mindfulness – Crones' Chronicles

Blessed are the Flexible

This morning, while digging through my cards stash for birthday cards, I came across this one. It used to hang by my desk back when I was working as a Realtor. It kind of fits, even in retirement, during the ever changing world of today. It’s going back on the bulletin board.

A NEW GRACE

“Saying Grace” or “Giving Thanks” before a meal used to be a part of our everyday life. Now, it is a rarity reserved for the deeply religious, and endured in uncomfortable silence by the rest. In Catholic School in the early 1960’s I learned to pray a set of ritual prayers before and after eachContinue reading “A NEW GRACE”

Life Lessons – my little book

Here it is – at last! My lovely little book has arrived from the printers. It started in 2009 with an art journalling experiment while I was struggling to cope with my mother’s declining health and her increasing anxiety. Ten years later, I looked over the drawings and and found, to my surprise, that theyContinue reading “Life Lessons – my little book”

Curiosity – a Portal to Compassion

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about curiosity – curious about curiosity, you might say. I have begun to notice how curiosity, has led me into understanding and then made it easier to access compassion. The first way I noticed the benefits of curiosity was when I learned about becoming an observer of my ownContinue reading “Curiosity – a Portal to Compassion”

Pay Your Body a Friendly Visit

This morning I was at the dentist getting my annual teeth cleaning. It’s hard to relax when someone is poking and scraping in your mouth, still I tried. Just out of curiousity I would peacefully lay my relaxed hands on my tummy and silently follow my breath. Then, every few minutes, I would check back inContinue reading “Pay Your Body a Friendly Visit”

A Mindful Balance

Knowledge and Understanding are important building blocks for personal growth, but they are not the whole picture. Experience and Feelings are what gives life its richness. The head and the heart – both are needed to create a balanced life of mindfulness. We all spend a lot of time “in our heads”. We fill ourContinue reading “A Mindful Balance”

Breath – A Good Friend

Breath is a friend who is always there for you – ready and willing to help when you need it. Focusing on your breath can keep you from feeling overwhelmed. By just taking a moment to still your body and focus on the physical act of drawing air into your lungs, and out again, BreathContinue reading “Breath – A Good Friend”

Meditation PRACTISE (or practice)

On the subject of meditation, I remember hearing an acquaintance once comment: “Oh I tried meditating once and it didn’t work. It’s not for me.” I thought to myself – if you sat down to try to play piano, and found that “it didn’t work”, would you give up after one go? Or would youContinue reading “Meditation PRACTISE (or practice)”

Meditation & Pandora’s Box

So you finally decided to try meditation. Everywhere you turn you hear about its benefits: reduced stress, increased energy, focus, clarity, lower blood pressure, world peace! You sit down, assume the position and turn your gaze inward…expecting a pleasant flood of peace and clarity. Instead you find chaos and confusion. WHAT!? It’s a bit like openingContinue reading “Meditation & Pandora’s Box”

Lessons in Mindful Living Using Illustrated Journalling

These days of Covid’s 2nd wave are teaching me lessons that I need to learn, many of them for the ump-teenth time. I am very fortunate to be healthy and comfortably retired, so I am not trying to balance working from home with childcare, eldercare or health concerns. And I am not worrying about whereContinue reading “Lessons in Mindful Living Using Illustrated Journalling”