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I love to fill up my recycling bin with cardboard, bottles, cans, plastic and even metal coat hangers.  It always makes me feel good - like I am doing my part to help save the environment.  Lately I've even taken to washing out items like hummus containers before tossing them in the bin. But I… Continue reading Re-purposing junk to make art.

Did you ever read something that felt so right it stopped you in your tracks?  Then you scrambled to save it, jotted down the author or the title, or copied the link, or copied the entire piece to a word document you would not lose it? I did all those things when I read it… Continue reading Learning How to … Live Your Truth

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to start purging my stuff, you know, simplifying and down-sizing.  It's what us baby boomers are doing now.  Most of us just have too much stuff. But I did not start purging random stuff like books or clothes; I started to purge my musical equipment. You see, I… Continue reading Leaving the music behind…at least some of it

This week, I attended my first volunteer session at the Center for Mindfulness (CFM) lab at UMass Medical school in Shrewsbury.  The CFM offers training programs for mindfulness-based practices and conducts research on the affects of mindfulness. I attended a 5-day mindfulness tools training program about 18 months ago in January, 2016, where I was… Continue reading Volunteering at the Center for Mindfulness

Today, May 7, 2017 I rode my bike on the Nashua River rail trail, from Ayer, MA to Pepperell, MA, a distance of 8 miles.  During this ride, which took 1 hr. 33 minutes in total, to ride to my destination and return, I tried to remain mindful of the experience.  Here are some thoughts… Continue reading A Mindful Bike Ride

On April 19, I led 18 children in a workshop to create their own set of nature chimes during school vacation week at Leominster Public Library. It was a wild, hectic and fun experience.  I had three helpers: two teen-aged volunteers and my sister Renee, who heads up the children's library.  They turned out to… Continue reading My 1st Chime Workshop

As Spring time is upon us, it seemed the perfect time to write about nature art, a subject near and dear to my heart.  Why does nature art appeal to me?  Nature art lives at the intersection of art and nature, that fascinating boundary area where disparate worlds collide.  Nature art inhabits the liminal space… Continue reading On Making Nature Art

Mindfulness is being present, which is ignoring the past and future while focusing only on the present.  Awareness is the state of being conscious of something. A mindful practice involves both and ultimately involves witnessing your mind wander and gently bringing your focus back to the here and now. While being mindful may initially take… Continue reading Mindful Dish Washing

I have been working on a research project that explores my attempt at practicing mindfulness while trekking the Camino de Santiago for 4 weeks in June, 2016. Camino de Santiago What is the Camino de Santiago? The Camino is a 500-mile pilgrimage in northern Spain that reportedly follows the route taken by St. James the… Continue reading A Research Project on Mindfulness