Posts by Pat:
the longest night of the year
Today’s the winter solstice for our northern hemisphere: the shortest day of the year and longest night of the year!
The darkness of the winter solstice is a great time to go within and reflect on who we are becoming, our essence, and our trajectory.
We are reminded to let go of beliefs, images, expectations, and assumptions so that we can see & know life‐as‐it‐is. The lesson can 
be one of subtraction.
Sometimes we have to go through the brooding and the melancholy to find the sweet stuff. So let’s enjoy this gift of time to reflect.
Can you? Will you?
Be still.
This is a favorite meditation I’ve used many times. Based on the potent phrase from Psalm 46 it takes us step by step into ourselves.
The first step is:
Be still and know that I am God.
Here we become aware of our inner image of God. Whether we believe in God or not, look closely. An image of God/Spirit/Presence/Life Force is there.
And, it can obscure our experience of “life‐as‐it‐is”. It is just an image that we have accepted. We can let it go.
The second step is:
Be still and know.
As we let go of our beliefs and images, we become aware of a level of awareness called “witness consciousness.”
Our witness consciousness observes our thoughts, emotions, and experiences. There is a tremendous sense of freedom that comes as our consciousness shifts from being enmeshed in the “stuff” to witnessing it.
But as liberating as this revelation is, even our witness must be let go.
The third step is:
Be still.
Next we enter the cessation of all the stuff in our mind. Even our subtle pattern of being the witness dissolves.
And then there is only life: the dynamic stillness that is breathing us all.
We experience the pulsing of this dynamic stillness as the rhythm of breath in the body.
And yet there’s one more step.
The fourth step is:
Be.
In this step we return to our everyday life-to our personality, our work and relationships. With an emphasis in the ordinary activities of our lives, we can now focus more on “being” rather than on “doing.”
The concept of just being does involve subtraction and letting go of the confusion and the distractions ( and all our “stuff”) until we become peaceful and tranquil.
What an opportunity this time of year gives us as we move into the longer days!
You might like to try this meditation and see what comes up for you!
Be Still…
Can we? Will we?
Can you? Will you?
P.S. This was week 3 of my accountability practice for taking 20 minutes 5 times a week to just “slow down” and set aside my “busyness.” Today’s meditation was a great help! and I did 6 days! See www.WisdomEnough.com/can-we-use-these-next-4-weeks/
Are you focused on G.I.F.T.S ?
The holiday season provides us with the all important reminder to reflect on all that is truly important in our lives. To get the most out of this holiday season, we can turn our attention towards G.I.F.T.S. G for Giving: We may all have hit the shopping sales to purchase gifts. However, the “gift” […]
What do YOU want for Christmas?
You can take a deep breath, lower your shoulders away from your ears, and relax for a few minutes!
The brief quiz I found online is below and can help you decide what you really want-it helped me!
So take a few minutes to:
- read the following ten statements,
- cross off those unimportance to you,
- and add any important ones not included.*
*See P.S. for what I added and subtracted!
Decide which of these values is most important to you with a “1” beside that sentence. Then assign each of the other statements a different number in your personal order of priority.
Once you have identified which values are most important to you, it will be easier to choose activities that allow you to celebrate the rest of the holidays in a more joyful, loving, and meaningful way.
QUIZ SENTENCES
Christmas is a time to:
- ____Be a peacemaker.
- ____Enjoy being with my immediate family.
- ____Create a beautiful home environment.
- ____Celebrate the birth of Christ.
- ____Exchange gifts with my family and friends.
- ____Attend parties, entertain, and visit friends.
- ____Help those who are less fortunate.
- ____Strengthen bonds with my relatives.
- ____Strengthen my spiritual community.
- ____Have a good time.
Most of us know that the values we hold dear are sometimes lost in the confusion and busyness of the season.
And we regret it once we realize it. But sometimes it’s difficult to become aware!
So do you have any “triggers” that will aid you in remembering?
(such as just before eating, getting into the car, washing your hands, etc.)
How many times a day do you think you might want to remind yourself?
Is there value for you in unplugging your Christmas machine?
Have you identified which values resonate the most strongly with you?
By reminding ourselves of what matters most to us, we will find it easier to put our thoughts, feelings, and actions into alignment with those values.
And I believe that is what we really want-thoughts, feelings, and actions that mirror the best of us.
What value resonated the most with you for this season?
P.S. I added “experiencing gratitude for all that I have and am.” And I subtracted “attend parties, entertain, and visit friends.”
P.P.S. Last week I said I’d post each week in December, my success(+/-) at keeping my 5 daily 20-minute-timeout sessions to slow down and let go of “doing” for the week. See www.WisdomEnough.com/can-we-use-these-next-4-weeks/
Starting on this last Sunday, I did 6 sessions! (So glad I didn’t say every day!)
Can we use these next 4 weeks?
December is a somewhat crazy month! A month of highs and lows, stress and relaxation, endings and beginnings. And, we can make it even crazier and do something life-changing. So here’s an idea that we can wrap up as a gift certificate to give ourselves an early Christmas present! “You have hereby received, from […]
Are you grateful?
It’s always fun to choose new quotes to share each month. And I always enjoy the ones you share with me! Here are my November choices, with a focus on gratitude and thankfulness! Maybe one of them would be good for your screensaver? And, it can be both the big and the small things that matter! […]
Are You a 200-watt Bulb or a Nightlight?
Whatever your reasons for being a bright or dim light, it is still a choice you make. (As I do as well!) Each of us can be “the light of the world.” We are enlightened beings; we have much wisdom, insight, joy, compassion and love that we can shower on others, blessing them. I believe […]
Change is in the air!
In our highly technological environment today, it is easy to miss the natural cycle changes in nature. For regardless of nature’s obvious cycles, we have created a lifestyle that allows us to play and work without being aware of them. Yet our bodies’ clocks still know deep down that a change of season means a change […]
Where would you rather have your hour?
If you suddenly had an extra hour in your day, where would you rather have the hour? At the end of the day, or at the start of the day? I’ve found that the hour of 6:00-7:00am looks very different from the hour of 11:00-midnight! And how would you use it? Do you just “sleep […]
Calling all bookworms!
WHO KNEW?! Contrary to what is often reported in the mainstream media, books are not dead. But they do have to contend for their existence against all other forms of media! And, perhaps, it’s readers that are disappearing, not the books! So…here’s some of my favorite images about my favorite pastime-reading! Let me know what […]
Inertia? Idleness? Listlessness?
Are these three words the same as the “lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” from the Wizard of Oz? I hope they’re not going to be my own personal demons! I do like Garfield’s explanation better! No, it is physics! (Isn’t it?) The dictionary defines inertia as: lack of movement or activity especially when movement […]