Zen habits

Stay informed without Drowning in Anxiety

colleen Finding Zen, General , , , ,

I often remind myself of the Buddhist words:
“When you can’t calm the storm,
calm yourself
and wait for the storm to pass”

Many of us these days can be anxious about what’s going on in the world,
and reading the news or looking at social media seems to trigger our fears
and worries more than ever.
But we feel we can’t just bury our heads in sand.
So how do we stay informed but not get crushed with anxiety and overwhelm
from current events?
There aren’t any easy answers,
but here are a few ideas we can share with each other
and remind each other of these points.

1. LIMIT: Maybe limit checking news to twice a day, on two different sites
And limit the checks to 10 to 15 minutes each time.

2. WAIT: Don’t get caught up in reacting instantly.
Wait a day before sharing or reacting. Let yourself process it,
let the anxiety die down and breathe.

3. FOCUS: Keep yourself focused on what you can control.
What action can you take in your local community?
Can you get involved with a national campaign?
Are there conversations you can have with people
that will help the situation? If not,
then focus on the actions you can take,
and don’t take on the responsibility of having to fix everything
or worry about everything in the world.

4. NOTICE: practice noticing when you’r feeling anxiety
or overwhelm or frustration, and notice how it feels in your body,
in your mind, heart, gut!
Focus on the sensation, and let it be OK that you’re feeling things,
without adding extra fuel to the fire.

5. BREATHE: Sone slow, deep breaths can really help calm you.

6. BALANCE: with walking, nature, something beautiful every day

(Adapted with thanks from Leo Babauta, Zen Habits)

For me, these days as I get older I just have to remind myself

Stay calm in the storm
Find your prayer or mantra in nature, music, art, creating .
Make a habit of meeting the sacred everyday
Show resistance through joy, trust, love and creating .

(Adapted from Hopi Indian Chief White Eagle.)

Finding Zen and the Opportunities of This Time adapted by Colleen Keating

colleen Poetry , , , , , , , , , ,

“We can create a fearless life
by living daily out of our comfort zone,
and in the deliciousness of uncertainty”

Finding Zen and the Opportunity of This Time

The truth is, all of this has always been here. We’ve always been distracted, numbing our difficult emotions like loneliness and sadness and anger with social media, food, alcohol and other comforts. We’ve always felt uncertainty, anxiety, frustration and overwhelm.

It’s just that this pandemic has brought it all front and center. Put it directly in our faces, so we can’t ignore it.

That’s difficult, but it’s also an opportunity — to look directly at the things we don’t want to admit to ourselves.

To become present to our emotions.

To train ourselves in compassion, gratitude, wonder, connection, meaning and mindfulness.

It’s terrible that people are get sick and die,— we don’t want to pretend that everything is rainbows and unicorns. It’s terrible and easy to turn to alcohol are other unhealthy ways of coping with all of this.

But we need to make the most of this time, use the opportunity of this time.

We start first by recognizing whatever is there for us: overwhelm, distraction, loneliness, sadness, frustration, disconnect, anxiety.

We get present with it: how does it feel in our body? Can we be with the sensations of these emotions, mindfully, gently, with openness and curiosity?

We bring compassion to ourselves — a sense of warmth and wanting happiness for ourselves.

We then try a new frame of mind — here are a handful to try out:

  • Curiosity: can we be curious about something in this moment, from the sensations of our emotions to what another person is going through? What changes for you when you practice curiosity?
  • Wonder: Can we view this moment (ourselves, our surroundings, other people) with a sense of awe and appreciation? With a sense of wonder at the miracle of life? How does that change things for you?
  • Gratitude: Can we feel a sense of gratitude for what we have in this moment, for the other person, for our eyesight? What would it be like to lose those things? Can we see the things we have through this new lense of appreciation?
  • Meaning: What if everything we did had a sense of meaning — what if every act could be a way to love ourselves, or to love and serve others? How would that change each act for you?
  • Mindfulness: Can we simply be present in this moment? Connect with a sense of spaciousness and awareness of what is happening right now? What shifts for you when you do this?
  • Connection: Can we feel a sense of connection to others in each moment? To the light in ourselves? To the world around us? And realize how we’re supported by the entire world.
  • Empowerment: There’s a big difference between doing something because we feel we should, or because we have to … and doing something because we choose to. Can you choose into each act in your day? Or choose out of it, if you really don’t want to do it? What would life be like if you were choosing to do things from an empowered place, rather than feeling like life was happening to you?

Choose one at a time, and practice it for a few days. Life in the pandemic will give you plenty of practice opportunities, if you look for them. Embrace them, and train.

gratefully,

Leo Babauta
Zen Habits      Thanks to Zen Habits

“We can create a fearless life by living daily out of our comfort zone, and in the deliciousness of uncertainty”

Finding Zen to rest and replenish by Colleen Keating

colleen Finding Zen , , , , ,

Finding Zen to rest and replenish

As the last blog stated these days, many people are feeling overwhelmed and  exhausted.

Here are some nourishing, replenishing, restorative  actions we can take  when we feel drained:

  1. Go for a walk
  2. Take a pause to breathe and notice the moment.
  3. Take a nap
  4. Give yourself a day of spaciousness.
  5. Spoil yourself with a moment outside in the air, with a cup of coffee taken to the garden, with a few hours doing something you always wanted to do, with a holiday away, a retreat, a spa place, etc. from 5 minuits to 5 days  every small moment is a gift to you.
  6. Take a tea break with a little ritual about it.
  7. Sit and feel the sun on your back.
  8. Lay down , close your eyes , relax every muscle in your body and just feel nourished by your brath
  9. Be kind to yourself , serching out and being aware of this every day.

Remember the rule in an areiplane – the adult /parent, must always buckle in before they buckle in the child. Your might think it would be best to attend to the child first but you must be safe firstly to keep the child safe. Hence you must care for yourself firstly to care for others.

Thank you to Zen Habits and Leo Babauta for his many great writings which I adapt for my friends now for all of us.

Finding Zen: The opportunity of this time adapted by Colleen Keating

colleen General , , , , ,

“We can create a fearless life
by living daily out of our comfort zone,
and in the deliciousness of uncertainty”

The Opportunity of This Time

The truth is, all of this has always been here. We’ve always been distracted, numbing our difficult emotions like loneliness and sadness and anger with social media, food, alcohol and other comforts. We’ve always felt uncertainty, anxiety, frustration and overwhelm.

It’s just that this pandemic has brought it all front and center. Put it directly in our faces, so we can’t ignore it.

That’s difficult, but it’s also an opportunity — to look directly at the things we don’t want to admit to ourselves.

To become present to our emotions.

To train ourselves in compassion, gratitude, wonder, connection, meaning and mindfulness.

It’s terrible that people are get sick and die,— we don’t want to pretend that everything is rainbows and unicorns. It’s terrible and easy to turn to alcohol are other unhealthy ways of coping with all of this.

But we need to make the most of this time, use the opportunity of this time.

We start first by recognizing whatever is there for us: overwhelm, distraction, loneliness, sadness, frustration, disconnect, anxiety.

We get present with it: how does it feel in our body? Can we be with the sensations of these emotions, mindfully, gently, with openness and curiosity?

We bring compassion to ourselves — a sense of warmth and wanting happiness for ourselves.

We then try a new frame of mind — here are a handful to try out:

  • Curiosity: can we be curious about something in this moment, from the sensations of our emotions to what another person is going through? What changes for you when you practice curiosity?
  • Wonder: Can we view this moment (ourselves, our surroundings, other people) with a sense of awe and appreciation? With a sense of wonder at the miracle of life? How does that change things for you?
  • Gratitude: Can we feel a sense of gratitude for what we have in this moment, for the other person, for our eyesight? What would it be like to lose those things? Can we see the things we have through this new lense of appreciation?
  • Meaning: What if everything we did had a sense of meaning — what if every act could be a way to love ourselves, or to love and serve others? How would that change each act for you?
  • Mindfulness: Can we simply be present in this moment? Connect with a sense of spaciousness and awareness of what is happening right now? What shifts for you when you do this?
  • Connection: Can we feel a sense of connection to others in each moment? To the light in ourselves? To the world around us? And realize how we’re supported by the entire world.
  • Empowerment: There’s a big difference between doing something because we feel we should, or because we have to … and doing something because we choose to. Can you choose into each act in your day? Or choose out of it, if you really don’t want to do it? What would life be like if you were choosing to do things from an empowered place, rather than feeling like life was happening to you?

Choose one at a time, and practice it for a few days. Life in the pandemic will give you plenty of practice opportunities, if you look for them. Embrace them, and train.

gratefully,

Leo Babauta
Zen Habits      Thanks to Zen Habits

“We can create a fearless life by living daily out of our comfort zone, and in the deliciousness of uncertainty”