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Mindful Living: The Allure of the Present
The blue of a delphinium is the most extraordinary you will find anywhere. This morning a few were just right for welcoming indoors along with some ultra-fluffy peonies. I have been watching their spikes for weeks. Proud lithe stems emerged from a cluster of dense but delicate leaves. As they strengthened, tiny buds stayed for quite a while before popping into the color for which I wait all year. In my meditation classes, I guide others on how to live vibrantly in the present, where beauty and inner wisdom often are found. My love affair with the delphiniums had me focused on more than the gorgeous blues. I felt respect…
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Feeding the Soul | The Link Between Cooking and Mindfulness
As a child I was fascinated by the beautiful hands of the women in my family as they kneaded dough, arranged chicken in a vegetable-laden stock pot, and offered plates of their latest delicious experiment. Once I began cooking, I realized the immense pleasure to be found in sinking into each moment in the kitchen. Far from focusing on the final dishes, I have always enjoyed the transformation of ingredients each step of the way. Often I’ll light a few tapers while I cook, a pre-event to the meal I’m about to serve. Now being a teacher of meditation and cooking, the link between these two areas is a realm…
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Mindful Living | Autumn
Summer heated us from without, decking us in sunlight when it wasn’t shaking the leaves in our garden with rain. Possibly you were barefoot more than usual in sand and picnic grass. Everything was alive, and it invited us to bask in what called to us most. Now that autumn is here, we are asked to light that fire from within. As the felt heat dissipates, we return to our inner spark. When the seasons change, we take what we loved and transform it to suit the new reality, this being earlier nightfall and cooler days ahead. It means learning to find beauty in the dark and discovering what warms…
