Life is full of distractions, information overload and overwhelm. It’s no surprise that anxiety is rampant. Especially during the holiday season.

Let’s take a moment and step back from the rush of the ever-increasing to-do-lists, illusions of perfect homes and parties, the need to be merry and cheerful, and tune into the now. Feel your feet on the ground. Take a deep breath. Pause. Check in. With yourself. Notice how you are feeling. Is this how you would like to feel for the rest of this month, this year, this decade even? If not, set an intention on how you would like to feel instead.

“Expectations come with the potential for much disappointment whereas intentions simply get you into a good frame of mind, from which anything might happen and you no longer feel attached to one specific outcome. Life rarely goes according to plan, so why make a trap for your own happiness by placing the burden of expectation on it?”

- From Happiness is a State of Mind by His Holiness, the Gyalwang Drupka

When things pile up, the sense of overwhelm can grow. One of my clients was at her breaking point when she recently came to see me. “I felt nuts. I literally had no control over what was happening, I wanted to jump out of my skin,” she said. After her session she sent me this message: “I feel so much more balanced. I swear you’re a miracle worker! Whatever you did helped me regroup and rebalance myself. I felt happy and in control again. Thank you.”

I hope that you are nowhere near your breaking point - and that you will have a holiday season filled with wonder and joy.