Comments on awake is good: I Sit Listening to the Wind

Paul, You paint lovely word images here. You'v...

2009-07-13T10:02:25.106-04:00

Paul,
You paint lovely word images here. You've spoken often of life at your grandmother's. It sounds like a profound time in your life and am so glad to hear of your deep appreciation of it now. It's always interesting how time can make such memories more clear and meaningful.

Christina,
Oh, I do love my pink chair. Listening, deeply listening to what is here, can certainly transform us. Glad you like it here. I hope this blog can always provide people with breathing space...

Nina,
As you say, listening (along with meditation) is a practice. The more we do it, the easier it is...and the more we like it and feel its benefits. I am glad you have found this pocket of peace in your own life.

And thank you for asking about my niece. It is a very slow and long recovery...She was back in the hospital again. There is also much emotional trauma to heal. Layers and layers of healing...

Sema,
The mantra you created is just beautiful. Thank you for creating it and sharing it with all of us. It should serve as an apt reminder to listen. The image is pure joy! :-)

Hi Jan. A beautiful post.It was very inspiring.So ...

2009-07-12T23:55:51.674-04:00

Hi Jan.
A beautiful post.It was very inspiring.So very inspiring that I felt I had to make a mantra out of it to be reminded often to -simply listen. thank you for inspiring me.
you can see it here
http://affirmart.blogspot.com/2009/07/affirm-mantra-for-this-week-simply.html
blessings
sema

Thank you Jan for letting us join you on your medi...

2009-07-11T22:44:30.193-04:00

Thank you Jan for letting us join you on your meditations. I could feel the cool breeze across the water whispering in my ear. It’s not always easy to quiet the mind and listen. The more I meditate, the easier it’s become… Always a work in progress. I do hear the Devine Spirit easiest when in nature. I listen to the soft rustling leaves. I see visions in the whispering clouds overhead. I hear purpose in the song of a bird singing its glorious melody. Thank you Jan for sharing this with us. Love and Light, Nina P.

(how is your niece doing after her boating accident? I pray she’s healing and recovering well. She and her family are in our prayers.)

I love the idea of your pink chair and listening. ...

2009-07-11T19:41:26.237-04:00

I love the idea of your pink chair and listening.

I willingly, allow myself to listen. To listen with my mind, my heart...
It is one of the most beautiful gifts, I haven given myself.

What a beautiful and airy post.

Again, I love it here.
xo

Hearing wind coursing high through countless leave...

2009-07-11T17:46:36.278-04:00

Hearing wind coursing high through countless leaves in the treetops from my backyard and the sound of surf on the shore slowing to a sizzle in long, shallow arcs along Wells Beach, Maine, at my grandmother's cottage there - these are two sounds I grew up with that had deeply mesmerizing effects on me.

Angela, How wonderful your memories are of all the...

2009-07-11T16:53:27.529-04:00

Angela,
How wonderful your memories are of all the winds and breezes you've experienced around the world. :-) Delightful to read how they "spoke to you." One of my favorite sounds the breeze makes is at it wafts through the branches of a weeping willow tree. Sublime...and so restful.

Ingrid,
We are both stillness seekers and deep listeners, it seems, and are buoyed by these twins... Both do restore and center me more than anything else I can think of. Your visit to the woods sounds divine!

So beautiful Jan. I love to go out into the world...

2009-07-11T15:49:37.017-04:00

So beautiful Jan. I love to go out into the world and listen. The other day, while sitting on the bridge in the woods, I noted in my journal, "this isn't silence. It's listening." I was noticing how stillness and listening seemed to go hand in hand, heart in heart, so well together. Your post is so transporting. I can't wait to read your next book! Love, Ingrid

Such a beautiful post, dear Jan, filled with so mu...

2009-07-11T14:13:16.834-04:00

Such a beautiful post, dear Jan, filled with so much wisdom and imagery. I had to come back a few times before I could comment.
:0)
I, too, love bodies of water (and porches!), and feel most anchored with a large body of water nearby. But I have also always been drawn to the Great Plains, especially South Dakota (I seriously remember a past life there). I adore the sound of the wind and the swaying of the grasses in the vast treeless expanses of that state.

But my mind wanders back to breezes I've felt on my face on the Pacific coast in Oregon and Washington, the rainy nighttime breezes I treasured in Germany as a child, and the smell of freshly mowed grass in the wind even earlier in Canada.

Now I love it when a gentle breeze brings me the sounds of birds singing and the music of my windchimes.

These breezes melt away the stress and worry, if only for a few moments.

I hope you have a lovely weekend.
Hugs,
Angela

Gayle, We definitely sound like kindred spirits. I...

2009-07-11T09:21:41.482-04:00

Gayle,
We definitely sound like kindred spirits. I, too, love cloud gazing and watching storms come in over the Bay. Listening to birds certainly brings me back to the present moment, for birds themselves appear to live completely in the present. And, yes, one of my considerations is a book sourced in nature reflections that offer up spiritual insights. Thanks for that input!

HS,
I concur. So many misconceptions about meditation—how to start and what the experience is supposed to feel like. You are most perceptive to note how that form of listening can take you deeper into calm...

Phoenix,
Thank you for your kind comment. I truly enjoy this type of writing, noticing and expanding upon what I notice. It is a form of meditation in itself...Blessings!

gorgeous post. you paint such pictures with your ...

2009-07-11T08:25:44.868-04:00

gorgeous post. you paint such pictures with your words and they guide us beautifully to sit and appreciate

Such beautiful expressions.Your expressions of the...

2009-07-11T06:45:06.266-04:00

Such beautiful expressions.Your expressions of the learnings from the silence within and nature outside are absolutely brilliant! Thank you for sharing.

Lovely post. I remember a meditation teacher telli...

2009-07-11T02:33:02.536-04:00

Lovely post. I remember a meditation teacher telling the class how you did not need quiet to meditate. She said just listen to the world going about its business, listen and let yourself hear the world, be part of the reality. It was very useful. It meant that no longer were the sounds a distraction - they helped me go deeper into peaceful meditation.
Also - what a simple way of beginning to meditate? People often say "Oh I can't meditate - it's too difficult" But surely everyone can listen?

P.S. If any of the books are writing about nature,...

2009-07-11T00:22:51.265-04:00

P.S. If any of the books are writing about nature, I think that's what you should do!

I used to live in Wisconsin, so I know what you me...

2009-07-11T00:15:52.828-04:00

I used to live in Wisconsin, so I know what you mean. Here I hibernate in the summer when the temperature is sometimes over 100 degrees. But we're in the monsoon season, so if it isn't lightning I sit on my patio at night, watching the amazing cloud formations and sunsets. As far as listening, all I really want to hear are birds but I listen to a music channel called Soundscapes on my cable TV. That's in the company of my two dogs and cat, of course, although my collie is nicknamed "Mr. Barky." Thanks for a beautiful post.

Julie, Well we will have to do that one of these d...

2009-07-10T22:16:26.805-04:00

Julie,
Well we will have to do that one of these days, just sit on the porch and listen and "Be." I am sure the birds would like our company. Be well!

Carolynn,
Making time and space for ourselves is a very challenging thing--and then, fit in silence, stillness? This is surely a discipline or spiritual practice, especially with all that calls to us today. It's so helpful to get rid of the "shoulds." They are incredibly debilitating and really do keep us disconnected from our most peaceful selves. I am still working on kicking out my a few of those myself. :-) Blessings!

(And you're welcome. It was a really special post that you created.)

Absolutely beautifully written. So much here. I ...

2009-07-10T20:38:37.085-04:00

Absolutely beautifully written. So much here. I don't make enough space for myself of this sort of 'being still' in the world. I'm still in overwhelm and my 'shoulds' are pressuring me. I'm ignoring and seeking a way to get back in balance.

Thank you so much for the wonderful comment you left at my place today. It really touched me. You have a gift for spreading peace and instilling calm wherever you go. Thank you for sharing yourself with me today.

Carolynn

Hi Jodi, Thanks! Well, I have been doing a lot of ...

2009-07-10T14:30:19.691-04:00

Hi Jodi,
Thanks! Well, I have been doing a lot of weeding lately, and there are some horrible, very prickly weeds that even permeate protective gloves. They sure have made me think about how debilitating some of our harsh thoughts can be. I dig those up with a vengeance and get them out of there!

Caroline,
I know the location of which you speak and memories would abound. A beautiful location! What a blessing you got to enjoy this as a child.

Lisa,
I like your reference to the Bobby Fischer movie. Yes, this is what it feels like. So we are "Ladies-in-Waiting" together! May our time be fruitful...

Jill,
Yes, if we can be still, just sit and listen, it is amazing how we can find peace and clarity--and how finding that can actually shift the chaos.

Joanne,
It is true that each setting provides a different template for listening. Woods, shore, mountain, canyon, desert...I do believe that listening is an art and one that can be taught. Hopefully, it is not becoming a lost art like letter writing. :-)

Annie,
All these little creatures invite us inward, it seems to me. I love watching the chipmunks lately. They make me laugh right out loud, esp. when they tumble and wrestle like Chip and Dale of cartoon fame. Oh, summer naps. Love them!

OH, Jan, I am right there with you! I close my eye...

2009-07-10T14:25:01.225-04:00

OH, Jan,
I am right there with you!
I close my eyes and I can feel the wind off of the Bay and smell the water and the sand. I can hear the birds and feel the warmth of the sunshine.
Porches are one of my very favorite joys in life and I try to visit as many as I can.
I will sit with you on your porch one day and just BE with you.

Lovely post Jan. I too am pulled in so many direct...

2009-07-10T13:42:32.991-04:00

Lovely post Jan. I too am pulled in so many directions that I must stop and listen and learn from silence and stillness. I love watching the birds, and now there are little field mice who come eat the bird seed, I watch them too. I also make it a point to take a 20 minute nap on the days I don't work. Summer does seem to slow me down and that is a very good thing.
xoxo

It's like you lined up a few chairs on that po...

2009-07-10T13:33:30.749-04:00

It's like you lined up a few chairs on that porch, and we all sat along with you. Just beautiful peace going on here. Aren't porches amazing? Some type of magic happens there, so inviting that pause, that listening. I like to listen in different places. At home, in the morning, much birdsong comes in through the kitchen windows, little daily symphonies. At the beach, it's different. More rhythmic with the sea, the tides, the waves breaking along the sand. And then there's the outdoor summer concerts, a genre into themselves, the music rising to the starlit skies. Listening, really, is almost an art in itself, don't you think? Painting in our backgrounds with sound.

Just sitting and listening is the only way that I ...

2009-07-10T13:25:15.709-04:00

Just sitting and listening is the only way that I have found to be helpful when things are chaotic around here.

I have had the most wonderful conversations with Spirit when I practice this art of listening.

I lived right off of the shores of Lake Superior during my high school years, and I long to be near the water again someday.

For now I settle for my backyard haven of trees and birds.

Jan, just beautiful. As I'm sure you can guess...

2009-07-10T13:24:33.723-04:00

Jan, just beautiful. As I'm sure you can guess, I resonated most strongly with your 'Heart' section, especially this: "My ego-mind jumps in to give quick answers, to place pressure, a dearth of 'shoulds.' My heart is telling me to wait, to sit, and listen some more. The answer will come." This expresses exactly what seems to be going on with me. I keep thinking of the chess movie Eddie Fischer, where his teacher keeps saying to him, 'Wait until you see it.' before he makes a move. I just keep telling myself 'wait until you see it, wait until you see it.'
I can't wait until you do see your next book, as I sense it will be an entirely new level for you, that there will be a new kind of transmission coming through it. Namaste- Lisa

Oh I love this post...I felt as if I were there wi...

2009-07-10T13:07:20.698-04:00

Oh I love this post...I felt as if I were there with you on the porch.

I spent many summers in Holland, MI with family friends that had a cottage off the boardwalk. My Step Father had a small sail boat docked at Lake Macatawa. We would sail on to Lake Michigan and then go to the General Store for Ice cream. I woke to sounds of so many birds...ate a quick breakfast and would scramble on the dunes and down to the water! The days would end with the most beautiful sunsets...and evenings playing scrabble or cards on the big screened in deck.

Oh I loved that place...and have such fond memories. Thank you for this walk down memory lane...

Hi Janice, as usual your post is calming and seren...

2009-07-10T11:46:46.881-04:00

Hi Janice, as usual your post is calming and serene for the reader--thank you for that! I love your lesson of doing less and being more...and the brilliant conclusions you came to while listening so intently to nature and your inner wisdom. My favorite is your thought on pulling out prickly thoughts by the root--great visual. Thanks for this!