The Mediocre Meditator

A Little Bit of Awe

A Little Bit of Awe

I will probably never walk the Camino del Santiago, though I have it on good authority it is life changing. I'm also pretty sure I will never hike any significant portion of the Appalachian Trail, similarly life-changing. I did, though, do an hour...

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Shake it Off

Shake it Off

My favorite new trick isn’t exactly meditation, but it feels meditation adjacent.   After getting out of bed feeling way less, shall we say, loose than I’d like to lately, I’ve started to literally shake it off.  Maybe you’ve seen it in your social...

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Science and Spirit Agree

Science and Spirit Agree

Mantras (repeated phrases) and mudras (hand positions) are not generally part of my meditation practices, but suddenly the time seems right to see if it fits. Some years ago I was introduced to a practice called the Kirtan Kriya, which involves a...

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A Poem, A Prayer, A Blessing

A Poem, A Prayer, A Blessing

John O'Donohue was an Irish Catholic priest, until he wasn't, and a beautiful writer of philosophical musings. His book of poems, or blessing, or prayers called “To Bless the Space between Us” is one of those I turn to again and again, and am...

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Some silly relief

Some silly relief

Things are feeling a little heavy lately. Meditation helps, for sure. But sometimes, a little silliness is called for. We caught sight of this in the hands of a toddler at a local art fair. Days later, my boyfriend/husband did one of those things...

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An Artistic Daily Devotional

An Artistic Daily Devotional

Sometimes just before I close my eyes to meditate I read some kind of daily devotional or choose a card from an oracle or tarot deck.  Lately it has been this deck. I first saw it in a museum in Nice, France but at that point we were two and a half...

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Meditation and the Pink Moon

Meditation and the Pink Moon

I've always been as drawn to a full moon as the next person, but following the cycles of nature just hasn't come “naturally” to me. So this month, the only reason I knew there was a think called the Pink Moon or Strawberry Moon was that a local spa...

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Sound Meditation

Sound Meditation

Teachers of meditation have all kinds of suggestions for how to calm the monkey mind. Some use a mantra Some use the breath Some suggest focusing on a sound Recently, during a stay in Palm Springs, I was able to create my own little floating...

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A Hummingbird in the House

A Hummingbird in the House

Sometimes I try too hard to find the meaning in random things that happen, and sometimes the meaning just reaches out to me. That's what happened recently when we wound up with a hummingbird in the house. Don't worry, the hummingbird came out of...

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In Search of Awe

In Search of Awe

This month I went in search of awe.  For me, awe opens a mental and emotional door to the state of mind, or mindlessness, I try to get to when I meditate.  Since I was in Paris, there was no shortage of world famous,  awe inspiring places to choose...

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