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Aug
08
2017

Fatigue and Your Rejuvenation

Bev meditating

“You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather.” ~ Pema Chödrön

If you feel out of balance or busy in your head, or just plain tired, one of the things you may want to consider is a meditation. There are many guided meditations for those of you who have no experience. Today I would like to share with you one of my favourite guided meditations that I learned in Japan. It is one of my “go to” meditations when I feel I need a holiday, but can’t jump on a plane!

Much of the fatigue we all feel is emotional. Our self care is really important these days. There is a lot of stimulation out there and we have ourselves and our minds and habits to deal with as well.

When I was living in Japan I found that it was too expensive to do my hobbies… like a game of golf would be $250. However, sitting on a tatami mat and practicing some meditations was very doable, free and easy! Nowadays I do it for different reasons.

Before you meditate or do a guided meditation, be clear about why you are mediating. It’s not just something you do. You want to know within yourself why you are dong it.

I, personally, have stillness as my intention or connecting to life from the “Big Me”, so I carry more perspective. Although sometimes my intention is just to relax or move from my head to my heart if I am thinking too much.

Before you meditate, find a quiet place that feels good and begin to deepen your breathing… combine abdomen breathing with some deep sighs. Its often recommended you sit, but if that is uncomfortable then lie down. Make sure no limbs are crossed and your jaw is relaxed, then lightly touch your tongue to the back of your front teeth. Quietly ask yourself why you are meditating. What is your intention?

What I do is a softly close my eyes and breathe deeply. I bring the front of my body closer to the back of my body so I am no overextended. I lift my heart as if I am opening it, then consciously drop from my head to my heart. I take a moment to bring in the feeling of love. I picture a beautiful piece of nature that just makes my heart pop open. I love wildflowers in the mountains! I love the stars at night and the moon! For my birthday I was s given a telescope. What do you love and enjoy and that gives you tingling sensations?

Here is a beautiful guided meditation. I don’t know who wrote it. I’ve had it quite some time. It travels with me!

Enjoy it. Read it, breathe and picture it, feel it. If you want, you can record it so that you can play it back.


The Mirror Mind.

When a mountain lake is agitated by winds, the moon that is reflected in it appears in a dozen broken pieces. In it, clouds look distorted, and trees dance.

Taking three deep and slow breaths, I calm my mind and body.
I visualize a calm lake reflecting everything like a mirror.
The moon in the lake is in one piece, and the clouds look the same as they do in the sky.
When my mind is calm, it is like that lake, reflecting things as they are.

As I calm my mind, the outside world also feels calmer; things appear simpler and easier to deal with.

Calm mind, calm world:
Just trees, just clouds, and just the moon.
My mind reflects things as they are.

The steady rhythm of my breath calms me, like the hand that gently rocks the cradle calms a fussing baby.

I let that calmness pervade my whole body and mind.
I sit basking in the pleasant feelings that come from a relaxed body and mind.

Mental states are like cloud formations in the sky.
They depend on the winds of emotion and thought, and change from moment to moment.
States of mind such as certainty, uncertainty, or irritation come and go.
I watch them arise and disappear.

Without breath awareness, a mental state can take up all the space.
Focusing on my breath creates space in my mind.

I made room for my feelings as I observe and accept them.
As I sit, there is just sitting.
As I breathe, just breathing.

On a clear summer day, everything is bathed in light.
The light of my awareness shines like the sun.


Enjoy feeling – the beauty and stillness – of this meditation and carry it into your life.

Tags: Bev Pugh, guided, heart, meditation, mind, perspective, quiet, reflection, self care
Posted in Meditation and Relaxation | 4 Comments »

Jul
11
2017

Putting Our Minds On Vacation

Bev on Vacation

“The choice of Soft Focus or Hard Focus is yours anywhere, anytime.” ~ Bev Pugh

Life can be quite a ride for all of us!! I would say that our “ride” is as much affected by what is going on inside of us as it is by outside events and people. I have gravitated to ways of quieting my mind and strengthening all the other resources inside of me… like intuition, creativity, and the tremendous wisdom in heart and body. That is one of the things I love about quieting my mind; it leaves space for my other resources to kick in. That is true for all of us.

Our bodies respond to the content of the thoughts we think. This is scientifically proven and this GIVES US A LOT OF GOVERNING POWER to influence our health and vitality.

One of my ways of navigating through the ride of life is by taking some time each day to focus on stillness. The stillness inside of me, and the stillness in the world around me. Stillness for me is quite similar to silence. It’s there waiting for us to feel it. It’s all around us and inside of us, but we don’t focus on it or go looking for it. We tend to focus on chatter and noise.

I have taught myself how to feel stillness anywhere, anytime. If we want to build vitality and a more peaceful feeling inside, we need to expand our repertoire and find ways of creating more quiet space inside of us. A great deal of our exhaustion is mental and emotional.

This is how I practice stillness:

I practice what is called “Soft Focus”. I am looking at the computer right now as I write to you. I am aware of all the space around the computer, and the computer itself. My breathing responds to the space and the emptiness around the computer.

In this space I can see an envelope, a bottle of water, a pen, a table… but I am still looking at the computer. I don’t give everything of me to the computer, I keep an imagined wide angle lens on my field of vision, and I spread my “seeingness” to what is around the object that I am looking at. This brings in a Soft Focus and the opportunity of holding perspective.

“Hard Focus” is when we totally give our attention to one thing, and loose our awareness that there is more to life and our experience. From my experience, we tend to be more reactive when we have a Hard Focus.

For me, as I allow part of my Soft Focus to include the space around things, I can feel the stillness of that space and the quiet. That is what I have a relationship with while I am doing whatever I am supposed to be doing. As I am writing to you I hear voices in another room, and am aware of the silence around the voices. I zero in on the silence in the space around the busyness. It’s a learned focus. It is very powerful and it brings more peace into our body.

Going into the woods can be a wonderful way to bring peace into our bodies. Sit quietly or walk and listen to the quiet of the woods; the quiet between or around the trees. Feel the quiet. The experience is different for everyone. For me, my breathing changes and deepens. I feel more perspective and peaceful. I can then allow another part of me (which is more intelligent) to have a say in what I think and choose. This is a healthier balance than just letting my mind rule me.

There are many ways of practicing stillness. This is one. What I like about it is that it is so portable. Here I am sharing with you and practicing connection to stillness at the same time. I am sure it increases our wisdom in the moment!!!

Our minds are experts at problem solving, yet some problems are not answered in the mind. Our minds use our habits as our reference point, and for many of us we want to move away from old habits. Expanding our repertoire of experiencing each moment brings in our other resources. It also increases our energy. Our ability to hold perspective in life is pivotal. Soft Focus and tuning into stillness while we are doing other things is a wonderful way of using all the different parts of who we are. Enjoy it.

Tags: Bev Pugh, body, breathing, peace, perspective, practice, quiet, space, stillness, think, time
Posted in awareness, Self Growth | 2 Comments »

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Beverley Pugh

Beverley Pugh

Beverley Pugh has international experience in Individual, Marital and Family Therapist services. Areas of practice include counselling in: individual, couples, family, anxiety, addictions, grief, depression, pain management, multicultural, workplace and others.

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Re-parenting The bottom line is that there is only you. If you carry regrets around how you were parented when growing up, then use that amazing wisdom to take action now to be the mother or father you always wanted. Be that to yourself now. Give to yourself what you would have wanted. Old dynamics are meant to offer pearls of wisdom for us to move forward and be our own solution. They are not meant to be carried around as a stagnant regret. When we blame, we are diverting ourselves from us. You are already your own expert... now move into action.

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Bev's Laughing and Breathing Belly Workshop for Children was one of the best I have attended. She has a gifted ability to gently connect with children and teach and share with them her techniques of belly breathing, rooting, mind vacations and laughter. These techniques soothe and calm them whenever they feel overwhelmed or anxious - be at school, home or before bed time. Whether you have an overwhelmed pre-schooler or a test-anxious pre-teen, Bev's approach works! I love that she gave parents the tools to model and share these fundamentals of meditation with their children. I would encourage families to take her course...your children will thank you and you will benefit from ways to keep yourself calm and allow wisdom in.

Farrah J. - Mother of 3, West Vancouver

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About Beverley

Beverley Pugh has international experience in Individual, Marital and Family Therapist services. Areas of practice include counselling in: individual, couples, family, anxiety, addictions, grief, depression, pain management, multicultural, workplace and others.

Contact

Telephone:
604-925-1513
Email:
bev@beverleypugh.com
Location:
120-1451 Marine Drive
West Vancouver, BC
V7T 1B8
Canada

Disclaimer: The information presented on this site about various psychological conditions, is of a general nature and is not a substitute for an assessment by a competent therapist and/or medical professional. If you believe that you or an important person in your life is in need of an intervention please seek qualified help as soon as possible.

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