Tips & Tricks

How To Be A Poet

Art, Mindfulness, Tips & Tricks

“How To Be A Poet (To Remind Myself)”
by Wendell Berry

Make a place to sit down.
Sit down. Be quiet.
You must depend upon
affection, reading, knowledge,
skill—more of each
than you have—inspiration,
work, growing older, patience,
for patience joins time
to eternity. Any readers
who like your work,
doubt their judgment.

Breathe with unconditional breath
the unconditioned air.
Shun electric wire.
Communicate slowly. Live
a three-dimensional life;
stay away from screens.
Stay away from anything
that obscures the place it is in.
There are no unsacred places;
there are only sacred places
and desecrated places.

Accept what comes from silence.
Make the best you can of it.
Of the little words that come
out of the silence, like prayers
prayed back to the one who prays,
make a poem that does not disturb
the silence from which it came.

From Parker Palmer’s post on OnBeing true words “But it’s not for poets only. It’s really about how to be a human being.” https://onbeing.org/blog/parker-palmer-how-to-be-a-poet/

STOP Stress in Its Tracks

Mindfulness, Tips & Tricks

1. Stop: Get comfortable in the position you’re in, almost as if you’re relaxing into this moment.

2. Breathe: Take a few deep breaths, and as you’re taking these breaths, see if you can pay attention to the sensation of the breath coming in and the sensation of the breath going out as if this was the first time you’ve ever noticed this breath before.

3. Observe: Begin to observe your experience right now in this moment. This includes your body, your emotions, and your thoughts. Beginning with the body, notice the position of your body and gently scan the body to notice any sensations that are there, being aware of any emotions that are present, too—if there’s a sense of calm or restlessness, or neutral emotion of some kind. Become aware of if the mind is able to focus in this moment, or if it’s off distracted in the future, or the past. If need be, gently guide the mind back to this moment.

4. Proceed: As we proceed we want to ask ourselves the question: What’s most important right now to pay attention to? And whatever comes up in your mind, that’s what you’ll continue with.

Great way to take a short break and tune in. https://www.mindful.org/s-t-o-p-stress-tracks/