Category: mindfulness

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The Sounds in Mindfulness

“While everybody is nodding off, I find those moments where I see sunsets and sunrises and all the times in between that are fascinating and so beautiful and it’s almost like [being] free.”
-Julian Lennon

It’s funny. When I found this quote, I saw the brackets around the “being” implying that the person who added the word, did so for clarity, and maybe he did, and that was Julian’s intent. The quote is obviously out of context, but that doesn’t make it any less powerful either way.

And either way, the meaning is the same. That unconscious place where most people spend most of their lives is just the fine line between sleep and freedom.

Most people never notice the sunrises and sunsets and enjoy the incomparable beauty that is there in that moment, let alone see the beauty and the expression of life in the rest of the day. Most people walk through life asleep, and without a conscious thought of the constant change around them. They see their lives as static and uninteresting, a drudgery they endure, but seldom enjoy.

When was the last time you took a moment in a simple task like washing dishes and noticed the way the water flowed over your hand or the way the bubbles have an iridescent property. Or, took a walk and noticed the sound of rustling leaves or, in colder weather, the steam rising from the drains. Have you ever listened to the music that some trees make or the whirring sound of flag pole wires, or, in the city, the music the hi-rise buildings make? I often just sit on my back porch in St. Augustine, close my eyes and listen to the wild sounds of nature. I can imagine myself somewhere else, a jungle maybe, listening to the “gronks” of the herons, mixed with the finches, mockingbirds, laughing gulls, and myriad other birds, mixed with the deafening sound of cicadas, crickets, and other critters of the undergrowth amidst the background music of the wind whistling through the longleaf pines, live oaks and cedars.

It is amazing how much life we miss with our headphones or our music cranked up.

~revjim

#spirit-edu.com -Spirituality Online
#aworldthatworks
Spirit Education is a CSL Authorized Virtual Education Provider

We’re having a Zoominar September 28th
1st Century Mystics  October 4th
https://spirit-edu.com/learn/courses/zoominar/
https://spirit-edu.com/learn/1st-century-mystics

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What is your Spiritual Practice?

spiritual-practiceDo you have a spiritual practice? Does it sound too woo-woo for a manly man, or even a highly motivated woman? Chances are you do and don’t even realize it. But don’t worry, I wont tell anyone.

Basically, Spiritual Practice is all about taking care of you. Mostly, we find ourselves taking care of others, helping them with their life’s, but usually at the expense of our own. So, here are a few of my spiritual practices.

1. Meditation. You might say, “I don’t know how to meditate!” Or “I can’t sit with my legs crossed!”, but it’s not about that. It’s about you sitting or standing or walking quietly. It’s about putting away the problems of the world and your life and being “in the moment.” When you are in the moment, you are allowing your inner self to just be in peace.

2. A Daily Reading. Whether you choose a short faith-based reading, like something from the Bible, the Quran, or the Habbalah, or you choose something like “Around the Year” by Emmett Fox, or something more secular like “The Seven Decisions” by Andy Andrews, or “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach, you are able to continue to create that uplifting space that you began in meditation.

3. Journaling. Writing down your thoughts from this place you have created to this point can help clear up some of the issues that may have come up for you during your meditation and your reading. Write about it. It is definitely therapeutic and you can look back to your journey later through these “Aha moments” you have experienced.

4. Mindful Eating. Knowing your body is your temple, what are you doing to create a more healthy eating program for yourself? Think about it.

5. Healthy Lifestyle. This is a broad area in which we can adjust our behavior and interactions with others. We can be more discerning with whom we interact. Are your interactions always of a combative nature? Are the people you hang with negative or demeaning to others? Are you watching TV that makes you angry all the time? Remember, change is good.

6. General Acts of Kindness. Holding a door for someone or a simple smile can do so much to uplift someone’s day and make their life better, if only for a moment. It doesn’t cost a thing and it gives back to you as well.

7. Gratitude. It cant be stressed enough that being grateful is a powerful practice. Gratitude is reflected in everything you do or say. It’s the starting point for change and the action that can allow change.

What else might you do to change and uplift your life? I’d love to hear!

~revjim

#spirit-edu.com -Spirituality Online
#aworldthatworks
Spirit Education is a CSL Authorized Virtual Education Provider

Grace in Aging class starts September 18th Online
International Day of Peace Meditation September 21st
We’re having a Zoominar September 28th
1st Century Mystics October 4th

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Living in Grace isn’t just for old people!

Join us as we explore how to have a more gracious, loving and compassionate life.

You don’t have to be old to embrace these principles. It’s just that most people don’t slow down enough during most of their lives to realize there is another way. We are introduced to fear, and limitation at a young age and buy into a dog-eat-dog mentality. We see it all around us, in the news, in our TV shows, in our politics, and even in sports. Competition is good for our egos, but not really good for our sanity. And, it’s really only good for some people’s egos, while devastating to those on the receiving end.

By practicing mindfulness and compassion, we can find our joy and happiness in much more self-sustaining ways. Ways that will uplift us, and those around us.

If you can’t join us, please read the book. It may give you a perspective on your life you have never envisioned before. It could be your lifesaver.

~revjim

#spirit-edu.com -Spirituality Online
#aworldthatworks
Spirit Education is a CSL Authorized Virtual Education Provider

Grace in Aging class starts September 18th Online

https://spirit-edu.com/learn/courses/grace-in-aging/

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Prune the Weeds from Your Garden

In the Grace in Aging, we learn to be more mindful of what we want in our life.

grace9

~revjim

#spirit-edu.com -Spirituality Online
#aworldthatworks
Spirit Education is a CSL Authorized Virtual Education Provider

Grace in Aging class starts September 18th Online