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Still Waters Newsletter
August 2011
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Scenic Pause
 | | A Walk in the Park |
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We can learn to wake up to life's beautiful details.
Allow yourself a few moments to take a walk in the park. Pay attention to the details and let your feelings of wonder wake up your inner smile.
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 | | by Ashley Davis Bush, LCSW |
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Join us on Facebook
where I share practical ideas for developing threads of inner peace through our days
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 | | by Ashley Davis Bush, LCSW |
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Join us on Facebook
where we discover that
death doesn't end the relationship, it simply forges a new type of relationship - one based not on physical presence but on memory, spirit, and love...
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Upcoming Events
"Shortcuts to Self Care: restorative tools to lighten your day"
December 8th, 12pm
Conference Lecture
23nd International Psychology of Health, Immunity & Disease Conference
Hilton Head Island, SC
Conference Registration Required
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Dear Daniel,
 | | Ashley Davis Bush |
Have you ever noticed how each stressful thought in your head is always followed by another? Mindfulness is a purposeful redirection from our thoughts to a specific experience or anchor.
We can learn to be mindful. As we do we find that our stressful thoughts begin to have less weight in our lives. Make an effort to deliberately notice the details of your life and watch your flower of inner peace bloom! Sending love and light,
Ashley |
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Stress Free Living
"Living with a Zen Master"
Often when I get up in the morning, just as I begin the routine of showering, dressing, and eating, I am halted by my Zen master. He insists that I stop, and asks me to be mindfully aware of the moment. He stretches his black, furry body and meows.
Yes, my beloved black cat, Clover, is my guru of calm. He visits me in the morning and insists that I still my chattering mind to be present with him. He calls me to the floor and meows quietly in my ear. He rubs against me, rolls on his back, and gently invites me to be aware of just . . . this . . . moment.
I find that animals are masters of mindfulness. They live in the now, in the present moment, with no worries and no judgment. For me, this lesson is necessary over and over again. Most of us race through our days, rushing with thoughts and projects, deadlines and activities. And whether we are feeling delighted or stressed, we find it hard to just be present.
Living mindfully (alert and aware without judgment) is a skill we can cultivate. It helps to have triggers during our day to remind us to pause and be still for a moment. A trigger could be a ringing phone, a chirping bird or your first sip of coffee. Or, if you're lucky, you might have a Zen master to teach you with an insistent, persistent 'meow.'
*I first read of a Cat described as 'Zen master' in Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth
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Living with Loss
"Being Mindful of Impermanence"
They circled the sand mandala chanting to the chorus of bells and cymbals. Eight Tibetan monks had labored for five days and nights creating an intricate and stunningly beautiful design of colored sand. And then, with the reverent and deft strokes of a broad paintbrush, the work of art was erased in seconds.
This exercise in impermanence was meant to graphically portray what we all know yet repeatedly forget: life is brief, ephemeral, and constantly changing. When we deny or resist this reality, we suffer. Yet when we remember and accept the reality of impermanence, we begin to know a deeper peace.
Impermanence is all around us: the child whose school photograph this year looks so remarkably different than last years', the broken plate, the dead mouse presented to me as a gift from my cat, the passing seasons, the withered flowers, the worn out clothes. Impermanence is our normal.
The destruction of the sand mandala is a lesson in appreciating life's beauty even as we learn to let go. The Tibetans believe that opening ourselves to the reality of impermanence will ultimately lead to a more sustained inner peace. As I watched the grains of sand gently floating downstream, I had to agree.
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This Month's Shortcut
"Dish it Out"
To use when you are putting away the dishes
As you stack the plates, put away the glasses, and fill the cutlery drawer, focus intently on the textures that you encounter and sounds that you make. Notice the clatter, the clinks and the chimes. Experiment with different ways of filling the cupboards -- quietly, two hands on a dish, with slow precision or to a rhythm. Try exhaling long and deep with each dish or glass. Pause and notice the beauty of a juice glass, the feel of porcelain, the sound of spoon clinking against a butter knife. Let your thoughts float away as your senses and attentions redirect to the minute details of this simple task.
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This tool is a way of redirecting our too-busy minds to the wonder of a simple task. When we focus our attention on simple sounds and textures, our thoughts lose their grip, our minds calm down and our bodies respond by relaxing. This exercise in mindfulness reduces stress, clears our minds, and creates a pause that resets our default setting to inner peace.
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