Dear Friends, One of my favorite retreat traditions is to drive down to Shelter Cove, California, to go on a retreat with Susie Harrington and her co-teacher at a special place along the Lost Coast. After the retreat, I have a lovely drive back. I camp along the way, and at the retreat site. The last time I… Read More »
Dear Friends, Welcome to the beginning of our third week together! As you recommit to your intention for practice, here are some helpful words just posted on Tara Brach’s Facebook page: It is helpful to start your meditation with a reflection on what matters to you. Some meditation students bring to mind an all-encompassing aspiration, while others focus… Read More »
Dear Friends, In the first guided meditation in the Daily Life Practice Retreat, Andrea Fella encourages the meditators to begin by cultivating a sense of ease and relaxation. Then, once one finds that place of ease, she suggests moving into a simple practice – not directing the attention to anything in particular, but sitting in the midst of our… Read More »
Dear Friends, In A Path With Heart, Jack Kornfield mentions a Tibetan practice called “Making Difficulties into the Path” and he shared a prayer that is recited before each step of practice: Grant that I may be given appropriate difficulties and sufferings on this journey so that my heart may be truly awakened and my practice of liberation… Read More »
Dear Friends, Google “how many thoughts per day”, and you’ll find quite a few articles claiming it’s somewhere between 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts! If that’s accurate, that means there’s about a thought per second. I remember one of the first times I tried meditation. I had this idea that, “I’ll just sit here and be quiet and calm.”… Read More »
Dear Friends, Another way to contemplate body, as specified in the Satipatthana Sutta, is in terms of the elements: And further, monks, a monk reflects on this very body, however it be placed or disposed, by way of the material elements: “There are in this body the element of earth, the element of water, the element of fire,… Read More »
Dear Friends, Here’s a quick stealth meditation you can do anywhere and any time, from Sharon Salzberg’s Real Happiness at Work: As you sit down at your desk or work space, spend a few moments just listening to the sounds around you, and note your reactions to them. She has a brief guided sound meditation on her site… Read More »
Dear Friends, In the Satipatthana Sutta, the Buddha set out the four foundations of mindfulness, the first being mindfulness of the body. There are many ways we can practice mindfulness of the body, including mindfulness of breathing, mindful walking, mindfulness of movements of the body in everyday activities (as mentioned yesterday), and through a body scan meditation. In… Read More »
Dear Friends, Some advice from Elisha Goldstein and Bob Stahl in their book MBSR Every Day: … we have a portable and powerful resource that is with us at all times, inviting us to stop and just “be” with life instead of getting caught in the trap of ‘doing” so much. This is our breath. As we start… Read More »
