An Announcement and a Practice For You

I.

I'm thrilled to announce that I will be having my first ever art exhibit this August and September! 

I'm honored to have been invited to do so Patricia's Wellness and Arts Cafe here in Bloomington, Indiana.

I will be displaying several encaustic and mixed media pieces, most of which will be for sale.  If you are local, please stop by!  On the first Friday in September (the 6th), I'll be having an artist talk and reception...more on that later.

I'll be adding photos soon of pieces to be displayed and for sale.

(Needless to say, a lot of work goes into something like this!  Much of my expression has been poured into these pieces; hence, the bigger spaces between writing here on the blog.)

II.

I want to offer to you a practice, one that can dissolve tension almost immediately.

If you are signed up for Mindfulness Now, you've received this practice in your inbox (and will again!).

What I love most about these is that that are tested, over and over, in my own life.  Those that I find work for me, I pass along to you.

The other day, I was in the car.  I was running over thoughts in my head about a recent argument I had, my son was complaining about something (I've since blocked it out), and I had a driver behind me who apparently wanted to climb in my backseat.  (In case you aren't aware, tailgaters definitely push my buttons.)  I was tense, my breath was short, and I was just in a horrible mood.

Suddenly, a cloud caught my eye.

I looked up... and kept looking beyond.  My breath followed my gaze as expanded into the cloud, through the cloud, beyond the cloud, and across the expanse of the sky.  I imagined looking back upon myself, the little me sitting in the car, from this perspective.  It was a place of nonjudgment - just expansive being.

What must have been only a few seconds later, I zipped back into myself.  My breathing was easier and my shoulders had dropped.  My entire perspective on the issues that had previously angered me was slightly shifted...enough that I could look at them without immediately tensing up again.

So I invite you now to look up.

Keep looking - into, above, and beyond.

Expand.

Become the larger breath.

Namaste.