Spring is around the corner, and, for many of us, it feels as if a new energy wants to move into our lives. Perhaps there are new things we’d like to accomplish, plans we’d like to make. But to welcome in this new energy, we need to make some space.

Our lives are often so busy, and our minds so cluttered with thoughts and distractions, that it can be hard to know where to start.  In addition, we may have old patterns of thinking that can make us feel stuck. We may not feel that we are able to make the kinds of changes we’d like, that it is impossible to create something new in our lives.

Certainly working with outer structures—cleaning out drawers and files, making resolutions, organizing tasks with schedules and routines–is a great way to start.

But there is also another way of finding space, and that is by working with the mind itself.

Mindfulness skills can help us find  ‘breathing spaces.’ Theses spaces allow us to pause and reflect, so that insights can emerge and inspire us with new ways to act.

Is there something you need to let go of in order to move forward?  Are old preoccupations and regrets blocking your vision of the future?

Here is a short meditation to gain clarity.

Try sitting in a comfortable position with your eyes closed. Take a few breaths and settle down in your body.  Imagine you are outside, sitting on a bench near a river that has leaves floating by.

Next, bring to mind something that you’d like to have happen. What is your desire now? As you begin to contemplate this wish, what other thoughts arrive?

Are these thoughts helpful or useful? Or are they ideas that have been holding you back? Are they thoughts that you have had before?

If  a thought is not helpful to the accomplishment of your goal, feel a wind come up see it blow the thought onto a leaf in the river. Watch as it flows by. When the next concern comes up, see it blow onto a leaf in the river as well. Continue as long as needed.

Next, imagine one small step you could take to make your dream a reality. What is one small action you could take in the next 24 hours?

Take a few more breaths and allow yourself to feel another breeze, one that is blowing in fresh energy and new possibilities.

“What if the universe were whispering in my ear at every moment?”

–Steve Roberts