Reading through Michael Singer's "The Surrender Experiment"
is a journey into the art of allowing.
A simple beginning practice might be
"Why did it have to rain today?
It always rains when I don't want it to.
It had all week to rain; it's just not fair."
Replacing the meaningless noise with something like:
"Look how beautiful; it's raining" shifts perspective and allows...what is.
Do you have the patience to surrender?
IT'S WILD OUT THERE!
It can be wild out there...
and the path forward isn't always easy,
or obvious.
Usually worth the journey,
especially if you take mindfully present steps.
WHERE DO YOU FIND YOUR PLACE?
What is it about this picture I find so alluring?
It illustrates something profoundly calm, tranquil.
A sense of place. Of home.
With all the noise and chatter,
don't we need a center, a peaceful base
to return to?
While it is imperative to find it within,
place helps.
It makes a difference.
Where and how do you find yours?
I'd love to hear.
As we approach the turbulence that can be the holiday season -
it might be more important than ever to find, or create it.
A BEAUTY AND A CURSE
"Moments are such a slippery and ephemeral thing.
They come and go with a blink of an eye.
That is their beauty and their curse.
Miss too many moments, and you miss your entire life.
Detect the bloom, and you catch the soul of a person,
the spirit of a place.
What you really catch, of course, is your love of the world.
The sordid and sublime. The banal and the exceptional.
The big transcendent love of it all.
That's a pretty nice catch, I'd say."
"the Moment, a Practical Guide to Creating a Mindful Life in a Distracted World" Achim Nowak
Reading this last paragraph of Achim Nowak's book aroused poignant and joyful moments, some as far back as childhood.
I look forward with anticipation to how I might create more "bloom" - more magic moments - in the new year.
How will you create yours, or the circumstances which allow for these moments to arise?
YOU ARE NEVER OFFLINE!
"The equivalent of external noise
is the inner noise of thinking.
The equivalent of external silence
is inner stillness." Eckhart Tolle "Stillness Speaks"
We are never offline.
Not that many years ago we had to dial in;
remember that sound as you connected?
Now it is almost impossible not to be online.
Even when our computer, phones, TVs, are turned off,
we are essentially still on!
The contribution that makes to our anxiety, stress, and time use
may be immeasurable.
Want to feel less overwhelmed?
Try disconnecting, shutting off, get outdoors when you can;
leave the tech behind for a few minutes, hours, days.
It's a powerful start!
"ALWAYS WE BEGIN AGAIN".
"Always we begin again." - Benedict of Nursia
Is it time?
As we begin this new year,
have you reflected on what really matters to you?
Thought about those things that no longer serve you.
How do you best create your year?
It's not necessarily about setting goals...
it's also what you let go of.
It can be a hard choice,
if we are fixated on what we've invested in,
whether it be financially, emotionally, with time,
or all of the above...
letting go of the "sunk costs" can be challenging.
Periodically reflecting on where we've come, where we are headed, and if it's still what we want..
is an important exercise.
Checking in with ourselves about our desires,
making sure they are ours, and not someone else's -
or what we think we are supposed to want -
can be freeing.
A BEAUTIFUL CATCH
"Moments are such a slippery and ephemeral thing.
They come and go with a blink of an eye.
That is their beauty and their curse.
Miss too many moments, and you miss your entire life.
Detect the bloom, and you catch the soul of a person,
the spirit of a place.
What you really catch, of course, is your love of the world.
The sordid and sublime. The banal and the exceptional.
The big transcendent love of it all.
That's a pretty nice catch, I'd say."
"the Moment, a Practical Guide to Creating a Mindful Life in a Distracted World" Achim Nowak
Reading this last paragraph of Achim Nowak's book aroused poignant and joyful moments, some as far back as childhood.
I look forward with anticipation to how I might create more "bloom" - more magic moments - in the new year.
How will you create yours, or the circumstances which allow for these moments to arise?
MOUNTAINS OR OCEAN ?
Do you love mountains or ocean?
Ocean has always been my go-to place of regeneration and connection.
A recent visit to the awe-inspiring and majestic mountains of Zion and Bryce gave me a different perspective.
There is an energy of movement and sound with the ocean; it is rhythmic and continuous.
The mountains offer a stillness and permanence that is wonderfully grounding.
I love both.
We benefit from both.
HOW ARE YOU SPENDING YOUR WINNINGS?
This Sunday morning in a somewhat philosophical conversation, my husband says "If I have 20 years left, that's 7,300 days. That's like winning the lottery!!"
Taking that further, it's 175,200 hours.
So the question is: how do we spend those lottery winnings?
Dylan Thomas writes "do not go gentle into that good night".
Not every day or every hour has to be filled to capacity -
it's not about being "busy".
It's about living mindfully. Being present in the moments, both good and bad.
Neither is it about running from our fears, our pain, but acknowledging them and appreciating being fully human.
Have fun spending some of your winnings
MATCH THIS!
Nature replenishes our sagging souls.
It helps us generate energy from the source.
As a new week commences and busyness sets in, it's easy to forget the importance of self-care.
Where and when will you schedule the white spaces in your calendar?
