Dear Friends,
Kamala Masters starts her talk, “Equanimity-Seeing the World with Quiet Eyes“, with a quote from Howard Thurman:
How may we work in the world courageously and intelligently, on behalf of a decent world, without despair and complete fatigue? What are the resources available for … rehabilitation and renewal? That [we might] be able to look out on life, with all of its cruel vicissitudes and transcendent joys, with quiet eyes and a tranquil spirit.
~ Howard Thurman, Deep is the Hunger: Meditations for Apostles of Sensitiveness (1951)
Kamala comments on this quote:
We can enjoy that rested heart, we can also see clearly in that restfulness. There’s an inner quiet, a balance, a spaciousness that has to do with seeing the world with quiet eyes. There’s a deep connection that we continue to have with the world. It’s not aloof; it’s not disconnected from what’s happening. … It’s as connected as we allow ourselves to be, based on what our balance is, based on how much we know we can hold at the moment. Being truthful with ourselves – what’s real for us, what’s practical for us, what’s safe for us to open to.
Later she adds:
We’re learning to slow down, to do less, to feel the earth beneath our feet, to give ourselves the gift of sitting and walking quietly.
Guided meditation: In the vein of walking, here is a 5 minute talk with tips on walking meditation from Catherine McGee:
https://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/41/talk/60092/
Mindful has an article with an embedded 9-minute guided walking meditation from Jon Kabat-Zinn:
https://www.mindful.org/walking-meditation/
For those of you in Saskatoon, you’re welcome to join the Saskatoon Insight Meditation Community’s Winter Sangha Walk on Sunday, January 12. We meet at the fire pit at the Meewasin Skating Rink (just north of the Bessborough). We will leave right at 2 PM, walk and visit for about 20 minutes, then turn around and walk back in silence. After, we’ll gather at a coffee shop or some place warm for tea or cocoa and visiting. I hope you’ll consider joining us!
Feel free to share your reflections or comments below, or by email.
With warm wishes,
Andrea
There are two components of seeing in the back of the human eye. The fovea, a tiny depression in the macula, transmits all the detailed precise information of sight to the occipital lobe and into our awareness. The vast remain area of the retina takes in the periphery. In our culture we are dedicated to sharp focus exclusively. When we stop the pinpoint laser searching we begin to use our soft focus and it is in that gentle inclusive blur that the full vision we so ardently seek lies.