The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary 317
Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 27 of our latest lock down. This morning the neighbourhood is cold with the winter freeze but soon we will experience the death of winter and the birth of spring, but also this morning in Ballinwillin we mourn the death and passing of Joe Mulcahy our neighbour, a legend in the music business and a founding member of the famous Maurice Mulcahy Band. A band that gave huge enjoyment to thousands of people worldwide. This morning our prayers are with his family, friends and neighbours. Now destiny calls Joe to a place of music where his trumpet will sound again for all our spiritual enjoyment, where his heart will always remain generous, all heavenly doors will open to his musical light as you now quietly befriend your death and you have no need to fear. You are among your own orchestra in the big band with your pure white suit you are now equal to your destiny and nearer to Earths heart. Rest in peace Joe. Continue 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 386
When you experience a morning like this you can feel the softness of the rain and the air combined and this has the effect of releasing the fragrance of the grass and the trees and the shrubs. You can really feel the freshness of the morning and my heart soars with joy and peace.
Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetEat centre on day 96 of our latest lock down. It is a beautiful soft morning here this morning at Ballinwillin House and what I mean by a soft morning for those of you that are too young to know, it is a morning where the rain is falling in a kind of mist and yet the temperature is quite pleasant. When you experience a morning like this you can feel the softness of the rain and the air combined and this has the effect of releasing the fragrance of the grass and the trees and the shrubs. You can really feel the freshness of the morning and my heart soars with joy and peace. Have a lovely morning and day out there and be mindful and be caring. Send prayers, blessings and healing to all who need it and wear your smile.
The Mindful Farmer
Patrick
The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 385
There is a quiet, peace and joy at Ballinwillin House this morning and you can almost grasp it and as I sit here in the peace of this Sunday morning I rest for a while. I leave work till tomorrow and when I am alone with myself I am seldom weary in this beautiful place. I can live joyfully without desire and there is a great and beautiful happiness in not wanting, in not being something, in not going anywhere.
Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetEat centre on day 95 of our latest lock down. Well it is another beautiful Sunday morning and everywhere and everything is beginning to look at its best just look at these beautiful shrubs and trees. There is a quiet, peace and joy at Ballinwillin House this morning and you can almost grasp it and as I sit here in the peace of this Sunday morning I rest for a while. I leave work till tomorrow and when I am alone with myself I am seldom weary in this beautiful place. I can live joyfully without desire and there is a great and beautiful happiness in not wanting, in not being something, in not going anywhere. Today on this beautiful Sunday I sit here alone and gaze at the splendid beauty all around us. Continue to pray, bless and power healing to those who need it and continue to wear your Sunday smile.
The Mindful Farmer
Patrick
The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 384
There are four seasons within the clay heart of ours. One of the most beautiful transitions on nature is the transition from winter to spring. It is said by the ancestors that when one flower blossoms it is spring everywhere. It is as if there is a quivering life about to burst forth in nature, it is a great time of exuberance and hope.
Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 94 of our latest lock down. On this beautiful Saturday morning I am going to talk to you about the springtime season of the heart. There are four seasons within the clay heart of ours. One of the most beautiful transitions on nature is the transition from winter to spring. It is said by the ancestors that when one flower blossoms it is spring everywhere. It is as if there is a quivering life about to burst forth in nature, it is a great time of exuberance and hope. It is a youthful season. Springtime in our soul forms a rhythm and energy that lights up your own clay home that is the body. It can be beautiful, hopeful and strengthening and can make the difficulties of life move very naturally in an unforced and spontaneous way. If we follow the form of nature in life it will guide us to a very fruitful harvest in our life and a golden springtime. Continue 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 383
Last evening was a beautiful evening here at Ballinwillin House and as I ambled through the thinking path I could hear the whispers of the pink boughs as they nodded together and against each other, the daffodils were in full glow nodding also. The cornelias and the rhod's were fully opened by the love of the evening sun and I thought to myself that all of this is a miracle and this miracle of nature has the capacity to nourish and heal us once we are awake to it.
Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetEat centre on day 93 of our latest lock down. Last evening was a beautiful evening here at Ballinwillin House and as I ambled through the thinking path I could hear the whispers of the pink boughs as they nodded together and against each other, the daffodils were in full glow nodding also. The cornelias and the rhod's were fully opened by the love of the evening sun and I thought to myself that all of this is a miracle and this miracle of nature has the capacity to nourish and heal us once we are awake to it. That is the big question for all of us. Are we there for them or are we busy running around? Is our mind caught up in endless planning and worrying as if all these miracles and wonders don't exist. And now it is all there again in the morning within the gift of a new day. Simply breathe it in and all will be ok. Today with all its beauty and complexity is all we have. Continue 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 382
When and where you are understood you are really at home and it is a saying I always heard from my Mother in West Limerick "home is where the heart is". Understanding shines a light into the individuality of all our souls and it signifies identity and destiny. It is the light that brings everyone and everything to growth.
Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 92 of our latest lock down. Today The Mindful Farmer is all about understanding. In everyone's life there is a heartfelt need for understanding without mask or pretention where you can be who you really are. Love allows understanding to dawn and this is very precious. Understanding nourishes belonging. When you feel totally understood you feel an inner freedom to release yourself into another person's soul and that is the most wonderful shelter you can ever experience. When and where you are understood you are really at home and it is a saying I always heard from my Mother in West Limerick "home is where the heart is". Understanding shines a light into the individuality of all our souls and it signifies identity and destiny. It is the light that brings everyone and everything to growth. Start today and let your understanding glow and set all around alight. Continue to pray for an end to this pandemic and for our people and our country and the world. Power healing to all who need it and wear your Thursday smile.
The Mindful Farmer
Patrick
The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 381
"May the nourishment of the earth be yours. May the clarity of light be yours. May the fluency of the ocean be yours and may the protection of your ancestors be yours."
Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 91 of our latest lock down. To be ourselves is the most wonderful feeling and achievement any human being can achieve. Furthermore, when we realise our capacity to be ourselves can be the work of a lifetime and when we think about this carefully and mindfully it is something we can do very well and that nobody else can do for us. When we think about our ancestors, they didn't live according to our modern, implicit psychology but they had implicit intuition and a great wisdom about the deeper rhythms of human belonging, vulnerability, growth and diminishment. I will finish today with a piece from the great author John O'Donoghue which explains implicitly to me about being ourselves. "May the nourishment of the earth be yours. May the clarity of light be yours. May the fluency of the ocean be yours and may the protection of your ancestors be yours." Continue to pray, bless and power healing to all who need it and wear your smile with true joy.
The Mindful Farmer
Patrick
The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 380
It is up to each and every one of us to be kind, gracious and helpful to each other, both in families and communities, and to reach out with loving and helpful hands to heal the wounds of this pandemic and draw us in new directions of happiness and refreshment to enable us all to come alive to all that is eternal within us.
Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 89 of our latest lock down. Every day and every hour all over all avenues of media we are being bombarded with news of Covid19, vaccines and how they are going to combat the virus and sure, they will have a huge part to play, but very few are referring to the fact that prayer will have a huge impact and more interestingly our own catholic church and hierarchy seem to be very quiet on this fact. For us as a family and practicing catholics what has been most disappointing for us is the lack of involvement, especially locally by the clergy. In my view they should be out there in the streets, on the roadways and rural areas, blessing, healing and supporting their parishioners, in a careful and socially distanced way of course. So having said all that, it is up to each and every one of us to be kind, gracious and helpful to each other, both in families and communities, and to reach out with loving and helpful hands to heal the wounds of this pandemic and draw us in new directions of happiness and refreshment to enable us all to come alive to all that is eternal within us. Continue 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 379
Nowadays our lives are full of glitz and fast movement to nowhere. It sometimes feels like we are living in a parched desert with an abundance of water nearby only to find the tap to turn it on. Our present day culture is full of glass and pace on the outside whereas within we are often haunted and lost. We have fallen out of belonging.
Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 89 of our latest lock down. I was listening to the Brendan O'Connor radio show over the weekend and he was speaking with Dr. Mary Horgan re covid vaccinations and she made a very sound statement, in my book anyway, that we should all go back to living how we did in the 70's and 80's when we were grateful for everything we had and more at peace with ourselves as people than we are now. Nowadays our lives are full of glitz and fast movement to nowhere. It sometimes feels like we are living in a parched desert with an abundance of water nearby only to find the tap to turn it on. Our present day culture is full of glass and pace on the outside whereas within we are often haunted and lost. We have fallen out of belonging. We need to make a stand now before the crucial and critical thresholds in our lives to protect the lives of others. Continue to pray, bless and power healing to all who need it. Feel the peace of life and listen to the clock ticking in the background. Have a wonderful, mindful Monday. Be caring, be mindful and wear your smile.
The Mindful Farmer
Patrick
The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 378
It is another Sunday and another opportunity for us all to be grateful for the gift of a new day, the choice to enjoy it and be grateful and give gratitude and praise. Gratitude is a powerful process for shifting your energy and bringing more of what you want into your life.
Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 88 of our latest lock down. It is another Sunday and another opportunity for us all to be grateful for the gift of a new day, the choice to enjoy it and be grateful and give gratitude and praise. Gratitude is a powerful process for shifting your energy and bringing more of what you want into your life. Be grateful for what you already have and you will attract more good things into your life so with these thoughts in your mind today have a lovely, relaxing, mindful and peaceful Sunday and wear your smile.
The Mindful Farmer
Patrick
The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 377
This morning I am going to follow the advice of Dr. Edith Eger and I do something similar every morning. First thing I go to the mirror and look at myself with kind and loving eyes and say "I am mindful, I am powerful, I am kind, I am a person of strength" then kiss myself on the back of each hand.
Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 87 of our latest lock down. This morning I am going to follow the advice of Dr. Edith Eger and I do something similar every morning. First thing I go to the mirror and look at myself with kind and loving eyes and say "I am mindful, I am powerful, I am kind, I am a person of strength" then kiss myself on the back of each hand. I then smile into the mirror and say "I love you" and not in a vain way but in a real way. It will free you up from guilt, neglect, free you from yesterdays baggage and mistakes. When you pay loving attention to yourself and others you will grow stronger day by day. Continue to pray for your inner strength and power healing and blessings to all who need it and wear your smile.
The Mindful Farmer
Patrick
The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 376
It is so wonderful at this time of year to be so close to nature. We have bright early mornings filled with bird song, we have the golden daffodils nodding their understanding heads and then we get to smell spring. From my early childhood days I could always smell spring and this time of year gives me a clearer understanding of the flock of colours that are bursting towards us and come to awaken in us a delight of sight.
Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 86 of our latest lock down. It is so wonderful at this time of year to be so close to nature. We have bright early mornings filled with bird song, we have the golden daffodils nodding their understanding heads and then we get to smell spring. From my early childhood days I could always smell spring and this time of year gives me a clearer understanding of the flock of colours that are bursting towards us and come to awaken in us a delight of sight. As I scan across the meadow grasses may this clarity of light be always in our vision and the nourishment of this beautiful and wonderful earth be present by our side to guide us safely home. Continue to pray, bless and power healing to all who need it and wear your Monday smile.
The Mindful Farmer
Patrick
The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 375
Many of us are aware that the most damaging prison is in our mind but we must realise the key is in our pocket and the gift of our new day gives us the choice to be who we are really meant to be. Most of us know these facts and most of us just need a little encouragement to turn that key
Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 85 of our latest lock down. When I awake every morning I give thanks for the gift of a new day and the freedom to choose what I want to do with the day. The very foundation of freedom is the power to choose. Freedom is a lifetime practice, a choice we get to make again and again each day. What is very important in all our lives is that we don't get to choose what happens to us in our lives but we do however get to choose how we respond to our experiences. Many of us are aware that the most damaging prison is in our mind but we must realise the key is in our pocket and the gift of our new day gives us the choice to be who we are really meant to be. Most of us know these facts and most of us just need a little encouragement to turn that key, and if you don't want to take the advice of The Mindful Farmer why not read Dr. Edith Eger's books The Gift and The Choice. It will have a profound influence on how you look at your daily life - "your daily gift". Continue 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 374
Home is a place of shelter and love. It is like a nest where intimacy and belonging foster identity and individuality. It also houses the mind, body and spirit. If we are to be who we are meant to be we need to be home. When a place to belong is assured the adventure of growth can begin with great promise.
Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 84 of our latest lock down. This morning I am going to talk to you about the value of home and how every family should have a right to their home and for many reasons. Many of us have travelled and walked away from home in foreign lands and always long for home even when we are away from home for just a short spell. We always say on return "there is no place like home" and it is true. Home is a place of shelter and love. It is like a nest where intimacy and belonging foster identity and individuality. It also houses the mind, body and spirit. If we are to be who we are meant to be we need to be home. When a place to belong is assured the adventure of growth can begin with great promise. I will finish with one of the sweetest words in any language - "there is no place like home" we have heard it many times but do we really value it? Continue 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 373
This whole area is marked by millions of years of wind and rain. When you are here you feel like you know the wind for millions of years even before a human face ever felt it. When I walk these lands I feel we are never as alone as it might seem. I feel an energy that promises initiative and creativity. As I walk here this morning I feel a warmth of place that wraps around me like a cloak to mind me for my life.
Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 83 of our latest lock down. This morning as I ambled my way through the fields at Ballinwillin House I faced towards the impressive block of mountains known at the Galtees. This morning they were wreathed in a blue tuscan light and with distance they seem like they are huge dark ships on a distant voyage. From time to time and as often as I can I love to walk up into these vast, cold structures that are cluttered with green pines that shelter wild birds and deer. This whole area is marked by millions of years of wind and rain. When you are here you feel like you know the wind for millions of years even before a human face ever felt it. When I walk these lands I feel we are never as alone as it might seem. I feel an energy that promises initiative and creativity. As I walk here this morning I feel a warmth of place that wraps around me like a cloak to mind me for my life. Continue to pray, bless and power healing and continue to wear your Tuesday smile.
The Mindful Farmer
Patrick
The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 372
“Time to be alone” except you won’t be alone. Creation and nature will be with you also your spiritual ancestors and God will be at your side but that won’t intrude unless they are invited.
Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 82 of our latest lock down. Well it’s Monday morning and the beginning of another week. I could not help but notice this morning as I walked around the Bed and Breakfast yard how quiet and eerie it was. At Ballinwillin we always loved and enjoyed the company of our guests from all over the world and yet both guests and myself always found time to relax, wind down and even meditate in the gardens. “Time to be alone” except you won’t be alone. Creation and nature will be with you also your spiritual ancestors and God will be at your side but that won’t intrude unless they are invited. Continue to pray, bless and power healing to all who need it and wear your Monday smile.
The Mindful Farmer
Patrick
The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 371
Spring, bright, sunny mornings bring us all hope and hope is daring and courageous and it always has the audacity to reach a hand into darkness and come out with a handful of light and isn’t that a lovely thought for us all on this beautiful Sunday and may we all feel the rush of spring light and growth spread slowly inside us and may we find the colour and stillness of Mother Earth.
Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 81 of our latest lock down. It is Sunday morning here again and a beautiful morning it is indeed and we will begin our tour of the gardens this morning – something we could not really do in the winter months but now that the garden is wakening up and some plants and flowers are beginning to express themselves we can. Also we will be visiting some animals on the farm. Spring, bright, sunny mornings bring us all hope and hope is daring and courageous and it always has the audacity to reach a hand into darkness and come out with a handful of light and isn’t that a lovely thought for us all on this beautiful Sunday and may we all feel the rush of spring light and growth spread slowly inside us and may we find the colour and stillness of Mother Earth. 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 370
We all need to get out of our own way to see what is around us and to see into the hearts of others and we all know there is many ways of seeing things and my view is to see inside the whole of them and as our breath awakens to the light and colour of the artist and poet may the dawn anoint our eyes with the wisdom and wonder to inhale it all.
Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 80 of our latest lock down. Last evening a beautiful piece of art was shown to me and it was by a very dear friend of mine and it brought to my mind the beauty that was inside this person and indeed is inside all of us if we care to look for it. But it is not only artists and poets need to cultivate the ability we see. We all need to get out of our own way to see what is around us and to see into the hearts of others and we all know there is many ways of seeing things and my view is to see inside the whole of them and as our breath awakens to the light and colour of the artist and poet may the dawn anoint our eyes with the wisdom and wonder to inhale it all. Continue 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 369
We must remember to listen. When a great moment knocks on the door of your life its sound is often no louder than the beating of your heart and it is very easy to miss it. In order to live a truly conscious life we need to constantly refine our listening.
Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre on day 79 of our latest lock down. The Mindful Farmer is delighted to be at large again and looking at this beautiful spring morning with and through the eyes of a child. Spring sparks an openness to change in all of us. New life is happening everywhere as I have often said I can smell spring and then a new awakening stirs up in us, potential to change and potential to grow. Our horizons are broadened and we can believe in the future which in turn will bring all kinds of surprises as long as we leave the space for new things to emerge. We must remember to listen. When a great moment knocks on the door of your life its sound is often no louder than the beating of your heart and it is very easy to miss it. In order to live a truly conscious life we need to constantly refine our listening. We need to pray and send healing and blessings to all who need it and don’t forget to wear your listening smile.
The Mindful Farmer
Patrick
The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 368
We are distracted from being who we are really meant to be. We need to go to a space of natural awareness. This is a sacred space where we can learn to rest in freedom and when we access natural awareness we feel a beautiful sense of compassion, kindness, interconnection, joy and radiance and just think how these qualities will impact all whom you meet.
Good morning everyone and welcome once more to my daily blog again from my window of wonder at the Galway clinic. When you are shut away like I have been for the last 96 hours, even among all the procedures in hospital, you have plenty of time to think and even relax in pain, if you can understand me. This type of relaxation brings about a natural awareness which can be the opposite to the busy past life that I have lived even though I would spend at least 90 minutes meditating and praying daily. In our so called modern world most of us are lost in our ordinary minds. We are all caught up in the drama, we are lost in habitual reactivity, anxiety, irritation or sadness. We work in auto pilot and just go through the motions of life and missing out on much of our lives and that of our family and friends. We are distracted from being who we are really meant to be. We need to go to a space of natural awareness. This is a sacred space where we can learn to rest in freedom and when we access natural awareness we feel a beautiful sense of compassion, kindness, interconnection, joy and radiance and just think how these qualities will impact all whom you meet. Continue 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 367
Waiting quietly allows me to listen to my own strengths and depths and enables me to hear Gods spirit within me and leading me to discover more about discovering my inner self and the important aspects of life. This waiting and this time can be tough, even heartbreaking for me and my family but out of all this darkness, slowly but surely comes the light, a bright red Connemara sunset light.
Good morning everyone and welcome to my room in The Galway clinic, not the ideal St. Patricks Day venue but I am going to make the best of it while I wait patiently between procedures. I must be still. I must be quiet and face what is in front of me and what is inside me. Waiting quietly allows me to listen to my own strengths and depths and enables me to hear Gods spirit within me and leading me to discover more about discovering my inner self and the important aspects of life. This waiting and this time can be tough, even heartbreaking for me and my family but out of all this darkness, slowly but surely comes the light, a bright red Connemara sunset light. I can wait quietly until the sea calms and may the wild flowers that I see from my hospital window whisper their wishes into the beautiful and inspiring light. Continue to pray, bless and power healing to all who need it and wear your St. Patricks Day smile.
The Mindful Farmer
Patrick