MY MYSTICAL LIFE: ARIANNA HUFFINGTON

Forbes’ 52nd most powerful woman in the world, Cancerian author and spiritual activist Arianna Huffington is at the forefront of the mindfulness revolution. Initiated into transcendental meditation by the Maharishi himself when she was just 13, here she reveals the details of a successfully Mystical Life…

Do you have any recurring dreams and what do you think they mean?
“I had a dream that has remained very important to me but is not recurring. I am on a train going home to God. (Bear with me!) It’s a long journey, and everything that happens in my life is scenery along the way. Some of it is beautiful; I want to linger over it awhile, perhaps hold on to it or even try to take it with me.

Other parts of the journey are spent grinding through a barren, ugly countryside. Either way the train moves on. And pain comes whenever I cling to the scenery, beautiful or ugly, rather than accept that all the scenery is grist for the mill, containing, as Marcus Aurelius counseled us, some hidden purpose and a hidden blessing.

I’ve always been fascinated by dreams and my younger daughter and I regularly exchange our dreams. One of her recurring dreams is a good metaphor for what a good night’s sleep allows us to do. She imagines herself as a living “Stop” sign, forcing people to come to a complete stop before moving on with their lives.”

What is your morning awakening ritual?
“My perfect morning begins the night before, with a good night’s sleep – which, for me, means seven to eight hours. And a big part of my morning ritual is about what I don’t do: when I wake up, I don’t start the day by looking at my smartphone.

I make sure I have my phones charging far, far away from my bed, to help me avoid the temptation to check the latest news or emails. Instead, once I’m awake, I take a minute to breathe deeply, be grateful, and set my intention for the day.”

What is your favorite feel-good breakfast and why?
“I have terrible breakfast habits. I basically love breakfast foods but not at breakfast – the only thing I like at breakfast is a soy or almond cappuccino.”

What mantra do you leave the house with in the morning?
“’Don’t miss the moment.’ This was one of my mother’s favorite sayings and it embodied the philosophy of her life.”

Arianna’s daughters Christina and Isabella: “My healers”

What’s your lucky charm?
“Flat shoes!”

In what ways do you most embody the traits of your sign?
“If one of the signs of being a Cancer is being a homebody, then there is nothing I like more than staying home with a good book and my favorite music.”

And the healer you have on speed-dial?
“My daughters!”

What’s the one universal message you wish we could all could get our heads around?
“It’s a lesson I learned when I had my painful wakeup call in 2007: not only is there no tradeoff between living a well-rounded life and high performance, your performance will actually improve when your life includes time for renewal, wisdom, wonder and giving.”

And how do you deal with negative thoughts?
“I call my negative thoughts the obnoxious roommate living in our head. It feeds on putting us down and strengthening our insecurities and doubts. I have spent many years trying to evict my obnoxious roommate and have now managed to relegate her to only occasional guest appearances in my head.

Educating our obnoxious roommate requires redefining success and what it means to live a life that matters, which will be different for each of us, according to our own values and goals (and not those imposed upon us by society).”

Retail therapy is…?
“Nice, but ultimately not the answer!”

What’s your power outfit?
“A simple beige dress that I wear with a cotton bolero.”

And what makes you feel beautiful, why?
“What makes me feel beautiful is an 8-hour sleep, half an hour of meditation and a great yoga class.”

Your last conversation with the universe went something like…?
“It was me putting the universe in its place: ‘Sorry, I know I have an obscene number of unanswered emails, but I’m putting my phone away and going to bed!’”

For upcoming Third Metric events go to www.thrive.huffingtonpost.com.

Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder by Arianna Huffington is out now. 

@ariannahuff

SIMPLY ME: REDEFINING SUCCESS THROUGH SELF-KNOWLEDGE

What does “successful” look like to you? Redefining success on your own terms can only be done by going within, says Ruby Warrington.

The SUCCESS bracelet by Melissa Curry

What does “success” mean for me? It’s a question that’s been circling my very being since last summer when I interviewed Arianna Huffington about The Third Metric – her campaign to encourage us all to consider “success” beyond the relentless pursuit of money, accolades and power. And this week, I met a woman who has helped put into words the journey I’ve found myself on.

Melissa Curry is an Irish jewellery designer whose SUCCESS collection features a motivational amulet, designed to be gifted to the woman in your life you want to encourage to be the best she can be. A delicate rose-gold bracelet or necklace features an 18 carat gold bar inscribed with the word “Success.” And if, “the bar represents our inner strength, success can mean…everything,” she told me.

For Curry, whose personal journey has taken her from glittering career in Paris to destitute, single-mother of one, meaning some radical shifts in her own perception of success over the past decade; “it’s not about external power, and, for a woman, it’s certainly not about competing with men. It’s about being you, knowing what makes you tick, what makes your heart work, what makes your mind work, and embodying that.”

YES. Success for me is simply about being true to being me. At work, in my relationships and in my physical body. And this is when I realized that so much of what we cover on The Numinous is about tapping into exactly that.

From learning how to read and work with what the Astro Twins call your “factory settings” in your own astrological chart, to developing your intuition or “psychic powers” or embarking on a transcendental juice fast, isn’t so much of modern new age (what I like to call “now age”) thinking, about seeking to develop a more intimate and comfortable understanding of who we really are on the inside – and, therefore, what we really want?

For me, stepping off the media merry-go-round and leaving a high-profile magazine job to launch my own Internet project last year was the beginning of this journey. Creating something from my heart, working in my own environment, to my own hours and with the people of my own choosing has made me feel successful in ways that far eclipse the glamour, status and influence of my old life.

Of course, the fact that I can also structure my day to include a guided meditation to meet my spirit power animal is by no means going to tick the success box for everybody – but that’s the whole point. There is no one-size-fits-all definition of success.

And the fact I get emails every week thanking me for creating The Numinous is the icing on the cake. It’s also an illustration of how stepping into a definition of success that means something to me personally, I find myself giving something back and having a positive impact on the world around me almost by default.

My friend Jennifer Kass, a happiness coach and self-described “love pioneer” put a brilliant post up on Facebook the other day. In it, she described “The 3 Stages of Human Evolution (from my perspective, of course),” with step one, “Sleeping,” defined as; “Being stuck in a job and/or relationship that is toxic, causing physical mental and emotional ailments, denial, addiction, living in fear, anxiety, suffering, doubt, lack and limitation.”

Step two, “Waking up,” involves using all the Numinous tools – “meditation, self-love, healing, a return to wholeness, freedom, self-knowledge, joy” – to engender step three – “Action.” And here’s where the rubber really meets the road; “We take full responsibility for choices that will change our lives, and we let go of what is no longer serving us by taking courageous action.”

Further, she argues, “Now that we know who we are and what we’re here for, we go out into the world, sharing the gifts and passions we came here to, which in turn perfectly align with ending suffering on the planet in various forms.” A lofty ambition, maybe, but why not? Human suffering – and what alleviates it – comes in many forms too.

I’m not a big one for a motivational quote (quality over quantity, people), but I saw this, from Howard Thurman, at a Lululemon event recently; “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” And knowing your SELF – that is, being in direct conversation with the spirit being piloting your human form on a daily basis – is the only way to answer that question too.

Each piece in Melissa Curry’s collection comes with a little card, where you can write your definition of success. So what does it mean to you?

Melissacurry.com