I spend too much time on social media.

I love 5-Hour Energy…and before you try to tell me that it’s going to kill me, let me remind you that the last person who told me that had to put down her cigarette to inform me.

This is why I truly appreciate my awesome friend Carlos Perez.

Carlos is as down-to-earth and ‘real’ as they come. He understands all the wiring that keeps the world flowing harmoniously…and can also tell me why my life blows up in sparks “when I touch these two wires together”.

In addition to being a chiropractor from way back, Carlos is also part of an incredible holistic health collective at the The River Guild in Concord NH.

Like I said, I’m busy.

You can add to that: often scattered, unfocused, occasionally lazy, unfocused, overwhelmed…and did I mention unfocused?

When I received Carlos’ invite (on social media, a pretty obvious place to find me) for a ‘Crystal Singing Bowl Chakra Meditation’ session, I was confused.

Basically, I had no clue what a ‘chakra’ was.

Isn’t that the stuff you find in the produce section next to the asparagus?

Turns out that is ‘okra’…and mine is not out of alignment.

Chakras are basically the 7 centers of spiritual power in the human body (thank you, on-line dictionary).

As he does structurally as a chiropractor, Carlos and his River Guild friends can work wonders holistically as well.

I clicked ‘I Will Attend’ at the on-line event page on the day of the event, set an alert in my phone and went back to my crazy, unfocused yet super-busy day.

At 5:10pm, I was jarred from my social media coma by the alarm.

My first words: “Oh crap…I gotta go relax!”

Upon arriving, I shared that little ‘blurt’ with Carlos, and he loved it.

“You’d be surprised, brother, how many people do the same thing”, was his reply.

As a first-timer, unaware of what to expect, I decided to follow the others into the storage room for a pillow and a mat.

Despite doing my best to maintain a sense of “Oh yeah, I know exactly what this is all about”, I claimed a piece of ‘corner of the room’ real estate as my mind continued to race whiles Carlos opened with his intention for that night’s journey (I’m thinking

“Wow, he’s gonna play a Journey song on the crystal bowls? I’d like to request anything except Don’t Stop Believin’, please!”).

This is the inherent danger of being a former radio personality and 24-year owner of a DJ company.

Slowly, the soothing sounds of the bowls met my mind at the crossroads.

I slowed down.

I relaxed.

I probably snored.

My most vivid memory of this event was a particular thought which was causing me stress. At the time, I was several months away from the single largest and (in my mind) most stressful speaking event I’d ever had on my schedule.

During the relaxation journey, I began to see myself confidently moving across the stage, perfectly engaged with my audience and, as we journeyed through each of the chakras, built myself a pretty dang powerful image of myself ROCKING that event, connecting seamlessly with the attendees and making my client (and my agent) very, very happy.

As the session drew to a close, I must have sat there for another 20 minutes, basking in the glow of the journey, feeling as though I’d just shed 80 pounds of stress (hey elliptical, wish YOU could help me lose weight so quickly!) and began to find strength in this NEW vision of my upcoming speaking event which, by the way, effortlessly matched the vision (even though several potential train-wreck moments actually did pop up while on-stage).

Essentially, expectation met outcome and gave each other a great big high-five.

I’ll admit, although I have always been fascinated by things like this, I’d never really been one for attending the events, though.

Too hocus-pocus, woo-woo and hippie for me?

Maybe.

But not anymore.

I have been to several of Carlos’ events since then, and each one has been an adventure.

Although I am still occasionally scattered, unfocused and hopelessly embedded in social media (hey, it’s how I share my message with the world), I take great joy in the fact that I now have a vehicle to help keep me grounded, to get back in alignment, to dig deep and get back to my relaxing roots to help the BEST of me come to life.

And when the day of each of Carlos’s events arrives, I still like to set my reminder so that I can have a good laugh as I jump up from my desk shouting: “Oh crap, I gotta go relax!”

And another Crystal Bowl Journey begins.

Go ahead. Get in alignment.

And don’t stop believin’.