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– just breath

Breath In Again

‘One of my teachers once said to me,

“You know, life depends on your breathing in again once you’ve breathed out again.”‘

Shared by Sharon Salzberg In her book A Heart As Wide As the world

Beautiful Breath

When I was exploring yoga one of my favorite classes was restorative yoga. In class because the knowledge and ability of the students varies the teachers usually give guidance in a narrative form. During one class with a favorite teacher I heard,

“Notice your breath, take a moment and notice how beautiful it is.”

It was like a door to a sunny day was opened for me. In wonder, I thought – something of me is beautiful. And I looked, paying attention to my breathing. And I saw that , in so many different ways, my breath is beautiful.

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-celebrate the good

sometimes it is a matter of perspectives

Going from rainstorms to blue skies isn’t about changing the weather, it’s about leaving your mind and taking a better seat.

Cheryl Richardson

look for miracles

To find miracles we need go no further than the mirror. Just look at yourself. What exactly are you? You are a miracle.

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– find stillness

Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at anytime and be yourself.”

-Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

Rest – let go of worry

Basically, we enter into mindfulness practice to learn how to do nothing so as not to act out the habitual tendencies we generally live by, those actions that create distress for ourselves and others, and get us into so much trouble. Doing nothing (or what the Taoists call non doing) does not mean shutting our minds off or going to sleep, but it does mean resting – resting the mind by being present to whatever is happening in the moment, without adding to it the effort of attempting to control it. Nondoing means being at peace.

A Heart As Wide As The World pg65

“Rest in natural great peace, this exhausted mind.”

Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche

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–cry

“There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power.
They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues.”

~Washington Irving

The medicine of grieving

Sorrow and grief are the emotions that apply when we experience loss and crying is the body’s mechanism for expressing grief.

Rose-Lynn Fisher

People generate tears every day for a variety of reasons, often without even noticing. Whether triggered by onions, allergies, intense emotion or just to keep your eyes from drying out, your body produces a myriad of tears — and they all look completely different from each other.

During a time of personal turmoil, photographer Rose-Lynn Fisher wondered how tears look close up. So she collected 100 tear samples, all taken under different circumstances, and analyzed them under a microscope. And what she discovered was that each tear portrayed a dramatic miniature landscape.

The project, “The Topography of Tears,” captures unique moments in human experience. But there’s also a scientific reason why every tear looks so different.

from – www.spectaclesms.com/blogs/tears.html

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–remember curiosity

The Universe will reward you for taking risks on its behalf.

Shatki Gawain

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–create

Painting is an attempt to come to terms with life. There are as many solutions as there are beings.

George Tooker

Part My Story

In 2018 when I lost my hearing I had hours of silence to face everyday. Aside from grieving, healing and trying to find some form of income, what was I to do? I worked on my yoga practice. It kept me going for a while. Yet I found that “the voice” inside my head (the only one I could hear) was particularly vocal on some deeply buried beliefs and attitudes. It was focused on me and sometimes particularly viscous. Wow!

It became a challenge to show up and meet this voice and respond to it (myself) with lovingkindness. There I was alone, (because well how do you find the help and support for living as a deaf person. Mostly it scares people. They have never experienced it and not be trained or introduced to the ways Deaf people need support.), a single Deaf adult with grown children out living there own life (They did show up and help yet it was my problem). Well yes, you are never alone if you like the person you are with, so the challenge became also – how do I learn to like the person I am.- as well as – what do I do with all this time.

Fortunately, I had taken up practicing zentangles during breaks at a night job I had previously worked. So I pulled out some old art supplies left from my children’s youth and started creating designs. I found this very large size (16×20) art paper. With it I started a design project that took up many hours of the day. While working on it I had decided to see how it would be received by other artists. So when I finished it I took it to a local art association Ingathering. This opened up new experiences and learning for me.

What I want to say is that by turning to design work and creating art that reflects the love I have for the beauty of life I found;

• something that helps me feel good, happy and growing
• I have learned new things about art and people
• some peace and calm in an ever challenging life

So yes I recommend for recovery to find that creativity that lives in you.

G Ellsworth