Sage spa

How To Grow Clouds

"It takes a lot of work: it is necessary to weed very carefully, to toss out muck and small stones by hand, to kneel on the earth, bend over, dig about in the soil, water profusely, collect caterpillars, exterminate aphids, loosen the ground and serve the earth; when your back hurts from all this and you straighten up and look at the sky, you will have the prettiest clouds.”

— Karel Capek

3 simple truths

“Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech,
and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.”- Buddha

Even if something is left undone ...

Even if something is left undone, 
everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn."
- Elizabeth Lawrence

Soul

"Each flower is a soul opening out to nature." 
- Gerald De Nerval

Peace & Sanctuary

 

The atmosphere is very peaceful and natural..."

"And your setting is instantly relaxing and peaceful,"

"I honestly feel at peace"¹

"I felt a sense of peace just standing in the lobby."

"A sanctuary² of profound peace, symmetry and rejuvenation."

"A sanctuary for sure! This was a truly I-tal³ experience! Every Blessing" 

1. peace [pees] noun, interjection, verb, peaced, peac·ing; cessation of or freedom from any strife or dissension: freedom of the mind from annoyance, distraction, anxiety, an obsession, etc.; tranquillity; serenity: silence; stillness

2. sanctuary sanc·tu·ar·y immunity afforded by refuge in such a place;  any place of refuge; asylum

3. Ital or I-tal i celebrated by those in the Rastafari movement. The word derives from the English word "vital", with the initial syllable replaced by i.

 

Miwa Matreyek's glorious visions

Using animation, projections and her own moving shadow, Miwa Matreyek performs a gorgeous, meditative piece about inner and outer discovery. Take a quiet 10 minutes and dive in. With music from Anna Oxygen, Mirah, Caroline Lufkin and Mileece

 

Miwa Matreyek's work blurs the line between real and unreal. In live works that integrate animation, performance, and video installation, she explores how animation changes when it is combined with body and space (and vice versa). In her video projects, animation takes on a more physical and present quality, while body and space take on a more fantastical quality.

On one hand, Matreyek's performance can be viewed as a cinematic experience taking place on a screen. On the other hand, what is seen on the screen is a collapsed product of multiple layers of animation, objects and body. Her work exists in a juxtaposition of illusion and nonillusion. Matreyek is also a founding member of the performance media group Cloud Eye Control, which makes theatrical productions with cleverly integrated animation projections.

Music credits:

Shadow Hands scene song: Anna Oxygen 
Island scene song: "Shells" by Mirah, (a)spera, K records 
City scene song: Caroline Lufkin 
Magic Hands scene song: Anna Oxygen 
additional music by Mileece

The piece Matreyek performs at TEDGlobal 2010 is an abridgement of the work "Myth and Infrastructure."

The Power of Resting: Exclusive Interview with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh

 "I have lost my smile, but do not worry, the dandelion has it"- Thich Nhat Hanh

An Interview by Marianne Schnall, May 21, 2010

 We humans have lost the wisdom of genuinely resting. We worry too much. We don't allow our bodies to heal, and we don't allow our minds and hearts to heal. Meditation can help us.

Thich Nhat Hanh (pronounced Tick-Naught-Han), is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, author, teacher and peace activist. His efforts to generate peace and reconciliation moved Martin Luther King, Jr. to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967 and to call him "an apostle of peace and nonviolence".

Nhat Hanh currently lives in Plum Village, a Buddhist meditation practice center and monastery he founded in southern France, and travels regularly throughout North America and Europe to lecture and lead retreats on "the Art of Mindful Living." The author of over 100 books including the best-selling books The Miracle of Mindfulness, Living Buddha, Living Christ, and Being Peace, he is currently working on a new book, tentatively titled Peace Is Every Breath: Daily Practices for Our Busy Lives, due out next year.

In his foreword to Thich Nhat Hanh's book, "Peace is Every Step", the Dalai Lama writes that Nhat Hanh "shows us how to use the benefits of mindfulness and concentration to transform and heal difficult psychological states. He shows us the connection between personal, inner peace and peace on Earth."

In the following interview, Nhat Hanh shares valuable insights, advice and wisdom on how we can use our downtime to truly nourish ourselves (he says, "we humans have lost the wisdom of genuinely resting and relaxing"), how even a busy U.S. Congressman uses walking meditation to de-stress and clear his mind on the way to a floor vote, his concerns about the impact of technology on society and his belief in the power of meditation and mindfulness to produce a more peaceful world and self.

READ THE INTERVIEW

A Meditation for Doers/Overachievers

This is a breathing metaphor that comes from Breathing Into Life by Bija Bennett.

Do you think you're being lazy when you are not DOING something?

  Do you think you are wasting time when you are simply just being there.  There is nothing wrong with just sitting still and watching.  Maybe real laziness is when your mind is unaware of it own reactions.  Or when you're not paying attention to what is going on inside you.  This is when you're really asleep.  Quite frankly, your restless mental wanderings have nothing to do with learning anything.  Use your breath, observe, "get a little lazy" the next time you feel the urge to be frantically pushing or work all day to achieve what you want ... and just watch yourself and your breath.

Be curious, be adventurous, see what happens.

Meditations for Fears of Pregnancy

I found these helpful quotes (gathered by Robin Sale) for dealing with those inevitable and variable fears of pregnancy.  Trying sitting in meditation for 15 minutes and thinking about one of these quotes, or just carry it with you as you go about your daily activities.  Don't forget to tune into your breathing at the same time ... not forcing or controlling it but just noticing it.  Breath is your best friend in dealing with fear.