R.E.S.T.

Living gratefully today, I appreciate the moon and shifting clouds in the early morning sky. It is humbling to be a small part of this wider world and universe. I humbly start the day ahead. 

I continue to make meditation a part of several mornings a week, after going 31 days a row in January. If I don't do a guided meditation, sometimes just a few minutes of quiet reflection is helpful.  The good news is that I can go into and come back out of those few minutes with a mind that isn't going 90 mph. 

It is closer to becoming habit, closer to reaching the status of daily ritual for me.  It makes a significant difference in how I approach my day, expectations, and pace. 

Here is one I have been doing recently and wanted to share with you: R.E.S.T. from Mindful.org It is called R.E.S.T.—A Guided Practice for the Tired and Weary and is 10 minutes long. Click on the link to listen and/or read. Thank you Rashid Hughes for bringing it to us. 

This summarizes the approach used: 

R is for Relax your attention. Release.

E is for Exhale all striving. Empty.

S is for Sense the silence. Surrender.

T is for Tune in to awareness. Trust.

Relax, exhale, sense, tune in.  Release, empty. surrender, trust. 

I think we all have come to know new levels and different kinds of tired and weary in the last year. Let's give ourselves moments of R.E.S.T. today. In doing so, we also give R.E.S.T. to one another because we respond, listen, support in kinder and gentler ways. Onward!