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  • Haiku Challenge

    Haiku Challenge

    Teresa of “The Haunted Wordsmith” has given us the following prompt today. 

    If you would like to join the Challenge, please see the instructions below.

    Welcome to the Haunted Wordsmith Daily Prompt (HWDP). To participate, simply read this post and follow where the muse takes you.

    You may select any, all, or none of the prompts…it’s all up to you. Link back to this post, or leave a link in the comments so that others can find you.

    Have Fun!

    Prompt A (genre challenge): haiku

    Prompt B (sentence starter): “Where did all these footprints come from?”

    Prompt C (photo):

    On Meditation

    One technique of meditation is to watch a candle flame.

    Inhale and Exhale

    Breathing keeps us in “Real Time”

    Watch the dancing flame

    •

    🦊 Thela Foxgood 2019

    beckiesmentalmess.wordpress.com

    https://thehauntedwordsmith.wordpress.com/2019/06/07/prompts-june-7/

    https://wordofthedaychallenge.wordpress.com/2019/06/07/public/

  • Simplify your Life Questionnaire

    Simplify your Life Questionnaire

    If 1 represents simple,

    and 10 represents complicated,

    then on a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your lifestyle?

    Have you simplified anything in your life so far this year? If so, what?

    What changes toward simplifying your life would you like to make overall?

    What aspects of simplifying your life would you be willing to change this year?

    Pick any of these simplification strategies you would be willing to try or start in the next few months :

    Pack a lunch

    Have only one credit card

    Get out of debt

    Downsize your home

    Unsubscribe from email lists you don’t read

    Work where you live

    Consolidate bank accounts

    Learn to say no

    Declutter your home

    Vacation near or at home

    Simplify eating habits to whole, unprocessed foods

    Buy in bulk, and shop less often

    Put your phone on silent when it’s not needed

    Take only one suitcase, and pack only essentials

    Stop trying to please people and just be yourself

    Do what you want for a living

    Stop trying to change people

    Get rid of possessions you don’t need or use

    Buy for functionality and durability rather than for fashion

    Delegate

    Drink water

    Some changes are simple. And some will be a process.

    A good way to decide on things to get rid of, is to put them away for a year. If you haven’t needed them or thought of them throughout the year, then it may be time to donate them.

  • Reading Nook 3

    Reading Nook 3

    by Beth Haley

    The Rabbit and the Garden

    The real voyage of discovery

    Consists not in seeking new landscapes

    But in having new eyes

    -Marcel Proust

  • Pine Needle Tea

    Pine Needle Tea

    A journey through swamp land…

    I do gather pine needles for tea. Make sure if you gather pine needles, that they are harvested in small amounts per/tree and that the trees are well away from traffic.

    Some pines are poisonous, so find out what kind of pines are in your area first, and don’t drink pine tea while pregnant.

    Pine Needle Tea

  • Music Therapy 4

    Music Therapy 4

    by Thela Foxgood

    Present Moment

    During this weekend’s drumming class, I realized that riding on the waves of rhythm could take me wherever I wanted to be.

    Instead, what happens so often with drumming, is that I’m not focused on the past or future… but on the present moment; the “right here” and “right now.”

    bodhrán /ˈbôrən/ noun

    [pronounced “BAOW-rawn”]

    A shallow, one-sided traditional Irish goat skin drum typically played with a short, two-headed drumstick.

    – origin Irish

     “A good drummer listens as much as he plays.” -Indian Proverb

     “The rhythm is in your blood.” -African Proverb

    Music Therapy 1

    Music Therapy 2

    Music Therapy 3

  • Post-It Notes 4

    Post-It Notes 4

    Header Photo:  Pixabay

  • The Messy Middle

    The Messy Middle

    by Beth Haley

    Dedicated to my Dear Friend Alysia, who sends me books that make me think!!

    I can see them…

    …these goals and dreams.

    They’re out there, in the distance.

    Are they waving at me? Or taunting me?

    Some are close, and some are farther away :

    sometimes shrouded in wisps of mist,

    sometimes shining brighter in sudden bursts of inspired sunshine,

    and sometimes peeking out between the clouds with all hope…

    At least, they are visible out there in the light, at the end of this tunnel.

    At any rate, whether they are waving or taunting, I am trying to keep a few thoughts securely in front of me. One being that:

    It is the journey that is of most importance. Not just the “getting there” or “arriving.”

    Many times, I think that the major event of reaching a goal, ends up not being all we thought it would be because we put so much emphasis on the end result, and not as much focus on the journey we take getting there. And then once there, we just rush on, toward the next goal.

    Or, we may find that upon reaching a goal, the sacrifice and culmination of work, work, work, ends up not really being as climactic as we had hoped. And we realize, life happened in the middle, in the process, in the journey to get there.

    I don’t want to be miserable in the messy middle, where the work is done to get from point A to point B or Z. I don’t want to focus so much on the “work” or the end result, that I forget to just enjoy the journey.

    “The middle is messy, but that’s also where the magic happens.” – Brené Brown

    Meeting goals is great, but did you enjoy life while you were getting there?

    Did you then, or are you now, finding ways to just enjoy the every-day journey?

    Balance in life, is a bit different for each one of us.

    I would love to hear your thoughts …

    Picture Credit: 3dman_eu@pixabay

  • Mantra Shrine 1

    Mantra Shrine 1

    The Science of Healing Sound

    by Thela Foxgood

    I recently did a post on each of the 7 Chakras, including a seed sound mantra that can be chanted for each one. I decided to rewrite them, combining them into one post.

    There are different sounds, mantras, and ways of chanting depending on the tradition and person. I gathered my mantra information from the book Mantra, Sacred Words of Power– by Thomas Ashley-Farrand. I very much enjoyed my journey through his book and have since gathered a few more books on the topic of mantras.

    Healing Mantras

    Mantra Meditation for Creating Abundance

    Mantra Meditation for Attracting and Healing Relationships

    Along the way, I also got into Solfeggio frequencies.

    Solfeggio frequencies comprise the ancient 6-tone scale thought to have been used in sacred music, including Gregorian Chants.

    Each solfeggio tone is comprised of a frequency that brings balance to your energy centers and keeps your body, mind and spirit in harmony.

    Whale Medicine

    108

    A number considered sacred to yogis and in Buddhism and Hinduism, is the number 108.

    Mala

    I am currently making a mala. A wrist mala has 27 beads, a half mala has 54 beads and a full mala will have 108 beads. These are used to count mantras, prayers, chants, intentions or even to count breaths in meditations.

    You don’t have to be of any particular religion to work with mantras or to use mala beads.

    There are some mantras that are for specific belief systems or deities. There are some that are neutral. Or, you can also just make up your own.

    An example of a mantra that one could make up might be: “Thank You”

    •••

    You don’t have to have faith in mantras for them to work.

    If one did not believe that our planet earth existed, it would still exist, regardless. The result of the vibrations sent out by sound, and even thought, work regardless of faith or religion.

    So let’s chant!

    While I chant 108 beads, I like to visualize each color, starting at the energy center, and then spreading from there to fill my entire body.

    The 7th chakra, or crown chakra, is located at the top, and center, of your head. The color of the crown chakra is usually shown as violet, white or gold. Its element is spirit, and it includes all the senses and beyond. The solfeggio frequency that I’ve seen used the most often for this center is 963Hz, and a seed sound mantra for the root chakra, or Sahasrara, is silence.

    Affirmation ideas: I have the right to know my truth. I am open to divine wisdom.

    The 6th chakra, or third eye chakra, is in the middle of your forehead about an inch above the middle of your eyebrows. The color of the 6th chakra is indigo, its element is light or spirit, and its body sense is extra-sensory perception. The solfeggio frequency I’ve seen used the most often for this center is 852Hz, and a seed sound mantra for the third-eye, or Ajna, is OM.

    Affirmation ideas: I have the right to see my truth. I am intuitive.

    The 5th chakra, or throat chakra, is between the collar bone and larynx in the neck. The color of the 5th chakra is turquoise or sky-blue, its element refers to the upper part of the atmosphere, called ether (or sky), and its body sense is hearing. The solfeggio frequency I’ve seen used the most often for this center is 741Hz, and a seed sound mantra for the throat chakra, or Vishuddha, is HAM.

    Affirmation ideas: I have the right to speak my truth. I live with integrity.

    It is here, that we feel so deeply. The pain of grief. The power of love. We all know where our heart center is. It is the bridge that connects the lower three chakras to the higher three. Or in other words, it is the bridge between body and spirit.

    At the very center of our sternum, is our fourth chakra, or heart chakra. This is our emotional center. This chakra is most commonly linked to the color green or pink, its element is air, and the body sense is touch. The solfeggio frequency I’ve seen used the most often for this center is 639Hz, and a seed sound mantra for the heart center, or Anahata, is YAM.

    Affirmation ideas: I have the right to love and be loved. I can both give and receive.

    The third chakra, located between the navel and the bottom of the sternum, is the solar plexus. Its color is yellow, the element is fire, and the body sense is sight. The solfeggio frequency I’ve seen used the most often for this center is 528Hz, and a seed sound mantra for the solar plexus, or Manipura, is RAM.

    Affirmation ideas: I listen to my gut. I have the right of personal growth and expansion.

    The second chakra, above the pubic bone and below the navel, is the sacral chakra. Its color is orange, the element is water, and the body sense is taste. The solfeggio frequency I’ve seen used the most often for this center is 417Hz, and a seed sound mantra for the sacral chakra, or Svadhisthana, is VAM.

    Affirmation ideas: I embrace my sexuality. I respect and value my body.

    The first chakra, or root chakra, resides at the base of the spine. Its color is red, the element is earth, and its body sense is smell. The solfeggio frequency I’ve seen used the most often for this center is 396Hz, and a seed sound mantra for the root chakra, or Muladhara, is LAM.

    Affirmation ideas: I have the right of belonging. I am grounded and secure.

    Picture Credit: Happy Color App

  • Milestones

    Milestones

    by Beth Haley

    I didn’t worry about diet until…

    This may sound strange, but when I started out on my pilgrimage in health, diet was not even on my radar.

    The rule growing up was to eat when you were hungry and stop when you were full. Everything was made from scratch, low sugar, low salt, low fat. I’ve never, and still don’t own, a scale. I’ve never cared what my weight was. I only cared that my clothes fit comfortably. I exercised, as a way of life. This way of living made health easy.

    However, I don’t live in this world anymore. I don’t have time to make everything from scratch. I enjoy salt. I sit for 6-16 hours a day transporting patients across 7 states. And, by the time I make it home I’m completely drained. I grab whatever is easy to eat or don’t eat at all. I don’t feel like doing anything.

    The wake-up call for me was realizing that if I fell into a hole I wouldn’t even have the energy to crawl back out. Scary. So this year, for the first time, I started looking at diet and energy. I started taking baby steps toward better habits.

    The way I’ve started getting back into exercise was to blame the dog: Peanut sleeps all day, I really need to get her out walking every day. That is how daily walking began for us. (Hey, do whatever works!)

    The Milestone

    On July 15th, I start a year-long course in Integrative Nutrition from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition led by Joshua Rosenthal.

    I’m excited to see where this will lead, and I thank you for being a part of my journey!

    I encourage you… start wherever you are at. Just start taking those baby steps toward health.

    If I can do it, so can you!

    Post-It Notes 2

    Post-It Notes 3

    CNN

    Photo Credit: Free-Photos@Pixabay

  • Reading Nook 2

    Reading Nook 2

    The Need to Speak

    by Beth Haley

    This week seemed to bring quite a few thoughts on healing sound, healing frequencies, and the power of our voice.

    I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that I opened the book to this passage:

    Just by speaking, I can break free of my self-made prison. -June Singer

    This reading is from “The Book of Awakening” by Mark Nepo.

    The Need to Speak

    Picture Credit: CSTRSK@Pixabay