3 Steps That Help Me to Listen

Posted on February 7, 2015 by Mimic Nature

listeningWhy does it seem like many can’t stand the quiet? Is there something we are trying to drown out with all the noise and distractions that permeate our days? Why are we more prone to talk rather than listen?

I was searching on the internet and many have said that there are records of earlier civilizations that had the ability to hear animals and nature. I sat and wondered how someone could do this, is the answer complicated and beyond our understanding or is the answer as simple as listening?

One of my big lessons lately has been on the fine art of listening and I have to admit that I’m not very good at it. I know I should listen more but words come pouring out of my mouth before I realize what is happening. When I have reactive responses like this I need to rewire my brain and teach it to slow down and think before it speaks.

One day I was meditating on listening and a post showed up that said this,

Listening is the highest form of respect you can give another person.

This made me stop and really think about what is going on when we listen, what are we really conveying to the other person when we are listening to them? Are we telling them they matter enough to give them time to talk? Are we telling them that their thoughts, even though they may not line up with what we believe, are important enough for us to listen too? How do you feel when people listen to you?

This week I will do 3 small things to help me learn to listen better.

  1. Slow down. When I clean my house today, I will take it slower and do a good job at what I do accomplish rather than running on overdrive and skimming over everything. When we go fast we are already thinking about what to do next, we are not aware of the present moment.
  2. Sit and listen. I will take a few minutes to sit and listen to all that is going on around me. This is challenging as we tend to sit and think about what needs to be done next instead of just being in the moment.
  3. Sit and listen. Yes this is so important that it gets 2 spots. Today I will take five minutes to really listen to my kids/husband/friend. This is challenging as well, we tend to think about what we are going to say rather than giving the person our undivided attention.

Whenever I go to make changes I do not make a huge list as this will overwhelm me making me feel defeated. The point is to make changes, not to bog ourselves down by living by a list. You can make up your own list that tailors to your own unique weak spots and before you know it listening will become a habit and not something you have to work at.

 

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Meaning and Purpose in Your Life

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Mimic Nature

purposeWhen I finished reading Man’s Search For Meaning by Victor Frankl I realized that having a meaning and purpose in my life is really important. The times that I was really depressed and down were the times that I felt my life had no meaning or purpose that made my life worth living.

At first I was upset because I could not see a big meaning in my life, something that would make a huge difference in my life and those around me but as I grow older I realize that life is not made up of big moments but the culmination of smaller moments that give it meaning and flare.

As I change and grow I see the small things that really add up in my life, for example I remind myself to work out, I remind myself to make time for quiet meditation, I do certain cleaning jobs each day so it’s doesn’t all pile up on one day. I have learned to program into my phone certain things that make a huge difference in my life and it alerts me at the time that is optimal for getting the task accomplished.

Keeping things clean for my family makes me happy, doing good things for my body makes me happy, and taking the time to do things in a more natural way makes me happy. All of these little things add up bringing joy and purpose to my life.

Along with all of these little things I do each day for myself and my family, I will also begin a list in the spring with projects I can do outside in nature. I feel another one of my purposes is to grow my food more naturally, to allow nature to flourish as well as reaping the benefits of fresh fruit and veggies which is why I was drawn to permaculture.

Permaculture does not use chemicals or disturb the soil like conventional farming and gardening does, it tries to mimic what nature would naturally do so that way humans and nature can flourish and thrive together instead of one manipulating another.

I am not the type of person that likes to live their life by lists but this way of doing things is helping me at the moment and some day when this type of living becomes habit, I will not need my lists anymore.

Everyone’s life has meaning and purpose many people just need to remove their expectations and be able to see clearly. Our thoughts tend to deceive us into thinking that this purpose is less or more than another based on how much money they make when in fact they are both very important. Many people would see the CEO of a company to be a higher purpose than that of the janitor but in reality this difference is only in your own mind as having a clean place to work is a high priority to many people.

As Victor Frankl says in his book, “you can’t force someone to laugh, you must tell him a joke to get him to laugh”, our life’s meaning and purpose does not just come to us especially when we are not sure what it is, it will become evident when we start making small changes in our daily routine.

 

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Maipulation and It’s Negative Influence

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Mimic Nature

manipulationHave you ever wondered why certain gardening techniques don’t work? Have you ever wondered why the relationship between humans and animals has changed so drastically over the decades? What if the reason these things are happening is because we allow the drive for power to control us and we begin to manipulate them and treat them as property?

I believe we as humans need to be careful because we have developed an idea that animals, plants, and the planet are less than we are, that they are things for us to manipulate and control and through this we have lost all respect for them as well. God created man to take care of nature. Many different cultures believe that the Universe created humans to help take care of nature, to benefit from it but never to manipulate it and control it.

What if those ancient civilizations that many thought worshiped trees and nature didn’t really worship the tree itself but they worshiped the Life Force within them? What would happen if we looked at a tree and instead of seeing just a piece of wood we actually saw the Life Force contained within it? Would we tear them down for no reason? Would we abuse and mistreat the Creator within?

How about an animal? Can you see the Life Force within it or do you see a dumb animal that needs manipulation? What if we all treated animals with as much respect as we would the Creator of the Universe? I believe that the relationship between man and beast would not be where it is today, so many animals suffer because of our indifference towards them.

When you go to start a garden or any other project in nature try not to manipulate it, instead try to respect it and see the Life Force within.

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Facts You May Not Know About the Holocaust

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Mimic Nature
Auschwitz

Auschwitz

Yesterday I seen that it was a day to remember Auschwitz, the largest concentration camp that resided in Poland during Hitlers reign of terror. Here are some facts that many seem to overlook about the Holocaust that sheds light on the truth behind Hitler and why he did what he did.

1. No one know the exact amount of people killed during this time, estimates have shown that around 5 or 6 million were Jews, but altogether 11 million were killed. This proves to me that even though Hitler may have been targeting Jews, he killed anyone who got in his way, so the next time you remember the holocaust, remember all who lost their lives not just some.

2. When you look at the core of why Hitler did what he did you see that he harbored hatred towards a certain group of people (no, not just Jews) and believed that his interpretation of what a person should be like was better. It’s amazing how many people adhere to this ideal, plus they put a religious spin on it and say this group is okay and this one is not. Once Hitler began to see one group as human and the other group as dogs his conscious never bothered him because it’s okay to treat animals bad, just like people lose their love and compassion for one another when they see one as lower.

Everyone wants to be important, everyone wants to know that their lives mean something and that they are not just nothing, this Hitler attitude feeds on people’s self-worth, killing them from the inside out. Instead of boasting about how much better one type of person is than another, we should be building people up, helping them to see their greatness and beauty. Diversity is a good thing, look at nature, diversity is beauty.

superiority3. Even though the holocaust may be over, his attitude still lives on in many people. Many people out there claim to be superior to those around them and all religions claim to be more special to God than anyone else.

I just finished reading a book by Victor Frankl called Man’s Search For Meaning. If you want to read a good book about the holocaust then I would definitely recommend reading his book. Victor was a psychiatrist who found meaning even during the years he suffered in the concentration camps, he did not allow his suffering to twist his meaning and purpose in life, he did not become angry and bitter about what was done to him. Instead he devised a new way to help people called logotherapy, which is mentioned in this book as well.

Here are some of my favorite parts of his book,

Man is not fully conditioned and determined but rather determines himself whether he gives in to conditions or stands up to them. In other words, man is ultimately self-determining. Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become in the next moment. By the same token, ever human being has the freedom to change at any instant.

Man’s search for meaning is the primary motivation in his life and not a secondary rationalization of instinctual drives; hence he is not driven by pain and pleasure but rather to see a meaning in his life.

From all this we may learn that there are two races of men in this world, but only these two-the race of the decent man and the race of the indecent man. Both are found everywhere; they penetrate into all groups of society. No group consists entirely of decent or indecent people. In this sense, no group is of “pure race”-and therefore one occasionally found a decent fellow among the camp guards.

A LIFE OF MEANING BRINGS LIGHT TO EVEN THE DARKEST OF CORNERS

A LIFE OF MEANING BRINGS LIGHT TO EVEN THE DARKEST OF CORNERS

Next time you remember the holocaust remember all the precious lives lost during that time not just a few, for every life has meaning and every life is important.

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My Journey to Uncover Happiness

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Mimic Nature
My Happiness Journal

My Happiness Journal

Have you ever wondered how you could bring more happiness into your life? Did you know where to look or where to start? Life can easily knock us down, do you have ways that you increase your happiness after this happens? This is my journey to find the happiness within.

I am in the middle of a 30 day journey towards happiness, I am hoping to find the little things that can pick me up or tear me down. It surprised me how easily I lose my happiness because of outside circumstances, when these circumstances changed I experiences what many describe as a roller coaster ride of emotions, and  as much as I enjoy roller coasters, I’m tired of this one.

This journey has been very interesting and enlightening when it comes to me and how I perceive things to be. I tend to focus too much on situations being bad or good and I am also very mislead by this entitlement feeling I have that I never realized before. As kids we are fed with adults telling us to work hard and you’ll go far in life, but that doesn’t always work. Many people have worked hard their whole lives just to lose their jobs and have to start all over again, so I’m trying to reconstruct what I feel that I am entitled to. I feel that happiness is part of who I am, of who we all are, and we all have the right to be who we are so I have a right to be happy, the confusion comes about when I try to define this happiness with physical things.

What makes me happy now is not what made me happy 2 months, 2 years, or even 30 years ago, as my understanding of happiness deepens I find myself doing different things that coincide with this new way of being, and although my actions change on what I do to make myself happy, the core feeling of happiness never changes.

What do you do that keeps your happiness alive despite what is going on around you or where your life is heading?

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Let Life Flow

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Mimic Nature

 

weaving beauty

weaving life’s beauty

Does life have a natural rhythm to it? Do we try to control too many details and block this natural flow in our lives? What does this do to our every day lives?

One thing I have learned is that life must flow and when we try to control it we restrict the flow that is naturally occurring. What we should do instead is allow this natural flow to continue in its path, maybe even align your goals with this flow.

While we can make plans and try to position our gardens and trees in the best possible way for greater yield and a positive impact on the environment, sometimes things will not work out as you hoped. During times like this we need to just let things flow as they will, I don’t encourage anyone to try to control every aspect of their garden or orchard, leave room for life to weave its own beauty.

I think people thrive off of having goals, goals help them to feel as if they are working towards something and give them a sense of accomplishment when these goals are met. Goals challenge and enrich our lives but there comes a time when we must allow for change to happen without getting upset.

My number one rule of permaculture is have fun, don’t take this too seriously to where it becomes a negative experience, just relax emotionally and allow life to flow. When you do, you will find joy and peace in your garden and everything around you will flourish.

Man plans while God laughs.

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Contradicting Thoughts And Their Effects On Reality

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Mimic Nature

imageDoes what you think affect your reality? Does having negative thoughts block situations from working out to their full potential? Quantum physics says yes.

Quantum physics is proving that what you focus your attention on will manifest in your reality, so when you focus on how fat your body is, this focused attention will make it happen. When you start any project whether it’s permaculture or DIY home projects, be careful what is being said in your mind, don’t allow your mind to focus on contradictory thoughts that are trying to stop what you are doing.

When you focus on how your techniques will not work, then your permaculture gardens and orchards will not thrive even though it has all the ingredients to do so. The same way that other circumstances in your life will not work out despite all your attempts to make it happen. If your focus does not line up with your intentions then your focus will override your intention, that is why loving people fail to spread love when they are focused on all the hatred and conspiracy in the world.

When you start anything, you must focus your attention on what you want, see your permaculture area just as you desire it to look like, see full trees and healthy plants, focus on that now and it will manifest in reality. Allowing your focus to see droopy, half eaten plants will only produce what you do not want, seeing your garden as a failure will only bring it to an end.

I have a hard time keeping my focus on what I want, I allow contradictory thoughts to infect my circumstances and many of my potential projects never turn out right because of my own misguided thoughts on how I can’t do it.

 Watch Your Thoughts, They Become Words; Watch Your Words, They Become Actions

What projects did you have that didn’t turn out the way you wanted? What were your thoughts at the time?

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Food For Thought

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Mimic Nature

Wayne Dyer I was listening to a CD series by Wayne Dyer and there is one sentence he said that I want to share with you,

“You don’t know enough to be a pessimist, the Universe is too vast and expansive for that.”

We shouldn’t make judgements about ourselves and our situations especially when we don’t know the full potential of what can truly happen in any given moment.

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Lessons From My Dog

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Mimic Nature

playing with dogs  It seems that everything I am reading this morning is following one common theme, surrender.

What is surrender and how does one do this? There are a few definitions to surrender but this is one the one I like, “to give up in favor of another, especially voluntarily.” I want this blog to focus on giving up voluntarily instead of giving up by force, or to give up or abandon.

As I sit here looking at my dog he looks back at me with anticipation, anticipation of what, I’m not sure, but whatever it is he is happy. He is a comfort to me when I am sad, he plays with me when I am happy, he lays with me when I am sleeping, he is a companion to me when I am lonely, my dog is everything I need him to be in each moment. I realized that he was giving up his identity as a dog to be what I needed him to be.

Dogs are dogs but when you get them in a home where people truly love them, love transforms the dogs into something else, something that is far from their original state.

Maybe humans are here on this earth to acquire the same understanding as my dog, the understanding that we should voluntarily (yes, this is the key) surrender our identity to Love.

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Lessons I’ve Learned This Week That Could Change A Persons Life

Posted on December 19, 2014 by Mimic Nature

lessons learned We all learn lessons every day if we pay attention to them, here are some of the major lessons I learned this past week through various readings and experiences.

1. When you create the intention within yourself to do something, do it as soon as you can, don’t delay or someone else will get the credit. There are many variances to this number, not only will someone else get the credit but you may forget, or worse yet, you may never do it because you waited so long you talked yourself right out of doing it.

2. When you cause someone else to suffer, you set in motion the effect of suffering the same way or more than what you caused. Many call this karma or reaping what you sow, it’s a law of life, you cannot plant corn seeds and get pumpkins, life just doesn’t work that way. I can see this all over the news at the present moment, people are spreading hate but yet want love and respect in return, it doesn’t work that way, you cannot spread hate and get love in return, only when you spread love will you receive love.

3. How much are we focused on others? This was a huge lesson for me this past week, I found that I am focused too much on other people. For example, I get upset when people don’t put in the same amount of energy I do, like when my husband doesn’t help out around the house as much as I do. I can get upset when people at work don’t try their hardest so some jobs only get half done. Why am I focused on them? I am in this world to do my best, not to sit and become emotionally upset because others aren’t living like I want them too.

4. Do you have a problem remembering the lessons you’ve learned? This was another huge lesson as I found that what I had learned wasn’t as fresh in my mind anymore, like how our memories fade over time. I’m not sure how to help this situation yet, writing the lessons I’ve learned down does help as long as I can remember where I wrote them down at. Trying to make a routine out of it for a while really seems to help but there are days that routines don’t work and you end up flying by the seat of your pants.

If anyone has any more tips on these subjects, feel free to add your comments and I will share them so they can help others. Life doesn’t have to be challenging, we can share our experiences and what worked for us and hopefully what we share will help someone else.

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