First, Id love to say a humongous thank-you to Ari Salmansohn and Howard Schwartzwho make my heart smile every day.
Next up, Id love to thank my amazing soul-editor, Lisa Westmorelandfor always bringing out the best in me as a writer.
Plus many thanks to my awesome agent entourage: Celeste Fine, Jaidree Braddix, Sarah Passick, and Anna Petkovich.
Oh, and Id also love to share my appreciation for my delightfully talented designer Lisa Bieser and the beautifully gifted illustrator Sarah Ferone.
KAREN SALMANSOHN is a happiness and wellness expert and the author of numerous bestselling self-improvement books, including Life Is Long!: 50 + Ways to Help You Live a Little Bit Closer to Forever and Think Happy: Instant Peptalks to Boost Positivity, with more than one million copies sold. She has studied to be a yoga and meditation teacher at ISHTA Yoga and founded a range of happiness- and health-boosting video courses at NotSalmon.com. Shes been featured on the Today show, the View, CNN, CNBC, and Real Time with Bill Maher; served as a columnist for Oprah.com, Psychology Today, CNN, MSN, Yahoo, AOL, Match, and Huffington Post; and been featured in the New York Times, Business Week, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Time, Marie Claire, Fast Company, InStyle, Self, ELLE, and the New Yorker. She lives in New York, New York. Feel free to say a friendly howdy to her at NotSalmon.com.
If you can stare at a beautiful ocean view, then you can do sight meditations!
Why? Because staring out across the sea is an organic form of sight meditation that you unwittingly do, and so, accidentally, relax yourself.
Theres actually a neuroscientific reason a beautiful water view can chill you out. When you are mesmerized by the sight of crashing waves, you become so absorbed by the oceans beauty that you no longer notice the beastly things worrying you!
Basically, when youre spellbound by the sight of a gorgeous ocean, youre telling your brain, Yo! Do not focus on pain and anxiety! Focus here on this beauty thats right smack in front of me.
I believe that one of the reasons we love beautiful artwork is because artwork also serves as a kind of sight meditation. Youre so focused and entranced by the sight of a stunning painting or sculpture that youre ablefor that momentto forget about stressful things.
When you do a sight meditation, youre showing your brain that you are in charge of your thoughtsthat you decide to focus on beauty, not painand that you are the boss of your cerebrum!
With all this in mind, get ready to be very bossy-pants with your cerebrum! Coming up, youll find five fun sight meditations, which Ive named meDOTations because you stare at a dot in the middle of a colorful image.
Bonus: If you can successfully meDOTate on the dotand only the dotyou will be greeted by a very cool optical illusion.
In fact, the better you are at mastering your thoughts and focusing only on the dotin a one-pointed way , as the Buddhists call this uninterrupted, single-minded focusthe better this bonus optical illusion reward will be for you.
How to Do All 5 MeDOTations
Open up to the specific meDOTation you want to do. Hold this book far enough away from you that you can clearly see the image with the dot without your neck feeling strained.
Rest your eyes upon the dot inside the image andlightlymeDOTate on the dot. Dont stare in a way that feels uncomfortable.
For your first time meDOTating, stay fully and mindfully focused on the dot for at least thirty seconds. Thereafter, keep stretching the amount of time you MeDOTate until you reach two minutes.
After the assigned time has passed, move your gaze to the middle of the image that follows. Blink your eyes a few times and enjoy the bonus optical illusion rewardas well as a nice, relaxing, feeling of calm. Sigh.
SIGHT
Sunnier Mood-itation
Stay calm in any storm by focusing on the dot in the rainbowand then staring off into the clouds.
SIGHT
Love Is a Super (Calming) Power
Stay relaxed when feeling anger and resentment by focusing on the heart-shaped dot in loveand then on your new name tag.
SIGHT
Aim for the Moon and Feel Like a Star
Stay calm and confident while seeking a goal by staring at the freckle dotthen the moonand knowing the skies are no limit for you!
SIGHT
Keep Calm and Ommm Instead of NomNomNom
Stay calm and balanced so you dont stress-eat by staring at the dot inside the beautiful flowerthen at the plate.
SIGHT
The Art of Happier Thoughts
Stay relaxed and positive during a challenge by staring at the dot in the art and reminding yourself that you have the power to reframe what happens to you as an opportunity for growththen look at the blank space inside the frame and know better things are coming.