Cycles and change are a cohesive thread in our reality.  People are often caught in admiration for the beginnings and blooms in cycles.  It’s true, these parts of a cycle are exciting and rewarding.  However, let’s take focus for a moment on the equally important close of a cycle, the care we take in observing the time period after a bloom, the appreciation we feel for honoring all stages and finally, the spreading of seeds for rebirth or knowledge of what was learned in the experience.  Each stage is alive with beauty for it’s offering.

I went to the Georgia O’Keeffe museum for the 3rd time last weekend and finally saw many of her early works when she was in art school and showing that she could impersonate anyone’s art.  All of the technical skills were there, with ease.

Then, she went her own way and showed an entirely new side of shape, color and perspective to the world.  A new and LARGE impression was made on me with her guts and her inability to be anyone else but Georgia O’Keeffe.

There is a song that I used to love by Ani Difranco which says ‘When I look down, I just miss all the good stuff and when I look UP, I just trip over things.’  I relate to this because of the way I take pictures.  It seems I am either engrossed in ‘up close vegetation’ or head right smack in the middle of the clouds.  I appreciate the middle ground as well, but these two contrasting places are what hold most of my attention.

I share an obsession of this large sky that I live underneath with a friend.  My Sky Friend. We are regularly sending each other pictures of the most amazing, miraculous, devastating and scary skies we witness daily in our extreme environment!  This started about 6 years ago, has continued and I am NEVER bored.

What catches your attention?  What fascinates you outside, in nature?  Do you still find magic and pause like a child might?

 

Mala beads come in bracelets and necklaces.  Much like Rosary beads they are a way of keeping track throughout a mantra or meditation.  On necklaces there are 109 beads. Traditionally, you repeat a personal statement 108 times each time you use it, which is usually daily or many times a day.  The 109th bead is your Guru bead, or a bead that signifies teachers or most dear loved ones in your life.  Bracelets usually have 27 beads and so you repeat 4 times around with your statement. The other beads are drawn forth by your thumb as you repeat a statement about yourself that you are working toward.

“I am enough”

“I live with kindness and show love to all”

“Peace and Calm lead my actions as I trust”

Some people advise not to hold the Mala with your index finger, as it is your ego finger, but even the Dalai Lama has been seen using his index finger.  Best practice is to use it with your heart and with consistency.  As you wear this beautiful piece it can be a helpful reminder of a vision for yourself and an internal place that you seek.  It is also a calming form of self regulation throughout our busy and stressful lives.

 We are all on a path of finding, forgiving, enveloping and releasing.  It is a daunting task at times.  The joys and sorrows are beautifully devastating.  Throughout this growth, on this path, while we walk there is something to always remember –

You are loved

You are lovable

You are love

So, love

A blessing for stillness:

May your body be still

like the quiet water

of an undisturbed lake

and expand below you

for what feels to be an indefinite stretch,

a depth that grounds itself with possibility

in the persistent nature by which water

pervades it’s space;

as you lay peaceful in rest,

may your body be still

like the quiet water

of an undisturbed lake.

-photograph by Angela Squires, Bloomington, MN

When we were kids we naturally knew how to breathe.  This breath let us truly experience patience, release, calm and joy.  As we get older, life happens, fears come and our brain and body tries to cope.  We often begin to live with a breath that is in our chest and collar bones.  It is a short and shallow breath.  Living this way and breathing this way allows us to be very close to anxiety and panic, because this is our survival breath.

To come into calm like we did as children and experience peace and more joy, try diaphragm breathing exercises.  Reclined and comfortable place one hand on your belly and one hand of your chest.  Inspire the chest hand to be still, it may take a lot of reminding at first and see where the air goes.  It must go somewhere, and down it will go.  Breathing low allows your belly to inflate with your inhale and deflate with you exhale.

Try this for just 2 minutes at a time anytime you feel the need to relax – practice this breath into habit and then lifestyle.  We once lived this way, we just need to remember.

Typically, someone who is ranting doesn’t bring a positive association to mind.  However, going on a rant with words that are chosen to feel good and to practice ease within yourself, can brighten the atmosphere you inhabit and lift your feelings.  If you find yourself in a slump or you are faced with a situation that pulls you down,  the direction of feeling can change.  Allow a positive speech pattern to permeate your environment and see so many benefits.

Example:

Where I am is exactly where I’m meant to be.  There’s so much that is right about this moment.  I am thankful for everything it takes to make this moment what it is.  I am thankful for the breath in my body, the fingers on my hand, my eyesight, all the working parts of my body that bring me the experience of being alive.  I am so thankful for this and for my emotions that make me human.  I welcome all of the emotions I experience and I allow myself to feel everything that passes.  I’d like to forgive easily, myself included, and to be an uplifting presence for all who know me.  If I’m not always uplifting, that’s okay, too.  I am happy to be helpful to others and I want to focus more attention and time on how to be in service to others.  I am so glad to have this day before me and for the place I find myself now.  I am thankful for my many blessings and incredibly grateful for those to come.

Choosing an intention for your day can be helpful in finding and maintaining balance.  Try taking a few moments before your day begins to set an intention such as clarity, heart centeredness, trust, kindness, or any other theme that you feel would be useful in creating the kind of day you would like to experience.  You can declare your intention before meditation, with morning stretch, while you drink your cup of tea or coffee, or simply say your intention to yourself as you get out of bed.  However you work this into your morning, it can be beneficial in forming a focus and in maintaining a goal for the day.  If you feel distracted or that your day is not unfolding as you would like, reminding yourself of your intention helps to refocus and get back on track.

Example with Clarity:

I set clarity as my intention.  Today I welcome clear seeing, hearing, and knowing.  I offer presence to life, and I breathe clarity into the space around me.

Post by Nora, age 8

’tis the goat funny

’tis the goat silly

’tis the goat crazy

’tis the goat hilarious

that ate itself and ’twas satisfied

 

(giggling – I’ve just learned about ’tis and ’twas and wanted to use these funny words in a poem! I hope you write a silly poem soon too!)