Tag Archives for Middle Ground Pause

Understanding Violence

“When you call yourself an Indian or a Muslim or a Christian or a European, or anything else, you are being violent.

Do you see why it is violent? Because you are separating yourself from the rest of mankind.
When you separate yourself by belief, by nationality, by tradition, it breeds violence.

So a person who is seeking to understand violence does not belong to any country, to any religion, to any political party or partial system; he is concerned with the total understanding of mankind.”

~ Jiddu Krishnamurti
In yoga we honor the practice of ahimsa, or non violence. There is also the understanding that we are all connected and are not separate beings. It is the persona or ego that keeps us separate and fearful. The path of yoga is to awaken to our interconnectedness and to see ourselves in others.
May we all continue to plant seeds that bring us together instead of tearing us apart.

Want to feel Secure? Breathe!

feeling insecure

Source: WikiHow

“There is a contradiction in wanting to be perfectly secure in a universe whose very nature is momentariness and fluidity.
But the contradiction lies a little deeper than the mere conflict between the desire for security and the fact of change.

If I want to be secure, that is, protected from the flux of life, I am wanting to be separate from life. Yet it is this very sense of separateness which makes me feel insecure.
To be secure means to isolate and fortify the “I,” but it is just the feeling of being an isolated “I” which makes me feel lonely and afraid.

In other words, the more security I can get, the more I shall want.
To put it still more plainly: the desire for security and the feeling of insecurity are the same thing.

To hold your breath is to lose your breath. A society based on the quest for security is nothing but a breath-retention contest in which everyone is as taut as a drum and as purple as a beet.”

~ Alan Watts

How are your breathing right now? I’m smiling, because I was holding my breath as I read this.

When we bring awareness to our thoughts, feelings and especially our breath, we set the foundation for finding our middle ground and inner peace.

Holding our breath is a defense mechanism of the human body. It prepares us to react to a threat. However, it increases the tension and stress in the body, rather than bringing it to a state of balance.

In yoga we learn to deepen the breath when sensation increases. We breathe through tension and discomfort and allow the energy to keep flowing, rather than contracting and adding more tension.

Yoga is an invitation to become present in our bodies. We connect mind to body via our breath. It helps us relax, breathe, feel, and where possible let go.
Ultimately this helps us make more skillful, conscious choices and allows us to feel grounded and secure in life.
And it all starts with the breath.

Find out more about yoga breathing by clicking here.

 

Haiku – ebb and flow

relaxation water wave circle

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Pause in this moment
Touch the ebb and flow of life
Find your Middle Ground

Find your Middle Ground is about stepping away from stressful days and anxious minds, and taking time to pause.

When we are mindful of the present moment and simply allow it to be, we open a door to our natural state of being – accepting, loving, peaceful, kind and content. Most of us are so distracted and moving so fast that we get caught up in the world of “doing” or worrying about what we should be doing next.
Too much doing and thinking disconnects us from our sense of “being”and who we really are.

I write about finding this place of connection, contentment and peace in the highs and lows of life. I call it our Middle Ground.

Namaste

Inspiration – The Dark and the Light

adult anger art black background

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

“The dark does not destroy the light;

it defines it.

Its our fear of the dark that casts our

joy into the shadows.”

Brene Brown

Take a moment to reflect on how this appears in your life.

Instead of wishing the dark away, how can you embrace it and shine through?

 

 

Inspiration – Dandelions

dandelion wisdom

© creative commons stock photos  ID 82961274 | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Sometimes traditional stories hit the right spot. This one often does for me.

Nadia spent the whole autumn sowing and preparing his garden. In the spring, the flowers opened, and Nadia noticed a few dandelions that he had not planted. Nadia pulled them up. But the seeds had already spread, and others grew. He tried to find a poison that would kill only dandelions. An expert told him that any poison would end up killing all the other flowers too.

In despair, Nadia sought help from a gardener.‘It’s just like life,’ said the gardener. ‘Along with the good things, there are always a few inconveniences.’‘What should I do, then?‘Nothing. They may not be the flowers you intended to have, but they are still part of the garden.’

 

May we embrace all aspects of our garden and the unexpected that life brings our way.

Haiku – close silence

sunset person love people

Photo by Josh Willink on Pexels.com

~
Nurture, love and healing.
Being held in close silence.
In your middle ground.

~

I read an article about an older man who volunteers at a local hospital in the ward for premature babies. All he does is hold babies close to him in silence. Nothing more is needed.

I get it. This is what we all need.

Instead of pushing through and wanting the pain to be over, why not take the time to hold yourself with the same tenderness as you would a baby. Love is healing.We are all capable of giving so much love, yet forget to bring it home to ourselves.

The next time you hug someone else think of it as holding in close silence.💕