Direct experience of a glimmer
Hi Members,
If you decided to open the free Sunday Pause email this morning, you saw my description of how mindfulness of a visual sparkle can awaken a glimmer in my mind.
To define glimmer, I’ll quote another section of that article from the Newport Institute:
Glimmers come in all shapes, but not in all sizes. Glimmers aren’t monumental experiences like graduating from college, falling in love for the first time, getting married, buying your first house, or having a baby. Those are major milestones that produce intense feelings, but they’re in a different category than glimmers. Glimmers are tiny micro moments of joy—fleeting, everyday moments that elicit a rush of happiness, gratitude, calm, peace, safety, or goodwill.
Lab-Work
Watching the video, part A
The first ten seconds of this video can be calming. There’s some ice floating by, there’s the sound of the wind. A ten second pause. In order to get the full experience of this lab-work, it’s important to start with a deep breath, taking the full ten seconds to land. Simply watch the ice floating by on the water for ten seconds as you breath naturally.
Watching the video, part B
And then, as the ice floats into the center of the shot, there is a subtle change in the scene. When I noticed this subtle change, it gave me a glimmer. Did you get one? Let me know in the comments.
I took this video while I was prepping for our May Mindfulness Retreat. It was great to get out of the city and spend some time in Gloucester. In the center of this video, you’ll see the big white “house” with blue shutters. If you haven’t seen it before, that’s our location, the Blue Shutters Inn.
The Newport Institute stated:
Glimmers…, are internal or external cues that elevate your mood or make you feel safe and happy. Looking for glimmers is a mindfulness practice that encourages you to notice the good all around you.
During the May retreat, we’ll be working on techniques that enhance and grow glimmer experiences. I hope you can join us then. If you decide to stay overnight please make your reservations by April 1st.