Inner Awakening with Spring

Hello Friends, and welcome April, in all its soggy and blooming glory!

I love how this month illustrates such a duality for us; an awakening and renewal all around us, as well as a lingering reminder of winter’s hold (we woke up to slushy driveways this morning here in Upstate New York).

And isn’t that true for all things? There will always be duality, and if we aren’t paying attention, it can really surprise and confuse us.

These lyrics from the song A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum* always give me pause and reflection on duality:

And although my eyes were open They might just as well have been closed

Friends, what those 13 well strung words express is how most of us are walking through our days; eyes open yet robotic and reactive. 

Our eyes might be open, but we are actually asleep to the potential and magic of our moment-to-moment experience, and all the sides and facets of what the moment is offering us.

And it’s making the majority of us feeling miserable, overwhelmed and hope deficient. 

But wait! Could the fresh and glorious curiosities of Spring inspire you to wake up a little too?

If I may, here are some suggestions for a great inner awakening for you:

Prioritize the ascension of your human brain, an inner awakening

Hear me out, our incomparable human brain is "totally over" being glued to a screen.

Trust me, your brain wants to spend so much more time offline being creative, problem solving, writing, reading a real book, or just staring at a candle flame.

Your brain won't admit this right away, but it actually wants to be a little uncomfortable while you stick with a hard thing without reaching for a solution in the digital world.

It's time you put your brain back on it's throne.

If you need help, email me and I’ll help you mindfully tame your tech. 

Spend more time in nature, unplugged, just BEING 

Sure, anytime spent in nature is time well spent, but what would it feel like to head into the woods without an objective.

You might think you need to bring your phone, but you probably don’t really need it. You also don’t need to photograph or document the experience, just BE there engaging your available senses. Nature will do the rest of the work and she will never disappoint. 

You can start small. Next time you are outside, take a deep breath and then simply follow a bird's flight pattern with your gaze. That's it.

If you'd like, check out ↓ this Nature-Based Mindfulness professional development I offered educators a while back for some of the fun science of it.

Participate in more embodied experiences with friends and neighbors

• Don’t just text a friend, call them. Your brain would love to hear their voice

• Instead of clicking through a grocery store order and picking it up, what about allowing yourself some time to stroll the aisle and discover some new delicacies (or even try a NEW grocer!)

• Go enjoy the arts; live music, art galleries and performances shoulder to shoulder with other humans

• Carry a deck of cards with you and break it out often. My young family enjoys the connection and competitive nature of a round table game of Palace.

You see friends, if we continue to do things the same way, and stay asleep to the possibility of the emerging new reality in each moment - - we will continue to feel the same. The winds and waves of life (in their fierce and reliable duality) will continue to rock and toss us.

An awakening and blossoming is available to you at any moment (not just in partnership with April). And this, my sweet friends, is a what a mindful journey is. Perhaps not easy, but unquestionably worth the effort.

I'm here for you if you'd like help stepping onto the path.

*Super fun fact: the melody of Whiter Shade of Pale has some deep artistic influence, namely, Johann Sebastian Bach's Air on a G String -- goodness, art is powerful.

Mindfulness in Nature