Gingerbread Cottage

Saying Goodbye and Looking Ahead

4/30/2018

Connection is the thing I value most about doing the 30-day Ultimate Blog Challenge, and I am thinking of several different kinds of connection that I get to experience.

First, I get to meet new bloggers and connect with old friends. And secondly, when we connect, I get to discuss my work, & share what this website and blog are all about, which is so precious to me.

I get feedback & am often made better by the exchange.

And doing the challenge always brings me new viewers to connect with; usually, a thousand or more new viewers!

This month, I got really lucky!!! I had one 4000+ week and several that got over 3000, so I am sure that's at least 13,000 pageviews - which is definitely not the norm.

Plus, remember I wanted each post to have a video in it, but I didn't think I would be able to do it? I did it!! :)

Want to Know If My Spiritual
Experiment Worked?

"As Karen Armstrong has shown, for most of history, religious people would have been baffled by questions such as, 'Does God exist?' Religion was mostly about PRACTICE, not belief."
- Oliver Burkeman, TheGuardian.com

I decided to do this series on how to create a hygge spiritual practice to see what impact it might have on my own spiritual practice, which was non-existant when I began working on the series. So did creating the blog posts help?

It really did! First, it helped me understand what I was going through and I realized that my dark night of the soul did not mean I was no longer spiritual, or that I no longer needed to worry about having a spiritual practice.

I am still quite spiritual, I realized, and I missed having a practice. I missed talking about spirituality.

Apparently, lots of people have a practice even though they have doubts and aren't sure what, if anything, they believe. Who knew?

So I have created my own hygge spiritual practice, and it is bringing that part of me back to life, even thought I still don't have everything all worked out yet. Also, I am taking an online class which I think will actually help me find my way back to the faith tradition (Celtic spirituality, goddess-centered, faery faith). I'm excited about it.

Did the series inspire you, too, in a spiritual way? Let me know in a comment.

Thank You!

I am so thankful for this wonderful month we've just spent together!!

Paul Taubman, you are a blessing to bloggers by keeping this challenge going and helping us make our blogs better with your website.

And thank you, UBC buddies! I adore the connection we get to make each time, and am so glad you've been my companions on this journey!

I look forward to seeing you again in July. But by then, I'll be settled in at a different blog on this same website.

See you there!

Love you guys! :)

Jeanine

12 Comments

Hygge Reading: Week Four

4/29/2018

6 Comments

"The one thing that stands in the way of peace is our fears. No amount of talking will ever take our fears away. This can only happen through spiritual practice." - Yogi Cameron Alborzian, Huffington Post

This Week's Reading: Peace Practices

For this reading, each of the choices are peace practices. Which hygge peace practice will bring you the most peace today?

Curl up in your favorite seat with a big cup of your favorite tea and have a look at how your day today has been going. Has there been any stress or tension you need to let go of, so that you can be open to peace?

Take several deep breaths, and as you breathe in, imagine the doors of your heart and soul swinging open wide to peace. As you breathe out, let go of any remaining tension, stress or anxiety you feel.

When you feel ready, take a look at the pictures below. Which one seems extra-twinkly? Or seems to be trying to catch your eye? Choose it, taking note of its number, and let's see what it means for you.

Which one's calling your name today?

One...

Did you pick this one? If so, then the best peace practice for you to try today is the praying hands position. It's not just for prayer, or for yoga's namaste. If you hold the position for several minutes, or longer, you are likely to begin to relax and feel more peaceful.

Two...

If you chose the second one, candlelight is the one you chose. Light a candle and spend some time gazing at its flame. Breathe deeply and slowly as you watch it flicker, letting it help you relax.

Three...

If it was the third one that you picked, you chose the hands-over-heart position. This position is a reiki position, a yoga heart-opening position and a way to choose peace. Hold it for several minutes, allow your shoulders to drop and begin to relax.

To deepen your experience of any of these hygge spiritual practices, you can breathe deeply, say a prayer, mentally repeat an affirmation, or just look through the window at nature and watch the trees branches blow in the wind.

Imagine that the version of you who is relaxed and at peace already exists.

This practice you have chosen - or that has chosen you - is just the path you will take to get there. To become peace.

Try it and let me know how it goes, in a comment below.

See you next time!

love, Jeanine

6 Comments

How to Create Your Own Hygge Ritual

4/28/2018

8 Comments

"Sit with yourself and close your eyes. Even for 5 to 10 minutes.
Watch and focus on the breath." ~ Tara Mullarkey

This week, I suggested practices that might be familiar to you already, but gave you ideas for making each one spiritual, for taking it out of the ordinary without losing any of the comfort. Creating a hygge ritual should be something you will look forward to it the way you look forward to your daily tea moments, or the movies you watch on the weekends.

But whether you do a brief ritual or just one hygge spiritual practice, the goal is a two-fer: it helps you grow, spiritually, and creates a warm, cozy, hygge moment for you.

But what if you don't have time? Hygge rituals can be brief when there's not enough time for a longer one.

One idea for a brief hygge ritual is to take five minutes for a cup of tea and use one of those minutes for daydreaming about the life you want to create, offering up that dream as a wish as you take your last sip of tea. Or, you could light a tealight while you eat a meal and say a prayer each time your gaze lands on the candle flame.

Watch the video as you think about what appeals to you most. What would your hygge ritual look and feel like?

Which of These Call to You? (30 seconds)

Which hygge ritual ideas from this week did you like best? Are there any you might try?

See you tomorrow!

love, Jeanine

8 Comments

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Saying Goodbye and Looking Ahead

Want to Know If My Spiritual
Experiment Worked?

Thank You!

Hygge Reading: Week Four

This Week's Reading: Peace Practices

Which one's calling your name today?

How to Create Your Own Hygge Ritual

Which of These Call to You? (30 seconds)

Hi, I'm Jeanine

Archives

Categories

PRIVACY POLICY:
click here to read it

Saying Goodbye and Looking Ahead

Want to Know If My SpiritualExperiment Worked?

Thank You!

Hygge Reading: Week Four

This Week's Reading: Peace Practices

Which one's calling your name today?

How to Create Your Own Hygge Ritual

Which of These Call to You? (30 seconds)

Hi, I'm Jeanine

Archives

Categories

PRIVACY POLICY:click here to read it

Want to Know If My Spiritual
Experiment Worked?

PRIVACY POLICY:
click here to read it