CALM – STRONG – AWARE

The next time your mind wants to be scattered or frantic about something, take a few deep breaths and say these words to yourself.  Notice carefully what happens when you not only say them, but feel the intention of each word’s meaning.

CALM

Calm

When we are calm physically, there is a greater chance for the mind to be calm.  Sometimes it is the body that gives us our first clue that we are reacting to something from an unhealthy, unskillful, or unwholesome place.  Pay attention to your body.  Get to know its wisdom.  Let it be your friend.  If it’s in a reactive mode, do this three-part practice.  Then allow the mind to calm down.  You may find a more creative and surprising option for handling whatever it is that is presenting this opportunity to practice mindful awareness.

STRONG

Strong

True strength comes from within us.  It’s choosing where we let our thoughts and intentions go and what we believe about ourselves and our capability.  Have you noticed how some thoughts we have about our ability seem to be misguided?  Here is a good meditation exercise:  set an intention that you aspire to do for some period of time today.  Your intention may be to dedicate 15 or 20 minutes to any project you have been putting off.  (Meditation for example?)  Stay with the intention regardless of any mental distractions or reasons to put it off.  Don’t let the whimsical mind win.  This is how you build inner strength.  It’s called follow-through.  You can begin your time of doing the intended act by saying the three-word practice above and enjoy the victory of developing a strong mind.

AWARE

Aware

Awareness is the element that makes a difference in how our lives are going.  If I have awareness of my physical and mental state, the choices I make through my speech and actions have a greater chance of producing goodwill rather than ill will–for myself and those I interact with.  A useful exercise to do regularly is to ask yourself: “Am I aware of what I’m doing, feeling and thinking right now?”  Over time, the awareness is there without the need to ask. This exercise enables us to see mental and physical tendencies that we wish to change and to develop new ways of being that enable us to be calm, strong and aware throughout our lives.

Artwork by Sid Seidenstein

Spring Renewal

In the spring there are numerous media features suggesting different ways to renew, refresh, revitalize and/or restore ourselves to beauty, to health, to new energy.  Purification remedies and diets, visits to the spa, recommitting to an exercise program, planting new things in the garden, are just a few of the many suggestions for reconnecting with growth.

What is this flurry of information suggesting to people?  Is it just a seasonal think to entice consumers to get out there and spend?  I think it is mirroring to us what is a natural rhythm and feeling we get as humans when the winter thaw has melted and we begin to feel the shift in the air and see the changes in nature around us.

A pair of morning doves has returned to our yard to prepare a nest.  The squirrels are running back and forth in the early morning hours to find new treasures to hide for later consumption.  The roses have burst open virtually overnight.  Trees are beginning to get their cloak of leaves.  There is a different quality, a different texture to the environment—and we welcome it.  Our bodies, minds and spirits are lifted by such natural changes.  They are signs of new possibilities.  They symbolize new hope in a warmer, brighter, gentler tomorrow.

One of the ways we can fully appreciate this feeling of renewal is to take time to enjoy the clouds, the flowers, the aliveness in people and in nature.  I encourage people to take time to sit in a comfortable place in nature and look, see, hear and feel life around you without needing to change or correct anything about it.  Even letting go of the need to label what is experienced is freeing.  We can feel the connection inside of being part of the beauty of the changing landscape of life.  This kind of felt experience requires no analysis.  We only have to be aware and receptive to it.  Notice if making eye contact with the clerk in the market or smiling at a stranger on the street sparks a connection inside of being part of the human landscape.  You may notice that your body, mind and heart feel a little happier and lighter because of these simple practices.

Loving Kindness is not something that someone instills in us.  It is the natural feeling of caring that is innate in us.  If we are always rushing around going from one project to another, we lose touch with that part of us that can sit with someone who needs to be heard, or even to feel compassion for ourselves.

Giving Loving Kindness to someone can take many forms–a smile to a stranger, calling a friend you haven’t seen for a long time, giving yourself some quality time with a loved one, listening to another person’s problems, or sitting peacefully in meditation and sending the intention to that person that they be happy.  Some people find great joy in tending a garden with care or taking care of homeless pets.  Whatever your chosen expression is for Loving Kindness, notice how you feel when you are giving it.  It is a gift that continues to grow in you and the other.

Beep, beep, beep

It’s always scanning for something on which to focus its beam of awareness.  Pay attention to what your mind searches for to offer an opinion, inner comment, or evaluation about.  Noticing the themes of our scanning mind provides useful insights into our habit patterns of thinking.  Revealing these patterns is a step toward making our lives work better since thoughts precede actions.

How this works:  Pay attention to what your mind makes of the things that occur in your life.  For example, on days when a number of everyday events seems to go wrong, what does your mind do with that?  Do you look for:

• Someone or something to blame, to criticize, get angry with, argue with, get even, worry about, attack, compare yourself to, fear, feel sad or hopeless about?

It is possible to allow ordinary events to occur without needing to make someone (including yourself) or something wrong about that happening.

Take some moments to pause.  Enjoying a few deep breaths is relaxing for the body and mind.  Let the mind settle down a bit and notice what you are doing.  Ask yourself a few key questions such as: “is this way of seeing my experience beneficial for me and for others?  What do I really want to cultivate in my mind—peacefulness and clarity, or agitation?  What feelings am I reinforcing with these ways of assessing my situation?”

Mindfulness practice:

• Notice what’s happening.
• Ask if my response to the situation is useful/beneficial or not.
• Question any critical thoughts.
• Sit with my body response and let the body and mind settle.

Notice how the rest of your day goes after taking a little personal time for understanding yourself better.

Just for now, just for this moment, allow the body to be at ease.
Just for now …..  invite the mind and body to slow down.
Just for now…..  feel the breath glide in and out without effort.
Just for now …..  quiet the inner critic and judge.
Just for now …..  feel the peaceful mind.
Just for now …..  feel the bliss of a calm body and mind.
Just for now …..  enjoy the pleasure in just being.
Just for now …..  rest in clear, unbiased awareness.

This moment rainbow

]]> http://bemindfulnow.com/?feed=rss2&p=287 0 http://bemindfulnow.com/?p=278 http://bemindfulnow.com/?p=278#comments Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:55:07 +0000 sharon http://bemindfulnow.com/?p=278 Creativity comes in many forms.  Listening to your heart — the source of our inner passion and creative voice –  can direct attention to many fun ways of giving wholesome expression to creativity.  If an ordinary activity you do begins to feel like a drudge, try putting a creative spin on it.  Try engaging your sensory systems differently as you do it.

I have been having fun creating different food combinations for taste and color.  Here’s a recent example.  It’s red cabbage and swiss chard.  I lightly browned onions and garlic in a little olive oil.  Lightly sauteed the cabbage and chard.  I used red cabbage for color.  I added a touch of seasoned rice vinegar.  It is delicious and pretty healthy for the body.  We season things pretty lightly, but added spices could also be nice if you like them.

red cabbage and swiss chard

Another taste pleaser is the same basic start but use red swiss chard and couscous.  I used a little fresh lemon instead of rice vinegar for the couscous dish and topped it with a few pine nuts. Yummm……

Engaging the mind and body with awareness is a practice in being present with life now.  Staying grounded in the present keeps us out of the ruminating mind.  See what you can be creative with today.

Ikebana for Caryl

]]> http://bemindfulnow.com/?feed=rss2&p=258 0 http://bemindfulnow.com/?p=243 http://bemindfulnow.com/?p=243#comments Tue, 12 May 2009 02:24:21 +0000 sharon http://bemindfulnow.com/?p=243 Watch this five-month old baby move to a Celtic jig.

Put on some music you love and let your body have fun moving to the rhythm.

Bodies are meant to move.  If we are truly listening to our bodies, we know clearly how they want to move.  The form that movement takes is as unique and individual as we are.

I knew as a young child that moving to music brought joy and pleasure to my being.  Over the years I have experimented with many forms of movement.  For this I am grateful as now, in my mature years, I have a variety of familiar skills and modes of movement on which I can draw even if the body has more limitations than it used to.  It still loves to move.

One form of movement I participated in and experimented with for a number of years was Authentic Movement: www.authenticmovement–usa.com.   The above quote is from this website.  This beautiful form of movement puts the mover in touch directly with her inner knowing.  She surrenders to and honors what that inner sense directs the body to do.  It’s a moving meditation that comes from the heart, not the head.

Bodies that move with ease are delightful to feel and observe.  I invite you to listen to any level of movement your body wants to create — and enjoy that expression.

When we overlook and override our bodies with unconscious behavior, demands and actions it sends a subconscious message to the body that is far from kind.  Ask yourself if there is a part of your body about which you have critical thoughts.  Remember, this is the miraculous body that enables you to experience life.

When was the last time you sent warm feelings of kindness and appreciation to your body?  Take some time to check-in with how your body feels right now.  Are there any physical sensations present?  Is there discomfort?  Do a brief internal scan of your body to sense what it’s feeling.  If you have been rushing all day, the body may be on “race mode.”  Give it a little time to settle and relax.  Reassure the body that you are listening to it.

After the body is settled, bring a genuine feeling of appreciation, kindness, or caring for your body.  Let that feeling begin to flow through the body just like your circulation, pausing a few extra minutes at places of discomfort or those places you mentally criticize.  Imagine each cell of the body opening to these feelings of appreciation.

For best results, this practice should be done often.  We can do it in a few seconds when an opportune time arises, when we find ourselves being critical of our bodies, or for several minutes as a formal meditation practice.   Being this attentive to the body develops a new friendship with the body where we are more sensitive and attuned to its needs.  Your experience is your own evidence of the value of this practice.