The Three Reasons I Meditate

Fall classes are starting up this week.  Last night I kicked off the first session at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Arlington on the topic, "The Three Reasons I Meditate." It's been 41 years since I first learned Transcendental Meditation and I've had an active meditation practice ever since.  Over the years I've had the great fortune to study with amazing teachers and in a wide variety of philosophies and traditions.

Perhaps the greatest realization is that in any given tradition, you're bound to find another tradition that will give you the exact opposite instruction.

"Meditate with your eyes closed."

"Meditate with your eyes open!"

"Give full effort!"

"Relax!"

Ultimately all techniques are like fingers pointing at the moon.   As the saying goes, "Don't seek to follow great teachers.  Seek what they sought."  When you do that, your path becomes rich and deeply personal.

iTunes podcast here, online streaming here, stitcher here.

The Art of Paying Attention

I'm away from weekly talks for a month or so, but thought I'd share this one from the IMCW Spring Retreat.  It's a somewhat hazy memory, but I felt pretty good about it afterward. As it's a retreat talk, I may be using some Buddhist terminology that should be pretty self-evident and there will be mini-meditations embedded in the talk.

Weekly classes start again in September.  I'll be anchoring the class in Arlington and only occasionally coming to Capitol Hill.

Stay tuned for a second class in Arlington.

We'll be offering something for those who'd like more time practicing and more time for questions and discussion.

Here's the blurb:

While I'm on summer hiatus I thought I'd share a talk from the Spring IMCW Retreat.

Life seems to be a dance of stimulus and response.

The gap between what happens and how you react to it is precious.  It is the difference between endless predicitable reactivity and the realm of new possibilities.

As a 'contemplative artist you have multiple strategies as to how you bring your attention to that space.

iTunes podcast here, online streaming here, Stitcher here

Retreating

This last Saturday 76 folks filled our room at St. Luke's Episcopal in Bethesda for a day of practice. The program was called, "A Meditative Journey:  Mindful Movement, Deep Relaxation and Meditation.  As the day contained two long "lying down meditations," there was a palpable sense of stress racheting down and softening.  As we practiced silence for most of the day, there was also a sense of 'being alone together' I enjoy so much on retreat.  The silence tends to amplify the experience.

Here's a shot at the end of the day when we finally started talking again:

Follow Clint Piatelli through his Retreat Experience

I had the honor of sharing the Still, Small Voice Within Retreat with Clint Piatelli, who joined the adventure a day into it.  If you're interested in reading an irreverent, refreshingly honest and authentic account of his time at Kripalu and on the retreat, look no further.  This is an ongoing series. You can start here:  A Virgin at Kripalu and read on from there.

Having practiced and led many, many silent retreats, I loved his account of the experience here:

Social Fucking Silence

Posted: 01 Aug 2013 06:28 AM PDT

       I had never heard the term “social silence” before, but I immediately didn’t like it. I was at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, taking a course on meditation. Social silence meant that, outside of our scheduled class, I wasn’t suppose to talk. To anyone. About anything. The phrase actually scared me. Within a microsecond of hearing it, my mind projected isolation, loneliness, depression, and despair. Plus, it had a bad ring to it, like the word “rash”. And it sounded like an oxymoron.

. After hearing that they strongly recommend I practice social silence for the first few days of this new course I had just switched into, something inside of me got triggered. I wasn’t completely aware of what, but I suddenly became incredibly uneasy. All of a sudden, I completely regretted my decision to join this class.

. In the confines of my own mind, I reduced the term “social silence” to the acronym “SS” and began internally calling it that. Fully aware of the Nazi reference, it felt appropriate, considering the amount of fear and dread I was experiencing from hearing it.

, Moments before, I felt great about my decision to switch into this new course, believing I had landed just where I needed to be. Now, I literally wanted to bolt. Out the door. Out the class. Out of Kripalu. Out of what now felt like an insane asylum.

. Over the next few days, what started off as a fear became a reality. And an even bigger reality than I had first feared. I experienced not only loneliness and isolation and depression, but lots of other great stuff too. Self doubt. Self judgment. Self criticism. Pain. Self flagellation. What the hell had I gotten myself into? I didn’t need to come to Kripalu to experience that. I’m perfectly capable of creating that on my own, back home.

. Not only that, but because I couldn’t talk about how I felt with anyone, it was getting worse. I have always processed things through talking. The more I talk, and listen, and converse, the more able I am to move through stuff. And the more I’m able to connect. Now I wasn’t moving through anything, and I wasn’t connecting. At least it didn’t feel like I was. So I’m not only stuck, I’m lonely. All this shit is coming up, and I’m unable to tell anyone, save for my time in class, which offered relatively little room for that. I just had to sit with it. To be with it. To experience it. To allow it.

. And it was precisely in the being with it, in the allowing of it, that I got what I needed.

. Please stay tuned.

.

©2013 Clint Piatelli, MuscleHeart, and Red F Publishing. All rights reserved.

Clint is a great writer and he's got a wealth of creative expressions on his site.

Questions and Some Answers

My last class of the season at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Arlington was a Question and Answer session. Truly wonderful, thoughtful questions and I hope my responses may have come close to doing them justice.

Two more weeks of class then we'll start up again the fall.

The blurb:

Themes from this evening:  How do we cultivate awareness of self and live with others?

Why is happiness so important?

What do I do when I meditate and 'feel worse?'

What is it about the moment that is so important in all these teachings?

How do I prevent experiences where I get overwhelmed and 'lose it?'

All these and more ...

iTunes podcast here, online streaming here and talks on Stitcher here.

Who are You and What is Your Path?

Someone once asked one of my teachers, "If I'm going to meditate, I don't want to waste my time.  So, what's the best meditation technique?"

My teacher paused, then said, "The one you do on a regular basis."

"Explore your purpose in life," he said, "then give yourself to it fully." The Buddha supposedly said, "Finding your dharma is your dharma" or "Finding your path is your path."

We each have unique history, preferences and character structures. Though there are plenty of traditions and teachers that will happily explain why their approach is the best, only you can truly determine the practices, observances and restraints that will cultivate greater understanding, wisdom and compassion.

To do that you need both clear intention and ruthless honesty as you evaluate your thoughts and actions.

That's a bit on the topic for this week's class.  Here's the blurb:

There is no 'one size fits all' in spiritual practice.  We each have our own path of healing and self-discovery.  How do you determine your path?  What do all paths have in common?

This talk explores the formation of your unique character structure and the process of discovering not only who you are, but what you are and what practices are the best match for you in your life.

iTunes podcast here.   Online streaming here.  Now on Stitcher here.

Intimacy

This weekend Tara and I led a daylong retreat on "Conscious Relationships" at Catholic University of America. A major theme of the day was exploring what gets in the way of intimacy.

It was quite the dance to explore the theme of intimacy  in a group of 250.

Wonderful people and a wonderful day.

Men Meeting for Meditation Tonight

This is a great group.   I'm teaching at UUCA tonight, but if you're wanting to join in with a group of like-minded folks, go here!  

Men Meeting for Meditation (M3) a time for mindful movement, meditation and discussion

www.menmeetingformeditation.com

M3 Monday, July 1st, 7:30-9pm Reminder The next Men Meeting for Meditation (M3) will be tomorrow, Monday, July 1st at 7:30pm at the Watha Daniel/Shaw Library, Conference Room #1 (lower level).If you did not receive or had trouble viewing the previous mailing                  you can see it here. Meditation in Silicon Valley The most recent Wired magazine (July 2013) has an interesting article on the use of mindfulness and meditation in Silicon Valley,Enlightenment Engineers.

M3 is a monthly meeting of men for mindful movement, meditation and discussion. Our goal is to create a space for men to learn the power of silent meditation, to deepen their meditation practice, and to interact with other like-minded men.

Guided Meditation: Stretch, Flow, Scan and Breathe

This might be a good meditation for you if you're feeling a bit restless or distracted. You'll start with a seated stretch and use slow motion movement as a way to concentrate your mind.  You'll then shift to sensing different parts of the body from the inside, then lightly concentrate on the movement of breath.

In the final minutes you'll explore simply resting in awareness and 'letting it all be.'

iTunes podcast here, online streaming here.

The Felt Sense of Awakened Presence

This week's talk continues along the theme of "feeling and healing." The simple guideline to move from your narrative to your experience can cultivate dramatic shifts.

The arising of wisdom and compassion are more than just concepts.  They are embodied experiences.

The blurb:

The flowering of your practice is Wisdom and Compassion.  You see more clearly in the nature of things and your capacity to hold your experience and the experience of those around you can dramatically increase.

It's one thing to recognize these factors and another to embody them intimately.  This talk explores the 'felt sense' of embodied presence.

iTunes podcast here, online streaming here.

Men Meeting for Meditation

 

I'm just back from an inspiring day at the IMCW Men's Retreat.  There is nothing quite like the company of like-minded men who share an intention to be more awake and alive.  We had a pretty diverse group and despite the differences in age, culture, sexual orientations and professions, a sense of kindness and generosity permeated the day.

It's been an honor to lead these gathering these last years.

If you are interested in joining up with men in the DC area, do check out Men Meeting for Meditation (M3).  More about this group:

Men Meeting for Meditation (M3) is a monthly meeting of men for mindful movement, meditation and discussion. Our goal is to create a space for men to learn the power of silent meditation, to deepen their meditation practice, and to interact with other like-minded men.

This is a meeting for men who desire to live awake, alive and fully aware lives. An important goal of this gathering is to be challenged and corrected by like-minded men, “as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” The Proverb is the metaphor for these gatherings. It is an opportunity for men to sharpen each other in their spiritual walk so we can live as fully awake beings.

Currently we are changing locations, but will announce a new location soon. In addition to the monthly meetings, we would like for M3 to serve as a forum and network of men who want to challenge each other and grow in their own meditation practice.

What are ways in which we could be of service?

We are looking at online video streaming sessions with live chats, simultaneous live meditation sessions, smaller local groups that could meet more regularly to have more personal interaction.

Other ideas and suggestions are welcome.

Contact Kevin at Kdejones@gmail.com with any ideas or comments.

Dude, You Totally Had It Coming

This was my last talk on Capitol Hill for the season.  Starting in June, community members will be leading class through the summer. Much of mindfulness is about remembering.  Coming back to the here and now.  Two most important factors to remember:  Impermanence and the Law of Cause and Effect.

Your relationship to impermanence absolutely determines the degree to which you will feel stress, dissatisfaction and suffering.  Fight reality and you're probably going to lose.

Recalling that your thoughts, speech and actions impact your destiny can help you remember that it's not so much about what is happing, but how you are holding your experience.

Here's the blurb:

This talk was originally titled, "The Nature of Karma," but I like this one much better. When you remember impermanance and the law of cause and effect you can stay awake and aware of the infinite possiblity that lies in each moment.

When you remember that your thoughts, speech and actions create your destiny, there lies the possiblity of freedom in the midst of turmoil.

Podcast here, online streaming here.

A Guided Meditation

Use this meditation if you'd like a blend of techniques ...

• A short stretch with a slow motion release
• A ten-minute body scan
• Breath and sound as an anchor to the here and now.

Direct streaming here ....

The Five Daily Recollections

How easy we fall into a trance of thinking, planning, judging, fearing ... Remembering that everything changes helps us to celebrate what is here.

These five recollections were recommended by the Buddha as daily reflections.

1. I am of the nature to decay. I have not gone beyond decay.

2. I am of the nature to be diseased. I have not gone beyond disease.

3. I am of the nature to die. I have not gone beyond death.

4. All that is mine, beloved and pleasing, will change and vanish.

5. I am the owner of my actions, heir to my actions, born of my actions, related to my actions, supported by my actions.

Whatever actions I do, whether good or evil, of that I shall be the heir. 

This week's talk is borderline morose as we dive into the Five Heavenly Messengers. As fair warning if you're drawn to listen to it, I tried to lighten things up with a few death jokes here and there.

The blurb:

The Buddha recommended reflecting on five essential truths that reinforce your awareness of impermanance.  Only when we embrace the fact that all things born of conditions are subject to change we can truly grasp how precious this moment is.

This understanding can transform your relationship to death ... and, of course,  to life.

iTunes podcast here and online streaming here.

Bluebells Gone Wild

It's peak Bluebell season here on the Virginia side of the Potomac.

Photo shot and edited by Sarah Foust

On Courage and Vitality

This week's talk is not quite a 'bait and switch' but it's different that the topic at hand. While the title was 'Mindfulness at Work," I thought I'd explore something transcendent to that, which is the cultivation of courage. To wake up requires a capacity to identify what is between you and feeling free and to actively investigate the attitude in your mind, how you are holding your experience and what is actually true.

I've learned that doing the most difficult thing first in the day often leads to some kind of breakthrough.  When I work through some gnarly action item and make progress, I feel great.

In that same way, bringing attention to difficulty can open up new possibilities.

The blurb:

Waking up to who you really are requires a blend of deep relaxation and  applied concentration.  Relaxation helps you sense outside the comparing and judging mind.  Concentration helps you identify habitual patterns and helps you wake up out of the trance of busyness, fear, confusion and cycle of endless desires.

Waking up requires a special form of energy which is not just biological, but also mental and emotional.  Courage gives you the strength to identify where you are stuck or lost and can open up possbilities where they did not exist before.  Courage is the opposite of retreat.  It is the capacity to engage with difficulty and open to new levels of aliveness.

iTunes podcast here and online streaming here.

Your Leaps of Faith

This week's talk from St. Mark's on Capitol Hill is about exploring faith. There is a delicate balance, as in all things, of faith and doubt.

Too much faith and no doubt results in 'magical thinking.'

Too much doubt and no open inquiry results in feeling closed off from the mystery of this human experience.

The blurb:

Faith spans the full range of human experience - from a quality of faith that is filled with possibility but hasn't been tested to a mature, abiding faith.  Each one of us has experienced a crisis in faith that results in some form of betrayal and each of us has experienced numerous times, a 'leap of faith' when we launch into the unknown.

This talk explores the delicate balance of faith and a discerning, skeptical mind. The result of that balance?  The experience of 'verified faith,' the kind of 'knowing' that comes through sincere, rigorous investigation.

iTunes podcast here and online streaming here.

Join a telesangha!

One of the age old issues around a meditation practice is cultivating consistency. The Buddha described the process of awakening as 'swimming upstream,' not just against your own innate conditioning, but against the conditioning of the culture.

That's why over the ages folks have gathered in collectives.  If you want something, align with others who want the same thing.

A brilliant solution that provides support and uses technology in the best way: telesangha!

The brainchild of Mo Edjlali, the founder of ZenCEO, this has been tested over the last year and is ready to support more practitioners.

http://youtu.be/I7ym23QZnOI

Go here for more information and to sign up.

One Breath at a Time

I am on my way home after a transformational nine days with amazing Kripalu yoga teachers for the program “Exploring the Energy Body: Teaching Pranayama and Meditation.” There is nothing like immersion into a safe, inspired community with a deep commitment to serve. Many thanks to everyone, our 58 yogis, an amazing staff and to co-director Larissa Carlson, pranayama master extraordinaire.

The Dharma of Relationships, Part II

Just confirming that I've got a great face for radio.   Part II:  

http://youtu.be/Sm1C49Q5JUw