Who Are You?

AA said: Pour une fois, je ne suis pas en accord total avec ce que tu écris. On pourra en parler. Payer attention à l’autre - avec ou sans questions - me semble fondamental, encore plus dans une époque où chacun-e s’intéresse tellement à lui ou elle-même et si peu à l’autre en profondeur. Personnellement, j’aime l’attention que l’autre me porte quand je la sens réelle mais c’est rare. 

Je comprends - je crois- ce que tu écris « porter attention à ce qui se passe dans notre vie » et pour moi, cela passe aussi beaucoup par l’attention que je vais porter à l’autre qui passe dans ma vie. 

BB said: Please dare! 

CC said: Nice! 🎈Will we ever dare? Have a beautiful start of the week.

DD said: Your newsletter resonated with me.. Yes, we really should dare!!

Who Are You?

We are but one thing: our capacity of paying attention.
 Jeanne Guesné

When people want to know who I am, I would love to answer with Jeanne Guesné’s words: “I am my capacity of paying attention”. To me, that is not only a good description of a human being, but it is also a goal I strive for: learning to pay closer attention to what happens in my life.

What’s the meaning of telling people what work I used to do, how many children I have or what country I was born in? What does such information actually say about me as a person?

It’s a social convention to ask people who they are and probably most people like to talk about things they’ve achieved and the position they hold in society. Afterwards they will be referred to “the bald lawyer from Madrid” or something similar.

Answering the question with “I am my capacity of paying attention”, or - with Stephen Bachelor’s words - “I am like an unfolding narrative”, seems more adequate to me, even if it may destabilize the other person. Will I ever dare?

Your Thoughts and Actions Affect the World

AA wrote: Fake it till you make it! J’adore! Ce sera MA phrase de la semaine et peut-être de l’année !  Merci Sabina, j’ai toujours du plaisir à te lire même si je ne t’écris pas à chaque fois ! 😉🙏

BB wrote: je suis d’accord avec tout ce qui est dit, cependant j’ai encore besoin de quelques vie pour y arriver complètement je pense 😅 J’adore la dernière phrase: « fake it until you make it » 👍🏼👍🏼

CC wrote: Joli en anglais, « fake it till you make it ». Parfois, on y arrive, à le « faire », parfois on « fake » mais pour ça, je ne suis pas trop douée, je crois, ça se voit!!! 

Moins ruminer, plus se tourner vers la beauté du monde et des autres. Oui. Pour moi, un long et lent apprentissage mais je sens que j’avance et Mase m’y aide. 

Tes textes du lundi sont toujours un bon « reminder », donc merci!

DD wrote: 😀😀😀

Your Thoughts and Actions Affect the World

You have an important contribution to make on this Earth. Do not waste precious time in negative emotions and fear. Look at life with the knowledge that what you do affects everyone. Consider your thoughts and actions wisely.

James van Praagh : Meditations

“Positive thinking” sometimes has a negative feel – as if the positive thinker would close his or her eyes to reality and paint everything pink. However, not wasting precious time in negative emotions and fear does not mean that we avoid reality. It means that we watch out where we put our attention.

With your thoughts you colour the world. If you go on ruminating something somebody said or how badly you were treated at the grocery store you will not only spoil your own day, but you also emanate negative waves all around.

It is my firm conviction that we have to control our own thoughts and actions, not letting every fleeting emotion influence our lives. Forget recent mishaps and misunderstandings and give a big smile to the next person you meet. Fake it till you make it ;-)

Relax Your Mind

AA said: C’est vrai, on a chacun-e sa manière de se détendre l’esprit, de se concentrer sur son corps, sa respiration, et je vais tester la tienne! J’aime bien ce côté très concret dans ces messages du lundi. 

Relax Your Mind

Find a way to slow down. Find a way to relax your mind and do it often, very, very often, throughout the day, not just when you are hooked, but all the time.

                                                 Pema Chödrön : Taking the Leap

When there is a lot to do in a short time or when you are stressed out about something, it is good not only to remember Pema Chödrön’s words, but to already have practiced relaxing your mind. How to do it?

I relax my mind “through my body”, by relaxing my head. I drop the thinking and concentrate on my skull, from the ears and upwards, feeling a kind of tingling sensation in it. Then I close my eyes and slowly work my way up from the ears to the top of the skull and down again, via my forehead and eyes to my nose. I take a deep in-breath, hold it for three seconds and sloooooowly breathe out through the mouth. That’s my way, but you might find another way that suits you better.

If you practice relaxing your mind regularly you will always have that “tool” at hand when you really need it.

Writing is Discovering

AA wrote: Oh das ist aber schön, daß Du einen Schreibworkshop erleben darfst. Wie wundervoll! 

BB wrote: Great news, I am sure you will get a lot of inspiration and will inspire a lot people too

CC wrote: Vilken härlig start på det nya året, att börja med en skriv kurs!

Hoppas det kommer vara intressant och inspirerande. Stort lycka till och mycket nöje.

DD wrote: How nice!!! I am sure you will do great at it, combine it with the calligraphy and the aquarelle painting and there you are!!!

EE wrote: Lycka till med kursen Sabina! Vilken tur du har, att det blev en sådan kurs just i din lilla by!!

Writing is Discovering

Among many things, writing is a way of thinking. Through writing, we discover our thoughts and our ideas. Through writing we can deconstruct and dissolve those same thoughts and ideas. We can gain clarity, focus, and lightness.
    Laraine Herring

                                              

These words speak directly to me, because that’s exactly how I perceive and utilise writing. When I feel stuck in a difficult situation, I sit down and write about it. Afterwards, I always end up feeling calmer and lighter. Through writing, the reasons for my difficulties become clear and I can imagine a way forward.

I know writing isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but give it a try next time you feel stuck or are dealing with other strong emotions.

PS. For the first time in my life I will attend a Writing Class in January and February. Author and friend Isabelle Guisan is organizing this “Atelier Écriture” in my village (amazing, isn’t it?) and I am really looking forward to that creative process - and the challenge of writing in French!

A Clean Calendar

AA wrote: Walking meditation sounds amazing but we’ve got horns,  fire trucks and sirens and construction noise. But I can pledge to meditate inside! 

A Clean Calendar

Remember, the time of year
when the future appears
like a blank sheet of paper
a clean calendar, a new chance.
On thick white snow.

Jackie Kay

We can Begin Anew any time we feel like a new start, it doesn’t have to be any specific day. The beginning of a new year, however, often triggers the wish to make a clean slate. You might not want to change your whole life, but at least make some small amendments. Many people don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions, but I do. I know they work if you’re diligent. 

Why not make the resolution to clean up your calendar/agenda. Many people are stressed out because of all the things they “must” do every week. You CAN cut down on them. Perhaps that will disappoint some people, but better meeting less often and really want to. 

A new year feels like a chance for renewal. Grab it! I have decided to do walking meditation every single day, at least for 15 minutes. Will anybody join me...?

A very Happy New Year to you all!