Many of us yearn to enjoy our holidays.

However, we often feel stressed because we’re over-extended, carrying more work, obligations, and demands of daily living on our plates than even Superman or Wonder Woman could possibly manage…

Why not learn how to create meaningful, heart-felt moments with the people you love instead?

Meditate 20 minutes a day for 21 days and change your life.

This meditation series is designed around our core needs: the energy of life and fundamental motivation for all behaviors. Because of that, it may be quite different from spiritual practices you’ve tried in the past. You’ll learn: 1) how to connect with your needs; 2) which actions will create more fulfillment and aliveness in yourself; and 3) how to apply what you learn to specific challenges you may face during the holidays.

Why are your needs so important?

Nonviolent Communication (NVC) teaches us that needs are what makes us human. When you use meditation to connect with yourself and with your needs, it enables you to live more peacefully, happily, and authentically.

Marshall Rosenberg said most people have been taught to be “nice,” and submit to authority… However, this causes you to ignore your needs, and as a result gradually lose touch with that which is wholly alive within you. Ergo, you wind up living with increasing levels of frustration and stress.

Why does it work?

Meditating for 20 minutes – especially through the holiday season – can help you:

• Stay connected to where your aliveness resides within you;
• Notice where you’ve disconnected from your needs;
• Attend to and understand feelings you may be holding – especially feelings akin to stress, overwhelm, or dismay;
• Boost mental function and emotional stability;
• Improve your health and ability to be fully alive;
• Experience greater peace of mind;
• Improve interactions with your family and friends;
• Consciously create the holiday you want and let go of obligations; and
• Enjoy more fun, love and happiness!

Scientific studies have shown that habitual meditation (focused intention) literally rewires your brain. Brain imaging shows that stress reactions in the amygdala get smaller, gray matter increases, and the connections between brain cells actually get stronger!

How specifically can meditation help you get through the holidays?

Daily meditation provides you with both perspective and insight into what you really want and need. This enables you to more easily decide which activities or events you want to participate in, and which you may want to reinvent. The end result: greater levels of joy and pleasure in your life!

Just like a workout in the gym, this course builds muscle.

Think about meditation as a mental exercise you can use to build your Attention and Awareness Muscles. It’s a targeted workout designed to strengthen your spiritual connection – just like weightlifting strengthens the connections between your physical muscles.

And, just like a regular physical workout, it doesn’t take long to begin noticing positive changes. In only 21 days you’ll find you’re learning to quiet your critical mind, more easily focus on the present, and more comfortably make your decisions about your holidays based on what will bring you joy.

What will you get out of it?

Scientific studies have proven that the habit of meditation delivers these benefits:

Increased focus Decreased stress Relief from chronic pain Reduced sensitivity to pain

Greater productivity Boosted brain power Relief from information overload Eliminated cravings

Best of all, the benefits can last you a lifetime.

Meditation Series Details

Each day you’ll experience a live 20-minute guided meditation focused on a specific NVC need, accompanied by 10 minutes of interactive discussion.  Saturday sessions will be extended to a full hour in order to allow more discussion. 

Over the course of the program, you’ll be encouraged to keep a daily journal, beginning with an intention statement as to what you would like your holidays to be about.

Recordings will be available for each session in case you miss one or would like to repeat the series on your own.

Dates and Topics

December 12 – Beauty December 13 – Trust December 14 – Authenticity December 15 – Fun December 16 – Integrity December 17 – Inspiration December 18 – Clarity December 19 – Acceptance December 20 – Understanding December 21 – Being Heard December 22 – Belonging

December 23 – Nurturing December 24 – Respect December 25 – Compassion December 26 – Connection December 27 – Choice December 28 – Freedom December 29 – Love December 30 – Harmony December 31 – Meaning January 1 – Adventure

What Happens After I Register?
Upon registration, you will receive an email with complete instructions on how to access the meditations.

Mary Mackenzie is a CNVC Certified Trainer, the executive director of the Peace Workshop International and co-founder of the NVC Academy. She holds an MA degree in Human Relations and is a trained mediator. Mary is the author of Peaceful Living: Daily Meditations for Living with Love, Healing and Compassion. Mary’s first career was as a fundraiser in higher education, where her listening skills helped people realize their dreams and helped her raise millions of dollars for the universities for whom she worked. She ended this fifteen-year career to begin work with the newly-formed Flagstaff Center for Compassionate Communication and thus started her journey in NVC. Mary’s guiding vision is to help people fully connect to themselves and their world so that they may experience more joy. Toward this end, she teaches Nonviolent Communication (NVC) to individuals, families and couples, and she works with organizations by offering individual or group workshops and facilitating organization-wide restructuring. Her primary focus is to make NVC easy to understand and integrate, thus making it accessible to everyone.