Purpose, Intention & Patience

Living with a sense of purpose is so important. Wake each day with a drive and will to do. Find things that interest you and a determination to learn, even when it is hard. Learn to figure things out-ask questions-make mistakes. Experience the inner sensations of your passion.

Life is to be lived with gusto-zest-zeal. You must live in and for the moment. Your goals and desires and hopes and dreams have many paths that lead to them. Allow yourself the freedom to travel many paths. They will lead you to experiences that will help you on your way. Do not be disappointed if your path is different than you thought it would be; instead be flexible. Learn along the way. Find joy in your travels. Be inspired to live.

Experience the moments within a larger context. Everything you do will cause an effect. Whether the desired one, or not, or possibly one that is not immediately noticeable…maybe not even in your lifetime. Above all be patient Know that patience is not just the ability to wait for it to happen. Rather, it is the absolute knowing that it will happen. Just. Know. It. Will. Happen.

You can effect change.

Alwasy keep your vibration high.

Have a positive outlook.

Look at your heart.

Have hope.

With peace,

Eve

If you are local to Natick, MA, please join me today. I will be leading a short Grove & Flow associated with the fire element and summer. Come get grounded!

Grounding In Community

Natick Common 1:30-3:00PM

Grounding In Community is an outdoor, in-person, and safe way to grow our hope and support each other. Every last Sunday afternoon, from 1:30 – 3:00, we meet under the shade of a giant tree on the Natick Common for a time of spiritual practice, artistic expression, and truth-telling. We lie on the grass, sit on blankets and chairs, sing, explore movement, and speak words of truth that give us greater strength and freedom.

We are living in times that are heavy with foreboding in terms of health, economics, and politics. And so we gather in community to affirm that we are not alone in being afraid and in needing support. Together we create a space where we find the courage to face all this…and to find a way of being well and of keeping hope alive within.

For everyone’s safety, we will wear masks and maintain six feet of distance. If you want, please also bring a blanket, yoga mat, or chair to sit on. It is also recommended to bring a water bottle.

If you are inspired to share a poem, story, song, or reading–something that grounds you in truth and gives you hope–there is a time of open sharing in the structure of the gathering where this will be welcome.

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: Waffles And Pancakes (series) by Cindy Springsteen

Waffles And Pancakes (series) by Cindy Springsteen

1. A lesson in friendship (Friendship matters more than material things)
2. A lesson in bullying (The cause and effect of bullying)
3. A lesson in the true meaning of Christmas (A heart-warming story about love and friendship)
4. A lesson in being different (Don’t judge a book by its cover)

The Waffles And Pancakes series are well written stories that teach valuable lessons on friendship, bullying, the true meaning of Christmas and on being different with each one helping the reader dig deeper into the true meaning of character, courage and consciousness. The stories pay careful attention to explaining the lesson with clear examples and descriptive passages that empower the reader to be kind, compassionate and respectful.

These books are great to read aloud to younger children, but I feel their real magic lies in older children who can read on their own; this is an important niche. These heart-felt lessons are respectful to the intelligence of the reader and should be available in libraries, schools and therapists offices. These books are great tools for social emotional learning!

Thank you to the author for sending me these books. All opinions expressed are my own. 

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: 3 Books by Florenza Lee

3 Books by Florenza Lee:

Barry Bear’s Very Best: Learning To Say No To Negative Influences by Florenza Lee; Illustrated by Michelle Wynn

This book addresses the very heavy and real life topics of drugs, bullying and bad choices through the very positive eyes of a young bear who is of strong conviction and knows that striving to be the best he can be is the way to live a happy, satisfying life. He is a wonderful role model and because of the deepness of the topics, it can be shared with children as well as pre-teens and up as well. It is a very accessible story highlighting goodness in oneself.

 

The Tail Of Max The Mindless Dog: A Children’s Book on Mindfulness by Florenza Lee; Illustrated by Michelle Wynn

I really like how the main character, the mindless dog, is an analogy to the way our thoughts run rampant in our heads, like a dog mindlessly chasing its tail. Relentless and mind numbing. This book does a great job introducing deep belly breathing and the use of chanting to bring focus and calm. The chant is cute and memorable. I really like the straight forward approach of this book and it can be shared not only with children but pre-teens and up as well.

 

Welcome Home Daddy Love, Lexi: “Hi, I am…” Book Series by Florenza Lee; Illustrated by Maria Guevara

This is a very deep, reflective and richly detailed story of a very important topic. It is beautifully written with such love and compassion and I am sure speaks truly of this sacrifice of the whole military family unit. It was hard to read without tearing up. This story highlights the courage and strength of these families

This dynamic trio of straight forward help book are full of positive characters who face adversity but are able to remain true to themselves and use self-determination, courage and self-respect to fight against the odds. These are strong books and they need to be heard! These are especially good for addressing trauma and for learning how to be strong and courageous!

Thank you to Florenza Lee for sending me these books. All opinions expressed are my own.

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: Julián Is A Mermaid by Jessica Love

Today, I read Julián Is A Mermaid by Jessica Love (Candlewick) in my kids yoga classes today. The children range from age 2 1/2-almost 6 and one of their favorite activities is the Calming Rock meditation time. Each child gets a pile of colored glass rocks: some large and flat, some chunky, some blue, some green, some clear, some red, orange and yellow. They know that once the quiet music goes on, it is time to settle down and take on quiet bodies, mouths and minds. It is time to let their imaginations free and make designs or pictures or just enjoy the beautiful colors and textures of their rocks. After a full class practicing the skills of movement and stillness, I brought the rocks out, turned on some quiet music and the kids settled into the routine. I told them that I would be reading them a story and that some of the pages had words and pictures and some of the pages were only pictures. I explained that I would hold the book up and they had the choice to just listen, or they could look up and see the pictures as I would quietly alert them if the page had no words so they could see the pictures as I moved them slowly by.

I told them it was a story about mermaids and we immediately got into a discussion of other things that live in the sea and about the water and the waves. We decided our rocks reminded us of the ocean and we imagined a wave rolling in and messing up the sand beneath and then calming so the water becomes clear again. I started reading the beautiful simple prose and loved the peppering of a few Spanish words such as abuela grandmother mijo my dear; this is very endearing and has a feeling of love and safety. The children calmly listened to me and played with their rocks, and most eyes lifted as I passed the book by. I would watch their eyes take in the sequences of pictures and the special look that would come into their eyes when they got the story. To say I love this book is not enough. The message is one of hope, acceptance and authenticity and is accessible to the very young as well as the old. I am meeting with a local GSA today at a middle school and this book will be part of their yoga/mindfulness class as well. I cannot recommend this book enough. It should be in every school, every library, every home. It is a beautifully crafted message of love and the illustrations are fantastically expressive. This is a home run for this debut author-illustrator.

Even with young children as young as this, discussions happened around accepting other languages styles, choices, ways of being; accepting ourselves and that each individual person is really the only one who knows themselves and for them to nurture and love their inner self (of course I used a fun analogy of a tiny them inside themselves driving around them around like a giant ship.) I explained that even when that ship goes to school or is at home or is with friends, that the inner core them was always the same and they could feel safe, strong and grounded in that knowledge of who they really are. I was able to tell them that their really is a Mermaid Parade that happens in New York where everyone dresses like mermaids and parades together to the sea. https://www.coneyisland.com/programs/mermaid-parade

This book is about:

#acceptance #consciousness #diversity #character #love #courage #compassion #pride #empathy #support #lovingkindness #freetobeyou #freetobeme #freetobe #instalove #inclusion #strength #culture #community #comunidad #equality #mermaid #mermaidparade #coneyisland #Iam #satnam #authenticity #individuality