Session 1 Notes:

If you're serious about cultivating mindfulness, there is no substitute for daily practice.  We invite you to lean into these practices in the coming weeks, and then at the end of that time, judge for yourself whether the practices have been of benefit to you.  This needn't take a lot of time.  After all, you're going to be breathing and moving anyway; you might as well run the experiment of doing it mindfully every once in a while.

 

Suggested Homework

1. Awareness-of-breath meditation for 5 minutes or more, at least 4 or 5 days this week.

• You don’t have to like it, but it is one of the best ways to cultivate mindfulness. If you find it difficult, which it often can be, do your best to relax into it, one breath at a time.
• You can sit in a chair, on the floor, or stand.  Find a posture that you can maintain with some stillness, a posture that embodies dignity.
• Begin by focusing on your breath, noticing each in-breath and out-breath.
• When you notice your mind has wandered from your breath, it is not a problem & perfectly normal; just notice that and gently escort your awareness back to your breath.  Each time you notice your mind has wandered and you start over with your breath, that’s a moment of awareness that strengthens your mindfulness.
• You may become aware of impatience, boredom, drowsiness, anxiety, self-criticism, doubts about whether you’re meditating correctly, etc.  You do not have to “fix” any of these; just become aware of them and return gently to your breath without scolding yourself.  (If you do scold yourself, just notice that with kindness and return to your breath.) You may also notice peace & calm, and that's worth paying attention to as well.

“The heart of skillful meditation is the ability to let go and begin again, over and over again. Even if you have to do that thousands of times during a session, it does not matter. Beginning again and again is the actual practice, not a problem to be overcome.”  Sharon Salzberg

 

2. In addition to, or in lieu of, awareness-of-breath meditation, practice the body scan that we did in class this week:

• Begin by focusing on your breath, noticing each in-breath and out-breath. Gradually, expand your awareness from your breath to your entire body, getting a sense of what it’s like to really be in your body.
• When you’re ready, bring your awareness to the top of your head, just noticing that part of your body and any sensations (or lack of sensations).  Try “breathing in” to the top of your head, opening and softening that space.
• When you’re ready, move your awareness to the forehead and eyes, lingering there as long as you like, breathing into that space and softening.  If you notice any tension in the body during this meditation, just notice it and, if you like, let it wash out with the next out-breath.
• Continue moving to the jaw, lingering for a few breaths, and then the neck and throat, right shoulder, right arm and its landmarks (upper arm, elbow, forearm, wrist, both sides of the hand, each finger and thumb), lingering at each landmark for a few breaths and breathing into those spaces.
• Continue with the left arm in a similar pattern.  Move to the chest, perhaps noticing the beating of the heart, feeling what it’s like to breathe into the heart-space.  Continue with the abdomen, and then the upper back and lower back, lingering for a few breaths as you notice each body-area with kindness and acceptance.  Continue with the hips and each leg, noticing each landmark (thigh, knee, shin, calf, ankle, foot, and toes) and breathing into those spaces.
• Finally, breathe into the body as a whole, noticing breath moving from feet to the top of the head and back down.  You can also breathe horizontally, as if you could breathe in through every pore of the body.

When you’re ready, come back to your breath and let things settle, resting in awareness.

 

3. Practice a few yoga poses several times this week. Refer to the attachment for a few suggested poses if you'd like.

4. Notice:  Where does my attention first go when I encounter stress or discomfort?  Paying attention to this is a key to skillfully work with stress & discomfort.  You might be surprised at what you see.  If you find yourself blaming, whining, complaining, criticizing yourself, or fighting with reality, try gently gathering your awareness instead.  On Wednesday, we worked with yoga and awareness-of-breath meditation as ways to gather awareness.  Another quick & easy way to do this is with 3 breaths ...

5. Practice "gathering your awareness," using 3 Breaths several times each day, particularly when encountering stress and discomfort.

• Stop & know you've stopped,
• Breathe 3 breaths, noticing each in-breath & each out-breath, and
• Return & know you've returned.

6. Once you receive your Oura rings, check out the meditations on the Oura app, under the "Explore" tab.  Practice with one or more of these.

 

"A sense of ease and wellbeing with the breath can do a lot more for you than any amount of status, material gain, praise, outside pleasures—any of the ways of the world."  Thanissaro Bhikkhu

 

Here's a link to an interesting article ...

https://psychcentral.com/health/what-is-trauma-informed-yoga

 

Trauma-Informed Yoga: How it Heals, Benefits, and Poses to Try Trauma-informed yoga teachers provide tools to help you turn your awareness inward in a way that feels safe — whether it’s finding different variations of a pose or skipping the pose entirely. psychcentral.com

And here's the poem from this week.

 

Vast Blue Sky, by Rick Fields

 

Behind the hardness there is fear 

And if you touch the heart of the fear 

You find sadness 

And if you touch the sadness 

You find the vast blue sky.

 

Session 2 Notes

The breath is like a soothing friend holding your hand as you walk into fear or loneliness or anger, encouraging you to stay with it. And if you feel like running away, observe that. And the breath is always there, in, out, in, out."  Larry Rosenberg

I've attached an article about sustaining your meditation practice.  The author, Brad Warner, is a Zen Buddhist teacher, writer, and film-maker.  The Buddhist references don't fit the work we're doing, which is secular, but his "5 sure-fire tips" are relevant to any meditation practice.

Suggested homework for this week:  Elsewhere, Brad Warner said the most important thing is to practice every day, even if it's only "5 lousy minutes."  So, even if your mind is wandering and chaotic, even if you'd rather be anywhere else than sitting in meditation, just put in your 5 lousy minutes.  This kind of discipline may make little sense in the short run, but will pay off in the long run.

If you can sit more than 5 minutes, I'd suggest that you continue with at least 10 minutes of mindfulness practice this week every day.  Combine yoga with meditation, as we do in class, or just focus on one of these.  You don't have to like it, but it's important to continue with the practice, even when it's difficult or unsettling or tedious.  (Brad Warner makes some interesting points on this.)  When you're ready to add more time, you'll know.

If you're finding meditation difficult, which it often is, see if you can relax into meditation, just a little, perhaps by focusing on the calm, gentle rhythm of your breathing.   If you find yoga calming, turn to that when your mind is unsettled.

And add a few "mindfulness triggers." When you take the first few bites of a meal, walk outside, brush your teeth, take a shower, etc., come into the present and notice your experience.  And notice how nice it is to actually show up for your life, one moment at a time.

 

Today's meditation

Self-Compassion

Begin by bringing awareness to your breath.  Once things have settled, repeat these phrases silently  (or your own similar phrases), bringing your awareness to them the best you can.  Spend as much time with each phrase as you like.  This is an exercise to remind us of intentions to be kind to ourselves.

May I be kind to myself

May I be patient with myself

May I accept myself just as I am

May I be at peace

 

Book recommendations:  Sharon Salzberg's Real Happiness is one of the best books on establishing a meditation practice that I've seen: http://www.sharonsalzberg.com/real-happiness-book/

Another good read:  Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics, by Dan Harris.

 

Bedtime Yoga Practice (19 minutes)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7SN-d4qXx0

 

Bedtime Yoga | 20 Minute Bedtime Yoga Practice | Yoga With Adriene This gentle bedtime yoga practice is a great remedy for anyone feeling stress, anxiety, or tension in the mind or body. Use this evening yoga practice to decompress, prepare for a good night's rest or simply use it any time of day to remedy the imbalance. Put on something comfy. Yoga to the rescue! Enjoy. For more relaxing bedtime yoga ... www.youtube.com

 

Interesting video (3 and a half minutes):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVA2N6tX2cg&feature=player_embedded

 

"Just Breathe" by Julie Bayer Salzman & Josh Salzman ... www.youtube.com The inspiration for “Just Breathe” first came about a little over a year ago when I overheard my then 5-year-old son talking with his friend about how ...

Quote of the week:

I used to think that to become free you had to practice like a samurai warrior, but now I understand that you have to practice like a devoted mother of a newborn child. It takes the same energy but has a completely different quality. It's compassion and presence rather than having to defeat the enemy in battle. - Jack Kornfield

 

Poem of the week:

Leonard Cohen, “Anthem” 

The birds, they sing at the break of day. 

Start again, I seem to hear them say. 

Do not dwell on what has passed away, 

Or what is yet to be. 

Ring the bells that still can ring, 

Forget your perfect offering. 

There is a crack in everything. 

That’s how the light gets in.

 

Session 3  Notes:

Here is a summary of the practices we worked on:

 

Deep & calm; soft & still

This meditation can gently guide your mind to a place of peace, calm, and stillness that naturally resides within you, but is so often buried under worries, expectations, old hurts & trauma, disappointments, etc.

Begin by focusing on the breath, letting things settle. When you're ready, try using a few words as the target of your awareness.  We used "deep," "calm," "soft," and "still," but other calming words will work as well.  Use one word for each in-breath and, if you like, one for each out-breath, or just focus on a single word.  Notice where your mind goes.  When you're ready, come back to the breath, let things settle, and conclude the meditation.

Perhaps your mind will resist this guidance; if so, just notice that with kindness. If you'll patiently stay with the words, eventually your mind will locate the part of you that is calm & still, if only for one breath at a time. This is where you can find healing.

 

Letting Go & Opening

Begin by focusing on the breath, letting things settle. When you're ready, bring focused attention to the out-breath.  With each out-breath, drop in the words, "letting go." Let each out-breath be an invitation to let go of old hurts, worries, upsets, plans, stressors, expectations, etc. Notice what it's like to unburden in this way. Go a little deeper & let go of more and more, anything and everything, one breath at a time.

When you're ready, shift attention to the in-breath.  With each in-breath, drop in the word, "opening."  Let each in-breath be an invitation to open to the moment, open your heart to yourself & your loved ones, open to life's joys & sorrows, open to however things are for you in the moment.  Notice what it's like to sit with an open mind & open heart.

When you're ready, come back to the breath, noticing both in-breath & out-breath, just sitting & breathing.

 

Interesting article:

 

https://www.mindful.org/mindful-policing-the-future-of-force/

Mindful Policing: The Future of Force - Mindful Mindful Policing: The Future of Force. With police violence in the news, and public scrutiny on the rise, cities turn to mindfulness to help officers deal with the stress of the job. www.mindful.org

A quote to consider from a master teacher:

"If we aren’t training inch by inch, one moment at a time, in overcoming our fear of pain, then we’ll be very limited in how much we can help. We’ll be limited in helping ourselves, and limited in helping anybody else. So, let’s start with ourselves, just as we are, here and now." Pema Chodron

 

This week's poem

 

The Guest House 

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

-- Jelaluddin Rumi, 13^th century Persian poet

 

I encourage you to lean into practice this week.  Carve out at least 10 minutes to sit and practice each day & add in some yoga postures.  This is a gift you give yourself, your loved ones, and everyone you encounter.

 

Session 4 Notes:

Quote from Thich Nhat Hanh:

 

Our true home is in the present moment.

To live in the present moment is a miracle.

The miracle is not to walk on water.

The miracle is to walk on the green Earth in the present moment,

to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.

 

This is precisely why it's so important to practice mindfulness.  There's no better form of mental hygiene and self-care that I know of.  I hope our time together has helped you on this path.

 

Here is the new practice from this week:

 

Feeling Your Feelings

This meditation helps you attune to & accept however things are for you in the moment.

Begin by focusing on the breath as you let things settle.  When you're ready, expand attention from the breath to the entire body, noticing whatever is there to be noticed.  You can begin with a simple check-in:  Does my body feel pleasant? unpleasant? calm? unsettled? energized? tired? comfortable? uncomfortable? More than one of these?  Whatever arises, meet it with an open heart & a soft, "It's okay."

Next, bring your awareness to your heart & mind with a simple question, "How am I doing in this moment?"  Drop any "should's" or "supposed to be's" and notice what you're feeling in the moment:  Am I calm? bored? restless? at peace? anxious? worried? unsettled? happy?   Meet whatever arises with kindness and a soft, "It's okay."

If your body or mind challenge the idea that things are "okay," notice that, come back to the breath, and repeat, "It's okay."

When you're ready, come back to the breath, let things settle, and conclude the meditation.

This is a meditation of "radical acceptance."  It doesn't mean you have to like feelings of discomfort, anger, sadness, anxiety, etc.  But perhaps, they're "okay" and acceptable because you can (with practice) open your heart to whatever arises, sit with it with some stillness & composure, and work with it skillfully. Acceptance always precedes transformation.

This meditation also helps you attune to yourself, which lays the groundwork to attune to others.

 

Poem from Wednesday

 

I walk on thorns, but firmly, as among flowers.

I keep my head high.

Rhymes bloom among the sounds of bombs and mortars.

The tears I shed yesterday have become rain.

I feel calm hearing its sound on the thatched roof.

Childhood, my birthland, is calling me,

and the rains melt my despair.

--Thich Nhat Hanh

 

To Consider

"We may come to our meditation with the hope of reducing our stress or perfecting our technique or maybe even attaining enlightenment. But we very soon discover that the practice requires that we drop such ambition and sit still on the cushion, letting go of our internal dialogue, opening to our world—very simply, very directly."  Michael Carroll

 

Session 5 Notes:

In this busy, demanding, world we live in that's full of conflict, taking time to cultivate peace, stillness, and an open heart has never been more important. Mindfulness is the path.

Let's start with this quote from one of my favorite teachers, Ken McLeod:

"Good instruction and good teaching do not provide explanations. They tell you what to do and, to a certain extent, how to do it, and it is through the doing that you discover how the practice works." 

Intellectual understanding of mindfulness won't take you very far.  By practicing, you directly experience how your mind works.  The first steps on the path of mindfulness are typically surprising and difficult.  Most people (including me) initially meet mindfulness with resistance.  But if you'll stick with it, you'll begin to clearly see your mind's tendencies and habits.  And then, transformation is possible, enabling you to work skillfully with stress, anxiety, depression, old hurts, trauma, grief, loss, etc.

We all have busy lives and it's difficult to carve out time for mindfulness practice.  It's not an easy habit to integrate into your life.  But if you can, it will change your life by giving you access to peace, stillness, and freedom of mind, which are always one breath away.

If I knew of a substitute for practice, I'd happily share it with you. I don't.

So, how do you develop mindfulness?  The same way you get to Carnegie Hall:  practice, practice, practice.

 

Here is a summary of the new practice we worked on:

 

Lovingkindness Meditation

This meditation is design​ed to help cultivate an open, loving heart, beginning with yourself and extending to all beings.

Begin as normal, turning attention to the breath.  After things have settled, open your heart to yourself and drop in a few phrases, such as these:

• May I be happy.
• May I be at peace.
• May I be safe.
• May I be well.

Next, welcome a loved one into the meditation.  It could be someone who is currently in your life or not.  This can be someone who knows the best part of you and loves you unconditionally:  a best friend, parent or grandparent, sibling, mentor, teacher, etc.  Open your heart to this person, as wide as you can, and send out these phrases, from your heart to theirs:

• May you be happy.
• May you be at peace.
• May you be safe.
• May you be well.

Next, invite a difficult person into the meditation, open your heart to him or her, and send out the phrases.

• May you be happy.
• May you be at peace.
• May you be safe.
• May you be well.

Finally, open your heart, the best you can, to all beings, particularly those who are hurting.

• May all beings be happy.
• May all be at peace.
• May all be safe.
• May all be well.

When you're ready, come back to the breath and bring the meditation to a close. Take a moment to sit, just noticing how it feels to open your heart in this way.

 

Poem of the week & meditation practice

 

Enough by David Whyte

 

Enough.  These few words are enough.

If not these words, this breath.

If not this breath, this sitting here.

 

This opening to the life

we have refused

again and again

until now.

Until now.

 

This assertion is worth checking out for yourself as a form of meditation.  Begin by bringing awareness to the breath.  After things have settled a bit, run the inquiry:  Is this breath enough?  Sit with that question for a few breaths or a few minutes.  Is this sitting here enough?  If I give up the chase for more, more, more, will my mind settle down and open to peace and calm? Will that be enough?

 

Quote of the week

Learning to drop what we’re doing, however momentarily, and to genuinely pay attention in the present moment, without attachment or bias, helps us become clear, just as a snow globe becomes clear when we stop shaking it and its flakes settle.

Lama Surya Das

 

During this last week together, I encourage you to lean into practice and continue with your efforts.  Notice the benefits of your practice.  The stakes couldn't be higher.