Dear Friends, For the next few days, I’ll be picking a few tidbits out of a talk by Sally Armstrong on “The roles of mindfulness, metta and equanimity in our practice” from the Equanimity and Awareness retreat. Sally mentions that it’s helpful to begin with basic teachings and practices of mindfulness. She highlights how mindfulness informs metta (kindness),… Read More »
Dear Friends, I enjoy taking online classes related to mindfulness, meditation, and Buddhism. This fall, I took a course based on Guy Armstrong’s book Emptiness: A Practical Guide for Meditators. In the book and course, Guy talks about his experience of observing autopsies, which he did while a monk in Thailand. After the autopsies were finished, he was waiting… Read More »
Dear Friends, As we pay attention to our breath, we can start to notice that each breath has a beginning, middle, and end. As we pay attention to sensations in the body, we can also notice how they too have a beginning, middle, and end. Thoughts, emotions, difficulties, pleasantness – have a beginning, middle, and end. Your favorite tea… Read More »
Dear Friends, Another way to pay attention to the body is by its elements. Earth, water, fire, and air were the traditional elements. Of course, if you’ve studied any chemistry or physics, you might want to protest… there are all sorts of molecules, and those are made up of atoms, and those are made up of protons, neutrons,… Read More »
Dear Friends, A poem by Kabir: The small ruby everyone wants has fallen out on the road. Some think it is east of us, others west of us. Some say, “among primitive earth rocks,” others, “in the deep waters.” Kabir’s instinct told him it was inside, and what it was worth, And he wrapped it up carefully in… Read More »
Dear Friends, After January 1’s post on Intention, Rod commented that actions are needed to make intentions meaningful. I think Rod’s comments align with this sentiment from Thich Nhat Hanh: Chapter 3 of The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English looks at clear comprehension, a way of seeing precisely what is happening in this moment and using that to… Read More »
Dear Friends, In The Now Effect, Elisha Goldstein writes: Stepping int the now doesn’t happen only when we stop and pause our bodies; we can enter into a space simply by acknowledging what we’re doing. … why not allow the movements of our lives to be the entry points into the now? One of the most frequent movements that… Read More »
Dear Friends, In Chapter 2 of The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English, Bhante Gunaratana discusses various postures in which one can meditate: sitting, standing, walking, and lying down.Even experienced meditators can benefit from reviewing their posture on occasion, so I invite you to really pay attention to your body, no matter what position you are in. Today,… Read More »
Dear Friends, Welcome to 2018 and the first email of our month together! You have reasons why you signed up for this series. Perhaps you are seeking steadiness in a turbulent life, forming deeper connection with others, creating conditions that will lead to peace, or many other reasons. Try to articulate this reason, as this intention will help… Read More »
