The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 257

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 35 of our new lock down. Today I would like to talk about hope. The past nine months has been tough on everyone and we all need hope. We all dip at times in confidence, mood, positivity and the past week was a very tough one for The Mindful Farmer on a personal note and I consider myself a very positive person but out of nowhere clouds can gather and we heed help and prayers to dispense these clouds. When we look for symbols of hope I find that when I reflect on past and happy memories, reflecting on joy and happiness and these moments start a flood to the brain and pouring us into the now and healing us for the future. For many of us we go to quiet places, places within our heart where your hope and dreams can wander. A new beginning is always quietly forming, waiting until your hopes are ready to emerge, where hope becomes dreams.

Continue to bless and power healing to all who need it and especially those whose minds are heavy laden. Be mindful. Be caring and wear your smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 256

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 36 of our new lock down. Today I would like to talk to you about reality and something I saw on TV last night. I’m a celebrity get me out of me where people do all kinds of madness with animals, insects etc. and think it is great fun in the middle of a pandemic where people are all struggling to survive. What is wrong with doing a programme about ordinary people, living ordinary lives on an ordinary island? We are extraordinary people doing what we always did in a meaningful, ordinary way. I don’t believe I am a stuck in the mud here but I think and believe and know what it means to be Irish, a people of the land and living in the now. Here’s a thought - if our soul could have known God without and before the world, the world we know today would never have been created for our benefit and enjoyment. Continue to pray, bless and power healing to each other and wear your Thursday smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 255

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 35 of our new lock down. Yesterday I spoke to you about pain and today I am going to talk to you about family circumstances and employment particularly because of Covid19 and its fallout and the reason that I am talking to you about this today is because many of my calls are about this. People in the workplace are living in very different, uncertain times. They are worried about finances, mortgages, creches, children and many more worries that are part and parcel of every day living and at the same time we must all endeavour to survive out there in the midst of this deadly virus. There is a huge level of responsibility on the employer and the employee to cooperate in a mindful and responsible manner and never dwell on one sided certainties that are driven by false ambition or desire and when all this is over we can look into our hearts with eyes of kindness and generosity. All our spirits will reawaken and will awaken to adventure where we hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk fueled by our renowned work ethic and soon we will return home in a new rhythm because your soul senses the new and wonderful world that awaits us all. So continue with the prayers. Continue to bless and power healing to all who need it and especially those whose minds are heavy laden. Be mindful. Be caring and wear your healing smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 254

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 34 of our new lock down.  This morning I am going to speak to you about pain. It is said and well recognised and accepted that the wounded healer is the true healer. People who cannot acknowledge or accept their own pains and wounds cannot heal or be healed. I ask you all every day to send power healing to those who need it and the reason I am making this request is that every day people are asking me to pray, bless and heal them and because they know it is working for people they know. Pain strengthens us, pushes us to grow and develop and we can only be healers to each other if we have shared the experience of pain. We can only be present in anothers suffering and sorrow if we have first acknowledged and embraced our own pain. So today, open your hearts to anyone you know in pain, whatever the type and power healing to them and smile on them also – you will be rewarded.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 253

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 33 of our new lock down. Another Monday and the start of another week. Over the weekend we had some great fun and memories with the grandchildren and their love at such a young age for animals and how the animals on the farm bring me such joy but also bring joy to my grandchildren and also my own children over the years. The amazing fact to appreciate is that all animals have a very relaxing effect on young people and people of all ages. I always say that animals, especially wild animals like deer and wild boar, know this world in a way we never will. As human beings we struggle daily to be where we are whereas they are always gazing at us from the here and now in their casual and relaxed manner. Our big wish and ambition in this life is to feel the earth beneath us and breaking with us. May we learn to walk upon this earth with confidence and clear eyed stillness so that our minds are baptized in the name of the wind and the light of the rain. Continue to pray, bless and power healing to all and wear your Monday smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 252

Good morning and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm and gardens on day 32 of our new lock down. Sunday as you all know at this stage is a day of rest for The Mindful Farmer especially this afternoon when the main chores on the farm are done. The mornings are dark now and I cannot go into the gardens until day break and at that stage after my 5 minutes of meditation I open one of my prayer books on my Sunday morning page and there I have an amazing picture of a red breasted robin high on an outcrop of an island setting and the caption is “start each day with a song”. Now my singing at any time wouldn’t be great but the thought of us starting a new day with music in our hearts is a beautiful symbol. So today, sing yourself a song of warmth and healing for your body, soul and heart. Very soon now I will have the grandchildren helping me with the morning feed, another song for my heart. There are signs everywhere for us to be happy, just look around you and especially on this Sunday. Continue to pray, bless and power healing to all who need it and wear your Sunday best smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 251

Welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 31 of our new lock down. We all get a sense of relaxation at the weekend and this weekend I am really happy to have the grandchildren with me on the farm and I can’t help thinking how fortunate and blessed I am to have this land to walk every day and enjoy and share with all who care and who I care for. We should thank the earth for what it offers. It offers us ground for home and to hold our feet firm and to walk in open places. We should salute the silence of Mother Earth, the certainty of the mountains as we look up at them, the wonders of our gardens here at Ballinwillin, but above all the humility that the earth offers. Through her kindness and understanding she prepares to receive us in our worn out form into our final stillness and in doing so ask her for forgiveness for the sins against her and when my children and grandchildren read these blogs in time I hope and trust they will love and understand more than we do about our Mother Earth. Continue to pray, bless and power healing to all and wear your smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 250

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 30 of our new lock down. This morning I am thinking about the visit of our two grandchildren again for the weekend and even though JJ is only 1.5 years old and Ada is only 2.5 years old they have already picked out their favourite animals on the farm. JJ loves a young wild boar and Marley the golden retriever and our Big Stag in the front paddock and he tries to imitate his roar and Ada loves a very friendly female deer she calls Mary Ann and her son Peter and they both visit them as often as they can when they are here and sometimes are only back in the house when they want to see them again. It is wonderful to see children loving and appreciating animals. It gives them roots and the basics of life, understanding of human nature, love, and above all wonderful memories which they will store away in their memory store rooms for life and can revisit whenever and wherever they are in the world. I believe memories are like diamonds with the sun flickering on them and with our memories we should never be lonely. We should all watch ourselves closely so that we never forget the beauty our eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. That is why I have shared such memories with my children and to pass on further now to my grandchildren and their children after them. It fills me with great happiness. Pass on some happiness today and this weekend to those who you meet, share memories with them and continue to pray, bless and power healing to all and wear your smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 249

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 29 of our new lock down. Another Thursday and another opportunity to read The Farmers Journal when the days work is done and all our Neighbour food markets from Limerick to Galway have been delivered. I really enjoy meeting the hosts and the wonderful farmers and people who also supply these markets. This is a wonderful initiative during this pandemic and we would be lost without them. We all have our favourite moments, our favourite places, our favourite pastimes and we look forward to them and it helps us all to get away from the hustle and bustle of normal life. It is important for us all to remember what we like and to embrace it. Especially during this pandemic. I also, during this pandemic, reflect on the rural part of West Limerick where I was born and reared – it helps me remember where I come from and it also helps me know where I am going. We must all remember our history especially during times of oppression and hardship. Remembering is about our appreciation for the past. It also helps us to live more fully in the present and to lead us into the future and into our immediate future now as we lead out of this lock down and into the Spirit of Christmas. It is what we do during these times and how we behave and what example we lead by is how we will be remembered and what help and healing we give to people by continuing to pray, bless and power healing to all who need it and wear your smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 248

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 28 of our new lock down. Yesterday was a very busy day as the number of people contacting The Mindful Farmer is on the increase every day. People to join at RetrEat, people seeking help on the phone line and I am very happy to deal with all and especially during this pandemic. Peoples lives have been interrupted, cut off at all ages but all people have the right to live with integrity and dignity. How do we do it? I believe we have to live from our inner strength and wisdom and enduring Irishness guided by our spirit which is a force stronger than ourselves, a force that calls forth the best in us and inspires us and the most important point to remember is that “force” is not just in some of us, it is in everyone. There is a lovely line in a song called “the rose” – just beneath the bitter snow lies the seed that with the suns love in the spring becomes the rose. What a beautiful message this is indeed and if you really want to feel amazing for the rest of this day, week and month, listen to Bette Middler singing this song.

Continue to pray, bless and send healing to all and wear your smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 247

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 27 of our new lock down. This morning when I was out feeding my deer, an adult female (hind) pushed her nose into my side and then into the pouch in my coat pocket. I was preparing to serve her and the others their breakfast, but not quickly enough she thought obviously. She was giving me a clear message. First that she trusted me and we were friends but also that I needed to hurry up. With situations like this on the farm it is important to notice and be alert to the beauty with us and around us. It is important to witness and feel the magic of nature, its animals. We must be fully alive otherwise synicism can replace our sense of surprise and Mother Nature would not forgive us because she has given us eyes to see, saying “come see me”, ears to hear “come hear me” and then let your soul live. Continue to pray, bless and send healing to all and wear your smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 246

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 26 of our new lock down. It is Monday again, the beginning of another great and positive week. Yesterday to relax in the afternoon I planted some daffodil bulbs. I find gardening relaxing and a lovely way to spend an hour. I also walked the thinking path and the 3 gardens of mindfulness, meditation and forgiveness and really enjoyed a restful day which has set me up for a calm start to a new week. When I walk the thinking path I fend all my messages very reflective and healing. I find words of wisdom always inspire and comfort me on my journey through life and gently guides me through the day and week, months and years. I also find the deep silence of Sundays bring me a feeling of peace, solace, contentment and serenity. So today go to a quiet place and set yourself up for the day and the week. Continue to pray, bless and send healing to all you know and wear your smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 245

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 25 of our new lock down. It is another Sunday morning, always a great day at Ballinwillin. I believe Sunday gives us more grace to pray, meditate and more time to be ourselves and during these times of being ourselves we have more time to give to others and in that line of subject I am receiving a lot of contact in varying forms from people suffering pain, both mental and physical and I feel it my duty to help as much as I can by praying with these people and sending energy to them. Whatever the difficulties we experience in life they can also be a source of spiritual growth. Not all people can view it this way or realise that pain perceived and understood can have the power to transform our lives. How about this? If we met one trouble, pain and our heartache as we would greet a special visitor bearing wrapped gifts, would we unwrap the gift? Never, ever forget that “to become what we are and to become what we are capable of becoming is the Holy truth in life.” Continue to pray, bless and heal each other. Be mindful, be caring and continue to wear your Sunday smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 244

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 24 of our new lock down. I love the early morning time and I remember as a child my father calling me, usually around 4am, to help him with jobs around the farm, milking the cows, feeding the calves, the cocks crowing, the hens and geese cackling, the ducks bobbing around at the back of the house and I believe this is why I still love the early morning time. To enter our memories we need time and solitude to ask ourselves what treasures are hidden in our memories and most importantly we need to listen to what comes. The space between events in our life is where most of life is lived. The magic moments, the fantastic people, joy and sadness, all experiences from the fabric of who we are, people of the earth, people of the clay, a proud, spiritual and strong island people. Today is a day to feel proud of who we are and what we have achieved so stand up and take that bow proudly. Continue to pray, bless and send healing to each other and wear your smile. Spread the healing and make it FELT.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 243

Good morning everyone and welcome once again to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 22 of our new lock down. This morning I walked down the yard and passed through the courtyard building and I looked up at the darkness of the entire building, which in normal times would be lit up inside and out and all bustle. I sat for a little while and reminisced on how much I am missing our guests at Ballinwillin House and what we have to look forward to once lock down is over. This morning I have for company Marley and Foley, my two loyal followers and helpers, our two beautiful dogs. I also have for company my many deer, wild boar and goats and I know I am blessed to have these animals to work with on a daily basis and I do know that I live in a place of peace and energy and this morning I am happy to sit here for a while and breathe in all that energises me. I also am very aware that there is a very special and divine energy coming from this beautiful piece of earth and no matter where I travel to I always allow my thoughts of the farm and place to heal me no matter how grey life can go at times and as I was saying yesterday – it takes very little to make a happy life.

Continue to pray, bless and send healing to all and wear your beautiful smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 242

Good morning everyone and welcome once again to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 22 of our new lock down. I like Thursdays for the very simple reason, among many others, that I look forward to reading The Farmers Journal, a weekly edition of rural and farming affairs nationwide. It gives me a glance of many issues affecting farming families and I read it from cover to cover every Thursday evening and it is the only paper I purchase regularly. Why? Because it reminds me of my roots, my farming roots and the principles are always the same – look after the basics and you will be fine and by the basics I mean your loved ones, your family, your friends, your loved ones both near and far and even in the distance. Loyalty is a great gift. It is to be treasured and I believe that is the reason as a farmer I love and live by the above mentioned. I was asked recently on a zoom conference what is the key to happiness? I responded immediately – it is at your feet and all around you, it is never in the distance or false. So for today concentrate on all that is near you. It will lead you on a road to great happiness which can be greatly misunderstood by so many. So today, pray for happiness, yours, mine, the country and continue to bless and send healing to each other and wear your beautiful smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 241

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 21 of our new lock down. This morning I am going to talk to you about life at Ballinwillin House Farm and how I practice mindfulness during Covid19. Well it is quite simple really as I have said many times to you during my blogs. First thing every morning I spend about 5 minutes in meditation and thanksgiving mostly in the garden barefoot and nearly always before dawn and in tandem with the seasons. I find this process sets me up for the day. Then I head off to the fields during spring, summer and autumn and in the winter time I feed the young animals in the sheds until it is bright enough to check and visit all the animals in the fields. During the rest of the day it is general farming and gardening or preparing meat for the various outlets. Then in the evening time when the days work is done I meditate usually for a period of no less than 90 minutes. This is a combination of meditation and prayer for many issues that I have been asked to pray for and also I would spend maybe 20 minutes sending healing to people who have asked for help. I find this part of the day very fulfilling and during my meditation I would speak openly with my spiritual ancestors and friends who are with me always and guiding me. By doing these regular activities I can reclaim any lost minutes of the day and I connect deeply with life and I find it gives me a great zest for life and people and leaves me very happy but it takes practice. So begin a little today and build it up and if you need any help don’t hesitate to send The Mindful Farmer an email. Continue to pray, bless and send healing to all and wear your smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 240

Good morning everyone and welcome once again to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 20 of our new lock down. It was a dark, wet and windy morning here this morning but then shortly after daybreak the sun shone and I thought to myself the light of love is like a morning star which can live in the heart of everyone. To get in touch with the morning star that can light up your heart we need to live in the now. We also need to simplify and empty our minds and transform our inner spiritual nourishment into the strength we need. It really doesn’t matter how we get on this path to the eternal truths that are waiting for us as long as we can take the journey with our star overhead like a lamp to our feet and guiding us along with Mother Earth all ready to welcome us home. Continue to pray, bless and send healing to each other. Be mindful, be thoughtful and wear your smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Dairy Day 239

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 19 of our new lock down. It is Monday again and the beginning of yet another week so it is important to take our 3 minutes at the start of the day to prepare ourselves for a great day ahead and a great week and a fruitful week. We all will have various tasks planned for the day and the week ahead but it is important not to be obsessed with tasks and deadlines and results because if we do we will miss the pleasure and joy along the way during the day. What is important is to be fruitful and to have passion in your daily dealings with all people. Live in the now and be the person you were born to be, a mindful, healing, caring person and continue to pray and send blessings to all you encounter and wear your Monday smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 238

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 18 of our new lock down and another Sunday, another day of rest and thanksgiving. For years going to church every Sunday was a way of life and for years religious and church institutions preached that they had all the answers. But we now know and we now believe that the spiritual way is the way peace, good living and the way of the pilgrim is the way of continuous renewal. Arrogance dies slowly but our way and the way of the pilgrim is the only way to humility and along that journey acknowledging that we have and can be wrong. We can think we are holy and we think that we have the truth, we can think that we are different, we think we have the right to judge others but if we do we are then unconsciously pharasies and we don’t want to be there. Have a lovely, holy and relaxed Sunday and be in the now. Continue to pray, bless and send healing to each other and all you care for and wear your Sunday best smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick