I have been reading and re-reading my books by American, Tibetan Buddhist nun, Pema Chödrön, contemplating and studying her teachings about staying present in one’s life. It is the key to living with an open heart. And when you open your heart, positive transformation occurs, giving access to what she refers to as the three basic human qualities: natural intelligence, natural warmth, and natural openness. Each of us can draw upon these qualities to help ourselves and to help others.
Being awake and fully present in any given moment requires receptivity and the ability to be fully conscious of whatever is happening, without withdrawing or retreating into states of distraction. This can sometimes be difficult to achieve, while at other times comes with more ease, depending on the mood or state we are in. Meditation practice is one way to train the mind to be more aware and come back to the present, over and over again. Although the book refers to meditation in terms of sitting still and attending to the breath, I have found that creating art (for me, that’s in the form of photography and abstract painting), gardening, walking in the forest, or sitting still in nature are my favorite forms of meditation. When I engage in these practices, I notice that my mind quiets and I become more fully alive and attuned to the present. Not only do they foster awareness, but also gift me with intense joy and a feeling of connectedness to a Great Love. Thoughts and feelings come and go; I observe them (trying not to get too tangled up in them), then release them and return again to the present moment.
In what ways can you invite meditation into your life, to cultivate a quieter mind, awareness, presence, an open heart, and a happier life filled with kindness toward self and toward others?
XO
I am a magic seeker, on a quest for sparkle in the everyday simple. A few things that are enlivening my world these days… I’m feeling over-JOYed about the miraculous rebirth of my gardens (marveling at their lush return from solid, cold, barren ground)… I’m photographing columbine, lilacs (and burrying my nose in their intoxicating fragrance. SIGH), trollius globe flower and other beauties, building inspiring altars daily to invite tranquility and mindfulness into my space, sipping on local vanilla cappuccino and indulging in the lost art of letter writing, cloudgazing at wondrous shapes of hearts and angels on the everchanging canvas up above, melting my ego into the feel, smell and look of wet paint in the studio, sipping superfood smoothies I toss together with blueberries, strawberries, kale, reishi mushroom, wheatgrass, ceylon cinnamon, avocado, vanilla bean, banana, turmeric and black pepper, ginger, raw honey, and coconut milk, absorbing beauty-soaked, heart-rending 
The violets. I have fallen under their sweet and mysterious spell. These amethyst-toned gems have spread like wildfire in my gardens since I planted a few tender handfuls of them several years ago …lush waves of velvety purple delicate petals that quiver and roll softly in the balmy May breeze. I observe them closely and they remind me of snowflakes …each one unique in form, coloring, and markings. I am so taken. Enchanted by the dark inky blue depths of these tiny beauties.