Cynthia Daddona is a dynamic on-air personality, inspirational speaker, journalist, humor writer and comedian. As a multi-media goddess, Cynthia's work has appeared on Access Hollywood, CBS, E! Entertainment Television, USA Network, National Public Radio and in USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, First for Women, Men's Health and women.com. She has interviewed over 100 top celebrities and performed her humor at Caroline's, Stand-Up New York and special events. Cynthia has won numerous awards that include: a first place excellence in writing award for her comedy writing at the Santa Barbara Writer's Conference, recognition in the Inspirational category of the Writer's Digest Competition for an excerpt from her book Diary of a Modern-Day Goddess and a most innovative award for her TV host/producing work. A native of Connecticut, Cynthia currently lives in Santa Barbara, California, where she enjoys goddess country living.
Chapter 5
The Modern-Day Goddess Basics
Meditation 101
Dear Diary:
The other day a girlfriend who hadn't talked to me in a few years commented how calm and more centered I sounded. She asked me what I had been doing? I thought about her comment and decided it was my daily connection with my divine feminine self. While there are so many ways for a woman to do this—my modern-day goddess basics are meditation, laughter, yoga and positive self-talk, and Nordstrom's once-a-year sale. I am so grateful for meditation because it has quieted my mind, opened my heart and increased my self-love. I've now been meditating for four years and have found that the serenity I feel in meditation is with me throughout my day.
But when I first began to explore meditation, I had a hair-raising experience.
As I entered the meditation classroom, I was greeted by our beautiful and centered instructor, Sky. She had long blonde hair, a warm smile and a gentle voice. "Welcome" she said gently and continued infusing the air with a chakra cleansing incense that reminded me of garden filled with English lavender. Within minutes, the tranquil room was filled with other meditators in search of inner peace.
This was my first meditation experience. I had decided to explore meditation as a way to release stress, focus my mind and get in touch with my inner spirit. And, to forget about my inner thighs, which I was trying to prevent from dimpling like the folds in Sky's robe.
Sky, explained the proper sitting position, (think pretzel) and lit a candle for us to focus on, (think baked pretzel). She played some heavenly instrumental music that made me feel as if I was an angel floating on a cloud. Next, I concentrated on the breathing methods to clear my mind. It was the first time in months that I had completely relaxed. The last time I felt this calm was when I drank too many cups of chamomile herb tea and fell into a deep sleep during an Enya concert.
The meditation progressed and I began to feel sleepy. As my chin drooped, I dozed off drooling on my leotard. Shortly after, my enlightened friend, Sun Ray, formerly Gertrude Shapiro, whispered in my ear, "You're snoring." This jerked me awake. "What? You think I'm boring?" I said, loudly forgetting where I was. Sun just looked at me and shook her head with a peaceful smile. The noise caused several meditators to briefly open their eyes. Next, the instructor came over to help. Sky, formerly named Ethel Johnson, suggested I repeat a mantra to prevent meditating myself into a coma. In meditation, you are supposed to fall awake and not asleep. Sky said while a mantra helps some people stop their mind from racing in this case it would help my mind stay alert. The universal mantra is Om, which I immediately put to use. The snoring did stop and I fell into a very deep sleep. I remember waking up after I toppled over with my knees gridlocked onto the flickering candle we were supposed to focus on. There is nothing like the smell of singed hair mixed with lavender to snap you back to consciousness.
On my third try, I was determined to obtain inner peace and some inner joy. So, I made up a mantra that would definitely keep me awake. "Om George Clooney, Om Robert Redford, Om Mel Gibson." This chant put a big smile on my face. It really worked. In fact, I was one chant away from re-enacting the famous Meg Ryan "Oh Yes" scene in the movie When Harry Met Sally when the session came to a halt. Afterwards, I felt very satisfied and centered.
The serene feelings of my meditation stayed with me throughout the next day. Whenever something stressful occurred, like having to circle the block for ten-minutes to find a parking space, I would simply repeat the mantra Ommmmmmm to calm down. This gave me a sweet, peaceful feeling from connecting with my inner self.
As I began to meditate for twenty minutes each day, I felt more centered in the midst of my busy day. Something was definitely happening because when I saw one of my girlfriends and she asked me if I was in love. "Why do you say that?" I asked. "Because your eyes are sparkling and you looked so relaxed." "Yes," I answered in a calm spiritual tone. "I am in love with ... meditating. Om George Clooney, Om Robert Redford, Om Mel Gibson."
Modern Day-Goddess Contemplations - Are you satisfied with the amount of quiet time you give yourself each day?
- Do you rush from place to place and never give yourself a moment of peace?
- How would an extra 15 minutes of solitude affect your day?
- What difference would a more peaceful mind affect your life?
- When will you fit in some meditation time? Morning, noon or night?
- What are some ways you could explore meditation this week? Buy a meditation tape, book or video, attend a meditation center or an adult Ed class, or watch a Jimmy Stewart movie?
What I Learned: Get a good nights sleep before taking a meditation course.
Keep candles at a safe distance.
If your mantra isn't working, try one that brings you joy. Meditation can make you feel and look beautiful.
Daily meditation is an inner spa for your body, mind & soul.
YOU MAY NEED TO MEDITATE TO RELAX IF:
Your only moment of peace is when your cell phone battery goes dead.
Your life feels like your life is on the spin cycle.
Your brain feels like an overloaded computer disk that is "full."
You forget people's names, your keys in the door and where you park your car on a daily basis.
Your things to do list looks like a volume from "War and Peace."
You multi-task your multi-tasks.
You are so stressed, the last time your inner child came out to play, you left her with a babysitter.
The only mantra you've been repeating as you rush from appointment to appointment is: "Oh no, I'm late again."
You are running so far behind you have to listen to your subliminal relaxation tape while doing your housework and errands.
You are so wound up that when you see a humming bird hum you want it to hurry.
You get impatient about things beyond your control, like the express line at the smoothie-juice bar.
The last time you sat down through an entire meal was on the airplane and that was because the seat belt sign was on.
The last time you met your inner self was under sedation during a root canal.
You think your inner self might resemble the Roadrunner instead of a goddess.
(c)2000. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Diary of a Modern-Day Goddess by Cynthia Daddona. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher. Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 3201 SW 15th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442.
