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There is a lot of suffering in the world…a lot of suffering in ourselves. It is easy to be drawn into negativity, anger, and sadness, and soon we feel overwhelmed and hopeless. Taking time to appreciate life’s gifts, even the little ones like a strain of music or a color painted across the sky, can tip the scales back into balance. A blessing may be defined as “a beneficial thing for which one is grateful; something that brings well-being.” It is a practice, and sometimes work, to stay open to beauty. In mindful presence, Lori Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened.
Don’t open the door to the study and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument. Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground. —Rumi
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We sometimes have that one person in our lives who is an anchor. In times of distress, they maintain a solid sense of presence, keeping our boat steady in rough waters. We can also be an anchor unto ourselves, steadying the focus within the body, stabilizing the mind. When we learn to be our own best anchor, we come to trust our strength and resilience, knowing we can weather any storm. In mindful presence, Lori A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because its trust is not on the branch but on its own wings. —unknown
Wonder is “a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.” Wonder invites curiosity and awe. It is a warm welcome home to something larger than ourselves. Pause the cacophony of thoughts and opinions. Allow space for wonder. In mindful presence, Lori Only the empty mind can be filled with wonder.
—William Martin Accepting the present moment to be as it is does not mean we have to agree with it or like it. Acceptance is not giving your power away. It is simply the act of dropping the resistance that arises as stress reactivity (adrenaline, cortisol, tension, fear, anger, anxiety, etc.), so that we may be more clear and centered (and therefore empowered) to handle whatever is unfolding. When you find yourself fighting the reality of the moment, it is a wakeup call. In mindful presence, Lori Struggle can be a “mindfulness bell.” It tells us that there’s something happening that we’re not accepting.
—Charlotte Bell Time for a check-in. Is the current pacing of your daily life sustainable? Anything or anyone that requires your physical, mental, or emotional energy needs balancing with time spent receiving, replenishing, and just being. If you build sustainability into the structure of your schedule (even if it means simply scheduling a 15-minute block of non-doing into each day), you will likely feel less depleted, resentful, and stressed and have more energy for all the other moments. In mindful presence, Lori Create an island of being in the sea of constant doing. —Jon Kabat-Zinn
The Latin origin of the word compassion means to “suffer with.” While it can be useful to cultivate empathy, which is the ability to understand others’ feelings, it could be overwhelming and depleting to “suffer with” everyone we meet. Perhaps a healthier way to practice compassion is to first have empathy, understanding others’ perceptions (which may differ from yours), and then to allow them space to have their experience without trying to change it or fix it or take it on as your own. Compassion, then, may be redefined as meeting someone where they are while maintaining your own centered presence…in essence, practicing both compassion and self-compassion. In mindful presence, Lori Have compassion for everyone you meet,
even if they don’t want it. What seems conceit, bad manners, or cynicism is always a sign of things no ears have heard, no eyes have seen. You do not know what wars are going on down there where the spirit meets the bone. —Miller Williams It seems we bump up against so many moments with our bristles already raised in defiance, wanting something other than the reality of now. Or we rush through moments, barely noticing them while wishing to be somewhere else, doing something else. There is a strong sense of empowerment available when we practice meeting the moment, just as it is. The first step toward presence is to accept this moment as it is unfolding. Then, when we are not wasting energy on futile resistance, we have more resources available for making a clear choice about how to attend to whatever is arising. In mindful presence, Lori Do you treat this moment as if it were an obstacle to be overcome?
Do you feel you have a future moment to get to that is more important? The present moment is as it is. Always. Can you let it be? —Eckhart Tolle Poised at the threshold of a new year, the space before you is open and infinite. What feeds your spirit? What brings you to life? What intention would you like to carry into this new beginning? In mindful presence, Lori When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. —Laozi
Another year is dissolving into the past. A new year looms on the horizon. We must now become friendlier with emptiness. In mindful presence, Lori Kindness
Before you know what kindness really is you must lose things, feel the future dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth. What you held in your hand, what you counted and carefully saved, all this must go so you know how desolate the landscape can be between the regions of kindness. —Naomi Shihab Nye Looking back over the past year, we have likely seen many sweet moments and many bitter moments. All experiences are watering the seeds now resting in winter’s blanket of earth, processing and preparing for growth in new directions. In mindful presence, Lori When life is sweet say thank you and celebrate, and when life is bitter say thank you and grow. —Shauna Niequist
The winter solstice approaches, calling us home to the darkness within. Now is the perfect time to be still, allowing time to rest and digest. Close your eyes now for one minute and let doing slip into being. In mindful presence, Lori Today I'm flying low and I'm not saying a word.
I'm letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep. The world goes on as it must, the bees in the garden rumbling a little, the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten. And so forth. But I'm taking the day off. Quiet as a feather. I hardly move though really I'm traveling a terrific distance. Stillness. One of the doors into the temple. —Mary Oliver Our basic self-preservation instinct often leads us to want to win by overpowering another (the fight response). We may also have found that survival requires taking a back seat or hiding (the flight response). Empowerment transcends these basic instincts when we offer the space for both self and other to be accepted, to be valued, to be seen and heard. In mindful presence, Lori Go and love someone exactly as they are. And then watch how quickly they transform into the greatest, truest version of themselves. When one feels seen and appreciated in their own essence, one is instantly empowered. —Wes Angelozzi
Are you wanting to learn something new? Maybe you’re taking up a new language, trying your hand at painting, or just wanting to grow as a person. We can only go so far by thinking about it, reading about it, or wishing for it. Perhaps it is time to make it your priority. The teacher is not out there. It is you. In mindful presence, Lori Being the Thunder
I keep looking for one more teacher, only to find that fish learn from water and birds learn from sky. If you want to learn about the sea, it helps to be at sea. If you want to learn about compassion, it helps to be in love. If you want to learn about healing, it helps to know of suffering. The strong live in the storm without worshipping the storm. —Mark Nepo Your mind is not the boss of you. And it doesn’t always tell the truth. Its job is to catalog information, form opinions, and make plans. It can be a workaholic. Sometimes you just need to hit the pause button. Free yourself from the endless cycle of thinking by taking a walk, observing nature, or just taking one full deep breath. In mindful presence, Lori To know that we are not our thoughts is the first step toward freedom. —Stephen Cope
At any given moment, we are usually on auto-pilot, assessing each experience based on our huge cache of opinions, preferences, and past experiences filed away as knowledge. We may also be projecting into future moments with those two basic motivators—desire (hopes) and aversion (fears). Being attentive first requires awakening to the present moment, simply remembering to be here now. Then we might soften, open, and skillfully work with the myriad experiences in this moment, observing and choosing if and how to respond. In mindful presence, Lori The moment is now. The present moment is not just a progression of past moments, but is alive in its own way, complete and perfect. And it is this new moment that demands our attention. Only in the moment can we be fully awake and respond to the real needs of ourselves and others. Only in the present moment can we be fully attentive.
—Llewellen Vaughn Lee We sometimes feel love with intensity and passion. We also feel fear with intensity and passion. Both can spark a strong reaction, into the depths or into the light. In embracing both the darkness and the light, in our world and in ourselves, we tap into a limitless wellspring of possibilities for growth. In mindful presence, Lori Furbush There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life. —John Lennon
How quick and easy it seems we become angry, sad, frightened, worried, anxious, frustrated, annoyed, and so on. Do you also find it as easy to feel happy, grateful, contented, and peaceful? Because the mind is wired to search for danger to help us survive and to seek out what needs fixing, we sometimes have to work a little harder to see and feel the joy. Perhaps we might balance our suffering by finding those moments that allow us to linger in happiness. In mindful presence, Lori Lingering in Happiness
After rain after many days without rain, it stays cool, private and cleansed, under the trees, and the dampness there, married now to gravity, falls branch to branch, leaf to leaf, down to the ground where it will disappear—but not, of course, vanish except to our eyes. The roots of the oaks will have their share, and the white threads of the grasses, and the cushion of moss; a few drops, round as pearls, will enter the mole's tunnel; and soon so many small stones, buried for a thousand years, will feel themselves being touched. —Mary Oliver Faith is “confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept.” Faith can mean holding the belief that, even in the darkest times, light still exists and light will return. It can be helpful to remember that every night eventually turns to morning, every winter turns to spring. There is a yang for every yin. We have faith in these perpetual rhythms of life. And perhaps most importantly, we have faith in ourselves to gather strength in the darkness and be ready for the light. In mindful presence, Lori You darkness from which I come,
I love you more than all the fires that fence out the world, for the fire makes a circle for everyone so that no one sees you anymore. But darkness holds it all: the shape and the flame, the animal and myself, how it holds them, all powers, all sight-- and it is possible: its great strength is breaking into my body. I have faith in the night. —Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by David Whyte Did you ever have the courage to say “yes” to something that pushed you beyond your comfort zone? Those moments can be frightening and exhilarating, all at once. But there is a great freedom that comes from making the choice to open up…to let the unknown unfold. In mindful presence, Lori How did the rose
Ever open its heart And give to this world All its beauty? It felt the encouragement of light Against its being, Otherwise, We all remain Too frightened. —Hafiz Strength comes from being fully and completely who you are, standing where you are, in your body and on your feet. Nothing to prove. Nothing to pretend to be. Standing, warts and all, as your authentic self. It seems to be a lifelong evolution, though perhaps you're not really evolving so much as courageously revealing who you already are. In mindful presence, Lori I said to the wanting-creature inside me:
What is this river you want to cross? There are no travelers on the river-road, and no road. Do you see anyone moving about on that bank, or nesting? There is no river at all, and no boat, and no boatman. There is no tow rope either, and no one to pull it. There is no ground, no sky, no time, no bank, no ford! And there is no body, and no mind! Do you believe there is some place that will make the soul less thirsty? In that great absence you will find nothing. Be strong then, and enter into your own body; there you have a solid place for your feet. Think about it carefully! Don't go off somewhere else! Kabir says this: just throw away all thoughts of imaginary things, and stand firm in that which you are. —Kabir |
AuthorLori Furbush teaches Qigong, Yoga, Reiki, & Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). She weaves MINDFULNESS & RELAXATION into every moment. Archives
February 2020
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