I stopped watching the news, here’s what I do instead
- At February 13, 2020
- By Lisa
- In Editorial, Wellness
0
How do you fill your days? Watching TV and the news. Reading the papers. Scrolling social on your phones. Of course, we all go to work and then return home to complete projects that seem to have the greatest importance but bring us little joy.
We are world-weary. Most of us are buffeted by continuous torrents of tasks, responsibilities, and distressing news. But there are ways to find peace and pleasure in our daily lives despite there seeming to be so much at political stake. We need to set boundaries on how much bad news we ingest.
Read More»Oprah & Deepak 21 Day Meditation Experience
There is a place within you where you can find solace, comfort, and peace. It’s not using your mind to problem solve past issues, ruminations, or events. It’s a place of stillness where you can tap into the wisdom of your body and improve your health, stress levels, and connectedness to nature and the universe.
Starting February 3, Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey are providing a free 21-Day Meditation Experience where you can learn to meditate and create a more balanced life. This is a global event, and I have to say, it sounds rather fabulous.
I’ve been a practitioner of meditation for about five years but I’m looking forward to this experience as I always believe there are things I can learn and implement into my practice.
Read More»A small room in Boston
- At January 17, 2020
- By Lisa
- In Experiences, Features, Wellness, Writing
- 2
I write from a small room in Boston without a view. There are two west-facing windows which open to the mustard-colored clapboard siding of the neighboring three-story, and at this time, it is an advantageous vantage point. It keeps my attention focused on my writing and my mission.
Several weeks ago, I took to rearranging the furniture in this room to something I felt was more conducive to creativity. Pushing my desk into a corner I made a cozy place for concentration. A great chair, good lighting, and a variety of sacred items that I believe help my process. It’s a comfortable room also containing an old unused fireplace in the corner — it’s interior bricks painted white against a red wall. There are piles of books, journals, candles, and two sleepy cats. I see this arrangement as something I hope will prove beneficial in the full immersion of my craft because an enemy also lurks within these walls.
The War of Art, written by Steven Pressfield, discusses this enemy. It is known as Resistance. Pressfield refers to Resistance using a capital letter and assigns to it some powerful personality traits. It is what he considers the major deterrent of artists being able to do their work. It is a formable enemy — invisible, insidious, impersonal, and infallible. The battle with Resistance is fought on a daily basis.
Read More»Rituals for Winter Solstice
- At December 20, 2019
- By Lisa
- In Experiences, Musings, Wellness
- 0
It surprises me how dark the days of winter are in Boston. Daylight here falls somewhere between the golden glow of afternoon which I experienced in Connecticut and the dark nights of Sweden. Over the years, I’ve become very aware of the rhythm of nature and how I adjust to those rhythms depending on my place on the planet.
As I write, the third snowstorm of the season has just passed and Winter’s Solstice is upon us. I embrace the Northern winter — the beauty of a snowfall, crystals which form on my windows making delicate patterns in frost, and the opportunity to follow nature’s lead for a season of rest and regeneration.
Read More»Smudging for health and emotional comfort
My son, the physicist, calls it “witchcraft” but I’ve been smudging for several years and have found the practice to be not only spiritually comforting but effective in eliminating negative energy and airborne pollutants my home. Now recent articles and studies are showing that there is science behind the positive effects of smudging.
Smudging is an ancient practice. Native Americans considered smudging a sacred act. Buddhists use it for purification. Along with some simple items and understanding the procedure, I believe that intention is one of the greatest tools you can use with smudging to clear your environment. As the smoke ascends during the practice, you send your good thoughts and wishes out into the universe. Be mindful, slow down, and enjoy the process.
Read More»Forest Bathing – Our Connection with Trees
- At October 22, 2019
- By Lisa
- In Experiences, Features, Wellness
- 2
There is a concept, known as biophilia, introduced by American biologist E. O. Wilson in 1984, that humans have an innate need to connect with nature. Wilson believed that because we evolved in nature, we have a biological imperative to be close to it, and this affinity with the natural world is fundamental to our health and well-being.
Experts in forest therapy say that being in the forest reduces stress and blood pressure, strengthens your immune and cardiovascular systems, and boosts your energy, mood, creativity, and concentration. In addition to the philosophy of forest bathing, or what the Japanese call shinrin-yoku, there is some compelling science behind it as well.
Read More»Sleeping with Hemingway
- At October 07, 2019
- By Lisa
- In Experiences, Musings, Wellness
- 6
I sleep with books now. Sleeping with books wasn’t something I planned nor was it something I was aware of wanting to do. But it seems there was always some memory or picture in my mind of doing so — perhaps taken from the scene of a movie or from my former Scandinavian lifestyle.
In the past, I’ve never been able to sleep with books — which I promise is delightful — because I’ve always been sleeping next to a man. But there they are now, books and notebooks scattered around my bed, stacked in piles on the floor, and grouped together like high-rise buildings on my mother’s cedar chest. Presently I’m sleeping with a copy of Haruki Murakami’s Kafka On The Shore, Benjamin Dryer’s Dryer’s English, Hemingway’s Moveable Feast, Mary Gabriel’s Ninth Street Women, and Laure K. Denton’s Hurricane Season.
Read More»Teaching myself to read, again
- At October 21, 2018
- By Lisa
- In Narcissistic Abuse Recovery, Wellness, Writing
- 4
Nearly everyone has had the experience of reading a paragraph or a page in a book, getting to the bottom of it, and then realizing they have no idea what they just read. In 2017, this was happening to me on a regular basis. In fact, it was happening all the time. As a writer, not being able to focus or comprehend reading material was obviously problematic.
This had never been an issue for me in the past. Prior to my experiences in Sweden, I had laser focus. But after my return to the US, I found I could read news articles and the simple short posts people would write on social media, but I couldn’t focus on longform or fiction. My abilities to research and to stay on task were also significantly reduced.
Why the change?
Read More»
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