well-being

Some anthropologists, psychologists, healers and life coaches have defined well-being, using the wisdom of ancient spiritual traditions. For instance, Angeles Arrien suggests that restoring our health and well-being begins with song, dance, storytelling and silence, as do frame drummer Layne Redmond, 5Rhythms founder Gabrielle Roth, cantadora Clarissa Pinkola Estes and medicine woman and yogini, Ana Forrest.

And in her new book, Martha Beck invites us to experience four technologies of magic: wordlessness, oneness, imagination and forming. She affirms that "the procedure for reclaiming your true nature [well-being] and finding your way in the wild new world is always the same: drop into Wordlessness, sense your environment and position through Oneness, Imagine what you want, and Form things - situations, objects, relationships, projects, activities - that express your unique perspective. There's a pleasingly brief word for this kind of radical creativity. It's called art."

The alchemical arts of journal writing, 5Rhythms movement, vinyasa yoga, mindfulness meditation, ocean gazing, nature hikes, pleasure reading and sleep help restore my well-being. I would love to hear from you. How do you define well-being, and what restores yours?

Inspiration from the Global Village

Take any opportunity you can to connect with the natural world.
Martha Beck

Inspiration from the Global Village

"The first element of greatness is fundamental humbleness (this should not be confused with servility); the second is freedom from self; the third is intrepid courage, which, taken in its widest interpretation, generally goes with truth; and the fourth—the power to love—although I have put it last, is the rarest."

Margot Asquith

Wholeness and Silence

The Wholeness Program: Stop and focus on your inner well-being... and reach out with that person with wholesomeness and a sense of offering, an inspiring retreat. Isha Foundation

 Exploring silence with Burt Harding of the Awareness Foundation. Silence is love...

Master of Time

I sat down to gather my thoughts and share my wisdom and realized humbly and with a tinge of anxiety...I've none to give. I am a master at saying yes to new projects , ideas and people, jumping in with both feet, staying up into the night to finish this, that and the other thing. I have a particularly brilliant flair for creating daily lists with over 20 items to complete...items that take hours of time...but I am no master of time.

So I pondered for the last few days...or decades, just what it would mean to be a master of time. A Master of Time would know how to work each moment efficiently and order activities in the right way so as to stop at all the stores in the string of errands in the right order and then make her way back home. A Master of Time, would know how long it takes to clean up from breakfast and finish coloring the Social Studies project without missing the bus. A Master of Time would arrive at the beginning and stay until the end and still have time to go home and write a reflective synopsis of each class, meeting or workshop.  A Master of Time wouldn't leave the Tae Kwon Do uniform in the gym bag on the garage floor and drive off to pick up her son to take him to Tae Kwon Do class. A Master of Time could do it all and still have time for more. At least that was my first thought. 

My second thought, the one I am going to go with is that I don't need to be a Master of Time. I will chose to be a Master of Me who doesn't need to do any of that. I don't have to try to master time, but rather to pick moments and live them fully...relish in the journey. I can take time for silence and stillness and centering because there is no need to master time. Time flows on its own, but amidst its river I can sit on a rock and let it flow past as I turn inward for just a moment and assess my own being.

I am not saying I won't say yes to a lot of projects or even that my lists will get any shorter. But if I can stop trying to beat the clock and let the flow wash over my inner core rather than through it, then the next time I bite off more than I can chew...at least I will taste its richness in my mouth and sit down for just long enough to swallow.