THE SEA

I am working on one of my childrens' novels and would like to stay in that mindset for the next few days. So below is the Prologue to my current project, Indigo. Hope you enjoy!

INDIGO

The Sea A+

by Indigo Bartoli

Like a mother’s beating heart

Inhale

In the timelessness of the womb

Exhale

She is present from the beginning

Inhale

Soothing me in my sadness

Exhale

And exalting me in my bliss

Inhale

With a dominion I often snub

Exhale

For like hot bread from the oven

Inhale

That ignites olfactory glands

Exhale

She overwhelms my very essence

Inhale

And with fierceness to topple nations

Exhale

And melodies to capture fools

Inhale

She protects and destroys in one

Exhale

Prisoner to her passions

Inhale

And slave to her magnificence

Exhale

Forever bound have I become

Inhale

THANK FULL

As this is the week of Thanksgiving I want to take a time out from my busy schedule and say Thank You to all my readers. I never know who is reading this blog, but I do know that I am compelled to continue to write it so there must be someone who is being touched by what I say. So THANK YOU.

I try every day to remember that it is not I who brings all this joy, wonder and love into my life, but my Creator. Therefore every day I pause somewhere in my day and express how Thank Full I am. Today my focus is on the beautiful weather I have been experiencing, for the great friends I have both here and in Colorado and around the world. I am Thank Full for the incredibly loving family that cares about me and for me and who are always in my thoughts. I thank my Creator for the bounty I receive daily and for the view from my window as I write this blog. And most of all I thank my Creator for allowing me to be alive, to experience every moment in every day with so much love, peace and joy that it overflows in my heart. To all of you, I pray that you have a blessed Thanksgiving and may you always be surrounded by love.

MINDFULNESS

A friend of mine turned me on to an app for my phone called "The Mindfulness Bowl." Randomly, about every hour a wonderful sound emits from my phone. It is the sound of a Tibetan bowl ringing. This ring is to remind me to stop, see if I am really experiencing the moment for what is truly going on, and if not, come into the moment and be one with it. Too often I find myself out in the future. I have found that many of my clients are that way too, as well as many are dwelling in the past. Then there are those special few who truly do live in the present moment. But for me it is not an easy place to stay. Thus the phone app.

Yesterday I was visiting with a friend who lives much more in the moment than me. It was the first time she was experiencing my new home and I found my mouth was going a mile a minute to tell her about an experience I'd had with moving, or where I bought a piece of furniture, or what painting I was going to put where. I was going way too fast for her and she kept having to stop me and back me up so she could experience the moment for exactly what it was. She was reminding me that I need to slow down and breath in the moment also. With my recent jobs and my move, etc. I realize I have sped up time. Now I want to slow it back down. Starting today I'm going to begin the practice of mindfulness as often as I can remember. Mindfulness is a Buddhist practice. It is about having a calm awareness of one's body functions, feelings, content of consciousness, or consciousness itself. In therapy I teach my clients to become aware of the feelings in the body, from the butt on the chair to the air moving through their nostrils, to the sensations in their toes. I ask them to look around them and describe the colors and the items they see. I ask them to describe the taste in their mouth, describe the texture of the fabric of the furniture or their clothing and describe any fragrances or smells they notice. It's about taking a moment to truly pay attention to the senses and what they are speaking to us. For as Albert Einstein once said, "There is more to life than increasing its speed."