Feel Good with ‘The Cloudspotter’s Guide’
Have you ever heard of Gavin Pretor-Pinney? This British designer and author wrote the bestselling book ‘The Cloudspotter’s Guide’ and started the website; www.cloudappreciationsociety.org
Mama-Buddha learned an important lesson from him.
This optimistic man tells us all about the beauty of clouds. And how we treat clouds as ‘something that gets in the way of our sun’. He talks about ‘blue sky thinking’.
There is nothing wrong with just lie in the grass and look at clouds. Maybe you remember you did so when you were a kid, and you saw all the special shaped clouds. Looking at clouds, see the shapes and try to make something out of it, it is almost like meditation. Focus on being relaxed, lie down in nature, breathing fresh air and be still.
Please take some time to listen to Gavin, and then allow yourself to lie down and appreciate our beautiful nature.
Festival of Light! In Thai it is called Loy Krathong
On November 17th the Thai people celebrated the Festival of Light.
In Thai it is called Loy Krathong.
The date is every year different, because it is the Full Moon of the 12th Thai (moon)month.
It was also the beginning of New Year in the Sukhothai period.
Thai people make beautiful boats (krathongs) out of banana leafs, lots of flowers, some incense and a candle.
To make it personal, some people put a little bit of themselves into the krathong, such as a hair or nail clippings and off course a few baht for good fortune.
The reason for sending the krathong on the water is to honor Mae Kong Ka, the goddess of the water.
Mae Kong Ka provides the water and there for she is bringer of food (rainwater for crops), transportation (rivers) and drink (drinking water). Also the Thai people ask forgiveness for using too much water, and to wash away the sins of the past year.
When the boat floats away, so do your sins.
Mamma Buddha was at Loy Krathong this year. And under a beautiful full moon, on a Thai beach, I put a Krathong in the sea for all of my loved ones.
And I lit a lantern, and while doing this I had to whisper a wish to it. It had to be a wish for all of you. So I made this wish; I wish for all my Sunflowers “Love, Good Health & Acceptance”.
Mama Buddha.
One Moment Meditation
Okay, okay, Mama Buddha gets it. You are way to busy to meditate.
But you know my sunflower, it is important, it is good for you, it relaxes you, helps you to get more in touch with your inner soul.
But time. You always have a shortage of time.
So I bring you… One Moment Meditation.
Ha! No more excuses now. You can do this meditation waiting in line, waiting on-line, in-between calls, anytime, anywhere.
It will take you 5 minutes to watch this funny, but very inspirational video. Please do so, I think you will benefit from this the rest of your life!
Feeling Good Relax More
Mama Buddha is confused, already for a long time. Because when I look at kids, how they act and react, I keep asking myself; ‘Where did we grown-ups went wrong?’
Let me try to explain.
Kids are pure, honest, living in the moment. At least when they are like 2 or 3 years old. Up till then we allow them to be their own little individuals. We allow them to be kids. We allow them to get angry, moody, tired, sleepy, hungry, happy and joyful at the times they want to be.
Little babies do not understand our concept of time. Every young parent knows what I am talking about. When your child is hungry, and cries, you feed them. When they are asleep, you let them.
When they get cranky (because they are hungry or tired) again, you feed them or put them to bed.
But then we try to mold the child into our grown-up, socially accepted concept of time and order.
Sleep at 07.00 pm until 07.00 am, eat 3 meals a day, go to school during the day, prepare the child to go to work every day, earn money, be responsible.
And then, when we grow up and do all these things, we get stressed out, depressed, burned out.
Why?…we ask ourselves.
Mama Buddha thinks it is because when growing up, we forget to listen to our body. We do not allow ourselves to listen to our body anymore. If you get cranky because you are tired…get over it!
Hungry at 2 pm, get over it, wait until dinnertime. Sleepy at 5.00 pm, again…get over it, you still have to finish work, make dinner, watch TV, go to do your sports, socialize with your friends, and then, maybe then you allow yourself to go to bed.
Why are we so hard on ourselves? Why don’t we treat ourselves as the kids we once were? Look at small children. When they are moody, 9 times out of 10 it is very easy to solve. With some sleep, attention, nutrition. Let us be more kind to ourselves, listen more to our bodies, give the body the rest it deserves. I am sure we all feel so much healthier and happier.
‘Mama-Buddha, why are you calling your readers sunflower?’ Good question my sunflower! Well, I love sunflowers. The color, the brightness, how they grow quickly and how they move their sunflower-heads towards the sun. It makes me feel warm and happy inside. And you, my dear reader, you can also have a very fast (mentally) growth. And I know that you also love light, sunshine, bright colors and happiness. So that is why I refer to you as sunflowers.
Mama-Buddha