Thank you for this beautiful day.

I woke up early by my standards, 5:15 a.m., and felt a lightness in my heart.  I dressed, made a cup of tea, and headed out to Mt. Soledad for a sunrise meditation. 

The sky, mottled with gray skies, did not afford the opportunity to view the sunrise, but my skin drank in the moisture of early morning dew.  My ears were treated to silence, that rare sound we so often do not  hear.  My eyes took in an air show courtesy of a flock of large black crows.  The moisture in the air brought out the pine and sage scents surrounding me.  My fingers flew over my mala beads as I quietly repeated my mantra.  The taste of green tea on my tongue warmed my mouth.

This past week has been chaos in my house, but today I begin again, without judgment, without worry.  I pay attention to my heart.  I pay attention to my body.  I pay attention to the beautiful world around me.  Living in the present moment keeps me at peace.  Living in the present moment allows me to be thankful for the preciousness of today.

So, how are you living in the present moment today?

Posted: May 21st, 2008 under Stained Glass, present moment.
Comments: 3

A mantram is a word or phrase with spiritual meaning.  I learned mantram in my yoga class.  I repeat Om mam everyday. These are Sanskrit words that translate to God heart. I began sayingthis mantram after my heart attack in 2006.  I say these two words 1,080 times in the morning.  I use mala beads (108 beads strungtogether in a necklace) to keep track of the count.  It starts my day in a quiet reflective mood that keeps mecalm the rest of the day. 

I just came across a item in a local health newsletter.  Researchers confirmed what I alreadyknew.  Mantram repetition is helpful for managing stress, emotions other than stress, insomnia and unwantedthoughts.  The article by JillBormann can be accessed online from the Journal of Advanced Nursing.

Posted: May 3rd, 2008 under Stained Glass, heart disease, meditation, yoga.
Comments: 5

As I drink my cup of of sereni-tea, I’m reading more teabag wisdom.  Here are two to get you through the weekend.

“Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens.” Carl Gustav Jung

When I was younger, I dreamed a lot.  I dreamed about graduating college, dreamed of my ideal career, dreamed of marriage and having a family, dreamed of buying a home, and a car.  While I managed to accomplish most of my dreams, I found only temporary satisfaction in the accomplishments.  It felt like riding a rollercoaster, a series of ups and downs.  I’ve heard many say “That’s what life is all about.”  But for a long time, deep inside, I felt something missing.  When I finally began to look inside myself, to see and feel the essence of me, I found the dream that had always eluded me.  Peace.

“When the heart is at ease, the body is healthy.” Chinese Proverb

This second teabag saying goes hand-in-hand with Carl Jung.  As I went through life on my rollercoaster, I not only rushed through each day, but was filled with negative emotions – anxiety, depression, stress, anger.  At the same time, my body reacted with back pain, osteoporosis, arthritis, heartburn, heart disease, indigestion.  After looking inside myself, letting go of expectations, forgiving others and myself, my aches and pains diminished.  My body became healthier.  I no longer hold onto negative emotions.  I began living in the present moment.  I became mindful of my thoughts, my actions, my words.

So as you go about your day, I encourage you to find a quiet space.  Take some time.  Look within and see what happens.

Have a great day.

Posted: May 2nd, 2008 under Stained Glass, mindfulness, present moment, yoga.
Comments: 2

Last night I saw the play 33 Variations.  It’s a fictional story surrounding the composition of Ludwig von Beethoven’s  thirty-three variations of Anton Diabelli’s waltz.  It was a wonderful play written and directed by Moises Kaufman.  But while some might view the play from the perspective of seeing one of Beethoven’s works come alive, I viewed it as a process of change and living in the present moment.

One the surface, Beethoven began with a simple waltz by Diabelli and transformed it into thirty-three different musical works of art.  During the play, we discovered the process of composing a piece of music, showing through Beethoven’s sketchbooks how he would draft a set of notes in pencil, then pen over a revision until he arrived at the final product.  In addition to depicting the music, Kaufman also portrayed the life of Beethoven as he descended into deafness, the process of a maestro at the height of fame plunging into the depths of illness.  Kaufman blended the past with the present day by including a musicologist sleuth, diagnosed with a debilitating illness, who’s out to discover why Beethoven was so obsessed with these musical variations.

The play made me pause and think about the process of life, how nothing stays the same, how everything changes, yet change happens day by day, moment by moment. 

At the macro level, we are born and grow.  At each stage of our life, the process continues.  We learn.  We work.  We love.  We experience the world around us.  Each year, each week, each day, each breath, is a new beginning.  As we focus more closely on our life, we can examine our career, and home life and see how each successive event in our live transforms us into the person we are today. 

As a writer, I think about the process of writing.  Typing subjects and verbs. Stringing sentences into paragraphs, paragraphs into pages of text until the words are transformed into a story.  As a stained glass artist, I think about the process of creating a work of art.  Designing a window, cutting the glass, leading and soldering and mudding until what was once small plates of glass and strips of lead have been transformed into a piece of art.

Everything is a process.  And every process begins and ends in the present moment.  

Posted: April 27th, 2008 under Stained Glass, present moment, writing.
Comments: 4

There is a good article about how lowering your stress and anxiety can lower your risk of heart disease.  Check it out. Lower Your Stress, Spare Your Heart 

Posted: April 24th, 2008 under Stained Glass, heart disease.
Comments: 3

What is Creativity?

Julie Cameron in The Artist’s Way says that “Creativity is a spiritual experience.”

I’ve heard writers say, “When I’m in the zone, the prose flow from somewhere deep within me.”

I’m in the process of rereading Eckhart Tolle’s book The Power of Now.  On pp. 19-20, he writes, “All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness.  The mind then gives form to the creative impulse or insight.”

I had to pause after reading that statement and really think about what it says.  I’ve been writing for many years and more recently I’ve channeled my creative energy into my stained glass art.  I definitely agree with all these quotes.  There is someplace beyond my mind, beyond my thoughts, where ideas form and I give birth to them either on the page or in my stained glass.

So the question for you is this.  How do you define creativity?

Posted: April 11th, 2008 under Stained Glass, mindfulness, present moment, writing.
Comments: 4

We’ve heard a lot about heart disease.  But do you know all the warning signs of a heart attack?  Do you know how many times your heart beats every single day?  Do you know how to stay heart healthy? CNN has a nice article in their health section with a Heart Smart Quiz.  Check it out. 

Posted: April 9th, 2008 under Stained Glass, heart disease.
Comments: 4

I was gazing at the clouds this morning.  There were solid light gray skies, cement gray cumulus puffs, and charcoal streaks stretching across the heavens.  As I stood rooted to the earth, the movement caught my eye and my mind began to wander.

Nature tells us how to live.  We have changing seasons, changing weather patterns, births and deaths of every living thing on this planet.  Nothing is static.  Not our bodies, not our breath.  Not even what seems to be a solid planet under our feet.

How many times do we cringe at the thought of change?  Changing jobs.  Changing life partners.  Moving from one home to another.  Change that occurs when a family grows or shrinks.

As we pause in the hustle and bustle of life, we begin to notice how even when we think our lives are the same from one day to the next, each day is different.  One day we can wake up happy and refreshed from a good night’s sleep and the next day we are crabby and nothing seems to go right.

So nature tells us that there is a natural rhythm to life.  Good and bad.  It ebbs and flows like the ocean tides.  And as humans, we need to learn to flow with change.  Accept it.  Embrace it.  If you are having a good day, enjoy it to the fullest.  If your day is dark and stormy, accept it for what it is and remember that tomorrow it will be different.

So what are you struggling with today?  Does it involve change?

Posted: April 8th, 2008 under Stained Glass, mindfulness, present moment, yoga.
Comments: 5

And now it’s time for more teabag wisdom:

“Kissing is like drinking salted water:  you drink and your thirst increases.” Chinese proverb

How many times do we do something that turns out to be bad for us?  I’d guess – A Lot. 

Here are just a few that I fall into:

Sitting on the sofa watching TV instead of getting up and exercising.

Eating one chocolate chip cookie when I know I can’t eat only one.

Rolling over in bed instead of getting up to practice yoga so I’m not stiff for the rest of the day.

Now, another teabag reminds me:

“The purpose of life is to enjoy every moment.”

Somehow these two teabags seem to be in conflict with one another.  If I’m enjoying myself as I watch TV, eat one cookie, or get a few more minutes of sleep is that bad?  No.  Is that a purpose in life though?  No – maybe just a little laziness.  Yawn.  It’s Saturday afternoon.  Time for a nap.

So, what is your day looking like? By the way, this Joyful Heart stained glass is being auctioned off at a concert to benefit the non-profit organization Resounding Joy next Saturday.  Check out their website.  They train volunteers to bring music to seniors and children in need. 

Posted: April 5th, 2008 under Stained Glass, present moment.
Comments: 2

 Grand Opening of the Peaceful Heart Stained Glass website.  Click on the Red Heart Sun Catcher to send me an email and you will be entered into a drawing for a free Peaceful Heart Stained Glass sun catcher. 

On April 9, 2008, I will pick a name at random.  The winner will be notified by email and announced on my website. Click on the Stained Glass link to the right to see my other sun catchers and stained glass windows.  

Posted: April 4th, 2008 under Stained Glass.
Comments: 2