Hello to you, our sweet hive friend! Thank you for joining us in this 2nd week of September. It’s amazzing how quickly the months have flown by, isn’t it? Jazianzza Azzaza Buzzabee and I are delighted to have you with us.
It seems that so much has happened/is happening on every level of our lives. It can all be a bit daunting if we don’t stay seated in our soul, as the yogis would say. Other paths speak of resting in our Buddha nature or living in a state of grace. Some aboriginal people call it Dadirri — a still awareness that allows us to hear the deep spring inside of us. Whatever we call it, every tradition seems to agree: there’s a place of stillness within us, just waiting to be found.
Becoming calm and relaxed takes us to the doorway of that deep, still place within. If we can maintain this state, even for several minutes, we will be able to experience a profound sense of inner peace and support.
Jazianzza knows this stillness intimately — she calls it “truly bee-ing”, rather than just buzzing around mindlessly. In her memoir Bee-Coming Strong, MamaQueenzieBee taught Jazi breath practices and life skills to help her stay grounded, even while she flew about. And given how much anxiety is swirling in the world right now — whether it’s climate change, health, politics, the loss or challenges of loved ones, or something uniquely your own — Jazi wanted to revisit some practical tools to help us all find our way back to that quiet place within.
MamaQueenzieBee, as you may remember, taught Jazi about belly breathing — paying attention to her breath after putting a pollen ball on her belly. She trained her to simply watch her breath as that little pollen ball moved up and down. Jazi suggested that readers could do a similar thing with a toy, a rock, or even their hand. It’s a beautifully calming practice which she has used many times.
There’s another practice that comes from ancient Chinese acupuncture that I wanted to share with you. It’s a marvelous point that can relieve stress, anxiety, panic attacks, and distress of any kind. It’s called the Sea of Tranquility and can be found in the center of the sternum. You can place either one or both hands over it and just pay attention to your breath. Alternatively, you can either rub or gently tap the point, or even just hold your finger there as you are having a difficult conversation on the phone, or watching the news, for instance. The Sea of Tranquility is a powerful, ancient, and easy way of releasing anxiety.
In this short video she is rubbing it, but again, we can even just hold it, and we’ll experience an easing of tension. It’s a wonderful thing to teach our children as they navigate their own challenges.
Ok, let’s get back to bees as we leave you today. Remember how a past newsletter talked about bees liking to play? Here’s an adorable, 15-second video showing their curiosity and sense of fun.
And lastly, what else can we do to relieve stress and anxiety? Sleep! 💤💤 Bees are really good at knowing when they’ve had enough…
So please, Jazi and I want you to pay attention to your stress and be proactive about it… Belly breathe, hold the Sea of Tranquility point, and when you need to, sleep!
We wish you a September that brings you unexpected moments of peace, times of attuned and conscious awareness of the peace already residing within, and deep, restful sleep.
“Calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that’s very important for good health.”
— Dalai Lama