Being Zen
Zen and Simple Living
Zen and Simple Living
Patience......
Patience......
13th March 2023
Good morning dear One,
I shall not mention the length of time since last writing... this delay was down to my aiming for the perfect blog, one that inspired, scintillated, amused, enlivened etc...hence no thought was ever good enough
to share and explore with you.
Ah, one of the egos greatest tools, keeping us in search of perfection...
which is never ending and unrealistic as acknowledged in Islam.
In Islam it is known that only God is perfect, so much so that if making something, a carpet or clothing etc. a fault is deliberately
included in the item being made.
What peace this offers... to surrender perfection to God and God alone is to release one route the ego uses with so many of us.
Perfection is seen in nature, as seeds just grow into what they are designed to be, foetuses grow into perfect animals, the sun and moon rise and fall in perfect harmony...
I had intended to write about this picture, the wonder of Cor ad Cor,
Heart speaks to heart, as that is where perfection lies in humanity.
When our hearts are truly open to another we are perfect.
Again, it is so simple.
"Beloved, help me practice this in every encounter
Thank you
Amen."
Zen and Simple Living
Zen and Simple Living
Tempis Fugit
Tempis Fugit
17th January 2023
Good morning dear One,
It has been a full two months since last I was here.
It is good to take the pressure off the self imposed obligation to be here frequently... what we do to ourselves would appall the
Court of Human Rights!
Much has been going on knocking me off centre for a longer while than I would like. It was too easy to get lost in my head, over thinking things which is really the playground for the ego.
I know I bang on some time but at the risk of repeating myself. Please read "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis.
Hence my refreshed reminder that a Simple life is so important.
reawakening the realisation I need return to more of the life I lived when on the Retreat undertaken last year.
Only recently being able to get back on track to which this quote in my
daily calendar has been a timeous reminder.
As the Course in Miracles says "You need do nothing".
When we meditate and surrender, living in our being then becomes our doing which is meditation in motion.
Here is to a life as a simple semi hermit.
stay well dear one
x
Zen and Simple Living
Zen and Simple Living
Wise choosing
Wise choosing
17th November 2022
Good morning dear One,
I have been away hence no blogs.....on retreat that was rich with insights which will be shared.
For now a more seasonal pondering....
The Magi are not just for Christmas!
They represent the truly `whole` and are always among us.
We call them Wise in their embodiment of wisdom on earth.
The Magi knew the healing powers of the planet in their choice of precious herbs and spices, the wonder of a glowing metal that cannot be tarnished.
Add to this their ability to read the stars in the night sky,
to trust in their intuition that informed them a special spark of cosmic energy had manifest on earth which, in their humility,
they wished to honour, revere and kneel before.
How magnificent are these Wise people, communicating way beyond the usual five sense of earth to be fully part of the Universal Consciousness.
Being able to speak with the stars, to see, sense and feel
beyond this crazy world, to experience ALL that is.
Imagine living in such richness and wonder.
It is a truly magical universe.
Have a magical day
xx
Zen and Simple Living
Zen and Simple Living
Wise choosing
Wise choosing
17th November 2022
Good morning dear One,
Choosing to live a simple life is definitely a wise decision.
Living simply limits the power of the government, cost of living, taxes and all the other external constraints have to change our lives.
When we chose to live a simpler life, maybe with less material possessions, reducing carbon footprint, no waste in the fridge, enjoying our own surroundings, having our needs met and being able to release desires
or that sense of entitlement; we are living as we choose.
We have stepped beyond angry responses to social dictates, frustration that we cannot do what we want and that sense of
loss of control when subject to external authority.
As Nassim Nicholas Taleb said
'If it costs you your peace, it's too expensive.'
The criterion for simple living you discern for yourself and then live by offers a framework for decision making that simplifies life which is then more peaceful.
Every little choice towards a simpler life adds in a calmer mind, a relaxed body, lightening the footprint on our planet.
So easy and always a win, win.
Breathe peacefully
xx
Zen and Simple Living
Zen and Simple Living
Simple Living
Simple Living
12th November 2022
Good morning dear One,
Sharing with you Ruthe`s view from her cabin in Mexico.....
She lives the simplest of lives and is a deeply content woman.
Ruthee wants little in life and is blessed by her needs being met as she paints and sells her pictures from a wee studio attached to her cabin.
It never ceases to amaze me, the power of a beautiful scene in nature to slow the racing heart, deepen the breath and reunite all with the soul.
I was on the deck yesterday enjoying the unseasonal warmth and wind blowing the cobwebs away.
As sun-bathing nourishes the body with Vitamin D, perhaps wind-bathing releases the psyche from all that does not serve...
Being in nature allowing the stream of consciousness to wander at will brought my awareness to how wonderful all the people in my life are.
To seeing each in their loving kindness, being witness to their innocence and inner beauty. What a gift they impart, what an honour to receive.
I notice that my full appreciation for all I receive is only fully present when
I am `out of this world` and living simply.
It was so easy to think that simple living was not having too much `stuff` or eating food from this country, yet here are other gifts emanating from the choice to live simply that have so much deeper effects.
As I tune into life more simply, slowly and honestly gratitude arises thus blessing me not only with the gifts which have been bestowed upon me;
the chance to sit with the gifts and receive more as
my ego fades a little allowing my soul to open.
Also the gift for the other as my appreciation comes from a deeper more self aware place.
My Intention today is to
Be Still
Be at peace beloved
xx
Zen and Simple Living
Zen and Simple Living
Simple Living
Simple Living
8th November 2022
Good morning dear One,
It has been pointed out to me that I wandered off piste in my last blog.
Welcome back to Simple Living....
focussing on living each moment in full consciousness.
Receiving the aforementioned e-mail was a wake up call, how easy to slither into a faster world. How quickly distraction can lure the attention, how challenging to remember and regain focus.
One way to address this is, for me, by blocking out time in my diary for Stillness or Space. To stop and breath.
Looking around to tune into the exterior moment and also note where my thoughts and attention lie.
It can help to have a quote or mantra that helps this regroup,
it can be something short and simple like
"In Silence
God speaks"
Or
"The sounds of nature
are God`s symphony".
The moment of realising that distraction is active I go outside as there is something magical in nature, fresh air, beneath the sky and focus on my breath and one of the mantas above.
It is as if suddenly the birds burst into song,
the leaves whisper to each other ,
the flowers release their perfume and the bees gather for their dance of ambrosia.
Dwelling in the harmonious fragrance, inspiring life giving air breathed by
all the prophets who have been before infuses and surrounds me in Peace, No need to do anything , not even to think anything.
Just to be fully in the moment
Whatever saying works for you.
Enjoy
Be at peace beloved
xx
Zen and Simple Living
Zen and Simple Living
Sabotage?
Sabotage?
1st November 2022
Good morning dear One,
Are we sabotaging our own children's future and happiness?
I know, a rather `in yer face` question.
I am making a case for a blatant relationship with the God of your awareness within your family setting if not the world.
Once we had a God with values and principles we could understand,
which, if we lived them, gave us the basis for life.
It could be called a skeleton upon which we built our individuality in a safe and understood manner as so many of us knew and perhaps shared some of these values.
Now we have released religion and replaced a sense of Higher Power with Santa. Santa who gives based on an arbitary criterion the parents apply to judge who is good and who is bad. This is then expressed in the presents the child receives at the festive time.
For one set of parents each child receives a Cadbury`s selection box with other gifts coming from the parents.
For another child the gifts from Santa might reflect working parents guilt for example, and include an i-pod or pad ( other makes are available...) a new phone or pair of trainers etc.
Come Show and Tell at school two weeks later one child feels loved by Santa due to the amount of goodies received.
Another child may well take on a sense of worthlessness based on the obvious differences in their `Santa presents`.
This lack of self worth might determine the rest of their life as we
all live to our self determined sense of self -worth.
In forgoing a shared value system we have removed a language that all could share allowing for a more mutual shared childhood to be a springboard of equality into the adult world.
Live simply, give little materially and much spiritually. Fill children's hearts and souls with the knowledge they are Divinely made. Their only purpose here is to share their inner Divinity with the world in what ever
vehicle they choose.
With the current figures of mental health issues and suicides of our young people we, the adults, the grown ups can link hands and do all we can to support our children and grandchildren.
Helping them know who they and and how much they matter.
Perhaps this is our purpose,
to be anchors for Spirit in an increasingly disconnected world.
All ideas for ways we can share through word and deed gratefully received and will be shared with you.
Please us e-mail me judeanna@gmail.com
I welcome all thoughts and ideas
Be at peace beloved
xx
Zen and Simple Living
Zen and Simple Living
Remembrance
Remembrance
31st October 2022
Good evening dear One,
All Hallows Eve, a time to remember all those we have loved and lost and those we have not know and still lost.
A time to think of parents and grandparents, remembering and recognising their traits, quirks and qualities still alive in the current generation,
There was a Pumpkin carving competition, so many amazing carvings from toddlers to, well, as one man said when asked his age to ensure he was in the right category, `I am old beyond ancient` . It was a deep deep joy to see so many children excited with something they had made, created themselves.
For me this one stood out as a symbol for simple living in nature.
The mother pumpkin nurturing the baby pumpkin with, all the qualities of autumn, the move towards reflection, hibernation and turning inward.
Reflecting on the year so far, what can be gleaned form it, what can be forgive, what released, what improved on.
Candle light and fire glow, geese flying in skeins to winter elsewhere, hedgehogs huddled in piles of vividly coloured leaves preparing to sleep.
Watching leaves fall and blow as the autumn breezes build to wind, kicking the leaves once they have landed.
The smell of woodsmoke outside and aromatic soup within.
May your autumn be rich in every way, your reflections honest and their forgiveness and release a liberation.
Go slowly, stop, breathe, feel, be, breathe, inspire, and release,
so grateful.
Be at peace beloved
xx
Zen and Simple Living
Zen and Simple Living
Playing with wood
Playing with wood
14th October 2022
Good morning dear One,
Another rich autumnal day....all we need is time to appreciate the wonders of nature and return to heaven.
The Course in Miracles lesson today is one of my favourites
" The hush of heaven
holds my heart"
Marianne Williamson talks eloquently about this and about how the violence of of the world unsettles our nervous system.
Soft speech and graceful words are an immediate antidote to harshness and settle our bodies as well as minds and souls.
Please join me today living in the Hush of Heaven that holds my Heart.
Be at peace beloved
xx
Zen and Simple Living
Zen and Simple Living
Nature
Nature
9th October 2022
Good morning dear One,
It has been a long time since writing but hope that is more acceptable than regular waffle!
Ahhh the simple life is found in simple things.
Walking in nature and seeing funghi appear overnight,
the scent of nature as it returns from whence it came.
Earthy tones grounding us in musky scent mingling with the wood smoke as fires begin to be lit, bonfires clearing gardens, the action of of autumn.
The wonderful combination of abundance in harvest
meeting reabsorption as the planet retakes its own.
As the material fades away leaving us with time to process the outgoing, active time of summer as we retreat a little
allowing reflection, and rumination.
Time to enter a slower pace, which in this speedy world is needed more
than ever as we try to do more in less time,
turning away from natures own metronome.
To live at one with nature, to follow the seasons is to open to living in the moment, As dawn and dusk move closer together more of us are blessed with the opportunity to experience these liminal times of day.
Awakening to a lightening sky reflecting on clouds or watch the sunlight move down a hill as the sun rises reconnects us to nature and
our place in the universe.
To see the stars and moon bright in the night sky can bookend the
day in a sense of awe.
Breathe in the air of reflection, slow thought , allowing them to
percolate into the heart centre of silence and stillness
to transform us.
When I see the moon I will think of you.
Be well beloved
xx
Zen and Simple Living
Zen and Simple Living
Happy Equinox
Happy Equinox
21st September 2022
Good morning dear One,
It is the Autumn Equinox, where light and dark balance equally in the day.
The world hangs in limbo for a day before recommencing its path.
Tomorrow the darkness extends as we enter the time of harvesting
before preparing the ground and ourselves for the time of
reflection and contemplation .
Today a year ago began the Zen Healing Retreat , six months of discipline and focus, mindfulness and calm, stillness and being centred.
An amazing time only blown by the six months that followed...
The usual pendulum effect of moving as far in the opposite direction
to `balance the initial swing.
This was touched on previously and, as always, prayer is answered.
Just live simply.
I share this with you to hold myself accountable to you for all intentions made with the help of my Beloved Amma .
Now the journey of discernment begins... is the voice guiding from Amma or the ego?
How do you discern between your inner voices?
Be well beloved
xx
Zen and Simple Living
Zen and Simple Living
Loss and respect
Loss and respect
19th September 2022
Good morning dear One,
I have been honoured in being asked to write a
Thought for the Week for the local newspaper.
The ultimate challenge, can mere words reflect that constancy, dedication to service, respect for the role of sovereign, the countries, the commonwealth but mostly the people.
I share the attempt here..
Beyond the trappings of crowns, pomp and ceremony Elizabeth II was a woman of deep humility enabling her to accept her role
as Queen with grace and dignity.
Foregoing privacy for duty she sacrificed a personal life for a
Calling which was perceived and embraced by the world.
A woman of her word, she was married for seventy three years and reigned for seventy demonstrating the depth of her integrity in
committing to both promises so fully.
Her ability to forgive was tested many times from deaths of loved ones to the various crisis that all families attract.
Her remit appears to have been to find peace at the centre of all conflict. Elizabeth upheld her faith in turning the other cheek to all that was cast upon her, saying nothing yet still meeting all equally.
Maintaining her integrity with dignity she responded to calm
and crisis alike, with humility, wisdom and grace
Perhaps now we are now called upon to be her legacy, a conduit of her qualities ensuring Elisabeth II lives on through each of us.
Thank you Ma`am.
Zen and Simple Living
Zen and Simple Living
Simple start
Simple start
8th September 2022
Good morning dear One,
I am deeply humbled.
My last post was full of cheer, joy and ego.
A couple of days after writing all went to pot, couldn`t think straight became very lazy and couldn`t work, wanted to retire fully, became obsessed with food and what i could eat...sadly nowt in the cupboards...
It was a horrible few days, really horrible.
All thoughts very negative and it got me wondering why?
What is going on....
D`uH!!
Last year the call to the Retreat came in meditation and flowed
This idea came from me not through me, so ego driven and guaranteed
to fail.
Oh the relief upon discerning this...
Oh the subtlety of the ego, masked in the purist of intentions, how sweetly it woo`s like an abuser lulling a victim into a false sense of security before unleashing the truth of their real intent.
Discernment requires such honesty and self knowledge..
How easy for the ego to wriggle in - must re read The Screwtape Letters. C.S. Lewis masterpiece on the cleverness of what I call ego!
I shall take this to my Divine (Ammah) and ask for Holy guidance
"Divine Amma,
Please help me discern your guidance more clearly
Thank you Beloved"
xx
Zen and Simple Living
Zen and Simple Living
Simple start
Simple start
3rd September 2022
Good morning dear One,
How are you?
The Zen aspect of slowing, pausing, focusing is very powerful.
Walking slowly I espied this lucky white heather growing amid rocks and stones which I would have missed had I been doing the usual `zoom` to get the morning walk out of the day....
I learned so much last winter in the retreat yet once re-entering the world, whilst a lot stay, some aspects dissolved away, hence this conscious return to living Zen. The art is, of course, to sustain the Zen aspect of life throughout everything that is done.
Herein lies the challenge.
The aim this winter is to inhabit simplicity, Zen, in a way that will endure so starting simply, getting my head around simple eating.
Simple as in unprocessed, local, organic foods in season as
much as possible. Keeping the environment, ecology, health
and worth at the forefront allows me to eat good healthy foods, some of which might be pricier that other foods, but on the whole work out more cost and planet effective.
A win win...result!
Once this is under the belt as they say, onto deeper facets of
Zen and simplicity.
Join me and let me know how it goes for you
with love
Jude
x
Zen and Simple Living
Zen and Simple Living
Discerning Intention
Discerning Intention
1st September 2022
It is with great joy, and huge thanks for prayers being answered
that I have been guided to step consciously into
Zen and Simple Living.
"Zen, simple living
Pause, focus, Zen is peace
simple living, Zen."
Zen gives the quality of attention, calm
and awareness to all aspects of simple living.
From eating simple foods, working with needs not wants,
travelling less to living more deeply in nature. To seeing more and saying less, to `own` my projections and release the other from judgment, to prayers requesting help in forgiveness to the liberation of a
heart that was once imprisoned in resentment.
To living a simple peace filled life filled with love.
Join me, share the voyage, become a fellow Peace Pilgrim.
Zen and Simple Living
Zen and Simple Living
Summer Reflections
Summer Reflections
29th August 2022
Having started this blog last September it is nearly a year ago and
wow what a year. The Retreat brought up so much I was taken
aback by its power and potential and also the transformation of the seemingly trivial into major vehicles for living in peace.
The summer has been crazy busy, with people all around, noise,
chatter, cars, Harley Davidsons - though they herald the end of
summer in their `Thunder in the Glens` weekend -
reportedly 8,000 bikes this year after two years cancelled
due to Covid.... like all good locals , stayed well away from the town but could hear and feel the deep vibration of many bikes revving and moving.
It has felt frenetic and deeply unsettling.
The biggest awareness has been how easy it is to slide into the
distractions others offer. How the change in speed of the surrounding
energy tips me over and i fall out of the peace attained last winter into
the ego driven world where other people opinons matter, where i lose my connection with my inner peace.
I introduce this now as I feel something bubbling up, a project for the autumn and winter months- something to get me back on track and you too if you wish to join me.
I ask the Divine Mother ( Amma) every day for guidance and can feel something moving within.
Always such a blessing to receive guidance that acts as a
spiritual zimmer frame for optimising life.
There is the reflections of the summer and the new focus
to percolate upon . The 1st September will be welcomed
whole heartedly .
What is landing for you dear One?
my love as always
xx