New Year, Calmer Mind: Rethinking Violent Media

As the New Year gently opens before us, it invites a pause, a moment to look inward with mindfulness and care. Rather than approaching resolutions as self-improvement projects, we can hold them as intentions rooted in awareness. One such intention may be to become more conscious of what we allow into the mind, including the images and stories we consume. Choosing to step away from violent movies and shows can be a quiet yet meaningful act of mindfulness.

From a mindful perspective, violence, even when fictional, does not arise and pass away without consequence. The mind receives images directly, and the body responds accordingly. Scenes of harm, fear, and aggression can tighten the breath, agitate the heart, and disturb inner stillness. Over time, repeated exposure may subtly condition the mind toward restlessness, numbness, or unease, making it more difficult to rest in calm awareness.

Practicing abstinence from violent media can be viewed as a form of mindful restraint, a video consumption diet. 

Just as we pay attention to how food affects the body, we can observe how certain types of viewing affect the mind. This diet is not about denial, but about discernment: noticing what leads to clarity and ease, and gently releasing what leads to agitation and distress.

Mindful viewing invites us to choose content that supports wholesome mental states. Stories that reflect compassion, insight, humor, and human connection can nourish the heart and encourage reflection. 

Films and programs that uplift rather than shock allow the mind to remain spacious, helping us stay connected to empathy and presence even while being entertained.

When violent media is set aside, space naturally opens for other nourishing practices. Sitting quietly with the breath, walking mindfully, reading contemplative texts, or spending time in nature all support a return to simplicity and balance. These activities steady the mind and remind us of a deeper rhythm beyond constant stimulation.

Mindfulness also asks us to be gentle with ourselves. A video consumption diet is not a rigid rule, but an ongoing inquiry. We can notice how different choices affect our sleep, our thoughts, and our emotional tone, learning from direct experience rather than judgment. Each moment of awareness is already part of the practice.

As this New Year unfolds, may our resolutions arise from wisdom and care. By mindfully choosing what we watch, and what we refrain from watching, we protect the heart and cultivate inner peace. In tending to our own minds with compassion and clarity, we participate in a quieter, more wholesome way of living, moment by moment.

Vladimir

Sathu. Sathu. Sathu.

Buddham Saranam Gacchami 

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Vladimir imparts the Buddha's Dharma with warmth and skill, filling the world's deep need for loving-kindness, compassion, and empathy. 

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Mindfulness And Civil Conversations

How often do we see public figures speaking unkindly towards another person or group of people?

This results in suffering for all. 

How often do we see videos where someone is verbally attacking another person?

This too, results in suffering for all.

It seems it’s easy to speak harshly towards another when we view them as less than we are. Maybe they’re African, Asian, Hispanic, Caucasian, Christian, Muslim, atheist, gay, straight, transgendered, conservative, liberal, or socialist. All you know is that they are not ‘you’ and you feel that justifies harsh speech.

Maybe someone made a mistake on your food order. Maybe your package arrived late and damaged. Maybe you had to wait in line too long for a service in your opinion. Perhaps you’re displeased with a grade on an assignment and your teacher is firm in their scoring.

It may even seem justifiable to express yourself harshly when your expectations are not met to your satisfactions. But it’s not. In fact, there never is an appropriate time to speak harsh words towards anyone, ever.

Civility in speech, behavior, and thought is vital to nurturing your wellbeing.

Let’s consider a viral video example: recall a video where you saw a woman speak harshly to someone over a parking space, or a food delivery, or any number of instances. We see the woman loud, perhaps even using profanity, and her hands and arms flailing during this instance. The recipient of her behavior, depending on the location and their position, may be doing their best to remain composed and trying to deescalate the situation. All during this experience someone is filming while others are exposed to harshness.

No one in this situation is experiencing a nurturing environment. The woman is now referred to as a Karen. This perpetuates her suffering. And all others, no matter their level of involvement, experienced a perpetuation of their suffering. 

People who watch the video experience suffering. How? When you laugh at someone’s suffering you are harming your own wellbeing. You are watering the seeds of heartlessness. That is suffering even though you may not realize it.

Now consider, if you please, a public figure that makes wildly speculative and broad statements about any group of people. Perhaps they say that a certain group of people are lazy and don’t want to work. This statement may resonate strongly with this public figures’ supporters, increasing their popularity, but is it true? Of course not.

Degrading a group of people certainly is not civil in and of itself and not only continues suffering within that group but it also waters suffering in the supporters. How so? By allowing a group of people to feel a sense of superiority over another perpetuates that view point of ‘us versus them’. The ‘us versus them’ mindset is divisive. It sets up walls of intolerance. It doesn’t allow for compassion or empathy. It doesn’t allow you to see ‘you’ for ‘you’ nor does it allow ‘you’ to see others as ‘you’. It doesn’t allow you to see beyond yourself.

When we are mindfully aware of our present moment, we know that suffering exists and that we do all we may to help ease suffering for ourselves and for those around us. We are mindful of how we communicate. We are mindful of how we act and present ourselves. We are mindful in what we read. We are mindful in what we watch.

 

Wishing you continued peace and wellbeing,

 

Vladimir

 

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What I Think About You: A Mindfulness View Of Self And Others

You may have heard a saying something to the effect that when we judge someone that is a quality within ourselves we do not like or covet. Something akin to looking at ourselves in a mirror and finding flaws. For instance, if you see someone you feel is overweight maybe you assume something about their lifestyle. 

You may describe them with words like, lazy, sloppy, unmotivated, or gluttonous. But you yourself haven't been to a gym or exercised in years. Maybe you have a health condition that precludes you from doing so...maybe they do as well. You judged someone knowing nothing about them. 

Do you find yourself condemning a particular persons (celebrity or other) action whom you personally do not even know? Maybe they wore an outfit that made a headline and you made a judgment about that style or a recent role they played in a movie. Maybe your coworker ate a little too much at the company's annual potluck lunch and you made a comment under your breath about portion size.

Consider this, if you are joyful that you are alive, that you are capable of walking this Earth, doing good for other, then how do you have the mindset to judge others? When we see that celebrity wearing an expensive dress or suit be joyful for them. They worked hard, just like you do. And even though their circumstance is not like yours they are deserving of the same joyful emotions that you seek.

When an individual or group of people are the beneficiaries of a windfall that at one time you might have been a part of be joyful that someone has had their burdened eased. Jealousy, envy, the 'what about me' statements are poisons that destroy wellbeing. 

These examples, and many more, are judgments of not someone else, but of ourselves and reflect the suffering we are experiencing.

So how may you start to minimize and then ultimately stop judging? We simply start small.

You don't like her lipstick? They're not your lips so it's not an issue for you.

His belt is on the last hole? Maybe the belt has was a gift from a loved one who passed.

This person has a face tattoo or piercings. They are working hard to provide for their, or family members, daily care just like you.

As you catch yourself in these small situations the practice naturally migrates towards larger examples, like a co-worker get the promotion you felt should have been yours.

As mindfulness practitioners we engage in non-judgmental awareness, ‘this is this and that is that’. It is neither good nor bad, neither desirable nor undesirable. It simply is. By adopting this mindset, we allow ourselves to truly experience freedom and liberation from hurting ourselves and others. We reduce the suffering in the world.

When you allow openness into your mind and heart you no longer have room for judgment. Instead, that space has now been filled with the joyfulness and compassion for others...and us.

Wishing you continued peace and wellbeing,

Vladimir

You are warmly invited to follow on us on Facebook and Instagram at @bluelotuscenter for more ways to improve your mindfulness practice and wellbeing.

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Have You Done Enough? A Mindful Approach To Accomplishment.

We've all pushed through some form of challenge whether it was physical, mental, or career related. As humans we enjoy seeing our limits from time to time but to what extent. Do we cease when we break a bone or sustain some injury? Do we only realize we've gone too far personally or professionally when a valued relationship comes to an end.

So what are some early signs that we have indeed done enough we may bring awareness to before a negative outcome results. 

One of the first signs that comes to mind is continuously working long hours, regardless of if you have a family or not. This notion certainly goes against the mindset of todays modern world of 'being productive'. 

I encounter this mindset during many conversations I have. It is irrespective of gender too and afflicts male and female equally. As a result of this unsustainable and unhealthy notion these people have not only increased their daily stress but have also increased their chances for health issues.

Another sign that comes to mind is brining your work home with you. Imagine your life totally revolving around your job. Although it's important to do a 'good job' while you're at work it's more important to have healthy boundaries in place. No matter what your job title or position you hold in any organization you are replaceable. You are not replaceable to your family. Your health is not replaceable. And your well-being is certainly not replaceable.

A third sign that often presents itself sleeping too much. When you do settle down on a weekend or holiday do you spend most of it trying to 'recuperate' from the weeks work? This is your bodies way of telling you that you are doing too much. When you are sleeping and healing from the previous week are you neglecting others, like a spouse or children? Are they not in need of your presence as well?

Finally, have you ever questioned yourself, however slightly, by saying 'why can't this be over', or some statement to that effect. This is your mind and your body telling you that, yes, you've done too much. As mindful practitioners it's important that we bring awareness to all of our thoughts and evaluate them with openness. It's a cultural tendency to say no, we need to do more, and push ourselves to unhealthy extremes. That notion is unsustainable in the long-term.  

Consider an empty cup. Begin to fill it with water until you reach the just below the brim. You can pick up the cup without worrying about spilling any water. Now, add more water, just to the top of the brim. It's certainly harder to pick up and move around without spilling a drop. Now, what happens when you continue to add more water? It spills over. Perhaps even staining the table cloth. 

Your mind and body are the cup. The water is what ever you do too much of. The table cloth could certainly represent your family and friends. 

One may not pour from an empty cup nor may one have a tidy life with too much bombardment from outside.

Wishing you continued peace and wellbeing,

Vladimir

You are warmly invited to follow on us on Facebook and Instagram at @bluelotuscenter for more ways to improve your mindfulness practice and wellbeing.

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My Mindfulness Morning Routine

Earlier this week was World Mental Health Day. A day in which we bring awareness to the importance of our mental wellbeing something of great human importance. If we were more honestly connected to our thoughts and emotions we would begin to see that the vast majority of our problems are truly not problems at all. We have become accustomed to reacting and not responding to our current situation.

Although I am pleased that we are affording a day in where we shift our focus to this nurturing and developmental habit, one day is not enough...but it certainly is better than zero days of awareness. We need to have this paradigm shift taken more sincerely.

To help those of you that may be interested in developing your own mindfulness routine I am pleased to offer you my simple, yet purposeful, morning routine. In actuality my morning routine really begins when I go to bed the previous evening. As I lay in bed I offer gratitude for the gift of living through another day and gratitude to all of the people I've encountered and helped in one way or another. My day concludes around 11:15 PM each night.

I only allow myself about six and one-half hours of sleep and waking up around 5:35 AM or so. I've been doing this for years and I follow this schedule for several reasons with the primary reason being moderation and balance. This amount of time is not too long nor is it too short. I'm not tempted to watch television in bed for the simple, yet deliberate reason that there is not one in our bedroom. That's what the living room is for. As I lay in bed for the next few moments, I offer gratitude for the gift of life, my wife, kids, furry friends, home, safety, and the wonderful opportunity I have to do good for others this day.

By about 5:40 or 5:45 I'm on the floor seated in meditation. My morning seated meditation session lasts for 35 minutes. Although I have different meditations I nurture during this time (lovingkindness, gratitude, connectedness, etc.) what I do not use this time for is to think about the upcoming day's to do list. When stray thoughts do make their way into my thoughts I simply let them go and shift back to my original meditation.

When my meditation session is over I remain seated, allowing my awareness to shift back to where I am. A few moments later I get up, make my coffee or tea, maybe do a dish or two that one of my kids left in the sink when they snuck down late at night for a snack, and I'm outside by about 6:40 AM to wait and watch the beautiful sunrise.

Most people miss this part because they're either not awake or not paying much attention to it. But to me this is truly the most rewarding part of my day. Seeing how the colors change from dark purples to pinks to light blue and then rich, crisp blue is truly amazing.

Sure, I know that the colors we see are the result of the incident angles of sunlight light penetrating the atmosphere but that doesn't matter. And in no way does that take away from the beauty that the world gifts us each and every day...if we only approach our days with mindfulness, curiosity, and gratitude.

That's how we improve our wellbeing.

And that's my morning routine.

I wish you all peace, ease, and wellbeing.

Vladimir

You are warmly invited to follow on us on Facebook and Instagram @bluelotuscenter for more ways to improve your mindfulness practice and wellbeing.

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Brightening Someone Else's Inner Light

Everyone has their own journey to walk, their own experiences to meet, their own decisions to make, their own actions to be responsible for, their own steps to take on their path. No matter what someone else encounters on their path it is not our path to walk or our decision to make. The experience is solely that individuals. 

But that doesn't mean when someone experiences times of great suffering we can't be there with them. There is no possibility that we may eliminate their suffering, we are not them, but that doesn't mean we cannot help ease their suffering. In fact, one of the most important acts a person may do for another is to demonstrate kindness. A smile. A kind word. Listening attentively. Even simply acknowledging some ones existence. These are all simple acts of kindness.

The Buddha states that in order to realize enlightenment one must have wisdom and compassion, much like two wings on a bird. Demonstrating compassion towards another not only helps to ease their suffering but also cultivates compassion and empathy within. What greater good may there be? 

Although we may never eliminate suffering in the world, we still make an effort. And it is this kind intention, the hopeful seed within, that we care for and nurture. 

People feel sad or get depressed when they experience overwhelming suffering. Feelings of hopelessness or despair begin to root within the mind and if watered depression may begin to set in.

So how do we brighten someone else's inner light? Before I offer some suggestions let's look at the primary cause of a defeated spirit, future living or expectations. 

Let's consider the following example: your best friend has worked very hard at her company for several years, always show up to work and her work is high quality. Maybe she even gets yearly performance raises. The company posts a new management position and she feels she's ideal for. You both practice interviewing techniques. She interviews and all goes well only to find out that someone junior to her was offered the position. She relates to you that she feels defeated and wonder why she's worked so hard for a company only to be rejected.

As a mindfulness practitioner you examine her feelings nonjudgmentally and realize that her suffering comes from the expectation of a particular event outcome. The expectation, or assumption, was that she would get a promotion based on past performance, she was living in the future. Living in the future is not living in the present moment. Nor is living in the past. Living in the past or living in the future diminishes the inner light. 

So how may we help our dear friend? Here are some nurturing suggestions:

• We listen without judgment to what they say.

• We acknowledge without judgment their feelings but we do not offer advice or suggestions on what to do next time, instead only acknowledge their circumstances.

• Without judgment, we let them know that all things in life are impermanent.

• Remind them that oftentimes not getting what you want is the best that could happen.

• Let it go with grace. Holding on to the past increases suffering.    

Remember, we each are on our own path and no matter what we do we may never eliminate another's suffering, but we can ease it a bit, thus helping them walk with awareness.

And with that my friends I wish you all peace and ease,

Vladimir

You are warmly invited to follow on us on Facebook and Instagram @bluelotuscenter for more ways to improve your mindfulness practice and wellbeing.

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Mindfulness and Your Smoke Detector

Chirp…Chirp…Chirp…Chirp…

Most of us are familiar with that little chirping sound from the smoke detector in our homes reminding us that it’s time to change the battery.

Chirp…chirp…chirp…chirp…

We hear it and think to ourselves, ‘I’ll replace the battery as soon as I get up’ 

But we don’t.

Chirp…chirp…chirp…chirp…

Ok, I’ll replace you as soon as this TV show is over…

But we don’t.

Chirp…chirp…chirp…chirp…

Ok Mr. Smoke detector I hear you, I’ll meet your needs as soon as I finish eating.

Does this scenario sound familiar?

A smoke detector is an important sensor that not only warns of a fire in our home, but it saves lives.

Our bodies are very similar to a smoke detector in that it will let you know when something is wrong. When we are ill, we might get a fever, chills, and body aches. When we touch a hot pan or skillet, we receive pain signals telling us to let go. In these two examples people will certainly take medicine or release the pan.

But there are several signals our bodies sendoff that we tend to ignore or minimize. Headaches, muscle tension, anxiety, fatigue, and more are typical signs of stress. It is these important signals we tend to ignore…chirp…chirp…chirp…

But why do we ignore our bodies in such a way that is harmful to our wellbeing?

I’d say there are two main reasons behind this neglect: societal constructs and ego.

In the world we live in we have been conditioned that if you aren’t working 40+ hours a week, on your own after your 18^th birthday, married, kids, cars, mortgage…the list is almost endless, you’re not productive. Work. Produce. Consume. Work. Produce. Consume. 

We often hear the comparison that our body is a machine. It’s not. If you lose an arm in an accident, it cannot be replaced. You are a biological organism with a set of parameters we need to be in to maintain our health.

Society puts a lot of pressure to put on a person and it’s unrealistic and quite frankly, not everyone wants all these check boxes marked off. But even for those people they will still get asked why haven’t you X or when will you to Z. The very posing of these questions, as innocuous, as they may seem, are a source of stress and anxiety.

Ego is certainly a large source of stress and anxiety. Suppose you are one of the check box fillers, those are a lot of boxes to mark off in a certain amount of time. Ego will make you think you are in competition with someone else. You’re not in competition. Ego will make you think you’re less if you don’t accomplish one by a certain time. You’re not less. Ego will have you concerned with, and striving to live up to, what others think of you. Why? They’re not you.

Chirp…

When the signs of stress make themselves known, and they certainly will, it’s important to love yourself and to listen attentively to what your body is telling you.

Mindfulness and meditation is a wonderful and nurturing way to bring back balance and harmony to an unbalanced and harmonious lifestyle. Mindfulness and meditation help to cultivate a healthy perspective about life. What’s important and what’s not. What can you control and what you cannot. What to hold on to and when to let it go. 

Mindfulness and meditation won’t alleviate your budget report due at the end of the day. Mindfulness and meditation won’t shorten the time of your commute to work. Mindfulness and meditation won’t necessarily change your boss’s attitude.

But mindfulness and meditation will allow you to have a healthier relationship with your mind and body and with those around you.

To make an analogy, mindfulness and meditation is like changing that chirping smoke detector battery.

And with that my friends I wish you all peace and ease,

Vladimir

You are warmly invited to follow on us on Facebook and Instagram @bluelotuscenter for more ways to improve your mindfulness practice and wellbeing.

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Calming The Mind During Times Of Anxiety

There seems to be always something occurring either in the world or our personal lives that we allow to agitate our minds. Perhaps we wake up only to find an expectation of ours has been altered, not met, or even abandoned. Regardless of the specific situation or circumstance our expectation lies from wanting to control the future, something we know is not possible. Remember, the future does not exist and therefor we cannot control what does not exist. And this may result in the mind becoming agitated or filled with anxiety.

But we do exist, you and I, in this very moment, are in existence. The future, we'll it does not exist, and most likely the future you're envisioning will not manifest itself as badly as you imagine. 

When our mind is agitated or unsettled we are not able to think or rationalize clearly. It's as if we are looking at life while driving through a heavy rainstorm uncertain if we're even in our lane. If you've ever been caught in one of these events you know how dangerous it can be. Driving at a high rate of speed, fear of hydroplaning, wipers on high, and windows up and air conditioning on to keep the windows from fogging up. Anxiety increases.

Doing all of these actions won't stop the rain or necessarily increase visibility nor offer much safety. So what is the safest 'action' we can do in times like these? We pull over and wait for the rain to stop or let up so we may safely resume our journey.

In our daily life when our mind becomes agitated, for what ever reason, or decision making or kind thinking becomes unclear so the best we can do is to non-do. We 'pull over' and let the storm of agitation pass.

So how do we 'pull over'? 

First we need to recognize we're even in a storm. We often know this because we get tense, loud perhaps, and angry within. When we recognize our agitation it is only then that we may begin the process of pulling over.

Stepping away from the situation or environment is an important non-doing we may take. Stepping away doesn't mean we are avoiding the situation. It means we recognize that we need some time to reflect and to let calmness in so our agitated mind may begin to settle. This non-doing is a sign of wisdom and compassion for our selves and for others.

From there we may find a location that is enveloped by solitude: a park, a lake, a parked car, or even a library. From there we may begin a more balanced mindful breathing and nurturing meditation. Allowing the mind to settle, allowing the mud to settle, allows for clear and balanced and kind thoughts. At first it may be hard, all types of scenarios surface in our mental playground but given non-doing they to move off and clarity begins to appear. 

Give yourself the time to love yourself. Allowing space and openness within cultivates calmness of the mind. And when calmness blossoms life is witnessed with beauty and joyful fulfillment.  

And with that my friends I wish you all peace and ease,

Vladimir

You are warmly invited to follow on us on Facebook and Instagram @bluelotuscenter for more way to improve your mindfulness practice and wellbeing.

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Developing Healthy And Positive Relationships With Mindfulness

Think about your last or perhaps your current relationship.

Did you look forward to seeing this person? Spending quality time with them?

What is it that you like about them? There may even be qualities that you’re not fond of but you accept, like having an action figure collection.

The first healthy relationship most people experience is with their mothers, fathers, grandparents and perhaps siblings. But this situation doesn't have to be true for everyone, every family is different, but these interactions often lay the foundation for our future relationships.

We see how our parents interact and assume that’s how all families interact. We learn respectful behavior. How to nurture someone in time of sickness or other need. We learn how to trust. We learn love. We learn conflict resolution. And we learn boundaries.

But not every family is warm and nurturing. Sadly, some homes are not so pleasant and this may result in perpetuating suffering in your own relationships in the future.

So how may we learn how to mindfully develop and nurture positive and healthy relationships?

Before we talk about how mindfulness can help, let’s look at some examples of unhealthy relationship traits. Keep in mind that the dynamic isn’t only male on female, but may be female on male, male on male, female on female, or any of the vast array of family relationships that exist.

• A codependent relationship
• A relationship this involves verbal, physical, and sexual violence
• A relationship that involves some form of addiction such as, alcohol, drugs, gambling.
• A relationship that is financially abusive.
• A relationship this is emotionally abusive.

Although there are more examples, a majority of unhealthy relationships will combine one or more of these traits.

We often relate relationships to a journey. A journey along our own individual path as we seek spiritual enlightenment or at the very least a harmonious and wholesome life.

And along this journey we've embarked upon we’d like to have company.

This is normal since people are social beings. And a partner helps us enjoy what we mindfully encounter along the way.

A partner helps us during times of illness. A partner is there to help us celebrate joyful occasions. And a partner helps us see the world with a different perspective which helps us remove preconceived notions.

Preconceived notions and ideas about others, including our partners, takes away from your understanding of who they truly are, an individual being like yourself. And maintaining preconceived notions promotes suffering.

For example maybe we say ‘you aren't the same person any more’. Here we make a prediction about a person, a negative illusion, about some ones expected behavior. You are suffering as a result of this expectation and so is the other person as a result.

Or on the opposite side maybe we have a positive illusion, 'my partner can do no wrong'. Here you are clinging to an idealized version of them which may lead to unrealistic expectations about their behavior. Again, more suffering for the both of you.

Before we may offer space for a partner along our journey we need to be sure we are ready and that we are healthy to do so. Meaning that we are with mindful awareness, opening ourselves to being vulnerable, and accepting another as they walk along their path as well. You are in the here and now, in the present moment.

If you feel you are ready then I offer you some gentle suggestions of what to look for.

• Gentle speaking
• Supportive.
• honest
• Non-violent.
• Not jealous or possessive
• Compassionate towards you, himself, and others
• Empathetic towards you, himself, and others
• And certainly you both love each other.

Mindfulness is a wonderful way to help value and strengthen a relationship both with yourself and others. And so as you continue on your journey, breath in and say ‘as I breathe in I walk in peace’ and as you breathe out say ‘as I breathe out I open myself to the beauty of others’.

And with that my friends I wish you all peace and ease,

Vladimir

You are warmly invited to follow on us on Facebook and Instagram @bluelotuscenter for more way to improve your mindfulness practice and wellbeing.

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How To Tell If Your Mindfulness Practice Is Working

How do you know that mindfulness is working for you? Are there signs that come right out and say ‘now that my friend was mindfulness’?

I doubt there is such an obvious signal such as this.

So how may we tell that our practice is working for us?

There are several ways in which I think illustrate the effectives of your practice. The first is how you deal with a crisis.

The Buddha once asked an attendant of his to fetch him some cool water to drink. The dutiful attendant found a creek nearby to fill his vessel. 

However, at the same time an oxcart drove through this creek and muddied the water making it undrinkable. The attendant waited for the mud to settle before filling the drinking vessel.

The attendant related to the Buddha as to why it took him such a loving time to return, and the Buddha replied ‘A disturbed mind is the same as muddy water. With time the mud will settle, and we get clear water. And to get the clear water you didn’t have to do anything and only needed patience’.

In times of stress many people panic. Panic leads to frantic action, disorganized and counterproductive thoughts, stress and anxiety about potential or uncertain outcomes, and often to an even more undesirable outcome. Mindfulness and meditation allow one to foster and develop a sense of balance and calmness allowing one to act with care and attention. It is only when our mind is settled, we have clarity of thought.

At this time, I invite you to reflect upon a past time of crisis or high stress and reflect upon how you handled it. Was it with calmness or was it with agitation?

But what about something that is more of an everyday occurrence, like a relationship?

Often when we’re younger we seek someone that offers us something we ‘think’ we’re needing or lacking. It could be someone with an exciting hair style, a certain personality, or they could be the ‘dangerous or exciting’ person that we know our family with disapprove of. Perhaps we feel we may even be able to ‘fix’ them.

But when we look at ourselves with mindful introspection as we age what do we see? Very often we see (hopefully) harmless youthful mistakes and adventures.

But consider where you are now. Have you left those cravings and desires behind, or have you substituted one for another?

For example, perhaps as a teen you liked the boy with the motorcycle or the one in a garage band. You though he improved your image giving you a rough edge, his friends were completely different than yours, and maybe he was several years older than you.

But now in your thirties or forties you find excitement from someone who works hard spending many hours at the office but is never home to nurture your wellbeing. You find creative ways to entice them but the response is seldom acknowledged in a meaningful way. Are you able to ‘fix’ them?

More likely though we begin to view life with more awareness and don’t seek the excitement of youth. We understand that those times served their purpose but have now passed. With our mindful practice we see more clearly, less muddied water if you will, the value of balance and calmness.

So again, how may we tell of our mindfulness practice is working? It’s working when we realize we have awareness of the present moment and welcoming in whatever we’re experience with balance an calm.

 

I wish you peace and ease, 

Vladimir

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