I recently revised and updated my Crown Chakra Healing package. While doing so, I replaced an old meditation (one of the first ones I ever made!) with a brand new one. This new meditation is definitely one of my favorites, and I've even been playing it to fall asleep at night.

The Golden Ball meditation will deeply connect you to your Higher Self while bringing healing into your mind and body. It's very soothing and can be used for relaxation, healing and deep meditation. Right now, there are two lengths included - a 15 minute version and a 25 minute version. I'm planning on adding a 1 hour version for anyone else who uses it as a sleep aid. If you buy now, you will automatically be updated when I add that.

With the two versions, you'll be able to choose between a lighter and deeper meditation experience. When I add the one hour version the price will go up slightly. Click the button below to learn more and purchase this powerful meditation!

​Take a moment to slow down and just breathe. Come fully into this moment. Allow your thoughts to slow down, like a faucet slowing to a trickle and then drops, falling slowly, far apart. Be present where you are.

​Where are you now? What's around you? How do you feel? How do you feel when you close your eyes and breathe deep?

Notice your breath as it slowly pulls in. And then feel it flowing out, completely leaving your body.

Take another deep breath in. Hear the sound of your own breath. Feel it filling your body, breathing new life into it. Hold that breath. And breathe out slowly.

​For more moments of mindfulness, check out my daily meditation podcast. Below is a meditation that will get you breathing some deep, cleansing breaths. You can subscribe to this podcast on your favorite meditation app HERE.

I recently discovered an app that said it could create psychedelic like experiences without any drugs or substances.

​My curiosity was piqued, as I have been exploring microdosing psilocybin, which is the active ingredient in mushrooms, for the last few months. I had heard mushrooms could help with treatment resistant depression, and I have been afflicted with anxiety and depression ever since I was a kid. 

The mushrooms provided mostly good results, and I do believe in their benefits. Despite my success with them, I was often nervous if I took too much I'd feel like I'd lost control. Thus, I was willing to give this app a try, which claimed I could turn the "experience" off at any time.

​According to this new app, all I needed was a dark room and the flashlight on my phone. I was intrigued but also skeptical. What was this bizarre technology and how on earth would my phone flashlight induce a deeply introspective, meditative state?

I needed to know more and so I downloaded the Lumenate app. I'd heard about it from Rosamund Pike, and this is what she said about it in an Instagram post:

Before I tell you about my experience with it, a word of caution. This app works by pulsing the flashlight on your phone at your closed eyes. If you suffer from seizures or are sensitive to strobing lights, do not use this app. It's also important not to use it if you've been drinking, as that will have adverse effects. I would also advise you to take caution if you are prone to migraines. I am not a doctor and cannot advise you on whether or not it's safe to use this app.

Yes, I know it seems weird to have a medical caution for an app. Is it really that intense? I would say that yes, it is, and from my initial experience it's highly effective. After one night of use, I believe in this technology and am excited to explore it more. Here's how my initial experience went:

The day I downloaded the app I was feeling tired. I'd been feeling tired for over a week. It's the way I get when I'm depressed, but I didn't feel depressed. I couldn't say exactly what was wrong, only that I wasn't interested in anything, and I was struggling to get through each day. It was perhaps the beginning of a depressive episode, but I hadn't yet gotten past the initial stage where I just feel like I'm in a funk.

As had become my recent habit, I was sitting around watching reruns of a show I found comforting. Unmotivated to do anything else, I thought, why not try the app? I have nothing to lose.

I went into my room and turned off all the lights. I closed the door, sat down, and opened up the app. I went to the introductory experience and hit play. I put on noise cancelling headphones and listened as I was instructed on what to do.

After nearly 10 months of using this app, I'm still a fan, and am still using it! 

If you're in need of some deep healing yourself, I invite you to join my monthly healing membership, The Healing Sanctuary. For $5 / month, you'll have access to over 100 powerful guided meditations and visualizations. You'll also receive each new exclusive weekly audio!​ These powerful audios will do everything from Chakra balancing to connecting you to your Higher Self to healing fear and anxiety. You won't find a healing resource like this anywhere else, and I can't wait to connect with you inside this sacred space!

The Beginner's Meditation Course has just been released! This course is for anyone who would like to develop a regular meditation practice. This course is for you if:

•  You've never meditated before
•  You've struggled to make meditation a regular practice
•  You've struggled to enjoy meditation
• ​ You want a series of meditations you can use every day

​Although this course is designed for people who have never meditated before, it can be used by anyone who wants to deepen or build upon their existing meditation experience. This course is designed to be simple, accessible, and enjoyable.

It is built around a stacking system, meaning each day you will have a meditation that is slightly longer than the day before. You will start with a two minute meditation, which will introduce you to the basic concepts of focusing on your breath for relaxation, calm, and self-awareness.

Although two minutes might seem too short for a meditation, it will in fact give you a brief experience with mindfulness. By beginning with this short meditation, you will build confidence in your ability to meditate. After the 2 minute meditation, you will move onto 4 minutes, then 6, and so on, until you reach 20 minutes.

If, at any time during the course, you find yourself unable to finish a meditation, you can stop and go back to a previous length. The goal of this course is not to finish as fast possible, but rather to begin an experience in self-awareness and listening to yourself. If you get to the 8 minute meditation, and you find you cannot sit still and it's unpleasant, you have the option of going back to any previous meditation. 

You can even go back to the 2 minute meditation, because sometimes what you need most is to just hit pause. The 2 minute meditation is a wonderful one to use when you don't want to break your meditation streak, but you also don't want to force yourself to sit in silence when you're not feeling it.

Because this course has 10 meditations of various lengths, you will have meditations that you can use any day. Each meditation will offer a chance to breathe, relax, and tune into the stillness that lives within you. 

Your course also includes 4 bonus meditations, as well as a 19 page workbook. Click here to learn more, or click the button below if you're ready to get started!

$7.99

If you don't already have a meditation practice, there is no better time than now to start one. If you do have one, this article will help you to deepen your understanding of how important it is. It will also help you to share with others why you meditate and believe it is part of an overall healthy life.

Study after study has shown that people who meditate regularly have reduced inflammation, higher white blood cell counts, lower blood pressure and healthier gene expression (their genes literally changed as they practiced meditation). If you feel you are more susceptible to this virus due to genetics, high blood pressure, or inflammation, grab the nearest pillow and start meditating. 

If you've never meditated before, the Calm app has a wonderful step by step introduction program. You can also find thousands of free meditations on the Insight Timer app and YouTube. You can also explore my selection of guided meditations here.

​I have recently discovered the Meditative Story podcast and I am so happy I did so. If you ever find yourself looking for a mindfulness-inspired story you can listen to while walking, driving, or just sitting around listening to the rain on the window, this is it.

I have long wished for something I could listen to that would hit that sweet spot of being uplifting and centering without being either too calming or too active. I wanted to listen to something that would calm my mind without being so calming I'd fall asleep while driving. I also wanted something that was a more immersive and interactive experience than a one on one interview.

I have found just what I was looking for in Meditative Story. It reminds me of what I felt when I began listening to Imagined Life (another fantastic immersive podcast I highly recommend!). When I began listening to Imagined Life I felt transported into the highs and lows of different people's journeys. I loved feeling as if I was overcoming my fears and limitations with them as they took me through their triumphs and defeats.

Meditative Story is different than Imagined Life, and you will have to listen to both to see which one truly fits you. One of the main differences is that Meditative Story is narrated by the storyteller, where as Imagined Life has its own narrators. 

You can try an episode of Meditative Story below. I chose this one because David Duchovny's voice is so perfect for this type of thing. So far, I have loved every episode I have played. I have found that they help me to face my own problems, as each one navigates something we can all relate to - fear, loss, vulnerability and so on. And when I'm stuck in traffic, I hardly notice as I breathe, relax, and fall into a moment of blissful mindfulness.
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Below is a little bit from the meditativestory.com website. If you want to try out this groundbreaking mindfulness experience, you can find them on Spotify, Apple, and Google podcast.