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switzerland

Daring to Rest

September 21, 2011 by admin

I’ve written a lot about rest this week. So far, I’ve stuck with my plan to take some rest time in the afternoons. Yesterday I was reminded of kindergarten, with my little red mat, and the milk and cookies that came after quiet time. I never slept — I wasn’t a napper, even then — but I remember fondly curling up on that mat. Maybe it’s why I’ve come to love my yoga mat so much!

There’s a hidden danger in all this resting, however. Dare to rest, and I cannot be responsible for what might happen!

When we find ourselves in a quiet, peaceful space, allowing our minds to unclutter, something happens. We start to notice the thoughts and feelings rattling around inside, and hearing our inner truth. It’s not always pretty, and it can definitely be inconvenient!

Case in point: since we returned from Switzerland, we’re still in a restful mode. We’re working, but we’re unwilling to put pressure on ourselves to achieve. In the quiet of our return, a message has emerged loud and clear. Well, it’s more like a question. “If you like the mountains so much, why do you still live in Houston?”

Indeed. Why are we here?

For years, the answer was easy. I had work and friends. Henry was raising a family, and his parents were here as well. I even used to like the heat! Then his children grew up and left home, and his parents died. While all of this was going on, we were traveling more, and taking trekking poles with us wherever we went. Our travel decisions started to center on where we could hike. We fell in love with two places in particular: the Pacific Northwest and Switzerland.

Still, we didn’t stop to think about living elsewhere until we came home. Henry called me from a bike ride, complaining about the heat and the lack of places to bike in the city.  I, meantime, was doing my daily meditations and starting to rest. “Why not move?” the inner voice asked. “Why not live in the environment that you love the best?”

Why not? Because we humans love inertia and habit. Sometimes the prospect of change just looks like too darn much work. Still, there comes a time when the pain of change is less than the pain of staying the same, and I think we’re just about there.

We are taking the next step by planning a trip to explore an area in Washington State that meets the criteria we have set. I try not to think about the work involved, of selling our house, finding another, and moving all our stuff a few thousand miles. This is the problem with resting. When you start getting ideas, they involve a certain amount of work.

Resting stops our complacency. Resting asks questions. Resting holds a mirror up to us and suggests, gently, that we see things a little differently. It may not cause us to want to relocate, but it may show us something in life that wants to change. Resting reveals who we are under all that busy-ness. There, we may feel emotions we don’t want to feel — but we will also learn the truth of ourselves. We will find our yearnings, our hopes, our dreams. We find surprises. I didn’t know until age 51 that I had a passion, and a certain amount of skill, for gardening. Resting showed me the way and suggested that I give it a go.

Rest if you dare! Take a little time each day, even if it’s five minutes, and let yourself unplug from the world. What does your rest tell you?

Filed Under: Life Changes Tagged With: empty nest, gardening, hiking, relaxation, rest, resting, switzerland

Good Morning, Monday! Heading Home

September 12, 2011 by admin

Our return trip home from Switzerland didn’t go exactly as planned. We landed at Dulles Airport in D.C. early but got stuck on the tarmac due to a thunderstorm. After a long walk to immigration and a lost bag that took another hour or so to turn up, we missed our connection to Houston. We stood two hours in the customer service line at United — our attempts to solve the problem by phone didn’t work out. Many were in far worse shape than we were. A number of people were connecting through Montreal to get to Europe, but the Montreal flight got canceled. One cute couple behind us had a trip to Rome planned, and they were going to have to wait two more days to get there.

United put us up for the night at the Hyatt (not a bad thing) and covered our cab fare to get to the hotel. They also fed us. It all worked out, I think, because had we made our flight we would have been driving home from the airport with little rest and plenty of jet lag. We’re heading back to Houston on a 7:00 a.m. flight, so we’ll be back in our little house this morning.

Meanwhile, back in Texas, evacauees from the fires are starting to return home, some sooner than expected. They are coming home to some damage, but just the sight of home is causing them to be giddy with excitement.

This week, I think we’ll look at “coming home.” In particular, since we’re relaxing and flowing this month, we’ll start with coming home to ourselves and to our breath. On Tuesday I’ll talk about one of my favorite breathwork CDs, and on Wednesday I’ll share my perspective on using the breath to center, energize, and heal us. When we come home to ourselves, we are at home wherever we are.

I love Switzerland, and I feel sad to leave it. We had such a wonderful time, and we’re starting to build relationships in the little village of Sils and nearby St. Moritz. I guess it’s starting to feel like home, too, in its own way. We’re going to practice our German and try to communicate better in the local language when we return next year.

 

 

 

Sils
Beautiful Downtown Sils, Switzerland
View from Final Hike
Photo From Our Last Hiking Day

Filed Under: travel Tagged With: breath, switzerland, travel

Blog Thursday: 15 Blogs to Tickle Your Funny Bone

September 8, 2011 by admin

Between the crazy politics, the Texas fires, the floods from Irene, and God knows what else, I feel as though we Americans are experiencing a collective crack-up, and not of the good kind. Perhaps a little cracking up with laughter can soothe our nerves and help us cope. Since I’m all about efficiency, I was excited to run across a website that listed 15, count ’em 15, funny blogs. They cover a wide range of silliness, so hopefully one or more will give you the giggles and a temporary respite from tension.

The blog is Unlimited Choice: The Ultimate Guide to Living Consciously, with a guest post by Barrie Davenport of Live Bold and Bloom. So there you go! Fifteen funny blogs and the two bloggers who provided them! A total of 17 blogs for your viewing pleasure! Is this value or what?

Meantime, we are still running around Switzerland with a brief stop in Italy to visit the town of Chiavenna, just over the Swiss border. Our vacay is winding down, sadly. We leave for Zurich on Saturday, then home to Houston on Sunday. It’s been a great trip! Maybe the photos that follow will bring you a smile as well. See you tomorrow with some flash fiction for Fun Friday!

Soglio
Another View from Soglio. Can you smell the fresh-mown hay?
Soglio
Village of Soglio, perched on a hillside up from the Bregaglia Valley, Southern SwitzerlandView of Bregaglia Valley from Soglio

Filed Under: blogs, travel Tagged With: Barrie Davenport, Blogs, humor, Live Bold and Bloom, switzerland, Unlimited Choice

Book Discovery Tuesday: Meditation Secrets for Women by Camille Maurine

September 6, 2011 by admin

***Please lend your thoughts and prayers to those dealing with Texas wildfires. The post that follows feels almost silly given what people are going through, but perhaps, while meditation cannot bring back a house or a loved one, it can help manage life’s stresses. If anyone reading this is or has been in the path of the fires, please know that I am sending you big hugs and hopes that your home, animals, and family are safe.***

Our Swiss adventure continues. Today we combined cable cars and a long hike (about five hours) to reach Corvatsch, which, at 3,300 meters, provides a breathtaking 360-degree view of mountains and glaciers. Or should I say breath-giving?

Corvatsch
View From Corvatsch

The hike was challenging but felt safe all the way, and we agreed that this was one of our best hikes to date — and that’s saying something! We toured several mountain lakes filled with quartz and malachite.

Once we had finished our climb, I felt euphoric. My mind felt soft and peaceful, and I found myself in a state of “alert rest.”

Camille Maurine might say that I was in a meditative state, a state that I entered into naturally — and that state is available to all of us, all the time. When I taught yoga, I can’t tell you how many people said, “I can’t meditate. My mind never gets quiet.” Maurine would suggest that we allow all of the thoughts, emotions, and noisiness to just be there. I’m excited about Meditation Secrets for Women because I believe it provides people with a nonjudgmental, loving, sweet approach to meditation.

I confess that like many of the women Maurine spoke with about meditation, I did things that some teachers considered “wrong.” I often keep a notepad and pen next to me, for example, in case I get a really interesting idea. I open my eyes, jot down my thoughts, then return to my concentration. I sometimes move around during meditation, and occasionally I have a really good cry. I love my meditation, but I have often kept my methods to myself.

Glacier at Corvatsch
If these views don't inspire meditation, there's no hope for me!

Why haven’t I — or these other women — shared our experiences of wanting more movement? Why do we not discuss the pleasure we feel or express our deepening passion for life?

Maurine shares some horror stories about how women’s psyches can be wounded with more authoritarian forms of meditation training. I’ve definitely run across teachers who say that their method is the ONLY method of true meditation — which makes me nervous. I also know that over the years, the more alive I felt in my body, the more certain teachers seemed to want me to “settle down.” I didn’t want to be calmer, or quieter, or anything other than my genuine self, which is sometimes loud, bawdy, and ludicrous, but which is me nonetheless. I got tired of disapproval and made the decision that I needed less self-improvement and more self-acceptance.

Still, where meditation was concerned, I always wondered: “Am I doing it right?”

For fourteen years, nearly every morning, I have written three pages longhand, a method I learned from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. She called them a form of meditation. That felt true to me, but still…

I found myself drawn to the Kripalu style of yoga, with its emphasis on “meditation in motion.” The idea is to free the body so it moves spontaneously into poses. But is that meditation?

Maurine would say yes. She provides twelve “secrets” to a woman’s meditation practice. Examples include Celebrate Your Senses, Claim Your Inner Authority, Be Tender With Yourself, Say Yes to Every Part of Yourself. She provides opportunities to explore, a variety of meditations to try, and opportunities to reflect on the meditations at the end of each section.

For a few weeks now I have written about September being a month of stillness and relaxation. Maurine would remind me that we are more flow than stillness, and I like that very much. For me, stillness is not about lack of movement, but about a sense of peace that pervades even when we feel in turmoil, a sense of knowing that we are always, in every moment, all right. So, I don’t think we disagree…but I think that from now on I will adopt the use of “flow.”  I think it’s closer to the essence of what I hope to share this month.

Meditation Secrets for Women can benefit anyone, whether or not they are experienced meditators. In my opinion, even a man could benefit from the gentle approaches in this book. If you are a beginner, it’s a great instruction manual for getting started. If you’re experienced, you may find opportunities to explore different or new methods, or to just give yourself permission to enjoy what you’re already doing. For me, this book is an affirmation of what I have felt and experienced inside for years.

Wasserweg
Here's my sweetie in front of one of the many mountain lakes we viewed today.

Filed Under: travel, Uncategorized, Yoga Tagged With: books, Camille Maurine, hiking, meditation, Meditation Secrets for Women, switzerland, women, yoga

Book Discovery Tuesday: Let’s Talk Travel

August 30, 2011 by admin

Goats Photo
A surprise appearance on a hike from Sils to Isola.

Before leaving Houston for Switzerland, I dutifully wrote several blog posts in advance. After all, I am on vacation and want to enjoy living in this lovely pastoral setting. However, with each hike, words fly up from the ground and into my brain, demanding that I pay attention. If there is anything I have learned by midlife, it is to respect my inner promptings and let them have their say.

I have also learned that Boomers love to travel, so I’m happy to weave some of my own travel experiences within the context of A Woman’s Nest. It also seemed appropriate as we transition from summer to fall, and to our upcoming September focus on stillness. Since we talk about books on Tuesday, then, I thought I would step away from yet another book about menopause (don’t worry, I’ll come back to it sooner or later!) and talk about travel books.

Peter Mayle has his Provence. Frances Mayes has Tuscany. And Rick Steves, of course, has made a great living letting people know the sights, sounds, and activities to experience while traveling. We don’t agree on everything — he’s fond of Avignon and not as fond of Arles and Aix en Provence, for example, where we lean in the opposite direction. That said, we listen to his podcasts and watch his shows, always gathering the information he shares so generously.

Rick had to learn that sometimes what people want are the high points of a place. For some, a visit to Paris is a once-in-a-lifetime trip, so they need and want the “best” art to see in the Louvre so they can zip through it quickly. Rick has met that need, but in one of his books, Travel as a Political Act, we get to see more of Rick Steves. We get to read his perspectives of not how to travel, but why. He shares how his visits over the years have caused his politics to evolve, and explains how we can broaden our own horizons when we travel.

Maloja Mountain
Another day, another breathtaking view

This was the first place I learned the term “roundtrip revolutionary.” I became one last year on a visit to Costa Rica, where I volunteered for two weeks. The term, though humorous, has a serious point to it. We may go somewhere and volunteer for a period of time, but we always have that plane ticket home, while the people we assist are fighting the good fight day in and day out to serve children, fight poverty, and bring needed medical assistance to the poorer regions of the world. I griped because I lived without hot water for two weeks (mainly because I knew that the locals actually did have hot water), but I got to come home to a cozy bed and plenty of food. I had an “off” switch for my experiences.

I think a lot about Rick’s book as I wander through the mountains of this part of Switzerland. One has a great deal of time to think in the hours on the path. I realize that with each trip, I learn more about a part of the world that is foreign to mine in many ways, and that’s a good thing. Here, German, Italian, and Romansche cultures blend together. A lake can be a luc, a lej, or a loggia. Our town is Sils or Segl, depending on what sign you read. English isn’t at the top of the list; it’s about midway down. On the path we greet fellow hikers with “Goetze” (roughly, as I understand it, God be with you), but some say Bongiorno, and we even hear a few Bonjours. In this tiny area, many different peoples coexist with relative ease.

The idyllic nature of this area is broken by the sound of construction. Others have discovered Sils’s charm and want to visit or live here. The locals try to deal with demand vs. the need to keep the charm and purity of the town. As with many tourist areas of the United States, the tension between progress and preservation requires much debate. It will be interesting to see what happens to Sils over the next five or ten years.

As I ponder Rick’s book, I also think about the stereotypes that we have, sometimes unintentionally, that travel allows us to release. One big example is that I learned on my first trip to France that the French are no more rude than any other society. In fact, I find the French to be interesting, engaging, and friendly people. And the Swiss are not dressed up looking like Heidi or the kids from The Sound of Music. I haven’t heard a single yodel. Instead, I see people, more or less like us, who are generous to share their favorite places to hike.

I also recognize that life here is different from, say Zurich or Geneva, where picturesque landscapes give way to urban sprawl, where spaciousness gives way to crowds. I’m far away from the public restrooms of the city with their bluelights that make it harder for an addict to find a vein. Even this gorgeous and prosperous country has its share of problems.

Yet we are here, and we continue to learn. We continue to look at travel as both personal and political. If you also love to travel and want to know more about a place than its highlights, then I highly recommend Travel as a Political Act by Rick Steves. You’ll be thinking about it long after you have finished reading it.

Silvaplana
A view of Silvaplana.

Filed Under: books, travel Tagged With: baby boomers, Frances Mayes, hiking, Peter Mayle, Rick Steves, switzerland, travel, Travel as a Political Act

Good Morning, Monday! Greetings from Sils-Maria, Switzerland!

August 29, 2011 by admin

What better way to ponder the upcoming week, and a new month, than to put on hiking shoes and wander the Swiss trails? Here in Sils, a small village west of St. Moritz in the Engadine Valley, I am far from the noise of my hometown, far from politics, far from all that concerns me. Instead, I focus on one footfall at a time, practicing mindfulness in order not to fall off a mountain!

Rosti
Rosti: A Hearty Hiker's Lunch

Yesterday we wandered to the Fex Valley, a place we wanted to visit in January but couldn’t because there was too much ice on the trail. We admired wildflowers, clear streams, and mountains covered with emerald green instead of snow. Part of the magic of Switzerland is finding a charming restaurant in the middle of nowhere, and we enjoyed some rosti with tomatoes and cheese for a hearty lunch. Rosti is basically a meal-sized portion of hash browns (only better), and these were done to crispy perfection. Rosti makes for a great hiking meal, and I find myself craving it when we come here.

After lunch we took a spontaneous trip up the side of a mountain so we could see the lake there. The sign suggested it would take two hours, and those signs are normally reliable. This time, though, it was about an hour short. We live, after all, at sea level, and we huffed and puffed our way up, stopping frequently to catch our breath. Once a herd of cows stopped us as they blocked our path, and one curious cow decided it wanted one of my hiking poles. We decided to find another way around them, circling through pasture and back to the path.

We finally made it to our summit, where we saw a glorious view of the valley below, including the opalescent Lake Sils. From a distance we could no longer see the windsurfers out playing on a Sunday afternoon, but the larger view of mountains, glaciers, and meadows was worth the effort. My feet didn’t agree as we finally landed back in Sils at 6:30 p.m. after 2,800 feet up (and back down), but we loved having a story to tell.

Lake Sils
The lake is where we began our day.

While in Sils, I feel myself in transition. Summer continues to rage back home in Houston, with highs reaching 109 degrees, but fall approaches. My novel is back with the editor for one more look before I put it out into the world. I prepare to send her another manuscript. I have begun others, but am not sure which story will call to me next. I am stepping back from some of my normal day-to-day routine to fill the inner well and find the Next Project.

When we are in transition, and our dreams are in process but not yet manifest, taking time to be in silence and stillness can ease the drama of our daily lives, freeing us to create. As we ease into September, A Woman’s Nest will focus on how to do that.

Many people tell me, for example, that they can’t meditate because “I can’t get my mind quiet.” I was thinking of that yesterday as we hiked in the mountains in one of the quietest places on earth. Even here, there is not absolute stillness. A breeze blows through the wildflowers. Water rushes over rocks down the mountainside. Birds call. Cow bells ring. Nature is never completely silent, and seldom will we be, either. But I would like to demystify meditation this month so that we stop worrying about stilling the mind and start accepting a river of peace that flows gently beneath the other noise that exists, allowing that noise to be there without judgment.

Swiss Flowers
Flowers Abound! Here are some to brighten your day.

Another reason to find stillness is that when we start to manifest our dreams, we will bump up against fear, doubt, and frustration. As we keep coming back to center, we can learn to deal with inevitable discouragement. Our Wednesday features will focus on the challenges and opportunities that come as we open ourselves up to deeper self-expression. Our Tuesday reviews will focus on DVDs and books that can inspire us when we need to be lifted up.

Have a great week! Thanks for visiting my blog, and come back tomorrow for the Discovery Tuesday!

Filed Under: Life Changes, travel, women Tagged With: Change of Plans, dreams, hiking, nadine feldman, nadine galinsky, rosti, Sils, Sils-Maria, switzerland, travel

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