When in doubt – don’t. Pause, when you need. Give yourself time to know, when knowing is not immediate. Stop to listen to your heart and follow the direction you find there. You can’t go wrong when you’re able to balance being mindful of others with being attuned to your own rhythms, passions, and internal promptings.
Our First Teacher is Our Own Heart -Cheyenne Proverb
Carve out 10 minutes or more for yourself to enjoy the calm within. Can you leave the electronic world behind, the news, and any worry you may be carrying for designated time to sit with yourself in quiet? Mindfulness about shutting off from the outside world incrementally may prove to make you a better focused and active participant there when you return!
dis·cern·ment
dəˈsərnmənt/
noun
1.
the ability to judge well.
2.
(in Christian contexts) perception in the absence of judgment with a view to obtaining spiritual direction and understanding.
Regarding a previous post on moving through life with a fresh perspective and not bringing judgements along for interaction, we can also consider discerning what we want to allow. Judgements about the experiences we want to encounter are different than jumping to conclusions about a person,place, or thing that we cannot know without experiencing for ourselves and sometimes can still not know as change is ever present. When choosing direction, it is helpful to be discerning. The actions we take create our path in body (to a point – not to speak on illness or trauma in this post), in mind, and soul. Of all the options, which way will you go today?
A Weekend Reflection
What you receive is in direct alignment with what you create in your thinking, in your offerings, and in what you allow. The starting point in direction of what you receive lives in the mind. Taking time to clean up your thinking is worth the return. When thoughts arrive in your mind that do not line up with the feelings you wish to experience, practice letting those go. You may not be able to stop the thoughts from presenting but you can dismiss them with little time spent lingering there. It’s prudent to be selective with what you allow in your head; it is part of your sacred space. Practice being receptive to thoughts that feel best and notice how it changes your overall presence. There’s a warm ray of sunshine hiding behind that cloud of thoughts, just waiting for you to let it in!
Cycles, change, coming and going are natural parts of life. All things come and all things go. We cannot live permanently amid a changeless scene. What we can do is find a way to accept changes as they enter our lives and aim to move gracefully with them.
Meditation for Accepting Change:
I am safe and at peace. The world around me changes daily. I change with the world,too. I am open to accepting and learning from the new environments that are inherent in change.
“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” – Anaïs Nin
There’s a small bridge that lies across a narrow section of the creek nearby. This ‘bridge’ is a series of planks that is underpinned with a long piece of wood running the length of it and two additional pieces intersecting at each end to help provide stability where it rests. Because there is no attachment into the bank, the bridge washes down stream a bit whenever there’s a heavy rain and it’s left lying crooked. The land on either side is higher a few feet down where she slides and the bridge is rendered useless until someone moves it back into place. Until last week, I’ve either waded through the water in rubber boots knowing what I would find or I would take a different path when the bridge was out. I viewed the displacement as reason to enjoy another way.
An elderly gentlemen was at the bend before the creek when I was passing some days ago. He had wild white hair atop his head and a thick beard at his jaw. He called out to me, “Wanna help me put the bridge back in place?”. I said I would be happy to lend a hand. We went down to the creek together and my dog wagged his tail but barked his uneasiness to the stranger. The man was gentle and set about making the pup comfortable with a low stance and friendly greeting. In a moment, there was another man at the other side of the creek and I shared that we were aiming to set the bridge right. He agreed to help. All of the activity calmed my dog and we were soon in the water helping to move the bridge back. Not long into the motions of lifting and adjusting, I realized that we each had a different idea of where the bridge should be placed. This, however, did not cause much conversation. We worked together, naturally following the direction of the man with white hair, until the bridge was passable again.
At this time, we mused about our different views with the understanding that we’ve each seen that bridge situated in different ways at different times which would contribute to our perception of how it should be. Each person appreciated the perspective of the other and we all called out kind words of departure before we took up our individual directions again.
Light a candle and send good wishes to the people in your life and perhaps even those you encounter but do not know intimately. Sending a blessing to that which is part of your experience and also that which is impacting the world can do good for your heart and possibly beyond.
Drawing attention to the positive aspects of today can be helpful to both you and to those that share in daily experiences with you. Should you find that someone you know is facing difficulties, perhaps you can help guide conversation to things that are going well. It is very easy to fall into a pattern of finding the negatives and it is just as easy to fall into a pattern of finding the positives; everything depends on where you place your focus. Beyond placement of our own focus, helping others to feel better by talking about topics that generate positive energy aids in lifting vibration. You can be a bright spot in someone’s day. You can be a light unto others!
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Decadance is alive and well in simplicity. It takes about 5- 10 minutes to prepare this 8 ingredient dish and after that, the tender magnificence is left to the oven as well as resting time. Please let this simple yet decadent dish of baked pears and yogurt create a little distraction in your life!
Baked Pears with Yogurt
Serves 4
2 Large Pears (any variety ) sliced in half and cored.
4 tbsp honey
4 tbsp lime juice (or water)
2 tbsp cinnamon plus more for dusting
1/4 tsp allspice
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/8 cup of water
8 tbsp plain yogurt
Preheat oven to 375. Place cored pear halves into a 8×8 baking dish. In a small bowl combine honey, lime, cinnamon, and allspice. Heating the honey for a few seconds may make this step easier. Fill each cored center (I call them pear bellies) with 1/2 tbsp of brown sugar. Pour the mixture over the pears. Dust the pears with cinnamon. Place in the oven for half an hour. At this time add a 1/8 cup of water to the bottom of the baking dish. Continue to bake for 15-30 minutes more. Baste the pears with their juice and leave them to cool. Leaving the pears to cool in the sauce will produce a rich, flavorful result. Up to an hour or more of cooling time is recommended if you can withstand the temptation!
Place the pears in a shallow bowl or on a plate with 2 tbsp of yogurt joining the spice and sugar filled ‘belly’. Spoon the remaining liquid over the baked pears and yogurt.
Enjoy! C’est fantastique!!
To be present with self we have to listen to what we need in our physical and spiritual bodies. Perhaps what you need is to be interjected in every part of the physical experience or it could be that what you need is a quiet space to process, to make sense of these experiences and then in time to participate in ways that align with your own truths. Learn to listen to yourself and follow with actions that nurture and honor your needs. Take care of the inner self as you would your outer. Self care is an important tool to have and to utilize.
Presence and Positivity 