Courage, my mindfulness focus for the week, was partially inspired by the first sprigs of yarrow in my garden. Yarrow (Achillea millifolium) is an ancient healing plant with the magical properties of protection and courage. Discovering the yarrow confirmed something I’d been feeling since midweek, as I was practicing invoking joy. After a heartbreaking conversation with a … Read more
Invoking joy – My mindfulness focus this week is inspired by my Corgi, Luna and my grandson, Leo. This is Luna sitting by the tunnel which allowed her to run under the pumpkins to a formerly blocked part of the yard. See that smile on her face? It was delightful watching her run … Read more
A State of Wonder The focus word for this week is wonderment – a state of awe, joy, and wonder. It is funny in a way that we need to be mindful of wonder. We are traveling on a large rock through infinite space, kept alive by an intricate balance of oxygen, nitrogen, and other … Read more
“We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want.”(1) Emptiness, spaciousness, openness – that’s the focus of this week’s mindfulness practice. A room is filled with space, but we focus on the objects. A doorway is simply space but we focus on the wood that frames it. … Read more
Breathing Peace I participated in the Denver Women’s March yesterday, along with over 100,000 other people. It was a beautiful event focusing on justice, human rights, dignity, and respect. It reminded me that there are many of us on the planet who believe in those values, even if some in high places do not. But … Read more
Mindfulness Experiment Week 3 “There is a journey between our steps that we always miss.” This idea was provided to me by Grand Master Samuel Copeland(1) and it led to my week three focus words. What is the space between our steps? Last week’s mindfulness focus was to be aware of each … Read more
“Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.” (1) I’ve chosen this idea from Thich Nhat Hanh as the intentional focus for the week. It is a body centered practice and can be a movement meditation. Focusing deliberately on the feet’s connection to the earth can take us out … Read more
“We are all connected; to each other biologically; to the earth chemically; and to the universe atomically.” That’s from Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist, author and Director of the Hayden Planetarium in NYC. His explanation is simple and to the point. It might be easy to miss how profound the idea is. For much of human … Read more
Creating a Strategy Having a strategy for mindfulness practice is as important as a technique. Many of the participants in the Mindfulness 101 class that I teach at the Colorado Mental Wellness Network already know about meditation and mindfulness. Many have practiced sporadically. Their challenge is not that they don’t know some basic meditation techniques, … Read more
Spiritual Practice A path, a journey, a long climb to the top of the mountain….all are analogies for spiritual practice. The implication is that we are trying to get somewhere. We start HERE and we get THERE, wherever THERE is. We are moving on a path toward enlightenment, or at the very least a reduction … Read more
