I look at the calendar. I look at my to-do list. I look at my bank account. I look at my inbox. I repeat. This time of year more than any other, I feel the pull of the outer world rub distinctly against my desire to slow down, stay inside, and savor this dark, cozy season.

As I reflect on the familiar feelings of chaos, I realize that what I am seeing is a fractal. A fractal is a never-ending pattern that occurs in nature. While the fractal itself, the pattern, is quite simple, the picture it displays can be one of chaos.

Patience and consistency will deliver the results. They always do. So in this most chaotic month, may you breathe deeply and practice more consistently than ever.

Today, I am so delighted to share a conversation with Day Schildkret - an artist in pursuit of impermanent beauty - about his upcoming book Hello, Goodbye: 75 Rituals for Times of Loss, Celebration and Change, which will be published on January 25, 2022.

Day is internationally known for his work Morning Altars in which he creates impermanent art through found objects in nature. In this conversation we dive deep into the importance of ritual, what it is, how we create our own rituals and more.

As we creep up on the Winter Solstice and the New Year, this is a perfect conversation to spark your creativity, and perhaps nudge you to create your own rituals…

Today’s mini meditation is a sneak peek of some new content soon to be released in Shoreline meditation app. This is a 10-minute guided walking meditation that you can do anywhere - your backyard, a sidewalk, a park, a hiking trail....

A mindful walk is a beautiful and valuable practice; it invites us to cultivate the qualities of meditation: presence, non-judgment and compassion, in our everyday, active lives. Not just on the meditation cushion.

You’ll begin at the start of the path you have chosen. You might choose to only go a short distance {10 - 20 feet} and then turn around, tracing your steps over and over again, or you can choose to go on a meandering walk. Following a path, road or trail for as long as feels comfortable to you. Please make sure you know your surroundings or are following a marked trail if you intend to meander.

Happy Thanksgiving.

As we acknowledge this holiday in our own chosen ways this year there is much to celebrate. There is also much to grieve. And, there is much to remember about the truth of our relationship with the indigenious people of this land.

As we each work to sort out our understanding, feelings and plans for the holiday, I thought we could practice today with the gift of contentment.

Contentment is understanding that the moment is complete.

It doesn’t mean the moment is perfect. It doesn’t mean you are 100% happy. It simply means that we are willing to show up for this moment exactly as it is. We are willing as Swami Rama said to “fall in love with our lives”.

In our practice, a bit of humor can be a mechanism for going deeper. Rather than doubt, judge or over-analyze, what happens if we simply smile, shake our heads at the wildness of it all and trust our inner experiences?

We tip the scales towards kindness

We balance the ocean of our bodies,

And, we remind ourselves that we simply can’t see or know the whole story.

Join me for today’s mini meditation practice and be sure to listen to the full story in last week’s episode “Lying on the Forest Floor part 3.

With humor, we invite balance. This is such a valuable sentiment to explore because so much of life feels like it is screaming at us to FIX ALL THE PROBLEMS.

Humor is the reminder that our brains simply can’t see the whole picture and it is ok that we don’t have all the answers. Humor is the invitation to not be totally consumed by the drama.

In our practice, a bit of humor can be a mechanism for going deeper. Rather than doubt, judge or over-analyze, what happens if we simply smile, shake our heads at the wildness of it all and trust our inner experiences?

We tip the scales towards kindness

We balance the ocean of our bodies, 

And, we remind ourselves that we simply can’t see or know the whole story.

Join me for today’s episode of The Mindful Minute for a discussion on humor and a 20-minute guided meditation practice. 

The classic text, the Ashtavakra Gita, is a dialogue on the nature of Self. Within it, we as human beings, are described as a boundless ocean. So much more than a single thought, a single mind, or a single body. Join me for today’s mini meditation as we tap into our true expansive nature. 

When we lie on the forest floor, we allow ourselves to take up MORE space than we usually do. We are more than a single thought. Or a single brain. We are the whole forest. The boundless ocean. Join me for today’s episode of The Mindful Minute as we discuss and then practice a 20-minute guided meditation.