When I started to practice mindfulness and moved on to sharing it with others I realized there was a whole other world available to us. I guess I always knew it was there and we all do to some extent but we are too busy to spend long enough in this space. When I practice mindfulness I loose the edgy sense of urgency & that feeling of relief & ease arrives instead. I am very familiar with the sense of rushing, stress & even as I write this I am aware of the pull of "something more important" that needs doing, but my mindfulness training kindly brings me back
to the present moment. Maybe it is just the way we are conditioned to live or have adjusted to life in our busyness that we have lost a way of articulating the need for this place. What is this place/space/feeling and where is it? It's what brings me back to mindfulness & nature again and again. I'll do my best to articulate it here, but sometimes it just needs to be experienced which is why I've created "The Lavender Gatherings" which I'm launching as the first offering along with the website.
When I get to a state where I know I am too busy, or my nervous system just needs a rest, I crave this place. I will head to the sea for a salty sea dip or to a yoga class in nature or I'll spend time just being mindful using my own resources my 5 senses. Giving myself permission to participate in these activities brings me back to that place of ease & peace. It's like a reset for our whole being. It allows a fuller version of ourselves, our full authentic self.
Do you ever feel better after a really good laugh or spending time with one particular person. Think of how this makes you feel even bringing this person to mind, you can probably feel a tingle of joy or a smile forming. Or maybe for you it's a walk in the forest or by the sea. Research has shown that being by the sea changes our chemistry as does spending time in nature, so it's a no brainer really.
When we have connected with it, we feel we have restored or reset our nervous system again. It isn't hard to connect with once we know how whether that is through mindfulness, yoga or just sitting in the garden using our 5 senses to be present. However for some reason we often find other distractions are more important or a to do list that needs ticking so we often don't ALLOW ourselves the time to be in this beautiful space of presence. Our culture has conditioned us to value DOING as more important than BEING. So it comes way down our list of priorities and we often miss out on this wonderful experience and the benefits for our nervous system. How often do you go for a walk in nature & realize you spent the whole time thinking & planning the next day or something else? So even when we are in nature or a quiet place or mind is still very active.
This is why I created "The Lavender Gatherings", to very simply create a space in a place surrounded by nature where we can gather to allow ourselves to connect with this part of ourselves. The Lavender Gatherings offers you time for just being you as you are. To really connect with the present moment you will be guided using mindfulness techniques to step away from the busy mind and into the beautiful healing surrounds of nature to heal if that's what you need or rest if your nervous system is overwrought, you don't need to know, your body will do what it needs once it experiences the present moment. Nature always supports us to reconnect with ourselves very simply, just as it is. Nature always has our back! When we do this mindfully allowing ourselves to be fully present in nature & in the moment we can experience that place Rumi describes so eloquently in his poem above - a place beyond wrongdoing & rightdoing, a place beyond thought. There is nothing to do or nowhere to go just be in the moment leaving everything else behind and letting the body & mind restore all by itself. A space where permission is granted to just BE in the moment and the rest happens by itself.
It is often difficult to put into words & maybe that is a good thing because it is an experience, there are no words, words are not needed.
Just an experience of being in the moment, just as you are!
I look forward to meet you there!
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