Black Zen and the Weekly Wellness

E30_The New Version of the Old You

March 19, 2018 17:19 - 14 minutes - 9.5 MB

Many of us use spring as a symbol that it's time to go through our closets and take an inventory of what's inside. We allow (and sometimes force) ourselves to get rid of pants that no longer fit, throw away the tattered socks and underwear that frankly should have been tossed last spring and we consciously decide what we will keep and continue to wear for the rest of the year. In applying this idea to life, we find that there are certain labels (i.e. "the party girl", "the bad boy", "the one ...

E29_Pushing Past Pain

March 12, 2018 16:06 - 13 minutes - 8.59 MB

So many of us are dealing with past hurts and traumas, and many times we hold on to them because we are afraid to fully feel them. I don't know about you, but I held onto my pain for so many years because I kept telling myself I had too much to get done and didn't have the luxury or time to fall apart. What I didn't realize, is that falling apart was not fatal. Masking my pain, minimizing it or avoiding it altogether was what held me back from growing through the lesson. Once I let go, I was ...

E28_Two Options...Grow or Stay Stuck

March 05, 2018 16:57 - 9 minutes - 6.13 MB

Every now and again, I write an open letter to myself. This holds me accountable for what I say I want to do and tracks my progress. What follows is an open letter I wrote a few days ago about my life's goals. Your girl is tired of making the same mistakes and wondering what happened and how I got here. I know many out there can relate - to be stuck on a loop and irritated with a lack of growth in an area we're really trying to work on. This pattern must be disrupted! Hopefully, what follows ...

E27_Dieting from the Inside Out

February 26, 2018 21:59 - 23 minutes - 14.4 MB

As March approaches, I expect the magazine stands to be filled with articles around weight loss and getting to work on that Summer body. While we at Black Zen think it's great to be active and intentional about taking care of ourselves physically, we wonder if there's too much emphasis placed on the outside perception of what it means to be healthy over the harder, more nuanced work that it takes to be inwardly in good shape. With all the talk of dieting and getting fit, what would happen if ...

E26_How to Change a Habit

February 20, 2018 17:03 - 16 minutes - 11.1 MB

You may have noticed the last few Weekly Wellness' were centered around mindfulness and making moves. What we've recently discovered, while trying to incorporate these strategies in our own life, is that any major shift requires some form of change in our daily habits. We came across a quote from the James Clear blog that completely put this in perspective - "It doesn't matter if it's working out or eating healthy or creating art, you can't expect yourself to magically stick to a new habit wi...

E25_Relationships & Spiritual Life

February 12, 2018 17:22 - 22 minutes - 16 MB

As active meditators, we can be quite comfortable alone or left to our own devices for long stretches of time. Solitude is no longer scary. The "need" for a romantic relationship can sometimes be replaced with personal fulfillment and a contentment with life just as it is. It's a pretty sweet place to be. While we look to stay focused on our areas of personal growth, is it fine to remain single and let that be where our time and energy is invested? If so, what happens if how we feel about our...

E24_You Are Wiser Than You Think

February 05, 2018 16:57 - 10 minutes - 7.47 MB

Has anyone else found themselves taking bad advice from folks who “knew better” or mentally kicked yourself after seeing what happens when you don’t follow your gut? Too many times in our lives we know which path to take, but then, something or someone convinces us otherwise. We’re here to remind you that your intuition is ALWAYS right. The only gap in communication is when we’re not listening to that inner voice. When we take the time to pause and listen, we tap into our natural instincts. T...

E23_Gratitude

January 29, 2018 17:18 - 18 minutes - 13.4 MB

You know that moment in Monopoly when you pull the card that says, "advance to go collect 200 dollars"? Well, gratification can feel like that. You get to bypass all of the circumstantial pitfalls to land in a neutral place, where you finally get a reward. While feeling #blessed is gratifying, gratitude is not just a momentary high. It's an emotion, and more importantly, a mindset that lasts long after you've received the initial jolt of joy and fulfillment that accompanies being thankful. An...

E22_What Are We Consuming?

January 22, 2018 17:09 - 13 minutes - 9.67 MB

You may or may not have heard the term “influencer marketing” before but it describes a person with the ability to sway thoughts, ideas and even purchasing decisions. Social influence occurs when a person’s emotions, opinions, or behaviors are affected by others (well said Wikipedia, well said). Given this knowledge, how much does what we take in (from influencers, to the food we eat, to the toxic news we ingest) impact our ability to grow? From social media, radio, tv, google, water cooler c...

E21_False Assumptions

January 16, 2018 17:06 - 20 minutes - 13.3 MB

In last week's wellness, we talked a lot about how to start living more strategically and really setting up the conditions for our success (both personally and professionally), but what happens when the vision of our long-term goal is obscured by a collection of incorrect assumptions? It's the equivalent of trying to run a race with a twenty-pound backpack – it’s going to slow you down! In assuming that what we want will be hard to get (perhaps based on past experiences or current circumstanc...

E20_Are You Playing Checkers or Chess With Your Life?

January 08, 2018 17:00 - 11 minutes - 7.94 MB

For this year, our new year's resolution list should include: stop making resolutions and start putting boots on the ground in service of our vision and life goals. This week's wellness is all about how to build a vision, but more importantly, how to plan the steps to getting there and then actually follow-through on those action steps. The secret strategy here - always be thinking a few moves ahead! This is the year to boss up and stop playing our lives like it's checkers, when it's actually...

E19_Looking Forward to 2018

December 18, 2017 08:09 - 12 minutes - 8.38 MB

Since Winter is a time of reflection, we found ourselves looking back at all the great topics we've covered in 2017. We received such a warm reception from our readers and we hope these letters have either reinforced what you already know, awakened your secret superpower or maybe even taught you a thing or two about how to use your secret sidekick for 2018. This past year, we've covered everything from how to change your story to building a kick-ass squad and even how to fail gracefully. We o...

E18_Party Like a Meditation Rockstar

December 11, 2017 17:13 - 18 minutes - 13.4 MB

The holiday season is upon us and meditators do the holiday season right! While we may get a bad rap around the social set for being woo-hooey, I assure you some of us know how to turn up! Granted, we do try to be thoughtful about how we navigate our good time. From the holiday parties to the festive meals, we try to rock with a little self-control, a whole lot of joy and make sure we're acknowledging and enjoying the peace of the present moment. So, for the meditation rock stars out there, t...

E17_On Being Authentic & How to "Do You"

December 04, 2017 16:59 - 13 minutes - 8.53 MB

We’ve all heard the expression, “to thine own self be true,” but what’s implied here is that a “self” has already been clearly identified. How well do we really know ourselves? In many cases, our perception of who we are is dependent, or at least linked, to how others see us. And while sometimes that projection is accurate, who we are is still being curated by someone outside of ourselves. This is where being true to ourselves comes into play. Externally, it can be something as simple as disc...

E16_Knowing Which Season You're In

November 27, 2017 14:27 - 12 minutes - 8.28 MB

The holidays are a time to be with our families, either the ones we were given at birth or the ones we’ve chosen over time. This togetherness usually prompts our family to ask – or for us to ask ourselves – “What’s going on in your life?” In certain years we’re able to answer this question clearly, but in most cases, there’s either so much going on that we’re unsure of where to even begin or there's nothing going on and we have zero to share. Once we’re aware of where we are in our lives, it’...

E15_Life: The Ultimate Treasure Hunt

November 20, 2017 16:59 - 20 minutes - 15.1 MB

Call us nerds, but we've always found the idea of a treasure hunt exciting! Even as far back as elementary school, choose your own adventure books seemed like the most fun and interesting ones to read. So, it's probably not much of a surprise that our team is currently obsessed with escape rooms. And in true Black Zen form, we knew we had to share some of our insights and discoveries since there were so many great parallels to life. In our very first excursion, we learned a lot about how to p...

E14 - The Power of Silence

November 12, 2017 22:05 - 18 minutes - 13.7 MB

In a world full of noise, both figuratively and literally, sometimes silence is golden. It can be the most powerful tool at our disposal and, even though it can feel counter-intuitive at first, over time it creates a peaceful stillness that is unshakeable even in the most trying of circumstances. Meditation, in its simplest form, is the practice of intentionally quieting the mind. It’s finding stillness amidst our busy schedules and opening ourselves up to the possibility of living more full,...

E13_Your Secret Superpower

November 06, 2017 09:48 - 13 minutes - 9.76 MB

Almost every superhero movie starts with the main character not knowing just how badass they are. It takes some major circumstance of threat or danger to bring out the latent abilities that were inside them all along, and often they are delighted and surprised at their own strength and super human qualities. They begin stepping into their destiny as soon as they discover their hidden powers. If we really think about it, this sounds a lot like the plot twists of our own lives. Turns out, we're...

E12_Rocks vs. Tumbleweeds

October 30, 2017 16:39 - 6 minutes - 4.24 MB

From my vantage point at the base of the mountain looking up, I saw a circular object start to roll down. It only took a moment to realize I was standing at the bottom of the path and so inevitably this rock would crash right into me. I should mention it never occurred to me to move, as if there was some reason I needed to stay there and see how this all played out. Just before the collision, a light breeze blew by and the rock was quickly swept away into another direction. As it drifted by, ...

E11_#SquadGoals

October 25, 2017 07:42 - 10 minutes - 7.27 MB

Out of all the Jim Rohn quotes, one of our favorites is "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with." Truer words were never spoken. At Black Zen, we consistently look for ways to create the best conditions for our success and our peace, and the most important factor we've found in achieving this has been surrounding ourselves with amazing, ambitious and authentic people who inspire us to be our best. And while there was so much good advice to choose from in this week...

E10_Sage Advice

October 25, 2017 07:24 - 11 minutes - 8.01 MB

So many aspects of life can be difficult to comprehend while you’re in the throes of living in it. To make sense of it all, sometimes having a larger perspective on life is key. But how do we step back far enough to see the forest when we’re hacking our way through the trees? Sometimes the wisest piece of advice comes from those who have already lived it, and the best thing we can do is listen and learn. People who have been through and “seen some thangs” offer us the ability to learn without...

E9_Better Relationships

October 25, 2017 07:04 - 10 minutes - 7.43 MB

With all of the books and articles about how to work on relationship goals, for this week's wellness we sought out to find advice that was not only novel in its simplicity, but actionable tips that could easily be applied and provide immediate results to any relationship. Whether you're in the honeymoon phase, trying to relight the spark with your significant other, or secretly wishing you had a bae to apply these tips to, there is something in here for you! We found delightful and surprising...

E8_What's Worth Holding On To?

October 12, 2017 02:37 - 11 minutes - 10.8 MB

Our prescription for getting back on track and aligning our to-do list with what we say we want is simple - STOP. Stop trying to fit it all in. Stop trying to squeeze the minutes out of every day and trying to read email while watching tv, cooking, and multi-tasking in general. Since none of us have figured out how to add more hours to the day, it makes sense that something will eventually have to give. We can't do it all in one day and being busy doesn't necessarily mean we're moving forward...

E7_Failing Forward

October 12, 2017 02:31 - 8 minutes - 6.03 MB

Failure and success are more linked than we think and the word failure can be turned on its head and actually used to launch and motivate yourself. It is one thing to fail, and quite another to fail forward into the next opportunity to learn or travel a new avenue that presents itself as a result of what seems (at the time) to be a setback. What we’ve found to be true in the articles this week is that despite the initial sting, the blessing of failure leaves us nowhere to go but up…

E6_Keep Calm & Stay There

October 12, 2017 02:28 - 10 minutes - 6.87 MB

There are plenty of times in our lives where taking in too much of the news, interacting with difficult bosses or co-workers, or even just the internal pressure we create for ourselves when tackling our never-ending to-do lists can start to put our minds and bodies in a hyper-charged state of stress and anxiety. It’s a feeling where every nerve in our bodies is at attention and we feel like we need to be “on” all the time since disaster could be anywhere. For some of us, we may even live in n...

E5_What Does Your Energy Attract?

October 12, 2017 02:17 - 9 minutes - 7.04 MB

It’s Labor Day and a perfect time to start relaxing if you’ve been an uptight person recently or if you’ve been in a great place and want to keep the good vibes and energy flowing. In this week’s wellness we start off with a quick read illustrating how subtle patterns and ways of thinking can negatively affect our mood, and how a one-word shift can give us the attitude adjustment needed to positively affect our circumstances and change our outlook on everything. Since the energy we give off h...

E4_Enjoy The Ride

October 12, 2017 02:12 - 9 minutes - 6.79 MB

As ambitious and driven people it makes sense that we are constantly working towards our goals with feverish passion and a clear eye on the prize, but what happens when all we end up doing is working, wanting more and grasping for the next thing? Do we totally miss our lives as they are happening because we’re busy grasping at straws and concerning ourselves with what it “could” look like or “should” be? In this week’s wellness, we encourage you to stop striving for success long enough to gen...

E3_What's Your Story?

September 19, 2017 10:41 - 6 minutes - 4.81 MB

Once we understand that thoughts become things and that some of our thoughts aren’t doing us any favors, the next step is to intentionally create new ways to see ourselves and change how we talk about our experience. In Victim to Victor, there’s a crazy story that you must read to believe (or listen to the podcast for the cliff’s notes version)! The story has an interesting conclusion about how the writer didn’t realize she was being a drama queen until someone else pointed it out. To be fair...

E2_A Glimpse Into The Real!

September 19, 2017 10:29 - 7 minutes - 4.65 MB

This week’s wellness is all about openness, and since honesty is the best policy, I’ll go first. I hit a wall last week. I got some news that was as surprising as it was disappointing. I let one thing send me into an all-out internal panic, until I finally gave myself permission to land. It was time to change and growth finally pushed through all the angst. Even though the news I received was as surprising and shocking as it was disappointing, I was stuck in that place until a great friend o...

E1_Staying Centered & Successful

September 19, 2017 10:16 - 9 minutes - 5.82 MB

The definition of success can be a bit tricky. Truth is, it’s so relative since we all have different goals in life and our goals and objectives can change as we’re living it. Sometimes we can unintentionally measure our progress against a ruler that consists of social media likes, familial expectations, personal ambition and an imaginary timeline of when we are supposed to “arrive.” Because we also feel many of the same pressures of life, we won’t simplistically tell you not to think about t...