Category Archives: observing

10-11-2009

How to kick start your eyes to actively look

[picapp src="7/f/e/c/Male_martial_artist_de47.jpg?adImageId=5154652&imageId=5063921" width="358" height="477" /]   I want to share with you a way of keeping your thinking skills in top form. Just like the rest of your body, your eye/ brain connection needs regular exercise to work at optimum performance. The best thing, is that you can do this anywhere with anything, just bring…

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bethvw - Well, I had to look up Sensei and now I am humbled! Thanks for the affirmation!

bethvw - Ooh, I’d love to be at a farm on a day like today! I wonder how you can keep some of this day with you?
Your writing is of course an excellent way to do that. Do you have an unobtrusive pocket journal?

fred - Thanks, Beth
Just spent the afternoon at a farm. How good to smell life, hear the animals, feel the changing force of the wind. The day will stay with me and who knows where this will take me…
Fred

Nina - Yup. Good stuff. Thank you, Sensei.

09-22-2009

Creative, clean living in 3 easy steps.

I have begun many a task like that, and somewhere between the necessity of gettting it done and the annoyance of wasting my time with upkeep, I have discovered how to make it fun and creative.

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bethvw - Thank you Krishna. That’s also a great thing to do while performing “mindless” task.
I just multitask so much that I have been looking for ways to find the mindfulness, as you described, in the action itself.
It then opens the action to greater depth.

Krishna - I just listen to podcasts while doing chores, but you know what, a dab of mindfulness while performing these tasks is a great idea.

A very thought provoking post, Beth.

cheers,
Krishna

bethvw - @Nina
She says it is therapy and next time she visits, she’ll catch up! Meanwhile, I am working on changing my perception about ironing!

bethvw - @Sally
So I am interested. Have you done the dishes since you read the post? How did your perception change? It is amazing to practice changing perception on a regular basis.

Sally - Funny – cleaning up the kitchen after dinner is my current drudgery – and this evening – before reading this post, I told myself to be greatful for the cook, the dishes, the kitchen, etc. Tomorrow I will try your 3 steps.

chironarts - PS. Where is Mom and her napkins ironing?

chironarts - Washing dishes. How I transform them from a mess to return to their beautiful status, even in the dish drain. thank you!

08-30-2009

Walking the dog like Pierre Bonnard

Pierre Bonnard walked his little dog. Everyday, like clockwork. Who is Pierre and why should you care how and when he walked his little dachshund, Poucette? Actually, he was a painter… Pierre Bonnard painted his love, his life in his little home and his walks with his dog. What? Why did he do that? Doing  this…

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bethvw - Oh, yes absolutely, we are called to take each day as a new opportunity to transform the ordinary. Thank you for your observations on the changes I’ve made to the blog. I’ve tried to simplify.
In this world of multi tasking and overlapping responsibilities, how do you find time for that observation and ensuing reflection?

Karen Renna - This new format of yours is neat, concise and specific to what your title states. EXCELLENT AS for the walking of the dog, it is much like your earlier statement aobut driving to school each morning and learning to make use of the memories from those daily drives to start your mind pondering the beauty of it all. Then organizing your thoughts each day around what struck you as unusual is always wonderful.
Transformation as we have often observed together is always about taking the ordinary to a new and extraordinary level. The reality is that nothing is mundane. All things are made new again and again.Isn’t that what we are called to do each day?

beth - @Carole
@Nina
How great to find inspiration in that time of taking your daily walk with your dog. What other activities leave the space for your creativity to expand?Do you document the ideas that go through your head? If so , what method do you use?
I would love to discover new and quick ways of documenting ideas. Sometimes if I transition too quickly into “regular” routines, I forget my inspirations.
beth

Nina - I LOVE the dog walking reference. How does Ross feel about dog-waiking and Art, I wonder? Ross….? This week, I will insure the dogs are at least given the chance to fly-like-the-wind!

Have a great time.

Thank you !
-ng

Carole Freysz Gutierrez - Hi Beth,
I want to tell you that your ideas are always inspirational to me, and that I can relate to what you’re thinking and saying. My little dog needs his walk too, and I never regret it afterwards. These routines are good for us, I’m convinced.
With many good thoughts and wishes,
Carole

08-25-2009

How to observe like an artist

“Why would I want to observe ordinary, everyday objects and things?”, you may well ask.

Suddenly you see so much color and beauty that, previous to conscious observation, you walked right by. You find yourself noticing the details and then the gestalt of a place. The places haven’t changed. Your perception has!

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LPC - Thanks Beth. At least it keeps me further away from overwhelm most days. Now I am mulling over learning some digital tools to play with too. BTW, you can call me Lisa:). I’m still anonymous on my blog but I’m Lisa to everyone I know.

Nina - My, my! Taking the ball and running with it…. GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLL ! :)

bethvw - Hi LPC,

I certainly can relate to that. There are times when I can pause and observe being in the now moment, and they occur more often now. So, in a way, I could be making more room to honor my own awareness. How wonderful is that?
Our perception is now getting stronger and perhaps we can see more clearly from this vantage point.

That could make for some very creative writing!
bethvw

LPC - It is only now that I am in my fifties that I am able to consciously notice the world. When I was younger everything flooded me so strongly that in fact I shut down my perceptions in order to be able to get on with life. Oddly, the waning of my senses means, I think, that I can observe more.