Minding Our Minds

I write this post to talk with you about how I am trying to deal with our world today. My hope is that, upon reading about my sometimes successful efforts, you will feel free to share with all of us whatever vehicles you are using to do the same. We are all in this together!

Conversations with Self

“When we restore peace within ourselves, we have a chance to restore peace in others”. Thich Nhat Hanh, beloved Vietnamese Buddhist monk

I’ve been thinking a lot about these words lately. Thich Nhat Hanh has been part of my mindfulness journey for some time but I find myself seeking out his wisdom now more than ever as the confluence of events this year has plunged me deeper into this pursuit. External events – this pandemic, the forced isolation, the fears and sufferings of so many, the insecurities and uncertainties…all make my quest for inner peace so very difficult. But, ironically,

The quote above has been haunting me. How can I be an instrument of peace for others in our world if, deep within myself, there is unrest? So I breathe, burrow deep, focus, […]

moladmin2020-09-23T16:04:25+00:00September 18th, 2020|Minding Our Minds|2 Comments

Minding Our Minds – A New Book Review

Here’s another book review from my sister Susan…she really can pick the great reads. I’m reading this now and, naturally, absorbed for all the reasons Sue states. Thanks from all of us, Sue!

I have always been fascinated by the complex culture of India and thus was drawn to read “A Burning“ by Megha Majumdar. The story is that of three people living in contemporary India, each aspiring to elevate their social status in a culture where racism, political opportunism and extreme poverty prevail. Their lives become intertwined after a catastrophic event – a terrorist attack.

Jivan, a young Muslim girl raised in the slums, is striving to become middle class. She experiences a new found freedom through her cell phone and writes an impulsive post on Facebook related to a terrorist attack. This careless act draws the attention of the police and she is soon arrested. Following her arrest you are introduced to 2 people from Jivan’s past, PT Sir and Lovely. As the story evolves we learn how their brief associations with Jivan in the past play a major role in determining her future.

This book, although a novel, offered great […]

moladmin2020-08-26T14:27:00+00:00August 26th, 2020|Minding Our Minds|0 Comments

Minding Our Minds – Poetry

On my birthday last year, a dear friend presented me with a framed copy of the poem that follows. It hangs now in my bedroom and I often use bits and pieces of it as inspiration for my meditation. Its simplicity and brevity are hardly indications of the weighty message it delivers. There’s so much to consider in these words…

Flowering

by Linda Buckmaster

Pick a crevice,
a homey gap
between stones
and make it
your own.

Grow a life here
from wind
rain
and the memories of ancients
embedded in limestone.

The bees will use you
for their sweet honey.
The rock will soften under
your touch.
You will draw moisture from fog
and hold it.
Your presence
will build soil.

This is all we have
in this life
all we own:
a flowering
an opening
a gap between stones

On most occasions when I read this poem, my mind travels back in time. Long forgotten figures, once significant, walk out of my past and into my present. We visit, reviving memories – some joyous, others maybe not so. Those moments of my life of which they are a part are, as the poem says, all that I have. I am […]

moladmin2020-07-14T16:55:41+00:00July 15th, 2020|Minding Our Minds|0 Comments

Minding Our Minds – Recent Reads

Welcome Readers!

Here are a few of my recent picks. I hope you enjoy them. Please feel free to share your favs with us and chime in with your opinions on any or all of these.

Love, love, love Lucy Foley’s newest mystery thriller, The Guest List! I “read” it on Audiobooks and highly recommend this format , if it’s available to you, since hearing the lilting brogues of the characters add so much to the flavor of the story. The setting is a remote island off the west coast of Ireland. With very few characters, the plot unfolds over a single weekend as guests come together to attend the wedding of a true power couple -he, a handsome TV star and she, a stunning magazine publisher. It becomes a seriously complicated event as secrets are revealed, relationships shattered and then, a death, all in the course of that meticulously planned wedding weekend.

It’s a quick read – mainly because you don’t want to put it down.

******************

The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali is a beautiful and timely […]

moladmin2020-07-14T18:09:37+00:00July 15th, 2020|Minding Our Minds|0 Comments

Minding Our Minds

You Can Color Our CHAOTIC World !

One of my oldest, dearest and definitely, artsiest friends sent this to me. I have loved navigating through the site and seeing the Masterpieces transform before my eyes. Amazingly clever and interesting. Click on link below. It’s a treat for the eyes and another way to pass the time.

Have fun!!

Choose a color on the upper band and you will see a collection of art works in which that color predominates. Upon clicking on them, the name of the artist, the year the painting was made, and the Collection or Museum to which they belong appear.

Color Explorer — Google Arts & Culture

moladmin2020-06-29T20:34:45+00:00June 30th, 2020|Minding Our Minds|0 Comments