October Wordcloud

 

I do rather like these, it's interesting to see the ebbs and falls of the words each month.

Mindfully being kind

I found out this week that the image below is an ancient symbol for mindfulness: 

I read that the top of the character is symbolic of the roof of houses in Japan and represents protection and presence- sound familiar? This is the Japanese character for house:

The lower part of the character  (under the 'roof') is representative of the heart. This is the Japanese symbol for heart:

These two characters of 'mind and heart' combine in the character for mindfulness and it struck me as particularly beautiful as it really captures the meaning of mindfulness as so much more than 'being present' or 'awareness' but implies the meaning of mindfulness as being awareness from the heart.

How beautiful.

 Now I am not an expert in Japanese characters in the slightest so I have endeavoured to fact check this and haven't found anything that states that I have made an error so I am hopeful that my reading is accurate.

For me this supports my whole approach to mindfulness- being kind, being thoughtful and aware of how we all impact the world around us. I think too often mindfulness is compartmentalised, categorised and put into 'boxes' which say how, when and where to 'do mindfulness'. I see it as something far more transcendental.  It is about living, listening, caring, appreciating, sharing, loving...  And something that is too big to be easily defined. 

I will continue to share my thoughts and experiences of mindfulness but will almost certainly be giving a lot more questions than answers. What does mindfulness mean to you?  Is lt possible to live mindfully in the busy 21st century?

Can you choose kindness?

 

 

It's not all about meditation

 I have been asked to talk at a WI meeting next year. Plenty of time to think about how to go about it.

I can't help thinking about how Tony Blair got it so so wrong with an audience of the WI and the dearly departed queen got it so right HM Elizabeth II

I won't be talking politics and I am not a British monarch so won't have the level of expectation that would have met those two, but I do feel a sense of responsibilty to not mess it up! 

As part of my mindfulness course ( MTTC ) I was able to have a 1-2-1 session with an experienced Dharma teacher, Suchitra Senoy who gently listened as I shared my thoughts.  I haven't yet got a plan (I don't think I need to do 3 months ahead of time!) but I am feeling confident that I can share some insights and give some practical takeaways to the group.

Mostly I intend to demystify and myth bust and show the positives and benefits of living mindfully.

Maybe I will share a recipe at the end too ;) And that isn't me trying to be 'cute'. Go with what I beleive in, share things that I have experienced and show that mindfulness is so much more than meditation. 

It's October

 With the onset of Autumn and darker evenings and mornings there's been a noticeable change in the daily chit-chat .

'irs so cold / dark/ grey/ wet/ grim,' and so on.

I must admit that getting out of bed when it's pitch dark and chilly isn't my most favourite thing to do.

BUT ( and it's a big but) consider the alternative... What if today was the last day you had? What if the words you say to someone are the last you say or the last they hear.

Sometimes a good old moan is just what's needed , but with each anniversary of my journey around the sun I feel increasingly fortunate to be here, to have my loved ones , to have the luxury of being able to moan about the things that don't really matter. 

Mindfulness: noticing what's happening now, being aware , doing kind things. These bring a sense of calm and peace. I've had more journeys round the sun than I have left ( unless something pretty phenomenal happens with medicine !) and I want to live and find pleasure in things that can go unnoticed. 

I won't lie, dark mornings and evenings aren't my favourites, but blankets , candles, fires, hot chocolate and even more blankets are great! And all that rain is filling up the water butts nicely on the allotment!