Taking time to slow down and relax within my space without distractions. I need to do this more often. Make time to just simply be and enjoy the thing that is my life.
Meditating
supports me
in looking at my life
just as it is . . .
so does the garden.
When I meditate,
I gently nudge the clouds of thought out of the picture as they come in,
patiently doing it over and over again.
Eventually I am able to see Truth,
and it has neither reward nor punishment in its eyes,
neither sadness nor joy . . .
just kindness.
In the garden,
my mind is busy talking to the things that grow there . . .
the beetles, spiders, and larvae,
worms and ants . . .
weeds and carefully cultivated flowers,
pinching my fingers between the wanted and the unwanted
like a Japanese gardener,
one at a time,
taking my time.
That’s when little scripts come to my mind,
and I learn things
from how everything in that little eco-system works,
and how it is the same with my own little eco-system in my body works together.
Then I understand
that I am not all bad or all good . . .
I am a balance of negative and positive energy.
Just as an artist creates a painting,
there is as much going on in the negative space
as there is in the positive one . . .
sometimes more.
I don’t judge the spaces,
I don’t judge the garden
and I don’t judge myself.
I could pick anywhere quiet or steady,
like the ocean or the desert,
and find that same calm acceptance of who and what I am
and am not.
There is something about a quiet, empty mind
that welcomes
non-judgmental observation,
and once i am firmly in the space,
I am not easily distracted.
It seems to be happening much more often
than it used to . . . ♥
I thought this was a tricky question, Sparrow, but you answered it so well.
I love how you get insight about yourself through gardening and meditating.
I also love that you can look at yourself without self judgement.
Such a beautiful response.
Thank you, Sparrow, for sharing your wisdom.
Interesting question. Sometimes I overthink things and when I tell my husband or a friend about what I judge to be a motivating factor in another person’s actions, I have been told that I’m projecting and most likely not correct in my assumptions. Sometimes I think my husband or a friend is right, and that I have read something into the situation that is not there. My husband never thinks my assessment of the motivation of others is correct, especially if it’s negative. He always thinks others are acting with no unspoken intentions and my assessments are wrong. I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. But , just the same, he and others can be a check on my overthinking, and help me to see situations more clearly.
This is an amazing thing
when you think about it,
dear Claire . . .
it leads us to think more deeply on
‘what is the world?’
‘what is reality . . .
really?’ ♥
Yoga supports my seeing without a personal lens – just what is. It’s a practice that I’m getting better and better at and is expanding me in profound ways. It’s a full body experience.
My planner/journal has helped me tremendously with organizing my life, jotting my to do lists and events for the week. I like to write a lil summary abt the things I’ve attended or if I completed (or not) a task. I also write inspiration saying I find, from here or something I read or heard from a video or from a loved one, things that simply touched my heart. I like looking back and seeing my annotations, especially from previous planners. I’ve been in a slump these past few months but I’m getting back into using my planner and can’t help but feel a bit more excited.
If you aren’t the planner type, I recommend a a daily guided journal. My favorite is one called A Season of Life, a 3 month journal that has several prompts (ex what was one kind thing you did for someone, what brought you joy, was there a moment of connection, one thing you’re proud of, etc) That journal really helped me bring more awareness throughout my day because I was excited to write it down. I included the link below!
Thank you, Jennifer!
I have a journal, but I would like to use it more. Sometimes I take a screen shot of the daily inspirational quote and photograph, on this gratefulness site, but as of now they are separate from my journal.
I do like to keep track of my inspiration, insights, and intentions that come up for me when answering question of the day and reading the responses of others. I like the holistic approach you use. Now to restart my journalling practice!☀️☀️☀️
The mediation group I’m in also does a journal practice that we do together each week a new topic to let go of the human mind more and more . It’s super useful to self reflect and learn to let it go with the meditation method.
Good luck and I posted the link that shows you the over 350 meditation centres around the world.
My desire to look for the truth in all things, to be honest in all things which includes looking @ myself. The last few years have shook me to my core, losing my brother, mother & my husband. I lost my whole support system. I moved from my home of 40+ years to a place so different, almost foreign to what I had. Everything new & different. I have had to do a lot of soul searching as I have let go of the past & move forward into the unknown. It takes courage to start over. So much of me has been stripped bare & if I cannot be honest about me, myself then what do I have? My relationship with myself is thee most important one I have. I choose to be honest, to grow, to expand, to embrace the unknown, to be love in all things, myself included.❤️
The Universe is guiding me , supporting me.
The Universe has my back.✨🙏🏻✨
Right now it’s community, where I witness others share things that I can relate to and have sometimes also been through. When I hear an experience similar to mine come through someone else’s words, I feel kinship. When a lot of us with similar motivations and trajectories come together, there’s a sense of ease and belonging. In a sense, what I had framed as “my” life is simply life, or it is our life, or it is a variant of a human life. The isolation and insecurity that drive shame, exclusivity or denial–those all melt away in the greater realm of shared lives. I’m deeply grateful right now for community.
I whole heartedly agree with all that you have said here, Drea!
There is so much inspiration and insight in this gathering place. .
And the connection! The kinship!
I feel warm and secure here!☀️🥰
The Isness of God/Life has taught me to be willing. I share a Morning Med that I originally wrote in 2014 and recycled in 2022!
Morning Meds Aug 15 2022 We’ve Got the Whole World in our Hands
Good Morning, I share a meditation and poem I wrote in 2014. When we journal, the words we put on the paper almost always contain greater self-awareness than we actually can claim at the time. We’re presenting ourselves with a concept that many times we have yet to fully accept. It is always a gift from our higher self—a message to ponder—a lesson to be learned. Blessings, Carol
Meditation for Feb 17, 2014:
Bare Attention
When one softens
toward oneself,
the past is forgiven,
the present is embraced,
the future takes care of itself.
The Eternal Now is alive
and you can feel it!
Seeking is forsaken
And seeing is for taking
the chance
of being fully human.
Such vulnerability is
for the making
of Love.
I say that vulnerability is another word for incarnation. I have sensed for years that when I am willing to be vulnerable, willing to celebrate my humanity fully, this thing some call divinity flows. When ever I truly surrender to “what is,” it’s a virgin birth; it’s Messiah—God with and in me, fully human, fully divine. Big Bang, Enlightenment, Cosmic Christ, Second Coming, choose your label.
For me, it’s about forsaking expectations and accepting my limitations. It’s about refusing to fight, freeze, or flee and being willing to face, feel and free my soul. It is the realization that my “yes” will be echoed by the Universe and I can humbly claim the wisdom of the ages.
It shouts, “there is no “Us and Them.” There is only “We.” Let it BE.” It cries, “Choose evolution over revolution. Stop giving up the challenge to grow. Start giving in and letting it flow. Stop trying to get what can’t be got. Start learning to let what evolution has bought.”
Its message is a reminder that the biggest battle resides within; the egoistic mind is the only sin. It has to lose so my personal evolution can win.
We must learn to pay “bare attention” to what is happening in and through us, taking responsibility for what we contribute to the wholeness—the holiness of life; for what holds our attention, influences our intention; and our intention holds the whole world in its hands.
Beautifully put, Carol: “I have sensed for years that when I am willing to be vulnerable, willing to celebrate my humanity fully, this thing some call divinity flows.” I think my current experience of community also reflects what you wrote about “There is no us and them, there is only we.” Wishing you a peaceful and grateful day.
The thing that supports me, is my desire to see things clearly and as they are. Not how I wish things were or how I expected things to be. To clear away the history, the perspectives and the desire to be in control, brings me to this moment. This breath. To come back to my senses.
Self-compassion.
Being kind to myself isn’t always natural and the hardest thing is meeting myself with care instead of criticism.
Still, when I do—it softens the moment, and helps me stay in the present.
Give yourself the gift of free bi-monthly inspiration including uplifting articles, diverse stories, supportive practices, videos, and more, delivered with heart to your inbox.
Taking time to slow down and relax within my space without distractions. I need to do this more often. Make time to just simply be and enjoy the thing that is my life.
My faith, Community support groups like this one. My job also.
Meditation, stillness and acceptance of what is right now.
Meditating
supports me
in looking at my life
just as it is . . .
so does the garden.
When I meditate,
I gently nudge the clouds of thought out of the picture as they come in,
patiently doing it over and over again.
Eventually I am able to see Truth,
and it has neither reward nor punishment in its eyes,
neither sadness nor joy . . .
just kindness.
In the garden,
my mind is busy talking to the things that grow there . . .
the beetles, spiders, and larvae,
worms and ants . . .
weeds and carefully cultivated flowers,
pinching my fingers between the wanted and the unwanted
like a Japanese gardener,
one at a time,
taking my time.
That’s when little scripts come to my mind,
and I learn things
from how everything in that little eco-system works,
and how it is the same with my own little eco-system in my body works together.
Then I understand
that I am not all bad or all good . . .
I am a balance of negative and positive energy.
Just as an artist creates a painting,
there is as much going on in the negative space
as there is in the positive one . . .
sometimes more.
I don’t judge the spaces,
I don’t judge the garden
and I don’t judge myself.
I could pick anywhere quiet or steady,
like the ocean or the desert,
and find that same calm acceptance of who and what I am
and am not.
There is something about a quiet, empty mind
that welcomes
non-judgmental observation,
and once i am firmly in the space,
I am not easily distracted.
It seems to be happening much more often
than it used to . . . ♥
This is beautiful, thank you Sparrow.
It means so much to me,
dear Drea,
that it spoke to you . . . ♥
Thank you. The divine in me bows to the divine in you.
The divine in me
bows to the divine in you too,
dear Joseph . . .
Namaste. ♥
I thought this was a tricky question, Sparrow, but you answered it so well.
I love how you get insight about yourself through gardening and meditating.
I also love that you can look at yourself without self judgement.
Such a beautiful response.
Thank you, Sparrow, for sharing your wisdom.
It’s not so much wisdom,
dear Mary,
as stuff I’m learning along the way,
but thank you . . . ♥
Very wise stuff, Sparrow.
♥️♥️♥️ 🥰
Sparrow, thanks for your words.
Thank you too,
dear Carol,
for all that you contribute . . .
I learn
from every one of you . . . ♥
Interesting question. Sometimes I overthink things and when I tell my husband or a friend about what I judge to be a motivating factor in another person’s actions, I have been told that I’m projecting and most likely not correct in my assumptions. Sometimes I think my husband or a friend is right, and that I have read something into the situation that is not there. My husband never thinks my assessment of the motivation of others is correct, especially if it’s negative. He always thinks others are acting with no unspoken intentions and my assessments are wrong. I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. But , just the same, he and others can be a check on my overthinking, and help me to see situations more clearly.
Don’t forget to trust yourself too,
dear Mary . . . ♥
This!
Thank you, dear Sparrow. ♥️
Life is not happening to me, it is happening as me.
Yes!
Thank you so much, Joseph!
I read a quote and have been wrestling with it all week. We don’t see the world as it is. We see the world as we are. Hmmmm
Is the illusion the world we see, or as we see the world as we are. the illusion?
This is an amazing thing
when you think about it,
dear Claire . . .
it leads us to think more deeply on
‘what is the world?’
‘what is reality . . .
really?’ ♥
I guess we see the world through the filter of our own experiences. 🤔
Yoga supports my seeing without a personal lens – just what is. It’s a practice that I’m getting better and better at and is expanding me in profound ways. It’s a full body experience.
My planner/journal has helped me tremendously with organizing my life, jotting my to do lists and events for the week. I like to write a lil summary abt the things I’ve attended or if I completed (or not) a task. I also write inspiration saying I find, from here or something I read or heard from a video or from a loved one, things that simply touched my heart. I like looking back and seeing my annotations, especially from previous planners. I’ve been in a slump these past few months but I’m getting back into using my planner and can’t help but feel a bit more excited.
If you aren’t the planner type, I recommend a a daily guided journal. My favorite is one called A Season of Life, a 3 month journal that has several prompts (ex what was one kind thing you did for someone, what brought you joy, was there a moment of connection, one thing you’re proud of, etc) That journal really helped me bring more awareness throughout my day because I was excited to write it down. I included the link below!
Link: https://www.amazon.com/Season-Life-Journaling-Practice-Emotional/dp/B0CDNMSYKJ
This journal
sounds amazing,
dear Jenifer . . . ♥
Thank you, Jennifer!
I have a journal, but I would like to use it more. Sometimes I take a screen shot of the daily inspirational quote and photograph, on this gratefulness site, but as of now they are separate from my journal.
I do like to keep track of my inspiration, insights, and intentions that come up for me when answering question of the day and reading the responses of others. I like the holistic approach you use. Now to restart my journalling practice!☀️☀️☀️
The mediation group I’m in also does a journal practice that we do together each week a new topic to let go of the human mind more and more . It’s super useful to self reflect and learn to let it go with the meditation method.
Good luck and I posted the link that shows you the over 350 meditation centres around the world.
♥️
Having moments of quiet and reflection and not constantly rushing through my life.
My desire to look for the truth in all things, to be honest in all things which includes looking @ myself. The last few years have shook me to my core, losing my brother, mother & my husband. I lost my whole support system. I moved from my home of 40+ years to a place so different, almost foreign to what I had. Everything new & different. I have had to do a lot of soul searching as I have let go of the past & move forward into the unknown. It takes courage to start over. So much of me has been stripped bare & if I cannot be honest about me, myself then what do I have? My relationship with myself is thee most important one I have. I choose to be honest, to grow, to expand, to embrace the unknown, to be love in all things, myself included.❤️
The Universe is guiding me , supporting me.
The Universe has my back.✨🙏🏻✨
Courage,
dear PKR . . .
courage.
I think you have it,
but don’t reject the loving help of others
with love . . . ♥
Namaste
You really have been through so much PKR.
Right now it’s community, where I witness others share things that I can relate to and have sometimes also been through. When I hear an experience similar to mine come through someone else’s words, I feel kinship. When a lot of us with similar motivations and trajectories come together, there’s a sense of ease and belonging. In a sense, what I had framed as “my” life is simply life, or it is our life, or it is a variant of a human life. The isolation and insecurity that drive shame, exclusivity or denial–those all melt away in the greater realm of shared lives. I’m deeply grateful right now for community.
What a beautiful and wise
insight,
dear Drea! ♥
I whole heartedly agree with all that you have said here, Drea!
There is so much inspiration and insight in this gathering place. .
And the connection! The kinship!
I feel warm and secure here!☀️🥰
Lovely words, Drea– thank you!
The Isness of God/Life has taught me to be willing. I share a Morning Med that I originally wrote in 2014 and recycled in 2022!
Morning Meds Aug 15 2022 We’ve Got the Whole World in our Hands
Good Morning, I share a meditation and poem I wrote in 2014. When we journal, the words we put on the paper almost always contain greater self-awareness than we actually can claim at the time. We’re presenting ourselves with a concept that many times we have yet to fully accept. It is always a gift from our higher self—a message to ponder—a lesson to be learned. Blessings, Carol
Meditation for Feb 17, 2014:
Bare Attention
When one softens
toward oneself,
the past is forgiven,
the present is embraced,
the future takes care of itself.
The Eternal Now is alive
and you can feel it!
Seeking is forsaken
And seeing is for taking
the chance
of being fully human.
Such vulnerability is
for the making
of Love.
I say that vulnerability is another word for incarnation. I have sensed for years that when I am willing to be vulnerable, willing to celebrate my humanity fully, this thing some call divinity flows. When ever I truly surrender to “what is,” it’s a virgin birth; it’s Messiah—God with and in me, fully human, fully divine. Big Bang, Enlightenment, Cosmic Christ, Second Coming, choose your label.
For me, it’s about forsaking expectations and accepting my limitations. It’s about refusing to fight, freeze, or flee and being willing to face, feel and free my soul. It is the realization that my “yes” will be echoed by the Universe and I can humbly claim the wisdom of the ages.
It shouts, “there is no “Us and Them.” There is only “We.” Let it BE.” It cries, “Choose evolution over revolution. Stop giving up the challenge to grow. Start giving in and letting it flow. Stop trying to get what can’t be got. Start learning to let what evolution has bought.”
Its message is a reminder that the biggest battle resides within; the egoistic mind is the only sin. It has to lose so my personal evolution can win.
We must learn to pay “bare attention” to what is happening in and through us, taking responsibility for what we contribute to the wholeness—the holiness of life; for what holds our attention, influences our intention; and our intention holds the whole world in its hands.
Thank you dear Carol.
Beautifully put, Carol: “I have sensed for years that when I am willing to be vulnerable, willing to celebrate my humanity fully, this thing some call divinity flows.” I think my current experience of community also reflects what you wrote about “There is no us and them, there is only we.” Wishing you a peaceful and grateful day.
The thing that supports me, is my desire to see things clearly and as they are. Not how I wish things were or how I expected things to be. To clear away the history, the perspectives and the desire to be in control, brings me to this moment. This breath. To come back to my senses.
Willingness…desire…forsake control…yes, dear Charlie
Self-compassion.
Being kind to myself isn’t always natural and the hardest thing is meeting myself with care instead of criticism.
Still, when I do—it softens the moment, and helps me stay in the present.
Thanks, Antonia “Self compassion…it softens the moment and helps me stay in the present.” What a profound reminder.
The willingness to see it. Open eyes, open mind.