Monday Mindfulness

Cultivating Strength, Joy, Calm & Resilience


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Listen to the feeling

The abundance of the universe surrounds me,

an endless supply of successes and challenges.

I always have the choice which way I turn.

Signs and signals.

Distractions and dilutions.

Stop looking to the outside for answers.

Trust the intuitive process of discernment and distinguishing.

There are no bad choices,

merely different ways to play in the field.

I can stay here or I can move towards something else.

Forcing narrows the focus,

and breeds striving,

limiting potential,

and resulting in tension and confusion.

Grace and patience fuel clarity

as trust flows into and from decisions to open opportunities,

not always challenge-free but solution-oriented.

Seeking the solutions

that inspire hope,

kindle kindness,

and support the expression of deepest passion

and purpose.

This is dharma.

This is the path of choice.


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Seeds of Desire

Across the barren soil of imagination are strewn seeds of desire.

They float through the air like translucent orbs, barely noticeable.

Gradually, they land, softly burrowing into the jagged and uneven ground before them.

They are compelled to nestle in,

trusting that as they are swallowed up by the soil somehow this is what they need to grow.

And so they make themselves small, quiet and still,

compelled to sprout in time,

willing to grow slowly with care.

They will face the drought of unworthiness,

resistance as they break through and change the barren land,

impatience as they require much tending before they produce any flowers or fruit,

and fear that they may not survive at all.

The patient gardener knows this.

With an eye on the potential magnificence, beauty, and need for these seeds to flourish,

nurturing instead of forcing.

Waiting joyfully,

the gardener balances hope with knowing,

confident that with proper care, attention, consistency, and flexibility,

in due time these seeds will fully grow into their potential

and from them will come more translucent orbs ready to contribute to the wildest, most beautiful, richest landscape imaginable.


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Dear tears…

Dear Tears,

The pain is so intense, at times, taking the breath away.

Your arrival is a sign of hope,

and a forceful reminder to surrender.

You cleanse and clear the way for a new perspective.

Diving in so deeply and fully, consuming the moment,

you somehow soften the pain and bring breath back into the body.

This dance of flowing, heaving, melting, twisting and turning kneads the suffering into softness.

Every droplet contains an ocean of loving tenderness.

So beautifully pulling back the curtain,

allowing the light in,

transcending time,

washing out all bridges of reality,

exposing the space between,

bringing us home for healing.


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Living in the space of AND

White flowers

Dark textures

Straight lines

Soft edges

Living wholeness

Dried pieces

Flowing lines

Still emptiness

Warm touches

Cool feeling

Hope and breath

In the spaces

Photo courtesy of Susan Kerr.


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Manifesting

Like begets like.

Peace leads to peace.

Kindness breeds kindness.

Suffering can lead to ease.

Mistakes become opportunities for growth.

Loss makes room for freedom.

Fear dissolves in faith.

Whatever I cultivate as my experience, I have the ultimate power to accept or shift the paradigm. Every experience serves me even when on the surface it may look grim. When I align an experience with the goal of knowing love, the love that is there always – not between people but that creates people – everything comes into balance, harmony prevails.

I no longer need to label my experiences as good or bad when I know that all experiences unfold before me so that I can explore what it is like to be my best self.

This is the process of trust.


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Unfolding Into Me

It’s so hard to come out of this cocoon,

Perfectly fitting around me,

The barrier I need to dampen sensations and dull the sharp contrast of the outer world and what’s going on inside of me.

I arrive at the precipice of transformation, the seal broken on my familiar encasing,

The time now ripe for my evolution.

Thinking the hard part is past me,

The formation of this new way of being is here.

And yet as the cocoon slices open, there is no longer a sense of security, of the familiar, or predictability.

These new wings are wet and heavy, my footing unsure.

My nourishment and direction are uncertain.

Yet, I find the courage to spread my wings, scattering the newly applied and still wet coating that will ultimately protect me.

Now settling into this new being,

I look out at the vast horizon.

Vibrant colors, textures and shapes seem distantly familiar,

Invigorating my curiosity,

Reminding me vaguely of what I once was and what I now will be.

It is time.

I flutter my wings.

I am free.


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Loss, Not Lost

Grief…it’s not about the loss as much as creating and being able to access a little warm place in your heart where you hold that connection forever.

I used to think that grief was the act of severing ties and throwing away something special because it was lost.

But now I know that grief is a process of storing the memories of the specialness of every experience regardless of its labels, conditions, and how it came to be or not be.

Grief is experiencing the loss without getting lost.


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Signs are Everywhere

Sometimes life really is as simple as following the messages around us to get back to the place within us to feel whole, loved, and enough.


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Dream on!

Your dreams are never out of reach.

Because they are yours to touch, change, create or release at any time.

They can never be bigger, scarier, or beyond you because they are an extension of you,

Here to serve you,

Linked to your greatest potential,

Always with the intention of informing your highest good.


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Fragile

Fragile

Mired in the fog of fatigue, loss, and self-doubt,

I am more fragile these days,

More prone to tears,

aware of tightness,

weakness,

imbalance.

Heavy and slower moving,

hyper-vigilant,

frenetic,

almost desperate to break free.

Oh, to relieve the longing,

the striving,

the insecurities.

To return to my true nature.

I am more fragile these days,

but not broken.

Tucked away for now,

but I will surely bloom again.