Tag Archives: Mindful Practice

Turning Point

Posted on September 13, 2013 by ivonprefontaine

We tend to live isolated worlds and the boundaries are often rigid rather than permeable. We come in contact with many and absorb something from each. Life is a relational experience whether the relationship is with our self, another person, another being, the Cosmos. It begins inside and emerges. It is blending of all into one that makes us human and allows us to be a part of the macrocosm. We only need to turn to those relationships. Rainer Maria Rilke wrote this beautiful poem about turning points and the need to look inward.

For there is a boundary to looking.

And the world that is looked at so deeply

wants to flourish in love.

Work of the eyes is done, now

go and do the heart-work

on all the images imprisoned in you; for you

overpowered them: but even now you don’t know them.

Learn inner man, to look on your inner woman,

the one attained from a thousand

natures, the merely attained but

not yet beloved form.

5 Comments

Posted in Community, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments and tagged community, Mindful Practice, poetry, Rainier Marie Rilke, spirituality, teacher as transformer, Turning Point. Bookmark the permalink.

Life Is a Prayer

Posted on September 13, 2013 by ivonprefontaine

I keep a daily journal and. As I wrote yesterday, this kept surfacing. I jotted the ideas down on Sticky Notes and let them percolate for the day. This is what dripped from the coffee pot.

Life is a prayer;

A mystery

It holds answers

And unshakeable questions.

In the oneness;

Alchemy loosens–

It transforms

In that mystery.

Prayer is listening;

It is an ordinary passage of time

It is the extraordinary voyage of life

Unpretentious, fully lived quest.

17 Comments

Posted in Mindful Life, Poetry and tagged creativity, Life is a Prayer, Mindful Practice, poetry, spirituality, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Throw Yourself Like Seed

Posted on September 12, 2013 by ivonprefontaine

I spent a good part of the afternoon writing based on a book by Ralph Siu, The Tao of Science. I wrote and broadened the scope to include the Tao of Technology and the Tao of Learning or Education. I grabbed a couple of other books because words like communion and humility came up in relationship to leadership. I refer to Educating for Humanity a lot. and it is one of my most well-used books. An article had this beautiful poem about life`s abundance by Miguel de Unamuno. The way (the Tao) I look at life and my perception is one which is life-giving or not. I think this holds in terms of my interactions with other beings. Life is not separated into fragments but lived wholly and fully with reverence.

Shake off this sadness, and recover your spirit;

sluggish you will never see the wheel of fate

that brushes your heel as it turns by,

the man who wants to live is the man in whom life is abundant.

Now your are only giving food to that final pain

which is slowly winding you in the nets of death,

but to live is to work, and the only thing which lasts

is work; start again to turn to the work.

Throw yourself like seed as you walk, and into your own field,

don`t turn your face that would be turn to it to death,

and do not let the past weight upon your motion.

Leave what`s alive in the furrow, what`s dead in yourself,

for life does not move in the same as a group of clouds;

from your work you will be able to gather yourself.

15 Comments

Posted in Education, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments and tagged creativity, education, Miguel de Unamuno, Mindful Practice, poetry, Ralph Siu, science, teacher as transformer, The Tao, Throw Yourself Like Seed. Bookmark the permalink.

Being a Bee

Posted on September 9, 2013 by ivonprefontaine

I commented on How to Land about Eco Ethics. The underlying principle is deep ecology which shifts us from an environmental anthropocentric and views all living beings as having inherent worth and not merely instrumental value. Deep ecology understand a complex interdependence between all living beings and allows that to guide decision-making. We are part of the Earth and not holding dominion over it in this sense. We can make similar decisions about harvesting, mining, and building as we do but use numerous perspectives in doing so.

James Hatley wrote, The Uncanny Goodness of Being Edible to Bears. He referred to hunters, outdoors people, and survivors of bear attacks. People, who are deep ecologists, revere Nature and understand the risks of entering wilderness. Their view is Nature and what it holds makes us more human and complete, as we are one with Nature and not separate.

I wrote this poem as one way to better understand the concept myself.

Am I more than the sum of parts?

More than just a body, a mind, a spirit?

If so, what role might the bee play?

The one who manufactured honey?

The one I so enjoyed with bread today.

Is he or she part of me?

Or, is there even more to it than that?

What about the clover?

The water and other things used in delectable manufacture?

Can I now take that Bee’s perspective?

Ever so fleetingly,

Does it make a difference?

Might it be a lesson in being more human?

Letting the Bee be part of me?

10 Comments

Posted in Education, Mindful Life, Nature in All Its Glory, Poetry, Reflective Moments and tagged creativity, Deep Ecology, Eco Ethics, eloquent questions, James Hatfield, Mindful Practice, nature, philosophy, spirituality, teacher as transformer, The Uncanny Goodness of Being Edible to Bears. Bookmark the permalink.

How to Own Land

Posted on September 7, 2013 by ivonprefontaine

It has been a hectic week and I finished the first week of being a full-time student. My body and mind know this and are telling me it is time to have Sabbath.

I enjoyed the classes this week and they are an eclectic mix: The Tao of Leadership, Eco Ethics and Leadership, and Leadership, Language , and Culture.

In the Eco Ethics class. we talked about challenges faced by humans as we deal with environmental issues from largely a human driven perspective and agenda. It is about ownership and domination in large part and our thinking has to shift. As my figurative dad, Albert Einstein (wild hair, facial foliage, and eccentric behaviour according to students) said, “We cannot solve problems with the same thinking that got us into those problems.”

I came across this poem that shifted the perspective from humans being outside nature to being part of nature. I used a short story with students written by Leo Tolstoy called How Much Land Does a Man Need? Tolstoy challenged the notion of ownership as we understand it in the ‘advanced world’. Morgan Farley’s message is gentler and takes on the perspective of others living in the world with us, not separate from us.

Find a spot and sit there

until the grass begins

to nose between your thighs.

Climb to the top

of a pine and drink

the wind’s green breath.

Track the stream through alder and scrub,

trade speech

for that cold sweet babble.

Gather sticks and spin them into fire.

Watch the smoke spiral into darkness.

Dream that animals find you.

They weave your hair into warm cloth,

string your teeth on necklaces,

wrap your skin soft around their feet.

Wake to the silence

of your own scattered bones.

Watch them whiten in the sun.

When they have fallen to powder

and blown away,

the land will be yours.

19 Comments

Posted in Education, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments, Sabbath and tagged Albert Einstein, creativity, education, Ethics, Gonzaga, How to Own Land, Leo Tolstoy, Mindful Practice, Morgan Farley, nature, spirituality, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Breathe

Posted on September 5, 2013 by ivonprefontaine

When I write in my journal, I can use various creative forms. When I stopped for lunch in Priest River, I wrote and poetry emerged. Since I began pausing and taking three breaths each time I wash and dry my hands, I find I pause similarly other times and the calm it brings is beneficial.

Draw a breath in–

Inhale its energy–

Feel inspired–

Bathe in its freshness.

Pause at the peak–

Bask in a new-found glow–

See the world anew–

Be just in that space.

Release that breath–

Exhale its waste–

Let others use it–

Let the world grow.

Let go of that moment–

Be ready for the next ascent–

Look upwards–

Follow breath’s cycle.

25 Comments

Posted in Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments, Sabbath and tagged Breathe, creativity, Ivon Prefontaine, Mindful Practice, poetry, priest river, spirituality, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Life’s Mystery

Posted on September 3, 2013 by ivonprefontaine

I registered for a class which doubles as a retreat. The underlying theme is the Sabbath. I began a journal and will write for the next 6 weeks based on weekly Sabbath practices. For the first week, I chose one which Thich Nhat Hanh speaks about. I chose a common activity, one I do mindlessly. Each time I do it, I breathe three times and complete the task.

I feel rushed this summer as I move from one life phase to another. I felt calmer the last couple of days. I began Sunday, my usual sabbath. When I settle like this, I discover paths to questions, thoughts, and wisdom that are not forthcoming when I am busy. The quiet place is like a deep pool which opens up only when I rests quietly.

A gentle breeze

My breath

Crosses a silent pool.

A sacred space

A simple way

Leads me forth.

Wisdom revealed

Questions emerge

Life’s paths opened.

Be present

Listen mindfully

Embrace life’s mystery fully.

8 Comments

Posted in Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments, Sabbath and tagged creativity, eloquent questions, Ivon Prefontaine, Life's Mystery, Mindful Practice, poetry, spirituality, teacher as transformer, Thich Nhat Hanh. Bookmark the permalink.

The Poem that Took the Place of a Mountain

Posted on September 1, 2013 by ivonprefontaine

Wallace Stevens encapsulated the poetry’s strength. It recognizes each person’s artistry and fuels the rhythm of life. Life is a creative process. Our creations anchor us as we sense our way through life with no visible path and markers. We are adventurers in an uncharted space. No one else has lived this before or afterward. In this way, life is a work of art and takes the place of a mountain. We experience it as a deeply sensual, intimate, and creative voyage that comes from deep within our souls.

There is it was, word for word,

The poem that took the place of a mountain.

He breathed its oxygen,

Even when the book lay turned in the dust of his table.

It reminded him how he had needed

A place to go to in his own direction,

How he had recomposed the pines,

Shifted the rocks and picked his way among the clouds,

For the outlook, that would be right,

Where he would be complete in an unexplained completion:

The exact rock where his inexactness

Would discover, at last, the view toward which they had edged,

Where he could lie and, gazing down at the sea,

Recognize his unique and solitary home.

19 Comments

Posted in Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments, Sabbath and tagged creativity, learning, Mindful Practice, poetry, spirituality, teacher as transformer, The Poem that Took the Place of a Mountain, Wallace Stevens. Bookmark the permalink.

The Coffee Shop

Posted on August 31, 2013 by ivonprefontaine

I spend time in the local coffee shops, read, and write. I did a lot of my blogging in that venue; however this summer I rearranged my schedule and blog at home. I notice a gentle energy in these settings and in a busy world it is a place to take time and just be.

The coffee shop;

Misnamed I think–

I sip tea

I try just be present.

We gather;

It is about talk–

A communal space,

Congregate and converse.

Companionship’s richness;

Found in quality

I cannot assign a number

It is a fool’s errand.

It is in laughter,

The reminiscing,

The sharing,

We find ourselves.

15 Comments

Posted in Blogging, Community, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments and tagged blogging, community, conversational journey, creativity, Mindful Practice, teacher as transformer, The Coffee Shop. Bookmark the permalink.

The Layers

Posted on August 28, 2013 by ivonprefontaine

Stanley Kunitz wrote this lovely poem about life and the journey we take. I look back and I am tempted to see litter and not layers of good. It seems so much easier, at times, to see the past in this light. Something speaks to me from deep within me and reminds me to consider the good that happens. When I take time and place this at the forefront there is so much more energy given to live and know I am not done with the changes.

I have walked through many lives,

some of them my own,

and I am not who I was,

though some principle of being

abides, from which I struggle

not to stray.

When I look behind,

as I am compelled to look

before I can gather strength

to proceed on my journey,

I see the milestones dwindling

toward the horizon