Archive for 'Tools and Practices'

The Rejuvenating Power of Green

May 26, 2013 by , under Moments of "ordinary" life, Tools and Practices.

Green is a wonderful, healing, and energizing color.
It is the color of spring — of new life, new beginnings, new chances.
It is the color of hope.
I am reminded of the line from the Hopkins poem, God’s Grandeur:  “There lives the dearest freshness deep down things”.
And also the line from Coleridge’s Kubla Khan:  “Enfolding sunny spots of greenery…”
I had a moment yesterday where I felt invited to simply relax into the healing and revitalizing power of green.  I had just come back home from having been out for a while, and I caught a glimpse of the sunlight shining through the green leaves by my window.  The wind was blowing gently through the chimes.
And for about ten or fifteen minutes, I simply gazed at the green leaves filled with light against my window and listened to the chimes.
I think it is important to answer these invitations to beauty and to contemplation when they occur — and they often occur naturally at times of transition during the day.
For me, this moment happened when I had just returned home, and about a half an hour before I needed to start preparing dinner.
Next time this happens for you, go with it and see what happens!

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December 2012 Skies

December 16, 2012 by , under Tools and Practices.

So hard to clearly read the signs of the times…  The fiscal cliff, the Connecticut shootings, the supposed end to the Mayan calendar (or the end to a particular phase of it, of history…).

Are we in the end times, or are we approaching them?

And, if so, what to do about it?   How to prepare?

By intensifying our spiritual practice with increased prayer, meditation, contemplation, and spiritual reading. By simplifying our lives, and our lifestyles.  By reducing mental, emotional, psychic, and physical clutter.  By purifying our hearts.  And by fasting as a way to hear more deeply within and to reduce our over-dependence on things, habits, vices.

By taking long walks in nature, stretching, and lifting weights — putting effort into getting physically and fiscally fit — and (as much as possible) ready for anything.

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Interior Design for the Soul

January 19, 2012 by , under Tools and Practices.

Sometimes all it takes is another “eye”  — or even our own eye with a different type of glance 🙂 ….

While up visiting my mother for a week during Christmas, I felt inspired to help switch around some of her furniture for a more comfortable (and upbeat) look and feel to her space.

It all started with asking if I could bring some outdoor chairs in and up next to the fireplace.

This started a whole creative chain of events…

Once the chairs were in place, we found some nice cushions for them that matched the rest of the decor.

Then I noticed a cabinet that she had partially painted a bright yellow to match the dining room chairs she’d painted.  The shade of yellow seemed a bit sharp, so I asked if I could add some red to the cabinet.

I cannot go into the whole process, here, but what happened over the course of the week was a very refreshed space that only cost us about $35.00 out of pocket.  (We found a signature piece at a nearby antique store!)

But most of it involved using items that she already had — but just re-positioning them in new fresh ways.

Now she is very happy with her home and feels re-energized with many new ideas about how to make her space more fun for herself and a more accurate expression of who she is…

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