When you feel distraught, take a moment, bring your awareness to your heart and breathe. Let your breath soothe you.
When you feel unsettled, ground yourself by walking barefoot on the Earth, or hugging a tree and come home to nature. Let the sights and sounds, the smells of nature calm you.
When you feel ungrounded, come home to your roots. Plug yourself into Earth energy by hugging a tree or imagining your energetic roots sinking deeply into the Earth.
When you feel exhausted, rest awhile and come home to your inner spirit, the part of you that never tires, that lasts forever, that will never lead you wrong.
When you are worried or anxious, come home to this present moment of your life. Release regrets for the past and worries for the future for several beats of your heart and feel the peace as you breathe in and out.
Come home to your heart and body, to the present moment. In this way, you will live a true and authentic life.
Dear reader, this post is from the archives of AskGCW.
Can you allow yourself an hour or two of contentment each day? If that seems like a tall order, how about 15 minutes?
A few minutes, an hour or two of simply feeling at peace with your life, letting go of wanting something you don’t have, letting go of striving for the next goal, letting go of pushing ahead, letting go of forcing things to happen, will bring a refreshing new serenity to your life.
Grandmother Cottonwood
The energy frequency of contentment ripples through the web of life bringing more peace to all living beings on this earth.
Contentment is living in the moment. It is bringing your awareness to the here and now and knowing that life is good, that you have everything you need for this hour, that in this moment and the next and next, all is well.
For this hour of contentment, there is nowhere you have to go, no one you have to meet, nothing you have to do unless it contributes to your happiness.
When you know contentment, your body
mind and spirit feel calm, relaxed, and satisfied. Can you give
yourself this precious gift?
When fear in your body feels too much, when the voices of doom and gloom and ugly rants on the news on social media get you down, when you can’t settle, when your head is filled with anxiety, go outside if you can.
You will feel more clarity and greater calm when you go outside without your shiny device, your ear buds, your blinking object.
If it is not safe to go outside, to breathe the air, imagine yourself in your favorite spot in nature. Use your inner vision to go to a place you love and feel completely safe and comfortable.
Move in comforting ways, walk slow or fast, swing your arms, breathe in the fresh air, move through the shifting shade under old and friendly trees, notice the sights sound smells and the feel of your chosen place on this Earth.
Summer grasses
Let your awareness reside in your heart, your body, your senses. Let thoughts from your logical mind and the demands of your ego float in and out like clouds, knowing they are not reality. Do not give them any power by clutching or grasping onto them.
Notice the colors of your world, the flow of the creek or river, the animals and birds, the plant life, the clouds, sky patterns, tree growth, the blooming flowers.
Feel your feet meeting Mother Earth. Feel her support of you. Feel your lungs filling and emptying as your chest rises and falls. Feel the movement of your limbs swinging in rhythm.
Feel the energy of fear leaving your being with each out breath. Feel anxiety melting away as you hug and lean on a friendly tree, letting the tree with deep roots support your weight and connect your heart to the heart of the Earth.
GCW in fall
Let the weight of your worries drain away into the earth for this moment. Mother Earth will neutralize the energy of excess fear, anxiety, and dread.
You may be absorbing unpleasant emotional energy from the collective mind, from other people and groups. Let it go! Let it drain away into the Earth. It is not yours to carry.
When you can get out of your head and spend time in nature, you can rediscover peace.
Please do not cling to the past with all its delights and pleasures. Remember them fondly. Your job is to create new delights and pleasures in your now and be fully present as they unfold.
Step into your now! This is where your power lies!
Painted Lady butterfly on zinnia
You have come this far in life, balancing on the knife edge of each moment as it comes, lasts, passes into the next and the next.
Remember this: Worry keeps you distracted from your present. Fear of the future keeps you powerless to make needed changes to your life. Guilt keeps you stuck in the past.
Take pleasure in your now. Pay attention: masses of sun colored daylilies, a dramatic sky, your life giving breath as you inhale and exhale, your feet supporting your body so beautifully, your arms swinging in rhythm as you walk, shifting patterns of leafy shade on the grass, the summer landscape…an evening thunder storm…
Wild Lobelia
Make the most of your precious time, your precious life, your present moments. Live them fully!
Do you hang onto “how things used to be”? The “better” life that was, the simpler times, the happy days. Do you long for what you think of as your “glory years”?
My glory days were those sweet summer days that went on forever, when I stood tall, towering over the sweet earth, my green and silver leaves shimmering in the breeze, shading and sheltering all beings who ventured past, accepting tree hugs from walkers and hikers…
GCW in summer
But now, I exist in a new reality. Those days are past and I am learning to let go of the life that was and embrace what is. I will never forget, but I must move on with grace.
GCW stump with painted friend, the Lorax
Do you long for days past when your parents and grandparents sang in the twilight as the fireflies came out? You have these and thousands of good memories stored like a library of movie disks in your mind.
You can pull up the pictures, the memories and remember with fondness your grandparents home, the petunias in the window box, the pot belly stove in winter, the fragrance of lilacs, the soft fur of your tiny kitten… you can bring up any picture or feeling that brings you joy and happiness.
But when remembering turns to longing for a time that is no more and living in the past, it will keep you from creating beautiful moments in the here and now. It will distract you from your present moments that are to be lived fully, savored, and treasured.
Turn toward the true power of your life – your intention and action in the present moment. You thrive when living fully absorbed in this moment and the next and the next. These often mundane moments are your true life!
Embrace your reality, the truth of your present moment. And live fully!
Just be, for a moment or an hour, like a child without a care, living in grace, enjoying all that life has to offer your senses and your heart.
Lie on the earth, soaking in her familiar healing energy. See the petals fall like snow flakes from spent wildflowers. Look up into the layered treetops. Above and beyond them the circling birds of prey riding the updrafts.
Watch the clouds drift and shift and assume fanciful shapes, then morph into something new. Watch the treetops sway and dance, hear the leaves whisper, watch the dappled shade dance across the green grass, tiny colorful birds visiting, feeding, bathing, taking flight.
In this moment you judge nothing; you fear nothing. You have no worries, no doubts, no distractions, no need to hurry. You exist in the divine grace of this moment and the next and the next.
For this moment you have no agenda. You soak in life, absorb the vibrations of nature, understanding your oneness with All- That- Is. For this moment, this hour, your being has no need of words.
Let yourself relax into this pure silence and pure grace of this moment, merging with all that is.
In this way you rediscover the heart of your inner child.
Dear ones, you are needed on this planet now living up to your full light and power, owning and practicing your skills and sharing your talents, at your best in body mind and spirit.
If you feel dull, diminished, small, take one step toward your health and well-being today. Don’t overthink or complicate things. Start small. Start at the beginning.
Message from GCW
Change one thought. Consciously bring in a new thought that is in harmony with you and your desires in life. Little by little, day by day, new more hopeful thoughts will begin to create a lighter and more positive background to your life.
Do one physical stretch or movement or short walk that will remind your body that you are alive. Let your body move in ways that feel good to you. There is no need to break a sweat or call it a workout.
Take one mindful breath. Inhale and exhale. Pay attention to what you are feeling in your body during this breath. If you want to, take a second mindful breath.
When you are alone, let yourself feel an emotion. Name it. Notice where it shows up in your body, how it changes and moves as you pay attention to it. Let it go on an out-breath by doing safe physical movements, making sounds or vocalizing words in your private space.
Do one simple thing each day to strengthen yourself, to feel better.
Do you feel stuck with no escape, ungrounded and flighty? Are old addictions coming back to haunt you during the pandemic and the times of social distancing and isolation?
I offer another way to calm and soothe yourself in times of high anxiety.
Find a quiet and calm space and get comfortable. Take a few deep breaths to settle yourself. Now bring your awareness from your monkey mind with its whirring machinery of worry and fear, its endless capacity for self argument, the unkind inner critic, the constant mindless chatter, the never ending ego complaints to thepeace of your heart.
Tune into the gentle beat, the quiet rhythm. You might be able to feel your pulse by gently placing a hand on your neck right below where the ear and jaw meet.
Now hold your heart with both palms on the center of your chest. Imagine that you can breathe through your heart. Feel the exhalation, the emptying. Imagine the breath flowing from your heart, releasing the stale worries, the old thoughts that bring you down, spent energy you are ready to let go of.
Now as your lungs fill, know that you are bringing in fresh new air, new energy, new possibilities to your heart, the seat and center of your life.
Tune into the steadiness the cadence of your heartbeat that’s been with you since before your birth. Even before your heart began to beat, you knew your mother’s heartbeat, and before her birth she knew her mother’s heartbeat, the underlying rhythm, the legacy of life.
Trust that right now as your heart beats you are alive. You are safe. You belong here.
Can you go outside right now?Let thesounds of nature calm you- birdsong, breeze through evergreens, squirrels chuffing chattering and chewing on last fall’s nuts, water rushing downstream…
Red squirrel
Let the sights of nature bring you joy – sunlight pooling and dancing on the earth, trees casting long undulating shadows, spring blooms bursting out, green and red shoots poking out of the ground, birds flashing in and out of the underbrush, red and rust colored cardinals, bluejays goldfinches, robins sparrows, butterflies, moths, bees…
Let the smells and fragrances of new grass, fresh cut greenery, flowering spring bulbs, decaying leaves, tender soft green leaves, a sudden spring rain shower lift your spirits.
Be mindful of the feel of rough tree bark, soft feathers, tender new growth, the textured stems of shrubs, smooth or rough stones. If you can, put your hand in a clear stream, and gently stir and move the cool water. Feel the solid earth beneath your body, under your feet.
Let the tastes of simple foods that come from the earth nourish your body and bring you satisfaction – the sharp and rooty onions, peppery radishes, sweet sugary pea sprouts, the earthy potatoes and other root vegetables, the subtle lettuce, chewy chard… Savor and enjoy these everyday pleasures.
Must you stay inside right now? Find natural objects in your home or have a loved one find something nearby that will infuse your space with energy of nature.
Shells, plants, growing sprouts and herbs, photos and paintings of trees, landscapes, specimens of tree bark, flowering branches, stones of all shapes & colors – stack them up – sand in a bottle, potted bulbs, beautiful wooden carvings and objects, a small terrarium.
Arrange and display these things you’ve collected over the years, touch and enjoy them again, use them in new ways that will spark your creativity. Connect with these objects and precious living things that hold the energy of your true home, mother Earth.
Ask Grandmother Cottonwood 