Mindfulness For Men

Mindfulness is often been seen as an exclusively female practice, because it fosters a less conflict-driven response to our emotions and our external world. As someone who teaches mindfulness to highly successful men- from CEOs to professional athletes- I’m here to tell you that such techniques can only strengthen your masculine identity. Some of the most elite individuals, from Steve Jobs to Kobe Bryant, actually credit their abundant success to the art of mindfulness. Here are all of the reasons why you should start practicing mindfulness today.

Focus

Mindfulness is not about getting rid of your thoughts, feelings, or perceptions. It’s about being consciously aware of what’s right in front of you, how you are experiencing it in the present moment, and reacting appropriately. For those in fast-paced, high-performance careers, mindfulness prevents your thoughts from wandering, keeping your mind laser-focused on the important task at hand. It’s no wonder Phil Jackson’s coaching methods include mindfulness. It’s what keeps your head in the game.

Leadership

Strong, impactful leaders like Richard Branson practice mindfulness every single day. It allows them to see the ultimate picture of success that goes beyond material wealth. Mindfulness elevates your energy to a higher vibration that allows you to guide your employees or teammates in a direction that benefits everyone. Think that kind of empathic leadership is too “soft”? Tell that to Steve Jobs whose authoritative energy was matched with a mindful attention toward others that got things done.

Mental Health

Depression, anxiety, anger issues and addiction are among the most debilitating emotional conditions that afflict men in high-pressure leadership positions. Without the self-mastery that mindfulness cultivates, you can fall victim to your own destructive emotions. A Heart Wall can form, preventing you from ever realizing your highest potential in your career and in your relationships. Mindfulness practice, however, is proven to help men react better to high-stress situations so that they tackle problems more wisely and effectively. When you master mindfulness, you master yourself.

Physical Well-Being

Stress-related illnesses impact male professionals at a higher rate than others. Heart disease, high blood pressure, headaches, obesity, diabetes and accelerated aging are all physical ailments related to poor stress management. Mindfulness not only lowers your stress, but will increase your overall physical health by preventing these fatal diseases. Professional athletes, including countless Olympic champions, practice mindfulness to maintain their peak physical performance. The most successful corporate executives also use mindfulness as a defense against mental burnout.

Peak Performance

Increased focused, strong leadership, a healthy mind and body… all of these are achievable through mindfulness training. It is necessary to develop the kind of masculine confidence that can elevate you from being the best in your field to the very elite.

Are you ready to get started? Contact me, Amy D the Peak Performance Expert , and we can begin that journey together.

What It Means To Be In Service To Others

Everything in life is about giving and receiving, about gracious acceptance of the world’s bounty and the giving of yourself to others who will benefit from your unique, irreplaceable talents. One of the things I try to teach everyone who comes to me for guidance is how important it is to not only be grateful for the innumerable gifts the universe has given you, but to also recognize the integral role you play in the universe.

As John Donne and Thomas Merton have said, no man or woman is an island. We are all deeply interconnected and rely upon one another for support, acceptance, validation, and above all else- love. For that reason, the intentions you have within your heart have a ripple effect on others; they can either help or hurt. To truly be in service to others means to look inward and recognize what kind of energy you’re putting forth and recalibrate yourself so that the impact you have on others creates the kind of change you want to see in the world.

Being in service to others also means being in service to yourself. Don’t think that I’m asking you to constantly give, because that will quickly leave you exhausted of all your energy. Serving others requires you to refill your well, to feed yourself so that you may have the energy and balance to give back to the people who will best receive your wonderful gift. Sharing and receiving are part of a delicate balance- it is truly a win-win situation. If you’re feeling depleted, then you must take a step back from serving in order to mindfully reassess the situation and refill your well. My video on Why Sharing Is Better Than Giving is all about this. Follow my Youtube channel for more videos about to ground yourself.

Similarly, being in service means compromise or meeting in the middle. Participate in giving from a place of true empowerment and confidence in yourself. You cannot take responsibility for others unless you take responsibility for you. This is what is truly inspiring to others who look to you for lessons on how to be.

By serving others, you will lead by example by leading with your heart. By serving others, you will not only attract people with that same positive vibration, you will also enter into a state of love rather than depression, lack, or scarcity. All of us stem from the same energy source, and through this powerful, unbreakable connection, we can grow together. This is this true meaning of service, to learn and evolve our collective energy into something that creates the positive change we all want to see in the world.

My Youtube channel is full of weekly lessons on how to mindfully approach the world,so that you can share your greatest gifts with others and receive all the universe has to offer. Follow me today to get started on this journey to wholeness.

Amidst The Chaos I Rise

Right now, our society is undergoing a tremendous change that will have an immeasurable impact on our future. I’ve noticed that many people are filled with anxiety about these upcoming events. However, in times of great change and upheaval, there are ways that we can grow as individuals and as a community. Here, I’m offering several objects of reflection that will help to elevate our consciousness beyond our present chaotic situation. 

We can all tune in to a more positive vibration by drawing our attention toward the things that are most important in our lives. By doing so, we can create the kind of society that is self-sustaining instead of self-destructive.

#1 Recognizing the Difference Between Facts and Feelings

In a recent video I talked about the difference between facts and feelings. Although voicing your experiences passionately is a beautiful thing, we must also speak from a place of informed rationality. We must educate ourselves so that we not only avoid being misled, but avoid misleading other people who are important to us. By making sure our beliefs and values come from an authentic place, we can speak with true authority and wisdom.

We cannot grow as a society if we take on positions that are grounded in misinformation. We can rise above the noise, calamity, and chaos so long as we commit ourselves to acting with wisdom, rationality and love.

#2 Create and Engage In a Positive Community

Sometimes we don’t recognize how other people’s negative energy impacts our own. Sometimes we surround ourselves with people who encourage us to act in destructive ways that feed into the chaos, rather than inspiring us to live out our highest, most divine aspirations.

Another way of redirecting your focus is by assessing your current relationships. Which people in your life are most affirming and supportive? Who helps you to be the best person you can be? On the other hand, who feels like a drain on your spiritual resources? Are there any people who- whether they intend to or not- set you up for failure?

Cherish and cultivate those positive, life-affirming relationships, so that you can create a community founded upon love. Love is what’s necessary for peace, and it is the antidote to the forces of chaos.

#3 Love

Everything comes into being through love. In order to elevate our mindsets so that we can create a thriving community based on peace and respect, we must first begin to love ourselves and other people authentically. 

You can begin by taking time throughout your day for contemplative silence. This draws your focus inward, and allows you a private space where chaos cannot intervene or interrupt.

If you follow my blog or my Youtube channel you will see that I use every opportunity to discuss the importance of mindfulness practice. I do this because it is what creates the conditions for love. Only through the power of the pause are we able to navigate the rough waters of our chaotic lives, in a way that ultimately liberates us. Only then can we understand how to align ourselves with our true purpose in life.

Silence is a necessity if you want to hear what your heart truly has to say, and if you want to make decisions based on love, not fear. If you are not aware of your own negative, destructive energy than you cannot possibly help yourself, much less anyone else. You won’t be able to rise above the chaos because you’ll be operating at that same vibration. 

If you don’t know who you are, or what special gift you offer the universe, you cannot be in service to others. You cannot be the positive reflection you want to see in the world.

So I ask everyone who is reading this to please make silent reflection a habit- starting today. It may be difficult at first, because chaos tends to be a strong influence on our hearts and minds if we don’t pay close attention to our needs and our values. However, the more you redirect your attention to the things that matter, the easier it will be to tap into the most powerful force in the universe: love. Only then can we create a society that is grounded in peace, reconciliation, respect, and unity.

Qi's Connection To Illness

Have you ever gotten sick and not understood why? Illness is connected to germs and pathogens, right? Have you ever considered that illness might be attached to your emotions? It seems strange. But, for thousands of years the connection between body and emotion has been well known. Different cultures call this energy connection by different names. The Chinese have arguably the most ancient (over 3500 years worth), detailed documentation of this energy system that they refer to as “Qi”.

Qi is composed of the forces of Yin and Yang. If these forces stay balanced a person will remain healthy inside and out. If the balance is disturbed or the energy is blocked, one can become ill. These energies flow through channels in the body called meridians. Meridians are the pathways in which energy flows to nourish the functions and organs the body.

These blockages can occur because of stress, bad eating, negative thought patterns etc. And they can cause you to become very ill. So something as simple as a common cold, flu, or other ailments can be caused by an energy blockage? Yes, that is exactly the way energy flow along meridians works. So, what can you do to release blockages and keep yourself well? 

There are many ways in which you can remove blockages along the energy meridians yourself. Exercise, meditation, affirmations, clean eating, getting back to nature etc are all good ways in which you can start to heal yourself. However, some blockages are so deep seeded that you may need to seek the help of a professional to overcome them. Acupuncture and meridian massage are probably the most well known ways to overcome these energy obstacles.

Once you begin to understand how these meridians function and how they connect to specific parts of your body, you can begin to remove blockages and move past emotions that may have been holding you hostage for years. If the DIY methods I recommend in the previous paragraph don’t get you where you need to be, reach out. I am here to help you remove these obstacles and clear the path to better understanding and healing. http://www.amyd.me

How To Have An Open-Hearted Conversation... With the Universe

In a recent video, I talked about the importance of communication in maintaining important relationships. Conflicts arise, but they can just as easily dissipate when both parties come together in agreement over their shared desires- desires for respect, companionship, and above all else love. By opening our hearts to include other people’s needs and desires, we become allies in each other’s success. Together, we become greater than what we ever imagined we could be.

This doesn’t mean that we sacrifice our own desires for another person’s. If someone asks that of us, then we’re probably dealing with someone who isn’t actually invested in a respectful, loving relationship. What it does mean is that if someone communicates their desire to include you in their life, in a positive, respectful and life-affirming way, it is in our greatest interest to accept that with an open heart. And if we start accepting all positive energy into our hearts, no matter the source, there’s nothing that can prevent us from achieving our true destiny.

That’s the point: A truly open heart doesn’t just accept the feedback of other people so it can make it to the next day. It doesn’t just settle for a few steady, functional relationships. It is one which recognizes that every single component in the universeis allied in our longterm success.

An open heart accepts the positive vibrations coming from all sources, not just the ones in your immediate line of sight. You must begin to think of positive communication and conflict resolution as an essential practice for accepting what the entire universe has stored up for you, not just what you can gain from a single person.

Beginning with our loved ones, we can master the way we interact with all elements in a way that is fulfilling and transformative. Once we do that, our success is limitless, all due to the biocentric nature of the universe. By letting go of the boundaries our mind sets for us, which keep us from having compassionate, empathic and joy-filled relationships with others, we’re also able to channel other sources of positive energy. This energy guides us upward, along the path of our highest calling.

Unfortunately, some of us struggle with keeping an open heart. Some of us suffer from a heart wall that prevents us from being able to even articulate our feelings in a way that resolves our interpersonal conflicts. If we can’t even resolve a conflict with our friend, family member, or romantic partner, how can we dismantle the self-established limitations that keep us from connecting with the universe?

If you’re interested in learning how to dismantle a heart wall, or practice having a more positive dialogue with the universe, feel free to set up an appointment with me, AmyD, or email me at amy@amyd.me. 

Consider interpersonal communication to be the first step in achieving everything you’ve ever dreamed- and more.

Recovering Our True Selves: Dismantling the Heart Wall

When we are vulnerable, our emotions can culminate into a blocked negative energy that gets trapped in a metaphysical wall around our heart. That wall, which can wreak havoc on our self-fulfillment, is called a heart wall.  

When we are emotionally injured, our energy gets stuck and we build an emotional fortress that we think will protect us from further injury. While this can be a very important coping mechanism in times when we desperately need it, a permanent heart wall has catastrophic impacts on our well-being. It becomes a sickness, and the sicker it is the more challenging it will be to move forward in life. It keeps us from discovering our true selves, and prevents us from loving deeply and unconditionally. 

A heart wall limits us from ultimate abundance, and our ability to form positive relationships. It divides us from our heart’s desires. It ultimately detaches us from who we really are.

When we have a heart wall, we are no longer open to the opportunities the universe grants us. We are often plagued with insecurity about our decisions or choices we’ve made. We constantly question and judge other people’s choices. We revisit the same situation over and over in our head, hoping to play it out in a different way.

The good news is that you can remove your heart wall, layer-by-layer, in order to be free of the past and to live blissfully in the now. You can do this by getting rid of the toxic, negative energy blocks that form it. With the right practice and training, you can open yourself up to the possibility of unconditional love.

When we remove the heart wall, we are more fulfilled in our relationship, and we make more money. This happens because we are now open to attracting amazing, synchronistic experiences. Those experiences, which we sometimes call “coincidences,” happen more frequently and are suddenly within our grasp.  Our heart’s desires are made manifest almost immediately.

Once the heart wall is down you’re able to make clearer decisions. Your heart, your will, and your gut are aligned. You will have mastered your energy, allowing you to carve out your destiny in full force. 

You’ll also be able to give and receive the gifts of love. You will feel connected to others in your personal life and your career. You will finally be able to participate in some of the most joyful and elevating human experiences. 

If you’re interested in experiencing what its like to live without limitations or boundaries, contact me- AmyD- about removing your heart wall. It takes only 3-4 sessions for you to dismantle your heart wall, so you can finally live abundantly and joyfully!

Contact me at amy@amyd.me to schedule your session today!