This is Life

Wherever You Go, the Mind Comes Too: When Everyday Life Becomes the Practice

Even in the stillness of a remote gompa in Mustang, Nepal, everyday life finds its way in. In this episode of The Himalayan Diary, Borghild reflects on what happens when the mind begins to speed up again after a period of stillness. Messages from home, practical decisions, travel questions, and unresolved things in Norway start to enter the retreat. And with that comes the familiar movement of the mind; planning, worrying, anticipating, trying to create certainty before anything is clear. From the butter lamp that will not stay lit, to the mice in the night, the cold mornings, the hardened ghee, and the question of when to book a flight home, Borghild explores how ordinary moments reveal the mind more clearly than we expect. This episode is a reflection on mindfulness in everyday life, and how it is not separate from practical things, not reserved for meditation or silence, but present in how we notice our reactions, return to the body, and meet what is actually here. The landscape of Mustang becomes a mirror. The prayer flag moves in the wind, the mountains remain still, the body asks for warmth, and a visit to the nearby nunnery brings tea, kindness, and simple human connection. Again and again, the practice is returning — to the breath, the body, and the life that is here. IN THIS EPISODE WE EXPLORE * When the mind starts to speed up * Everyday life as the practice * The body as a truth-teller * The butter lamp and the tiny reaction * The prayer flag and the moving mind * Returning to what is here LISTEN > A companion for walking, resting, travelling, or pausing in the middle of a day. A SIMPLE REFLECTION TO TAKE WITH YOU Wherever you are right now, look around. What do you see? And what does it show you about where you are? A QUOTE TO REMEMBER “Things can move, without me having to move with them.” READ MORE A recent, featured article about Borghild’s journey and connection to Nepal can be read here. [https://english.ratopati.com/story/56599/A%20place%20felt%20by%20the%20heart,%20where%20the%20meaning%20of%20life%20is%20found] IN THE NEXT EPISODE Borghild shares what unfolds when she goes down to the village for milk, and how that meeting opens into a deeper encounter with loss, ritual, and the life unfolding around her. FOLLOW & SHARE If this episode resonates, offers you a breath of relief, a moment of warmth, or a new perspective, please leave a review, follow the show on your favourite platform, and share it with someone who might need it. Every small act of support helps this work reach further. STAY CONNECTED Explore Borghild's work and resources. [https//:borghildbo.com] Follow Borghild on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/borghildbo], TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@borghildboe], and Facebook [%20https:/www.facebook.com/borghildbo.norway/] for more inspiration and updates. NOTE / DISCLAIMER > This podcast is for education and personal growth. It is not therapy or a substitute for professional mental health care.

Openness to Receive: A Sunrise Meditation

On a freezing morning at the gompa in Mustang, Borghild sits with her hands wrapped around a hot pot of porridge, waiting for the first sunlight to reach her skin. Muktinath remains in shadow. The fortress ridge above Jhong village is already lit, and slowly the day begins to arrive in layers. In this episode of The Himalayan Diary, Borghild shares a sunrise mindfulness practice inspired by those first moments of warmth on a winter morning in the Himalayas. It's a gentle invitation to pause, breathe, and be open to receive what is here, just as it is. Through breath, body, sensory awareness, gratitude, and compassion, this episode offers a simple practice to carry into everyday life. A way of returning to warmth, presence and connection with more ease, even in the middle of cold, uncertainty, or inner contraction. IN THIS EPISODE WE EXPLORE A winter sunrise morning at the gompa in Mustang. A guided mindfullness practice for warmth, presence, and receiving what is here in the sun, the breath, the body, memory, gratitude, and simple daily life. The simple gesture of meeting ourselves with more kindness, compassion and forgivness in times of uncertainty, frustration, and fatigue. A simple practice, called the Sunrise Pause, you can return to during the day. LISTEN > A companion while walking, resting, or taking a pause. A SIMPLE CHECK-IN TO TAKE WITH YOU Pause. Feel your feet on the ground. Take one breath in. And as you breathe out, notice any warmth that is here for you. QUOTE TO REMEMBER “The practce is not just in stillness. It's in being open to receive what is here, right now.” MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE The gompa in Mustang, Nepal. Muktinath and Jhong village. Thorong La Pass, Nilgiri, and Dhaulagiri. IN THE NEXT EPISODE Even in silence, the mind does not always become quieter. In the next episode, Borghild reflects on what happened when her mind started spinning into planning, decisions, and trying to get ahead and what it taught her about staying with what life is actually giving right now. Featured Article As part of her journey in Nepal, Borghild was recently featured in an article published in the online magazine called Ratopati, sharing more of the story of her connection with Nepal and what this place has come to mean for her. You can read it here. [https://english.ratopati.com/story/56599/A%20place%20felt%20by%20the%20heart,%20where%20the%20meaning%20of%20life%20is%20found] FOLLOW & SHARE If this episode resonates, offers you a breath of relief, a moment of warmth, or a new perspective, please leave a review, follow the show on your favourite platform, and share it with someone who might need it. Every small act of support helps this work reach further. STAY CONNECTED Explore Borghild's work and resources. [https//:borghildbo.com] Follow Borghild on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/borghildbo], TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@borghildboe], and Facebook [%20https:/www.facebook.com/borghildbo.norway/] for more inspiration and updates. NOTE / DISCLAIMER > This podcast is for education and personal growth. It is not therapy or a substitute for professional mental health care.

The Prayer Flag: Watching the Wind, Remembering the Ground

Outside the gompa in Mustang, a Tibetan prayer flag has become a silent teacher for Borghild. From the kitchen window and out in the sharp morning light, she finds herself returning to it again and again; watching the way it hangs still, lifts, twists, opens, and falls back with the changing wind. In this episode of The Himalayan Diary, Borghild shares a reflective mindfulness practice inspired by the prayer flag and what it reveals about the mind. The wind becomes a way of understanding thought: invisible, yet powerful. We may not see it coming, but we feel its effects. Attention can scatter, tighten, race ahead, or calm again. And through all that movement, there is also a part of us that observes. The part that remains connected to the present moment. Through breath, body, imagery, and simple reflection, we explore how to watch the mind move like the flag without being swept away by every gust, and how to return to the deeper presence that is already here. IN THIS EPISODE WE EXPLORE The prayer flag as teacher Outside the gompa, the prayer flag becomes more than part of the landscape. It becomes a focal point for awareness; revealing movement, stillness, and the shifting rhythm of the mind. Wind, thought, and attention As the flag lifts, twists, and settles, Borghild reflects on how attention is pulled in different directions, how the mind moves, and how awareness helps us return. The pole and the part of us that stays As the flag moves with the gusts, the pole remains. This becomes part of the meditation: a way of recognising that alongside the movement of thought, emotion, and sensation, there is also a deeper part of us that can notice, observe and stay connected. A REFLECTIVE MINDFULNESS PRACTICE Through breath, body, imagery, and guided reflection, this episode offers a simple practice for meeting mental movement with more awareness and for returning, again and again, to what is here. From practice to daily life The prayer flag becomes a living image to carry into the day: a reminder that when urgency takes over or the mind starts to pull, we can pause, observe, and return to the present moment that holds us. LISTEN > A companion while walking, resting, or taking a pause. A SIMPLE REFLECTION TO TAKE WITH YOU This episode offers a few gentle questions to stay with: What is the wind in me right now? What helps me remember the part of me that notices? What is one small anchor I can return to this week? A QUOTE TO REMEMBER “There is also a part of us that observes; the part that remains connected to the present moment.” MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE The prayer flag as a focal point of awareness. Muktinath in Mustang, Nepal. The Himalayas as landscape, teacher, and mirror. IN THE NEXT EPISODE We turn to another image from life at the gompa: the sun. A sunrise reflection on warmth, how to ease into the day, receive, and return to joy on a chilly morning in the Himalayas. FOLLOW & SHARE If this episode resonates, gave you a breath of relief or a new perspective, please leave a review, follow the show on your favourite platform and share it with someone who might need it. Every small act of support helps this work reach further. STAY CONNECTED Explore my work and resources. [https//:borghildbo.com] Follow me on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/borghildbo], TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@borghildboe], and Facebook [%20https:/www.facebook.com/borghildbo.norway/] for more inspiration and updates. NOTE / DISCLAIMER > This podcast is for education and personal growth. It is not therapy or a substitute for professional mental health care.

Tending to the Flame: Winter Rhythm in the Gompa

Today, Borghild steps out of the stillness of the cave and into the everyday rhythm of winter in the gompa. What does it really mean to tend to the flame, not just metaphorically, but physically, emotionally, and spiritually when the conditions are cold, the butter won’t melt, and the smallest acts require full attention? From lighting a stubborn butter lamp to negotiating with bold mountain mice, we explore how presence is cultivated not only in meditation or stillness but in small, persistent acts of care through the ordinary flow of the day. In the middle of cold mornings, small routines, disturbance, and the need to create warmth, attention, patience, and care become the practice. IN THIS EPISODE WE EXPLORE Winter rhythm in the gompa What happens when life slows down and the cold begins to shape the day. Ordinary acts like boiling water, opening doors, and finding warmth become part of the practice. Tending the butter lamp A small ritual becomes something deeper when the butter lamp will not light. In bitter cold, persistence, tenderness and attention turn a simple flame into prayer. Boundaries, mice, and energy leaks The mice are not only a practical problem. They also become a reflection on rest, boundaries, attention and what drains energy through the smallest openings. Sometimes boundaries are not walls, but gestures repeated: a red light, a foam mat, a tin lid, a small act of care. The deeper question: What are we giving our energy to and what helps restore it? The relief of disconnection When the data pack runs out, something unexpected arrives: relief. We reflect on availability, old on-call habits in the nervous system, and the restoration that comes when noise drops away. LISTEN > A companion while walking, resting, or taking a pause. A SIMPLE CHECK-IN TO TAKE WITH YOU This episode offers three grounding questions to return to in the middle of the day: How am I doing? How do I want it to be? What is one small thing I can do today to make it a little better? QUOTE TO REMEMBER “Sometimes the sacred lives in the smallest, simplest things.” MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Vipassana (a 10-day silent meditation retreat) and the experience of deeper silence. Butter lamp (a traditional offering lamp used in Tibetan Buddhist practice). Muktinath (a village in Mustang, Nepal, known for Muktinath Temple, an important pilgrimage site). IN THE NEXT EPISODE We stay with the prayer flag outside the gompa and move into a short reflective mindfullness practice on how to stay rooted without being pulled away by every gust of mind. FOLLOW & SHARE If this episode resonates, gave you a breath of relief or a new perspective, please leave a review, follow the show on your favourite platform and share it with someone who might need it. Every small act of support helps this work reach further. STAY CONNECTED Explore my work and resources. [https//:borghildbo.com] Follow me on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/borghildbo], TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@borghildboe], and Facebook [%20https:/www.facebook.com/borghildbo.norway/] for more inspiration and updates. NOTE / DISCLAIMER > This podcast is for education and personal growth. It is not therapy or a substitute for professional mental health care.

Yesterday’s Grace: Gratitude in the Cave

Today is 2 January 2026. This morning I’m sitting inside the Milarepa cave in Mustang, Nepal, lighting incense, offering a butter lamp, and watching a small flame calming the body and mind. From that silent place, this episode opens into a reflection on grace: the unexpected support that arrived yesterday when food was low, the electricity was out, and I went down to the village simply needing help. What unfolded became a meditation on timing, kindness, and what it means to be truly met. In this episode, I reflect on gratitude as something felt in the body, on receiving what cannot be forced, and on the way gratitude can deepen into compassion. It also includes a gentle flame practice you can return to whenever you need grounding, warmth, or a way back to yourself. IN THIS EPISODE WE EXPLORE Sitting in the cave with a butter lamp: Letting the small flame settle the nervous system and bring attention back to the body. Yesterday’s grace: Food running low, no electricity, and the practical vulnerability of simple mountain life. The village, and the unexpected meeting: A walk for help becomes tea, lunch, milk and vegetables to bring home, and a reminder of how life sometimes meets us. Receiving what you actually need: A reflection on timing, support, and how life sometimes meets us when we stop forcing and we get what we actually need. Gratitude becoming compassion: How warmth can extend beyond our own story toward anyone who feels fragile, under-resourced, or alone. A simple guided reflection with breath, attention, and the image of a flame. LISTEN > A companion while walking, resting, or taking a pause. A PRACTICE TO TAKE WITH YOU You’re invited into a short flame practice on gratitude and compassion you can return to any time: light a candle (if you want), or simply imagine a flame and follow along. You will be guided to: Let yourself arrive in the body. Feel your feet, your weight, and the support beneath you. Rest your attention on the flame without forcing. Breathe with what’s here: joy, sadness, loneliness, gratitude… or nothing at all. Let the flame become a point of steadiness, warmth, and return. A FEW GENTLE PROMPTS FOR JOURNALING What have I received lately that I didn’t plan for? Where in my life am I trying to force timing, and what happens if I soften my grip? What do I need right now, really? A QUESTION TO TAKE WITH YOU Can you let yourself be exactly where you are… for one more breath… and then another? MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Mustang, Nepal: a remote, high-altitude mountain region in the Himalayas. Milarepa’s cave and Rinpoche’s gompa. IN THE NEXT EPISODE In the next episode, we step outside the cave and into the winter rhythm of daily life in the gompa and the moment we leave the sacred space, the practice begins. LISTENING NOTE This is Day 10 of the Himalayan Diary. You can listen in any order and if you want the beginning, start with Day One. COMING LATER When the Himalayan Diary series is complete, the practices and reflections will be gathered into a companion journaling and practice guide to go with the series. FOLLOW & SHARE If this episode resonates, gave you a breath of relief or a new perspective, please leave a review, follow the show on your favourite platform and share it with someone who might need it. Every small act of support helps this work reach further. STAY CONNECTED Explore my work and resources. [https//:borghildbo.com] Follow me on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/borghildbo], TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@borghildboe], and Facebook [https:/www.facebook.com/borghildbo.norway/] for more inspiration and updates. NOTE / DISCLAIMER > This podcast is for education and personal growth. It is not therapy or a substitute for professional mental health care.