Mindfulness Garden Games
by Joann Calabrese
author of Growing Mindful

Shiny New Things

    My Sunday post is coming out very late in the day because I have been hanging out in the garden. Finally, I am done traveling. And the weather cooperated, making it a great gardening weekend. I also have a new planting area in my yard, created when we moved a fence out to … Read more

The Nature of Home

      Like Bilbo Baggins, I am a reluctant traveler. There have been way too many travel days in the last few months.  The reasons for leaving home-base have been positive – seeing the people I love and attending cool workshops. But at the end of it all, I’d rather be home with my … Read more

Cultivating Stillness

  I spent the last week in Qigong teacher training at Kripalu Retreat Center.  The training was wonderful, and I will write more about it in future blogs.  But what I want to focus on this morning is simply cultivating our awareness of stillness, which is a part of Qigong and many other mindfulness practices. It … Read more

Breath – Our Safety Rope Home

Not Getting Lost in The Storm Denver has been wildly windy this week.  Prayer flags are rippling constantly, like the videos I’ve seen of Tibetan mountain tops.  Wind-chimes are playing furiously.  And the wind sounds spooky as it whips by the house late at night. It’s NOT snowing. But the wind has me thinking about … Read more

Look Up – See The Sky

Look Up – This Week’s Mindfulness Focus I’ve been busy cleaning up the yard and garden beds after a long winter. Green shoots of garlic, yarrow, lemon balm, and hops are making an appearance.  And my new Black Knight butterfly bush has sprouted tiny leaves.  It is easy to keep eyes focused down on the … Read more

Circle of Influence – Contemplating Our Reach

          The mindfulness focus this week is circle of influence…contemplating  the reach of our actions and what if anything we can do to change the world.  Sadly this is not inspired by the garden, but instead by the ongoing gun violence in this country. It is easy to be overwhelmed by … Read more

Freezing Fog, Pogonip, & Clarity

    The view out our window on Friday morning looked like we were inhabiting a Loreena Mckennit song.  Even as the weather app was assuring us there was no precipitation in Denver, we walked out into air that was wet, thick, and cold. Grey mist hung in the air and a crystalline film enveloped trees … Read more

Accepting Uncertainty

    Children’s books often perfectly capture the human experience. In the Frog and Toad story The Garden, Toad admires Frog’s garden and then plants some seeds of his own. Toad waters the garden and then begins to obsess about when the seeds will come up.  He paces, worries, sings, and shouts at the seeds, which … Read more

Setting the Wheel in Motion – Bringing Intention to Life

My 2017 Intention It’s the last Sunday of the year and I’ve made it to a finish line of sorts. At this time last year, I set an intention to write a weekly blog on a word or a concept for mindful focus.  My goal was multi-purposed. Setting a weekly focal point would give me … Read more

Turning Points – Mindfulness Focus Words

    The mindfulness focus this week is turning points. The funny thing about turning points is that we don’t always know when we’ve made it around the bend.  Oh sure, sometimes it is obvious. It may be something dramatic like a new job or a move to a new city.  But often, turning points … Read more

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