This week I’m at the Winter 340B Coalition Conference in San Diego. It turned out to be a grey (Pittsburgh grey) day and it was raining, so no outdoor California fun for me.  I typically don’t do well with hurtling my body across the US. This time is no different. My challenge this week, is to be present in the Pacific Time zone. I typically start grounding myself part of the way to the new destination the night before I fly. It helps me sleep and gets rid of jet lag—try it, it works like a charm. 

Friday night, it felt like I could only ground to Kissimmee and Phoenix, the first leg of the trip. I went with it. I grounded into Phoenix, and while waiting for the flight to San Diego, I remembered that I needed to ground into San Diego. This morning it occurred to me that I was still grounded into Phoenix and San Diego. Mountain time and Pacific time.

I have a tool where I extend a connection to the center of the earth by imagining a beam of light, or a...

One of my meditation colleagues sent me an article on listening that was published in the New York Times this week. The link is below and well worth the read. As I read it, I thought about the discussion I had with my son (33- a nursing executive) explaining personal presence. He said, “Mom is that even a thing?” I google personal presence and sent him a definition. (Old Mawm can still teach you something.)

 My definition of personal presence is how you show up in the world. Someone can tell if you aren’t paying attention to them or are distracted. Personal presence is a state of mindful awareness of everything that is important and allows you to focus on what matters. 

Most meditators have a crisis of confidence and lament, “Am I even doing this right or am I wasting my time?” It’s easy to understand that feeling. If you can concentrate you can meditate and with practice, selective attention begins insidiously to creep into your...