I need this question at the end of this day, which was very full and fast-paced in the afternoon in particular. This morning I took a short walk into a nearby park to be surrounded by green growing things and walk on the earth, and did it again at lunch with my sweetie. I’m scheduling that into my days as a lunch activity and at other times as I can.
Last night a dear friend invited me over. We ate, talked, had a glass of wine, and did some knitting surrounded by her 2 dogs and 3 cats. I’ll schedule a return invitation for that same relaxation. I’m also planning a trip to another town to visit family and friends in a couple of weeks. I need to remind myself not to turn that into an over-scheduled whirlwind with self-imposed pressure.
Where or when, could I create a bit of space to truly slow down?
To truly slow down, I need to slow down my thoughts,
leave behind my thoughts of past and future,
and bring myself into the present.
I think the real question
is where and when can I dedicate time
to practice being in the present moment.
Being in the present requires practice,
a practice really,
because I have spent a lifetime
living in the past or the future.
I think I’d like to take about twenty minutes after dinner,
and sit in my living room. I can start by following my breath
and continue by focusing on on what I see, hear, smell, taste and touch.
Just as in meditation I would redirect my thoughts to the present
when they drift away from the present.
I will start this evening.
Many blessings, friends.
Good question to which i currently have no other answer than just doing my best to reply as best as possible to the many demands life offers right now. May you have a good day, you all out there.
I could create a bit of space now and in between moments, and wherever I am present to make it seamlessly but to be part of my daily lifestyle to honor and acknowledge the time of each task as precious gift of blessings or lessons to be learn throughout my day. In creating a bit of space in between tasks I am energised and alert for the present task instead of being frazzled. Thanks for reminding me of taking a moment before starting another task, I used to do this when I was teaching and gave my students to do this by allowing them two minutes at the beginning of our class time to be present (let go of the last class and attune their time to my class and always end a minute early for them to transition to their next class. I need to practice this more now since I make my own schedule for the day instead of running around and not enjoying the task or taking each task as a chore or just “performing.” Thanks for reminding me to stop the rat race and stop to enjoy the smell of roses and the lessons to be learn from the thorns.
I have a couple of practices in my work that sound like your teaching practice. For my team I schedule all our meetings to start at 5 minutes after the hour to allow a gap between the end of one meeting and the start of the next. At the beginning of our staff meetings we have “connection before content” with a question or activity or exercise of some kind that lets us spend time together, get to know each other, and disconnect our minds from the last thing before the next thing. We’re 100% telework so this is valuable in multiple ways.
I’m going to try slowing down today in traffic, on a route that is almost always congested. Slow down in response to being slowed down. No radio, just me and the river of cars, jerking and flowing.
In Eckhart Tolle’s book, “A New Earth” on pages 202 and 203, Tolle explains that the ego always resists and devalues NOW. Time is what lives on. In ego your sense of self depend on the past for identity and the future for fulfillment. There are three ways in which the ego will treat the present moment as a means to an end, as an obstacle ,and as an enemy to creating the SPACE referenced in today’s question..
“MEANS TO AN END: At best, the present moment is considered as a means to an end. It gets you to some future moment that is considered more important…you are always busy trying to get elsewhere.
OBSTACLE:Life, which is NOW, is seen as a “problem” and you come to inhabit a world of problems that all need to be solved before you can be happy, fulfilled, or really start living—or so you think.
ENEMY: At worst, the present moment is the enemy. (paraphrase) arguing with what is and making life into an enemy and Life says, “War is what you want, and war is what you get.” External reality, which always reflects back to you you inner state, is then experienced as hostile.
“A VITAL QUESTION TO ASK YOUR SELF FREQUENTLY IS: WHAT IS MY RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PRESENT MOMENT? THEN BECOME ALERT TO FIND OUT THE ANSWER…. SINCE THE PRESENT MOMENT IS ALL YOU EVER HAVE; SINCE LIFE IS INSEPARABLE FROM THE NOW, WHAT THE QUESTION REALLY MEANS IS : WHAT IS MY RELATIONSHIP WITH Life?” (A New Earth pp.202-203)
I do the physical part of slowing well. Our life is pretty calm because we have no family around, and our interactions with others is mostly zoom related. The third week of the month can be full.
Where I need to create “slow down space” is in my head, especially at night. The what ifs, what should I do if this happens, you should have, race in.
When I take a hot bath, it’s time for me to relax truly. It also reminds me of the time when I lived in a house with 10 family members and the house had just one bathroom. Since childhood, I have believed that a shower is not just for cleaning the body, but a moment to play and relax with water. But it was wrong in a large household family with only one bathroom. I was always being shouted at by the grow-ups when they wanted me to finish my turn faster so someone could take turns using it. Well, now I’m in a comfortable house with 4 bathrooms, I’m grateful for the relaxing bath I have every day.
Right now. Here… like I do each morning. But I have recently found I need to slow down with the assignments for my YTT. Because I made it through a lot of the lessons when I started 3 years ago, I have basically been reviewing everything, but I am at the point where I have to compose asana classes. I did that as well before, but I have grown and learned more, and looking at those classes I realized I need to take some time and rewrite them. DO the practices as I write them out to not just know that they make sense but feel that they do. After the experience I had before moving, it is really nice to slow down!
This question is timely. I really enjoy a good fictional read. For years, I only read non-fiction, mostly in support of my work and personal/spiritual development. Usually, I read before I go to sleep. Depending on how the day unfolded, I might read for 30 minutes or 5, usually closer to 15. So a habit I have the luxury of developing at this time of life is reading in the late afternoon. I have my favorite spot, chair, footstool, and I grab my book and give myself over to it. It is an intentional, quiet, slowing of my day. It doesn’t happen everyday yet, but more often. On days I give myself that time, I do notice a higher level of energy for the evening which I really appreciate in these days of less sunlight.
I have been working towards doing that since 1984 LOL. I have some wins and losses. The barnacles of commitments I accidentally or blindly enter into, the objects I acquire through some misconstrued notion of necessity, the overwrought and inflated sense of importance and its accompanying structures of managing affairs that are, in fact, none of my business. All continue to weigh down my life and periodically I need to haul ‘er up in dry dock and scrape her down.
These enticements all come with a glow of gratification from being ‘important’, or ‘mattering’, or being ‘seen’.
This is part of learning, and maturing, and trial and error (a good deal of error LOL).
So, for the past 6 months I have been scraping away, leaving one job for another that allows me to work from home, letting go of using my car for ANYTHING but work, walking, writing, cataloguing my books, emptying a storage unit, going through it all.
And the next fence is to remove back to a community (there are currently two in my sights) that would allow me to sell my place, unload almost everything, and work with my hands in the dirt growing food. To once again live where I work.
My life already moves at a slow paste. I have a few part-time piano jobs, come home, and have time for my hobbies such as watching sports, spending time with Ngoc, and working on my Vietnamese.
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Singing in my choir.
Playing tennis, walking in nature.
Relaxing on my sofa, late in the evening, before going to bed.
I need this question at the end of this day, which was very full and fast-paced in the afternoon in particular. This morning I took a short walk into a nearby park to be surrounded by green growing things and walk on the earth, and did it again at lunch with my sweetie. I’m scheduling that into my days as a lunch activity and at other times as I can.
Last night a dear friend invited me over. We ate, talked, had a glass of wine, and did some knitting surrounded by her 2 dogs and 3 cats. I’ll schedule a return invitation for that same relaxation. I’m also planning a trip to another town to visit family and friends in a couple of weeks. I need to remind myself not to turn that into an over-scheduled whirlwind with self-imposed pressure.
End of this month I am travelling to Florida to spend time with my daughter and I am looking forward to having some down time to relax!
Right now it is currently 36 degrees this morning in the Tampa Bay area, brrrrr.
Yes cold! I am watching the weather carefully! Hoping it is around 70 at least during the day
Where or when, could I create a bit of space to truly slow down?
To truly slow down, I need to slow down my thoughts,
leave behind my thoughts of past and future,
and bring myself into the present.
I think the real question
is where and when can I dedicate time
to practice being in the present moment.
Being in the present requires practice,
a practice really,
because I have spent a lifetime
living in the past or the future.
I think I’d like to take about twenty minutes after dinner,
and sit in my living room. I can start by following my breath
and continue by focusing on on what I see, hear, smell, taste and touch.
Just as in meditation I would redirect my thoughts to the present
when they drift away from the present.
I will start this evening.
Many blessings, friends.
Good question to which i currently have no other answer than just doing my best to reply as best as possible to the many demands life offers right now. May you have a good day, you all out there.
I could create a bit of space now and in between moments, and wherever I am present to make it seamlessly but to be part of my daily lifestyle to honor and acknowledge the time of each task as precious gift of blessings or lessons to be learn throughout my day. In creating a bit of space in between tasks I am energised and alert for the present task instead of being frazzled. Thanks for reminding me of taking a moment before starting another task, I used to do this when I was teaching and gave my students to do this by allowing them two minutes at the beginning of our class time to be present (let go of the last class and attune their time to my class and always end a minute early for them to transition to their next class. I need to practice this more now since I make my own schedule for the day instead of running around and not enjoying the task or taking each task as a chore or just “performing.” Thanks for reminding me to stop the rat race and stop to enjoy the smell of roses and the lessons to be learn from the thorns.
Beautiful S R. You inspire me to do the same.
I have a couple of practices in my work that sound like your teaching practice. For my team I schedule all our meetings to start at 5 minutes after the hour to allow a gap between the end of one meeting and the start of the next. At the beginning of our staff meetings we have “connection before content” with a question or activity or exercise of some kind that lets us spend time together, get to know each other, and disconnect our minds from the last thing before the next thing. We’re 100% telework so this is valuable in multiple ways.
I’m going to try slowing down today in traffic, on a route that is almost always congested. Slow down in response to being slowed down. No radio, just me and the river of cars, jerking and flowing.
Admirable Drea.
Thanks Mary. Oddly, there was less traffic than I’ve seen in a long time. The drive was pleasant. Funny how that happened.
It’s NOW or Never because NOW is all there is.
In Eckhart Tolle’s book, “A New Earth” on pages 202 and 203, Tolle explains that the ego always resists and devalues NOW. Time is what lives on. In ego your sense of self depend on the past for identity and the future for fulfillment. There are three ways in which the ego will treat the present moment as a means to an end, as an obstacle ,and as an enemy to creating the SPACE referenced in today’s question..
“MEANS TO AN END: At best, the present moment is considered as a means to an end. It gets you to some future moment that is considered more important…you are always busy trying to get elsewhere.
OBSTACLE:Life, which is NOW, is seen as a “problem” and you come to inhabit a world of problems that all need to be solved before you can be happy, fulfilled, or really start living—or so you think.
ENEMY: At worst, the present moment is the enemy. (paraphrase) arguing with what is and making life into an enemy and Life says, “War is what you want, and war is what you get.” External reality, which always reflects back to you you inner state, is then experienced as hostile.
“A VITAL QUESTION TO ASK YOUR SELF FREQUENTLY IS: WHAT IS MY RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PRESENT MOMENT? THEN BECOME ALERT TO FIND OUT THE ANSWER…. SINCE THE PRESENT MOMENT IS ALL YOU EVER HAVE; SINCE LIFE IS INSEPARABLE FROM THE NOW, WHAT THE QUESTION REALLY MEANS IS : WHAT IS MY RELATIONSHIP WITH Life?” (A New Earth pp.202-203)
Thank you, Carol. I needed to read that this morning.
BRING IT ON
I do the physical part of slowing well. Our life is pretty calm because we have no family around, and our interactions with others is mostly zoom related. The third week of the month can be full.
Where I need to create “slow down space” is in my head, especially at night. The what ifs, what should I do if this happens, you should have, race in.
Oh, the shoulds!😧
The horrible shoulds.
I was once told not to should on myself.
Our EGO (Edge God Out) is very demanding!
Each time I carve out time for silence, it helps me slow down.
I have a planned routine but sometimes life gets in the way:)
When I take a hot bath, it’s time for me to relax truly. It also reminds me of the time when I lived in a house with 10 family members and the house had just one bathroom. Since childhood, I have believed that a shower is not just for cleaning the body, but a moment to play and relax with water. But it was wrong in a large household family with only one bathroom. I was always being shouted at by the grow-ups when they wanted me to finish my turn faster so someone could take turns using it. Well, now I’m in a comfortable house with 4 bathrooms, I’m grateful for the relaxing bath I have every day.
wow 4 bathrooms!
It goes to show how fortunate we are in the US. 2 bathrooms is already luxurious let alone 4.
My Ngoc, “When I take a hot bath, it’s time for me to truly relax.”
“Grown ups”
Right now. Here… like I do each morning. But I have recently found I need to slow down with the assignments for my YTT. Because I made it through a lot of the lessons when I started 3 years ago, I have basically been reviewing everything, but I am at the point where I have to compose asana classes. I did that as well before, but I have grown and learned more, and looking at those classes I realized I need to take some time and rewrite them. DO the practices as I write them out to not just know that they make sense but feel that they do. After the experience I had before moving, it is really nice to slow down!
Wonderful!
This question is timely. I really enjoy a good fictional read. For years, I only read non-fiction, mostly in support of my work and personal/spiritual development. Usually, I read before I go to sleep. Depending on how the day unfolded, I might read for 30 minutes or 5, usually closer to 15. So a habit I have the luxury of developing at this time of life is reading in the late afternoon. I have my favorite spot, chair, footstool, and I grab my book and give myself over to it. It is an intentional, quiet, slowing of my day. It doesn’t happen everyday yet, but more often. On days I give myself that time, I do notice a higher level of energy for the evening which I really appreciate in these days of less sunlight.
Afternoon reading….great idea, Mary. Thanks.
🙏
I have been working towards doing that since 1984 LOL. I have some wins and losses. The barnacles of commitments I accidentally or blindly enter into, the objects I acquire through some misconstrued notion of necessity, the overwrought and inflated sense of importance and its accompanying structures of managing affairs that are, in fact, none of my business. All continue to weigh down my life and periodically I need to haul ‘er up in dry dock and scrape her down.
These enticements all come with a glow of gratification from being ‘important’, or ‘mattering’, or being ‘seen’.
This is part of learning, and maturing, and trial and error (a good deal of error LOL).
So, for the past 6 months I have been scraping away, leaving one job for another that allows me to work from home, letting go of using my car for ANYTHING but work, walking, writing, cataloguing my books, emptying a storage unit, going through it all.
And the next fence is to remove back to a community (there are currently two in my sights) that would allow me to sell my place, unload almost everything, and work with my hands in the dirt growing food. To once again live where I work.
I love “barnacles of commitments” as a highly descriptive phrase!
Sounds like a great goal!
Thanks, Howie
What great accomplishments. Keep chipping away!
My life already moves at a slow paste. I have a few part-time piano jobs, come home, and have time for my hobbies such as watching sports, spending time with Ngoc, and working on my Vietnamese.