A grownup is a child with layers on.
- Woody Harrelson
More Sunsets
I believe the world would be a different place if we all watched more sunsets.
If at the end of each day we took five minutes, whether alone or together, to step out of the rush, out of our self-centered to-do list to acknowledge the passage of time. To honor that another day is done, that we are another day older and another day more experienced - reflecting on how we lived that day and how we'd like to live the next.
I believe that little act would make us very different people and make this world a very different place. And to think, all it would take just a moment.
In The Middle
The middle of the journey, when we no longer see the land we left and we can't quite see the land we're attempting to reach, when it's difficult to measure progress and probabilities, when fear and doubt and stress begin to settle in, that's when our mind is least useful.
These are the moments when quieting the mind and removing the noise allows us to be truly present. Not fearing the unknown future or regretting the no-longer existing past, but right there, in that moment. And it's in that moment that we can act, not out of fear but out of clarity, because we see the moment for what it is, rather than what the mind makes it to be.
Wall Street Meditates
Photo Illustration: Jamie Chung; Philippe Halsman/Magnum Photos
Yeah, those guys. The ones driven purely by making money, they meditate. They don't meditate to save the world, or to be enlightened, they do it because it gives them an edge, because it works.
As this Bloomberg article points out, they don't need scientists to tell them meditation works, it just takes one person, just one, and then suddenly that edge, that sharpness, that clarity, everyone around them is going to want what they have.
For anyone who might feel as if something good was just hijacked, something sacred was pillaged for greed, read the whole article, because making millions or billions and committing to giving it away, that might just be in the spirit of mindfulness.
Wise Words: Maya Angelou
Be present in all things and thankful for all things.
- Maya Angelou
Life's Shoes
Sometimes life's shoes just feel too big.
Fortunately the difference between our perception and reality is often rather large.
Meditation helps us to see that gap.
Lost in the Moment
Emma Bell
My mother has lost her words. She doesn't appear to remember my name or remember my sons she once cherished. But when she holds my hand and looks into my eyes, she knows I am someone who loves her, someone she loves back.
Her memories may be lost, but her heart-memories are still strong and present. I am grateful for that moment of connection.
Mindful Matter:
For Father's Day, a few finds a thoughtful dad might enjoy....
card | pressed juicery | skateboard | wallet | soap | lunch bag
Wise Words: Neil deGrasse Tyson
Great scientific minds, from Claudius Ptolemy of the second century to Isaac Newton of the seventeenth, invested their formidable intellects in attempts to deduce the nature of the universe from the statements and philosophies contained in religious writings.... Had any of these efforts worked, science and religion today might be one and the same. But they are not.
- Neil deGrasse Tyson
The PBS Buddha
PBS takes a shot at the 2,500 year-old story of Siddhartha's transformation with The Buddha. Some might consider this documentary a beginner's lesson, a somewhat simplified take on one of the most profound teachings in the history of man.
However, a reminder of the basics can be a powerful lesson, a walk down his path and a reminder of our path, no matter how long or short.
Hammock Meditation
Try not to relax to your core, sinking deep into your body while swinging in a hammock. It might just be impossible. The movement, the light, the cozy womb-like cocoon.
Meditation doesn't need to be sitting and staring at a wall. It needs to be what ever gets you to take 10 or 15 minutes to simply be in your body.
Wise Words: Alan Watts
"You can make any human activity into meditation simply by being completely with it and doing it just to do it."
- Alan Watts
Your Ritual
The change of seasons, the warm nights and hot days, the sun's late setting and early rise, these are the cues, sometimes conscious sometime subconscious, giving rise to the rituals of the season. The tea brewing on the back porch, the charcoal grill and cold beer, the trip to the river, pond or beach.
We are ritualistic people. We have oriented our lives around seasons and rituals for thousands of years. We can leverage this innate draw to create rituals of our own, around the sun, the moon, dinner, our showers, washing dishes, sitting down at the computer, creating triggers for mindfulness, moments for mediation. Moments that don't take us out of our day, but are folded into our flow, seamlessly, effortlessly, maybe even subconsciously.
So light a candle, hold a rock, water a plant, however little or small, short or long, every moment of mindfulness counts.
Look Up And Breath
Look up.
Just take a moment and look up at the sky.
Breathe deeply.
Breathe deeply again.
Breathe deeply one more time.
Now go do.
Repeat frequently, or as needed.
Mindful Matter:
ingredients: organically-grown lavender + pure distilled water.... that's it.
We're excited to introduce mind + matter organically-grown lavender hydrosol....
Hydrosols are the pure natural water that is produced during a steam-distillation process. The steam softens the scent cells and the essential oil is released as a vapor. The vapor mixes with the steam and is only separated again as the steam cools in the condensing tank. As it cools, the essential oil molecules separate from the steam and float to the surface leaving two layers. The top is the essential oil and the bottom is the hydrosol.
Our hydrosols are not waters with essential oils added to them; they are a natural unadulterated product of distillation. Hydrosols have similar properties to essential oils but are much less concentrated. This allows them to be sprayed directly on the skin.
Our mind + matter hydrosol was distilled from organically grown lavender in the beautiful Ojai Valley along the California central coast.
Lavender hydrosol is an essential product around our home. I spray a little on my face when I need to calm my busy-brain. Lavender hydrosol is also known to soothe sunburn, cool heat rash, heal irritation, cleanse cuts and scrapes, tone skin, helps itching, freshen sheets naturally, relieves stress whether simply sprayed directly on body or used in compresses, rehydrates while traveling and helps with insomnia.
Available in our little shop.
Wise Words: Albert Einstein
"If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on it, I would use the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I knew the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes."
- Albert Einstein
Happiness Just Might Be A Choice
It feels like our mind is in control of things, it does as it pleases, thinks how it wants, what it wants, when it wants. Except, we have a choice don't we? You are choosing to read this or not read this. You are choosing to focus on this while reading it or thinking about your next meal. The brain is actually more like a car, it will go where it pleases, unless the driver tells it otherwise.
When we have a sad or negative thought, we can choose to look at puppies on instagram. We can actually make that choice and walk down that path. When we are sad and lonely, we can actually choose to go for a walk under the moonlight, stare up at the stars, let the cool night wind blow through our hair. We have that choice too.
We are designed to allow our senses to effect our bodies, use our senses to generate feelings, to trigger chemicals, and because we can control what we present our senses, we can control how we feel. We can dim the lights, light a candle, take a bath, play music, be alone or with people. We have those choices.
Sometimes the sadness is just where we want to be, sometimes it feels good, like a cold dark rainy day. But unlike the whether, we can actually choose to do something about it. If we are present enough to recognize how we feel and that that feeling is a choice.
More Time
There were times in my life when I had too much time. When i begged the clock to move faster, the days to fly by, the weeks to be a blur. Now, I just want to savor moments with my wife and our little girl. I want more time to do my work, to leave a mark, to build and discover and explore inside and out.
Mindfulness and the practice of meditation can't make more time and it can't slow it down. However, it can help us to drink deeply from these moments, freeing us to feel them, to live them fully, to breath them into every cell, every fiber of our being.
Mindful Matter:
A little succulent love for the less than mindful gardener.....
sake cups | porcelain planter | boutonniere | frog | heart
Succulent care is easy, and succulent gardens and terrariums can brighten any indoor space. Succulents like the dry humidity and warm conditions found in most homes, and while they like direct light, they can adapt to lower light. Allow the soil to dry out between waterings. Perfect for the forgetful gardener.
Nature's Song
Life often feels random. We can spend a lot of energy using our brain to piece together what appears to be random dots.
Over time, meditation reconnects us with our body, turning down the noise from the brain and giving us a new perspective that's based on experiencing life, rather than thinking about life.
Our whole experience of simple, little, everyday things right in front of us changes. For example, birds on a wire might become so much more.