And… a little curiosity about the breathing. Rather than trying to calm your breathing, what if you just notice it? Notice how antsy it is, how stifled it is? Just put your attention there, without trying to change it. Not a ‘hard’ focus but a soft, curious, loving focus. How’s that?
Corrina´s last [type] ..Are You Battle Weary How To Move From War To Peace

Ah… the fight with God. Always a good one. One of my favourites is to write an angry letter to God, explaining all that isn’t fair, all that’s going wrong, all that I’m pissed off about. Every tried that one? (I remember it being what led Neale Donald Walsch into his groundbreaking ‘Conversations With God’ series of books).

And I so appreciate your honesty about the need to start at home with our weedy allotments. Yes yes yes to that. Here’s a ton of love to those weeds and to the beautiful grass, flowers and other interesting plants that are blooming there.

p.s. If you’re at the Ashden Awards today, I’ll see you there! x
Corrina´s last [type] ..Are You Battle Weary How To Move From War To Peace

just one thing though that I’ve noticed in my own case ..
it is that … if I focus on my breath – I find I cannot breathe!

I don’t relax, I don’t find stillness and peace. Instead I’m likely to feel tightness and tension. So, best for me to not think about my breathing too much.

I wonder if anyone else has experienced anything similar?

For me, one of the best ways to get still is to move – I find I relax best when I’m gently distracted. If I try and focus on anything too hard, I just get angsty and back at war.

then again, i guess there are ‘good’ and ‘bad’ distractions! or at least those which help and those which don’t. Now I’m rambling so I’ll shut up!
Annie´s last [type] ..Peel and Reveal – Being All of You

Thank you. Great piece.

Like Judy M above I also found it so helpful just being reminded to breathe. But the way you did it – that paragraph – was beautiful – and really worked for me: this one:

“If this is ringing all too familiar a bell, take a deep breath. I mean: a really deep breath. Pause here and breathe in. Hold it. And now out. In again – really deeply… and now out – and feel yourself letting go, even if just a little. Make a noise as you exhale. As you keep breathing, allow yourself to notice what’s actually happening in your body. How are your shoulders? How’s your neck? How’s your stomach? Be present to the pace you’re moving at, be present to the piles of paper around you, to the anxiety about an argument that’s brewing, a disaster waiting to happen around the corner. Just notice all the symptoms of your own personal battle field, just notice it all – and keep breathing.”

So thank you )

One of the conflicts that crops up with me now and then (literally!) is conflict within – conflict with a part of me. Sometimes I don’t need anyone else to be involved to be in my own war zone.

Taking that one a stage further, I can also find i am stuck in a good fight with ‘God’ sometimes – and guess what – s/he always wins.

Identifying these two extra layers of conflict zone has been helpful to me: the: “my business, your business and god’s business” thing.

Minding my own business, family, home, heart and soul is where it’s at for me right now. If it were an allotment it would be rather weedy!

Judy – Here’s to there being some kind of public service tannoy announcements at regular intervals throughout the day: “Breathe. Breaaathhe. Breeeeaaaathe.” Ahh – in the meantime we can remind each other

Anon – My pleasure. Thanks for showing up here.
Corrina´s last [type] ..Are You Battle Weary How To Move From War To Peace

Ah..

Thank you for helping me remember. Sometimes that’s all I really need.

Peace
Judy
Judy Murdoch´s last [type] ..How Any Business Including Yours Can Make Money with Information Products

OK, then I went over my immediate misdemeanours; giving the finger to the one car I saw (speeding), screaming at my 5 year old to hurry up so mummy could get back home and sort our garlic situation (don’t ask – humidity, rain and half a hectare of organic garlic is not a walk in the park, I am discovering especially when your barn is falling down), err…wishing my spouse was on Pluto, feeling murderous and wishing for an alternate reality, and some I can’t bring myself to share.

I observed the following this afternoon though:
1) My daughters took themselves into a small tent in the garden and screamed at the top of their voices, quite literally, for 20 mins, Otherwise occupied, I didn’t intervene, rather thought f**k it, let them. In fact, I wished I could have joined them as it seems to have let off steam. Number one insight: children usually know what to do.
2) On meeting an angry and argumentative dog we smiled and waved at it for a change even though I was in battle mode. Insight two: surprising myself and my assailant by being ludicrously nice and smiley felt wonderful and hilarious. Ridicule can be sublime in battle situations.
3) On facing negativity and finger pointing from my spouse I tried to resist the bait, and instead tried to empathise and remain positive even though I wanted to sock him and shout. This was very difficult for me as I am so defensive/evasive normally. At the time I actually had a guest, who albeit unable to understand what we were saying, was enough of a moderating influence for me to think twice about what I was going to say. Insight three: perhaps a real or imagined audience will help me measure my responses in these situations.
4) Putting on music that I have mind-mapped to intense feelings of pride, accomplishment and peace ALWAYS helps. In my case, I used to teach a Les Mills bodybalance class so some specific tracks that I can use to recreate a restful, energised, proud or relaxed state do help me get there. Like you say, taking time out to do this when you least have time is so very important. Insight four: Today, I should have gone in and put on this loud music through the windows for the girls and I to dance to and giggle.

Today was one of those ‘drowning days’ when I felt all the things I need to do or could be doing swooshing over my head. But hey, for dinner we ate all veges from the garden, and the girls had a bath for the first time this week, so things are looking up. Thanks for inspiring me and keeping me sane – ever so important when you are somewhat isolated like moi!