Tibetan Prayer Wheels by Erdenebayar Bayansan at Pixabay
Intentions, Blessings & the Brain
In this tremendous year – the Year of Reaching Out as I call it – I have a blessing and intention for you.
And for me.
That you see with your own eyes what matters most, your relationships are enlightened with mutuality, you know more ways to live in harmony with your corner of the planet, and that you have no doubt about what lights you up. And you follow those lights.
A thoughtful person recently felt I needed a blessing, so now I’m paying it forward to you.
It’s by Irish poet and priest, John O’Donohue from his book, Bless the Space Between Us – A Book of Blessings
Beannacht (Celtic for Blessing)
On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
May the clay dance to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
May a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green
and azure blue
come to waken in you
a meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
in the curach** of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.
(**Celtic for small canvas boat)
And talking of blessing, did you know that when you set an intention as a way of partnering up with actions that support it, the brain lights up in a process known as neural synchrony? Regions of the brain pulsate together in firing rhythms of 30 to 80 times a second at gamma frequency according to Neuro-psychologist, Rick Hanson.
We glow.
It’s a part of the brain that is developed by mindfulness meditation – helping us to recognise when we’re not keeping to our heart’s desires so we can then make wiser choices to help us stay on course. It’s also where compassion grows.
We share a common intention: to be happy.
Whatever your intentions are or the nature of the blessings that come your way, you don’t have to tough it out alone.
You can meet me on Zoom each week for a gentle Hatha yoga (mindfully moving mind and body towards focus and relaxation), and a monthly meditation practice (experienced folks only) while staying safe and cosy at home, for the time being.
Hatha Yoga Dates: Mondays 9, 16, 23 and 30 November at 6.30 pm
Mindfulness Monthly Dates Tuesdays 24 November & 15 December at 6.30 pm
Find out about dates, times and the sliding scale of class fees on my website – pandemic hit incomes and students heartily welcome.
With blessings for bright health and happiness,
Yasmin x
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