Pilgrimage Studio

Tag: wellness

  • Mantle the Mare

    Mantle the Mare

    by Lightbringer

    Guest writer Lightbringer (age 22) talks about nightmares in a unique way. You can see his full post on Instrgtam. He not only writes about complicated and emotional subjects, but in addition, his photos are stunning as well!!

    Some may encounter a nightmare in the darkness of night, while others find waking up each day to be some sort of living nightmare. I liked the thought of mantling the mare and riding into the night, sure-footed in the knowledge that as you ride through the dark, the sunrise will come.

    •

    A beautiful sunrise comes – not despite the dark…

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    The most beautiful sunrises are because of the night that came before.

    Mantle the Mare

    God made the night,

    God made the mare.

    So when the terror comes

    To shake you from sleep,

    Know that God won’t leave you

    Alone to weep.

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    Look up into the night and smile.

    Mantle the mare and ride forth.

    The sunrise comes.

    Photography and writing © Lightbringer 2019 all rights reserved.

  • Inspired Flow

    Inspired Flow

    by Thela 🦊 Foxgood

    “In The Flow”

    When you are inspired, the work of creating just seems to flow. It is found by you in connecting with “why”. It is remembering the vision and passion behind your goals or projects. Why did you begin this journey or project to begin with?

    When you know the “why” behind the vision, the steps to “how” just seem to fall into place, and you’re working in a flow that leaves struggle, force, dread, and “this is just too hard,” behind. It is a joyful flow of doing what you love to do, or have the passion and desire to do.

    Reconnect with the passion and inspiration behind what you are doing. Enjoy your process of creation and the steps toward your destination can come together effortlessly, almost without you realizing it. Be in, and flow with, the joy of creating.

    Why are you doing what you’re doing? Why was a goal set to begin with? Why did you decide to pursue a dream?

    I’ve found myself in the middle of some projects recently thinking, “What is it that I’m doing again?” It’s easy to see the work involved and forget the inspiration and passion that started it all.

    If you have gotten bogged down with the daily grind… remember why you began your journey!

  • Post-It Notes 19

    Post-It Notes 19

    Foods can be assessed by nutritional value, not just by calories.

    Photo by Louis Hansel

  • Calm Waters

    Calm Waters

    by Beth Haley

    Every day we encounter situations that we have the opportunity to respond to in a positive and calm way. On the other hand, we can live reactively, by going into anxiety, fear or stress. However, our happiness and health depend a great deal upon how well we can manage our emotional responses, reactions, mental perceptions and beliefs.

    We all know that continuous emotional stress is hard on our bodies. So really, being able to regulate our emotions and develop self-coping/soothing practices may very well save our life. Developing the ability to walk through our everyday circumstances in a calm and clear-headed manner, can get us farther than fighting battles we don’t need to fight, or by running when we need to calmly stand.

    Imagine that you are connected to the most sophisticated and sensitive machine (like a polygraph) ever made. It measures your feelings of stress, anxiety, or fear. If you feel even the slightest bit of these emotions while you are hooked up to this machine, it will deliver a shock which will end your life.

    The thing is, if you make it through the test, you win a million dollars. So with this in mind (death or a substantial prize), imagine that you are hooked up to this machine and your test is about to begin. Your directions are as follows: Imagine a situation in your life that brought/brings you anxiety, fear, or stress. If you can stay completely calm and relaxed, you will win the prize. If not… ZING!

    The next time you’re about to jump on the “Anxiety, Fear, and Stress Express,” remind yourself of the choice between the zing or the prize. It’s not just an interesting exercise. It is the training and retraining of our minds.

    We don’t actually need the “fight or flight” response all that often. Maybe if you’re being chased by a bear? Were you chased by a bear today? Some of us are so used to living with stressed-out emotions, we don’t even know how to let ourselves be calm, at ease, grounded, centered and at peace. Let alone shut it all down to even rest.

    Hooked on adrenaline and stress much?

    The choice is ours. Will we have an internal forecast of calm today ? Or, “fight or flight?”

    My choice today is to win the cash prize of self-possessed calm, and avoid the zing of the machine.

    What does stress solve? Zing! What does anxiety fix? Zing! What does fear prevent? Zing!

    Breathe! The chances are really, really good that you are not currently being chased by a bear – and that whatever you are facing, will be easiest to handle with a calm and clear mind.

    Sources: The Mindfulness & Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety -Forsyth and Eifert

    Photos by Faye Cornish and Harli Martin

  • Post-It Notes 18

    Post-It Notes 18

    New skills take practice and commitment. In time, our practice becomes routine, and the chain-reaction of negative thinking is replaced by the learned habit of catching emotional reactions and dropping the story lines.

    Healing 💓 thoughts, PS

  • Not Just a Salad

    Not Just a Salad

    😊😊😊

    “A salad is not just a meal. It’s a style.”

    -Lebowitz

    Header Photo by Shlag

    Footer Photo by Anna Pelzer

    Sea Cucumber Photo by Pilgrimage Studio @ The Monterey Bay Aquarium – Monterey, CA

    Got Style? 😊 💃

  • Fisher King

    Fisher King

    by Thela 🦊 Foxgood

    Working in meditation today, I was reminded that sometimes healing is uncomfortable. When we are in the midst of the process of healing, we may feel disempowered. Rather than feeling powerful, we only feel and see the wounds. However, this is the process – and to step into healing, we must first spend time tending the wounds.

    I don’t normally refer to religious texts. However, two passages (3 actually) came up during this session.

    1. Of the Fisher King it is said, “He is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” -Isaiah 53:3

    The Fisher King is also associated with The Wounded King, The Hanged Man and The King of Cups.

    That the Fisher King (from The Grail Legend) has taken to fishing while he is waiting for help and healing seems symbolic. Fishing is an activity that requires not only patience, but is dependent upon the right fish, at the right time, taking the bait… or in other words, the right element, person, or tool for the healing he seeks.

    I suppose that the Fisher King is associated with the “Fisher of Men” because both of these stories were about seeking what was lost. One King was seeking healing for his body, soul, and kingdom. The other King, “The Fisher of Men,” was seeking those that were lost, to save, and bring into his kingdom.

    Facing a mountain?

    A Dark Night of the Soul?

    Before healing – is the process.

    Before power, is weakness.

    Without denial, we see our wounds. Without hurry, we seek healing.

    Healing can come in unexpected ways.

    I love working with Bibliomancy. I take a book (any book I feel drawn to), pose a question, and then read the first thing I see.

    Today’s meditation session felt like a “Lord of the Rings” moment where the dialog goes, “…but something happened then the Ring did not intend.”

    Now, I am not a religious person (spiritual, yes), so what happened next, I did not expect. The first thing I saw as I opened the book after working with the messages of The Fisher King, was:

    2. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

    -The Beatitudes

    To Meditation

    3. Seek and you will find.

    What are you seeking today?

    Kingfisher Photo by Boris Smokrovic

  • Out of the Ordinary

    Out of the Ordinary

    The route you take depends a good deal upon where you want to go. -Lewis Carroll

    Day after day, the father drove to work along the same dreary highway to the same dreary job. Sometimes his daughter went to his office with him. On one of these occasions she noticed a winding road running parallel to the highway. “Oh, Daddy, let’s take that road today,” she suggested. After some grumbling and mumbling, the father agreed and turned off to take the side road.

    To their delight, the road was lined with full trees and a rainbow of flowers. They came upon a quaint little village in which there was an office with a sign in the window that said, “Clerk Wanted. Inquire Within.” The job seemed perfect and the man accepted it with excitement he hadn’t felt in many years.

    Sometimes we have to risk taking a different path in order to arrive at a different place. How else can we change things in our lives that need to be changed? And how easy to do it, once we’re willing to risk something out of the ordinary.

    What can I do that’s out of the ordinary today?

    From: Today’s Gift – Daily Meditations for Families

  • Love Moon

    Love Moon

    by Thela 🦊 Foxgood

    The New Moon In Libra works with Venus the planet of love. It is a good time for new beginnings and fresh starts, and for setting goals and intentions.

    Love is an energy. It is friendship. It is family. It is romantic love. It has many faces and comes in many ways, shapes and forms.

    A part of bringing more love into our lives and opening up to receive it, is to begin releasing attachments: attachments to “who”, “when” and “how.” Let go of what you think love has to look like and open your heart to simply receive love in all her many forms.

    Inhale the vibration of love

    Exhale, and let go of “who”

    Inhale the vibration of deep connection

    Exhale, and let go of “when”

    Inhale the vibration of passion

    Exhale, and let go of “how”

    Instead of thinking that love has to be a specific person, at a specific time and in a specific way, make a list of what love “feels” like to you. Whether it is friendship, family or romantic love; whether it is an existing love or new, love feels like:

    It feels like security

    It feels like a warm fire on a cold night

    It feels like a cool pool of water in the heat of the day

    It feels delicious

    It feels caring

    It feels devoted

    It feels like sharing

    It feels like laughter

    It feels like sparkle and sunshine

    It feels like being heard

    It feels like abundance

    It feels healthy

    It feels balanced

    It feels mutual

    It feels like Anam Cara

    It feels tender

    It feels everlasting

    It feels like hugs

    It feels like kindness

    It feels like understanding

    It feels like a shoulder to lean on

    It feels like a solid foundation

    It feels like standing on holy ground

    It feels like connection

    It feels like peacefully sharing space

    It feels like communion

    It feels like angels all around

    It feels like kindred spirits

    It feels like magic

    It feels like adoring presence

    It feels like companionship

    It feels equal

    It feels spiritual

    It feels like being enough

    It feels like comfort

    It feels like coming home.

    Love is here now, in each of us. And, for each of us.

    Another part of receiving is giving thanks.

    So after making a list, spend some time in gratitude for your blessings now, and for new ones on their way!!

    Photo by Grant Mclver

  • Who Now?

    Who Now?

    by Beth Haley

    If you were to remove the titles of all of the roles that you play in life (mother, friend, partner, daughter, son, sister, brother, yoga teacher, jogger, swimmer, computer programmer) and instead, focused on what those roles bring out in you, or bring to you (security, love, caring, sharing) or what it is about these roles that you like or that fulfill you, what would a journal entry titled, “Who am I?” look like now?

    What makes you the happiest? How can you create your life around the elements which bring you the greatest joy?

    Photo by Felicia Buitenwerf