Wellbeing notes: Teachings from an ancient flower
31/03/2023 at 9:09 am | Posted in Wellbeing notes | 1 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: Putting the fab into February
01/02/2023 at 9:07 am | Posted in Wellbeing notes | Leave a commentTags: bath rituals, kindness, mindfulness, self-care, signs of spring, tulips, wellbeing
February can be a challenge. Winter is hard, and in the Northern Hemisphere we’ve already slogged through two months of it. We’ve had illness, snow, and floods. We’ve had storms, and the odd power cut. As I look out of my study window and into the garden, all I can see are bare trees and endless mud.
So how on earth can we start to feel better in February? Here are some ideas…
Bathe in bliss
February is named after an ancient Roman festival of purification. The original version involved making offerings and sacrifices. In the 21st Century, the month becomes an invitation to practise self-care. For example, you might enjoy a cleansing, candlelit bath, with salts. Adding a few drops of lavender oil fits in with the theme of wellbeing.
Go on a bud walk
The best thing about the month before spring is seeing signs of new life. A country walk may take you to snowdrops, and green shoots that will soon explode into a yellow froth of daffodils. And if we simply look upwards, we may spot the first soft brushes of blossom against a cool, clear sky.
Be kind in unexpected ways
Random Acts of Kindness Week runs from 12th to 18th February this year. Write a note of appreciation, or phone a friend or relative. Give a compliment or a bunch of flowers to a perfect stranger. Kindness benefits everyone, and it all starts with a good deed.
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.”
Walking mindfully through October
01/10/2020 at 10:52 am | Posted in Uncategorized | 2 CommentsTags: be present, mindfulness, October thoughts, self care, wellbeing
October, with its mists and mellow fruitfulness, is a fantastic month to take a daily wellbeing walk. I could motivate myself for this challenge by imagining a healthier me by the end of 31 daily walks, but that would be ‘end-gaining’ – I would be focusing on the goal rather than the many enjoyable moments in between.
Wellbeing is not actually about hard work or duty. It’s not about struggling or depriving myself now in order to enjoy some future goal. Rather, it’s about being open to the countless small moments of happiness that add up to a happy life.
So my wellbeing walks are not long, or arduous. But I aim to be fully present during each one. Have you ever walked or driven somewhere, only to arrive and realise you don’t remember the journey because while your body went through the motions, your mind was elsewhere?
During a wellbeing walk, I mindfully focus on the natural world. This month, that means I witness the colours of autumn: exactly how would you describe the rich red of an acer tree’s leaves, or the polished brown of a conker lying on green grass? I pause to notice the stunning, concentric pattern of an autumn flower such as a rosy petalled dahlia. I look upwards and sideways and all around to observe changing patterns of sun and cloud. I listen to an incredible natural orchestra of bird song that radiates outwards into infinity. Such moments pause the mind’s busy thoughts, bringing a fresh sense of happiness.
Healing Plants – a (free) audio meditation
31/03/2020 at 9:51 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: free meditation, healing, healing power of nature, meditation, mindfulness, nature, relaxation, wellbeing
This week’s (free) audio meditation again comes from The Intuition Group, seven years ago.
I’ve always believed in the healing power of plants and have often noticed that the plants I need most at any particular time have a habit of growing in my vicinity. Right now, of course, that means lots of immunity-enhancing wild garlic in the neighbouring woods which I wilt down like spinach, or eat raw in pesto; vitamin-rich ground elder– the young shoots are delicious stir-fried; and quantities of refreshing lemon balm leaves emerging, full of relaxing properties that make an excellent herbal tea.
This week’s meditation celebrates the healing beauty of nature, which brings us therapy in so many different ways. There’s the colour therapy of uplifting yellow daffodils and deep blue hyacinths. There’s the fresh, subtle fragrance of unfurling willow leaves. And there’s the nutritional medicine of spring vegetables and greens.
I hope you enjoy this meditation. As always, I will be doing this alongside you at 1 pm Thursday, or any time that suits you.
Wishing you a wonderful week,
Suzanne x
Healing plants meditation
Cherry Blossom Meditation
17/03/2020 at 4:23 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 3 CommentsTags: cherry blossom, meditation, mindfulness, wellbeing
In the midst of the worries about the Coronavirus outbreak, I would like to share with you an image of cherry blossoms from the garden, because we all benefit from moments of beauty and calm. I’m also sharing with you an audio, a Cherry Blossom meditation that I originally delivered in my Studio seven years ago, which seems timely for today. It will, I hope, bring you some profound relaxation.
So, without further ado, here is your moment of calm: Cherry Blossom Meditation. I hope you enjoy it.
Choosing bluebell pathways
26/04/2019 at 11:07 am | Posted in Uncategorized | 4 CommentsTags: inspiration, meditation, mindfulness, nature, spring
At the weekend I was lucky enough to be shown Duncliffe Wood, in Dorset. It had been raining heavily, which meant this ancient woodland was largely empty of visitors, like a forest from a bygone era. The rain was still falling lightly as we walked through clouds of purple blooms. The ground was bumpy with odorous leaf mould and sap-filled roots, and the subtle bluebell fragrance lay all about us, mist-like.
There were many small paths through the woodland. Every few paces, it seemed, there was a new choice of route. At first we chose carefully, and then it dawned on us that the route didn’t really matter. Every choice was the right choice. This was a walk that meant us to meander, to explore, to absorb the bright spring vitality of the place.
When the walk finished, I carried away my own share of that diffuse purple bluebell energy which lay like a shimmering ball in my cupped hands. The next day I felt a portion of the ball pour out into two meditation sessions that I hosted. Afterwards there was still plenty left to pour around my house and garden, and into the everyday jobs I had to do there. Then some flowed into my writing and yet more seeped on to my list of things to do, muddling the tidy lines, creating watercolour opportunities that changed shape as I looked at them.
It was just a little walk. But its fragrance will linger, I think, for a goodly time.
Celebrate what your body can do
27/12/2018 at 6:12 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 5 CommentsTags: Exercise, gratitude, Health, inspiration, Mind body spirit, mindfulness, motivation, sprituality
At this time of year it’s so easy to feel bad about eating too much and exercising too little. That’s why it was good to step through the sunlit winter mist and into my local gym, where the following unattributed message was displayed: “Exercise is a celebration of what your body can do, not a punishment for what you ate.” So true! Have you ever noticed that it’s easier to exercise when you accept and appreciate yourself wholeheartedly, just as you are? “I can do this” is a mantra that gives us wings.
The next step from appreciation is thankfulness, and that’s the word that we will be meditating on in sessions through January. I’m thankful for a body that is, on balance, pretty healthy. I’m thankful for family and friends and warmth and nourishment. I’m grateful for being part of overlapping circles of community that cooperate and help one another. Being thankful gives sustenance to the very things we appreciate. What will you appreciate in 2019? What forces will you feed with your thankfulness?
How to improve your focus in meditation – and life
16/08/2018 at 5:59 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 3 CommentsTags: healing, inspiration, life skills, meditation, mindfulness, owl, reflections
What is your relationship with Focus? Have you been together a while? Was Focus a first love, or are you and Focus perhaps not even talking?
If I were a life coach, I might suggest that you feed your focus and starve your distractions. Or I might say, “What you focus on is what you get more of.”
However, I am not a life coach. In the spheres of wellbeing in which I move, focus is not an end goal. It’s an invitation to be fully present. All we can ever have is this present moment, but it’s enough, because it’s everything. If we witness this moment fully, it has the magical ability to open up like a fractal. Rather like the owl I met recently, we develop the ability to see, hear and sense in ever more detail.
The state of focusing is a relaxed, alert way of being. We become aware and awake to what’s around us. Importantly, we don’t focus on what we don’t have. We focus on what is. In so doing, we realise how very much is contained within the present moment. We can then make choices based on our expanded awareness, which can help us step into an optimum future.
What is your relationship with Focus? Are you perhaps close friends? Maybe, just maybe, Focus is your life-long guide and companion?
In homage to rain
13/07/2018 at 7:07 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 2 CommentsTags: agapanthus, fairytale forest, gratitude, healing, meditation, microfiction, mindfulness, rain
It hadn’t rained for weeks. The normally lush countryside had turned dry, apart from narrow ribbons along water courses. And now, at last, came the downpour. People became silly with happiness. It offered a powerful lesson in thankfulness, did we but remember it.
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Suzanne Askham 