Why would one want to practice meditation or go on a meditation retreat?

These reasons have changed for me over the years as life keeps unfolding.  

It can be a check in to see where my heart and mind are at.  No matter if I am sitting down to meditate for a short period at home or a long extended multi-day retreat, I bring into my meditation practice the accumulations of happenings of everything I have done prior to that exact moment. It offers a mirror to the current weather of my heart and mind, so I can get clear on if there are any changes I need to make.

When you are on a meditation retreat, the container is a supportive one with talks and inspiration and wisdom about how to live life in a way that brings happiness, peace and ease.  Then your mediation practice and in turn your life may be easier and have more peace and happiness. The training grounds of a multi-day retreat offers a lot more understanding on a somatic level to what meditation can do for enhancing tranquility in your body.

I love how meditation brings two things into being for someone. The first being, a broad expansive, tranquil unification of heart and mind- one where the conditions of the relaxed, happy body penetrates the field of the mind as well. The second is seeing clearly into reality and not the reality we believe we shape or wish to see.  Both the samadhi, or unification of heart and mind, and the vipassana, or seeing things clearly, bring a well spring of heart openings and the wisdom of emptiness in everything that exists; thereby, clarifying for someone that if there is nothing solid we can hold on to, then clinging, grasping, or craving that takes over the human experience is just not worth it and ultimately creates more suffering.  

The sublime realization of this, shifts life into one that is worth living in harmony with in every moment no matter the pleasant or unpleasant things that come our way.  We learn how to not react to life’s sensory overload of experience nor “thing-a-fy” the world making things so concrete, but rather witness it for what it is, streams of dependently arising processes interacting.  This kind of liberation is only understood through an intuitive knowing.  I can put words down on the page that point out the experience cognitively, but this is a come see for yourself kind of a thing. It won’t be experienced by reading a book.

At first you may meditate to reduce anxiety, sleep better, feel calmer, improve your relationships or something of this nature.  I started mediation for these reasons as well, but the depth of where these practices go, is the deepest happiness and contentment one could experience as a human being.  The kind that doesn’t fade; maybe these degrees of good feelings have a range of a little or a lot, but they no longer become brittle when something “bad or wrong” happens. The heart is still there, it still remains open, even if just ajar after more of life’s unfortunate circumstances.  At least the door remains open anytime you choose to walk through it, one can.

Year of the Yang Wood Dragon 2024

Time to broaden your horizons, let go of the past, and move towards a world of freedom, justice, and transformation.  This year of the Jiǎ Chén 甲 辰 Wood Dragon in 2024 begins on February 4 in the solar calendar (the true astrological date) and on February 10 in the Lunar calendar (the more commonly celebrated date).

Dragons are mostly inherently yang earth in nature at its core making them much like a mountain, solid, reliable, grounded and trustworthy.  They do possess yin wood and yin water qualities as well, allowing them to be intuitive and sensitive to the community at large.

The dragon is often thought to be the luckiest animal in the Chinese zodiac, one that is bold, powerful, expansive, and holds a revolutionary energy that can change the world. The dragon is a mythical composite animal- part bird, snake, tiger, fish, ox, deer, and others.  Because of its many parts, it was considered a representation of the emperor of China, a leader who could see the many views of society and hone the interconnectedness that we all are.

We are in a Yang wood year, which is strong, growing, and stands tall like a redwood tree; it comes with that large visionary quality. Yang wood looks to the betterment of society by standing for justice and righteousness in the world.  Being quick and impulsive means attention to detail could be lacking.

Big yang wood energy also comes with aggression frustration and even anger if it turns to excess. When wood energy is in balance, it is kind and benevolent.  Wood controls the earth, which could break down the earth’s energy, so we might see more earthquakes on land.

Conflict and war are on the menu, but ultimately a positive change will come from it, especially in the second half of the year leading to greater harmony and a better collective experience for all.  The economy should be more stable then as the world finds more peace.

Another thing that dragons are good at is letting go of what no longer serves and in that release of negativity, our hearts could swell with joy and love.  Dragons are innately powerful from this kind of spiritual brightness, tapping into internal power and activating consciousness.  We too on an individual level could be going through a metamorphosis just as we see this taking place on a collective level.  Enlightenment is possible in the time of the dragon.

We’ll want to prepare our health by paying attention to our digestion, eating at regular times, and engaging in grounding practices such as forest bathing or qi gong.  From the large yang wood energy, our livers and gallbladders are more likely to have pathologies occur, so it is wise to do cardiovascular exercise or movement practices that circulate our energy effectively, so we are less likely to stagnate our livers and experience emotional irritations. When the liver qi is constrained, the digestive system suffers. Also, the wood element can exhaust the water energy (kidneys) if a person is too active and driven.

Another aspect of the liver is its role in our deeper immunity; therefore, supporting our immune system, protecting Wei Qi, and establishing healthy boundaries will contribute to a well-rounded supportive approach to this year’s energy and how it manifests in our bodies.

Any profession with artistry at its core will do well this year, such as designers, engineers, painters, and musicians.  If your profession is not commonly thought of as artistic, bring a creative flare to what you do, for your work to be well received by others.  Dragons are creative by nature and we all will do best when we engage in activities that resonate with our hearts.  Wealth will more likely come when we follow our bliss.  Since this year is community-orientated, we may be called upon to work more with others.  Companies with social consciousness and sustainability will do well.

Dragons tend to be very passionate; therefore, this could be the year to find that great love or go deeper with the relationships you already are in.  Compassion is a quality that will permeate all of our relationships and the approach we take with them.

Enjoy the auspicious ride of the dragon as a big revolution, universal awareness, connection, and transformation is upon us in 2024!

Yin Water Rabbit Chinese New year 2023

We will be gifted the qualities of greater peace, harmony, and growth in this new year of the Yin Water Rabbit beginning January 22, 2023.  A much need reprieve from the tumultuous year of the Tiger last year.  Rabbits in general are known to be vigilant, rational, calm, creative, and affectionate.   Their level-headedness allows for a practical approach to life, and in turn, are wonderful at setting up strategies that will lead to long term growth and success.

Rabbits can hop around and run quickly stirring up new vital energy, but also are known to rest, and restore underground.  That balance of energy allows for great plans and potential to spring forth. Also, their agility can aid in letting go of things that hold you back and instead just go for it!  Ultimately what holds us back the most in life is underlining fear.  This would be a good year to address fears known and unknown, so they can be transformed, absolved, and your pure potential can be brought out to play.  Rabbits are known for their creativity and having an inner artist driving their pursuits.

The wood element is strong with rabbits and the thing in Chinese medicine and its philosophy that supports wood is water. Water nourishes wood or any plant for that matter. Yin water is part of the astrological make up this year, so the rabbit’s innate qualities will be especially strong.  The water element goes with the flow, allows and accepts change more easily, and ultimately is expansive.  Water is also associated with the mystically attributes of life, so it’s a year where any magical practices, astrology, feng shui, and other mystical arts will be more widely accepted and utilized.

The yin aspect of the year also is associated with the feminine, the dark, and emotion.  Because of the expansive water element imbued into this year, we might be more emotional in general, so it is a great time to do grounding and body based practices such as swimming, yoga, qi gong or any kind of movement practice that suits your body so emotions do not become too overwhelming or stagnate.  Self-care is natural for rabbits, so make sure you are prioritizing your health and do not overeat, or drink in excess.  To keep things moving for the wood element it’s important to pay attention to our liver system, consuming healthy greens in particular.  Consider consulting with your acupuncturist especially in the spring time to address any concerns around this part of your body.

Besides career advancement, business building in general will be prosperous, as will the financial market.  We will see growth in many sectors; investments that support nature such as electric vehicles, solar and wind power, and sustainable forestry, will be particularly profitable.  Human rights groups will also flourish, as well as enterprises that focus on compassionate action.  Rabbits are not known to go directly into war, rather they thump their foot on the ground to ward off predators and in essence stand up and make noise instead of going directly in to fight.

In regards to relationships, think of the word tenderness.  This is a great year for finding new love and deepening existing relationships.  Emotions and passion drive a lot of this year, but as mentioned before its a time of letting go of what holds you back.  More intimate truths will be revealed for shedding, transforming, and forgiving.  Rabbits in general are gentle, affectionate and compassionate, so carry tenderness in your heart as you move forward and deepen in 2023.

I know many of us could use a year of tranquility, strategic growth, and a little bit of creative fun too!  I look forward to seeing what those in my community bring forth. Listen, watch, and take part.  Everyone will be feeling it.

The Chinese New Year of the Rat

We are approaching a year of new beginnings, as we celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Metal Rat January 25, 2020. The rat is the first of the Chinese zodiac animals, so fresh starts are bound to be underway.  With it being a metal rat year and metal being sturdy, strong, and determined, it’s a wonderful year to start a new business, create new production, invest money in a long term project, get married, or begin a new relationship.

Rats are clever, quick, resilient, optimistic and energetic.  With a high attention to detail, they get the job done with some effort. If you do bring that entrepreneurial spirit, your projects and investments will be successful, as long as there is a good plan in place. Rats tend to be prosperous and gain financial reward.  Even though they may be stingy with their money, they are known to spend money on unnecessary things, so be sure to watch where your assets go.

Most of us will transform in our careers, especially those with independent detail orientated professions such as architects, engineers, surgeons, doctors, editors, writers, scientists, and the like.  

Health can be good over all, but do to the trail of work we will all fall into, exhaustion can be common along with weakened immunity.  Extra precaution should be taken to not over strain yourself. Keep a healthy work/life balance in check with plenty of rest, good diet, and adequate exercise, if you want to come out on top with your energy still in tact at the year’s end.

This is also a year where new love relationships are bound to surface and could last for the long haul if founded in the year of the rat.  For those already coupled, marriage or a deepening of love could be experienced.

2020 is an exciting transitionary year for all of us.  Keep active, follow the breadcrumbs, get your plan in place for your future!  We will certainly have the energy for it.

Lucky to Be Alive

I am lucky to be alive!  I was given a gift these last 6 weeks of recovering from being hit by an SUV that ran a stop sign.  When the accident happened, I was stopped at a 4 way stop and proceeded through on my rare ‘71 GTR Vespa with no one in sight and then felt the strong momentum of him barreling through the intersection knocking me off tumbling into the middle of the road. I was conscious but in shock and pain. Bystanders came dashing in to help including a black lab and a minister who prayed over me at the scene. Before I knew it an ambulance was there and my clothes were being cut from my body. I remembered the words I used to meditate with on a retreat: “this is how it is. It is like this right now.” I said these over and over in my mind to try to find some calming equanimous stream to have access to. It worked as I settled in to my new reality of pain.

It could have been a lot worse. Most of the bruising, sprains and strains have healed up well. My shoulder had 3 ligaments torn to create a Grade 5 AC separation. I was harnessed up during the healing process for several weeks.  I just took my brace off all day yesterday for the first time.  I’m mobile, but the recovery process now feels like its merely entering the next chapter. Fortunately, I will have a lot of experience to share with patients firsthand for treatments to come.

I am so grateful to be alive, to be able to walk and turn my head, to have had my sister, my partner, and friends come to my aid, and so much more. There are many things you need two arms for like dressing yourself, flossing your teeth, tying your shoelaces, you name it!

I hope this is a reminder for you to cherish some of the simple things. We never know when it may be our time to leave this planet, to experience tragedy or loss. I hope as well this is a reminder to be more present with whatever you are doing. . . especially driving!! Please leave driving for driving ONLY. Life is too precious to multi-task when you are on the road. I’ve been riding my now deceased Vespa “on defensive” for the last 12 years, but that wasn’t enough.

I will ultimately be ok. I improve more and more as time goes on. When the day comes I can do some version of yoga and dance again I will feel like the luckiest girl in the world!!

Through the course of my healing time I saw just how much my meditation practice served me in a time of need.   You don’t realize how much mind and heart training goes into a simple practice of sitting still.  It truly reprograms your reactions, your responses, and your outlook.  Having tasted states of equanimity so clearly from practice, it became the backbone of my state of being during the accident and right after, so I could make it through shock and pain.  Radical acceptance was necessary to acclimate to the situation.

I also took the time during my healing at home to practice energy medicine such as medical qi gong and Theta Healing.  This has become such a foundation for my own self-healing, that I do see being able to offer such things to patients in the near future. I am very excited about this and will definitely keep you all posted when this comes about. 

The Insightful, Calm, and Caring Year of the Yang Earth Dog

As we head in to the the Chinese New year of the yang earth dog of 2018 on February 16th, we are expecting a calm, stable completion of what was stirred up in previous fire rooster year.  A dog by nature is loyal and fair; honest communication is the foundation of this creature’s integrity. What you see is what you get.   With its strength in character and moral conviction, social justice will ring throughout the nation and those that stand up for such things will be heard.

Dogs are intelligent pack animals, so this is not necessarily the year to go out on your own.  Development of family and “man’s best friend,” are the ones who matter most.  Each pack also has an alpha male and alpha female, so those that fit this leadership bill will be the ones who stand out coupled with the notion of true service for the good of all.  A dog is a protector after all, so those that understand and value what is good for the pack will step into that alpha role.

We are also in what is considered a yang earth year, which alludes to the notion of being calm, strong and stable, like a mountain.  This energy is very slow moving, but sturdy.  Planning things out will be of great benefit and yield even more results throughout the year. People’s opinions could be a bit more stubborn, which could lead to conflict due to an eruption of convictions.  Aiming for peace would be the ultimate resolution. The challenge of this year will be setting healthy boundaries without putting up walls.  Living with and sensing some fear is common for a dog.   This will not be the year for fake news, faux-facebook friending, or bullies to have a field day.  People’s honesty and realness will be what builds trust.

Being a yang earth based year, we are more likely to see natural earth-like powerful shifts such as earthquakes and mudslides.  There is also a great likelihood of renewable energy sources to be on the rise, such as solar and wind.  The agricultural industry will take off and things related to the structural home and real estate. Anything green or of the environment will be in the limelight but this could also lead to territorial disputes. 

Romance and relationships are bound to be stable and strong.  A dog’s loyalty results in a wonderful joyous commitment, feeling the need for affection and touch from it’s mate.  Those who are single are more likely to meet a partner through their pack, so it may not be the best year for online dating.  Stick close to your friends for that special intro.

Body language will speak volumes, so stay grounded.  Take walks in nature to restore and align yourself with the energy in the air.  The earth element in Chinese medicine refers to the spleen, which has a lot to do with pancreatic and stomach function.  This could be the year we see more digestive issues, so keep a diet that is healthy and mild, no overeating or dampening foods such as dairy or excessive alcohol.   The emotions of the earth element when out of balance are ones of worry, rumination, and obsession; when in balance they are generous, loving, and care-giving while not jeopardizing ones own self-care.  Definitely a year to enhance your meditation practice for a stable happy mind.

Stick with your pack and share your resources with friends, family and coworkers.  Positive reenforcement will go along way, and those dogs around you will bound to be your new best friend.

Preserve your Energy this Winter

Seasonal change brings more than just a change in the landscape of the planet;  it changes our internal landscape as well.  Chinese medicine saw this to be true paying very close attention to how the elements affect us.  What season we are in becomes a great mirror for us to consider our activity level, our emotions, and what we should do with our physical bodies.  We are entering winter this month, the time of full yin.  The nights are long, the air is cool, and animals hibernate, this includes us!

Chinese medicine is based on the taoist principle of yin and yang which accounts for the duality we see in all of existence and the interconnectedness of all life.  This is represented by the yin yang symbol and as you can see each side has a little light in the dark or dark in the light.    Every concept you can think of in life is only available for distinction because there is an equal and opposite in nature.  You see  nighttime because you can also see daytime.  You know something is hard because you have had an experience of touching something soft. 

The yin aspect is represented by the feminine, the dark, intuition, the water element, and the winter season to name a few.  The kidneys are the organ system we want to nurture and pay attention to as well as its associated organ pair, the bladder and adrenal glands.  The kidneys are our main source of prenatal qi (or energy) and our jing (or reproductive essence).  This helps us rest, rejuvenate, and slow down the aging process.  The kidney health also contributes to the health our knees, low back and hearing.

The mammal instinct to hibernate during this season is spot on!  We should hope to emulate this activity by making decisions to not exceed our energy reserves; perhaps not go to that extra party and instead rest, eat nourishing soups and stews, cook with root vegetables or any other seasonal eats and take time reflect or retreat.  If we push ourselves too much this time of year, we as a human specious tend to get sick with colds and flus as well as tax our adrenal glands which help us adapt to the stresses of life.

Self-care can go beyond resting and eating and can engage with what nourishes your mind and heart such as acupuncture, meditation, bodywork, herbal remedies, qi gong, tai qi, which are all wonderful for cultivating qi for the kidneys.

Want to know a little background about the winter solstice?   Take a look at a previous blog article

Our Human Biology Lives According to the 5 Elements

Would you like to loose weight?  Have more energy so you can think clearer? Have better sleep?  Work out more efficiently? Feel balanced in your mood?  All of these things are possible if we begin to engage with our daily habits during the hours that the body is naturally inclined to practice them.  We can discover this timing from the ancient Chinese medicine Biological Clock.

We are creatures of habit.  This means that are bodies are built to operate habitually.  We are designed according to a circadian rhythm that operates over a 24 hour period.  Its a law of nature and the science behind this phenomenon was most recently awarded the Noble Prize in physiology and medicine.  The Chinese discovered this chronobiology long ago and actually spelled it out for us quite nicely.

As you can see in the mapped out chart, a lot of us may begin our day during the large Intestines time between 5-7 am.  This would be the body’s most ideal time to go to the bathroom followed by the stomach hours of 7-9 am, when we are most inclined to eat breakfast; the stomach during these hours knows to assimilate the food we eat, followed by the spleen hours 9-11am.  This Chinese spleen organ system is the best time of the day to use our brain and our muscles, so either a high amount of comprehension and memorization or one of the best times to exercise and lose weight while doing so.  In western medicine, they discovered that we have a cortisol rush at 8:00 am; this is our stress hormone that allows us to manage a lot of mental and physical stressors we subject ourselves to.  Right after this is the heart hours of 11am- 1pm, when the blood is circulating the most, the body is the warmest, and the sun is at its peak being the most yang time of day.

Moving into some of the evening hours, between 5-7 pm is the time of the kidneys; this means your reproductive essence and fertility is at its highest and would be a great time to engage in conceiving a child.  Being asleep between the gall bladder and liver hours of 11pm- 3 am is so incredibly ideal for our cellular repair, blood detoxification.  The hun, or etherial soul, is associated with the liver and is considered to be our consciousness. If we are in deep sleep during 1-3 am, our hun can return to its resting place in the liver, allowing for an easier mood, less stress, and living consciously during the day.  Also being asleep during the lung hours of 3-5 am is wonderful for detoxing and cleaning out our lungs while we sleep.  This is also when our immune systems are doing their best repair.

You might notice if you have a certain weakness or issue with a particular organ system, you are more likely to see symptoms during that time of day on the biological clock.  If you do notice repeated symptoms on an almost daily basis at the same time each day, tell your acupuncturist.  This is very useful information for your practitioner to know, so he or she may better treat you.

Earth Element Medicine Post Solar Eclipse

The beauty of Chinese medicine is how it sees the whole universe and everything in it as connected.  We are in essence a reflection of the cosmos around us.  When we fall into paying attention to the seasons as they change, we naturally change and our bodies, minds, and hearts follow suit without resistance.

Indian Summer is upon us late summer until autumn equinox, which resonates with the Earth Element of nature.  This is such a beautiful time for standing still, quieting down, and nurturing the Earth element inside of us by using the earth itself.  The air is bit humid as we experience it in some regions.  In the transition from the hot heat of summer to the coolness of fall, we are in the in-between yang and yin phases, which is a very balanced state to be in.  Yang is signified by the masculine summer sun, and Yin is represented in the feminine winter moon.  It is more than perfect in every way that we just experienced a total solar eclipse!  The conjoining of the sun and the moon hitting the earth, ushering in Indian Summer is so beautifully timed for all of us to enjoy and reap the benefits of a very balanced state of being.  We all will feel both our masculine and feminine sides equally in the drivers seat of our life.  This means our yang energy, our driving force to do, make order, provide structure is around just as much as our yin energy to rest, rely on intuition, and evoke creativity.  A very delicious place to be and so is the food coming out of the earth.  Our fruits and vegetables are at their ripest; our farmer’s markets are filled to the brim with a variety of delectable treats.  Feast on the harvest inside and out, retreat to home and heart, cook, relax, and slow down.  The more you slow down right now the more you will relish in the beauty of it all.  

Digestion

The Earth Element for the body has a lot to do with digestion, so eating healthy, whole foods is really the way to go.  The main organs that we work with right now are the stomach and Chinese spleen, more thought of as modern day pancreas.  So we want to eat just enough to nourish, but not too much to hinder digestion.  Remaining slow with all actions right now, including eating is the best thing you could do,  If there is too much heat in the body from summer, we might have acid reflux, stomach ulcers, indigestion, and problems with our stools.  Eating blander whole foods, cooked, yellow and orange in color can be very beneficial.

Emotions

In Chinese medicine we think our emotions are intertwined with our body, and there are certain feelings that correspond with an organ system.  When the spleen is taxed, we’ll have a propensity worry and ruminate at times to the point of obsessive thought patterns; when the spleen/stomach is healthy, we have a tendency to empathize and support others but not at the expense of our own health.  To keep the earth element emotion in us in check, meditation of all kinds is superb!  Staying with your own breath, your own body sensations, or a mantra is so beneficial for curbing worry and anxiety in its path.

If we were overdoing it this summer, or not getting enough sleep, we might tire easily, feel unmotivated, or have some of those digestive and emotional concerns bubble up.  The Earth element in the body manifests its essence in our muscles, so moving our body in healthy gentle ways will lift fatigue.  One could engage with yoga, qi gong, tai chi, or prana and breath practices to circulate the qi and move the blood.  All of this is wonderful to nourish the blood to prep immunity for the upcoming fall season. 

These Indian summer weeks really are time to reflect, stay still, and rejoice in all the new beginnings that are happening around us right now.  Empathize with others, but also empathize with yourself, really listen to the inner landscape, for its a reflection of the earth’s landscape.  Seeing more of the beauty around you is only possible if you can reflect on the beauty within.  This is all Earth Element medicine.  Listen for it, because it here as your guidance.

Does the Heart have a Brain?

Thinking with the heart and not the head could now be no longer considered merely a metaphor thanks to recent discoveries by modern neurocardiologists.  Neural cells make up 60%- 65% of the heart rather than muscle cells, as previously thought.  The axonic and dendritic connections of these cells called ganglia and the neurotransmitters between them mimic the neural links found in the brain.

This quite literally makes the heart an “emotional brain.”

As an exocrine gland, the heart secrets the hormone atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) affecting every part of the limbic system, the part of our body that processes emotion.  This quite literally makes the heart an “emotional brain.”  The ganglia in the heart have connections to every major organ in the body as well as our muscular system.  This could be why human emotion can be conveyed through expressive movement and dance or why a person’s stomach could feel tied up in knots with impeded digestion during times of great stress or emotional upheaval.

Heart ache is a sensation the body commonly feels when you’ve lost a loved one or ended a relationship.  The chest can literally ache as you feel a surge of emotional strife.  In the west we understand the brain and its limbic system to be the baring of bad feelings along with the perception of any other emotional state we might feel.  Western medicine has countless prescription drugs to numb the effects of certain emotional states that become unbearable for us.  Modern day psychologists see this as a course of treatment, attributing the reason for these high and low emotional states to be a chemical imbalance in the brain.

TCM does not look to the brain and it’s neurotransmitters as a method of diagnosis and treatment of psychological disturbances as seen in the West. Extreme states of anxiety, sadness, insomnia, and mania are all conditions of imbalances in the heart.   A state of anxiety, for example, could have a diagnosis of ‘heart fire.”  Traditional Chinese medicine sees the heart as the “king organ” of all emotions.  It houses what is known as a the shen.  Acupuncture treatments calm shen and correct imbalances either with the heart or what encases it, the pericardium.  From a mild state of anxiety to a more severe condition of schizophrenia, all look to not the brain, but the organ the heart and its Chinese meridian systems as a way to restore a patient’s emotional health.

Finding Gratitude During Challenging Times

I’ve been in those places, and I’m sure you have too: where your mood is not the best, things just don’t seem to be going right, some other challenging aspect of life is meeting you head on, and somehow the world around you appears to be a stressful, depressive one.  Being with all of that, you wonder how will I overcome it, change my mood, or find a smile on my face?

I’ve combed through many types of “feel good” strategies over the years: mediation, yoga, journaling, dance, exercise, alcohol, friends, books, talks, affirmations, prayer, travel, nature. You name it, and I’ve probably tried it in effort to quell the storm that sat inside my head.  The thing that kept coming back as a practice to feel ok again, maybe even joyful or blissful in some circumstances, was the practice of gratitude.

When my heart was hard, it softened.

When I worried much, it brought me back to the present.

When I was self- absorbed with my troubles, I opened up to all sentient beings around me.

It has been difficult in the past when my mood was down   to sit and force a sense of gratitude for things in my life. During these times, it can be challenging to find a connection with a compassionate heart that emerges from gratitude.  So I figured out something, instead of naming off in my head life scenarios related to work, home, relationships, and health, I meditated on something a bit more simplistic.  I tapped into gratitude for the senses that come with being human and the nature on this planet that has stood the test of time. This became a gateway back to the heart softening that felt so familiar from other gratitude practices I’ve experienced in the past.

I began finding gratitude for the parts of my body that are in good working order.  I was grateful for my skin that warms and protects my body; my mouth for being able to eat delicious foods; my eye sight for seeing the beauty of a redwood forest; my breath that supplies and connects me with the air that surrounds us; my legs that are able to take me to all sorts of places.  I began being grateful for the the plants, animals, oceans, lakes, and rivers that nourish us on this planet.

All of these simple things we often take for granted are always there for us.  Taking a moment to recognize their impact in the middle of a stormy life could very possibly bring a smile inside your heart.  Gratitude is not just for when we are feeling good.  It’s actually one of the most useful tools we have when life is difficult.