There's Always a Barking Dog: A Quick, Guided Meditation to Help You Navigate Distractions As You Meditate 

Navigating Distractions is a master class in meditation. In fact, it's the entire point!

This week's guided meditation is FREE, BTW. No reason.

It could easily be called:

• How To Handle Noisy Neighbors While Trying To Meditate

• "Barking Dog" and Other Meditation Challenges

• The Power of Being Present During a Storm

• Lessons on Overcoming Triggers in Meditation

• Heather Larson: The Destiny Architect of Your Thoughts (Ok, the AI came up with that one 🤣 but it's SO on brand!)

• Stop Spiraling with Simple Meditation Techniques

• A Destiny Architect's Guide to Quieting Your Mind

That last one is my favorite because that's why I'm here. YOU are the architect of your own destiny and YOU are also the one and only human who can quiet your mind. It's up to you. I'm just the coach/Reiki Master/meditation teacher who's here to help you facilitate this commitment to yourself. 

This week...helicopters, fireworks storms, barking dogs, a jackhammer, a repair guy...the distractions were many. 

I can't go live in Walden for God's sake...

Meditating is hard; recording meditations is harder. 

"So," I thought to myself, "Let me go see what I have recorded on that hard drive." 

THIS. I had a meditation about how to deal with the always-barking dog. 🐩 Which is funny and ironic. It's also proof that we're never done learning what meditation has to teach us. (And some of us seem to find the same lesson over and over). 

🪷 In this episode of Destiny Architecture Guided Meditations, we explore the challenges of meditating with distractions and external noises like a barking dog. 

Focus on your breath and surroundings for about a minute and a half and then let go of the need to react or label noises with negative or positive judgments. 

Listen as I open up about my own struggles with external noises during recording sessions and how I cope with this challenge. 

🕉️ Timestamped overview:

[00:02:17] Disturbances trigger our worst-case scenario thoughts.

[00:05:10] Summary: Choose response over reaction in meditation practice.

[00:06:23] 10-min meditation w/ weekly tips, $5/month.

🤓 Questions & answers

1. What is the "barking dog" metaphor in meditation?

Answer: The "barking dog" can be a literal or metaphorical trigger that disrupts one's focus during meditation.

2. How can external noises affect a meditation practice?

Answer: The sound of external noises such as a malfunctioning refrigerator can lead to "awfulizing," where one starts to imagine worst-case scenarios.

3. How can becoming aware of triggers improve meditation practice?

Answer: Becoming aware of one's triggers can help improve meditation practice by allowing the meditator to choose a conscious response instead of automatically reacting to the trigger.

4. How has meditation helped Heather handle external noises and negative thoughts?

Answer: Meditation has helped Heather to stop spiraling into negative thoughts and stay more present in the moment.

5. What is offered in the weekly meditation subscription service?

Answer: The weekly meditation subscription service includes 10-minute meditations that also provide a little bit of learning about meditation each week. The cost of the service is $5 per month.

6. How does Heather reflect on the distractions and noises during meditation?

Answer: Heather reflects on the idea that there will always be distracting noises during meditation, including one's own thoughts.

7. What does the phrase "destiny architecture" refer to?

Answer: The phrase "destiny architecture" refers to the idea that one can design and build their own destiny and purpose in life.

10. What is Heather Larson's profession and current training?

Answer: Heather Larson is the founder of Destiny Architecture, a certified life coach, a Reiki Master, and a meditation teacher who is currently in yoga teacher training.

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A few things we’re covering in this first New Moon Meditation + Manifestation Practice—Using Intention-Setting during New Moon Meditation

• Vision Boards and the Law of Attraction

• Manifesting and Visualizing with a Canva Template

• Louise Hay and "You Can Heal Your Life

• A Nontoxic Approach to Manifestation

• Guided Meditation and Worksheet for Manifesting

• Ignoring Popular Manifestation Techniques in favor of what works

• Finding Motivation through Meditation for Goal-Setting

• A Quick Meditation Exercise for Manifesting Goals

Join Heather Larson as she explores the importance of finding a comfortable seat for meditation before diving into the topic of vision boards. She explains that while putting something on a board does not guarantee its achievement, vision boards can still be helpful for motivation. 

Heather provides a Canva template and an example of a woman named Susan who has made a vision board with various aspirations: 

https://www.canva.com/create/vision-boards/ 

Listeners are encouraged to visualize their life as a garden filled with things they want to achieve and plant the seeds of their intentions. 

Heather also offers a guided meditation for the new moon and discusses the benefits of incorporating meditation into goal-setting. Listeners can access a worksheet in Google Workspace (please don’t writer in this! Make a copy!) 👇

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RSpOcriPxw459-MMLe7p5A1XnDb82rfQV2HonjK3shc/edit?usp=sharing 

Members can access the meditation recording on the website and sign up for a membership that includes access to all guided meditations. Heather concludes by promising to explore different manifestation techniques and encourages questions and community engagement.

Time stamps: 

[00:03:11] Vision boards can be motivational, but there are better ways to manifest goals than simply putting them on a board. This text discusses using a Canva template to create a visual aid for goals and desires.

[00:06:35] Setting goals and finding motivation through identifying the benefits of achieving those goals, such as meditating each morning to lower stress and blood pressure. Heather suggests finding personal benefits and incorporating them into daily lifestyle choices. A brief meditation exercise is also included.

[00:12:07] Heather guides you through a meditation for the new moon. You focus on your breath and set intentions for what you want to create or let go of during this time.

[00:20:15] Visualize and plant intentions in a garden, feeling abundance and trusting the process during the new moon cycle.

[00:28:56] Heather encourages you to make space for new things in their lives through meditation, affirmations, and intention-setting, with a focus on non-toxic manifestation. She then suggests a book and other exercises as resources for achieving this. Readers are invited to engage with the author and community.

[00:31:10] Thank you for participating in the new moon manifestation and being with destiny architects. You may find help or other books for your interests.

"The Power of Affirmations: 'You Can Heal Your Life' is one of the OG new thought books. This will teach you all about affirmations. This will teach you how to change."

Manifesting and Setting Intentions: "You can make space for the new in your life."

— Heather Larson

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As the title says, this guided meditation is for when Everything is F*cked Up: 

• You’re in a bad mood 

• There’s a barking dog (or other unpleasant noises, like your kids). 

• You can’t focus, concentrate, or think

• You keep using your fat, potty mouth 

I typically try to practice saucha (or cleanliness) with my speech, but in this meditation, I’m dropping some F-bombs! 

Here’s the thing: your practices are going to suck sometimes. There will be noise, hurt, or stress that makes it hard to meditate. You may be over capacity and wondering HOW meditation can possibly help.

This meditation will teach you a new mindset and approach to meditating during chaos SO THAT YOU CAN meditate during chaos! 

Embrace the chaos monkeys as teachers (but don’t forget your boundaries). 

Let’s say that barking dog is happening FOR you. 

That stress is happening FOR you. 

The noise and annoyances are happening FOR you. 

These are teachers. These are things you likely cannot control. So how do you deal with them? How do you learn to coexist with them? How can you make peace with the things you do not like? 

Is it possible to meditate even when there’s construction noise, a nagging feeling of existential crisis, or a whiny child in your house (whom you love very much) with a head cold who constantly cries, “MoM!?!?!?” 

Meditation is the absence of the fluctuations of the mind. There’s nothing in the yoga sutras (that I’ve found yet) that says we need to find a QUIET PLACE in order to meditate. The sutras teach that we are to calm the waves of our mind. Period. The sutras say we are to go within. I take that to mean we go within regardless of what’s happening on the outside of us. 

I get into this before the meditation begins. It will be a very sweary meditation! But since I recorded it with a chirping smoke alarm and construction noise in the background, this one is a freebie. Yes, due to poor audio and my potty mouth, I didn’t feel right charging for it! But this is also an important message for anyone learning to meditate (no matter how long you’ve been meditating). You can be a beginner meditator or a veteran and still benefit from this very f*cking sweary guided meditation practice! 

Enjoy a brief talk + meditation with a few minutes of relaxing music at the end. 

by Meditation Teacher Heather Larson 

DestinyArchitecture.com & DestinyArchitecture.net

@WriterHeatherL on Twitter 

@heatherlarson on Lemon8 

@destinyarchitect on Instagram & TikTok

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A Meditation to Help You Release The Week’s Troubles (Meditation #5)

This meditation will help you release any troubles or difficulties of the week as you step into the here and now. You’ll ground into the present as you release any negativity without becoming caught up in it through rumination or negative thinking cycles. You’ll become more aware of this type of thinking (if it’s present) so that you can choose better thoughts. You’ll use a tool from Reiki in order to decrease the discomfort caused by (over)thinking about problems.

Heather Larson is your meditation teacher recording these guided 10-minute meditations weekly. This meditation is actually ~15 minutes long and features soothing music as well as Heather’s singing bowl.

With the Destiny Architecture guided meditations by Heather Larson, the goal is to relax you while also giving you a mild amount of “how to” meditation instruction so that you have the tools to build your own practice if you so choose. However, it’s enough to merely listen to these meditations each week. Each meditation gets you started meditating right away.

Heather releases them on Fridays so that you have a healthy, substance-free way to kick off the weekend because “It’s 5:00 somewhere—time for self-care.” Enjoy the peace.

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Being the architect of your own destiny means you:

• Accept personal responsibility and always remember YOU are responsible. Take responsibility—not blame.
• Live according to Reiki's 5 precepts (Honesty, Diligence, don't worry, don't anger, and practice gratitude).
• Live in alignment with the eight limbs of yoga
• Respect that the journey of the creator is also a spiritual one
• You don't give up! You operate from a place of intention and determination.
• You accept that no one is coming to save you. It's up to you to make your dreams a reality.
• Get out of inertia and make a decision! Then stick with it. Until you evolve beyond it.
• If you can't find an opportunity, you make one.
• You are willing to do whatever it takes to be successful, healthy, happy, and prosperous. Don't accept less.

Learn more at: https://destinyarchitecture.com/blog/2023/2/14/you-are-a-destiny-architectnbsp

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/heather-larson3/message

What is a Destiny Architect? What does it mean to be the architect of your own destiny? A life coach shares all! 

Being the architect of your own destiny means you:

• Accept personal responsibility and always remember YOU are responsible. Take responsibility—not blame.
• Live according to Reiki's 5 precepts (Honesty, Diligence, don't worry, don't anger, and practice gratitude).
• Live in alignment with the eight limbs of yoga
• Respect that the journey of the creator is also a spiritual one
• You don't give up! You operate from a place of intention and determination.
• You accept that no one is coming to save you. It's up to you to make your dreams a reality.
• Get out of inertia and make a decision! Then stick with it. Until you evolve beyond it.
• If you can't find an opportunity, you make one.
• You are willing to do whatever it takes to be successful, healthy, happy, and prosperous. Don't accept less.

Learn more at: https://destinyarchitecture.com/blog/2023/2/14/you-are-a-destiny-architectnbsp

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/heather-larson3/message

The A-ha Moment That Helped Me Pivot To Remote Work 

There I was, two years ago—sick as hell and knowing I couldn't go back to a stressful full-time (and then some) job outside the home.

Side note: Who wants a job when you can have a career?

But that's not the A-ha moment.

I'd been a writer for 20 years; I didn't need to "go to a place" in order to do that work. So what gives?

No One Wants "Just" a Writer

This was the hard truth I accepted that rescued me from producing TV news. Even as a producer, I was more than just a writer. I was also an editor, circus master, reporter, interviewer, social media writer, and so on.

When I did SEO writing, I was more than just a writer. I was also an SEO!

In radio, I was more than just a writer. I was a guest booker, marketer, promoter, audio editor, talent, producer, social media manager, speaker, and event marketer...

If You Want a Writing Job, Market Yourself as More Than Just a Writer

What kind of writer are you?

Are you a tech writer, marketing writer, or—like me—a journalist turned marketing writer? More specifically, I became a writer of B2B social media writer for tech startups.

🚨 Spoiler alert: Being a writer doesn't pay. Being an idealistic journalist doesn't pay.

But when I defined what kind of writer I was and used 20+ years of career experience to back it up, that became the first step to becoming a freelance remote worker who has more control over my life.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/heather-larson3/message

The A-ha Moment That Helped Me Pivot To Remote Work

There I was, two years ago—sick as hell and knowing I couldn't go back to a stressful full-time (and then some) job outside the home.

Side note: Who wants a job when you can have a career?

But that's not the A-ha moment.

I'd been a writer for 20 years; I didn't need to "go to a place" in order to do that work. So what gives?

No One Wants "Just" a Writer

This was the hard truth I accepted that rescued me from producing TV news. Even as a producer, I was more than just a writer. I was also an editor, circus master, reporter, interviewer, social media writer, and so on.

When I did SEO writing, I was more than just a writer. I was also an SEO!

In radio, I was more than just a writer. I was a guest booker, marketer, promoter, audio editor, talent, producer, social media manager, speaker, and event marketer...

If You Want a Writing Job, Market Yourself as More Than Just a Writer

What kind of writer are you?

Are you a tech writer, marketing writer, or—like me—a journalist turned marketing writer? More specifically, I became a writer of B2B social media writer for tech startups.

🚨 Spoiler alert: Being a writer doesn't pay. Being an idealistic journalist doesn't pay.

But when I defined what kind of writer I was and used 20+ years of career experience to back it up, that became the first step to becoming a freelance remote worker who has more control over my life.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/heather-larson3/message

Whether you're creating a podcast, or writing, audio, or video content, people always say the same thing. "I don't have time!" 

Here are a few ideas on how to find more time along with some hard truths. YOU are the architect of your own destiny, so YOU are also the architect of your schedule 😉 Let me be the one to break it to you: you DO have the time. You have to make the time, audit how you spend your time, and re-prioritize. All the AI tools in the world won't create your content for you (well, some will, but they're not recommended because Google will penalize you but that's another topic for another day). I share the one AI that helps me use my time more wisely. Also, you just have to do the thing and suck at it. Sorry, not sorry! Create your content and let it be a timesuck to start out. That way, you can learn how to streamline your processes in order to create your content faster. I share how I do this in this 270th episode of the Destiny Architecture podcast. 

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/heather-larson3/message

The Destiny Architecture podcast is back! 

Here's a quick meditation any busy person can take a few minutes and do. 

Also, an announcement! 

The ultimate weekend self-care companion—a 10-minute guided meditation—will come out on Fridays for podcast subscribers only! 

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/heather-larson3/message