“Laughter is an instant vacation”  Milton Berle

Take yourself and others on a trip this weekend!

A bird flew into this window, so thoroughly that it left behind a a gift and a reminder.

Even the most humiliating of mistakes can leave a beautiful impression of your existence for others to witness.

Post by Jessica:

In a conversation, we listen. When we listen with empathy, interest and no personal agenda we ‘hold space’. If you have ever had someone hold space for you, you may instantly realize how good it feels to be witnessed in such a way.

We can hold space for ourselves while we are alone as well as hold space for ourselves within a group.

Notice your tendency within a group. I have recently started practicing not sharing every opinion or thought that comes my way. I chose to sit and let those thoughts be inspired and leave. Within a group if you are always quiet, is it possible to say something important to you the moment the inspiration hits? Could this be an experiment?
If you are always sharing and processing out loud could you keep those pieces inside? What does what feel like? How is it different for you?

These experiments are a part of being present and aware within a group. The act of challenging your nature for an experiment brings you to that moment and then the next with arrest awareness, engagement, and empathy.
See how you feel when you choose the other way, and if that way feels ok for you too.

Find a penny, pick it up. All day long, you’ll have good luck.

What can you do with with your pennies to bring joy into the lives of others?  I like to leave them here and there for people to find heads up.  If I see one on tails, I’ll flip it and pass the turning of luck to the next person who spots the omen.

If we look at currency as belonging to the whole of humanity, we can allow the exchange of pennies to become expressions from the heart while we share good wishes with other observant souls.

To physically practice leading life with your heart, posture is key.  A gathered back and a curious sternum, held high by a long torso.  The line between your belly button and you sternum can be lengthened just by bringing your awareness to it, and then your back has help gathering.  It all works together.  

A Pose that you can practice to strengthen the muscles and let your heart reach out, is Locust.  Laying on your belly, continue to keep your gaze on your mat as you lift your head, shoulders, chest and arms.  Simultaneously, lift strong, engaged legs until your body is gently rocking with your breath on your upper thighs and lower torso.  Release and rise with your breath.

Now sitting, lengthen this front torso line, draw your sternum up and proud.  Draw your skull back away from screens, stacked on top of your actual heart.  We tend to lead with our heads (figuratively and literally) while walking and sitting and this is very straining on our upper backs and lower necks.  As your skull sits back onto its nature place in this stack your shoulders can release, shoulder blades can guide themselves down and the entire back will strengthen and give a curve back that can release these hard working muscles as well.

Now sit and feel this strength in your posture.  Tall, Proud and the way nature intended for our spines to live.

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

How we end our day is very important.  As you sleep your brain will do it’s very best to process unresolved events and ‘personal logic’.  Your body will hold what you have left from the day and this can leave us waking up with soreness, irregular sleep cycles, upsetting dreams and sore, clenched jaws.

Here is an option to set yourself up for a positive mind waiting to dream and a relaxed body ready to relax and let go of the day.

• Keep a Gratitude Journal by your bed and write 5 pieces that you are grateful for within TODAY.  It can be as simple as breathing or that bedtime is finally here!  Writing them down, instead of just saying them to yourself brings this process into deeper thought and insures the ritual will happen regularly – just by having to open a journal and pick up a pen.
• Lie on your back with hands on your belly and begin to breath as low as you can.  This requires a release of your abdominal muscles for your inhale and a tightening and squeezing of these muscles for an exhale.  If your lower back feels discomfort, fold a decorative bed pillow under your thighs to ease the lumbar curve.
• Once your breath is in your belly and your belly is flowing with ease, count your inhale and exhale.  3 or 4 count for each inhale and each exhale.  The number isn’t as important as the nature of balance.  So pick one number that feels good on inhale and exhale, leak or push air in order to help this balance happen.

Sleep well this weekend.  Recoup.  Rejuvenate.  The practice of Living and Loving will happen in a new way with better sleep.

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?