*45 has gotten a bad rap recently, and for good reason. It's time to make it great again (with mindfulness!)*

CRAZY-MAKING!

The past few months in the U.S. and around the world have been exceptionally intense. And week after week, my students, clients and colleagues, talk about how crazy-making the world around us can be.

It's not easy to stay calm and centered these days, that's for sure. Especially with senseless violence and one tragedy after the other in the headlines.

I've felt it myself, in Europe while I was visiting this Spring and at home in the U.S.

And it has certainly made me feel an urgency to do something more to be part of the solution.

At the same time though, even in the midst of the incredible challenges we face politically, socially, and personally, we also have things to celebrate: family reunions, anniversaries, summer vacation and (drumroll please) ... my birthday!

Yep, it's that time (again! ;))

This year I wanted to do something different to celebrate the big 4-5 and have a bigger impact on the world that is so in need of a greater sense of peacefulness.

And I want to start by RECLAIMING 45 and making IT great again!

That's why I am super delighted and over-the-moon to share with you something I've been working on for a long, long time: a FREE guided e-course to help you practice 45 days of mindfulness.

Why 45 days?

Research at Harvard shows that daily mindfulness practice can actually help begin to re-wire your brain within about 8 weeks.

(I know that 8 weeks isn't 45 days, by the way, but it's a great start and you can continue to hopefully practice unguided after the course ends).

So why would you want your brain re-wired and to do this?

Some reasons are:

To help you relax and de-stress (without that extra glass of wine or bag of chips)
To help you have better relationships through improved empathy and attunement with your family, colleagues, clients and co-workers
To help you be less reactive to social media, texts and other electronic stimulation (like sending that snarky text when you're overly tired!)
To help you do something positive for yourself to take advantage of the summer slow down
To be more compassionately engaged in the social, environmental, political and cultural causes you care about deeply but want to navigate with greater ease, self-compassion and boundaries
And finally, to be in community and celebrate with me: we don't just get older, we really CAN get wiser!

(Me, I'm taking to looking at the wrinkles, bumps and gray hairs with way more compassion and say, "BRING 45 ON!")

So join me. There is nothing to do and nothing to pay.

(Because it's my birthday and I love my peeps, this is my love offering to you FREE: at times like these in the world, we ALL could use a little time out to chill out).

Oh, and this e-course won't just include breathing meditations (click here for some audio meditations you can practice with to start), but also ways of cultivating mindfulness with mindful eating, mindful walking, mindful social media, working, technology, movement and more.

Starting today, participants will receive an email that will have a super, super simple mindfulness practice for the day. And we start with just ONE minute per day.

(I've already heard from some of you how just taking ONE minute to practice can be so transformative in re-setting the day!)

By the time my birthday rolls around on August 5th (yay Leos!) you will be practicing mindfulness for up 45 minutes a day.

And if you drop off for a day or two because you're taking a weekend off to enjoy the summer's delights, no worries. You can just pick right back up with the group.

There is great power and energy in knowing that you are cultivating mindfulness in a community.

And rather than getting on a community group online, I'd love it if you could actually talk about what you are doing with the people you know and practice a little digital detox (yes, we all could use a little help in putting the phone down and being present to the world around us in my not-so-unbiased opinion).

So, let's be in community and cultivate mindfulness there, off line, too. As you begin to practice, you will notice opportunities to connect with others and tell them how you are practicing mindfulness.

Perhaps you'll inspire them, too.

Sign up to join 45 Days of Mindfulness here.

Interested in connecting and practicing with me and other peeps live? Tell me what you'd like: a live interactive webinar where we could practice together, a series of FB lives, or what else. Just drop me a note here or let me know in the comments below.

It's my birthday today, dear ones.

And I want to thank you.

Serving you, connecting with you, being inspired by you and the ways you show up in the world each day are a few of the reasons why this year, notwithstanding great pain, grief and loss, has also been one of the most remarkable in my life.

You have taught me so much about what it means to live well in the world. And because birthdays inspire us to give presents, I'd like to share with you a few nuggets of wisdom I have learned along the way that may inspire you to live more mindfully and authentically in your own life.

Call it a gift of birthday presence.

Greeks have always been lovers of wisdom, as we all know. More importantly, each and everyone of us can tap into that place of inner wisdom with a little practice, no matter where we come from or where we are going.

And now, in no particular order, a few things I have learned on my journeys around the sun:

The antidote to loneliness is authentic connection.
With great power comes great responsibility.
Yogurt with fat in it is better than yogurt with chemicals.
The Golden Rule always applies. Always.
To have scars means you have survived. Wear them proudly.
The word religion comes from the latin, religio, meaning "to bind together". When we are together, we are stronger. This has nothing to do with dogma, it is simple fact.
To be a lover of wisdom means one is a philosopher, not some stuffy shirt in an ivory tower. I'm a philosopher and hope everyone else is, too.
To love means to take a stand.
Technology is not the boss of you. You are the boss of it. Don't forget that you control the POWER button. Use it!
The most precious gift you can ever give to your child or another human being is to love yourself.
Taking small, sustainable actions consistently over time is how your life changes. Anybody who tells you anything else is underestimating your intelligence and the power of the ego.
Whenever you walk into a new situation or group of people, pre-empt the ego mind's habitual thinking of separation and division by forcing yourself to ask the question, "How am I like these people?" not, "How am I different?"
Eat breakfast.
Be kind to everyone on the way up. They might be the ones to cushion your landing on the way down.
One conscious breath can be as transformative as a year on a meditation retreat in the Himalayas. Do not underestimate the power of the sacred pause.
Go to Greece at least once in your life and get in touch with your own inner philosopher.
To intentionally abuse another is harmful. To neglect another is just as harmful. Be present to your loved ones.
Remember where you came from.
Exercise every day - and that means a single yoga pose or 5 minutes stretching counts. Honor your temple because it helps you serve others.
Clean up your stuff with your mother, whether she is alive or has passed. It is the most gut-wrenching and rewarding work I have ever done. Get support, do what you have to do, but do it.
Tell your partner what you appreciate about her or him. Tell your friends and co-workers what you appreciate about them, too. Do you get enough appreciation? They don't either. Be generous with your gifts of esteem to others.
Tell the truth. The one from deep, deep down in your bones. Not the one that is convenient. The one you don't want to tell. That is the truth that will set you free.
Express gratitude for what you have. And for what you don't.
Attachment is the source of all suffering.
You exercise your physical muscles to help you continue to move, be flexible and strong. You exercise your spiritual muscles so that you can be still and know.
Cherish your friends. They are your family of choice and need to hear it once in a while.
Spend the first hour or more of your day in some form of centering practice. Read, write, pray, meditate, do yoga, take your dog for a walk. Cultivate your being this way so that your doing in the world is more skillful and serene.
Give what you have. Teach what you know. Share what you want the most.
Pick up the phone and call someone. Tell him or her you've been thinking of her and just wanted to say hi for no reason.
Make eye contact and smile. If you've ever been sad or depressed, you know the power of a single smile from another human being.
When there is chaos inside of you, look to the cosmos for answers. The stars and galaxies and planets that have been in place for billions of years might put your problems in perspective.
A wrinkle, stretch mark, or belly is not a sign that you are a failure. Nor does a six-pack mean you are a success. What you do with your equipment is what determines your joy, fulfillment and contentment in life.
It is an act of humility to acknowledge your own strengths and weaknesses without apology.
Seek first to understand, then to be understood.
Learn to honor the law of cause and effect: karma. Virtuous actions have virtuous effects. Harmful actions have harmful effects.
Go to bed early.
Let your freak flag fly one in a while. There is nothing more beautiful than authenticity.
When I was a little girl, I wanted to be an astronaut, the editor in chief of Time Magazine and a fashion designer. I even planned to design an astronaut's costume made of marble and lined with creamy, ivory silk shantung. It just goes to show you that some dreams make it and some don't. Move on.
Circumstances can make you bitter. Or they can make you better. Choose your response accordingly.
The best anti-depressant is a walk in nature. Use it often and preventatively.
Loving relationships require the risk of being known. Intimacy requires risk. Vulnerability requires risk. Creativity requires risk. Tune to your internal GPS (Guiding Principles) for guidance on increasing your tolerance for risk. No risk? No reward.
Your true nature is love. Everything else is conditioning which can be released. A dirty rag wrapped around a beautiful gold nugget does not change its fundamental nature.
Wear strappy heels while you can. You'll thank me for this.
I once met a man who was being yelled at by a group of people in a hot, summertime parking lot. He had left his dog inside the car for a moment to go into the laundromat to pick up his clothes. There was no handicapped parking space available and the people yelling at him weren't interested to know that not only did he have special needs, but that he was also newly homeless. I followed him into the laundromat to see if he was ok after being publicly flogged for his transgression of leaving the poor dog in the hot car for a few moments. The look on his face - of gratitude for the compassion and mercy being shown to him - has never left my mind. Compassion is always, always, always the sane response to another human beings shortcomings. Including our own.

It's been a pleasure serving you, dear reader.

I can't wait for what the next revolution around the sun will hold for us all.

Now I'd love to hear from you: what do you find inspiring and hope to bring forth on your next revolution around the sun? Let me know in the comments below.