Inspiring quote from Terry Tempest Williams

This is my living faith, an active faith of verbs: to question, explore, experiment, experience, walk, run, dance, play, eat, love, learn, dare, taste, touch, smell, listen, argue, speak, write, read, draw, provoke, emote, scream, sin, repent, cry, kneel, pray, bow, rise, stand, look, laugh, cajole, confront, confound, walk back, walk forward, circle, hide, and seek.

Experience Yourself Differently

The opportunity to experience yourself differently is always available.  -Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

This quote is from a wonderful teacher and master of Tibetan Buddhism.  I like to remind myself of it on days when I think I can’t do something, or am feeling down.  Just knowing I can choose a new way of looking at things is sometimes enough for a shift to happen.

Three years ago I would have never imagined I could go on a meditation retreat for two weeks.  Back then I had never managed to sit still for more than two minutes.  I just never thought of myself as someone who could do something like that.

What changed?

The biggest thing that happened was I began to explore what would happen if I let go of pre-conceived ideas about myself.  Thoughts like ‘I’m not this or that’ or ‘I don’t do this or that’.  I began to let them go, and just be open and curious to what could happen.

I started with an evening meditation class where I could barely sit still and even had to lean on the wall.  After that I did a weekend retreat.   All the while saying to myself  ‘I don’t think I can do this’.  But this time I ignored those voices and kept going.  It was tough and painful.  My back really ached after the first day.  My mind was pretty chaotic.  But by the end of the weekend I noticed I had settled down a bit.  I was calmer, my mind less active, more peaceful.  It felt good.   I was also happy to just complete the program. I now saw myself as a meditation practitioner and signed up for the two weeks in Colorado without a second thought.

I wonder what thoughts Lance Armstrong had before deciding to re-enter the race again this year at age 37.  I find inspiration in his efforts to give it another go.  I just heard he’s going to do it again next year.

How are you experiencing yourself right now?  Are you open to experiencing yourself differently?

Do What You’re Doing While You’re Doing It

Do what you’re doing while you’re doing it.  Sounds easy enough.  But how many times do we actually do just one thing at a time?  We live in a world where we think we’re missing something if we don’t constantly check our emails and text messages.  Perhaps what we’re missing is our own life.

When learning to meditate, the primary instruction we receive is to ‘return to the breath’.   This is because we often drift off into thought when we sit with our mind.   It’s not that thoughts are bad.  They just come and go on their own.  Thinking is the natural movement of mind.  In meditation practice we are learning to relate to these patterns.  Observing our thoughts is the first step in discovering what’s going on with us.  In doing this I have experienced momentary clarity and stability of mind.   It’s our natural state, not a skill to develop.  More like something to uncover.

But what about when we’re ‘off the cushion’… how do we return to the breath when we are engaging in daily activities?

At a Buddhist talk one evening, someone asked our teacher this very question.  The teacher called this ‘post-meditation’ or the rest of your life.  They suggested we begin by paying attention to what is happening in our lives at each moment. Use all our senses.  This practice can help us experience our world more clearly or directly.

So try this.  Just do what you’re doing while you’re doing it.  Start with easy things… doing the laundry, washing the dishes, taking a walk in the park.  Then when you’re out at dinner with someone, you can really try listening to what they’re saying.  Leave the iPhone at home and see what happens.

You may notice what others are saying is a lot more than just their words.  Body language and expressions reveal a lot.  How can we experience this if we’re always glancing away at our iPhones or thinking about something we need to do tomorrow.

Another teacher recently said, ‘take the backwards step’.  I like this.  Slow down.  Have patience.  Really engage.  Feel your life.

Welcome!

Hi,

My name is Karen and thank you for reading.

My aspiration for this blog is to share what inspires me to make positive changes and seek new challenges.  My goal is to do what matters in my life.  I hope others will also share their stories of what matters to them.

A little background…

In 2006 I was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery and radiation treatment.   I decided to make more time for things that matter.

Here are some things I’ve made time for:

–A healing yoga retreat in Hawaii (for 3 weeks!).

–Studying and practicing Thai Yoga Massage after receiving my first one in Hawaii.

–A 2-week meditation retreat in Colorado.

–Kayaking and camping in the Florida Everglades with Outward Bound.

–A 5k run to raise money for a school in Tibet.

–Drumming and playing guitar with my 4 year old nephew.

We are living in super fast-paced times.  Over-scheduled, over-worked, chaotic days are the norm for a lot of us.  It’s easy to forget what makes us feel energized and happy.  For me, it took a frightening diagnosis to really start paying attention to my life and choosing to do things that make me feel alive.

I have been kicking cancer’s ass ever since.