates? Our anniversary weekend.

I suppose anyone could argue my neighbors could return any day now with a vengeance and that it's not unusual for a travel writer to get a travel assignment. All true. But regardless of why it's all happening, it makes me content and deliciously curious.... I'm going to keep travel on the forefront of my imagination.

• Find a quiet space
• Keep your back straight to avoid become sluggish or sleepy (you can sit in a chair if you like)
• Keep your eyes partially closed and focus on your breathing
• Breath through your nose and feel the sensation of it, listen to the sound of it, continue to let your mind let go of distractions
• When your mind does wander, simply return your focus to your breathing
• Continue meditating for at least 5 minutes a day, working your way up to at least 15 minutes or more

Visualization is an important tool in getting your mind to line up with what you truly want. When you visualize your life and actions in motion, you'll automatically start moving towards your goals with ease. You might even consider that the Universe is answering the call. Regardless of what you believe, it's a fact athletes, successful business people, etc. use visualization to achieve their goals.

• Start meditating for 5-15 mintues a day
• Write down your goals in a list and look over the list every day
• Think about your life in motion, achieving those goals
• Don't yearn for your goals as if they'll never happen or are torturing you. You'll end up believing it and putting those actions in motion.
• Think about how you'll feel by achieving your goals
• Imagine that you've already realized those goals
• Do not allow others doubt, or your own self-doubt, to distract you
• Do not get caught up in the -how- of your goals happening, trust that you will discover ideas and answers everywhere you turn