Tag Archives: Sweet Breathing

Precious Present Moment

I am here, now, present.

Celebrating. Each day a new birth – day. Each moment precious.

“Nothing is more precious than being in the present moment, fully alive and fully aware.”

-Thich Nhat Hanh

 

“If you have your attention on what is, see its fullness in every moment, you will discover the dance of the divine in every leaf, in every petal, in every blade of grass, in every rainbow, in every rushing stream, in every breath of every living being.”

-Deepak Chopra

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Women get more beautiful as they grow older. Not less.
Female youth is only prized in modern culture because it doesn’t represent as much of a threat spiritually to anyone who is frightened of divine feminine power.

As women grow and mature, they call in stronger forces of sacred feminine wisdom. They vibrate with the creative power of their stories.

They are more of a force to be reckoned with.

They see more, know more, feel more. They put up with a lot less bullshit.

When women are trained into thinking there is something fundamentally wrong with getting older, and are coerced into spending money, energy and power investing in ‘slowing the signs of ageing’, an enormous vault of divine love is lost.

Just think what would happen if all the women in the world started loving themselves even more with every year that passed.

Perhaps a total revolution would occur.”

-Sophie, Yogesh Kumar

Life at Midlife

“I am no longer waiting for a special occasion; I burn the best candles on ordinary days.
I am no longer waiting for the house to be clean; I fill it with people who understand that even dust is Sacred.
I am no longer waiting for everyone to understand me; It’s just not their task
I am no longer waiting for the perfect children; my children have their own names that burn as brightly as any star.
I am no longer waiting for the other shoe to drop; It already did, and I survived.
I am no longer waiting for the time to be right; the time is always now.
I am no longer waiting for the mate who will complete me; I am grateful to be so warmly, tenderly held.
I am no longer waiting for a quiet moment; my heart can be stilled whenever it is called.
I am no longer waiting for the world to be at peace; I unclench my grasp and breathe peace in and out.
I am no longer waiting to do something great; being awake to carry my grain of sand is enough.
I am no longer waiting to be recognized; I know that I dance in a holy circle.
I am no longer waiting for Forgiveness.
I believe, I Believe.”

-Mary Anne Perrone

 

Precious Stillness

“Ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for awhile and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space…”

-Edward Abbey

“May we not neglect the silence printed in the center of our being. It will not fail us.”

-Thomas Merton

“Let us accept the invitation, ever open, from the Stillness, taste its exquisite sweetness, and heed its silent instruction.”

-Paul Brunton

 

Patient Waiting Love

“The song of the wind softened, gentled. Behind the violence of the birthing of galaxies and stars and planets came a quiet and tender melody, a gentle love song. All the raging of creation, the continuing hydrogen explosions on the countless suns, the heaving of planetary bodies, all was enfolded in a patient, waiting love.”

-Madeleine L’Engle

“Yours are the sweetest eyes I’ve ever seen”

-Bernie Taupin

 

 

“Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive.”

-Hafez

Someone

“Right now there are Tibetan Buddhist monks in a temple in the Himalayas endlessly reciting mantras for the cessation of your suffering and for the flourishing of your happiness.

Someone you haven’t met yet is already dreaming of adoring you.

Someone is writing a book that you will read in the next two years that will change how you look at life.

Nuns in the Alps are in endless vigil, praying for the Holy Spirit to alight the hearts of all of God’s children.

A farmer is looking at his organic crops and whispering, “nourish them.”

Someone wants to kiss you, to hold you, to make tea for you.

Someone is willing to lend you money, wants to know what your favorite food is, and treat you to a movie.
Someone in your orbit has something immensely valuable to give you — for free.

Something is being invented this year that will change how your generation lives, communicates, heals and passes on.

The next great song is being rehearsed.

Thousands of people are in yoga classes right now intentionally sending light out from their heart chakras and wrapping it around the earth.

Millions of children are assuming that everything is amazing and will always be that way.

Someone is in profound pain, and a few months from now, they’ll be thriving like never before. From where they are, they just can’t see it .

Someone who is craving to be partnered, to be acknowledged, to arrive, will get precisely what they want — and even more. And because that gift will be so fantastical in it’s reach and sweetness, it will quite magically alter their memory of angsty longing and render it all “So worth the wait.”

Someone has recently cracked open their joyous, genuine nature because they did the hard work of hauling years of oppression off of their psyche — this luminous juju is floating in the ether, and is accessible to you.

Someone just this second wished for world peace, in earnest.

Some civil servant is making sure that you get your mail, and your garbage is picked up, that the trains are running on time, and that you are generally safe.

Someone is dedicating their days to protecting your civil liberties and clean drinking water.

Someone is regaining their sanity.
Someone is coming back from the dead.
Someone is genuinely forgiving the seemingly unforgivable.
Someone is curing the incurable.

You. Me. Some. One. Now.”

-Danielle LaPorte via Mary Standing Otter

 

Nourishing Calm

“In our time, in our civilization, sitting and doing nothing is considered either to be a luxury or a waste of time. But sitting can produce the most nourishing calm and joy and we can all afford some time to sit. How wonderful to sit and do nothing.”

– Thich Nhat Hanh

For me, especially to sit and do nothing in Nature easily produces that state of nourishing calm that Thich Nhat Hanh’s quote describes.  Nature’s abundance and abiding wisdom is found in this quiet calm of sitting.  It is a meditation, it is connection, and it is joy; certainly it is joy.

The wonderfulness of sitting and doing nothing in nature is so fulfilling, so very full and rich.

No Ordinary Life – Happy First Day of Fall!

“She lost herself in the trees among the ever-changing leaves.

She wept beneath the wild sky as stars told stories of ancient times.

The flowers grew toward her light, the river called her name at night.

She could not lead an ordinary life…

with the mysteries of the universe hidden in her eyes.”

-Christy Ann Martine

Light Filled Autumn Leaves

For the Love of Bears – A Gallery of Photos

*Click onto any single image for a full sized version – then navigate with arrows to see all in full size…

I am enamored of bears.  For as long as I can remember there’s been a love affair, a fetish, a respect, an honoring.

It’s a wondrous, humbling, mystical, and magical experience to see bears in the wild – living large and well, wild and free.

Berry Pickin' Bear
Berry Pickin’ Bear

“If you talk with the animals they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them, you will not know them, and what you do not know, you will fear. What one fears one destroys.”
– Chief Dan George

Bear Profile

“The grizzly is a symbol of what is right with the world.”
– Charles Jonkel

Grizzly Bear Running

“Bears are not companions of men, but children of God, and His charity is broad enough for both. Yet bears are made of the Shy Bearsame dust as we, and breathe the same winds and drink of the same waters. A bear’s days are warmed by the same sun, his dwellings are overdomed by the same blue sky, and his life turns and ebbs with heart-pulsings like ours and was poured from the same fountain…”
– John Muir

Bear Bottom

“Grizzly bears are the true monarchs of the wilderness. As a predator at the top of the food chain and an indicator species, they are a symbol of a healthy ecosystem. Where they roam undisturbed by humans, wilderness exists. By preserving grizzlies in the wild, we also preserve the habitat they need to survive. Grizzlies are ninety-nine percent gone from the lower forty-eight states as compared to populations from a century ago. Keeping these animals as a part of the natural ecosystem is healthy for all species, including humans.”
– Grizzly Discovery Center (www.grizzlydiscoveryctr.com)

Bear Peaking Through Fence, Polebridge

As I Began to Love Myself

“As I began to love myself, I found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth. Today, I know, this is Authenticity.

As I began to love myself, I understood how much it can offend somebody as I try to force my desires on this person, even though I knew the time was not right and the person was not ready for it, and even though this person was me. Today, I call it Respect.

As I began to love myself, I stopped craving for a different life, and I could see that everything that surrounded me was inviting me to grow. Today, I call it Maturity.

As I began to love myself, I understood that at any circumstance, I am in the right place at the right time, and everything happens at the exactly right moment, so I could be calm. Today, I call it Self-Confidence.

As I began to love myself, I quit stealing my own time, and I stopped designing huge projects for the future. Today, I only do what brings me joy and happiness, things I love to do and that make my heart cheer, and I do them in my own way and in my own rhythm. Today, I call it Simplicity.

As I began to love myself, I freed myself of anything that is no good for my health – food, people, things, situations and everything that drew me down and away from myself. At first I called this attitude a healthy egoism. Today, I know it is Love of Oneself.

As I began to love myself, I quit trying to always be right, and ever since, I was wrong less of the time. Today, I discovered that is Modesty.

As I began to love myself, I refused to go on living in the past and worry about the future. Now, I only live for the moment, where Everything is happening. Today, I live each day, day by day, and I call it Fulfillment.

As I began to love myself, I recognized that my mind can disturb me and it can make me sick. But, as I connected it to my heart, my mind became a valuable ally. Today, I call this connection Wisdom of the Heart.

We no longer need to fear arguments, confrontations or any kind of problems with ourselves or others. Even stars collide, and out of their crashing new worlds are born. Today, I know… That Is Life.

-Charlie Chaplin

 

It’s Time

“I think midlife is when the universe gently places her hands upon your shoulders, pulls you close, and whispers in your ear:
I’m not screwing around. It’s time. All of this pretending and performing – these coping mechanisms that you’ve developed to protect yourself from feeling inadequate and getting hurt – has to go.

Your armor is preventing you from growing into your gifts. I understand that you needed these protections when you were small. I understand that you believed your armor could help you secure all of the things you needed to feel worthy of love and belonging, but you’re still searching and you’re more lost than ever.

Time is growing short. There are unexplored adventures ahead of you. You can’t live the rest of your life worried about what other people think. You were born worthy of love and belonging. Courage and daring are coursing through you. You were made to live and love with your whole heart. It’s time to show up and be seen.”

-Brené Brown