Although we're living longer, life seems to be getting shorter.  Compared to our parents' generation, life today is fast paced, and there's a huge drive to do more, see more, be more. We're living in a continuous limbo of "not enough", and our souls suffer from the excess that we introduce.  Do we really need to have our cell phones "on" 24 hours a day?  That means that we're always on.  It also means that we're in a state of dormant anticipation, waiting for the next call to action.  Is it really necessary to fill our days (and our kids' days) with social activities?  Exposure is great, but without proper time to reflect, everything in our lives becomes clutter.

We're activity hoarders.  We heap on ourselves activities that may have value individually, but collectively, these activities become useless pursuits.  The purpose of doing anything is to find your value within.  When your kids have school, soccer practice, piano lessons, and paper routes on the same day, are they learning how to appreciate the triumph of the human soul, or are they learning how to multi-task like mom and dad?  Multi-tasking is not a virtue.  Also, when you have a work presentation, a friend's birthday party, and a PTA meeting all on the same day, what good are you truly bringing to yourself?  Others may revere you as a superhero, but hopefully you're looking for a deeper and longer lasting satisfaction than that.

Life's an oxymoron-- to live it full throttle, you have to slow down.

In order to live a successful life, we have to be selective about which experiences we live.

Begin to say no.  Claim it as part of your human prerogative.  Here's a mind trip: no is not a negative.  Every two year old can say no and mean it, but as we get older, our no's become less powerful.  No isn't about rejecting experience, it's about asserting self. No isn't an arrogant stance, rather it's a commitment to self-exploration.  When you say no to superfluous activities that clutter your life, you're saying yes to the process of being.  Here are 5 great starter ways into Being.

Meditation

Sleep is the best meditation. -Dalai Lama

Meditation increases happiness and encourages introspection.  When you meditate, time does not matter. There is no focus on the past or the future.  You are forced to acknowledge this present moment.  A prayer is a meditation.  A quiet listening is a meditation.

The benefits of meditation are both physical and psychological.  Physically, the deep breathing induced in meditation releases nitric oxide.  Nitric oxide dilates your blood vessels, and causes lower blood pressure.  Meditation lowers your heart rate.  Psychologically, you benefit by realizing you are more than your actions.  In meditation, you are not acting, you are being.  The more you meditate, the less pleasure you derive from superficial stimuli.

Sleep is also a useful form of meditation, like the Dalai Lama said.  If you've ever tried to meditate, you'll know how easy it is to drift off into dreamland.  Sleep is necessary to our being.  Sleep reminds us that we must be still.  If you don't have the time to meditate for 15 minutes, then at least take the time to sleep the recommended 8 hours.

Movement

Exercise should be regarded as tribute to the heart. -Gene Tunney

Get moving!  Exercise is crucial to our betterment. Exercise, like meditation, produces nitric oxide, which lowers blood pressure.  Also like meditation, exercise has the ability to make us focus within. Whether you're pumping iron or vigorously running on a treadmill, you don't have the breathing space to chitchat with others.  If you're able to Tae Bo while texting, you're not really doing your roundhouse kicks.

Exercise for physical health, but also for another opportunity to meditate.

Music Therapy

You are the music while the music lasts. -T. S. Eliot

Music is an integral part of the human experience.  We begin life with the sound of a mother's heartbeat, and we continue our own lives in search of music that comforts us and expresses the inexpressible.  Recent studies have supposed that we also derive pleasure from the silence in between the music notes.

Find ways to play more music in your day.  Look for songs that mirror your resting heart rate.  A resting heart rate average around 60-75 beats per minute.  Here are a few songs in that match a resting heart rate:

At Last - Etta James (60 bpm), Trouble - Coldplay (70 bpm), By Your Side - Sade (71 bpm)

Conversely, you should listen to music with higher bpm when exercising.

Massage

Touch seems to be as essential as sunlight. -Diane Ackerman

Massage has many health benefits.  It influences immunity and decreases cortisol (also known as the stress hormone).  Massages promote circulation, and drains the lymph system.  You get the psychological benefit of mental accuracy.  Because it causes you to relax and be still, you automatically tap into the peace that exists in this present moment.

Some people consider massage a luxury, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune.  Massage schools charge deeply discounted fees so that their students can get practice. There's always a professional teacher supervising your massage, so no need to worry.  Or, you can do it the old fashioned way by wrangling your spouse into massage duty.

Mood Enhancers

Color is for me the purest form of expression, the purest abstract reality. -Jim Hodges

Colors affect our moods.  Because each color emits its own energy, we have individual responses to each.  The color pink, for example, is known to elicit a calming response.  In jail in Missouri, the jail cells were painted pink.  The jailers observed that the prisoners were calmer and slept more. The color pink suppresses your heart rate.  Try to get mentally energized in a pink room, or by staring at a pink object.  It won't happen, although you'll probably be angry at yourself later.

Another calming color is blue.  Think ocean and sky.  It's a soothing energy.

Not surprisingly, the color green increases stress.

So, get some rose colored glasses, and take the time to be in the stillness of the moment.