Let Nature be Your Teacher

Let Nature be Your Teacher

Come forth into the light of things;
Let Nature be your teacher
.….
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.

William Wordsworth

I am privileged, being able to spend time in Nature every day. Most people have to go to work and live in a city and it is not always easy to find time to go outside or green spaces to go to. However, look closely and you will find elements of the natural world all around. A patch of grass, shrubberies or a tree, perhaps even a park. In the smallest spaces you can find astonishing things: pebbles in the shape of hearts, wilted flowers looking like ballet dancers or seed pods making you think of beings from outer space.

Nature teaches me so many things and one of them is gratefulness. It’s an unimaginable privilege to live on this beautiful green planet and to have a body that allows me to experience all this beauty in a direct and profound way. Nature also teaches me patience: everything unfolds in its own time – weeks, months, years... Slowly, I learn to let go of my own wishes for how things “should” develop and to move through life with the ease of a sunlit blade of grass.

Meditation Advice

AA said: Ah perfekt! Monkey Mind ist genau mein Zustand heute. Eigentlich ist heute YogaTag und ich der würde mir gut tun, aber ich muß dringend arbeiten, drum gehe ich Mittwoch zum Yoga und mache heute die schöne, von Dir vorgeschlagene, Meditation! Danke dafür, Sabina!

Meditation Advice

When you meditate, let your awareness be seated in the tender warmth you feel in your body.

Tara Brach

Many people find it difficult to meditate. Not only because it requires sitting still for a longer time than we’re used to, but most of all because it’s so hard to relax the “monkey mind”. That’s what Buddhists call our busy minds, jumping from one thought to another; wandering, planning, or worrying. In meditation, we want to drop thinking and focus on awareness itself.

If you find it too hard to sit still you can always practice walking meditation and if the monkey mind is your challenge there are ways to calm it down. You can focus on a mantra (a syllable, word, or phrase that is repeated during meditation), on a mandala (a spiritual and ritual symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, representing the universe), or on your breath, repeatedly counting to ten in your mind.

I normally use another technique: I focus on my body. Here, you can either do a body scan, “feeling through” the different parts of your body from feet to head, or concentrate on the vibrating energy in your whole body. This is where Tara Brach’s quote comes in. When I’ve been sitting for 20 minutes following the tender warmth flowing through my body, I completely inhabit my body. I feel refreshed, grounded and – very much alive.

Develop Your Gift

Develop Your Gift

Everyone has a gift. It is important to develop it because it saves us in situations that are difficult to manage. It will help us to go through painful situations without identifying with them.

Anne Ducrocq

It can take a lifetime to find out what Your Gift is, but it is worth the searching and trying.

My special gift lived a life in the shadows for decades, but finally I gave it the space it deserves and that has enriched my life so much. Writing gives me access to the deepest parts of myself – directly or indirectly. It makes me whole.

However, there is more to gain… One huge advantage of discovering your gift is, just like Ducrocq writes, that it helps you to deal with difficult situations without losing yourself in their grey mist. When stuck in darkness, turn to your gift. Try to let go of your worries, and lose yourself in a creative process.

Whether you paint, write, make pottery, go fishing, or play an instrument – when fully immerged into an activity that allows you to express your innermost core a profound healing is taking place. Fresh air enters your soul, things fall into place, painful thoughts suddenly seem less important – or dissolve completely.

If you have not already discovered or developed Your Gift – promise to take some steps, however small, this week in that direction.

Lovely Days

AA wrote: So needed. 🌞🌞🌞🌞🌼

BB wrote: Hallo Sabina, danke für die aufmunternden worte :)

Lovely Days

Lovely days don't come to you; you should walk to them.

                                 Rumi

Wake up in the morning with a smile.Decide to make the very best of this day!Imagine beautiful memories you can create today, for yourself and/or for others.Stretch pleasurably like a cat, slowly get up and open your window to the world.Walk towards a very special, lovely day.