Posts Tagged ‘Mind Chatter’
Lessons Learned in 2009
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
I spent this week rereading all the blogs I posted this year. Each one felt like a personal recipe for living, learning, & loving. Each blog held a nugget of hope, a spark of light, & moments of absolute love. I have put together some of the best quotes from my blogs of 2009. May they give you the hope, light, & love that is already awakening in every way.
“Starting over means we can release the past without judgment and move forward without baggage.”
“Forgiveness is not an act; it’s a process. In order to forgive, there must be a journey of going to the place of healing. It’s coming to a place and resting – just resting.”
“The question then becomes, are we willing to practice and share peace with one another? It starts with each person being peace. We can then see peace in each other. Each of us can be the peace story.”
“Do it afraid. Whatever the ‘it’ is, do it, live it, breathe it…Do it anyway. Do it despite yourself.”
“The phrase “Truth Be Told, I Choose You” represented the grandest invitation to life. This is the experience of totality – the gift of fully inviting another person on your life’s journey.”
“When I am open, the world is open, when I am grateful, the world is grateful.”
“I am the one I have been waiting for. The teacher I have been waiting for is me.”
“How are we prisoners to our own minds and project it out to the world? Freedom starts with each one of us. Step forward for yourself and for another.”
“Here was an opportunity to live in harmony with the way things were. Now was my chance to ask myself how I am unconscious in the world.”
“How much is mind chatter costing you? Stillness is free.”
“Imagine taking a planned break to clear yourself of all distractions. Perhaps we are not ready or able to take a year off, but what if we could actually plan in our calendar a sabbatical to generate new ideas, listen to our inner creative voice, and appreciate our work as a calling.”
“As we prepare for a season of “Peace on Earth”, may each exchange this season be one of love and presence. It’s the economy of the heart that I am looking to build this coming year. It’s increasing our capacity to love that I am hoping to stimulate.”
Happy New Year! Here’s to learning more lessons ~ Mary Anne
How Much Is Mind Chatter Costing You? Stillness is Free.
Saturday, November 21st, 2009
Last month in meditation, I sat on my blue meditation cushion with my eyes closed, crossed my legs and started some conscious breaths. I wanted to experience a quiet space within that would allow my heart to expand into the awareness of stillness. There I was on my cushion breathing in and out, slowly and deeply. On this particular morning, as soon as I started my breath work, my mind chatter began sprinting in my head like a racehorse out of a gate. Immediately, running thoughts and questions began: ‘What are you doing…Can’t you do more…Can’t you keep up…Other people are thriving, Don’t you want to be like other creative people…Your week is too busy…You are not doing enough’…and on and on and on. I watched then as my breath became faster and faster until I became light headed. Suddenly, my entire body exhaled. I was exhausted.
I breathed slowly into each part of my body with awareness and intention. I breathed into my feet, my legs, my stomach, my abdomen, my heart, my arms, my back, my neck, my eyes, my head over and over again. Each breath was a gift to my body. I noticed the absolute silence in the room. I found myself with a big smile on my face swaying to stillness. As clear as day I heard, “How much is mind chatter costing you? Stillness is free.”
I have been taking an inventory of my mind chatter. I have noticed and watched the impact my mind chatter has on my body, my energy, and my spirit. It’s not a matter of shouting to my mind chatter, “Shut Up!”, because the chatter will only get louder. Instead I watch the thoughts float in the air and imagine them on the sands of a beach and with each wave I ask the water to wash them into the sand. My mind chatter begins to get swept up by the waves of the ocean until they completely disappear and I can no longer hear the thoughts.
How much is mind chatter costing you? How do you release mind chatter?
I invite you to breathe into all parts of you. Breathe into your body and wait for stillness to emerge.
Wishing you the gift of stillness – Mary Anne