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How To De-Stress, Slow Down And Live During The Spring Of 2020

From 'The Clouds' an ongoing series - Toronto, Canada ©Michael G.O'Brien

At Home The Cloud images above were all made withing 200 yards of my home - it's an ongoing series I've been working on lately. During the stay-at-home directive some of us are working from home, looking after kids or loved ones - some of us have unfamiliar amounts of time at our disposal. Others working at essential services may feel the stress of going out into it every day. Following is my offering of some ways to cope with it all and thrive.

Click on the mandala above to find out more. Mandalas can be used for internal visualization - this can help us see externally as well. Click on mandala above to read about how C.G. Jung used mandalas. Be Home, Connect To What Matters This time is giving my wife Judy and I time to connect or re-connect with what matters most to us - feeling grateful and counting our blessings helps us feel grounded. It can turn the volume down on the striving dial. Jon Kabat-Zinn describes this process, and how healthy it is, as part of mindfulness in his classic Full Catastrophe Living. I've taken part in an 8 week course on his mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) model. Years later those meditation skills I learned still help me through the stressful times - like now. Kabat-Zinn's decades of work paved the way for the current mainstream acceptance of mindfulness meditation as a positive approach to counter -balance stress. Eckhart Tolle's book The Power of Now illustrates this beautifully as well. The mandalas shown left can act as supports for meditation and relaxation.

In this is 90 sec.video - Jon Kabat-Zinn explains what mindfulness meditation is. This explanation is the most concise and accurate I've heard.

Yoga can be simple yet powerful - if you can stand up you can do Mountain Pose - to read more about the pose click on above picture. Try Yoga When practiced correctly, yoga can be beneficial for the body, mind and spirit. It can help manage stress. Yoga has many different levels of practice - this allows all of us a suitable entry point. Since self learning can lead to injuries or bad habits - I strongly recommend taking instruction from a qualified teacher (which I am not). Cathy Mines, director of Reach Yoga and a friend of mine, is an instructor she's currently offering virtual live classes. As a bonus and rare opportunity Cathy also hosts, for free, the Red Table Wisdom Talks - during which Indigenous Elders offer their perspectives and teachings on the times we're in. If you can stand up you can do the Mountain pose - it's simple yet powerful - shown left. N.B. even if you are in exceptional shape, before taking part in a yoga class it's best to speak with your yoga teacher and your M.D. first so you don't start over your head.

Now For Some Photo Stuff

Lattice - ©Michael G.O'Brien Image made with iPhone while walking in my neighbourhood one night. remaining!" City Hall at Night ©Michael G.O'Brien Made at dusk, with DSLR and tripod, in downtown Toronto The Photographer's Toolbox - Inner and Outer The way I see it. the photographer's 'outer' toolbox consists of equipment and technique - while the 'inner' toolbox consists of whatever internal processes support our creativity - things like grit, courage, love, inventiveness and our ability to surrender to the impersonal creative power that moves through each of us. When this surrender happens some describe it as a state of flow or complete absorption in what we are doing - our concerns about the past and future vanish - we are completely present - this is where I want to be when working at my photography or anything else. These are a few of the tools I use and pathways I follow, that me along the creative journey. When we can gather safely I will organize a workshops and some meet-ups to help people work on both inner and outer toolboxes to create a deeper experience of photography. Email me if you're you'd like to talk about this.

Photography and Time: The Ten Years After Assignment In this exercise you are to make a series of photographs that you will not look at for ten years. It's harder than it sounds - if you choose to take this on, it's best to get yourself into the right frame of mind. For instance, don't try to imagine where you'll be in ten years; rather, see this as a way of sending a message to your future self, about where you are and how your life is now. Focus on really looking at things around you that you feel tells your story - again - don't out think this - be spontaneous. Start with items around you that you care about, your bedroom, your home, your neighbourhood and the people or pets dear to you. It's very important to get these pictures printed, (if not now then soon) put then in a box or envelope - date them and store them. Don't look at them for ten years. It's a powerful assignment. You are welcome to email me about it if you want more guidance. 

 Positive Storytelling At Work I found this short, loving, cool, uplifting video about the COVID situation we face. I share it in a spirit of love and respect. Enjoy!

Contact Michael  office 416 778 6521 mobile 647 286 1705 michael@michaelobrienphoto.com  www.michaelobrienphoto.com ‌ ‌ Always Stay Connected