Administrators Gillian Florence Posted January 5 Administrators Share Posted January 5 This week's question asks: Reflecting on 2021, what gifts or insights did mindfulness bring to your life? Share with our community anything that mindfulness helped to shift or illuminate in your life last year. I look forward to reading your responses. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raymond Collins Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 One of the main insights I gained in 2021 from my own Mindfulness Practice is the realization that only 'Love and compassion' bring about true 'inner transformation'. By inner transformation I mean a genuine 'change of heart and mind (emotions and thoughts)' with healing coming deep from inside one's own true nature, in the form of Loving Kindness and compassion, which takes away all fear (there is no fear in love) and subsequently a deeper acceptance of 'What am I really like, as a person' . To paint a picture, it's a bit like in Disney's Beauty and the Beast where during the relationship building between Belle and The Beast (a good analogy me thinks) Mr's Potts (The Tea Pot) sings the following song: There's something sweet and almost kind But he was mean and he was coarse and unrefined And now he's dear and so unsure I wonder why I didn't see it there before She glanced this way, I thought I saw And when we touched she didn't shudder at my paw No, it can't be, I'll just ignore But then she's never looked at me that way before New and a bit alarming Who'd have ever thought that this could be True that he's no Prince Charming But there's something in him that I simply didn't see Well, who'd have thought Well, bless my soul Well, who'd have known Well, who indeed And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own It's so peculiar We'll wait and see A few days more There may be something there that wasn't there before You know, perhaps there's something there that wasn't there before There may be something there that wasn't there before with this song I'm relating to The Beast, in terms of my own relationship with the shadow aspects of my small self (ego), and Mindfulness in 2021 (Awareness) has led me to experience 'something there that wasn't there before', which is simply the discovery that deep inside my being there is a powerful 'loving and gentle' essence that enables me to 'love and accept myself', in every way, as perfectly imperfect, and yes it's a daily practice when I forget or get into a 'Trance of unworthiness' (thanks to Tara Brach), or when I turn my attention outwards to the 'external world of people and problems', I remember to breathe and look inside, to the vast resources of unending love and grace. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Gillian Florence Posted January 20 Author Administrators Share Posted January 20 Beautiful reflection Raymond! Thank you so much for sharing this. I am so glad mindfulness brought this insight to you, shedding light on something not yet seen. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Gillian Florence Posted January 21 Author Administrators Share Posted January 21 I posed this question, but my answer feels a difficult one for me to put words to. Nevertheless, I am going to give it a go. Last year was a challenging one for me in many ways - but also a very beautiful one. As life goes, there were highs and there were lows. And yet, I think that last year I was able to really relish in the gifts and beauty of life a lot more, even when things felt difficult. I used mindfulness during difficult times to tune into the simplicity and support of my body and environment - such as the pillow beneath my head when I couldn't sleep at 3am, the breath moving through me when it felt the world was spinning too quickly, the peace of the forest just a couple hundred metres from our house - a reminder to just come back to what is real, to what is here right now. As I step into this new year, new (or old but deepening) revelations seem to be coming around our shared humanity, compassion, and kindness. I have been picking up on the energy of divisiveness a lot over the past year (as seen in media, politics, etc.), but I am now feeling or seeing the opportunity to reconnect - to bridge gaps - even if just in my own networks. I think mindfulness is supporting me in honing in on what this present moment asks of me - on what I can truly do in any given moment-, relinquishing a false sense of control over (or desire to fix or manage) the world as a whole. Hopefully this makes sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcy Westcott Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 I have looked at the past two years as a time of opportunity and learning. I've discovered some things about myself and those I teach. While we all have experienced great difficulty, I have chosen to view it as an opportunity to appreciate how resilient we can be. I discovered new ways of being and teaching (long distance who'd of thought!) I have learned about non-attachment on a deeper level. And I am grateful because I think this time can teach us to appreciate connection in a more meaningful way. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Gillian Florence Posted January 24 Author Administrators Share Posted January 24 Lovely reflections. Thank you for sharing Marcy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finestcoaching524@gmail.com Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Short & brief...I have a greater awareness of how important it is to pass onto others daily Loving-Kindnesses as we all have a greater capacity to to illustrate that Loving-Kindness to others, no matter whom they are! I am more Mindful towards myself and to be aware of of what is going on in my Body...especially when affected by Covid as I am coming out of my Covid infection slowly; my Strength is coming back... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Gillian Florence Posted January 26 Author Administrators Share Posted January 26 Sending you support for your healing, Rick! Thank you for sharing this reflection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finestcoaching524@gmail.com Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 Thanks, Gillian...much better today:) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
