Archives for July 2019

Monday Meditations

Deep Listening

As I continue to grow and improve myself I look to people and resources to help me. I have a select few magazines I like to read for more opportunities of growth. I thought I would share my take away from an article on Hearing/Listening from Mindful magazine the February 2017 issue.

I am a strong believer that we all can cultivate a wonderful life through our daily practices. I read this article a long time ago but I feel like I need to revisit it. The art of deep listening is something that is fleeting for me. I don’t know if I can use the excuse of being in a time with so much technology and all of the various daily inputs and interruptions. But I remember when I first read the article I felt a deep sadness that I struggled so much with something that seems so basic as listening.

What I failed to let sink in is that giving someone my full attention is a skill that must be a regular practice in order to sharpen it. It must be a conscious effort to strengthen the skill. With a few weeks before my boys start school as well as my return to work, I have to to admit, I am all over the place with my attention preparing and planning. But the truth is focusing my full attention has escaped me on a regular basis. So a review of this article is just what I need right now.

Contrary to what we believe, we really can’t focus on multiple things at once. The brain simply doesn’t work that way. But I feel like our current culture with it’s smart devices and news tickers, create the sense that we can focus on multiple things at the same time. I, for one hate when you watch the news on TV and a news ticker rolls across the bottom of the screen. I find myself stressing, should I read it or listen to the news reporter?

This article talks about of all our communication skills, listening is the one most called upon and neglected. It is the key to learning and creating meaningful relationships and yet we take for granted it’s need to be strengthened.

What is listening?

Often we hear something and before we know it we’ve labeled, categorized, and shelved it. At its core, listening is really just taking time instead to experience what we’re hearing in the moment.

Listening is a skill that takes time and effort. Think of it as a daily practice.What I loved about this article is that it broke things down into manageable bites.

First you need to set clear intentions to be a better listener. This will give you something to reference when you check in with yourself so you can catch yourself when you drift off. This can be challenging because there is no one can hold you accountable because only you know what runs through your mind when you listen and how focused you are. Therefor you have to be clear and honest.

Once you recognize what you’re doing, take a deep breath, smile because you noticed, and redirect back to genuine listening. It’s like returning to your breath in meditation, noticing, and returning to your breath in meditation. And just like with meditation, noticing and returning to the present is really the goal. Your mind will drift away, so keep on coming back.

Once you set an intention to listen, you can work on going deeper in conversation.

Listening involves paying attention both to what another person is saying, and what that person is trying to communicate beyond words.

The article introduced a practice to help hone those listening skills and I plan on restarting it again for myself. It is called the HEAR practice and it can help you deepen your listening skills.

H.E.A.R.

HALT – Halt whatever you are doing and offer your full attention.

ENJOY – Enjoy a breath as you choose to receive whatever is being communicated to you – wanted or unwanted.

ASK – Ask yourself if you really know what they mean and if you don’t, ask for clarification. Instead of making assumptions, bring openness and curiosity to the interaction. You might be surprised at what you discover.

REFLECT – Reflect back to them what you heard. This tells them that you were really listening.

This is a great practice and it really helps you to slow down and be in the present moment. Let me know if you give it a try and be patient for you can begin again over and over with each opportunity you are presented with to listen.

Belinda

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday #529

my desk…

Hello my crafty friends! It’s me! I am sitting out on my deck on this lovely morning typing this post. I borrowed my son’s phone yesterday to take a picture of my desk. His phone takes the most amazing pictures. I still won’t cave and buy a new phone.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with WOYWW (What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday), head on over to Julia’s Stamping Ground and you will find desks from all around the world where we get to snoop on other crafter’s desks.

So let’s take a look at my desk. I found this amazing coloring book on the bargain table at Barnes and Noble. For any of you that are new to my site, I love nature and all that it entails. I grow a flower and vegetable garden on my property and am a lover of birds.

The beautiful cover.

I had taken my boys to the bookstore over the weekend to fight the heatwave we were experiencing and came across this lovely coloring book that simply had to come home with me. It includes 39 birds of paradise from the New Guinea region. The cover has gold foil accents with the most amazing images. I could not walk away from it.

A coloring page inside the book.

I was even more excited when I opened up the book because on the left side there is a small image of the bird and below it is listed the name of the bird and a little bit of information about them. In the back they list the birds and have a color photographs of all of the birds. The book is produced by The CornellLab of Onithology, who is the world leader in the study of conservation birds.

They also included a link to watch the birds that they filmed on YouTube. Grab a cup of tea and a snack and prepare to be amazed. I can’t believe how magnificent the male birds feathers are. My husband and I watched this and some more videos on these amazing creatures.

Birds-of-Paradise Project Introduction
The pages are also perforated so they can be easily removed.

One thing I notice about me, is that I get hyped up when I see a coloring book and then when I get it home, I usually set it aside for a while before I begin coloring in it. But this one, I really wanted to dive in. So yesterday, I spent a short time doing just that. I have some amazing glitter gel pens that I have really been eager to use in my coloring books. So I held my breath and went for it. Because many of the birds in this book have iridescent feathers so I thought I would try to incorporate my gel pens in the coloring. I am not sure how much I like it but will know when I finish. I am using my Prismacolors as my main source.

One thing I notice about me, is that I get hyped up when I see a coloring book and then when I get it home, I usually set it aside for a while before I begin coloring in it. But this one, I really wanted to dive in. So yesterday, I spent a short time doing just that. I have some amazing glitter gel pens that I have really been eager to use in my coloring books. So I held my breath and went for it. Because many of the birds in this book have iridescent feathers so I thought I would try to incorporate my gel pens in the coloring. I am not sure how much I like it but will know when I finish. I am using my Prismacolors as my main source.

I used the color picker to help me find the colors.

I am going to try and sneak up there today and continue coloring. I would like to get back to regular coloring sessions but with the construction still going on at our home, and all of my other things I need to do, it gets pushed aside. Well I think I will stop this chatter and go snoop on some desks! Have a crafty day!

Belinda

Happy Monday!

Renovations…

Well so much for me bouncing back into my regular blogging routine. I didn’t foresee the extension of the work of the carpenters and painters we hired to repaint and repair some wood rot on the exterior of our home. The work began on July 1st and we are still in the mix. The painters would be closer to finished however the carpenters discovered some wood rot that is on a corner beam of our home which could be really serious. So today they will wrap up their original work and begin to look into it to see what kind of damage we are dealing with and what additional costs needed to complete the work. I am pleased with the work to date I am just trying to prepare for the new scope and the additional time it will take to complete the work. I also didn’t foresee the heatwave that just wiped me out this past week and especially this weekend. I literally just wanted to lay on the couch and drink loads of water all day. Not my best moments. Needless to say, I wasn’t quite in the mood to sit down and write a post.

Carpenter at work.

Today the humidity has lessened and the temperature has dropped enough for me to work outside on my deck. So I am sitting out here with my husband who is also working from home. I have some Coltrane on my headphones and in my periphery I can see the contractors move about. I know despite the unexpected additional work, the house will look beautiful. We had been putting this off for long enough so I am pleased to check that box.

Paint scraping and electrician securing safety.

How has your summer been so far? I always feel rushed as we near the end of July. It has been a fast ride here especially since we had a cold and wet spring. I cherish the additional outdoor time because in the winter, I don’t spend much time outside.

I’ll send some garden pictures soon to show you where it is at this time. The heat has made it a struggle for me to weed. I don’t like doing it much anymore and the heat only discourages my feeble efforts. But despite it, I see my vegetable garden progressing and so thrilled to see my garlic soon. I keep checking in on my garden guru friend on when I can harvest them and she keeps telling me to be patient. So I wait.

We have had two Robin families put their nest in a shrub next to our house. It’s really an honor however it is near my water source and so when I go to reach below the tree to turn on the water to water my plants, the mother and father bird swoop low over my head and then land on my garage and squawk at me until I leave. I try to explain I won’t hurt the babies but they won’t hear it. It’s wonderful to watch the cycle of life so close up despite my run ins with mom and dad.

Well I am off to get some work before my boys decide it’s time to get out of bed. I will be back later this week with some crafty happenings. Have a blessed day!

Belinda

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday #527: Crafty Haul!

Hello my crafty friends! I have been meaning to share with you some of the crafty goodies I have purchased over the past few months. So here I am to enable all of you crafters!

For those of you that aren’t familiar with WOYWW (What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday), head on over to Julia’s Stamping Ground and you will find desks from all around the world where we get to snoop on other crafter’s desks.

The first picture shows some really cool dual-tip markers by Tombow. I saw a Youtuber talk about them and had to have them. They come in different color sets. This one is called ‘pastels’. They scream summer to me and make me happy when I look at them. They are water-based ink and dry quickly for less opportunities for smudging. But what really attracted me to these pens was the size of the tips. One side is 0.8mm and the extra-fine tip is 0.3mm. So they are great for journaling and doodling.  The sharpener is for my colored pencils and has since been confiscated by my oldest son since I took this photo so I had to order another one in pink for me.Yes this one in the second photo was an impulse buy but for good reason. I saw an amazing project on Silhouette America’s blog for flower acrylic earrings. I just had to try it. I have shrink plastic but thought I would try their brand and the one I have to see which works best. I will be sure to share my results.
I needed some new blades for my paper cutter since it went through some serious use when the boys were working on school projects at schools end. These glue tapes are so cute. Love the colors. I use them in my book journal. They are so small and portable. The fun colors makes them a joy to reach for.

When I first really got into scrapbooking there were so many craft companies and blogs that I always had inspiration for creating and of course collecting all the craft goodies. As time has taken it’s toll on the craft industry and less people blog about the goodies that remain, I would like to share my finds to inspire. I have to admit I don’t scrapbook the way I used to anymore but I am still a crafter and creator and consume my share of goodies so I will make it a habit of sharing!

Happy crafting!

Belinda

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