Tuesday, July 27, 2021

MaW session of 27th July






































Today's mindfulness practice was a bodyscan and Adrienne introduced it with this poem:

Between
by Bev Schofield

What is the heartbeat without the silence 
between the thudding pump of our life organ? 
What is day if there is no night into which it can dawn? 
What is spring if there be no winter out of which to bud,
and what is winter’s respite without summer’s
punishing expectation of achievement?


Rest now, in the place that you thought was dark;
in the silence where you feared the heart 
would never beat again. Heal
in the spaces between your breaths. 
Embrace the exquisite stillness of that quiet 
till you care no more what’s to be done with the breath to come
nor what was said by the breath before.


Bev offered several writing prompts inspired by the poem "These Days" by Giovanna McKenna:

waiting
waiting quietly
moving silently invisible


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And now for some of 

YOUR WRITING:

inspired by ‘These Days’ by Giovanna Mackenna
by Kay Ritche
 
like waiting for Godot
I topple off the edge of each day
burn up dead time
return with the night
to blackbird blues which
croon a crease into the boredom &
wait   a burstingness in my heart for
what will be

untitled
by Bex Woodsford

So just wait
      still silent sitting
Not twisting
       Not turning
Body breathing
        surrounded by space
Expanding to embrace
         the chance of a new possibility 
Not a race
          No striving
And new steps may emerge in the dance


Moving silently, invisible
by Candyce Reynolds
 

Walking the streets,
I am barely noticed
Or so it seems
 
My mind, which is still young and pert thinks..
I must move silently
Not heard, so not seen
 
The truth I know
is within me
It is
My body
It registers a void --
Invisible, Invisible
Grey hair transparent; my creases fold onto each other
Nothing there to respond to
 
I worry that my gaze will start to mimic theirs
That I’ll become more and more see-through,
Quieter, smaller
Eventually impossible to be seen or heard
 
I want to jump up and down, yell and push them
To be noticed
To be notable like I used to be
A head nod in passing
Perhaps a hello
That’s all I ask.
 
I want to remind them:
Grey is a color and creases have dimensions

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Thanks to you all ...

... for your heartening feedback as always!

Amber: Hello, sorry that I'm late! Very happy to be here.
Catherine: I am sitting in a park with children so will keep audio and camera mainly of as on holiday
Kay: as always   wonderful thanks adrienne
Kay: lovely to see you catrice
Joyce: that was fabulous Adrienne thankyou xxx
Karen: Sorry I haven’t been able to participate properly- I’ll take the theme and write something later. Visitors still here…
Bev: No prob Karen
Catrice: Here listening today. Camera off.
Nichole: Lovely Bex
Catrice: Beautiful
Joyce Nicholson: I love I gap the mind
Giovanna: “that period when you are arriving somewhere but still elsewhere”
Annan: Yes!
Giovanna: “my creases fold on to each toher
Nichole: Wonderful Candice
Giovanna: each other” “I am not invisibel”
Candyce Reynolds: thanks
Giovanna: “where has the ground gone? / where is my next breath?”
Nichole: Thank you Giovanna, that was  so moving
Joyce Nicholson: amazing Giovanna thank you
Giovanna: thank you ❤️
Nichole: Beautiful and powerful Amber, thank you.
Giovanna: “I lived through the mess / the political unrest” “for friends on the edge of hope / and for those who’ve already chosen to leave us”
Bex Woodsford: So powerful
Giovanna: I loved that Amber, and maybe it’s my poet’s mind but it certainly felt like poetry to me. I’d love to read it again
Doreen Kelly: I agree
Giovanna: “golden fresh dampness / the joy of petals up-stretched” “intentfully making space”
Nichole: Thank you
Giovanna: Thank you Bev, Adrienne and everyone, I feel so lifted for being with you all tonight
Doreen Kelly: Thanks. Night night,
Kay: thankyou thankyou thankyou

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Thanks to funders
Lapidus Scotland gratefully acknowledges the support of Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership via the Wellbeing for Longer in Glasgow Fund managed by Impact Funding Partners

Monday, July 26, 2021

MaW session 20th July 2021















Course 2 started with a remarkable session that brought all the reassurance and connectedness of the Mindfulness and Writing "room".

Adrienne introduced her Mindfulness with the Support of Breath practice with a poerelatively new piece by John O’Donohue: The invitation to friendship with Nature

Bev took a writing prompt from "The Journey" by David Whyte:


the one line already written inside you

or

you are not leaving, you are arriving 

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And now for some of 

YOUR WRITING:

by Kath Higgens

“…the one line already written inside you” David Whyte, The Journey

I have tasted a wedge of freedom
and now am ravenous for more.
What does it mean to come to the open page
as to the ocean –
full of swell
ready to carry me away?
What do the poets mean when they say
let the poem lead you, let new discoveries
surface from the seabed –
or no, not even from there –
maybe from the fluffy, swirling, whitish foam
whose flecks glance off the incoming wave –
something hanging in the air
that wants to emerge into being,
that you didn’t know was waiting there?
For this I give myself to the discipline of the page –
the quest to bring to the dazzling light
the one line already written inside me



by Doreen Kelly

The one line already written inside you is not about judgement. Not about right and wrong. And not about similar or different. Search for that one line while throwing away judgements. Unburden yourself of all unneeded past criticism. Shame has no place in this search for that golden first line. You are not meant to find the one line written gently inside your core as a leaving gift, as a revelation at the end of it all. 
No you are arriving and if you listen well enough that silken line will whisper out from within you as you arrive at the starting line. The trick then is not to be distracted by those trying to carve themselves on to you. By all means build on the solid foundation within you but do not allow those hammers and chisels anywhere near the one line already written inside you.


Inspired by David Whyte’s ‘The Journey’
by Kay Ritchie
 
there were no sharp edges to her voice
she took words into her mouth to warm
then Kay she’d say & it was the bonniest sound
which took the edge off guddled-up emotions &
still I find her lines
written on my heart
in perfect copperplate
encouragement   advice   support
but what I’d give just to hear her
say my name
one more time

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Thanks to you all ...

... for your heartening feedback as always!


Kay: thanks Adrienne   have missed your sessions  kx: really beautiful, thank you Catrice
Catrice: Thank you, everyone!  Very kind.
Janey: Absolutely beautiful Catrice. Really moved me
Catrice: So sorry Cath.  Sending you love from USA.
Nichole: so sorry you’re going through that, Cath. thank you for sharing your pain, beautiful words xx
Janey: Cath , thank you for sharing which I know must be painful
Joyce: sending love to you Cath xxx
Nichole: gorgeous Kay, thank you so much
Catrice: Remarkable Kay!!!!
Britt: 'a love lead life'....
Nichole: wonderful Joyce, in the beautiful dharma
Nichole: thank you Helen, so moving
Nichole: really powerful Doreen, thank you
Kath: thank you Nicole. Courageous.
Catrice: Might be buried, but it’s not dead. — Good line Nichole!
Nichole: Thank you :-)
Karen: thankyou so much for your lovely comments and for making me so welcome. x
Catrice: Masterful, Sally.  You master brevity and depth so well.
Janey: That was wonderful Sally
Joyce: sally you are amazing xxx
Catrice: “But yet there is Fatih in these boughs and branches”. — Lovely, Brit!
Catrice: *Britt
Nichole: Thank you so much, Britt. Such beautiful imagery. Gorgeous reminders of nature and life. Love x
Catrice: So vivid.
Nichole: Thank you xx
Karen: have a wonderful week
Catrice: Thank you.
Kay: thankyou bev and adrienne   wonderful to be back with everyone   x
Joyce: fabulous,  moving and inspiring  xxxx
Y: Thank you for such a beautiful evening. Ps. I love the evening session. I was awake lol xxx
Jan: Thanks everyone

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Thanks to funders
Lapidus Scotland gratefully acknowledges the support of Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership via the Wellbeing for Longer in Glasgow Fund managed by Impact Funding Partners