Presence and Positivity

Unfolding Worlds

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” – Anaïs Nin

Do you consciously make time to enjoy the people in your life? Have you paused to recognize the light in others?

Start Monday off appreciating the presence of one another in whatever way speaks to you. Tell people that you enjoy their company, give affection freely, compliment, and be a good listener. Small gestures can go a long way in expressing love and thankfulness. Make a suggestion for spending time dedicated to focusing solely on your partner, your children, your friends, or anyone who you would like to know better. Bring awareness to the importance of setting aside time to be grateful and demonstrative. You may step over a new threshold in understanding together. Put forth your best in creating opportunities to unfold before others and welcome them to do the same.

We are ever changing modalities for alteration; we are evolving, living, and breathing art. What will you make of the material?

Deb7 photograph by Deb Strother – Santa Fe, NM

Wonderment

Son: Mom, you’re a grown up but you didn’t grow up.
Mother: Sometimes if you’re very smart you can avoid it. Do you know how? Stay innocent. Stay with your heart.

Son: And do silly dancing?
Mother: Yes, do lots of silly dancing!

Last week I celebrated the beginning of another year in life with my sister, children, and a few girlfriends. After the ladies had to say goodnight we spent a portion of the eve choreographing a popular song and putting on makeshift costumes. We had a lot of fun with the movement. The conversation above ensued the following day. Beyond pleased with my child’s observation, I took his words and went flying with them. Luckily the landing was successful and I can now share retrospect with you.

Love, happiness, and contentment reside in staying innocent as we move through life. We can be in the world but not of it. Be a child at the core, delighting in the abundance of simplicity surrounding you. Be cognizant of the wonders at your fingertips everyday. Be open to the newness of it all, because it will be new to you if you allow.

Take time this weekend to identify with something that stirs childlike wonder within. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to go about honoring yourself and your soul. Be in tune with you. Do what brings you the greatest amount of joy. Listen to your inner guidance and easily move where it leads.

Comments about the activities and moments that set your heart humming are welcome!

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Purposeful Rise: a choice to feel better

“The thought manifests as the word; The word as the deed; the deed developes into habit; and the habit hardens into character … as the shadow follows the body – as we think, so we become. ” -Buddha

Post by: Tracy Weaver, Life Coach, EFT Practitioner

All of your emotions, from the best to the worst, are valuable to you. They let you know where you are, what’s going on with you. So, please be easy about them – and you. When you are feeling low, depressed, angry, unappreciated, at least you know what direction you want to head in: feeling better!

Your emotions follow your thoughts. Thoughts always bring in more thoughts of similar kind, feeding the current emotion, making it stronger. When you’re feeling really good, milk your mood! Enjoy it! When your emotional state could stand some improvement, what to do? I mean, just try not thinking about the thing that’s got your attention. Unless you are an accomplished ‘meditator’, your active brain just isn’t going to let you. So what we need is some way to distract that ol’ “monkey mind“.

That’s it! Distraction! Get your brain off one scent and on to another! So okay, you want to feel better, and you want to distract your brain away from its current track of thoughts. Here’s a way. Purposefully turn your attention to gentle, general things you already know make you feel good. Non-challenging things, soothing things. Anything will do for starters. “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.” I’m not kidding. If you are free to, go out and treat your physical senses to something that makes you smile and lifts your mood. As you do, you’ll naturally think about it. The first thought will pull in the second thought, the second a third, and as the happier thoughts continue and build, your mood will rise. Milk it, get in the habit of playing the game and celebrate the improvements!

I’m sure it sounds way too simple. But I can tell you from practice and experience that it works, reliably. You won’t leap wildly from dejected apathy to passionate joy. But, you can train your thoughts to move gently upward, a step or two at a time. As your mind gets better at this new skill, you’ll have a great tool to move on that new path upward to where you really want to live. And your thoughts will change.

Our Thanks to Tracy for contributing!

Present Mind Within a Busy Day

“Man sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.” -Dalai Lama

You have probably heard many versions of this sentiment before. Quietly, you hope you are not living your life this way. We all have very different lives, work and past times with this residing theme in common – we are BUSY. When we are not busy we turn on the TV, read a book, do household chores, and it goes on and on. Remembering to BE in the Present Moment when this is not facilitated by a class may be difficult. The times dedicated to presence may be far and few in between all of the ‘stuff’ that makes up our lives.

Here is an exercise that anyone can do many times a day, every day:

Consider a brilliant part of existence – – –

Every few seconds, 24 hours a day something we take for granted is happening to every person alive. Do you know what this is? They are breathing. The breath, the inhale and exhale, is a small wonder occurring repeatedly in our daily living.

The next time you are unloading the dishwasher, filing papers, writing an email, driving to work, cooking a meal or sitting in a meeting – take note of your breath. Move dishes, papers or laundry with your inhale and exhale. Yes, this does mean slowing down your pace for a few minutes. It also means appreciating the task at hand and perhaps even enjoying activities you before thought of as menial. If in a meeting, be present by noticing how your inhale and exhale can make tiny shifts within your posture and then acknowledge your slow, calm breathing for a few minutes while listening to the meeting’s agenda. Having awareness of your breathing for a few minutes at a time gives your mind a break from its incessant darting between subjects. Presence with breath allows us to tune in to our body and to be aware of the story it is telling us all day. Often, we only hear our bodies when they yell and scream to us in discomfort. Noticing your breath throughout the day in small increments will calm and rest your mind leading to awareness of the mind/body connection. Use the breath to teach your mind and body to become interconnected, feeling what life is giving you in this moment. Many of us spend time immersed in the sorrows of the past and worries of the future. Five minutes from now is the future and the last conversation we had is in the past. Aim to be in the present.

Let us know how easy or difficult you find this and with what part of your day it was possible. For me, I find it possible with driving and dishes 🙂 ~ Jessica

(Valerie’s presence with breath is also in the task of dishes as well as clearing clutter and vacuuming.)

Everyday Outreach

humanconnection

Photo shared by -Deb Strother, Santa Fe, NM

Let’s get creative – in the checkout line. When you are going out shopping and paying for the items you have selected do you speak to the person helping you with the purchase? If the answer is already yes, please continue and consider leaving a comment below to share your happy exchanges with us! If the answer is no, then this weekend when you go somewhere try speaking to the people helping you. Ask them about their day, make a kind comment about something they’re wearing, or open yourself up beyond this if you feel inclined to see what more may follow. This activity should not feel forced, rather fueled by the importance of consciously seeking commonalities in one another. When we focus on connecting with humanity through similarities the separation we feel begins to fade. Have FUN with people, find connection –

“The area where we are the greatest, is the area in which we inspire, encourage, and connect with another human being.” Maya Angelou

Clouds & Being There

I want real things –
live people to take hold of
to see-
and to talk to-
Music that makes holes in the sky-

Georgia O’Keeffe

Finding the Positivity in today:

Think of the things that make you feel grateful. This can be and is encouraged to be simple. Is there a warm cup of tea or coffee in your day? Can you feel your feet on the ground when you stand? Are you able to feel the breath in your body? Each and every moment has something for which you can feel gratitude, if you choose.
Spend time focusing on these things and minimize anything in your thinking that does not make you feel good. If you have a tendency to fixate on problems you can practice minimizing by recognizing the thought when it comes, acknowledge it with words like “I see you there”, and then dismiss the thought that diminishes your happiness by releasing it. Learning to use the mind as a tool takes practice and will become easier with time. Know that you are responsible for your thoughts and what you allow to be present in your thinking. You deserve to focus the majority of your thoughts with areas that are uplifting, tapping into an internal source which flows compassion for humanity.
Write down the things you are thankful for each day and take note of how this feels. Try it for a week and recognize if there is a change in your ‘being’.