Connecting Mind, Body & Spirit

By simply becoming aware of and changing our breathing pattern, we can regulate our body and mood, and coupled with mindfulness practice, we are empowered to go deeper. With a focus on the breath, we are able to bridge our mind, body and spirit, connecting the conscious and unconscious. Breathing can offer us physical and mental equilibrium as well as inner harmony.

Cycles of Breathing

Most people breathe 17,000 to 24,000 breaths per day, yet few of us are aware of even one of those breathing cycles. Every moment our breath can create balance within us and bring us back to the present. Everything in nature rises, falls and exists. In the same way, inhalation is a rising, exhalation a falling, and the pause in between is the existing. We can learn to use our breathing as a metaphor for life and the balance that exists in all of nature.

Quieting Our Thinking

A focus on breathing takes our attention away from our preoccupations. As philosopher William James said, “The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” When we bring our full awareness to our breathing, we quiet our thinking about other concerns.

Practicing Mindfulness
Jerry Braza

Moment by Moment

• Non-Judging
• Patience
• A Beginner’s Mind
• Trust
• Non-Striving
• Acceptance
• Letting Go

…..Jon-Kabat-Zinn
……founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic, University of Massachusetts Medical Center

Practicing Mindfulness
Jerry Braza

Savoring & Sharing What We Have

In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.

…..Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Grateful living invites us to savor and share what we have – living more simply so that others might simply live. Appreciation for what we have is a powerful first step to contentment and offers the possibility of sustainability for others and life on our planet.

Wake Up Grateful
Kristi Nelson

Purposes of Our Actions

• To have and give happiness in some way.
• To provide for ourselves and others.
• To take care of people.
• To take care of the earth.
• To make a difference.

The Restful Mind
Gyalwa Dokhampa

Interdependent Connection

By taking care of others, you are looking after yourself. And to take care of others, you need to think of yourself and your own well-being, but doing so from a place of generosity rather than thinking of what “I want” or “I need.” It’s a cycle of interdependence and connection – we need to take care of others in order to take care of ourselves, and we need to take care of ourselves in order to take care of others. By doing so, we benefit one another.

Everyday Enlightenment
Gyalwang Drukpa