How did you use mindfulness today?

[Changing4Best]

I wish I had! I might be sleeping now instead of being wide awake. I guess it is never too late....

 

[ms spock]

I challenged my thinking. I continuously challenged my thinking.

 

[Changing4Best]

I didn't today, because I did not feel the need to. I know I will need to tomorrow though! (And I will).

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

A bear cub was somehow injured and its final resting place was right next to our mailbox (talk about the message of the animals being directly delivered, ay?). There were no visible injuries/blood/or signs of automobile parts/pieces in the area. I gathered wild flowers, sage, and a palo santo stick and sat with it for a while, honoring its presence and its passing.

The day before that happened, I had been gifted two more feathers that I found in our yard and garden, one from a red-tailed hawk and one from a crow. Powerful stuff, in my world.

Being mindful of all the life/death that surrounds and how each of my choices effects each keeps me in a space of continual gratitude that helps center and ground me when I fall into the deep dark ditches of the other spaces that actively wear my energies down.

 

[ms spock]

I snuggled and got human contact.

 

[SeedMan]

A bear cub was somehow injured and its final resting place was right next to our mailbox (tal...

How lovingly l it was for you to honor the bear cub as you did. Even though I'm a Euro, when I see a crow, I've gotten into the habit of saying to it "Hello, crow chief. How are you?" As I'm starting to learn Chinuk Wawa, the trade language of native people in the Pacific Northwest of North America, it comes out, "Klahowya, kaw-kaw tyee. Khota maika?" (I sure hope I got the grammar correct.) Such connections to the Earth really help me become mindful. Thank you for sharing your experience. Reading it has encouraged me a lot.

 

[Teasel]

I meditated. Not done so for a whole. Fell off the self care routine. Ouch.

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, @SeedMan . Ironically, I've since laid to rest two crows I've found in the yard.

The first one I found the night of the full moon, on Friday. I hadn't planned to build a fire in the pit that night, but the notion hit me right before dark to have one and set some clear intentions. As soon as I walked out to the wood pile, I spotted the crow next to it and he/she had already passed. I grabbed my gloves and took it to a final resting space and honored its presence and passing, too.

The next day, I was mowing and was startled by a crow that flew out of the garden, but it didn't seem like it could fly very well, so I went over to where I thought I saw it land, but couldn't find it. Later on, as I was riding by the compost bin, I noticed movement and saw it was the crow, so parked the mower and went back to check on it. It looked like it was nesting, wouldn't attempt to leave no matter how close I got, was still alive and looking around and such....but when the other crows called, it didn't respond, but would look in that direction.

I grabbed my sage stick and did a smudging ceremony with him/her, told it about its friend/family/partner I laid to rest the day before, expressed sympathy for the loss, etc. I also called the wild life center for help and planned to take it in to them, but it was after hours and they never returned my call. The next day, it had passed, too, so I took it to be with the other. If I find another, I'll be inquiring a bit deeper (as suggested by the center who called back the next day) to see what's in the area that's taking them out. My intuition says it was simply their time, but time will tell.

Moments like that used to freak me out as I was always taught to fear the unknown, regardless of what it was, on top of having major fers instilled by the actions of others. But I had also only been taught to honor the lives of animals we as humans domesticated rather than appreciating all forms of life that surrounds us daily. I much prefer the mind and heart space I currently reside in, thanks to many hard-learned lessons, although it brings about many moments of heart wrenching sorrow that can sometimes overwhelm.

 

[Abstract]

I noticed and accepted my physical pain and noticed and tried to accept my emotions. Wrapped myself in my blanket and noticed the sensations. Noted my thoughts and emotions.

 

[Justmehere]

I counted the mosquitos. Calming instead of irritating.

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

Upon waking, I did a few stretches and practiced deep diaphragmatic breathing while still in bed, said kind things and sang "You Are So Beautiful" to myself in the mirror as I scraped my tongue, brushed my teeth, washed my face, and combed my hair, took my first quart of water outside to drink, along with my spritzer bottle full of water to cool me down, and soaked up 20 minutes worth of direct sunlight, and began giving thanks for all the bodily functions from head to toe that happen all day every day without needing any prompting from my monkey mind. That helped the morning along rather nicely, now, let's see what we can do to get through the rest of the day/night.

 

[bhm]

Realized I had to obtain sobriety again so meditated on that extensively while breathing, then did some meridian tapping, then did some more breathing, then went and actually bought some groceries instead of booze and cooked, I love cooking and find it really grounding when I'm off, the texture of the things I'm cutting, the smells from the spices, the reward of eating a decent meal, today I'm going back to morning meditation and grounding group.