Mindfulness Archives ~ Twin Willows

November 29, 2017

A Pot Luck Dinner

Our Tuesday night Knit group came to my house last night for a potluck celebration of our group and of the Yule season. I want to explain that I am not a Domestic Goddess, in fact I am a rather remedial case. Thankfully, my dear husband does all the cooking and prepares fantastic meals from scratch.

Bill was in Regina visiting his brother, and I had an option; I could either paint the dining room or throw a party! I considered doing both but that didn’t pan out. Throw a party it was,

I covered my bets by making it a pot luck – that way, we would not be forced to eat what I could whip up. Well, my beloved Tuesday Knitters really stepped up! I was not quite ready when my first guest arrived., Amelie generously offered to help out, and she has a great deal more skill in the kitchen than I! So did the next guests, setting out food, cutting up a baguette, cutlery. Eventually it was like a kitchen party. Next time, I’ll make sure a fiddler shows up and plays.Gina helped me get the music going ( I’m supposed to be a techie!) We had a fabulous veggie curry, a quinoa salad to die for, Jamie Oliver put in an appearance, a veggie quiche chock full of yummy veggies and the desserts were terrific. Christina lost skin in her baking adventures with brownies, there was delicious Sucre a la Creme and I produced a Gingerbread Bundt Cake from scratch against terrific odds. The recipe is in a separate post that will go up by tomorrow morning..

We had a yarn swap afterwards, and there were terrific treasures, We boosted Amelie, our new knitter’s stash with some pretty yarn; and i found some blue squishy stuff and some more yarn for a Mindful knitting Workshop that I will be running for Joanne. Every one went home happy and I am so, so grateful for my wonderful talented friends.

September 2, 2017September 2, 2017

Intention Attention and Attitude

September

Now is a time of gentle endings – saying good bye to summer time pursuits and getting ready for new beginnings. Perhaps another school year. Or just going back into your work or life with renewed vigour – brought about by the freshening winds. An opportunity to start again with new subject matter, to revitalize our knowing. It is also often an opportunity to meet new people, create new or change our existing relationships to reflect that we’ve grown.

Intention

First, what are our intentions in going into these relationships? Are these relationships in line with our overall values; are they nourishing to our spirit?
Are we entering into these connections for a mutually beneficial outcome?

Attention

Second, am I focusing my attention on this person(s) while in their presence. Listening with full attention is a gift that rarely occurs, since we are all coping with so many distractions. Have we brought a deep and penetrating attention to these connections?

Attitude

The attitudes we bring to our life and all the moments and encounters in it critically affect how we pay attention. Try practicing attitudes of acceptance, curiosity and warmth and you may discover a greater turning towards making new relationships and deepening of existing ones.

We may find that our connections benefit from a high quality of mindfulness, and our endings are not so final. These endings in fact may lead to new beginnings, chance encounters leading to great opportunities.

January 21, 2016

Mindful Knitting Essentials

Healing

For those of us who knit, it will come as no surprise that knitting can be used as a therapeutic practice. A therapeutic process is one that heals our minds, bodies, spirits, or some combination thereof. Knitters will recognize that healing – in the joy we derive from most of our knitting experiences. Whether you are planning a project, fondling yarn, selecting just the right materials from your stash, or actually knitting, many steps of the knitting process bring about a sense of contentment and well-being. After all, that’s part of why we do it, right?

Benefits

Knitting can produce a host of benefits: creative inspiration, senses of accomplishment and self-confidence, community building, and the rhythm of a relaxing activity, to name a few. However, more depth is possible; adding the concept of mindfulness can enrich the experience of knitting and promote peace, contentment, and healing. Mindfulness is about paying attention to what is right with you, some of which you might normally take for granted or ignore. By paying attention in a new, more loving, and systematic way to what is right with you, you can discover a new capacity for understanding and growth.

Mindfulness for Deeper Healing

Mindfulness is well-researched and well-known to promote physical and emotional health. Techniques such as mindfulness meditation are widely used in treating cancer patients, anxiety, depression, and many other physical and emotional illnesses. The most basic explanation for how mindfulness practice fosters good health is that it lowers stress and helps with pain management, which helps the body and mind to heal.

Why This Course?

I’m offering a course on 3 essential aspects of mindful knitting for a few reasons. The first reason is because I think that combining mindfulness with a hobby that you love will encourage you to practice mindfulness more often – whenever you pick up your knitting needles. And it is the frequency of practicing mindfulness that ultimately provides the greatest benefit. The second reason is because the standard way that mindfulness is taught is in an eight week program – and that is a huge time commitment that many people do not wish to make.

So this course is intended to distill some of the essentials of mindfulness into a 3 part course taking place over a one month period.

I’m offering 2 different timeframes- Choose the one that best fits your schedule:

Course 1:
January 23rd – Enhancing Your Awareness 10 am—12:30 pm
February 13th – Dealing with Difficult Emotions 10 am—12:30 pm
February 27th – Self – Compassion 10 am—12:30 pm

Course 2:
February 20th – Enhancing Your Awareness 10 am—12:30 pm
March 5th – Dealing with Difficult Emotions 10 am—12:30 pm
March 19th – Self – Compassion 10 am—12:30 pm

3 Essentials

Enhancing your Awareness – deals with focusing on your skills of observation and awareness. Here you learn how to practice that focus again and again.

Dealing with Difficult Emotions – our natural tendencies are to ignore or repress unpleasant and difficult emotions. Here you learn how to approach and accept difficult emotions and thoughts – being curious about them. This can often lessen your fear of them.

Self – Compassion – our tendency to be critical of ourselves is harmful yet persistent. Here we learn about enfolding ourselves in loving kindness.

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May 18, 2015May 21, 2015

Warmth for Yourself

Prairie Smoke — The Pasque Flower an early spring flower

Waiting for Warmth

Spring in Eastern Ontario has taken its time in coming – the frost sank deep into the soil this past winter. We waited a long time for the days and nights to be consistently warm – so that the soil temperature could support new growth. It is much the same with our inner environments, many of us spend decades chilling our hearts with critical self-talk. In order for fundamental change to take root within ourselves, we need to warm up our hearts with a gentle acceptance of ourselves. No, we are not perfect, but that is what inspires creativity and variety in life.

One of the first steps in being kind to ourselves, is remembering how we speak to our own best friends. We are thoughtful, we want the best for them, we consider carefully before speaking potentially hurtful things. Consider forming an intention to treat your Inner Self as your best friend. She’s known you all her life, she moves when you do, she doesn’t walk away when the going gets tough. Who better than that for a best friend?

So forming this intention to be your own best friend, say to yourself:

May I be happy
May I be healthy
May I live in peace
May I live in safety
May I live with ease

April 29, 2015April 29, 2015

Persistence – Invaluable

Our lap blanket really does exist! I am weaving in the loose ends, then the Maplesoft Therapeutic Knitting Group can present the finished product to their recently opened Multi-faith Chapel.

Weaving in ends in knitting and in life takes persistence, returning focus again and again to one object. In our fast paced lives many other distractions compete for our attention. I accept this work happily, knowing that the effort will benefit many. This is my meditation.

April 23, 2015May 3, 2015

Mindfulness Skills for Well-Being

Benefits

This 8 Week Mindfulness Program is intended to teach you the practice of mindfulness through meditation, so that you can ultimately develop a mindful awareness.

Mindfulness can:

reduce overall levels of anxiety and depression
reduce harmful levels of stress
enhance your immune system’s performance
enhance clarity of mind and creativity
boost your quality of life

Program Details

This Mindfulness Program is an 8 week introduction to mindfulness through practical instruction, meditation, mindful movement, direct observation and home practice. It is designed to help you increase your sense of well-being.

The program includes 8 sessions of 2 hours each, a full day of meditation at the mid-point of the program, guided meditation recordings, and supplementary materials to reinforce the weekly sessions.

Dates: Thursdays 10:30 am – 12:30 pm starting May 7 2015 through to June 25 2015 including a day-long Meditation Retreat on June 6 2015

Location: City of Ottawa Archives; James K. Bartleman Centre; 100 Tallwood Drive; Room 115, Ottawa, Ontario

Fee: $150 for 8-week course, 1 day retreat and all required materials [ec_addtocart productid=”248″]

Nicki Benton will facilitate this program with Francine Portenier’s assistance.

Francine
My first career in Systems Design Engineering focused on “making things better”. Now I focus upon communicating and being with people to help make their lives richer and fuller.

Francine founded Twin Willows Farm to initially offer Equine-assisted Therapy. She now facilitates the first Therapeutic Knitting Group in Canada and Meditation Practices, assisting in Mindfulness Programs. Francine shows you how to cultivate well-being as an individual and to boost resiliency – your ability to bounce back from setbacks.

Nicki Benton

Nicki

Nicki Co-founded the Ottawa Peer Recovery Centre, and also facilitates recovery programs, empowering individuals to find their voice and walk their unique recovery path with confidence. She has been practising mindfulness in her own life for five years.