Slow Ink session 9th April 2022

Adrienne’s practice today was Mindfulness with Sound and Body Sensation support, opening with the Danna Faulds poem "Settle In". We don’t have a recording of this one yet but here is a link to the Mindfulness with the support of Sound practice. 

Bev returned to the Toby Litt poem Hare that she discovered on the BBC series of essays “Becoming Animal” (still available to listen to on BBC). The version used doesn't seem to be online so do listen to it at the end of that essay and get in touch if you'd like me to email my transcribed version.

Writers were invited to explore their own animals or use the prompt from the first line of the poem:

In the last of the light

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And now for some of 

YOUR WRITING:

"In the shape of a" 
by Doreen Kelly

magpie rainbows dance in sunlit waves. 

Greeting hands wave

 and are gathered by a solitary Madame Butterfly 

as she flutters across the head and wings 

of Mr Magpie. In search of glittering sunrays 

to catch and hoard, they are joined by the joy of another. 

Reflecting each other they need nothing other than each other.

Two Fish

by Kay Ritchie

(inspired by Toby Litt’s A Hare & Dana Faulds’ Settle In)

born beneath the star of Pisces

two fish heading in opposite directions

in the month of March

when the weather is confused &

the moon needs coaxing from behind a cloud

I’ve been known as ‘hare brained’

I’ve been called ‘mad as a hatter’

contrary   solitary

I’ve wandered   going who knows where

the world spinning beneath my feet

now   knees rusted & hair gone gray

wintering in the last of the light 

at the end of the day

I scrub at memories

rub them out

fill them in 

replace them

with new ones

but the time has come 

when I must settle in the here & now

not fish-swim away or

hare-leap in the air

but breathe

just breathe

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Thanks to you all ...

... for your heartening feedback as always!

Doreen: Does anyone listen BBC radio 4?

Jan: yep

Bex: and me

Doreen: Has anyone heard this weeks Caretakers

Jan: not yet

Bex: no not yet

Doreen: By-the-way I'm asking about Caretakers Reimage because I am on it. You could try BBC Sounds if you want to hear it.

Jo  to  Lapidus Scotland(Direct Message): Sheila Buchanan is swimming her masters yesterday today

Angie: Sending all my love to you Cath. xxx

Kay: beautiful cath   thankyou for sharing kx

Yvonne: Beautiful Cath. Sending much love xxx

Cath: Thank u xx

Bev: In the last of the light

Doreen: "In the shape of a" magpie rainbows dance in sunlit waves. Greeting hands wave and are gathered by a solitary Madame Butterfly as she flutters across the head and wings of Mr Magpie. In search of glittering sunrays to catch and hoard, they are joined by the joy of another. Reflecting each other they need nothing other than each other.

Jo: sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.. If I focus on the problems far away I cease to cherish the life around me

Maggie: We can be of practical help by donating to the Disasters Emergency fund, Medicines sans Frontiers...

Cath: Thats a good suggestion Maggie

Cath: Thats lovely Doreen, I love magpies

Angie: great poem Doreen

Bex: sorry got an unexpected visitor, see you all next time x

Maggie: Yes Linda, rhyme is helpful - sonnet or ballad shaped

Adrienne: Settle In by Danna Faulds

Angie Strachan: That was wonderful, thank you.  Have a most excellent weekend everyone. xx

Karen: Thankyou for this morning xx

Kay: thankyou thankyou thankyou   kx 

 

Thanks to funders

Lapidus Scotland gratefully acknowledges the support of Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership's "Wellbeing for Longer in Glasgow Fund" (managed by Impact Funding Partners).

Slow Ink session 26th March 2021

 

Adrienne led a Bodyscan practice today, opening with the Danna Faulds poem "Just for now" 

awareness reaches up to meet it

was the prompt that Bev offered after warming everyone up with some literary abandon from Emily Dickinson:

High from the earth I heard a bird

by Emily Dickinson

High from the earth I heard a bird;

He trod upon the trees

As he esteemed them trifles,

And then he spied a breeze,

And situated softly

Upon a pile of wind

Which in a perturbation

Nature had left behind.

A joyous-going fellow

I gathered from his talk,

Which both of benediction

And badinage partook,

Without apparent burden,

I learned, in leafy wood

He was the faithful father

Of a dependent brood;

And this untoward transport

His remedy for care,—

A contrast to our respites.

How different we are!

 

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And now for some of 

YOUR WRITING:

From Prompt Saturday March 26th 

by Helen Geoghegan  

Awareness reaches up to be met

I just miss, again. 

These past weeks the birds have been coming closer.

They are daring me

‘Go on, there’s not much to it’.

Two of them waltz the roof in steps

twice a day.

They hop and dance about

-my reinvention.

Then there’s just the ticking clock

and their encouragement.

‘Come on lady

not much to it.

We can feel it

your haphazard delight.

And now, to do

on your feet

with some abandon.

Melt your shoulders

ease away.

Watch us lady

Just - let – go.

Let go, you know what’s next.

We’ll be here.

Find your wings

to fly away.’

Oak am I

by Bex Woodsford

Up up I go

Trunk squat, rooted

Yet branches lifting

Twigs swaying

Buds bursting 

Leaves fluttering

Lightness and life erupting

Rooted in Mother Earth

Yet reaching for the sky

Trmendous oak am I

(untitled)

by Doreen Kelly

A pile of wind wills me from behind. A murder of ravens rounds on me. Enormous wings. Never ending, ever onwards, soaring and sweeping. Ravens roar, each soars. All reaching, clinging, holding, evermore swooping. Unafraid the pigeons and turtle doves join the party. Totally oblivious to the murderous gathering. Extremely excited they experience the thermals.

Two Black Crows

by Bonbon

2 black crows on my back fence

Every day - so busy with their chores

Dog haircut outside in the sun - unplanned but a perfect opportunity

One big furry dog-cloud - now half his size and weight

I turn back - just for a minute - and wow!!! My awareness reaches up to capture the circle of life, as the 2 black crows pop down to collect the fur, in lumps of unimaginable size  to fly away to their nest. 

I spend the next few hours just entertained and amazed - watching the work of the parenting, repeated until all the fur has gone…..

 and i think…..I may have missed all of that wonder - had I not just stopped for that one little moment in time.

What a joyous thought that one bird family will be just a little cosier tonight

Reaching up

by Cap'n Bev

Mountains reach up

in slow and grinding intercourse. 

With roar and shake tectonic plates slide, collide.

Alive

Much quicker does this 

seagull jet towards the paling blue

tries not to let the thrush perch 

on the pinnacle of the roof 

to sing and sing, 

to somehow bring the world 

to a breathless halt 

in the audience of 

unprepared immaculate abandon.

(untitled)

by Margaret Bremner

Today, for a second or two

I'll let go of care and

allow that my small contribution

is finding joy here and now.

Today's got enough worriers and

and warriers:

One more corner heaving with

Fears and tears won't help much.

Instead

I'll feel for the warm air,

laugh at the kids,

Listen to birdsong,

Wriggle my toes in and out 

of socks,

And wander along gazing

just gazing.

Drink in the exquisite changes, as

Magnolia buds burst out 

in startling and ridiculous

colours and shapes.

Hyacinth scent wakens 

my nose up.

Daffodils ripple in ranks

and sweet little blue flowers

challenge me to remember

their names.

The grass looks greener.

The sea looks bluer.

The smiles are wider than an hour ago.

(untitled)

by Kay Ritchie

(inspired by Danna Faulds’ Just for Now & Emily Dickinson’s High from the earth I heard a Bird)

the gardener

Camilo

his roots left behind in Cuba

informs

that smell you smell is from the Daphne bush

a ladybird reclines

snug as a bug on a leaf

a bumble bee grumbles round the blossom

we stick noses    close    sniff

drink in the possibility

then on the path    an egg

egg-shell blue   speckled   snatched   smashed

the shape of death

above   a dark brown blackbird leans on air

her blackbird blues   a sob  the sound of despair

and though the sun beats down on us

the spring has lost its lustre

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Thanks to you all ...

... for your heartening feedback as always!

Catrice: Good morning everyone!  I am going to keep my video off this morning until the sun rises here (Maryland) to keep the light from hurting my eyes. Good to see you all today.

Karen: God Bless, Cath xx💕

Catrice: Wishing her well, Giovanna.

Giovanna: Thanks Catrice

Kay: I do love a body scan and that was just lovely   thankyou Adrienne    kx

Adrienne: ❤️

Catrice: Thank you, Adrienne.

Bev: awareness reaches up to meet it

Giovanna: I’ll keep my video off as kids are marauding - nothing from me but I’ll be listening

Lynnda: I loved the voice of the tree!

Catrice: Love the last line.  Tremendous oak am I

Helen: love how it builds to that last line

Lynnda: That feel so affirmative!

Sheila: Thanks everyone I have to leave now

Lynnda: So sorry, Cath. A hard process of grieving, my heart is with you

Caroline: You’re a warrior Cath…….

Lynnda: Lovely!

Doreen: I need to go. Thank you. Bye bye.

Lynnda: Such beautiful colours in that poem!

Lynnda: A requiem for an egg ...

Jo: fabulous poetry, kay

Denise: Completely absorbing, Catrice.

Lynnda: Beautiful poem Catrice :)

Catrice: Thank you, everyone.  Very kind. I appreciate the feedback.

Lynnda: Loved the way you used the line  'pile of wind' !

Catrice: Love the voice of that poem.  I could listen to that narrator over and over. It's like a an inner voice.  So strong.

Catrice: That was fun Moira! Loved that!

Karen: Thanks everyone, you are so warm and inspirational. Love these sessions💖

Giovanna: Thanks Bev, Adrienne and everyone, it was great to hear you all this morning.

Kay: thankyou to everyone   thanks bev and Adrienne   a great morning    kx

Margaret: Thanks everyone, some beautiful images filling my head now

Helen: wonderful to spend this time in mindful writing with you, so grateful and nourished

Lynnda: Thanks Bev and  Adrienne and all in the room - great session!

Caroline: Thanks so much wonderful women

Denise: Thank you so much for this. My first time - I’m so glad to have met and heard you. Not much actual writing today, but some beginnings!

Angie: thank you. it was lovely to spend the morning with you all

Jan: Thanks so much everyone.  Enjoy the sun!

Moira: thanks so much lovely session, Adrienne much appreciated the wonderful body scan it was much needed and welcomed.

Yvonne: What a wonderful morning - thank you all so very much x

Cath: Thank u Giovanna and Karen xxx

Jo Beth: Thank you for a Wonderful morn

Jo: thanks both

Sally Beaumont: wonderful Kay

Thanks to funders

Lapidus Scotland gratefully acknowledges the support of Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership's "Wellbeing for Longer in Glasgow Fund" (managed by Impact Funding Partners).

Slow Ink session 19th March 2022

 

Our first session of the first course of the new year welcomed some new mindful writers; Adrienne led a Mindfulness with the Support of Breath practice. The introductory poem she chose was 

"The Trees" by Philip Larkin.

Bev offered two writing prompts from Wendell Berry's “The Peace of Wild Things”:

I rest in the grace of the world

or

I come into the peace of wild things

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And now for some of 

YOUR WRITING:

burrowed

by Kay Ritchie

(inspired by Philip Larkin’s The Trees & Wendell Berry’s The Peace of Wild Things)

burrowed

deep in bunkers

where even the sun is scared to shine

cold

growing old

clinging to their roots

while somewhere up above

a heron rises 

an almond blossoms

tulips spring from pot holes &

despite being rained upon

by bombs

as tanks draw rings

around the dead &

all that’s being said

are lies

the wise despair at

this universal grief

oh  if only we could all love life &

rest in the grace of the world

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Thanks to you all ...

... for your heartening feedback as always!

Kay: sorry to see you in hospital bed sally

Maggie: Hello everyone - good to see you. Perhaps you submitted work for postcard? Seemed like a good idea

Cath: Rumi Oracle; Alana Fairchild.  Amazon and/or Ebay, good for creativity. reflection and med

Doreen: Sorry Maggie I don't understand

Doreen: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1171463202/the-survivor-guide-to-non-silence? @Sur5vors told me about this mind opening book

Kay: beautiful  thankyou Adrienne  x

Adrienne: ❤️

Doreen: Surviving and striving to thrive. Hoping to survive thriving. In order to thrive some more. (I surprised myself by writing this during the break).

Adrienne: wonderful

Bev: I rest in the grace of the world

or I come into the peace of wild things

Kay: great to be back    a wonderful session   thankyou so much  kx

Sandra: heart warming. Thank you both

Kate: Great to be back, thank you to everyone for sharing your powerful words and to Bev and Adrienne for guiding us along the way xx

Angie: Thank you.  It was good to spend a Saturday morning with such a wonderful bunch of people.  I really needed the mindfulness and creative expression today.  Have a most excellent weekend. xxx

Helen: 'Benediction of presence and truth. Astonished by the reach of these hours and how they are crafted.  So much gratitude, thank you for your welcome and being.' Such a wonderful experience. I was a bit surprised by myself, you have created something special.  warm wishes 

Thanks to funders

Lapidus Scotland gratefully acknowledges the support of Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership's "Wellbeing for Longer in Glasgow Fund" (managed by Impact Funding Partners).

New course Saturday 19th March

 

Please get in touch if you'd like to enrol - details and how to join here.

MaW session 18th December 2021

Adrienne led a full Loving Kindness practice today, introducing it with the poem “Kindness” by Naomi Shihab Nye.

Bev took a writing prompt

they did not know I saw 

from the Emily Dickinson's poem:

A Bird, came down the Walk

by Emily Dickinson

A Bird, came down the Walk - 

He did not know I saw -

He bit an Angle Worm in halves

And ate the fellow, raw, 

 

And then, he drank a Dew

From a convenient Grass -

And then hopped sidewise to the Wall

To let a Beetle pass -

 

He glanced with rapid eyes,

That hurried all abroad -

They looked like frightened Beads, I thought,

He stirred his Velvet Head. - 

 

Like one in danger, Cautious,

I offered him a Crumb,

And he unrolled his feathers, 

And rowed him softer Home -

 

Than Oars divide the Ocean,

Too silver for a seam,

Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon,

Leap, plashless as they swim. 

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And now for some of 

YOUR WRITING:

(Loving) Kindness is a friend

by Joyce Nicholson

Today, in the dying of the dark before the light returns,

I step out in this veiled harr to celebrate the too short life of our dear friend.

I bring loving kindness with me.

My emerald green centre pulsing with metta for all, gently holding the throbbing and stabbing aches of sorrow,

For kindness is all that there is.

Our shared love and our shared grief includes those unknown and those distant, and also those who caused hurt and harm, I offer my love to your suffering,

Equanimity is the path, loving kindness is the revolution. 

Apples & Blackbirds

by Bex Woodsford

I left the apples where they lay

   windfell on the ground

and now the blackbirds come each day

to eat and take their fill.

Ungainly on the ground

     they hop

from one sweet taste to next

They did not know I saw

   and thought

       twas right to leave abundance

all over the garden ground.

My neighbour thought it was messy

   and possibly a waste

but I knew that come the winter

    others would appreciate

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Thanks to you all ...

... for your heartening feedback as always!

And a merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Bev and Adrienne

MaW session 11th December 2021

Today Adrienne introduced her Rain practice with a poem "Guest House" by Rumi.

Bev drew the writing prompt

certainty in tatters, our voices return

from this poem "Lesson" by Pat Sutherland:

Lesson

by Pat Sutherland

A snowless winter, but Arctic winds

whistled throat-searing coughs 

through our letterbox;

we whooped and barked

singly and in unison

buoyed up only by the certainty 

of healing Spring.

Sure enough, relief came with the crocuses;

our voices returned; we put a noxious

season behind us, seeing ahead

sunlit outings, picnics,

holidays.

But just as roadside hawthorn hazed with green

and blackthorn blossom lit the school fence,

just as our world was opening

we had to close our doors.

Nature has bloomed this spring

as never before

while Death, laughing at the irony,

rampages through sunlit air

gleaning a baleful harvest.

We are chastened, fearing the future,

our old assurance shaken

our certainties in tatters

the bedrock of our beliefs

cracked asunder.

We will live tentatively, grateful,

hoping to do better.

Certainty in Tatters, Our Voices Return by Jo Saunders

Feelings eroded confidence gone I lurked in my bed connection fled, isolated, an island, a sea of hostility and judgment around, Or so it seemed. I had been so sure, arrogant in my rectitude, my entitlement. Certainty in Tatters. A woman cries out, weeping. Others comfort. One by one our voices return.

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And now for some of 

YOUR WRITING:

Poem: Does it fit?

Jo Beth Gray

Abundance of coats and jackets

But nothing quite exact for the weather

Water repellent but not waterproof

A problem for walking the streets in winter

Expectant of heavy rainfall, freezing

Can’t fashion and function mix

Certainly something is in tatters

Identifying with the poor on our streets

How can our conscience keep sane

When we have choice of 5,6,10

Rich beyond measure

Uncomfortable in the coziness

While others have one coat, torn

A certain uncertainty 

by Bonbon

You’ve been a year of the great unknown

You came charging at me with a force like I’ve never felt before

New people & places, new homes and situations

Ive often felt my old certainty in tatters

I awake each day and I know the first thing I do is smile - and the warmth of life rushes through my whole body

Im so thankful for another new day to try again

I put myself out into that uncertain world that feels so new and overwhelming to me

My gorgeous furry companion and me go a wandering

He sniffs and hunts and scampers from one leaf to the next ……..and me! Well I chat to to all and anyone I meet

To discover a new certainty that’s there is more good than bad in my brand new world 

A joy in the chatter of history lessons,  given with pride and passion for this old industrial village.

It’s my introduction to its great past and the chance to keep it alive.

The welcome is warm and the smiles are wide, I find myself just being me in the here and now

Laughter is loud and spontaneous when met with the only traffic congestion of the slow moving swans and ducks in my path

Happiness is to stop and watch 

And  I have a moment, a realisation!…….the certainty that …….I am now Home……...

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Thanks to you all ...

... for your heartening feedback as always!

Catrice: So true, Bev.

Kay: wonderful   just what I needed to nourish   thankyou adrienne

Kate P: Very helpful, thank you.

Catrice: 💜

Bev: certainty in tatters, our voices return

Catrice: To accept all is mutable**** (Lovely!)

Catrice: Cath, such composed call for peace and wholeness .

Kath: thank you all for your comments. I feel I am not alone

Catrice: 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Catrice: Very touching Maggie

Catrice: Powerful, Kay!

Catrice: Bye Leslie! Good to see you! 💜

Bex: gaiawisdom.org Kathleen Rude

Bex: based on the Work that Reconnects Joanna Macy

Kate P: Thank you so much Bev, Adrienne and everybody. Very nourishing and inspiring. I have to go but I hope to see you next week. xxx

Kay: thankyou   thankyou   thankyou

Bex: Thanks so much everyone X

Jo: Thanks all xx

Bonbon: Thank you everyone . Amazing session. The RAIN practice is one of my favourites and it so powerful….. for the first time I focused on me. Love to you all xxx\

MaW session 20th November 2021

 Sunny Bank Mill

After the three-day torrents

the beck raced and roared,

clusters of stones riding its crest

a mist of rainbowed spray rinsing air;

the small wind silenced by water

stole among copper leaves

lifting the last stragglers

into a moment’s breath

before the drop to nascent loam.

Among denuded limbs of lime

the tall holly flickered

full-berried, vivid feast

for wintering blackbird.

Over the bridge the house stood tall, safe

beyond the reach of rising waters

cosseted as Autumn gathered round,

its unlocked door saying

Welcome

by Pat Sutherland

Adrienne led a Noticing the undercurrent practice today, introducing it with the poem “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliverwi

 Bev used a writing prompt inspired by the poem above, “Sunny Bank Mill” by Pat Sutherland:

beyond the reach of rising waters

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And now for some of 

YOUR WRITING:

zzz

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Thanks to you all ...

... for your heartening feedback as always!

Fenella: that's hugely helpful thanks

Kay: wonderful   thankyou Adrienne

Bev: beyond the reach of rising waters

Amy Brooke: Bayo Akomolafe

Amy Brooke: https://www.bayoakomolafe.net/

Angie: Thank you.  The mindfulness has calmed a rather busy mind and the poetry has raised my spirits.

Jo: Thanks, all.

Kay: thankyou Adrienne  bev and everyone   wonderful kx

Catrice: ok

 

 

Thanks to funders

Lapidus Scotland gratefully acknowledges the support of Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership's "Wellbeing for Longer in Glasgow Fund" (managed by Impact Funding Partners).