How to Train a Wild Elephant — Week 2
A warm hug to each of you on Mindfulness Meditation Monday. It is my intention to send out good vibes in the universe as often as I can. It’s a difficult time (again!) globally, and we need each other’s positive frequencies to build our collective resilience to traverse this time together.
This morning, layered on top of today’s COVID-19 update, I watched the news of yesterday’s Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. My attention became focused on one scene where mobs of civilians—with little children—were running to the airport in an effort to flee. My first feeling was sadness, followed immediately by empathy. I could feel the weight of both emotions in my heart and body. While I know I cannot get up and fly to Afghanistan to help out, what I can do is send compassionate and loving thoughts from my heart to those victims. Each one of us has that power. In order to tap into it, though, we have to free up some space from daily busyness and chaos.
This is where my mindfulness practice has served me so well. It has taught me to observe and manage my internal response to the various thoughts and emotions that arise in the speed of my life. It has helped me put on the brakes, slow down, be present, and zoom out of the chaos of my own mind when life happens with family or work. The side effect of this has been more laughter, lightheartedness, and happiness in this one life I have to live.
My intention with Mindfulness Meditation Monday is to support you in doing the same in creative, fun ways. For those of you who attended last week’s MMM, I hope your practice of using your nondominant hand in certain daily tasks was interesting and presence-infusing. If you didn’t attend last week, you can access the session here. If you don’t have the time for it, don’t worry, you’ll catch the recap tonight before I roll out the new practice for the upcoming week. Each practice stands alone and yet is connected to the thread of mindfulness practices. You’ll never feel like you are not with the group.
The book that I’m recommending for this 8-week series of Mindfulness in Daily Activities is How to Train a Wild Elephant by Jan Chozen Bays.
This week’s practice is going to be fun and challenging! It is a session that you’ll want to bribe your kids to join! I’ll be signed on 10 minutes before class (7:50pm) so that I can make some extra time for your shares. We will start and end the session at the usual time though.
See you tonight!
Please register here:Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMuc-iopzwpHtVLy9a7WxdQPp5MIJvBqPOP When: August 16th, 2021 08:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
For FREE access to weekly Mindfulness Meditation Monday sessions:
https://courses.toolsofgrowth.com
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