Monthly Archives: June 2013

Star Power

Posted
Filed under Meditation/Mindfulness

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When someone tells me what I “should” be doing, my inner two-year-old kicks in and I become a resistance machine. It seems the more I hear about something being good for me, the less I want to do it.

The last time I strung together any significant consecutive days of meditation was during February 2012. I did Sharon Salzberg’s 28-day meditation challenge, based on her book, Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation. I really like Sharon’s style. I’m talking like I know her, but when you listen to her guided meditations and watch her giving talks on YouTube as much as I have, you feel like you know her. She’s so low key and down-to-earth, there’s nothing to resist.

I do so well with structure (which seems strange, given that I just said I’m a resistance machine). The 28-day challenge, complete with bloggers writing daily about their experiences and Twitter chats with Sharon was perfect for me. But then it was over.

Since then, I’ve meditated off and on, but something always gets in the way of making it a daily practice.

noname-8I recently read about this free Insight Timer app that has a new guided meditation section. So I downloaded the app and am checking it out. There’s a section where you can have friends (purely optional), see who is meditating round the world (cool feature), and you can even earn stars at various milestones. The first star you can earn is for meditating for 10 consecutive days. So guess what? I just earned my first star! I had my husband take a picture of it on my phone today, and he said, “That’s it? That little thing. I can barely see it.” Yes, I was working really hard for this tiny star. I guess little things really do mean a lot.

Tara Brach, author of  Radical Acceptance and True Refuge is another of my favorite teachers. She has 5 guided meditations on the app. They’re of varying lengths and types, and I found them all “accessible” to the novice. I would think experienced meditators would like them, as well. I find her voice soothing and hypnotic.

noname-9Her most popular meditation on Insight Timer is a  15 minute, basic Vipassana meditation. The description reads: “This meditation cultivates a non-judgmental, lucid present-centered attention and gives rise to our natural wisdom and compassion.” Her other meditations include: Loving This Life, Gateway to Presence, Coming Home to Being and Letting Life Live Through You.

I’m not sure which meditation it’s in, but the line that has stuck with me is her invitation to be aware of the “dance of sensation” flowing through you. Dance of Sensation. Love that!

This shows my age, but I’m remembering how host Casey Kasem always ended his popular show, American Top 40. He would say: I’m keeping my feet on the ground, but reaching for the stars.

Maybe right now it’s the stars and the novelty of the app that are motivating me. That’s okay. I have a gut feeling that before too long I’ll find meditation a reward in and of itself.

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Feature photo by Key Foster via photopin:

Feeding Frenzy

Posted
Filed under Parenting, Photography

photo-4“Do you think bluebirds overeat?” I asked Greg.

We’ve been trying to attract bluebirds for years, and this is the first year we’ve been successful. We have five eggs in a house in our backyard. I flipped open the front of the house and took  this picture with my phone when Momma and Poppa weren’t around.

The parents have been so busy building the nest and now keeping the eggs warm. The mother bird actually pulls feathers out of herself so she can press her warm belly up to the eggs to help them incubate. You can kind of see that on one of the pictures below.

And the father is bringing the mother bird worms galore. Greg is doing most of the reading and studying on what and how much to feed them, but we are going through A LOT of worms (bought from our local bird store). When the babies hatch, it will be even more.

It’s the first thing Greg does when he comes home from work–go and refill the feeders and put out more worms. He whistles when he adds the worms, trying to train the bluebirds to come on command. Yesterday we thought it had worked, as they swooped down just as he whistled. Today they didn’t, so maybe it was a coincidence.

Feeding is such a big part of parenting. I remember when our son was such a picky  selective eater, that the only way I could get him to eat breakfast was to make muffins every morning. Now I’d love to say they were made from scratch with wholesome, healthy ingredients, but they weren’t. It was Betty Crocker all the way. He went for long stretches where he’d only eat blueberry muffins. Then it would be chocolate chip muffins. And we’d have our lemon poppy seed muffin months. I made muffins for years, but I never minded. It was a clear-cut thing I could do that was generally helpful. Usually parenting is so complex, you have no idea if you’re doing the right thing–you’re truly winging it.

I have been so blessed as Greg has been 100% involved in the whole parenting process. (I can’t imagine how single parents do it.) I couldn’t ask for a better partner.

One of my good friends just told me she and her husband are expecting their first child. I’m so happy for them! Parenting is full of the kind of joy you simply can’t explain to people who haven’t had kids. But it’s also hard and kind of scary.

Feeding is the easy part. I miss making muffins.

Letting go is the hard part.

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One Solution

Posted
Filed under Poems

Have you seen anything real lately?

Go ahead, give it a try

Muster up some courage

dare to take a peek outside your skull

and see what’s really there

Try to get a handle on something…anything.

Like mist, it passes through your fingers

leaving only a cold and damp suggestion

that anything really was

Or was it?

A world made of concrete and steel

and yet

nothing is really solid enough to put your hands on

But maybe it’s best that way.

After all, if you did grab something

would you be brave enough to look It in the eye?

Instead, give up

Admit that it is not to be grabbed

seen

felt

or studied with the hands

eyes

heart

or mind

anymore than the line between this

and that

or you

and I

is to be drawn with a straight edge

and a number 2 pencil.

*****

My brother, Bill Gerth, wrote this poem when he was in college at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. I found it today on a piece of paper in a pile of miscellaneous stuff I was going through. Thank goodness I rescued it! It was formatted differently (indentations, etc.), but I couldn’t make WordPress do it correctly.

Many of you who follow this blog know what an incredible person Bill is. You can read other posts and see videos about him here and here.

Photo credit for featured image on home page: Carolyn Tiry, via flickr, CC

80+ Self-Care Ideas

Posted
Filed under Self-care

277221852_476e8916f0_z Here is an amazing list of self-care activities. Feel free to add any  other ideas in the comment section.

Maybe we can get the list up to 100!

(P.S. There are 49 comments with LOTS more great ideas!)

If you haven’t already, I’d love it if you joined me on 

Facebook, where I share lots of other self-care ideas. Thanks!

Also, I have a new book coming out! You can read about that story here.

You might also like: 25 Women Writers Share Their Best Self-Compassion Tips

Here’s the list:

going for a photo walk

going to the forest

a bath at the end of the day

going for bike rides

finding overgrown grass and putting my bare feet and it

lying in the grass on the hill and staring up at the sky

cooking a meal for myself and being really present

getting up early and reading inspirational books

journaling

walking with my dogs

nature

going places–getting a change of scenery

trying new things in general

guided meditation

listening to books and music

face-to-face conversations with people

gratitude journal

better diet

trying to live more authentically

not skipping sleep to get things done

trying to multitask less

scheduling time to myself every day

reading blogs from people who are honest

reading for pleasure

resting with my cat a few feet away

yoga

running

getting my hair done

getting a manicure

baking

hiding

knitting

spinning

online classes

just for fun novels

crafting

being able to set limits for myself

asking for what I need

taking time for slow contemplative morning coffee

cuddling with my cats

taking my vitamins

burning candles

waking up naturally–no alarm clock

eating when I feel like it–not by the clock

eating a fresh bagel at a local shop while doing a crossword puzzle

chocolate

daily stretching

good movies

getting massages

working with a life coach

prayer

paying attention to my breathing

gathering flowers from my garden

planting flowers in my garden for later gathering

art journaling

stealing a few moments to lie on my bed when the afternoon sun is streaming in through the window

coffee at coffee shops

centering prayer

mindfulness

forgiveness of others so I don’t carry that stuff around

simplifying

a glass of wine at the end of the day

fresh air

eclectic playlists

live music

bookclub

support groups

creating a comfortable house that truly is my home

cuddling with my puppies

taking myself out to eat

move my body–dance, exercise, run

dress up in the way I want to feel

taking action

laughter

tears

hot shower

giving back with my time

being a tourist in my own city

lunch dates with good friends

green smoothies

learn to be with and accept my feelings

have adventures and drive to new places

spend less time on the Internet

read the newspaper on Sundays at a café

read poetry or inspiring quotes

volunteering

attending church

Don’t forget to add any other ideas in the comments.

You might also like this article: 7 Types of Self-Care Activities for Coping with Stress

If you haven’t already, I’d love it if you joined me on Facebook. Thanks!

Photo via Flickr, CC