OM IN THE CITY: The past few weeks have been hectic at my place. Fall always reminds me of being a little kid and starting school and I’ve found that I’ve had to go back to spiritual school recently. After spending all summer relaxed, meditating daily and really focusing on my spiritual growth, autumn hit like a ton of bricks and threw me off kilter.

So, here I find myself taking some time to get back to basics, finding time to slow down, breathe and give my inner voice the space to be heard. Here’s a little simple meditation you can do to jump start your inner voice.

Sit in a quiet space and begin relaxing your breath. You may want to either count your inhales and exhales or count backwards from 100 as you begin to let yourself relax and get still. Now I want you to imagine a small peaceful light, a tiny speck of a light within your heart. As you breathe imagine that this small speck of peacefulness begins to grow, filling your heart and chest and then oozing through your arms, legs, up your spine and all over. As it touches each area, feel yourself get more and more relaxed.

Once you feel that you are relaxed I want you to either sit in silence or chant to yourself. ( I am at peace, I am still, Om Mani Padme Hum, are good ones or use any other chant that you feel comfortable with!) Do this for a few minutes before you ask that quiet voice inside to answer a question. The best basic question I know is,What do I need to know today? After you ask the question, listen for an answer. Don’t worry if the heavens don’t open up and doves don’t begin to fly around the room. You may or may not “hear” and answer, but after a few minutes more of sitting in silence, bring your attention back to the room and look for your answer wherever you go. It may come in the form of a call from a friend, a song you hear on the radio, a street sign you pass. Be open to how the universe is trying to connect with you and give you answers.

So that’s my basic meditation. Today my answer was, to do the work I’ve been putting off for the last few weeks and there was mention of staying away from an apple pie…but that’s another story