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<\/a>The light of love and wisdom is beautiful, exhilarating, healing, and empowering, but there are so many distractions in life. It\u2019s easy to get caught up in the shadows of self-doubt, worry, or criticism, dwelling on something that someone did or said to us or perhaps something we regret that we did or said. We might even feel we have good reason to be upset. But that \u201cgood reason\u201d can pull us away from our awareness of the source, out of the sunlight into the shadows.<\/p>\nThis summer I\u2019ve been practicing mindfulness in earnest, meditating each morning and evening. Remarkably, I\u2019ve stopped obsessing about some painful patterns from the past. Instead, I\u2019ve been feeling an expansive sense of light in my life, a greater awareness of beauty in the world around me\u2014the small miracles in my garden as white blossoms transform into tiny green beans, my little dog sleeping in the golden sunlight, gratitude for the cup of tea beside me. It\u2019s almost like falling in love, falling deeply into the present moment.<\/p>\n
The Medieval Franciscan St. Bonaventura used to return to the source by Try Bonaventuran meditation to return to the source:<\/p>\n Remember, you always have a choice: either to stand in your own shadow or to look toward the light, recognizing your oneness with the infinite source of beauty and goodness.<\/p>\n Paz y alegria,<\/p>\n Diane<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Juan\u2019s last post reminds us that \u201cwe always have the choice to return to the source,\u201d that we can break through the darkness by pausing, breathing mindfully, and \u201crecognizing the true source of all love and wisdom in our lives.\u201d … Continue reading <\/a>meditating on the Book of Nature, the beauty of the natural world. Recent reports by a British mental health consortium recommend \u201cecotherapy\u201d\u2014walking in natural settings, gardening, and other forms of active interaction with nature\u2014as an effective treatment for anxiety and depression with minimal cost and no adverse side effects. And for most of us, nature is nearby, as close as walking outside and looking at the sky.<\/p>\n\n