Special PODCAST:
This talk explores the profound and elemental teachings on generosity.
You’ll learn how central generosity is to both philosophy and practice, where to begin, how to practice and how generosity is a direct path to liberation. The session ends with a flute meditation and a reflection on the generous heart.
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores how to determine what practices are best suited for you at this time in your life.
You’ll lean about the power of truthful self-assessment, the importance of identifying your patterns of resistance and how to maintain a practice that feels alive for you.
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores what is considered the flowering of spiritual practice: Equanimity.
You’ll learn what it is, what it isn’t, a practice to cultivate equanimity and some thoughts on how to navigate change with ease and grace.
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Tara and I are just back from leading a weekend retreat at Garrison Institute in Garrison, NY on relationships.
The intention to ‘wake up’ is arduous for the lone traveler. The Buddha described the process as ‘swimming upstream.’ You are going against the grain of your own conditioning as well as the conditioning of the culture. You come in contact with everything between you and feeling free.
Throw a few more people in the mix and it gets complicated!
As painful as relationships can be, when we truly connect with another there is a deep understanding of the principle of seeing ‘Self in Other and Other in Self.’
We begin to recognize anxiety and fear is not an individual experience as much as it is commonly shared.
Here’s a classic teaching story:
You are walking in the woods in a park and see a cute puppy. You walk up to the puppy to pet it. It lunges at you. Suddenly your relationship with the puppy has changed from openess and curiosity to fear and self-protection. Then you realize the puppy’s leg is in a trap. You shift again from fear and self-protection to compassion and empathy.
If we can remember this little story when someone is unskillful in their actions through ‘fight, flight or freeze,’ we can more quickly open to empathy.
And of course, when we can recognize how our leg is caught in a trap as well, true healing is possible.
Deep conversation
The chapel
Sunset outside of Baltimore
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
To receive a monthly newsletter,
please signup here.
With the exception of the beech trees, whose leaves stay through the winter, it's now 'stick season' here in the mid-Atlantic. The deer are rutting, rushing and crashing around heedless of roads and cars and the fox are yelping nightly and establishing their territories.
One nice thing about bare trees is that it's easier to see raptors along the river's edge. In the last month I've discovered where the bald eagles like to hang and a red shouldered hawk who has a tree it seems to call home.
I wish you well as you head into the winter months.
I learned how to open my heart at a silent retreat at Spirit Rock, the Insight Meditation Center in California. In addition to hours and hours of daily mindfulness meditation, each afternoon of that month we dedicated time to the heart practices. The first week the practice entailed offering kindness and compassion to ourselves. The classic phrases I like: May I feel happy. May I feel peace. May I feel safe from inner and outer harm. May I feel free from suffering. The second week we turned our attention to a 'benefactor' and to those we know are 'on our team'. These can include pets, friends, family, ancestors, well-wishers. The third week we turned our attention to a 'neutral person.' We were instructed to select someone with whom we felt no particular charge - no strong attraction and no strong aversion. "Try the guy at the post office," one teacher suggested. I chose our retreat manager. She struck me as a fine, but unremarkable person. Each day I would think of her and wish her happiness, peace, safety and freedom. About day four of that week, at the end of a meditation I opened my eyes and noticed her coming into the hall. My heart soared. "My beloved has arrived!," I thought as my heart started gushing. I was falling in love with our retreat manager! There is a saying that goes like this: "Where the attention goes, the energy flows." When you turn your attention to healing your heart, things happen. First you'll notice what's between you and openness, but with patience and persistence, you may well find and experience states of immeasurable kindness, compassion and joy. If you'd like to listen to the series, you can go here: Loving Kindness Compassion for Self Compassion for Others In future talks I'll be exploring joy and equanimity. You can sign up for the podcast here and online streaming here.
Relationships Retreat at the Garrison Institute with Tara Brach Learn More
Evening Class at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington Learn More
Evening Class at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington Learn More
Evening Class at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington Learn More
Evening Class at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington Learn More
While each month on the river celebrates change, this month offers more drama as we move into winter.
The wind can tear up and down the river and quickly strip the trees of leaves.
Sunrise around the tip of Gladys island.
Morning light illuminates the barren woods.
Mature Bald Eagles on a cold and windy sunrise.
A few days later, an immature Bald Eagle on a more balmy sunrise.
One of the most efficient and powerful ways to shift your physiology, consciousness and quality of presence is to change how you breathe. This "Five Breaths / Five Scenes" video features mostly stills from this most recent month on the Potomac. Just five, slow breaths can help you refresh your mind and heart.
If you live in the DC area and are interested in dedicating a year to practices that support transformation, you might like to check out The Year of Living Mindfully.
I've not yet updated the site with all the details, but if you'd like to check out last year's course description you can go here.
Stay tuned for more information down the road.
I hate migraines. I've been getting them since I was about six and still dread the first sensations that indicate I'm due for an extended visit. When we're in pain, we contract. This is an utterly natural response that can allow us to tolerate what is arising. Equally naturally, though, is the tendency to harden and calcify around unpleasant sensation. Kindness can be a kind of salve or lubricant that allows you to feel what is there and find new ways to be with it. Imagine you've stubbed your toe. One strategy is to stay angry and upset. Another strategy is to soften, relax, maybe even hold your toe in your hands, take a few deep breaths and offer it a little compassion. Whether the pain moves or not, the second option is a lot juicier. I led this meditation at a recent IMCW Retreat. It's a buffet of experiences for working with pain in the body. I hope you might find it helpful.
To receive a monthly newsletter,
please signup here.
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores the art and science of cultivating joy for yourself and others.
You’ll learn about the transformative possibilities that arise when you can sustain attention on healing your heart, the emotions which stand in opposition to joy and how to work with them, a guided meditation on joy and finally, how joy leads to a powerful state of non-dual awareness.
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
One of the most efficient and powerful ways to shift your physiology, consciousness and quality of presence is to change how you breathe.
This "Five Breaths / Five Scenes" video features mostly stills from this most recent month on the Potomac. Just five, slow breaths can help you refresh your mind and heart.
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores how you can offer compassion for others.
You’ll learn about the the nature of compassion, the essential elements of the practice, potential pitfalls and the relationship between compassion and karma.
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores how you can cultivate compassion for yourself.
You’ll learn how you lose your connection to compassion, ways to reconnect and heal and some pointers on the path of awakening the heart.
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
This Saturday 65 brave beings showed up for a day of practice. We explored ‘moving from the gross to the subtle,’ beginning with vigorous moving, shaking and sounding, intro free-flow movement, then breath, seated meditation, then the ultimate resting place, a long, deep lying-down meditation.
Lying-down meditation can be quite the remedy for many of us who are chronically over-stimulated and exhausted.
When you take this on as a regular practice, you may notice you fall asleep every time. As you start to feel more rested, you’ll notice more aliveness and wakefulness. You’ll notice over time you can sustain attention even in the deep cycles of the brainwaves of sleep.
As yoga says, "The more dynamic your rest, the more dynamic your activity."
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Whether you are a seasoned yoga practitioner or brand new to yoga, you're invited to join this freely-offered gathering.
Yoga was originally designed to prepare the body for meditation. By performing postures designed to release muscle tension and emotional stress, the body and mind can calm dramatically and increase your capacity to access a still and restful place inside.
In this 50-minute session you'll explore practices that will energize and strengthen you, help you release deep-seated tension and cultivate a sense of presence and well-being.
A few details:
* The session starts at 6:30 on Monday Nights. Come early to set up.
* Bring your own yoga mat and a blanket.
* Please let the instructor know any issues you may have so they can best support you.
* From brand new to experienced. The flow is suitable for all levels.
You'll start with an brief introduction, practice breathing techniques, guided postures and end with a lying down meditation / relaxation.
The class is secular and does not promote or aspire toward any religious philosophy.
The session ends at 7:20 and gives you time to transition to the guided meditation and class starting at 7:30.
This class is offered freely. Your donation helps cover the cost of the room, supports the teacher and ensures no one is denied access to these profound practices.
Rita Naomi Moran is a Kripalu-trained yoga teacher and owner of a private physical therapy practice that has the mission to help people reach their full potential. She has been a member of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington for 10 years and a kayaker and nature lover for many more. Anna Johns grew up in India where yoga was a part of the culture. She has training in yoga from an Indian master, a 200-hr certification in the US and a Certificate in Therapeutic Yoga for Seniors from Duke Integrative Medicine. Lynne Weir is a Kripalu trained yoga teacher and owns a private physical therapy practice and teaches yoga classes in Alexandria. On the Potomac you will find her coaching sculling (rowing). She has participated in Insight Meditation evening practices for the past 5 years and is excited to join other yoga teachers in offering a practice for the Monday night group. This is a drop in class and you are welcome anytime. For more information, please contact: Rita Moran at 301-452-8924 or Send Email
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores the power of loving kindness.
You’ll learn how you can open to receive kindness, how to tune in to those around you and anticipate how they best receive and explore what happens with the intention to live from an open heart.
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
From the afternoon Metta meditation at the 2015 IMCW Fall Retreat. Brief instructions and orientation and three guided meditations on shifting your relationship with pain.
You'll explore the zones of pleasant, unpleasant and neutral sensation, a loving kindness body scan and using mindful breath, offering compassion to your body.
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores two fundamental wings of practice: Your capacity to pay attention on purpose and your capacity to be aware.
You’ll learn about the tremendous benefits of concentration and explore a helpful and accessible technique as well learn about the benefits of mindfulness and how wisdom and compassion arise when you pay intimate attention to what arises in each moment.
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
To receive a monthly newsletter,
please signup here.
Recently I’ve been rebuilding our wood stove, putting on snow tires and checking my stock of wool socks.
We’ve had a cold snap and with the days getting shorter it’s easy to get out on the river well before sunrise, though now I’m wearing long underwear, my thermal gloves and heavy duty booties.
There’s a natural turning inward this time of year as the fall colors blossom and fade. I wish you well in a another season of transition.
here’s a look Tara gives me when she says, "We need to talk." It's a certain narrowing of her eyes and set to her jaw. My reaction is always the same, no matter how many times it happens. The thought process goes like this: "I know I'll be glad we had this talk. I know this is good for me. But nothing in me wants to do this right now!" Figuring out and managing one's own life path (dharma) is hard enough. Mix it up with another and things can get enormously complicated. As Tara and I have been teaching more about the the art of relationships, we've come to see that 'relational dharma' is a powerful and transformative path. One day Tara and I were in some conflict. I felt hurt by something she said but didn't say anything about it. I carried it around for days and I could feel resentment building up. When we finally sat down to clear the air, given how backed up my emotions were, my communication wasn't, to put it mildly, skillful. After I had emptied both barrels in a hot torrent of anger and frustration Tara paused for a bit and then said, "You know, I totally get it. I'd feel exactly the same way if that happened to me." Game over. I'd been heard. I got that she got it. We joke now that the first person to do a role-reversal wins. For both of us. A role-reversal is simply tuning into another's experience and imagining what it must feel like inside. When I'm around others now I try to remember to imagine and sense what they might need or want. From the cashier who I imagine might be feeling tired at the end of the day to the phone conversation where I imagine the other person needs to air out some as yet unspoken feeling, I see this practice as an opportunity to pause and practice empathy. Who knows if I'm just hallucinating, but it seems as though my capacity for compassion has increased a bit. One teacher said it comes down to this: Learn to see Self in Other and Other in Self. In December Tara and I are offering a weekend residential retreat on relationships. More below. If you'd like to catch a talk I gave on this topic you can listen via youtube, iTunes or streaming online. iTunes Podcast
Evening Class at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington Learn More
Evening Class at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington Learn More
A Meditative Journey: Dynamic Meditation
Learn More
Evening Class at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington Learn More
Evening Class at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington Learn More
Evening Class at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington Learn More
Relationships Retreat at the Garrison Institute with Tara Brach Learn More
The light changes each month. I'm savoring the last of these colors before winter sets in.
I aim to get to the river before sunrise. This morning's glow lasted all of about thirty seconds.
Morning light flows between two islands.
Water, on the rocks.
Stopping over.
First light on Sycamore roots.
Backlighting on a small island.
Video and stills from this month. We work our way up-river, then literally go with the flow back down. I share a few of the more compelling clips and shots in recent weeks and if you like, you can do some coherent breathing as well.
at the Garrison Institute
Garrison, NY
December 4 - 6
Please come on your own, or with a friend, family member or partner!
Intimacy with others can be the ground for experiencing full aliveness and sacred communion.
Yet as so many have experienced, our relationships are also often the source of insecurity, hurt and betrayal.
During this weekend workshop we will explore the beliefs and feelings that separate us from each other and the meditative practices that enable us to cultivate genuine bonds of trust, understanding, intimacy and love.
Our time together will include short dharma talks, silent meditation, mindful movement, reflective inquiry and dyadic exercises.
To learn more, please visit: Garrison Institute.
Non-Violent Communication is one the most effective techniques I've ever run across for bridging the chasm between conflicted parties. There's an art and science to it, but I find it helpful to think of this as four inquiries: 1. What exactly are we talking about? What do we both agree actually happened?
2. What do I feel? (Hint: It's usually more than one feeling.)
3. What was I hoping for or wanting that didn't happen? (This can be a big shift from blame to identifying your unmet need.)
4. What is a life-affirming request I can make? (For example, "Would you be willing to find a time when we can talk about this?" "Would you be willing to tell me what I said so I get that you heard me?")
These four inquiries, if you attend to them with honesty, sincerity and diligence, can guide you to wisdom and compassion for yourself and the other.
To learn more about Non-Violent Communication, click here.
To receive a monthly newsletter,
please signup here.
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Video and stills from this most recent month. We work our way up-river, then literally go with the flow back down.
I share a few of the more compelling clips and shots in recent weeks and if you like, you can do some ‘coherent breathing’ as well.
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
Special PODCAST:
This talk explores how you can shift your relationship to thoughts.
You’ll learn how thoughts are organic and natural, how thoughts are one aspect of ’the self', how to untangle obsessive thinking and how to turn your attention toward the source of thought itself.
iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.
