Wellbeing notes: Teachings from an ancient flower
31/03/2023 at 9:09 am | Posted in Wellbeing notes | Leave a commentTags: Guidance, inspiration, magnolias, mindfulness, nature, wellbeing, wisdom
There’s a magnolia tree that I know and love. With spring blooms of velvet pink, it brings pleasure to all who view it. But my magnolia is more than just a bunch of gorgeous flowers. Its cup-shaped blossoms tell an ancient story. And if I slow down enough to listen to that story, wellbeing results. Here are a few of magnolia’s insights.
‘Age is relative’
Magnolias have been growing for 20 million years. In comparison, humans are so young. It is believed that we have been on this planet for a mere 300,000 years. We are new-born babes compared with the magnolia tree. Maybe we should cut ourselves some slack. We are still learning, and that’s okay.
‘Think out of the box’
Magnolias evolved long before the arrival of bees. So, they attract a much older insect: flightless beetles, that chomp the sticky nectar. So, next time you’re grappling with a tricky problem, you might think of an alternative, ‘magnolia’ solution.
‘It’s fine to be a late bloomer’
Although my favourite magnolia tree flowers in spring, it likes to have a small, colourful flurry later in the year. And so it is with our own talents and interests. We are never too old to do something new.
‘Plan ahead’
By December, my magnolia will be covered in countless tight buds. The tree will protect them over winter, then enjoy a head start next spring. In the same spirit of looking ahead, what could you prepare today, in order to better use your energy tomorrow?
Wellbeing notes: Outdoor spring clean
01/03/2023 at 9:02 am | Posted in Wellbeing notes | Leave a commentTags: caring for the countryside, great outdoors, healthy habits, inspiration, mental wellbeing, spring clean, spring flowers
If you see a piece of litter on a country walk, do you pick it up sometimes, often, or never? In my case, if I’m honest, it depends on the litter. Some items can’t easily be picked up. Other times, I’m rushing past on my way to a Very Pressing Appointment, and I’d rather not turn up all mucky. But I hope that I do try to bag litter at least some of the time.
When you or I pick up discarded rubbish, we’re contributing to a beneficial practice which has been gaining real traction in the UK, and elsewhere.
This year the Great British Spring Clean runs from 17th March to 2nd April. Look out for individuals, pledging to fill a single bag; and volunteer groups, working together. For ideas on how to join in, see Keep Britain Tidy. In 2022’s Spring Clean, nearly half a million bags of refuse were apparently collected and properly disposed of. That’s a lot of tidying up – enough to make a visible difference.
Walking outdoors is brilliant for mental wellbeing as well as physical health. One of my favourite local walks takes me through woods, meadowland and over a tiny wild garlic stream, all dappled in sunlight. Over the coming weeks, additional flowers will grow along the route: fragrant bluebells like the ones pictured here; dainty lady’s smock; vibrant orchids; purple knapweed and tall, waving daisies. What I’d rather not see among them is an empty can or plastic wrapper, so if there’s anything along those lines, here is my pledge that I’ll be picking it up.
Wellbeing notes: rhyming affirmations
04/01/2023 at 11:56 am | Posted in Wellbeing | 3 CommentsTags: affirmations, comforting thoughts, creative visualisation, creative writing, inspiration, positive affirmations, positivity, wellbeing
Perhaps every thought we have – especially the ones we think often, or fervently – has the potential to come true. Hence the expression, ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’. I do believe that humans are hugely creative beings, in ways we scarcely understand. If every thought is a possible manifestation, it makes sense to choose at least some of our thoughts wisely. And the very best way I know of doing that is through rhyming affirmations.
Verses that rhyme have a habit of staying in our minds longer. We may find ourselves remembering them without even trying. They become a mantra that uplifts, in a way that’s reminiscent of comforting childhood rhymes.
I regularly write my own, personal rhyming affirmations, recording them with pen and ink in a journal. They’re not high art – just verses that stick in the mind. Verses that I repeat slowly, and mindfully. Verses that leave me feeling calmer, and happier. If you are at all inclined, I encourage you, today or tomorrow, to come up with a rhyming affirmation for yourself. It can be as simple as two lines that rhyme. Put pen to paper, or finger to phone, and play a little. And remember, no one is judging your creation!
The following rhyming affirmation is one I wrote last year. It’s a bit longer – four verses in total. Yet I have found this one particularly easy to remember, and repeating it slowly never fails to ramp up the levels of joy in my day. It reminds me that anything is possible, and that life – not just in some mythical future, but right now – is filled with a wonderful magic.
I believe
I believe in deeds of kindness
and presents wrapped in love
I believe that people can connect
with intervention from above
~~~
I believe in our creations
and doses of good luck
I believe that fortune flourishes
and blocks can get unstuck
~~~
I believe in my good health
and my body being able
I believe in friends who help,
who can inspire and enable
~~~
I believe in gifts from God
and moments of laughter
I believe, above all, in love
and happy ever after
Introducing Fiction Notes
03/01/2023 at 3:16 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 6 CommentsTags: art of the novel, fiction, inspiration, Jane Austen fan club, love, musings on writers, romantic fiction, true love
My day job is writing romance novels. And from now on – fanfare, roll of drums – that’s going to be represented in my blog. This is my plan for 2023, and I hope you’ll stay for the ride…
At the start of every month I will continue to post Wellbeing Notes. From the many years that I ran meditation groups, I know that wellbeing truly matters. It’s important to honour this truth. Those little reminders to care for yourself and appreciate life’s beauties will continue to drop into subscribers’ inboxes.
In the middle of every month, I will post Fiction Notes. Get ready for some thought-provoking themes. There is so much more to romance than fluff and laughter, nice though those things may be. Consider Jane Austen, and her two masterpieces, Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice. Each of these is a quintessential, romantic read, in which woman meets man. Major obstacles get in the way. And eventually, true love triumphs. Why are those novels so popular, 200 years on, and counting?
Hopefully we’ll find some answers together in the coming months. Fiction Notes are for readers and writers of fiction, especially in the category of romance. Maybe we do live in tough times right now. But through every era, humans – with all our hopes and yearnings and messy emotions – stay essentially the same. So join me next month, and for many months to come, while we explore the most compelling subject of all: true love.
Meditate on the landscape of your life
09/09/2022 at 3:00 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Iceland, inspiration, meditation, nature meditations, volcanoes, wellbeing
Every week for the past five months, my meditation group has been focusing on aspects of landscape. From river to forest, by coast, bridge and swamp, from harbour to canyon via a rainbow-coloured waterfall, we’ve had a lovely time imagining ourselves in nature, slowing down our breath, becoming peaceful. And the landscape theme is set to continue for a few weeks yet, as the list of potential subjects just continues to grow.
Take this week. Someone suggested volcano. One thing I’ve noticed is that everyone views each aspect of landscape differently. For me, I will likely be thinking of a snowy volcano that I once visited in Iceland. Snaefellsjökull has an incredible, other-worldly atmosphere. But another member of my group, fresh from Italy’s Amalfi Coast, may think about a fiery Vesuvius.
The way you think of a volcano can reflect your own life journey. I believe that, sooner or later, we all go through stuff. Some of the events we experience can be positively volcanic – changing our personal landscape. If those events are in the past, the volcano we imagine may be slumbering or extinct. If those events are current, the volcano of our imagination may be quite active. An active volcano will destroy like nothing else… but this may lead, in time, to new landscapes full of life and even beauty.
Wellbeing notes: a question of perspective
01/05/2022 at 5:18 am | Posted in Uncategorized | 1 CommentTags: a fresh perspective, inspiration, landscape, Mind body spirit, wellbeing
In the late spring, some years ago, a new telegraph pole was put up in a nearby field. At first, everyone thought the pole was a blot on the landscape. “Shame that beautiful view’s been spoiled by the pole,” we all said. But one day a practical friend visited. She pointed out that the pole formed only a tiny part of the view. So why were we obsessing about that, when there were acres and acres of countryside to enjoy?
Ever since, I’ve been careful to keep any blots in perspective – not just in nature, but in my personal life too. When crisis happens – and it does, because that is the way of things – a good exercise is to list the items in our lives that continue to be beautiful, useful and enriching. If we are lucky, we have plumbing, housing, warmth, food and income. And if we are luckier, we have many people whom we like, or maybe love.
Once we remember all these good things, the blot, whatever it may be, is put into perspective. We can possibly go one step further and say that everything – including that benighted telegraph pole – is serving some purpose. And we might begin to accept that the blots, too, have their place.
Metaphorically, a blot is any flaw that we study – that grows larger in our imagination. Yet when we walk away, the blot shrinks – and the landscape is revealed as infinite.
Wellbeing notes: This is the colour for growing and flourishing
01/02/2022 at 10:00 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: healing power of nature, inspiration, meditation, Mind body spirit, nature meditation, wellbeing
We’re focusing on colours in my Thursday meditation group – a different band of the rainbow for seven weeks. The latest colour we’ve been studying is green. My local countryside is still wintry, not yet verdant, so meditating on green brings a dose of early summer to the imagination, and tranquillity to the mind. Picture yourself, right now, in a lush green landscape. How does it feel?
The word ‘green’ comes from the Proto-Indo-European root, ‘ghre’, meaning ‘to grow’, signifying the way natural landscapes gain a colourwash of green as the weather warms up. Somewhere between the passion of red and the purity of white, green is associated with the heart chakra and can be viewed as a colour of healing, freshness and balance, a wonderful hue for feeling relaxed and calm in mind, body and spirit.
If you feel the need for more green in your life, seek it out. Imagine it. Plant it. Grow it.
On the windowsill in my study are three flourishing plants. Each is beautiful in its own way. The frequent attention they receive helps them to thrive – a reminder that what I care for is more likely to do well. This principle applies equally to people and work projects as well as plants.
So these are my questions to you. What in your own life is currently becoming green? What aspect is flourishing? And how can this be honoured and encouraged?
Wellbeing notes: This is the colour for strength and new beginnings
01/01/2022 at 10:12 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: base chakra, confidence, courage, inspiration, red, wellbeing
We’ve been focusing on colours in my Thursday meditation group – each week, a different band of the rainbow. We began with red. Reasons to love red include: it’s the bright hue of sumptuous crystals such as garnet and ruby. It’s the rich velvet of crimson rose petals, and the warming taste of mulled wine. It’s the juicy goodness of summer strawberries and the vivid splash of winter rosehips.
In esoteric teachings red is linked with the base chakra, that place at the base of the human spine that is associated with the energies of survival and the fundamental, blood-and-marrow building blocks of life. A physically healthy, balanced, grounded individual can be said to have a well-functioning base chakra.
One friend remembers buying a red car at a time of personal upheaval. “I would never normally choose such a bright colour, but it was so jaunty and fun,” she explains. “Driving my red car gave me confidence. It was what I needed as I entered a new chapter in my life.”
Her experience resonates with me. Newly single, after a relationship that lasted for decades, I have noticed that I currently love wearing warm, bright colours, including plenty of red. I have treated myself to a crimson, velvet coat which is, for me at this time, the definition of gorgeousness. Wearing red gives me a sense of confidence, an extra boost of energy, and the wellbeing effect is also helping my creative writing to flow.
I invite you to consider the role of red in your life. The human world is going through unprecedented upheaval. Everyone is affected in varying ways and, honestly, the trials are likely to continue for some time. Maybe we can’t cure society’s ills this month, or even next, but we can choose to go into the future boldly and brightly. Wear red for courage. I dare you.
Building up your kindness muscles
06/12/2021 at 11:26 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Guidance, happiness, inspiration, kindness, life skills, loving kindness, meditation, Mind body spirit, mindfulness, personal growth, Spirituality, wellbeing
A wise person once said to me, “The most important thing you can learn to do is to forgive.” The act of forgiving has become a life-long lesson. It’s hard to forgive someone who has hurt me personally, or hurt others whom I care about, but there is something freeing about the act.
A useful tool if you wish to become more forgiving is to practise loving kindness meditation. Sometimes called Metta bhavana in the language of early Buddhist texts, or simply ‘Metta meditation’, the concept predates Buddhism, suggesting that kindness is part of our human character.
Try this common form of metta meditation. Close your eyes and think kindly thoughts towards yourself. You might say, silently: “May I be well. May I be happy. May I be safe. May I be peaceful and at ease with myself.”
Then, think of someone you love. Repeat those same kind thoughts: “May you be well. May you be happy. May you be safe. May you be peaceful and at ease with yourself.”
Then, think of someone you feel neutral towards. Cultivate the same feelings of non- judgemental kindness, and repeat the same words: “May you be well…”
And now, think of someone you find difficult, and repeat the process again, as best you can.
Finally, think of all four people together, in the same spirit of loving kindness, and repeat the words: “May we be well. May we be happy. May we be safe. May we be peaceful and at ease with ourselves.”
Wellbeing notes: do these three things every day
01/11/2021 at 11:02 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Guidance, inspiration, meditation, Mind body spirit, personal growth, self-care, self-development, wellbeing
Website Built with WordPress.com.
Entries and comments feeds.
Suzanne Askham 