Be Mindful

For "M" I will discuss being mindful. I think that being Mindful is one of the most important things we can do in life. Being Mindful is just being aware, with no judgement of what is. Living in the moment. How often do you live in the moment. I know that most times we are really only in the moment in times of meditation. While I am a huge proponent of meditation and I believe that it should be done everyday, I think that we need to learn how to take this meditation with us.
Many people say that meditation is difficult and clearing the mind is too hard. But being mindful can put you in a state of meditation and can be done throughout the day. We need to escape the notion that meditation must be done in a seated position in a quiet room. Yes, this is one way to do it, and a very nice way that I enjoy doing it. But being mindful is so much more.
Being Mindful is looking at the world with new fresh eyes. Take a moment now, look around like you have never been in this room before. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell? Does it feel different than it did when you started? Too often we get so used to our surroundings that everything becomes wallpaper... we don't even notice things anymore.

My favorite way to remind myself to be mindful... and a great way to introduce yourself to meditation.... or to get in some meditation time if you are short on time... is in the shower. While you are in the shower become completely present in the moment. Don't rush through. Don't be on autopilot. Feel the water hit your skin. Note the temperature. Listen to the water hit the shower walls and floor. Smell the scents of your shampoos and soaps. Does your shower feel different. Does time seem to slow down. How about your breathing? Did it slow down too? This is what being mindful can do for you. This is how our bodies and minds are meant to live. Not focused on the past or the future, but in the moment.

I welcome comments!

Gratitude

Happy Friday! It's time for my Pagan Blog Project post for the week. This is the first G week. So I have decided to write about Gratitude. Gratitude is a very important part of my spiritual practice and daily life.

There are times when I look at my children and think they feel entitled and spoiled. Of course this is more a reflection of changes I need to make in parenting than in their personality. But it serves as a good reminder that if my children are not expressing gratitude, then am *I* expressing it enough openly in front of them.

Every morning I say my devotionals. This includes my morning prayer to the Divine, my affirmation of spirituality, my consecration affirmation, a prayer to Goddess, my daily positive affirmations that target my biggest fears, and my gratitude prayer. My gratitude prayer is simple:

"I am grateful this day for all that I have
I am blessed with what is mine
I am thankful for my health
my family
my home
I am grateful for all of this abundance in my life.
Blessed Be."

While this prayer is short and general, I also make an attempt to find specific things to be grateful for throughout the day. It's funny before I really dedicated myself to my path, I would think I should only be grateful for big meaningful things. That if I were grateful for something like my sense of taste so that I can enjoy chocolate that was "silly" or "trivial". Or if I were grateful for the nice things I had that I was selfish and materialistic. If I was ever trying to make a list of what I was grateful for it was like pulling teeth. I was somehow searching for the "right" answers. That if I put certain things on my list it wasn't good enough, so my list was always very short. And it looked like something a Pageant contestant would write: "I am grateful for the sun because it is something that everyone can enjoy".   I felt that I needed to be grateful for important things and only things that had positive connotations.

However, since really living my path I realized I had been so totally missing the point of gratitude. The point I had been trying to teach my children, and I had not grasped fully yet. The most important part of gratitude *is* to be grateful for the "silly, trivial" things. I also realized that being grateful for materialistic things did not make me selfish, but made me less so. Learning to be grateful for what you have and seeing gratitude in the littlest things is what it is all about. That is where the happiness lies. So now, my list is too long, but I will list some here:

I am grateful for:
the air for the life it gives, for breeze that cools me on a hot day
my lungs to breathe the air
The rain for the flowers it waters, the smell it gives the world, and the ability to dance it it
the earth for sustaining life, for its beauty and peace
fire for making room for new life, for cooking my food, and warming me when I am cold
for my sight so that I may see all of the colors and beauty of the world
for my hearing so that I may hear laughter and singing
for my taste so I may taste all of the amazing flavors
for my touch so that I may give and receive hugs from my children
for my sense of smell so that I may stop and smell the flowers, and candles and rain
for my speech for giving me a voice and the ability to express myself
for my heart for being able to give and receive love so openly, and for sustaining my life by keeping the blood flowing
for my tears for giving me a way to express emotions
for high heels
for my pain for teaching me how to be stronger
for my disappointments for teaching me how to let go
for my sadness for giving me the ability to empathize with others, and to understand human emotions.
for living in a time and place where I am able to write this blog
for toilet paper
that I found love
that my disease is in remission
for birds singing out my window
for my ancestors
for Goddess and God.... their love for me and mine for them
for ..... everything

You see I am grateful for everything now. I have no regrets in my life. Don't get me wrong, I have made some epically bad decisions in my life and would not encourage others to make the same ones. However, those choices made me who I am. They guided me on my journey to get here. And I love who I am and where I am at. I am grateful for all of those poor decisions. I am grateful that I have learned how to truly be grateful.

What are you grateful for?

I welcome all comments!