"We hold the key to our own peaceful mind" (Barb Schmidt)

This post was written following a talk I attended in Oxford on April 30^th 2015 at Waterstones, where I was  fortunate enough to meet Barb Schmidt, founder of Peaceful Mind Peaceful Life and author of “The Practice”* a new book about using simple strategies to find peace in a busy world.

 

Change happens one person at a time, one moment at a time. On Thursday evening, a series of events led to me attending a talk at a bookshop in Oxford, and meeting Barb Schmidt (Peaceful Barb), author of new book, "The Practice" about using simple strategies to live a peaceful life.

 

After a meditation session that evening, I chose to go to the café, saw a friend sat at a table reading, and then ran into another friend who asked  if I was staying for the talk. 

 

In the past I would have filled my evening with plans, whether by myself or with someone else. As I am becoming more peaceful, however, I am beginning to create  more time and space for myself, and that allows  me to respond in the moment. It allows me to change course and accept a new invitation or a new experience if it presents itself.

 

And this is how I came to find myself at Barb's talk, in the café that evening after they had closed, which she started with a 1 minute meditation.

 

The moment Barb began her talk with a 1 minute meditation, you could sense the peace that came over the small group of us in the room, in the silence of the café at dusk. As someone who has been meditating for more than a year, and can now sit silently and still for half an hour, Barb's one minute meditation was a reminder that I can connect with myself in my life, at any time. I don't have to wait until I can sit and meditate in a designated place to connect with myself and my innate inner peace.

 

Through connecting with ourselves first, we can connect with others. Inspired by Barb's story, I took a chance, and something prompted me to speak first, to have the courage to say something. By speaking first, and being willing to share my story, others followed. Afterwards an older gentleman, who had been sat to the right of me, approached me to say he was a fellow Dyspraxic**. This led to conversations with other members in the audience, meeting new people, and making new connections.

 

Throughout her talk and during the signing afterwards, Barb was warm and confident, and interested in everyone, hugging everyone as if she had known us for years. And she laughed when I told her I was looking forward to reading her book on my morning commute the next day, with highlighter in hand, as she told me she does the same!

 

It's a gift to allow people to be who they are. It's a gift that you can sense Barb gives away freely to every person she encounters. And as we practise accepting ourselves in each moment, we become peaceful.

As we accept ourselves, we begin to allow others to do the same. And in this way we can begin to find peace in every moment.

 

All it takes is practise.

 

Purlgirl xx

 

* "The Practice" (Barb Schmidt, Souvenir Press, 2015)

** I'm Dyspraxic and ADD, you can read more about my experiences and how I have come to accept my diagnosis on my blog Dyspraxic Pioneer

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, a bird sings because it has a song" (Maya Angelou)

The sky is big enough for every bird

There is a bridge over the Thames River, near where I live, where I love to pause whilst crossing the bridge, whatever the time of day, to stand and look at the river and the meadow alongside it. Often my eyes are drawn to the sky, to the birds flying up above. 

Recently, I found myself looking up at a red kite soaring high up in the sky, so high up, it was as if he was touching the ceiling of the world. It was at that moment that I suddenly realised that the sky is big enough for every single bird, that there is enough space for every one of them, no matter what size, or how high they may fly. 

I realised then that if the sky is big enough for every bird, then maybe there is enough for everyone, and that in order to reach the moon, perhaps we have to help someone else get to Jupiter. 

Perhaps our dreams are so big for a reason, perhaps we are not meant to achieve them by ourselves alone. Perhaps we have to learn how to ask for help and how to give help in order to grow and achieve our goals. 

Perhaps courage is part of this challenge, the courage to tell someone our dream. It takes courage to tell someone your dream, you have to be brave enough to tell them, to open up. Until you tell them, if you don't open up and share what's in your heart, how can you know if they are meant to help you?

I have found myself surprised at times at the people who are able and willing to help me achieve certain things, simply because I told them what I wanted to do. Sometimes just telling someone has given me clarity and insight into what it is that I really want, and no further help is needed. They have provided a listening and encouraging ear, helping me to believe in myself, to bolster my belief that I can achieve my goal, whatever that goal happens to be. 

And that gives me the courage to begin my journey, and in turn to help others begin theirs. 

What's your dream? 

Purlgirl xx