A DAILY PAUSE

365 Pauses

365 Pause Practices – Day 5

Posted on January 5, 2022

in Moving in the Pause, The Blog

by Mary Lenihan

Is There a Child or Parent You Could Share Pause With?

A Way to Help a Child Now

Teaching Kids Can Pause to children is a hoot! I am not sure who’s teaching who. A glow of wonder shines on their faces. A parent & school nurse shares, “We read the kids book together and immediately started using the Practice Card when we were on the brink of meltdowns. After a few times, he began to be able to identify ways that he could help himself calm down. He would take a break in his room to pause and come out saying, “I just thought of another way I could think about this.”

Mom says, “We’ve had a wonderful turnaround.”
Jen W. School Nurse & Parent

FREE Download Kids Practice Card

I Can Step Back and My Helpful Self Will Step In.

My Little Me me me me me

Sometimes I can lose it! Pause goes right out the window. How about you? The other day I got upset trying to get someone to understand what he insisted he understood, but that was not how I saw it. Steam coming out of my ears, I paused and My Helpful Self asked me, “Is this how you want to use your energy?” “NO!” I exclaimed. What is really bothering me? My little me reacting instead of pausing is what’s bothering me! If I am willing to be totally honest, I will learn something about my little me- taking things personally for example – and instead, I can ask My Helpful Self in any situation, “What would be truly helpful now?” Now I can let my inner Wisdom guide a wise response. Yay.

PauseForYourHelpfulSelf.org

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365 Pause Practices – Day 4

Posted on January 4, 2022

in Moving in the Pause, The Blog

by Mary Lenihan

Listening in the Pause

Perhaps Silence is the merging of all sound ~ and how Silence heals

Listening is a skill acquired by all those who are willing to listen. What does it mean to listen? Listening is being present. Hear the words being spoken to you and hear the unspoken (Pause yellow book, pg. 33).

Practice Listening Simply ~ Scroll Down

Day 4 – Listening Practice

Pause your mind, be still on the inside. Still body if needed.

Opening to inner Wisdom, saying, “I am willing.”

Allow awareness to shift towards Wisdom’s presence.

Rest with a One-Pointed focus on your inner Wisdom. Listen.

Receive what you hear and follow This Wisdom revealing itself to you.

Inner Wisdom is always Safe, Wise, and Truly Helpful.

Mary’s Pause – Day 4

Watching the James Taylor/Carole King special
Sunday evening, I paused to listen. I found my Self crying and singing, sometimes all at the same
time ~ joy in longing, longing in joy. I
imagine there was infinite pausing in creating that music. Such is why it still lives on today as
present as yesterday. Music that arises out of a pause connects us to our deepest being, our Origin even.

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365 Pause Practices – Day 3

Posted on January 3, 2022

in Moving in the Pause, The Blog

by Lisa Haselhorst

Caught By LOVE

We can fall away from being present to LOVE in any given moment. It seems we ascend into LOVE only to later descend as if further away from where we started. No matter how close to Love we think we are or aren’t, Love is always closer than we think – and closer than our thinking. Love has taken the fall with us. It cannot be of our own efforts that we walk this path. LEAN INTO LOVE. (Pause For Inspiration, page 71)

Mary’s Pause – Day 3

Wounded Utterances

Practicing Pause quiets my mind and I hear to text my brothers to share how grateful I am for our love for one another and for music! And for our parents who taught love in giving love in the simplicities of daily life. Hmm, that must be why I see expressing love as part of daily living – not just for special occasions!

In the pause I can choose to recognize and dismiss thoughts that seek to interfere with Love’s expression. My willingness to express love heals the wounded utterances of the suffering self so I am free to love.

Ask Inner Wisdom how to express LOVE!

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365 Pause Practices – Day 2

Posted on January 2, 2022

in Moving in the Pause, The Blog

by Mary Lenihan

The Best Functioning Mind Is
The Mind At Rest

REST

Rest

Resting is an act of LOVE in you. Relieve this restless self of itself. Receive a replenishing afternoon nap in any true moment – the moment of pause. The best functioning mind is the mind at rest. Let Inner Wisdom rest your restless mind.

Be Well

Mary’s Pause – Day 2

An Unseen Pause

Today I Practiced The Pause to take care of something that I’ve been putting off. I “predicted” in my crowded to-do mind that I didn’t have time to do this thing. Once I MADE THE DECISION TO PAUSE and STEP BACK from thinking I know what the future holds, what I thought would take at least 30′ and be a pain in the butt to boot, took 10′. And, the truly helpful staff persons at both stores ended the calls wishing me a, “You have a good day.” Pausing saves time. Yes, I am laughing now at my put off until ….. mind.

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365 Pause Practices – Day 1

Posted on January 1, 2022

in Moving in the Pause, The Blog

by Mary Lenihan

This Moment Pause

PAUSE is a SIMPLE, PRACTICAL, UNCOMPLICATED PRACTICE for quieting my mind, getting out of my own way, and inviting inner Wisdom into my awareness. I can choose to follow this Helpful Wisdom that I receive to help myself and give help to others ~ IN THE MIDST OF EVERYDAY LIFE. The choice is always mine.

∞

I hope these 365 Pauses encourage you to Practice The Pause & experience your Inner Wisdom wherever you are, whatever you are doing, and whomever you are with. Your own pausing will strengthen your trust in This Truly Helpful Inner Wisdom and Inner Present LOVE that is always safe, always patient, always giving Peace, and always with us.

DAY 1 PAUSE

PAUSE

There is a LOVE that loves me.

No matter what.

Always, Unwavering, Forever.

RECEIVE

With this breath I let This LOVE ~ love me.

With this breath I receive This LOVE.

I receive This Unwavering LOVE.

I let This LOVE ~ love me.

LOVE MYSELF

In this moment what does This LOVE want to share with me? How do I love myself?

LOVE OTHERS

As I truly let This LOVE, love me, I will truly love others.

DOWNLOAD FREE PRACTICE CARD

Patterns of LOVE

Mary’s Pause

Today I pause. I listen not to those passing thoughts and fleeting emotions that may cause pain and suffering. No. I step back. I listen to the patterns of LOVE in me in which I am assured that I am cherished and truly valued, as are ALL OF US.

HAPPY to hear from you: Mary@PauseForInspiration.org

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HAVE FUN!

www.PauseForInspiration.org

Unmasking Your Helpful Self

Posted on April 21, 2020

in Moving in the Pause, The Blog

by Lisa Haselhorst

It is SO hard to remain somewhat sane and productive when every day is the same as the day before. Talk about Groundhog’s Day! It was great fun to watch on the screen but not so fun to experience it in real life. To help get myself through I heard to make masks, so masks I made. I lost count on how many masks I have made and have resigned myself to make more if needed.

Last Friday I stopped by a Post Office that I rarely go to as I was running some errands and it was convenient. I really love this little Post Office – small and efficient! I like that. At the counter, I noticed the clerk, Tiffany, was wearing a thin, flimsy paper mask – the kind that is meant to be worn once and tossed. This particular mask looked like it had seen a day or three, or more. The elastic was stretched, the nose piece was missing but it was covering her nose and mouth and providing some protection. Something is better than nothing…right? Long story short – I was going to deliver a mask to her on the following Monday.

Monday comes and it is just beautiful outside. The weather could not have been more pleasant and I was looking forward to getting out of the house for a spell. My husband decided he would like to take the drive with me and we decide to grab some take-away and have lunch outside somewhere. We drive the twenty minutes to the Post Office to drop off the mask and when we get there we discover a line. GREAT! This is going to take a while, lunch will wait.

So I get my gear on – mask, gloves, glasses – and go to stand in line. Feeling a little rushed for time, I ask the three other people if they would mind if I jumped ahead in line since I just had masks to drop off and was not doing any business. They were all very nice and had no problem with my request. However, when I looked in through the window I noticed that Tiffany was not at the counter and there were three more people inside – one shaking her head that no, I could not jump ahead of her. Okay, now what? Drop the masks with the other clerk – that makes sense. To the back of the line I go and I am content knowing that I am going to be standing in line for a bit. I was fine with the waiting, as I said it was a beautiful day out and my husband was reclining in his seat enjoying the warmth of the sun. After standing in line for about five minutes I heard, “Turn around” inside my head. What? Turn around? Why? Okay, fine, I turn around and there is someone walking up to the back door. Hey! I recognize that lady! So I say loudly, “Tiffany?” and sure as the sun was shining brightly in the sky, Tiffany turns and starts walking toward me! I deliver the masks and head on my way. Easy! I was finished with my errand in five minutes and enjoyed a semi-normal moment with my husband having lunch at an empty neighborhood gazebo.

Your Helpful Self is always present, always guiding. We just need to take to time to listen and follow. Try going with the flow of Your Helpful Self and see where you can save time and ease frustrations in your life. Right now is a great time to Pause For Your Helpful Self!

Lisa H.
Pause Crew Member

An Even Greater Light

Posted on March 24, 2020

in Moving in the Pause, The Blog

by Mary Lenihan

Even in the greatest darkness there is an even greater light. This truly helpful Wisdom came to me years ago. It was truly helpful because it gave me HOPE. Sometimes if we cling to the present moment because it’s so good we fear it might disappear, we miss out on what the “next” present moment has to share. So, we can lose hope because hope is present. While using The Pause Practice, I heard “PAUSE is a Present Hope.” I love that! Rather than hope being a vague wishful thinking, I saw that hope is a clear, certain, current state of being inspiring joy.

I haven’t usually seen myself as a person who practices hope, not real hope anyway. Yes, I might hope something bad didn’t happen, but I’d say that was more like trusting that if I worried enough a good thing might happen. Or I might hope for this or hope for that as if invoking magic which didn’t seem connected to reality and therefore was meaningless and unreliable.

Now, hope is distinctly different for me. Hope is not so much a thought or a feeling. Hope is what comes when I release my worries, fears, desires, anxieties and seeking perfection – this is the “Step Back” move of The Pause Practice, “I am willing to get out of my own way” and then say “Yes” to what is behind the veil of my own way or my self. By “self” I mean self-absorption or as we call it in PAUSE, “the me-character.” The self we humans fall into like an out of sight puddle on a sunny day….whoa, where did that come from!

How can one experience True Hope in these dark times? What I am experiencing is that the stance of “YES” creates hope. Yes, that’s it. When I am willing to get out of my own way, and trust my “Yes” to what is present behind the veil of darkness. Suddenly, I also now have a completely differently experience of what it is to practice trust. I thought I was trusting, but really what I was doing was relying upon my “self” for helpful answers that it does not have access to! I have been trusting that which is untrustworthy – this disconnected, dispirited self. That’s not even trust, that’s clinging. There is a difference. Now as I say “Yes”, I naturally relax into a place of trusting that which truly can be trusted – the greater light even in the appearance of the greatest darkness. Wow, I have dealt with “trust issues” my whole life. Now I see why. I wasn’t truly trusting. I was clinging. True trust is freedom.

Trust is not at all what I imagined trust to be! When I say “Yes” to Light even though I may feel darkness is consuming me or the world, I can begin to experience what it truly is to trust and the joy that comes with trusting “Yes.”

Here’s the bottom line: “YES”IS A PRESENT HOPE. Hmm, I guess that means The Pause Practices are a YES! Even in the greatest darkness there is a Greater Light. Say “Yes.”

Teacher Blazing A Pause Trail To The Moon

Posted on July 10, 2019

in Moving in the Pause, The Blog

by Mary Lenihan

National Outstanding Educator and Project Green Tree Trailblazing Teacher, Kathy Rusert, is blazing a trail teaching students, parents and teachers the practice of “Pause For Your Helpful Self”. Ms. Rusert is using our new book, Kids Can Pause and Parents Too! Get to Know Your Helpful Self and the Kids Can Pause, Parents Can Pause and Teachers Can Pause Practices. We are deeply grateful for Ms. Rusert, retired teacher, who is far from retired! She is putting her Inspired Mind to use in never ending ways and her heart to inspire and expand the minds of the kids, parents and teachers with so many unique approaches is amazing to say the least!

Kathy shares, “With this being the 50th anniversary for the Moon landing, I have been busy teaching NASA workshops (even in Roswell, NM!). PAUSE strategy strengthens teaching folks to step back, be silent, and enjoy the world around us, so I spend about 30 minutes or more teaching a mini-lesson on PAUSE. The library programs this summer are themed around the universe, so kids are also learning to PAUSE with the Apollo programming. I’m also scheduled to do a school workshop for Waldron Public Schools . . . it is a Project Wild Workshop (8 hours) but I plan on about an hour for PAUSE. These will be teachers and administrators.”

She taught workshops in 2017 on the Solar Eclipse for students AND parents. “Not only will the science supporting the eclipse be included, but also sun danger awareness and benefits from the sun’s energy (light/heat/photosynthesis…). The strategy of pausing, step back, aside, and receiving inspiration from this natural event will be taught to reinforce the importance of seeing the “big picture.” AND LOTS MORE!!!

Pause For Inspiration provides our new book for free, as we are able, to schools, community organizations serving children and parents, and proactive individuals who work to get them to people and into places who will make good use of them. Our revised second edition (5,500 free copies of the first edition have already gone out the door ) includes a TEACHERS CAN PAUSE page including the Pause Practice Card specifically created to help teachers in and out of the classroom.

Thank you Kathy Rusert for sharing these pics that OPEN MY HEART and for INSPIRING THE PAUSE CREW and TRAIL BLAZERS EVERYWHERE TO KEEP ON BLAZING! (Your Helpful Self IS a Trail Blazer in everyday life . . . try the Pause!)

Annual Day of LOVE – Roosevelt High School

Posted on June 19, 2019

in Moving in the Pause, The Blog

by Mary Lenihan

The Mentor Within told me 16 years ago, “Speak to the crowd.” Why sit back? Go forth, be with, share the light and see the light within others. If people won’t come to the LOVE, I am trekking out with LOVE to Love the people! LOVE? What’s that? LOVE is saying “Yes” to the JOY intrinsically available in the moment. Roosevelt High School invited PAUSE to participate in the LOVE! Laughter, playfulness, community, conversation, fun and good old hanging out! Gotta love it.

An unusually cold May spring day, Lisa, Pause Helper, and I bundled up and met up at Roosevelt High School in the south city of St. Louis, Missouri excited to share the LOVE, and so we did! We got our PAUSE table with the full spread of our free PAUSE PRACTICE materials set-up and ready to go. Initially, we were not getting a crowd of folks around our table, well honestly, no one was coming to our bright, colorful table loaded with free goodies!!! What’s going on????? Hmm. We didn’t bring candy. After 45 minutes, I thought if the people won’t come to the LOVE, LOVE is going to the people.

I loaded up my hands and pockets with the PAUSE and headed out into the crowd. Instead of fretting about no one checking out our Pause table, I took the Pause into my own hands, literally, and moseyed around the open air festivities. The teachers and students were very inquisitive about Pause and totally willing to receive the “Pause For Your Helpful Self” Practice cards and books. Our conversations were down to earth and mutually educational and inspiring.

One teen immediately rejected the Pause materials because she said she has tried everything and nothing works. She has meditated, read books . . . As I listened to her, she shared that she dealt with depression and anxiety and nothing was helping. I began to share my story with her and she listened intently and began to smile. Now arm in arm we waltzed – well kind of – over to the Pause table. She picked up the Pause yellow book, perused inside and thrillingly asked, “I can have this?” “Yes, it’s yours for free,” Lisa replied. Her smile and alive energy were contagious. We took a fun photo together (not shown) after she insisted she was too ugly to be in a photo; and this young girl was astoundingly beautiful inside and out … she glowed from within. I will always remember her because of the LOVE that brought us together.

Initially that day I wasn’t sure why I was present at this event, but after being with this young girl I heard within, “Mary, you were there to be with her.” Sometimes we are just supposed to show up!

Youth In Need Educators Learn Pause Dance To Share With Families

Posted on April 8, 2019

in Moving in the Pause, The Blog

by Mary Lenihan

Up on their feet rockin’ a PAUSE DANCE taught by Eileen Wolfington, Coordinator of Health & Wellness for Kingdom House. Open Minds, Open Hearts as The Pause Crew joins with educators to share the gift of Pause! These teachers work in childcare centers and go into homes to help parents learn how to be teachers for their children. Youth in Need and Pause for Inspiration are a good fit because of our mutual focus on exploring and using both our internal strengths and external resources – one another and the community in which we live. We shared our new book, Kids Can Pause and Parents Too! Get to Know Your Helpful Self.