The relaxation gained from having a holiday can inspire you to start the New Year in a positive way: resolving to exercise regularly, cutting out chocolate, or being more organised.
So why do our good intentions so often fall by the wayside? As the busyness and stress picks up, our resolutions take a back seat.
To change our habits, we have to change our brains. 
How do we create positive patterns?
Our brains are a product of every experience that we have. We hardwire our brains by repetition. Learning to play an instrument or drive a car can seem impossible when you first try it, but once you get the hang of it, you can do it without thinking.
Habits, good or bad, are similar.
Neuroscientists recognise that nerves that fire together, wire together. If we always clean our teeth before going to bed, the nerves in our brain associated with them continue to fire together, and the wiring gets stronger, and it is easier to remember to do. However, if we always give up when confronted by an obstacle, we reinforce our habit of failure.
It is like having a well-trodden pathway in a forest; it is much easier to stick to the track than fighting through the undergrowth. Likewise in our brains, we tend to defer to past patterns of behaviour because the pathways in the brain are already laid down.
In order to change the way we live, we have to expand our minds regularly.
Experiencing the calm sea of endless possibilities
Transcendental Meditation allows the mind to go beyond the experience of the surroundings, the physical body and even the mind itself. Transcending is like lifting the individual out of the maze of past experience, addictions and habitual behaviour to experience a sea of all possibilities.
During the experience of Transcendental Consciousness, the individual awareness experiences the subtlest level of life, identified by quantum physicists as the Unified Field. The Unified field is a field of infinite potential. It is a state of complete freedom and a reservoir of creativity.
Experiencing unbounded awareness regularly during meditation allows this state to become integrated into daily life. The feelings of freedom and invincibility become a permanent part of our reality. Brain imaging shows that latent parts of the brain are found to be woken up.
Meditators report that they feel mentally clearer, procrastinate less, have more energy and experience greater emotional stability. It is like having the enthusiasm and rest that is gained from a holiday with you all year. In this state it is much easier to implement any positive changes in to your life and let go of negative habits.
Make learning Transcendental Meditation your New Year’s resolution and the rest will take care of itself. By establishing your mind in the field of all possibilities, there is no limit to what you can achieve.
About the author
Wendy Rosenfeldt is a teacher of Transcendental Meditation and a Maharishi Ayurveda consultant. Wendy is based in Maleny on the Sunshine Coast and teaches and consults in Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast.
This post was first published on Transcendental Meditation Sydney blog.
