Instant Renewal
Legacy signals
Legacy popularity: 1,161 legacy views
Legacy rating: 5/5 from 1 archived votes
“It is as it is” - my latest mantra - is a phrase I heard and absorbed on a Sunday morning some months ago when I woke up at 5 AM and something inside me pushed me get up, turn one the radio and listen to “Humankind,” a weekly program on National Public Radio, with which I was familiar.
I resisted for a few minutes, but the “something” in me kept telling me to move, so I reluctantly pushed myself out of bed, went into the living room and turned on the radio. I was instantly glad that I had forced myself to get up and sorry I had not done so sooner. Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of the renowned Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, was discussing a powerful, yet simple, stress-relieving meditative technique he calls “mind-fullness.” The goal of this practice is to calm down and focus only on the present moment — lifting the enormous burden of worry about either the past or the future.
Dr. Kabat-Zinn’s meditation, which emphasizes paying attention to the simple act of breathing, is called “Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction” (MBSR). He says that becoming friendly with one’s own breathing, paying attention to the movement in our belly, and learning to ride on the waves of our breath moving in and out of the belly, has a calming effect. At the same time that we’re cultivating calmness, we’re also refining another powerful tool, mindfulness, or a deep seeing into the reality unfolding moment by moment. We’re actually teaching ourselves how to calm down and get out of our own way. It’s like a natural tranquilizer and instant renewal.
According to Dr. Kabat-Zinn, this process is also an “affectionate attention”- being present to the moment and not knowing how things are going to unfold, even as we plan for the future. “It is as it is.” We are open to not knowing, we are also letting go of our need to know. It doesn’t deny our need for action; it simply allows us to approach the action and the future differently. We don’t fight what we can’t control; nevertheless we act.
“It is as it is” - a powerful affirmation to help us live in the NOW and generate in us an instant renewal, acceptance, and full engagement with the present moment, which immediately opens us to the abundance of our future.
“It is as it is.” And so it goes. I continue with my mantra, hopefully growing more peaceful and accepting day by day.
Article author
About the Author
Patricia is a Senior citizen who has a wide and varied background. A Texan by birth she entered the convent after graduating from high school. As a Sister of the Holy Cross Patricia earned a B.A. in education from St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN and later she taught at the junior high school level in Califo
ia and Utah, after which she spent five years as a missionary in Sao Paulo, Brazil. During her years in Brazil Patricia learned to speak Portuguese fluently, was co-principal of a new grade school, and worked in several parishes in outlying areas. Patricia never felt completely accepted by the Holy Cross leadership in Brazil; and unfortunately she later developed an eye problem which resulted in her returning to the States a year earlier than planned.
Patricia left the convent after thirty years of service and has since earned an M.A. in education from the University of Notre Dame and a D.Min. from the University of St. Mary of the Lake at Mundelein, Il. While working on her D.Min. degree Patricia lived in South Bend, IN. and every Saturday morning she traveled by train to Chicago, then by bus to Mundelein college. Her instructor and advisor was Rev. John Shea, renowned poet, author and storyteller. Patricia considers this educational experience one of the pivotal points in her personal and spiritual growth.
Presently, Patricia is writing a book, The Mysticism of Growing Old - Memoir of an Aging Novice. Her stated goal for the book is “to discover if the quest for ‘knowing the truth’ allowed me to experience mysticism in my life, and if so, how it has affected my life. This work is not meant to be a scientific or theological treatise, rather it is my personal mission to discover what mysticism means for and to me as I ponder the fact that I am moving toward eighty and growing older daily. My goal is to do this in such a way that it reflects back to me a greater truth in my life. It is one person’s attempt to reflect on her experiences, or lack thereof, of mysticism in her life, what that means and how it reflects outward into the greater reality of the here and now. In other words, it will be a memoir of a life lived in pursuit of the ultimate reality - union with the All That IS.”
Further reading
Further Reading
Article
Great Advice For A Happier Life! Many Little Tidbits That All Add Up!
If you want to have a healthier, happier, and more meaningful existence, there are many great things that you can do to improve the quality of your life, and to also improve the world in which we live! These may seem like "little things," but if more people did more things such as these, we can all contribute a "little something" towards making the world a better place, and we can each improve our lives along the way!
Related piece
Article
Anyone Can Have Their Own Home Based Business If They Really Want A Home Based Business!
It is true, and the first thing you have to do, is to make up your mind that you're going to do it, no matter what it takes. You are also going to have to ignore the friends and family members who will try to tell you that you cannot do it. Can you imagine that some people who are close to you, will actually try to tell you that you can't do it? It is very sad, but very true! I want to repeat those words and you should print them out and put them on your bathroom mirror: Anyone Can Have Their Own Home Based Business If They Really Want A Home Based Business! This also includes YOU!
Related piece
Article
Do Not Participate In The Bad Economy... Make More Money For Yourself!
Even though the economy is a "so-called" BAD economy, which has spread all over the world, via the "ripple effect," YOU can still improve your own personal economy, if you will get motivated and become more productive. You can use some creativity, and some enthusiasm, and apply yourself, and you can EARN the extra cash that you need. To earn more money, you just have to get up, get busy, and get "out there" and make things happen!
Related piece
Article
Be Happy, Be Productive, Make The Most Of Today And EVERY Day!
You can make up your mind to be as happy as you want to be, just as Abraham Lincoln has suggested, and you can choose to be more productive, and thus become as successful as you want to be! There are sales people who get up late, hurry to get ready foor work, rush to get there in time for a sales meeting, they get stressed out, and then there is a rocky start to their day. The same goes for the waitress and the dental assistant, and just about every other job under the sun.
Related piece