Observe and Let Go

Since your feelings may be oscillating back and forth, it might seem easier for you to deal with your emotions by hiding from the rest of the world. Learning to watch your emotions with detachment today could help you cope with these fluctuations better. You can take a few minutes every hour during the day to watch each inhale and exhale of your breath. Once your breathing becomes even you may consider imagining that you have a marquee in your mind on which your thoughts float. As you watch your thoughts, you might want to name them, such as anger, happiness, fear, etc. Observing your thoughts in this way may help you realize that your mind is always changing and, because of this, your moods do not have to depend on your thoughts.

Naming our emotions allows us to see that since they vary constantly, we do not have to get wrapped up in them. The times when we are moody occur because we pay attention to our mood swings and let them direct how we feel. Seeing that every second our thoughts and emotions incessantly change, however, enables us to release the hold they have on us. Realizing that our thoughts do not have to define our moods helps us feel more secure, grounded, and at ease with them. By detaching from your emotions today, you will discover that true comfort rests in letting go.

~ Author Unknown

Asleep

Sing me to sleep / Sing me to sleep / I’m tired and I / I want to go to bed / Sing me to sleep / Sing me to sleep / And then leave me alone / Don’t try to wake me in the morning / ‘Cause I will be gone / Don’t feel bad for me / I want you to know / Deep in the cell of my heart / I will feel so glad to go / Sing me to sleep / Sing me to sleep / I don’t want to wake up / On my own anymore / Sing to me / Sing to me / I don’t want to wake up / On my own anymore / Don’t feel bad for me / I want you to know / Deep in the cell of my heart / I really want to go / There is another world / There is a better world / Well, there must be / Well, there must be / Well, there must be / Well, there must be / Well… / Bye bye / Bye bye Bye… /

Asleep by The Smiths

It has been a long cold winter, and although Spring is supposed to be here, it seems as though we are still a ways away from seeing her. It has been a complicated beginning to 2013 thus far for many people including myself. I felt like I was alone in my frustration, feeling down, only to realize once again that I am not alone. Once I began to reach out to a few people, I realized that although they are on their own journey, they too were facing their challenges.

I had not been saying anything to anyone because when I feel like this, I feel alone and overwhelmed. I don’t want to be exposed for fear of being hurt further. Like an animal, I seek protection, and find it in isolation. Only to find out that so many people are in fact experiencing the same thing. Some challenged through illness, through losing their jobs, a breakup, the loss of a loved one, not knowing where their life is taking them. The list could go on and on as to why I or you or any one person gets triggered. Then down the rabbit hole we go seeking safety. Some people would argue that isolation is not healthy. I disagree. I do think that there is such a thing as ‘healthy isolation.’ My space is sacred to me. I find solace in it. Getting on my yoga mat and practicing with my favorite teachers is also sacred. There, I find strength, contentment; a quiet mind. When I eventually crawl out of my rabbit hole I reach out to my community. When I say community, I don’t mean my neighbor or mailman. What my community is, is a small group that consists of people of whom I love unconditionally and in return who love me back. They are my constant as I am a constant for them. They do not define me. Though, they are my foundation for times when my feet float so high from the ground they bring me back down re-rooting me to the earth.

” I have gone ahead – despite the pounding in my heart that says: turn back.”

~ Author Unknown

From me to you. May there be lightness in your heart. A feeling of warmth to soothe you. A reassurance that you are loved.

Jessica Hinkson

Being An Artist – Making It Work

My friend Andrew Ritchie asked me to be a guest on his blog. I of course said, ‘yes.’ In all honesty I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about until I sat down at my computer. I hope that you all enjoy it. Please stop by and check out Being An Artist – Making It Work.

Jess

”Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life.” — Picasso.

Community; Thank You for Making Me Feel Like I Belong

Ho! / Hey! / Ho! / Hey!

Ho! / I’ve been trying to do it right / Hey! I’ve been living a lonely life / Ho! / I’ve been sleeping here instead / Hey! / I’ve been sleeping in my bed / Ho! / Sleeping in my bed / Hey! / Ho!

Ho! / So show me family / Hey! / All the blood that I would bleed / Ho! / I don’t know where I belong / Hey! / I don’t know where I went wrong / Ho! / But I can write a song Hey! / 1, 2, 3 / I belong with you, you belong with me / You’re my sweetheart / I belong with you / You belong with me / You’re my sweet / Ho!

Hey! / Ho! / Hey! Ho! / I don’t think you’re right for him / Hey! / Look at what it might have been if you / Ho! / Took a bus to China Town / Hey! / I’d be standing on Canal / Ho! / And Bowery / Hey! / Ho! / And she’d be standing next to me / Hey! / 1, 2, 3

I belong with you / You belong with me / You’re my sweetheart I belong with you / You belong with me / You’re my sweetheart Love ‒ we need it now / Let’s hope for some / So, we’re bleeding out  I belong with you / You belong with me / You’re my sweetheart / I belong with you / You belong with me /  You’re my sweet / Ho!

Hey! / Ho! / Hey!

The Lumineers

Belonging. What exactly does that mean? Some people have moments in their lives through an experience where they feel like they do belong, and some have found communities. Some have found it through love. Some still searching. I watched the Golden Globes the other night as did millions of other people. What interested me, what surprised me the most, was how the show had left me feeling. I felt validated by the end of the show. I realized, I was reminded, as people were giving their acceptance speeches once again that I am not alone. I learned that no matter what the amount of success is that one has, however you yourself defines’ success, that everyone struggles. That we all want to belong, to be accepted as much as anyone else. A consistent theme throughout the evening was, ‘Thank you for making me feel like I belong.’

I have been having long conversations with close friends about feeling hopeless, feeling that their dreams won’t ever come true. That being seen for who they really are and what they have to offer to the arts will dissipate to nothing. I belong in that category too. So, what is it that we have to do to reach those goals. To make our hopes and dreams a reality. I come back to community.

Community for me isn’t the definition found while searching google; community for me is what I, what you make it. Who are the people that you trust? The ones you love most. Who is it in your life that would be there for you, who accepts you unconditionally for who you are? Who makes you feel light? Who makes you feel whole? Vulnerability is beautiful when in the right company. When you do figure it out – that is who your community is. Hold those people close. Be cautious. Protect your heart. They help us stay strong. They help us feel like we can conquer whatever it is that we need to conquer. When our hearts are broken, they are the ones who pick up the broken pieces. They take care of us. They know all our darkest secrets and love us more for it. True friendship, true companionship is a gift. Find it. Embrace it.

Jessica Hinkson

 

Check out my article, ‘ Yoga: Establishing A Home Practice – Make It Personal on The Elephant Journal

Yoga: Establishing A Home Practice – Make It Personal (Click Here)

I hope you enjoy it! Much love and namaste.

xxoo Jess

Keep It Simple

 

Fear Is Like A Wilderland

Daylight falls upon the path, the forest falls behind
Today I am not prey to dark uncertainty
The shadow trembles in its wrath, I’ve robbed its blackness blind
And tasted sunlight as my fear came clear to me

I think I understand
Fear is like a wilderland
Stepping stones or sinking sand

Now the way leads to the hills, above the steeple’s chime
Below me sleepy rooftops round the harbor
It’s there I’ll take my thirsty fill of friendship over wine
Forgetting fear but never disregarding her

Oh, I think I understand
Fear is like a wilderland
Stepping stones and sinking sand

Sometimes voices in the night will call me back again
Back along the pathway of a troubled mind
When forests rise to block the light that keeps a traveler sane
I’ll challenge them with flashes from a brighter time

Oh, I think I understand
Fear is like a wilderland
Stepping stones or sinking sand

~ Joni Mitchell

Trust Joni to get right to the heart of your soul. Her beautiful poetic songs have been filling the rooms in my house once again. I seem to go through phases when I listen to Joni a lot. Each lyric I choke back with a breath wondering where I am going next, what else does my path hold for me? To say that these last few months has been lovely would be a untruth. There have been moments of great uncertainty, and of waking up with fear deep in my belly. Life doesn’t work out the way we plan, I have learned this repeatedly. Sometimes I laugh at the mystery of the world and in other times I find it hard to find my breath. I find it hard to find the ground, to feel my feet in the earth. People get taken away from us to early; unexpectedly. There are friends of whom we hold so near only to be faced with the possibility of them not being here nor there. There is heartbreak among the tragedy. There is hope that is lost. Through the dark of the nights, of whom is it that we can call upon, when we can’t find sleep or peace in our dreams. Once again, we are reminded to go to ourselves. To go deeper inside, to keep searching, to regain hope. For as far as we each may fall at times, the rise is that much greater. So, as Joni so wonderfully says, ” I think I understand. Fear is like a wilderland. Stepping Stones or sinking sand.” Need I say more?

Be safe. Be beautiful. Be bold. Breathe.

xxoo Jess

You Need To See Things More Clearly

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year! I get to make yummy hearty soups, TIFF just finished, Nuit Blanche is around the corner, not to mention open fires, getting cozy, and surrounding yourself with love. Whether it be that you re-commit to your yoga practice, dive in to a friendship that seems to have fallen by the wayside, or giving yourself a time out to read that book you have been wanting to read since last January. Now is a great time to re-evaluate. To ask yourself what else it is that you need to do to make your journey a content one. It is an amazing time of year to get outside for long walks. Walking in times of stress, anxiety, or restlessness has always been something that has brought me a sense of calm. I take my golden retriever, who lives for long walks, and I breathe. Sometimes I play a game with myself when I feel like I have no control over what is happening in my life. It is a game that I made up for myself years a go, back, when I had attended the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York.

During my first year at the Playhouse one of my teachers had asked me to look at a desk and tell him what I saw. Besides the desk, I told him I saw a pen, some paper, and that was about all. He patiently  pointed out to me that there was a shadow that was mirroring the pen on the desk. There were particles of dust both on the desk, and floating through the air due to the ray of sunlight shining through on to the desk. The surface of the desk also had a color, it was smooth, it was old. Not to mention the paper- I could go on and on. The point was, as he said, ‘You need to see things more clearly.‘ It was true.

I realized that it is scary to really look at something or someone. To really take someone in. It is scary to see them but most importantly to allow yourself to be vulnerable enough to be seen. So over the years when I walk, I ask myself, ‘How much can I see?‘ I ignite my five senses. What colors do I see? What are the sounds that I hear? What does the surface of what I’m walking on feel like? Is it hot? Is it cold? What does the air taste like? What do I smell? I get as specific as I can. Why do I do this? I do this because it takes me out of my head. You know that noise upstairs, the thoughts that should technically be leaving and entering, seem to enter but not leave. By walking, my breath moves down towards my pelvis. By walking, I get my heart rate up. By walking, I am moving blocked energy. By walking, I find my feet again. My mind becomes quiet. My breath steady. I am grounded. I see clearly. I am present.

Written By

Jessica Hinkson