Dear Friends, In the track titled Poem, DaRa reads “She Let Go” by Safire Rose. This poem expresses another way we can bring equanimity to our experience. The theme of the New Year’s retreat I did with Susie Harrington at the beginning of the month was about the stories we tell ourselves – the views we cling to,… Read More »
Dear Friends, In the first recording from the retreat I’m using for inspiration this month, Jill Shepherd provides some general background that can create a useful context for the rest of our month together. The style the approach to meditation that we’re doing here is insight meditation or vipassana. Just as a very simple beginning definition of what… Read More »
Dear Friends, I will be participating in a New Year’s Retreat with Susie Harrington this weekend. (Not to worry – I have posts queued up for the next couple of days! But I won’t be monitoring emails or messages Friday evening through Sunday afternoon.) One of the things I love about retreats with Susie is the way she… Read More »
Dear Friends, There are many ways to practice meditation. Over the course of this month, we have started very with a narrow focus (breath) and have widened the scope of possibilities to invite the inclusion of body sensations, hearing, the flavor (pleasant thru unpleasant), thoughts and emotions. We have also invited some more heartful practices of kindness, compassion,… Read More »
Dear Friends, Thinking Don’t you wish they would stop, all the thoughtsswirling around in your head, bees in a hive, dancerstapping their way across the stage? I should rake the leavesin the carport, buy Christmas lights. Was there really life on Mars?What will I cook for dinner? I walk up the driveway,put out the garbage bins. I should… Read More »
Dear Friends, “The eyes see; the ears hear; the mind thinks.” I have heard many meditation teachers give a statement similar to the above. In the same way we don’t expect hearing to stop just because we are meditating, we also should not expect thinking to stop. That said, we can learn to relate to the thoughts in… Read More »
Dear Friends, Continuing with Kamala’s talk, “The Five Spiritual Faculties’ relationship to Equanimity,” and the fourth faculty of concentration. Several teachers, talks, and articles on this subject frequently comment that the word “concentration” may not be the best translation for samadhi. When I was on retreat with Susie Harrington last August, she said that the word “concentration” has… Read More »
Dear Friends, Continuing with the talk from Kamala Masters, “Equanimity-Seeing the World with Quiet Eyes“ Kamala mentions the eight worldly conditions. They are: Gain and loss Fame and disrepute (when Adrianne Ross was in Saskatoon last October, she described this as “being seen and being ignored”, which might be more relateable) Praise and blame Pleasure and pain Here’s… Read More »
Dear Friends, This is the fifth year I have offered this daily email in January, and I’m honoured that you have chosen to join me in this iteration. When it comes to choosing a theme, I often find that something speaks to me in several ways through the year. The idea of balance has been something I’ve been… Read More »
Dear Friends, There’s a poem that Susie Harrington often recites at retreats I’ve attended. It has become a bit of a touch-point for me – anytime I need to reconnect to the “why am I doing this”… Bhuta Thera: No Greater Contentment When the thundering storm cloud roars out in the mist,And torrents of rain fill the paths… Read More »
Dear Friends, We are about to start another month-long exploration of ways to support a daily meditation practice. I’m so honored to have you as part of this community. The theme we will be exploring this month is infusing mindfulness with kindness as we go about daily life, with inspiration from the book Boundless Heart: The Buddha’s Path… Read More »
Dear Friends, We are about to start another month-long exploration of ways to support a daily meditation practice. I’m so honored to have you as part of this community. The theme we will be exploring this month is the four ways of establishing mindfulness – mindfulness of the body, of feelings, of the mind, and of phenomena themselves.… Read More »
Dear Friends, I’m on retreat right now, but I haven’t forgotten about you! Here’s a reflection for today. I won’t be online to read your emails or comments, but feel free to write anytime. If you post a comment below, your words may inspire another! I’ll be back online Tuesday, so I’ll be able to respond to you… Read More »
Dear Friends, Mark Coleman has said that generosity often radial – it’s often easier to be generous with others but stingy with ourselves. He asks us to reflect: What would it be to practice more generosity to ourselves? What would you give yourself to be generous? For some, it might be more space, or more time. Maybe doing… Read More »
Dear Friends, At the SIMC practice yesterday evening, Bob led us through a body scan practice. Like mindful breathing, body scan has formal practices you can do – I’ve linked in some resources below – and it can be done informally, discreetly, anywhere or any time. One of my favorite places to do a quick body scan is in the… Read More »
