Tag Archives for finding peace

You Don’t Have to Be a Yogi to Do This

Today I am sharing a yoga practice with a chair. You don’t have to be a yogi to do this!

Please join me for centering, letting go, and getting a good stretch. You can even do it at your desk.

Let’s find our middle ground together!

 

Chair Yoga with Val from Val Boyko on Vimeo.

May you find peace today and everyday.

More Than Ever – Find Your Middle Ground

nature forest waves trees

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

These are such challenging and fast moving times aren’t they. I have been reluctant to post about COVID-19. There have been too many conversations about the threat of the unknown and constant updates in the media.
Last Thursday I stopped teaching classes in public and I lost the structure of my days. I told myself it’s like a “staycation”. What a great time to reconnect with Don and enjoy our lovely home and garden together.
I found myself getting addicted to the need to know what’s happening. I thought this would make me feel more in control, but the opposite happened. I began to feel adrift.
I felt more and more disconnected and anxious, the more I engaged.
Like a stick in a raging river, with no rudder or direction, I felt out of control and scared.
Then I realized, its okay to feel like this. This is the reality right now. When I accepted this, there was an inner shift. I realized that I needed to find my own middle ground. Not just to talk about it for others, but to make it so. Now more than ever.
Today I am now focused on making it so for myself, so I can support others.
There is a lot of inspiration out there. I will share what I come across, as well as delve into my archives to share posts that feel right for these times.
I have also started recording a yoga class from home on Vimeo. I hope you yogis here enjoy this first attempt. It ends abruptly as I ran out of disc space.
Take care of yourself and loved ones.
Take time to pause and reflect on whatever is coming up for you.
Now, more than ever, take time to find your middle ground.
Namaste

Inspiration – Lie Down

 

adult black taiwan dog laying down on grass lawn

Lie down with your belly to the ground,
like an old dog in the sun. Smell
the greenness of the cloverleaf, feel the damp
earth through your clothes, let an ant
wander the uncharted territory
of your skin.

Lie down with your belly to the ground. Melt into
the earth’s contours like a harmless snake.
All else is mere bravado.
Let your mind resolve itself
in a tangle of grass.

Lie down with your belly
to the ground, flat out, on ground level.
Prostrate yourself before the soil
you will someday enter.
Stop doing.
Stop judging, fearing, trying.
This is not dying, but the way to live
in a world of change and gravity.
Let go. Let your burdens drop.
Let your grief-charge bleed off
into the ground.

Lie down with your belly to the ground
and then rise up
with the earth still in you.

by Nancy Paddock

 

After all, all else is mere bravado.

Namaste

 

Peace on Earth

“As you transcend the dualities of good and evil, and right and wrong, you awaken into Oneness. It is the only way to really make a difference and bring lasting peace into our world.”

~ Leonard Jacobson

Each of us makes up the collective. Whatever is happening at the collective level is a reflection of who we are as individuals…If you want peace on earth, by all means march in peace rallies, write letters, become politically active. Empower yourself and others as much as possible. But first, confront the dark within yourself. […]

via Peace On Earth – December 2017 – Leonard Jacobson — Evolutionary_Mystic Post

The Difference Between Restless and Resting

 

awake at night

‘I know’ is the restless place for all beings.

‘I don’t know’ is the resting place for all beings.*

~ Mooji

 

The need to hold on to “knowing” keeps many of us from finding peace. We think knowing  is the answer, but it creates more restlessness.

It can become a never-ending quest for control and security. We create stories about this state to make it okay. We call it our personality or human nature.

It can appear as worrying about things beyond our control. For example: holding on to being right, trying to change others into our way of thinking and acting, striving to be perfect, looking for answers to problems that only exist in our mind, staying awake at night wondering what would make us happy …

Over time is becomes a habit that keeps feeding the insecure ego mind. The need to know increases fear and uncertainty.

Contentment comes from embracing the not knowing. It isn’t a simple or an easy transformation to make. Yet, when we accept that we don’t know and make room for it in all areas of our life, we create space for peace.

In surrendering to reality we find the freedom to be at rest with life.

Namaste

 

* Mooji. White Fire: Spiritual insights and teachings of advaita zen master Mooji (Kindle Locations 3306-3307). Mooji Media Publications. Kindle Edition.

* Haiku – discover peace

white rose

To discover peace

There is no path to travel

Or mat to roll out

~

Pause in this moment

Breathe into your heart center

Feel the blossoming

~

Find your Middle Ground

In the highs and lows of life

Stay at home goodness

 

If you are new to this site, welcome!

Please follow these links to find out more about your middle ground and the steps to take you there.

 

Steps to Find your Middle Ground

find your middle ground

Here are the steps I have discovered for myself and others, for finding our middle ground and living life in balance 💛

  • Notice! Take time to pause and be aware of the incredible gift of life that you share with others and with nature. Wake up to the little things. Wake up to  your self. Wake up to it all. This is called living mindfully. Become a keen observer.
  • Accept that life has ups and downs. Really! Some one told us when were little that life should be a breeze. This is called wishful thinking. Be grateful for the highs and graceful in the lows. This is called living life well.
  • Become present. Stop lamenting the past or worrying about tomorrow.  Living is in each moment. Now. Take a deep breath.  Then an other.  Notice you are still here… not there.
  • Get to know yourself. Take that first scary step of self discovery. Turn off the tv.  Sit for a while. Journal about what comes up. Have a meaningful conversation. Listen more to others. Listen more to yourself.
  • Let go of judgments. We think that judging others or ourselves makes us feel strong. Judgments come from fear of not being in control  and having things go our way. Our way is not the way. There is nothing wrong, so stop trying to be right. Stop comparing, criticizing  and start letting others be. Let yourself be.
  • Realize that you are not your thinking. You are the one who is aware of your thoughts. You are awareness within a physical body, with an imaginative and fearful ego-mind that creates stories. Your thinking is not the truth about who you are or the world around you.
  • Find the peace within. Beyond the next breath and the next thought there is a deep reservoir of peace waiting to be stepped into. This cool refreshing stillness has always been there and will always be there for us to access. To connect to this wondrous pool becomes our practice… whether its in mindfulness meditation, yoga, sitting in nature, or while commuting on the train,  realize that you too can find your own middle ground.

This blog is my way of helping people get their feet wet and refreshing themselves.

getting your feet wet