Dear friends,
Thank you for choosing to be part of this monthly offering. This marks the eleventh year of this shared practice, and I continue to be grateful – both for these teachings and for the presence of everyone who joins in this month of exploration.
This month, we will be exploring the elements – earth, water, fire, and air – as a way of becoming more familiar with the body and our place in the natural world. Rather than approaching these ideas as concepts to think about, we will focus on noticing how they show up in direct experience and everyday life.
Here is a glimpse of what to expect in the weeks ahead:
- Tuesdays & Fridays: Teaching days, with short readings or talks
- Wednesdays & Saturdays: Reflection days, offering poems or prompts for personal inquiry
- Thursdays & Sundays: Practice days, with a suggested guided meditation or embodied exercise
- Mondays: Heart practices, focused on cultivating qualities like kindness, compassion, joy, and balance to support the explorations this month
We begin tomorrow by setting intentions for the month. From there, we will move gradually through the elements, exploring qualities such as solidity, flow, warmth, and movement, and noticing how relating to these experiences with curiosity and care can shift our perspective.
All the emails for the month will be archived on the blog:
https://www.grzesina.net/meditation/category/daily-meditation/jan-2026/
This offering is inspired by early contemplative texts that explore attention, embodiment, and insight, including The Discourse on Mindfulness Meditation (MN10), The Longer Advice to Rāhula (MN62), and The Analysis of the Elements (MN140), along with along with talks by Susie Harrington and Jaya Rudgard, writing from Bodhipaksa, and other resources.
I invite you to share reflections, questions, or responses along the way. You can reply directly to the emails or comment here, on the related blog post. I do my best to respond. Your reflections will add depth to our shared exploration.
I am glad you are here.
With good wishes,
Andrea