Moving Meditation

Someone commented to me today, "I don't know how you do so many things!" I have two responses that I would really like to share with this friend and with anyone who feels overwhelmed in their life or anyone who would like just a little bit more joy and efficiency in their day:

1. Remember that what you see of anyone online has a bit of illusion in it. I don't want to create the false impression that I am a "super-mom". It may appear that people online accomplish a lot because they only post their accomplishments online. This is the nature of life online. I don't think you all want to see a video of me sleeping in until noon or hear about how I spent two hours petting my cat!

2. As a mother, teacher, healer, friend, cook, cleaner and much more we all have so many "jobs" that it seems to leave little time for getting our work done and even less time for meditation and reflection.

I was inspired years ago by the Turkish (Sufi) or Buddhist method of meditation which involves making every moment of your life an opportunity for reflection, joy, meditation and enrichment rather than specifying a certain time to "meditate". I learned this method by example, first when I met one of my mentors in 1994 and then, again, when I visited Turkey in 1998.

I was first interested in this way of life because I was very frustrated by some of the chores I was doing every day and I was impressed by other people I saw who seemed to find such joy in these chores - even washing dishes!

What surprised me was that the more I practiced this way of living, the more efficient I became and the more work I was able to do each day - as a mother, teacher, healer, and much more.

You can find some written inspiration for this method in the books, "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle and "Shelter for the Spirit" by Thomas Moore. Hmmm...if anyone knows of any females who have written on this topic please tell me so I can include them too!

My favorite quote from "Shelter for the Spirit" is:

"Sometimes I still whine about chores. Cleaning is boring, repetetive, mindless, unappreciated, physically demmanding, sexually sterotyped and socially undervalued. In this state of noredom, reception and mindlessness however, we can be receptive to the divinity within us. Similarly, being called to an activity that is demanding, sterotyping and undervalued, can be used as an opportunity to gain hummility. It can bring us face-to-face with the mytic’s paradox: We are dust and we are divine."

And remember what Shakespere said, "Action is eloquence".

By living fully in each moment and experiencing each moment as divine you will find more joy in your life and you will also find that you get more done without even trying!

I hope that someone else will be inspired by this thought as I was years ago...it changed my life.

Blessings & Health,
Kristie