Henny Penny Farmette

When an old crown on a back molar disintegrated, I knew I’d have to get it fixed. What I hadn’t anticipated was a stress fracture in the tooth next to back molar. An infection followed. Then, after ten days of antibiotics, I was scheduled for a root canal. Stressed out doesn’t quite reflect my consternation. I felt like I was losing my mind.

Mindfulness practice on a nature walk will have you noticing small things like a bee on lavender

Intending to be centered and calm, I took my seat in the dentist chair and waited for the pain medicine to kick  in. I focused on Buddha breathing (during inhalation, the belly rises; it falls during exhalation). Gazing inward and upward in relaxed awareness, I saw a circle of light. My attention flowed into its center.

While thus absorbed on that light and the patterns within it, I lost sense of time. The two and one-half hours in the dentist chair seemed to have happened in a single moment. And on the other side of that experience, I felt peaceful and upbeat.

During a mindful walk, stop to smell the roses

Harvard researchers have further shown that mindfulness practice changes the brain’s structure. While stress contributes to a variety of illnesses, mindfulness practice counters stress and bestows numerous physical and mental benefits. Studies show that mindfulness lowers blood pressure and heart rate while fostering a happier mood, stronger immune system, and greater sense of well being and self-esteem.

Mindfulness is paying attention to what’s in the moment, rather than fretting about a tomorrow (which you are not promised) or stressing over the past (which you can do nothing about). Mindfulness means you can let go of negative self-talk, worry, and stress and, instead, explore your  interiority and inner silence. Or, outwardly focused, you can absorb what your senses are revealing about the environment around you–observing but not judging.

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Learn more about living life with intention or engaging in  meaningful meditation practices with my wellness and spirituality books. All are available online and in bookstores everywhere.

More than 150 rituals for sound mind, strong body, and meaningful connections to the people around you

Packed full of ideas for creating the life you want

Anyone can find peace, clarity, and focus…all it takes is a moment

There is a quiet beauty in a winter garden. You must endure cold to appreciate it. On my farmette, there’s also fog and wind and misty rain. But as you gaze in mindfulness, the rewards come.

When trees are bare, you can appreciate the beauty of their scaffolding, branching habits, and fruiting spurs. There is an attractiveness about tree bark that is rough or smooth and colored in earthy hues of green, gray, or reddish brown. Bare trunks and branches provide visual interest until blossoms and blooms break in spring.

With pruning done and leaves removed, the roses rest. Birds gather at feeders and frolic in the fountains. Beneath the soft, damp earth, roots are taking in nutrients to prepare the fruit trees for a surge of growth when warmer days arrive.

The garden is a place to conjure memories and ponder life and destiny. Goethe, the German playwright, poet, and novelist wrote that “Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we know it.”

Winter is the perfect time to contemplate the tap root of your being and to think and and dream and plan for what will blossom in your life when warmth and light returns. French philosopher and author Alfred Camus wrote, “In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”

I have a simple ritual of visiting my winter garden. I prepare a cup of hot water with juice of half a lemon and a tablespoon of honey or sometimes just a cup of coffee or tea. Then with cup in hand, off I go to inspect the fruit trees, the bare grape and berry vines, and the soil turned in raised boxes waiting to receive kitchen herbs. This ritual inspires me and silently powers me up with hope and energy.

Perhaps you have a similar winter ritual. If not, consider checking out my newest nonfiction book, RITUALS FOR LIFE and plant something in the earth or the garden of your psyche that holds the promise of bearing fruit in its own perfect time. Now is the time to greet each new winter day for the blessings it brings and appreciate the stark beauty of Nature.

More than 150 rituals for sound mind, strong body, and meaningful connections to the people around you

https://tinyurl.com/yctdczpq

The mailman caught me by surprise yesterday. Standing and smiling at my gate, he hoisted up a box and balanced it on the wrought iron. I stopped painting the trellis supporting the bougainvillea clambering up the side of the house. I put the lid on the paint, laid aside my brush, and trotted over.

I actually welcomed a break; I’d been feeling a little stressed from the heat and wasp activity around a nest I’d pried from the porch ceiling. Opening the box, I examined the contents.

Cover of my just-released book

Tucked inside were copies of my new book from Adams Media/Simon & Schuster. The first thing I noticed was the silky-soft, lovely lavender cover. Like a cherished devotional book, the size of MY POCKET MEDITATIONS is just right . . . it will fit into almost any purse, briefcase, or lunch bag.

There’s a handy little elastic page marker, too, to indicate where you left off reading or to easily find a favorite guided meditation. Nice touch. I made a mental note to thank the design team.

Thumbing through the opening text on meditation, I smiled as I recalled having to restrain myself during the writing of the book. I’d been tempted to include aspects of my personal journey into meditation. However, I had kept the opening simple. Here, though, a glimpse of my background might be appropriate.

In my early twenties, I made a trip alone to India where I learned about meditation through intense practice–many hours each day under the tutelage of a holy man, who had a follower who spoke English. By then, I’d left Missouri farm life and college to live for a time in Hollywood (actually, I rented a place not far from the Self Realization Fellowship temple that was established in 1942 by the Indian saint Paramahansa Yogananda).

The hospital where I worked was within walking distance of my home and took me right by the temple. I liked walking past that quiet temple–an oasis in the bustling city–but otherwise, for a country girl like me, Hollywood in myriad ways was a culture shock.

A year later, I moved to Northern California and began a new job with a large county hospital, put down new roots, and made new friends. I joined a meditation group where I met someone who had recently returned from India. Seeing his pictures of that country and of a holy man he’d met ignited a spark  of longing in me to go there. I wanted to see firsthand that land of intense colors, ancient architecture, cultural and religious diversity, and to meet that saintly person.

Within six months, I booked my trip. As lost as I felt in the city of Mumbai (formerly, Bombay) teeming with people, I found myself right at home in Gujarat (not a coastal town like Porbandar where Mohandas Gandhi was born but rather) in a farming village. There I learned meditation from the elderly Indian whom many locals considered an enlightened master of Kundalini Maha Yoga.

My yearning for spiritual awakening and evolution perhaps will resonate with others who similarly share a desire for self-exploration, whether their journey takes them out into our incredible world of diverse people, beliefs, and cultures or inward to the quiet places of the Self.

Meditation helps you focus, gain clarity, and generates many health benefits, too. Believing as I do that what blesses one blesses all, it is my sincerest desire for you to use this little book as a tool to find peace and serenity in your life.

To see more, click here: http://tinyurl.com/y9vfw2t9

Just before Thanksgiving 2016, I was approached by my editor to write a nonfiction book about guided meditation. The deadline was extremely short (a few weeks). Still, I loved the subject and was up for the challenge. But there was a problem.

I had previously agreed to plan and cook Thanksgiving dinner for my family and my married daughter’s family. What happened next threw me entirely off my game. I’d never missed a book deadline, but I feared I might this time. Why?

My daughter was rushed into the hospital for emergency surgery even as her husband battled pneumonia. Suddenly, he, too, had to have emergency surgery.

Deeply concerned for them, I comforted their kids  and looked after their dogs even as I worked on the book, prayed for a positive outcome for both parents, and figured out what to cook for our holiday meal. It seemed impossible I could do it all, but brief meditations (taking portable pauses) during quiet moments helped me to focus.

When the drama finally ended, the two patients had returned home to recover from their surgeries, the kids worries had subsided, and I had put a traditional holiday meal on the table with the help of the kids who wanted an extra special Thanksgiving for their parents. We even whipped up some pumpkin pies.

Holiday pumpkin pie with a flourish of leaves

My understanding editor gave me three more days to finish the book . . . and I did. I felt bad about missing my original deadline, but I had plenty of reasons to give thanks.

MY POCKET MEDITATIONS is due to be released on August 8, 2017 from Adams Media/Simon & Schuster. If you have trouble finding time to meditate, this book will guide you into a quick meditation . . . even if you can find only a few minutes to dive deeply within.

If you purchase and read a copy, I hope you’ll post an online review. Here are some links to the book.

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781507203415

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-pocket-meditations-meera-lester/1125160811?ean=9781507203415

https://www.amazon.com/My-Pocket-Meditations-Anytime-Exercises/dp/1507203411/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1499966804&sr=1-1&keyw

A book of helpful prompts and art images intended to inspire you to  start right now manifesting your heart’s deepest desires

I just noticed that my new book–Doodle Your Destiny, Draw Your Dreams into Reality, that ties into the ancient, universal Law of Attraction, has moved up the list of my nearly two dozen book offerings on Amazon.com.

Now, interested readers and potential buyers can peek inside some of the pages. Read my written prompts and see how the artist has created points of departures for doodling an image. Only when you finish that doodle and make the image your own, do you claim it for your dream.

If Santa doesn’t bring you the gift your heart desires, use Doodle Your Destiny to attract it.

Take a peek and think about what you’d like to manifest for 2015. You can pre-order the book in time for the New Year (its pub date is January 2, 2015). It retails for a little over $11. For more info, see: http://www.amazon.com/Doodle-Your-Destiny-Dreams-Reality/dp/1440586519

The process is quite simple. Start dreaming . . . and give yourself permission and time to doodle. See how dreaming and doodling can work together with your laser focus and intention (such as prayer, affirmation, contemplation, and meditation) to bring what you truly want in your life.

I’ve used the ancient, universal Law of Attraction in my own life to make my dreams come true–from launching a career writing books and finding a home on the water in Miami, to establishing a new life in Northern California on the Henny Penny Farmette, and finding a new life partner after years of widowhood. The Law of Attraction process has worked for me . . . I believe it can work for you.

Even before I get out of bed each morning, I meditate. Once my feet hit the floor in our little farm house,  I’m working–making coffee, preparing breakfast, and starting laundry. The cell phones begin ringing by eight. It seems virtually impossible to find quiet time after that hour.

The great risk of meditating while lying down is falling back asleep. Sleeping is not meditating.

The mind’s natural tendency is to endlessly flit from thought to thought, like a chicken ever moving and scratching the soil surface for the treasures it holds (worms, bugs, grains). The person meditating aims for focused concentration of the mind to gain the treasure of peace.

A simple practice is to count each cycle of breaths, attaching a number at the end of a cycle: In-out-one, In-out-two. Alternatively, you could repeatedly recite a mantra or prayer. A rosary or prayer beads can help you to keep a count. Meditation is not a religion (although it is associated with some). It is self-care.

Benefits to practicing meditation for even 15 to 20 minutes daily are extraordinary. Through deep mind-body relaxation,  you reduce stress and tension accumulated and held in the body. Meditation has been shown to lower heart and respiratory rates, decrease blood pressure, and improve blood flow and circulation. Concentration and brain power improves.

Health and well-being book I wrote with Carolyn Dean, M.D.

A few years ago, I teamed up with Carolyn Dean, M.D. to write 356 Ways to Look and Feel Younger (Adams Media 2009), a book that explores more of the benefits of meditation and provides daily tips on building muscle, boosting memory, and achieving vibrant health.

My meditation teacher was a powerful yet unassuming Indian who lived in a small village in  Gujarat, India where I stayed in the early 1970s. The simple technique of counting breaths I learned from him has always helped me in the stressful types of work I’ve undertaken.

As a respiratory therapist for a large county hospital, I worked in an emergency room and five intensive care units as well as participated in ambulance and helicopter transports of patients. Later, I directed Hollywood screenwriting conferences. Now I work long hours on the farmette, no less stressful but a different kind of work than treating patients or working with writers, producers, and directors.

Through meditation, I rid my body of tension and stress, cultivate a mindful attitude toward all areas of my life, and function more efficiently. Digging fence post holes, caulking windows, chasing chickens, planting trees, canning jams, and harvesting honey requires abundant energy and clear focus. Daily meditation and self care make all the work associated with living such a full life possible without issues associated with physical or mental decline.