Have you ever found yourself complaining about something completely inconsequential? 

I did that yesterday, about an incident that happened at Costco.

Two women were moving down an aisle slower than I wanted to go and blocking my ability to move around them. The woman pushing the cart saw me and moved to the side, but as I rushed past her, the other woman cried, “Watch out, don’t knock us down!”

As I shared this incident with my husband, I realized how inconsequential this incident was. It was just my habit of complaining.

Instead, I could have shared what a great parking place I found, how fast the checkout was, or that my Costco tab was actually less than $100!

This complaint is not entirely my fault! 

Evolutionary wonders that we are, humans are designed with a predisposition to focus on the negative. From nature’s standpoint, focusing on the negative increases our survival chances in a hostile world.

In our modern world, this predisposition just keeps us on alert with our exposure to the constant unimpeded information flow from the internet, TV, radio, donation solicitations, etc. -- all about what is wrong.

We have become a culture of complainers, and I have been getting a steady diet of complaints from charities, environmental groups, and political watchdog organizations about the government, large corporations, the destruction of the planet, artificial intelligence, and more. Of course, all of these complaints are designed to make me feel bad and send money to someone. 

In addition to this, because of the writers' strike, I have been getting my news from Yahoo instead of Steven Colbert with his therapeutic dose of humor.

The fact that I woke up this morning from a dream about punching someone out suggests to me that I need to change my mental diet and hit the reset button. 

Remember the serenity prayer?

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

This is the reason I meditate. Meditation takes me out of survival mode and the reactive mechanisms of the lower brain stem and shifts me into the higher mind of creative thought, intelligence, and choice.

Meditating makes me aware of myself and how I am responding to the world. It is my reset button. 

Tomorrow is Friday, June 2, when I hold my Sufi Moving Meditation class. It’s Free! If you could use a reset of your mindset, join me tomorrow at 8 am PDT for focused movement, breath, music, and sound that wakes up your body, lifts your spirit, and brings you back to your center.

Zoom Link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89999494833?pwd=V2pOS28yYUdXM3hkaW1rVWIvSjBUdz09

Meeting ID: 899 9949 4833

Passcode: SUFI

8 am PDT is early morning on the west coast! Here's a time converter link if you need to check the time in your own location.

Come 5 minutes early if this is the first time you are coming. Let me give you a quick orientation and answer your questions.

Please give yourself some extra time between this class and other meetings as you will likely feel very different at the end.

Be brilliant,

Dr. Michelle Peticolas

Life Transformation Coach

Empowering Women to Reinvent Their Life After Loss

Secrets of Life and Death

https://www.facebook.com/secretsoflifeanddeath.com