Picture to Ponder - Vol 6 - Issue 11: Blue-Wing Teals and Young Boy - Paying attention
Published: Wed, 03/17/10
March 16, 2010
Volume 6 - Issue 11
Dear ,
If you are ever feeling stuck or in a funk and you've been around me for a while, you might hear my voice say, "Grab your camera. Pay attention to what catches your eye and take some pictures." I've written about this in articles and you've most likely read my RX in the PDF file you received as a new, or renewing, subscriber. You can claim it again at - Expand Your Vision PDF.
Oftentimes I do I forget my own advice. Though I almost always have my camera with me, I may not use it. Last night, in a funk, I went for a walk at Green Cay Wetlands. When I finally pulled my camera out, I remembered, "Oh yes. Why didn't I think of this in the first place, as immediate access for shifting my mood?"
Today's Photos -
As I started walking and taking photographs of wood knots, I got into conversation with a young boy, Grady, and his mother. I stopped and showed them the Green Cay Wood Knot Lion, still in my camera. We then discovered another possible lion, or other critter, right under our feet. Grady did not agree with his mother and me on what it was. So the next time I made a discovery, he went down close to inspect it.
Click on the photo to see Wood Knot the Boy is studying
We continued our walk, made some other "finds", and then stopped at one point. My young friend climbed on the railing to watch the blue-winged teals. As I photographed, Grady continued talking about a story that was evidently on his mind from an earlier conversation. His chattering along with the movement of the bird, is in the 32-second, fun video below.
Grady and his mother proceeded to move on as I stopped to record the two blue-winged teals below which you can see in a 34-second video. Here you can experience the busy-ness of the teals and the peace of the scene.
Click on photo to see the video online.
Self-Reflecting Queries -
Obviously, from my story above, you can see that once again, I had accessed shifting my own "funky" mood.
Do you have a regular practice that will do this for you? If so, do you have a reminder system in place that will have you use the practice whenever needed?
And now, in a totally different conversation, let's look at "paying attention." If you've watched, and listened to, the first video with the boy chattering, you'll have heard me break in with the suggestion to look at the water coming out of the duck's beak.
I cringed when I heard this in playback. It reminded me of how often, I pay attention to my own thoughts and agenda and am not FULLY with the other person. And, I know, this is NOT unique to me.
I invite you, for the next day, or more, to pay attention to your own listening. Are you always full present to what the other person is saying or are your thoughts going elsewhere?
When you notice you're not, are you planning on what you are going to say next, concentrating on something else, or is your mind simply wandering?
If/when you catch yourself, I invite you to stop, apologize to the person who is speaking, if appropriate, and ask for a recap. Then fully enjoy being in the moment with that person
As always, have fun with this, and please share your experiences on the blog.
Awakened Wisdom - I have been invited to participate, offering a bonus, in the launch on April 20th of a new book, "Awakened Wisdom - A Guide to Reclaiming Your Brilliance", by Patrick Ryan.
Over the past three decades, Patrick, an executive coach and a former Buddhist monk, has been on a spiritual quest that eventually led him to devise a system of teachings he calls "Awakened Wisdom Experiences" (AWE). For years he taught this system worldwide at his workshops of the same name.
Now, at long last, he has consolidated the teachings of Awakened Wisdom Experiences into a book, appropriately entitled, "Awakened Wisdom - A Guide to Reclaiming Your Brilliance." This means his unique spiritual teachings can now reach a much wider audience around the globe. You can read more about the book here: AWAKENED WISDOM.
The book Awakened Wisdom is written in two sections. The first is a deeply spiritual exploration on what it means to be human. The second section explores what Patrick calls "Eight States of an Awakened Life". These eight states help you tap into your divine wisdom to create more of the life you want. Here are the eight states from Patrick's book:
1) A Good State of Understanding
2) A Good State of Intention
3) A Good State of Words
4) A Good State of Being
5) A Good State of Purpose
6) A Good State of Effort
7) A Good State of Practice
8) A Good State of Doing
In addition to bonuses from 40 other people, Patrick is giving away an EXTRA special gift of his own: An Awakened Wisdom VIRTUAL Experience!
When you buy the book, you will be given free admission to this special 2-day live "virtual" event, taking place on May 5th and 6th, 2010. On that event, Patrick will personally guide you through the Eight States of an Awakened Life. If you cannot make the live event, it will be recorded, but it will be available only to those who buy the book on April 20th.
To find out how you can buy this book on April 20th and claim Patrick's gift, and the others, just go to Awakened Wisdom Launch When you go to that page, be sure you enter your email address in the form, and Patrick will send you a "launch reminder" to make sure you don't miss the April 20th date.
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