present moment

The Unexpected Life Lesson from an Orange Daylily.

Posted by Barbara Techel

day lilyYesterday morning as my friend, Victoria and I were walking downtown she was sharing with me how she just does not like orange daylilies. She has a clump of them in the garden along the back of her house. But she does not like them because they bloom and last for one day, then the next day they already begin to wither and brown.

I thought about what she said and then related it to life. I said, “I’ll bet even though it only blooms for one day it makes sure to enjoy that one day to the fullest.”

It had me also recalling a funeral I went to years and years ago for a young person who was only in their teens when they died. I remember the minister having two people stand on either side at the front of the church. They were holding a string, each holding an end.  The minister walked up to the string and with his fingers about half inch apart he told us that this is what it looks like in the amount of time we are really here on earth. The remainder of the very long string is eternity. The message was that life is so very short. Just a blip in time. Enjoy it to the fullest.

After breakfast as we walked around town perusing the sidewalk sales, we ran into a mutual friend we had just been talking about earlier, wondering how she was doing.

We sat for about an hour outside a shop on a bench and got caught up the best we could with the three of us and just in the span of an hour. But it was the most enriching hour!

I relayed what I said about the daylily living life to the fullest. Our friend then shared with us something she recently read from a spiritual teacher (not recalling the name right now). But the teacher saying that the way to live each day is that at the end of the day if you have no regrets, and you enjoyed it to the fullest, that when you closed your eyes if you didn’t awake again that you would be okay with that – that you lived that day doing what made you happy.

I thought about these conversations as I lay in bed last night before drifting off to sleep. I truly had the best time with my friend, Victoria celebrating our birthdays, feeling especially happy about our time together. Though there is so much of life I wish to live yet, I felt that if I didn’t awake today, I would have left this world a happy lady.

I think every time I now see an orange daylily I shall recall my time with Victoria, as well as, bumping into our mutual friend, who shared some beautiful wisdom with us. Though the daylily only blooms in full, rich, brilliant orange for a day, the message they carry will always be my reminder to enjoy the present moment. It’s all we have.

Soul Food Feeds My Spirit. Especially One In Particular. Bet You Can’t Guess!

Posted by Barbara Techel

full face shotYesterday on my blog I talked about a class I am taking and my aha moment with understanding the present moment and meditation better. My aha was that I moved into an even deeper understanding of my connection with present moment and dogs which equals my meditation.

A few weeks ago I listened to an audio program called “Ask Your Spirit Guides” by Sonia Choquette. I’ve always been fascinated with the spirit world and what is there to help us while in the physical world. But I find myself increasingly even more intrigued and wanting to know more.  I also always thought it had to be so complicated. I’m learning it really isn’t.

Spirit is all about paying attention to how we feel. Not only that, but then trusting how we feel. We are so conditioned to go with what our mind is telling us, rather than how our heart feels.  Spirit, according to Sonia is really our own higher self.

To understand it more simply she talks about being sensitive to our spirit. Ask yourself what does your spirit like? What does your spirit love? What do you feed it?  These things are what makes you love life and feel alive. They help you feel positive.

We were encouraged to make a list of our soul food.  Here is mine, and if you have followed me on my blog for quite some time, it should not come as any surprise what my first spirit food is!  I share my list with you and encourage you to make your own.  Then feast from at least one of your soul foods each and every day.

1.  Spending time with, and nurturing my dogs.  Also spending time with other animals when I can. (on a side note:  during my sabbatical I visited a local ranch that is interestingly enough run by nuns on a property that also houses a nursing home.  The animals are used as therapy for the residents.  Anyone can visit the animals. Being with the donkeys, llama’s, rabbits, sheep, chickens, etc. was wonderful soul food and time fell away).

2. Listening to piano music (listening to that right now as I write my blog post, which I normally do.  Love Pandora!).

3. Arranging fresh flowers for my kitchen table.

4.  Perusing home magazines.

5. Decorating or re-arranging my living room.

6.  Lighting candles.

7.  Riding my bike.

8.  Reading.

9.  Practicing Yoga.

10.  Making a conscious effort to take my time each day instead of rushing.

11.  Hanging laundry on the line to dry which I call laundry therapy.

There are so many ways in which we can feed our spirit.  I know that when I do I am a much happier person.  These are more moments of being in the present moment. I also believe by feeding our soul daily it ultimately leads to seeing more grace in our lives.

What is your soul food?  I’d love to hear!  Share in a comment below!

Understanding the Present Moment & Meditation in a New Way. I Think I Finally Get it!

Posted by Barbara Techel

2013-07-27_18.28.10My meditation. With Joie, July 2013.

Last Thursday I started a 6-week class called “Who Am I?” It is a class being taught by David Van Handel who created the Self-Awareness Healing and Training Method.

I almost didn’t sign up for the class because I won’t be able to attend this coming Thursday due to another commitment. But something urged me to sign up anyway, so I followed that feeling.  Boy, am I glad I did!

There are 13 women in the class, which I find fascinating in itself being there are no men in the class. We range from 22, to middle age and up.  Ten minutes into the class I knew I was exactly in the right place at this time in my life.  Did you ever just know that?  It is a great space to be in when that happens. As I listened to David I knew I wanted more of what he is teaching.

I felt so at home with everything he was saying. He talked about ego and the mind, as well as what grace truly is. The more he talked about grace, which are steps to ultimate healing and getting back to the place we originated from, the more I know I want more of this. Like anything in life though, it takes practice. But more important, as I am realizing, it takes awareness.

We’ve all heard about the benefits of meditation and being present. But how easy is that to do, right?  Especially when we get so caught up in the “busyness” and “doing” of our everyday lives.

I’ve tried meditating. Sitting in a chair, eyes closed, trying to clear my mind, but always get this overwhelming anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach. I end up getting frustrated and quit.

David shared a story that really helped me to understand being in the present moment and meditation. Having just moved back to Wisconsin after living in Conneticut the past 15 years or so, he is awaiting his license to be reinstated to practice therapy again in Wisconsin.  Having a few hoops to jump through and taking longer than he anticipated, he was driving down the highway one day wondering what he could do in the meantime.

A sign appeared. Literally. Bus Drivers Wanted. He thought to himself, hmmm, I’ve always thought it would be fun to drive a bus. Instead of dismissing the thought, he decided to act on it. Long story, short, he currently is a bus driver for 1st graders.

The really cool part of this story, and listening to our intuition, is that what he discovered by driving bus for these sweet little kids. During those hours he is totally in the present moment.  As he shared, driving a bus with parents children on board, and all that comes with that, you just have to be present.

When you are in the present moment you are also then in a form of meditation. All your other thoughts slip from your mind.

It was an aha moment for me!  The times I am truly in the present moment are when I am with my dogs. While I knew this in a way, I now feel it on an even deeper level. They are my meditation. Whether walking Kylie, or brushing her, or snuggling with her, I realize now in a more profound way that in those moments nothing else is present in my mind.

How we get to living more in the present moment and finding our meditation is going to be different for each of us.  Talking to my dear friend, Cassy, it is when she paints. It explains her drive to paint also as everything else falls away when she can be at the easel.  For me, everything else falls away when I can be with Kylie, and every other dog I’ve had.

Driving home from class last Thursday so much more about life made sense to me. It put me back into this peaceful place I feel like I’ve been trying so hard to get back to.  I can hardly wait for the next class in two weeks!  I’ll share more aha insights as I have them over the next few weeks.