Hi Everyone -
How are you doing?
I hope you are enjoying your Home Retreat!
Still enjoying my Switchel. While lemon & ginger won’t cure this virus, they do support our immune system, which is capable of producing antiviral proteins in the lungs, should the need arise! Amazing!
Reducing/eliminating processed sugar, getting good sleep and nourishing our body well are all so important now!
So is Peace of Mind!
Just stop reading for a moment.
Look around the room you are in.
See the walls, pictures, furniture, the window,
look outside the window.
Glance down at your body sitting on your chair.
Go ahead - take a few moments to glance around.
Now ask yourself, “Am I okay?”
Very likely, your response - and your entire experience - is,
“yes, I’m okay.”
This is an experience of the present moment.
Your mind wasn’t travelling to future scenarios or feeling stuck in past narratives we somehow feel compelled to re-tell ourselves!
We are simply here - present - to our surroundings, to what we see, to a sense of our presence here and now. And we are deeply okay.
This is the essence of Mindfulness - to cultivate and live from - that beautiful, vibrant experience of being alive, right now.
There is a freedom of spirit that can arise, not eclipsed, distorted or drowned out by the repetitive stories we endlessly tell ourselves. Stories, - like roads we feel drawn down, that we have travelled down probably hundreds, if not thousands of times. We know what’s down those roads - probably not much if we’re honest - yet they rob us of our precious moments of being fully alive.
Thoreau, when he went to live on Walden Pond said, “I wish to live deliberately, and not, when I came to die, realize that I had not lived.”
Our intelligence, creativity and freedom to choose are released through fully engaging with the moment at hand, as it arises.
What a relief - all we ever have to live is this moment, now!
Mindfulness practice is taking time to engage with this moment in much the same way as we looked around the room earlier. And to cultivate it, strengthen it, so it's always there for us, like that inner anchor that can always hold us steady.
A practice I like is to take five minutes - or more - place our hand flat onto our chest, and just feel our breathing. Feel it against our hand, or in our tummy, but whichever we choose, we are simply feeling our breath as it comes into our body, and as it is exhaled
out. Simply that! If thoughts arise, that’s okay, we notice them but don’t get pulled away by them. We just simply return to feeling our breath, for this five, ten or fifteen minutes.
Give it a try and see how you feel.
More peaceful?
This is an experience of the present moment.
Your mind wasn’t travelling to future scenarios or feeling stuck in past narratives we somehow feel compelled to re-tell ourselves.
We are simply here - present - to our surroundings, to what we see, to a sense of our presence here and now, to each other, and we are deeply okay.
This is the essence of Mindfulness - to cultivate and live out of, that beautiful, vibrantly alive moment of now - fully open to how we choose to respond. There is a freedom of spirit that can arise, not eclipsed or distorted by those stories we endlessly tell ourselves.
The effects of the practice over time - through setting aside some time each day to practice being present, are remarkable. Greater peace of mind, stability of emotions and overall well-being improve in very noticeable and wonderful ways.
You might bring the first exercise I mentioned into your day. Just stopping, several times a day to pause, to just look around, look outside, feel your body in your chair - then ask, “am I okay?” It’s so wonderful - right there, on the spot.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, whom you may recognize as an author or many books on Mindfulness, has a live stream, guided meditation on You Tube every day at 2 p.m. I’ll attach the first of these below - “Mindfulness, Healing and Wisdom in a Time of COVID-19” - and you can take it from there.
I’ll also include a link to a wealth of wonderful articles and videos prepared by Tricycle Magazine titled, “Practicing in a Pandemic”.
This truly can be a time of growth - of strengthening our minds, expanding our spirits and opening our hearts - together
Here is a Beautiful Blessing we can extend from our hearts, anytime we wish, to whomever we wish, as far and wide as we wish - bringing different populations to mind - particularly those who are very frightened, are physically suffering, are experiencing
tremendous grief and loss, or at this moment are making their transition from this life.
It’s a blessing I extend before bed at night, out to all of you, to our city, to our country, to the planet. We can end our day by surrounding the Earth in these Blessings
May you be Happy.
May you be Peaceful.
May you be free from Suffering,
and the Causes of Suffering. - 3 times
I have a little poem here for your children, your grandchildren, but most of all, for your Inner Child:
There was a cough, and then another.
The little cat ran to her mother.
“What can we do?”, “Well wash your paws,
her mother said, “and all your claws.”
“We’ll stay inside and shut the door.
You’ll laugh and hide and read and draw.”
“And think of all the games you’ll play!
You’ll sleep and eat and then one day…”
“You’ll see the door is open wide -
The sun will shine, you’ll run outside!”
“Just look at how I’ve grown!” you’ll say,
“Since all the time I’ve been away!”
“So wash your paws and don’t feel blue.”
The little cat knows what to do.
“And wait until the morning when
our big, old world is right again.”
Wishing you a rich and fulfilling Retreat! - How often have we longed for a sabbatical, or extended free time to focus on what matters most to us in our lives?
Happy nesting - and being okay!
Warmest regards,
Lynda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2efOoRF_pw
https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/coronavirus-meditations/#taylorplimpton
How are you doing?
I hope you are enjoying your Home Retreat!
Still enjoying my Switchel. While lemon & ginger won’t cure this virus, they do support our immune system, which is capable of producing antiviral proteins in the lungs, should the need arise! Amazing!
Reducing/eliminating processed sugar, getting good sleep and nourishing our body well are all so important now!
So is Peace of Mind!
Just stop reading for a moment.
Look around the room you are in.
See the walls, pictures, furniture, the window,
look outside the window.
Glance down at your body sitting on your chair.
Go ahead - take a few moments to glance around.
Now ask yourself, “Am I okay?”
Very likely, your response - and your entire experience - is,
“yes, I’m okay.”
This is an experience of the present moment.
Your mind wasn’t travelling to future scenarios or feeling stuck in past narratives we somehow feel compelled to re-tell ourselves!
We are simply here - present - to our surroundings, to what we see, to a sense of our presence here and now. And we are deeply okay.
This is the essence of Mindfulness - to cultivate and live from - that beautiful, vibrant experience of being alive, right now.
There is a freedom of spirit that can arise, not eclipsed, distorted or drowned out by the repetitive stories we endlessly tell ourselves. Stories, - like roads we feel drawn down, that we have travelled down probably hundreds, if not thousands of times. We know what’s down those roads - probably not much if we’re honest - yet they rob us of our precious moments of being fully alive.
Thoreau, when he went to live on Walden Pond said, “I wish to live deliberately, and not, when I came to die, realize that I had not lived.”
Our intelligence, creativity and freedom to choose are released through fully engaging with the moment at hand, as it arises.
What a relief - all we ever have to live is this moment, now!
Mindfulness practice is taking time to engage with this moment in much the same way as we looked around the room earlier. And to cultivate it, strengthen it, so it's always there for us, like that inner anchor that can always hold us steady.
A practice I like is to take five minutes - or more - place our hand flat onto our chest, and just feel our breathing. Feel it against our hand, or in our tummy, but whichever we choose, we are simply feeling our breath as it comes into our body, and as it is exhaled
out. Simply that! If thoughts arise, that’s okay, we notice them but don’t get pulled away by them. We just simply return to feeling our breath, for this five, ten or fifteen minutes.
Give it a try and see how you feel.
More peaceful?
This is an experience of the present moment.
Your mind wasn’t travelling to future scenarios or feeling stuck in past narratives we somehow feel compelled to re-tell ourselves.
We are simply here - present - to our surroundings, to what we see, to a sense of our presence here and now, to each other, and we are deeply okay.
This is the essence of Mindfulness - to cultivate and live out of, that beautiful, vibrantly alive moment of now - fully open to how we choose to respond. There is a freedom of spirit that can arise, not eclipsed or distorted by those stories we endlessly tell ourselves.
The effects of the practice over time - through setting aside some time each day to practice being present, are remarkable. Greater peace of mind, stability of emotions and overall well-being improve in very noticeable and wonderful ways.
You might bring the first exercise I mentioned into your day. Just stopping, several times a day to pause, to just look around, look outside, feel your body in your chair - then ask, “am I okay?” It’s so wonderful - right there, on the spot.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, whom you may recognize as an author or many books on Mindfulness, has a live stream, guided meditation on You Tube every day at 2 p.m. I’ll attach the first of these below - “Mindfulness, Healing and Wisdom in a Time of COVID-19” - and you can take it from there.
I’ll also include a link to a wealth of wonderful articles and videos prepared by Tricycle Magazine titled, “Practicing in a Pandemic”.
This truly can be a time of growth - of strengthening our minds, expanding our spirits and opening our hearts - together
Here is a Beautiful Blessing we can extend from our hearts, anytime we wish, to whomever we wish, as far and wide as we wish - bringing different populations to mind - particularly those who are very frightened, are physically suffering, are experiencing
tremendous grief and loss, or at this moment are making their transition from this life.
It’s a blessing I extend before bed at night, out to all of you, to our city, to our country, to the planet. We can end our day by surrounding the Earth in these Blessings
May you be Happy.
May you be Peaceful.
May you be free from Suffering,
and the Causes of Suffering. - 3 times
I have a little poem here for your children, your grandchildren, but most of all, for your Inner Child:
There was a cough, and then another.
The little cat ran to her mother.
“What can we do?”, “Well wash your paws,
her mother said, “and all your claws.”
“We’ll stay inside and shut the door.
You’ll laugh and hide and read and draw.”
“And think of all the games you’ll play!
You’ll sleep and eat and then one day…”
“You’ll see the door is open wide -
The sun will shine, you’ll run outside!”
“Just look at how I’ve grown!” you’ll say,
“Since all the time I’ve been away!”
“So wash your paws and don’t feel blue.”
The little cat knows what to do.
“And wait until the morning when
our big, old world is right again.”
Wishing you a rich and fulfilling Retreat! - How often have we longed for a sabbatical, or extended free time to focus on what matters most to us in our lives?
Happy nesting - and being okay!
Warmest regards,
Lynda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2efOoRF_pw
https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/coronavirus-meditations/#taylorplimpton
