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It’s kind of freaky to do an evening walk outside in late October and hear the crickets still chirping at full volume and with such gusto.

By now they are usually long dormant.

I guess this is just one of the many adjustments to this changing climate.

On the river I’m happy to report the eagles have returned and are keeping vigil at their renovated nest. Cormorants and most of the Great Blue Herons have left for warmer weather and the main movement these days is the murmurations of starlings and the various sizes of the Canada Geese wedges passing overhead.

Robert Frost offers this line:

"In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on."

Best wishes to you in the new season.

Resources for You From the Fall Retreat

Imagine seven days in silence. No cell phone or media. No reading. A regimented schedule that never varies from day to day with bells that guide you to the next event. Your meals are provided for you. Folks clean up after you. There are people who's full time job is thinking about you and supporting you.

Your job is to relax and pay attention, moment-to-moment, as best you can.

During the course of a meditation retreat you ride a roller coaster from deep fatigue to increasing vitality. From emotional lows to sometime expansive highs. From a sense of dread to a sense of awe. The 10,000 joys and sorrows of your life open up and flower in a space like this.

I thought I'd share a few talks and guided meditations from this recent retreat. These are also available on my podcast as well as my youtube channel. I hope you find them helpful.

Day #3: Morning Instructions (Mindful Movement, Body Scan and Anchor) This meditation begins with seated mindful movement, moves through a body scan (8:30), guides you to an anchor of your choice (14:24) and focuses on cultivating attention to the present moment.

Day #4: Evening Talk: Polishing the Lens of Perception You'll learn the distinctions between energy and feeling, thoughts and thought-forms as you can expand your capacity to see clearly and with an open heart.

Day #5: After a short introduction on this unique technique you'll be guided into open focus meditation and an exploration of spacious awareness and loving presence.

Day #6: Evening Talk: Qualities of an Awakened Being The final evening of the retreat. You'll learn how to determine your progress on the path, how an awakened being accepts this life with full responsibility, actively investigates the shadows and cultivates a world of new possibility.

You'll also hear me chant a little Sanskrit as part of an homage to the Diwali celebration (the festival of lights celebrated by millions) which started that night.

A Day of Intensive Practice

A Meditative Journey: Dynamic Meditation December 16, 2017, Bethesda, MD

Created in 1970 by the teacher, Osho, Dynamic Meditation is a powerful method of releasing deep-seated tensions and cultivating a state prime for meditation. Jonathan offers a variation consisting of five phases: * Phase 1: Energetic movement

* Phase 2: Free flow movement

* Phase 3: Chanting

* Phase 4: Sitting meditation

* Phase 5: Deep relaxation

Dynamic Meditation is safe and and the same time, deeply engaging. No prior experience in yoga or meditation required. The second half of the day will follow a more traditional format. To deepen your day of practice, much of the day will be in social silence.

For more information and to register online, click the pic:

Fresh Photos

I was away on retreat this month and thereby without a camera in hand, but I do have a few images from this month commemorating October: A still, fall morning on the Potomac. Muted colors this year in the mid-Atlantic. Post-flood foliage on an island. Floating down the river in a thick fog, my first siting of the Bald Eagles this season. Later, when things cleared up, an eagle keeps vigil over the recently repaired nest. One of the remaining herons, preening at first light. Just one of the many shots from my Left (from the) Behind series. Our awesome fall retreat crew. Pat Coffey, Janet Merrick, La Sarmiento, Sebene Sallasie, Gary Hillesland and moi. (Missing Jess Frey.) All Souls Church, downtown DC, just before the IMCW 20th Anniversary celebration. A great collection of souls at All Souls Church.