The Yogabliss on-line Moving into Meditation class met this morning. I look forward to getting together all week long. I think about our practice and especially the joy of sharing faces and stories. This week we explored the paradox of being alone together. Our readings were inspired by Stephen Batchelor’s new book, The Art of Solitude and Terry Tempest Williams’ old book, Finding Beauty in a Broken World. Stephen is a meditation teacher and Buddhist scholar. You can listen to Finding Ease In Aloneness, a lively discussion with Krista Tippett of On Being about the difference between loneliness and intentional solitude that draws us more deeply into life. Terry Tempest Williams is an American writer, educator, conservationist, and activist. You can listen to a deeply moving conversation with Tami Simon of Sounds True. Terry shares about how she found beauty and meaning after personal and world tragedies.
Category Archives: Moving Into Meditation
Transition & Time
The Yogabliss on-line Moving into Meditation class met this morning. What a joy it is to see each other even while framed in little boxes on a screen! Our sharing time always seems too brief: Each story describing how much we rely on each other: loved ones serving as doctors, grand parents caring for grand children and of course everyone separated from family members and friends. Our guided relaxation was inspired by two naturalists: David Abrams’ writing about our inter-relationship with the sensual world and Boyd Varty ‘s personal struggle with the “old anxiety” that surfaced while on a wilderness retreat. They invite us to slow down, look more intimately at our outer and inner worlds. I highly recommend Boyd’s daily podcast in which he describes his sojourn into solitude.
Being Where You Are Right Now
The Yogabliss on-line Moving into Meditation class met this morning. I think when we meet this way we are giving each other a personal gift – we allow ourselves to be seen in the intimacy of our homes. Thank you all for that. In preparing for today’s class reflected on how mindfulness is a practice of intimacy. When I am able to stop and really be with my own body I realize there is so much calling for my attention – often for healing. I stumbled upon a beautiful essay about healing trauma written by author Katherine Robb. Katherine is working on #TheFearGardenProject which she uses to explore small moments in every day life that might foster connection. She posts beautiful imagery and also writes essays about healing and trauma. I found her essay, Listening to the Body as a Guide Through the Trauma of COVID-19, very moving. She describes how many of us carry wounds in our bodies without our mind’s awareness or understanding. She describes her experiences of somatic – body awareness – healing as a way of being true to herself. The work is incremental and slow – very much like mindfulness practice. Continue reading
Being Held & Belonging in Meditation
The Yogabliss on-line Moving into Meditation class met in the sanctuary of our homes this morning. Coming together – even in digital space – gives me such a boost. Your presence lessens my sense of loneliness and isolation. Thank you so much for being here! Now, more than ever, we need to feel our connectedness – with each other and also that sense of true belonging with our own being . . . We’re adapting to living our lives at home. Still – we can easily get carried away by reports of what is happening to our family members, our friends, our communities and our nation. It takes a bit of energy and a bit of faith to interrupt the momentum of fear that insinuates itself into our lives. I’ve been reaching out for support as part of my daily practice. This week I enjoyed a Tara Brach’s beautiful talk about R.A.I.N. This is the technique that Tara teaches on how we can work with difficult feelings through a process of Recognition, Allowing, Investigating and Nurturing. It inspired the guided relaxation we explored in our class today. Continue reading
Deep Time & Deep Caring in Meditation
The Yogabliss on-line Moving into Meditation class met in the sanctuary of our homes this morning. I felt such a deep sense of gratitude that students are willing to continue to practice in these challenging times. Most of us are being asked to “contain” ourselves to avoid contagion. Others are on the front lines of healing risking their lives. Last night I listened to a very helpful talk, Meditation in an Emergency, given by meditation teacher and writer, Sam Harris, who says “we are in a strange state of emergency.” He describes our situation as one in which we are being forced to retreat. Yet we don’t retreat from the world entirely – most of us consume a steady stream of very worrying information. Our anxiety levels keep growing until we find ourselves overreacting to situations – many of which we have no control over. Continue reading
For-giving
Our Moving into Meditation class explored forgiveness. We drew inspiration from Jack Kornfield’s book, No Time Like the Present: Finding Freedom, Love and Joy Right Where You Are. In Chapter 6, Forgiveness, Jack explores the various ways past experiences weigh us down and color our perception. He suggests that we intentionally cultivate an all- encompassing awareness to include ourselves and others in our circle of loving kindness. Forgiveness is a lifelong healing practice. Poet Jane Hirshfield describes the letting go that living demands of our hearts. Living is for-giving. Continue reading
Fear, Freedom & Creativity
Our Moving into Meditation class explored what it means to live with a trusting heart. We drew inspiration from Jack Kornfield’s book, No Time Like the Present: Finding Freedom, Love and Joy Right Where You Are. In Chapter 5, Fear of Freedom. In this chapter, Jack explores the various ways our fears curtail our freedom and full engagement with life. He suggests that we can use loving awareness as a way of cultivating the courage and inner stability we need to take chances and embrace life fully.
We also explored poet Jane Hirshfield’s views about creativity and mediation as outlined in her Tricycle Magazine interview, Felt in its Fullness. Jane asserts that art and meditation are both awareness practices that are essential to personal transformation.
Here and Now
Our Moving into Meditation class explored what it means to live with a trusting heart. We drew inspiration from Jack Kornfield’s book, No Time Like the Present: Finding Freedom, Love and Joy Right Where You Are. In Chapter 4, The Eternal Present, Jack encourages us to live in the present moment. We were moved by excerpts from Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Robin is a Professor of Environmental and Forest Biology, a poetic writer and passionate advocate of a much more generous and expansive vision of relatedness between humans and the natural world. If this notion inspires you, listen to her On Being interview, The Intelligence in All Kinds of Life.
Trust
Our Moving into Meditation class explored what it means to live with a trusting heart. We drew inspiration from Jack Kornfield’s book, No Time Like the Present: Finding Freedom, Love and Joy Right Where You Are. In Chapter 3, Trusting the Living Universe, Jack invites us to trust and let the mystery be. Poet David Whyte‘s poem, Working Together, is a word dance we enter through life’s ordinary miracles. Continue reading
Wanting/Not Wanting, Let It Be
Our Moving into Meditation class focused on Desire: the mind state: Want/Don’t Want: The Unquenchable Thirst described in the fourth chapter of Toni Bernhard‘s book: How to Wake Up: A Buddhist Inspired Guide to Navigating Joy and Sorrow. We drew inspiration from Jack Kornfield’s book, No Time Like the Present: Finding Freedom, Love and Joy Right Where You Are. Jack invites us to trust that we are part of life’s ever unfolding mystery. Poet Jane Hirshfield ‘s tender and wry words describe the creaturely ties that bind our wounds.