Enjoy the healing power of a restful moment here.

MINDFUL MANDART MOMENTS continue with this sixth instalment of the series. The meditations that usually pair with the back stories of studio practice have come to the foreground to help us to be more and do a little less in the hectic lives we lead.

The meditation this episode explores an experience of landscape. It is an invitation to enjoy a restorative moment inspired by memories of my connection to an iconic “place”. It is also an opportunity to be comforted by a connection to a much younger version of ourselves.

This reflective pause in this episode is destined to inflate your soaring desires. It is a short period of restful self awareness. Listen in on the podcast to discover what the action of slowing down inspires in you.

This one was inspired by Episode 5, an “ODE TO TOM”…

“Imaginings”. A new painting is beginning on the paint wall in 2023 Inspired by this episode it too is begining with a little forest green.

This is your invitation for a little self-care.

My hope with this series of Mindful moments is that you’ll find your favourites and return to them regularly in your personal meditative practice, that they will become a comforting addition to your self-care tool box. Together let’s pause and to discover the magic within where your creative potential abounds.

We’ll begin today exploring a virtual landscape.

We are all so different and the landscapes we know and love will be different too. While I am sharing my thoughts and imaginings I want you to be able to consider the landscapes you see and perceive in your real or imagined world?

Your forest imaginings mights start here, on the Saanich Peninsular on Vancouver Island?

Read or Listen…

I am sharing today’s episode in text form for those who have requested a secondary way to interact with the podcast.

Let’s take a few deep breaths to ground our body into the present moment,

Breathing in and out through the nose,

As we establish our own rhythm and get comfortable wherever we are.

Generally a meditation is a stationary activity however some friends have told me they are taking Mandart moments on their morning walks with headphones. However and wherever you are participating try to make conscious notes of what you around you as you walk or notice just before you close your eyes if you are at physically still.

Sometimes I begin with an after image of what I have seen immediately before closing my eyes.

If walking I would suggest a solo roam and begin by taking in the environment around me.

A silvered morning is where I would like to start any meditative morning. Living where I live a location like this one is an imaginary one. for most of the year. Seven Mile Beach, NSW Australia.

Maybe you are seeing a glow of shapes and colours.

Whatever it is that you see, simply notice it as you continue with the breath.

Breathing in and out and aiming for balance between the inhale and the exhale.

Listen to the sounds of your space.

Notice them, accept them, don’t try to override them or blot them out, simply notice them as we relax together and prepare to go for a virtual walk together.

An Invitation…

I’d like to invite you to imagine you are walking into the shade of a cool forest on a lovely warm day.

You are alone and you are enjoying the sounds around you. You might hear the crack of twigs and stones underfoot or children laughing at play way in the distance?

Breathe in the awareness of your location,

It is as if you are a tourist in a new to you environment where all the fascinating details amplify your experience of the location.

What do you see?

What does it smell like?

What small features stand out for you?

Take a moment to visualize looking around and taking in the space you are curating for yourself.

Cathedral Grove Redwood Forest, Vancouver Island, Canada. Monumental is the only word I can conjure to associate with this magical ancient forest.

Continue on your walk as you notice the beauty of your surroundings

Pause as you allow your breath to become the focus….

You are drawn to be still to listen as you hear the sound of gentle beating wings

in the distance a bird swoops low and within range.

This is unlike any bird you have seen before. And you pause to take in its presence.

What does this bird look like to you? Does she have the wingspan of an eagle, the radiance of a hummingbird, Is she camouflaged or can you still see her as she flies off on a breeze?

This little Hummingbird actually followed me at eye level while on a morning walk in Phoenix, Arizona in 2022. Really, I couldn’t have imagined the interaction if I had tried.

You keep walking in the direction the bird flew and up ahead you see a small figure coming towards you,

This small person is smiling broadly and is clearly excited to see you.

As you get closer you realize this small person is a much younger version of you.

You feel yourself smile as you take in the image of the younger figure coming towards you.

Your paths meet and the younger version of you reaches out for your embrace.

You pause to hug and exhale a large and peaceful breath together

You are equally comforted by the connection.

Under the canopy of this magical forest, where all possibility exists, you feel at home.

Holding hands you continue in the direction the bird is leading you

Through the lower branches of the trees you can see a beautiful radiant light.

There is a clearing up ahead.

The closer you get to the clearing the clearer and more radiant the light becomes

It is as if that light is embracing you as gently and as eagerly as your very young self

You are comforted and comfortable.

Let your imagination take you on a “JOURNEY”. (Acrylic on Canvas, 24” x 24”, 2010)

The pathway leads you through the trees to a clearing and in front of you see a lovely patch of soft spring grass that you and your younger self sit down upon.

The sun is shining and the day is glowing with brighter and brighter light.

On this unique journey you have an opportunity to share something special with your younger self.

Take a moment to think of what you would like to say

Pause here for a moment…

What pearls of wisdom will you share?

What thanks will you offer?

Breathe into this moment as you wait to listen to what will reciprocally be shared with you

You smile to yourself as you realize what a beautiful opportunity you have been given.

Imagine it

Accept it and breathe into this lovely visual and enjoy.

The world is full of magic. Look for the magic around you wherever you are. This double rainbow occurred recently in my sister’s view, Croziers Road, Berry , NSW, Australia.

In the distant sky you notice that magical bird you first saw at the beginning of this journey and you watch as it returns from a brief flight and gently swoop towards you in the forest.

As the bird gets closer you are aware that your younger self is standing and getting ready to leave.

It becomes apparent that this younger version of you has an intimate connection to this unusual bird form.

You watch in awe as the bird alights and approaches your younger self.

The pair merges and together lay back into the radiance of the light that surrounds you.

You are left inspired, smiling and grateful for this interaction. Inaudibly you thank them for their presence, for gift of time spent in each other’s company and for the opportunity to share in this restorative moment with you.

Enjoy this restorative moment from my summer time happy place on the shores of lake Winnipeg, Canada.

Return your focus to noticing the cycles of your breath .

You are calm and peacefully relaxed as you start to bring yourself back to your present moment,

Open your eyes when you are ready if you have been seated as you listen in or if you chose to walk with this podcast pause as you start to bring conscious movement into your fingers and toes. Stretch and reacquaint yourself with where you physically are.

As you complete this brief journey and make your way back to your routine I want you to take with you something you have seen or been reminded of during this reflection.

Sunset Western Australia, Image courtesy of a new listener. Thank you

Now is probably a good time to take a new look at your soaring desires

Take a backward glance to the imagery you have curated.

What does she look like? What colours or words describe her appearance or the feeling she inspires within you?

I hope the images and ideas your soul has shared with you in the time we have spent together here are encouraging.

If you like to journal you might like to write or to draw or make some affirmative notes to yourself.

Or you might simply want to move forward into your day with the memory of connection to your much younger self.

I am getting back to work at the studio where my imaginings will soon be translated in colour.

Thank you…

I hope you have enjoyed this mindful moment. It really is about the pause and offering ourselves an opportunity to slow down. When we quiet the noise of distraction around us we allow our energetic body to rest and expand. We find presence together.

I hope you’ll join me again for future installments of this developing series and if you have found something that resonates for you that you might share it with a friend, or add a podcast review on apple podcasts to help my podcast to be seen and heard by others.

So, until next time on a Tuesday, I hope you’ll look forward as I do, to finding wisdom at the crossroads, where action and presence meet.

xoxo Amanda.