Sunday, February 5, 2012

Lectio Divinia, ah huh.

Last week I went and sold off some of my old books to a second-hand book store, whilst I was in there I picked up a couple of newbies. One titled 'Broken Body, Healing Spirit- Lectio Divinia and Living With Illness'. The 'broken body, healing spirit' spoke to me, so I took the book home. I proceeded to just about read the book in one sitting, becoming so intrigued in the concept that I gave it a try instantly. Following my initial experience I was impressed and felt sure that I had to write about it. It's a simple practice, yet provides a map of how to go about daily reflection and to create space for listening to our body.

Lectio Divinia is approached in stages as follows: silence, reading, meditating, praying and contemplating. For anyone like myself, who may be a little offput by the word praying, I know the word probably has religous connotations for most, but if you like you can borrow my view, that prayer means 'focussed intent'.

Here's the map:

Silence: Sit still and take time to be aware of your body, to feel it. Observe your breath, become aware of the stillness and presence within. This is a time to make yourself available to yourself, to invite grace into your experience.

Reading: The concept is that you read something that is sacred to you, the book I read uses the bible, however you might have poems, blogs or other texts which are sacred to you. Read a passage and allow for a word or passage to resonate, to become your focus for meditation on this day. The question is, what do these words say to me today? What comes up for me?

Meditation: Once a word or phrase has captured your heart, stop reading and allow the words to become the source of contemplation, 'meditatio' today. Allow stirrings, thoughts, images, feelings etc. to arise as you rest on these words. Allow them to ignite whatever it is that needs to appear for you in this moment.

Prayer: From that which has emerged during meditation, choose an image or word or feeling that you wish to take forward into the day through focussed intention. It's encouraged that your prayer move beyond yourself to encompass others, perhaps those experiencing something similar to you or the people who support and help with the particular illness or difficulties you face. A prayer can be as simple as 'I am supported in healing my fears, I only choose experiences that nurture me. May all those who experience illness know peace'. It may also be a single sentence to affirm or taken from scripture or your favourite book of healing.

Contemplation: Allow yourself to rest here in this space, allowing yourself to be as you are, to feel supported and nurtured and in the presence of the divine/all that is/god/buddha (and the list goes on).

Would love to hear from you if you try it out or have done something similar.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Hey, sweet lips



While I am currently not eating sugar and sweet stuff like honey for the sake of my health, I have found another use for the deliciously natural sweetener, honey. I find that my lips become chapped all to easily, so I've found a solution which I want to share with you, for we all deserve luscious and soft lips.

How to:

Smother your lips in honey, leave on as long as you can resist licking it off, 10 minutes is ideal.

Take an old clean toothbrush and wet, then gently rub your lips with it to exfoliate.

Rinse with cold water, pat dry and apply your most nourishing lip balm- I like paw paw ointment or Dr Bronner's beeswax lipgloss.

Voila, lusciously plump lips.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Just a little shabby-chic



Hiya friendly faces, I'm nervously here to blog. Since when did I become so nervous about blogging? Hmm, it happens now and again, but lately I've had a big dose of writers block/writer's performance anxiety. I asked my inner wise owl about this, I asked who am I to blog? Can't people read the same kinda stuff I write elsewhere, probably written more eloquently or with a greater humour than here on inner beam? My answer to this doubt is Yes...and No. Pretty much the same kind of content is repeated across the world wide web, but each blog has it's own unique slant, and I know that I don't mind reading the same kind of thing said differently when it is a topic of interest to me. My wise one said none of that, that was just me making that up now, my own logic. What the wise owl actually said is: What if you did it for no-one other than your self? What if it was simply a purely pleasurable indulgence to write? No agenda, no need to fulfill, yours alone.

Hmm, I can blog, for my own pleasure only, to fulfill my own need to express and play with words and record something of interest to me- just for me? Yup, it's true, I'm not wasting anyone's time or space, there's plenty here for everyone, and if any one decides they want to check out what my flavour of the moment is then they can, at no cost to themselves. Sounds reasonable, sounds wise.

That's how I got here today, thanks to the wise owl who lives within (or on my shoulder?), whom admittedly I don't consult with enough, and today I am going to indulge myself in a little sharing of my latest joy- thinking green. I have been having an awesome time playing with creating things out of mostly cheap and re-cycled or green-ish things. For example, I've spent about 100 bucks re-decorating inside and out with materials & cushions from the op-shop, and some cheap bits and pieces from the big stores, I'm so stoked with my 'shabby-chic' improvements around the house & it feels so good because I know I didn't break the bank. Rather than buying into cosumerist thinking I actually 'rescued' pre-loved bits and pieces from antique shops and op-shops. My money-minded man was also really impressed, so I have had quite the inner beam glow about me as I enjoy my new look loungeroom, deck & meditation space.

I also made myself a new lipgloss the other day, it cost me, nothing. I had a little pot that used to have eyeshadow in it, I squeezed some paw paw ointment (lip gloss) in and then added some mineral eye-shadow, a deep earthy red colour and some white for a shimmery effect, it came out looking like chocolate- which was fine with me. I delighted in asking the bf if he liked my new lip gloss...and then how much he though it cost, following his guess-timate with a proud- ha, no, it was free!!

So much more fun to be had, I just need to find myself a few different colours of mineral eye-shadow and some more pots or tubes to put it in & I will have lots of different glosses to play with- for cheap & of no harm to me or my precious body.

That's all for now, if you have any beauty/decorating tips please do leave a comment, I am thirsty for new ideas & to keep exploring.

Happy New Year!