OM is a mystic sound that refers to Isvara or God’s name.  It’s a seed sound from which all other words are formed.  I meditate and repeat the mantram OM, feeling the hum resonate deep inside my chest.  I like to think of it as a time I talk to my heart, focusing on the energy throughout my body.  Meditating helps me live in the present moment.

I also meditate as I create my stained glass.  Each of my designs comes from my heart.

Today I worked on this glass mosaic design for a 18” round cement stepping stone for my garden.  It’s the OM symbol.  Now whenever I step into my garden, it will be a reminder to breathe and focus on living in the present moment.

Posted: April 2nd, 2008 under Stained Glass, meditation, present moment.
Comments: 7

I love to wake up in the predawn hours of a new day.  The sky is dark.  The stars twinkle in the moonlight.  Silence permeates the air.

I come downstairs, brew a cup of tea and listen.  I can hear the tick of the clock, the hum of the refrigerator, and the aliveness in my body.  I can feel my heart beat, pumping blood through my body.  I can sense my nerve impulses as I press my thumb to forefinger. 

I close my eyes and see my inner universe.  That darkness that moves into different shapes.  Sometimes the shapes are distinct circles, triangles, squares.  Sometimes blurred shades of light.

It’s at this time that I savor the warm liquid of my tea and contemplate my teabag wisdom.  I’ve accumulated sayings from the past few days.  Each one a profound statement of life.

“The taller the bamboo grows, the lower it bends.” Chinese proverb

These saying have so much meaning.  A modern version of the tall bamboo proverb is the saying, “The higher you climb, the farther you fall.”

“The longest journey is the journey inward.” Dag Hammarskjold

When we think about journeys, we always seem to be moving from one place to another.  How many of us stop to take a breath and contemplate the sacredness and miracle of our own lives.

“To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.” Chinese proverb

Have you ever taken a long hike in the woods?  When I’m hiking, especially uphill, my mind is always drifting to, “Where’s the top?  When will I be there?”  Then I see someone on the path and they tell me the end is right around the next corner and suddenly I breathe a sigh of relief and move on.

“When ego is lost, limit is lost.”

We all have an ego, some bigger than others.  But when we can put aside our egos, we begin to stop striving.  When that happens, the possibilities in life open up.

“Joy is the essence of success.”

Ah.  This is my favorite.  Everyone defines success differently.  For some it’s reaching the top in your career.  For others it’s owning a home and an expensive care.  To me, success in life is happiness and joy.  

So what is your favorite saying?

Posted: March 28th, 2008 under Stained Glass, meditation, mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 6

I’ve been working feverishly on my new stained glass design.  It’s a 2 X 2 foot piece with lots of bevels and a beveled heart in the center of a circle.  

The problem is I can’t decide on the background design inside the circle around the heart.  I’ve been drawing different designs for hours and I’m not falling in love with any of them.  These are the last two designs that seem promising, so I’m taking a vote.    

Do you like the  six-pointed star or the multiple triangles?      

Posted: March 27th, 2008 under Stained Glass.
Comments: 5

Are you having a stressful day?  A stressful week?  Is your entire life filled with one stressful situation on top of another?  Are you a jellyfish, so relaxed that you don’t have a care in the world?  Or are you on an even keel and able to manage your stress?  Are you a borderline stressaholic? Or a candidate for heart disease?

If you don’t know how stress is affecting your life,  you may want to find out, because stress can be life threatening. 

I found this website that asks twenty questions to help you identify your stressors.  It’s fun.  Give it a try.

Stress Quiz

There are a lot of stress management techniques you can do to combat stress like deep breathing, exercise, and yoga.

Here are a couple of websites I’ve found that give some good suggestions.

Stress Management from Mind Tools  

Article on Stress Management for Patients & Physicians 

My biggest stressor is Wanting to do as much as possible in the least amount of time.” 

What’s your biggest stressor? 

Posted: March 19th, 2008 under Stained Glass, heart disease, meditation, mindfulness.
Comments: 2

Many of us have seen the movie “The Bucket List,” but how many of us have actually taken the time to sit down and write one out for ourselves?

I’ve thought about what I’d like to do in my life before I die and at this time in my life, I’m pretty content with what I have and what I’ve already done.  But does that mean I’m at the end of my bucket list?  Hardly.

• See a few countries before my body is incapable of traveling far distances: tour the countryside of New Zealand, take an African safari, stay at an ashram in India, visit Rome and Florence, Italy.
• Heighten the awareness of heart disease in women.
• Teach others the importance of being present as a way to promote health and well-being.
• Deepen my yoga practice.

I’m sure the list will grow as I continue to think about it.  What’s on your bucket list? 

Posted: March 17th, 2008 under Stained Glass, heart disease, mindfulness, present moment, yoga.
Comments: 3

Here’s a little bit of wisdom from my tea bag.  Yes, I listen to my tea bags.  They come from the Good Earth tea company.  The sayings are sometimes so wise, I ponder them for days.

“He who would leap high must take a long run.”  Danish Proverb

I don’t know the Danish person who spoke these words of wisdom, but they are profound.  I’m sure everyone has their own interpretation of sayings, but for me, this one talks about goals and patience.

How many times have we wanted to reach for the moon?  Maybe we had a goal to make a million dollars by the time we hit forty, or sell our manuscript to a New York publishing house.  Maybe the goal was more realistic like finish college.  Whatever the goal, the bigger it is, the harder you have to work for it.  And, the longer you have to concentrate on achieving your goal.  That’s the taking a long run part of the proverb in case you can’t follow my ramblings.

So, what happens when you leap but your leap falls short?  Does that mean you’ve failed?  Absolutely not.  It simply means that you haven’t been patient enough to see your goal to the end.  Maybe it took one person four years to finish college.  That doesn’t mean you have to follow the same timeline.  When I was going to college, I switched colleges and majors three times.  It took me seven years to achieve that particular goal.

I have another saying that involves leaping – maybe I should have been a high jumper when I was younger.  Anyway, the saying goes:  “Leap and the net will appear.”

So the bottom line is have faith and trust in yourself, be patient, and reach for the stars.

What’s your favorite saying?

Posted: March 14th, 2008 under Stained Glass, meditation, yoga.
Comments: 3

About seventeen years ago, a good friend of mine passed away from breast cancer.  Her death gave me pause.  We were just turning forty.  It wasn’t time for us to die.  Shortly afterward I announced to my husband, “I’m using the good dishes.”  It was a strange statement to make.  What does using the good dishes have to do with someone’s death?  Ah, but it does.

In my distorted perception, I was beginning to see that joy comes not from waiting for the next holiday so we can bring out the good dishes, but rather from living life to the fullest every minute of every day.

When I was young, I have high hopes for the future.  Plans to go off to college, build a career, get married and have children.  I was always striving for more in my life.  More money, a career advancement, better furniture, a new car, a bigger house.  I thought (or tried to convince myself ) that if I only had X I would be happy.

But life doesn’t work that way.  It took me many years after I started using the good dishes to grasp this concept more fully, but happiness doesn’t come from what we have around us.  Happiness comes from within.

Happiness means accepting your life and not wanting more.  Happiness means connecting with the core of who you are, not identifying yourself by your occupation. Happiness is enjoying a walk in the park  and admiring the flowers.  Happiness is sitting on the sofa with a good book.  Happiness is taking care of yourself and trusting that the universe and everything else around you will work out in its own good time.  Happiness is being present and experiencing the little things and loving yourself.

So, what does happiness mean to you?

Posted: March 13th, 2008 under Stained Glass, mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: none

There’s a wonderful boutique gift shop in the South Park neighborhood of San Diego call Under The Sun.  It has hundreds of items to adorn your home and garden that bring you closer to nature and your spirit. 

I am fortunate to have the opportunity to create a unique sun catcher for Under The Sun.  I call it San Diego Sunrise. If you live in the San Diego area, please stop by and say hello to the owner Sandra Lee.  Under the Sun is located at 2365 30th Street, San Diego, CA 92104.  Also, stop by Sandra’s blog at Under The Sun With Me

Posted: March 12th, 2008 under Stained Glass.
Comments: 8

Announcing the 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: March 9th, 2008 under Stained Glass.
Comments: 6

I took some time this morning to catch up on all my magazine reading.  The stack has been piling up since the first of the year.  Seeing the stack was a reminder that I haven’t been taking enough “me” time. 

As I breezed through the February issue of Yoga Journal, I came across an article “Create a Life You Love” by Nora Isaacs.  The article suggests ten ideas to help you reconnect with what truly makes you happy.  Among them she suggests: get energized about your future, plug into your spiritual self, let go of the old, serve others, honor your physical self, be daring, soothe your mind, notice your surroundings, create community, and  make a date with nature.

Ah.  For me, that pretty much sums up the changes that I’ve tried to make in my life over the last two years.  Let me tell you, changing your lifestyle isn’t for wimps.  One of the hardest changes for me was letting go of the old.  How often do we stay stuck in a job we don’t like, justifying our misery with one excuse after another?  Maybe we stay in a bad relationship because we’re too afraid to be alone?  Or maybe it’s just too hard to let go of bad habits: eating fattening foods, drinking alcohol, smoking, ignoring our body’s need for exercise.  I’m grateful that I didn’t have to deal with all the things I’d mentioned, but believe me, I had plenty on my plate.

Focusing on some of the other ideas the author mentioned in the article, like looking at my spiritual self, serving others, soothing my mind, being more aware of my surroundings, creating new communities of friends, and taking the time to be in nature have helped me refocus on who I truly am, and how I want to live my life.

How’s life treating you these days?  Are you happy?

Maybe it’s time to come up with a list of things we do each day to make us feel happy and more alive, then strive to do more of those things each day.  I’ll start with a few of my favorites: watch the sun rise, be aware of my breath through daily breathing exercises, be grateful, get a massage once a month, exercise, practice yoga, meditate, smile, create stained glass, write, tell my family and friends how much I love them.

What’s on your list?

Posted: March 7th, 2008 under Stained Glass, exercise, healthy eating, meditation, mindfulness, writing, yoga.
Comments: 5