Meditation Matters: Recent Episodes
apmeditation
Guided meditations for mindfulness, with Brian Israel. To join the daily meditation live, please contact Brian at brian.israel@arnoldporter.com.
Poet Mary Oliver wrote soul-searching lines of trauma and grace, as well as accessible verses celebrating nature, beauty, life and joy.
Today we'll read from her poem "The Journey."
In these uncertain and challenging times, we all need to find ways to heal. Of course, healing does not mean that pain doesn't exist. It means that the pain no longer controls you. Through gratitude, we can improve our resilience, our optimism, and our ability to cope with pain and uncertainty.
Today's meditation will focus on the healing power of gratitude.
In celebration of "Do Something Good for Your Neighbor Day", today's meditation will focus on Lovingkindness.
It doesn't always feel this way, but joy is a state of being we can choose. What's more, joy is infinite and always within us.
Today's podcast will focus on expanding joy.
As part of Well-Being in Law Week, today’s meditation will focus on emotional well-being. We'll practice letting go of the things we don't want and expanding the things we do want.
As part of Well-Being in Law Week, today’s meditation will focus on social well-being. Healthy relationships can profoundly impact our mental health and overall wellness. Research shows that we live longer, heal faster, have less stress and more joy.
So today, let's expand our social well-being by focusing on deepening our relationships and connections with others.
Meditation can help us achieve professional well-being by allowing us to focus on true and lasting success.
As part of Well-Being in Law Week, today’s meditation will focus on Professional Well-Being.
Meditation can help us calm our mind and provide the fertile soil where answers we seek can come more easily.
Today's meditation will focus on spiritual well-being.
Research shows that meditation can help reduce the body's production of cortisol, which is our body's stress hormone.
As a part of Well-Being Week, today's meditation will focus on slowing down and releasing stress.
William Wordsworth's poetry captures the healing powers and beauty of the natural world. It provides respite from the business of our daily lives.
Today we'll listen to his poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud".
The most productive thing you can do is to do nothing.
Today's podcast will focus on being still.
Today's meditation will focus on the poetry of Wendell Berry and healing power of nature.
Today's podcast features poetry from Khalil Gibran, a Lebanese-American writer and poet. Gibran is most famous for a book of poems called "The Prophet", first published in English in 1923.
Remember poetry, like meditation, can be experienced in any way you experience it.
Often the greatest gift we can give ourselves is the gift of stillness.
Today's podcast will focus on compassionate breathing.
George Bernard Shaw once said "We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.”
Today's podcast will focus on being playful.
Today's Poetry Friday will focus on words from David Steindl-Rast. While you're listening, become aware of a growing feeling of gratitude.
While it's true that every season contains infinite possibilities, spring seems to be nature's reminder of all that is possible. Perhaps this is because spring is when we can easily observe the life bursting forth in everything.
Today we'll share a few poems about spring.
Bruce Lee once said "Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend."
Today we'll focus on becoming like water.
Love is the key ingredient to healing. When we feel the power of love, we connect to our deeper spiritual self.
Today's meditation will focus on the healing power of love.
A beginners' mind is a mind full of curiosity and wonder, free of preconceptions and expectations.
Today's podcast will focus on reclaiming the beginners' mind.
Thích Nhất Hạnh once said "if we are not calm, we cannot listen and understand."
Today's meditation will focus on finding stillness.
In solidarity with Catherine, Princess of Whales, we'll enjoy some classic poetry from the United Kingdom.
Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is to just relax.
Today's podcast will focus on meditating to achieve complete relaxation.
William Edgar Stafford was a poet from Hutchinson, Kansas. Some of his most poignant poems are about the simple beauty of nature and appreciating the moment.
Today we'll reflect on his poem "Ask Me".
It's been said that what we focus on expands and grows. Thus when we focus on the goodness in our lives, we actually create more of it.
Today's podcast will focus on prayer through gratitude.
You are completing deserving of peace, now and always. From time to time, your mind may begin to wander to a memory of fear. That's part of being human.
Today's meditation will focus on welcoming peace with our breath.
Joy is a state of being you can choose. Joy is infinite and part of who we really are. Sometimes we simply need to reawaken the joy that exists naturally within us.
Today's meditation will focus on the joy within.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is a mindfulness training program created by Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979. It is supported by a wide body of research showing that is effective in treating stress, chronic pain, anxiety, and even depression. One component of the program is called the body scan, in which we bring awareness to various parts of our body.
Today's podcast will focus on the body scan component.
Welcoming inner peace begins with choice. Our emotions are our emotions. In the words of the American nun Pema Chödrön "Inner peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or event to control your emotions."
Today's meditation will focus on welcoming inner peace.
Mindfulness is simply expanding your awareness of your own actions, thoughts and feelings. It is the practice of non-judgmental serving. It allows us to liberate ourselves from the extremes of thinking too much and thinking too little.
Today's podcast will focus on choosing mindfulness.
Especially in times of uncertainty or difficulty, it's important to remember that we all deserve happiness. True happiness is not dependent on what is happening around us, but is within us and always available.
Today's podcast will focus on choosing happiness.
Thich Nhat Hanh once said "Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor."
Today's podcast will focus on conscious breathing.
When love is the foundation of your life, there are no limits or problems that cannot be solve. Today's meditation will focus on the healing power of love.
Margaret Atwood is known for her book series The Handmaid's Tale and is regarded as one of Canada's finest writers. She is also an accomplished poet and activist.
Today's meditation will focus on poetry from Margaret Atwood.
We all feel anger from time to time, both in our personal lives and as we bear witness to injustice around the world. Anger is natural, and if properly directed can lead to positive emotions and actions.
Today's podcast will focus on releasing anger.
What is humility exactly? It's not the observation of ourselves as small, but rather viewing ourselves as part of something larger.
Today's podcast will focus on finding greatness through humility.
Bobby McFerrin once sang "In every life we have some trouble. But when you worry, you make it double."
Today's podcast will focus on living a stress-free life.
Wendell Berry's poetry celebrates the sacredness of life and everyday miracles.
Today's meditation will feature a few of Berry's poems, including "The Peace of Wild Things."
George Barnard Shaw once said "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."
Deciding to bring more playfulness into our lives is a decision to stay young in mind, body, and spirit. Today's podcast will focus on being lighthearted and childlike.
There is nothing planned for today's podcast, so instead we'll focus on the act of breathing. Sometimes the greatest gift we can give to ourselves is the gift of mindful breathing.
Sometimes people judge and say "Don't just sit there, do something." But occasionally it's nice to do the opposite.
Today's podcast will focus on simply sitting.
Henry David Thoreau once said that our health requires relaxation and aimlessness.
Today's meditation will focus on letting our breath be our masseuse.
It's been said that spirituality is the bravest journey. Today's meditation will focus on strengthening our connection with the divine and fearlessly peering into the mysteries of life.
Inner peace is always there. It is not necessarily the solution, but it is a way to the solution.
Today's podcast will focus on welcoming inner peace.
It seems like stress can be a familiar friend, always with us. But stress is not a mandatory part of life.
Today's podcast will focus on enhancing our wellbeing by letting go of stress and releasing worry.
It doesn't always feel this way, but joy is a state of being that you can choose.
Today's podcast will focus on one of our intentions for 2024, which is to live joyfully present.
When hearing poetry, nothing is supposed to happen. Instead, allow the words to flow through you.
Today's podcast will include a poem from David Steindl-Rast's book "99 Blessings."
There is always something, even in times of difficulty, that we can be grateful for. But when we focus on the goodness of our lives, we actually create more of it.
Today's podcast will focus on being grateful.
Through mindfulness and non-judgmental learning, we become aware of the choices we make through every single moment. Once we become aware of those moments, we can choose to let go of anxiety and overcome reactivity.
Today's podcast will focus on releasing ourselves of reactivity and anxiety.
In times of difficulty and challenge, the resilience that lies within each of us is always there. That resilience is part of who we really are. We are resilient not because we lack challenges, but often because of them.
Today's podcast will focus on resilience in times of difficulty.
Especially in times of uncertainty or difficulties, it's important that we bring our awareness to expanding hopefulness.
We hear a lot of the importance of being there for friends and family, being there for those who are struggling. Of course, true presence is more than just being there.
Today's podcast will focus on expanding our ability to be there for others.
As the Benedictine monk David Steindl-Rast said "in thanksgiving to life, I pledge to overcome fear by seeing in what I might otherwise fear, the opportunity to cultivate courageous trust in life and so to lay the foundation for a peaceful future."
Today's podcast will focus on Trusting Life.
While it may not feel like it with all of the difficulties swirling around us, joy is a feeling that you can choose.
Today's podcast will focus on trusting in the universe and being joyfully present.
While we all have challenges and difficulties, and these are difficult times, we need to remember that we have control over our inner peace. Inner peace begins the moment you choose not to let another person or external event to control your emotions.
Today's podcast will focus on poetry from Julia Fehrenbacher's collection On the Other Side of Fear.
Today's podcast will focus on the third step in our Healing series. Pain and life is inevitable, but suffering is not.
Mindfulness-based stress reduction, or MSBR, is a training program created by Jon Kabat-Zinn the late 70s. MSBR is supported by a wide body of research that showing that it is it is effective at addressing chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and general stress reduction.
One key tool of this program is called the body scan, which is what today's podcast will focus on.
Whether it be worry, grievance, pain or any other emotion, we often feel as if there is a storm within us.
Today's meditation will focus on calming that storm and regaining a sense of harmony.
It’s been said that conflict in the world is an outer manifestation of the human mind. And thus, in bringing an sense of ease to the human mind, perhaps we will gain an understanding to the true power of peace.
Today’s podcast will focus on achieving inner peace and coping with uncertainty in the world around us.
Today's podcast will focus on the Serenity Prayer, often attributed to the American theologian and philosopher Reinhold Niebuhr. The prayer offers us the opportunity in times of great stress and discord to re-center our thoughts and actions where they can be helpful and constructive.
Today's podcast will focus on poetry from Yehuda Amichai. Born in Germany in 1924, he fled the Nazi's at age 12 and settled in Tel Aviv. He's recoginized as one of Israel's finest poets, and it's been said that he's the most widely translated poet since King David.
We all feel anger from time to time. Anger is natural and if properly directed, can lead to positive emotions and change.
Today's podcast will focus on overcoming anger.
Martin Luther King once said "we must learn to live together as brothers, or perish together as fools."
Today's podcast will focus on finding unity.
Fortitude is the ability to walk through fear, doubt and uncertainty.
Today's meditation will focus on embracing our inner courage and inner fortitude as we pray for unity and strength around the world.
It's been said that while being self-centered is the source of grief, being centered is the source of freedom.
Being centered means being aware of the calmness and quiet inside of you. As you become centered, you experience timelessness.
It's said that a calm mind is a best cure for life's challenges.
Today's podcast will focus on relaxing our bodies and calming our minds.
The most important thing about meditation is that it gives us the opportunity to hear our soul speaking to us. Today's meditation will focus on listening to our souls.
There is no better time than autum to imagine that we are standing like trees, our inner selves unadorned by decoration, ready to rest and regain our strength. Growth requires release.
Today's podcast will focus on renewal.
We all make mistakes. Other people, even those close to us, can hurt us from time to time. But if we hold on to grudges forever, it's like adding an entire new injury to the experience.
Today's meditation will focus on forgiveness.
Reb Nachman advocated for an unstructured and spontaneous form of prayer, often in solitude. His goal was to see the divinity inherent in all beings.
Lovingkindess has no conditions and no expectations. It is ideal, pure love which exists within each of us.
Today's podcast will focus on expanding love towards ourselves and others.
Today's podcast will focus on the wisdom of William James, the great American philosopher who once said "the greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another."
This week's Poetry Friday will focus on Khalil Gibran and his poem "On Self Knowledge".
Through love, we connect to our true spiritual self, without flaws or imperfections. Through love, we connect to the infinite, perfect stillness which is always with us.
Inner peace always begins with choice. In the words of the American Nun Pema Chödrön, inner peace begins the moment you choose not to let another person or external event control your emotions.
In today's podcast, we'll focus on a simple exercise that will help us choose peace.
In celebration of National Relaxation Day, today’s meditation will include a Relaxing Awareness Massage.
We are resilient not because we lack challenges or burdens, but because we each have the capacity to continue on despite those challenges.
Today's podcast will focus on increasing strength and resilience.
In today's podcast, we'll celebrate National Lazy Day by including 10 minutes of silent meditation in addition to our normal opening and closing.
Sometimes being present is the greatest gift we can give others.
In today's meditation, we'll walk through four intentions to strengthen our ability to be there for those who are important in our lives.
Happiness is not dependent on what it happening. It is already within us, just waiting patiently for us to call upon it.
Today's meditation will focus on embracing happiness more fully.
A beginner's mind is a mind for of curiosity and wonder. It is free of pre-conceptions, curious, and fresh.
Today's podcast will focus on expanding an cultivating a beginner's mind.
Today's meditation includes poetry from the 8th century Chinese poet Li Po. His poetry emphasizes harmony with nature, appreciation for the present moment, and stillness. In this way, Li Po's poetry reflects many of the themes of our daily meditation.
Rabbi Joseph Gelberman, a renowned Kabbalah teacher, once said "the most important thing about meditation is that it allows us the opportunity to hear our souls speaking to us."
Today's meditation will give us the opportunity to allow our souls and the divine presence to speak to us.
Mental health professionals teach us that by increasing gratitude or gratefulness, we improve our resilience and optimism.
Today's podcast will focus on expanding an attitude of gratitude.
All of us from time to time become frustrated with events in life. We can become upset even at little things that aren't exactly right, often a reaction to stress and anxiety.
On today's podcast, we'll focus on expanding our ability to go with the flow.
Disappointment is a feeling that follows the failure of expectations. We all feel disappointment sometimes, but we need not be defined by it.
Today's podcast will focus on dislodging any disappointment we may be carrying.
The greatest gift of meditation is simply the opportunity to pause and go within.
In today's meditation, we'll focus on taking a moment to breathe.
Our ability to choose one thought over another is our greatest weapon against stress.
Stress in not a mandatory part of life. Today, let's choose to let go of the thoughts that cause stress.
Today’s meditation will include poetry by Nayyirah Waheed, sometimes called one of the most famous poets on Instagram.
Today's podcast will focus on having the intention to be aware of the smallest corners of nature.
In celebration of Independence Day, today’s meditation will include the poem “Praise Song for the Day” by Elisabeth Alexander.
Today's podcast includes a reading from Brother David Steindl-Rast's book 99 Blessings: An Invitation to Life. David is a 96 year-old Benedictine monk and author.
David Steindl-Rast once said "I pledge to overcome FEAR by seeing in what I might otherwise fear, the opportunity to cultivate courageous TRUST IN LIFE and so to lay the foundation for a peaceful future."
In today's meditation, we'll hear a few reflections from David Steindl-Rast.
In some ways, stress is like a familiar friend, seemingly always with us. But stress is not a mandatory part of life. Stress doesn't come from what's going on in your life, but what's going on in your thoughts.
Today's meditation will focus on letting go of the thoughts that cause us stress.
Catherine Pierce, a poet laureate from Mississippi, teaches poetry at Mississippi State University. Her poems are calming and introspective while bringing the present moment into vivid awareness.
Uncertainty often leads to anxiety and fear, but it is also the foundation for all creativity and hope. When nothing is certain, everything is possible.
Wendell Berry is the author of over 50 books of poetry, fiction and essays. He poetry celebrates the holiness of life and everyday miracles, as well as the healing power of living in harmony with nature.
Today's meditation will focus on allowing the words to flow through you in any way you like.
Silence is the great teacher. To learn it's lessons, you must simply pay attention.
Today's meditation will focus on silence.
Welcoming inner peace always begins with choice. Among other benefits, welcoming inner peace helps us cope with uncertainty and the business of our world, especially in busy times.
Today's meditation will focus on inner peace and not allowing external events to control our emotions.
Remember and embrace the fact that we all have enough of what we really need. We are enough and have enough. The desire for more is natural and can be healthy. Desire can lead to great creativity and many achievements, but the desire for more and the desire to be different can also be a cause of stress and worry.
Today's meditation focuses on releasing these desires.
It's been said that while being self-centered is the source of grief, being centered is the source of freedom. To be centered means to be aware of the calmness and quiet within you, and to experience timelessness.
Today's meditation focuses on finding our center.
It's in our nature to judge others and ourselves. And while judging is often useful while making our way through the world, it can also become toxic and isolating. When we judge others too much, we separate ourselves and build obstacles towards deep connection.
Today's meditation focuses on cultivating acceptance and practicing non-judgment.
At times it feels like fear is real and always present. But fear exists only in our minds. Today's podcast will focus on releasing ourselves from fear and letting go of anxiety.
We all feel uncertainty, but remember that these emotions are often a reaction to a perceived future that has not yet happened.
It may not always feel this way, but joy is a state of being you can choose. Sometimes we simply need to reawaken the infinite joy that exists naturally within us. Today’s meditation will focus on Expanding Joy.
After today’s live meditation, due to business travel and vacation, I am planning to pause our live meditations until mid-February. In addition, we are working on several technical improvements to the live meditation and podcast for the new year, as well as several new topics, for when we return. My plan is to be back in no-action on February 20th.
Amanda Gorman is a young American poet and activist, as well as the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate. In this meditation, we contemplate a short excerpt of the poem that Gorman read at the inauguration of President Joe Biden, "The Hill We Climb." We will also read a new poem by Gorman called, "New Day's Lyric."
We hear a lot about mindfulness, but what is it exactly? Mindfulness is about expanding our own awareness of our actions, thoughts, and feelings. It is the practice of nonjudgmental observing. Mindfulness is the fertile soil of freedom, because it allows us to liberate ourselves from the two extremes of thinking too much and thinking too little; from persistent busyness and thoughtless habits; from the extreme of anxiety on the one hand and reactivity on the other. Through mindfulness, we can see better the choices we get to make in every single moment. And through this practice, we can learn to be more fully present, or deliberate and more joyful.
In this practice, we focus on building our skills of mindfulness.
It is a powerful thing to embrace a simple moment of silence, a moment of disconnection. But we can give ourselves permission to feel peace in this given moment and become aware that we are completely deserving of peace, now and always.
In this meditation, we work on allowing ourselves to welcome inner peace.
An intention is a heartfelt, intuitive desire that will increase your happiness at the deepest level. While many of us are probably making New Year's resolutions, resolutions often require a certain amount of effort and willpower. On the other hand, intentions, if set correctly, are effortless and can lead to positive results that are both important and surprising.
In this meditation, we reflect on our intentions for the new year.
George Bernard Shaw once said, "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." So today let's decide to bring more play into our lives, to stay young in mind, body, and spirit.
In this meditation, we work on Welcoming Our Inner Child.
Compassion allows us to understand and accept ourselves and others, even through difficult times and challenges of life, including mistakes. And as compassion for each other grows, so does our ability to share more, and focus on empathy instead of fear, and to replace grievances with gratitude. According to the Buddha, compassion is incomplete unless it includes ourselves.
In this meditation, we work on expanding our ability to be open with ourselves and others through compassion.
We often think of miracles as events that break the laws of nature. But this is a narrow view, both of the laws of nature and the nature of miracles. Rather, miracles occur when we increase our awareness of beauty, of love, of compassion. None of these things--beauty, love, compassion--can be measured in a laboratory. And yet, not one of us would deny their existence and their ability to change the world.
Albert Einstein once said, "There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
In this meditation, we work on increasing our aware of miracles great and small, with the help of this poem by Walt Whitman:
Miracles
a poem by Walt Whitman
Why, who makes much of a miracle?As to me I know of nothing else but miracles,Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water,Or stand under trees in the woods,Or talk by day with any one I love, or sleep in the bed at night with any one I love,Or sit at table at dinner with the rest,Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive of a summer forenoon,Or animals feeding in the fields,Or birds, or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,Or the wonderfulness of the sundown, or of stars shining so quiet and bright,Or the exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon in spring;These with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place.
To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same,Every foot of the interior swarms with the same.
To me the sea is a continual miracle,The fishes that swim—the rocks—the motion of the waves—the ships with men in them,What stranger miracles are there?
Fear is natural. Because of the habits of our minds, fear, anxiety, and worry are sometimes easy. And calm and confidence are difficult. But fear doesn't exist anywhere in the world--it only exists in our minds.
Join us for today's meditation, focusing on Releasing Fear Itself.
Michelle Obama says in her new book "When we are able to recognize our own light, we become empowered to use it."
In celebration of the Festival of Lights, today’s meditation will focus on Radiating Our Internal Light.
In celebration of the Bill of Rights Day, today's meditation will focus on expanding our freedom within.
It's been said that freedom is the oxygen of the soul. And while there are so many dimensions to freedom, in this meditation we'll focus on our spiritual freedom.
In memory of John Lennon, who died 42 years ago yesterday, today we will enjoy some of his most moving words.
In celebration of National Time Travel Day, today’s meditation will include a Journey to the Infinite Now.
We often worry about the future and dwell in the past. But when we learn to reside fully in the here and now, we live in a time and place of infinite possibilities.
True humility is not viewing yourself as something small, but viewing yourself as something larger.
In this meditation, we will expand our sense of true, positive humility.
True happiness is not dependent on what is happening. It is always possible and available, even in times of pain and sadness.
In this meditation, we will train ourselves embrace happiness more fully and to welcome happiness more easily into our lives.
On December 1st, 1955, on her way home from work, Rosa Parks took a seat on a bus and quietly set off a social revolution. After refusing to move to the back of the bus because she was black, Parks was arrested. Eleven months later, the US Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation of public buses was unconstitutional.
In honor of this important date, let's explore how we can through meditation recognize the injustice around us, see the humanity of those who are suffering, and expand our awareness of the connection between ourselves and others.
It's in our nature to judge others, including people close to us. And while judging is often useful as we make our way in the world, it also can become toxic and isolating.
In this meditation, we will focus on practicing non-judgement towards ourselves and others.
Thích Nhất Hạnh said that people will judge and say "Don't just sit there, do something."
In this meditation, we will try to do the opposite. Oftentimes sitting and doing nothing is considered a luxury. But sitting can produce to most nourishing calm and joy, and we can all afford some time to sit.
Michelle Obama says in her new book "The Light We Carry" that "when we are able to recognize our own light, we become empowered to use it."
In this meditation, we will focus on allowing a universal light to find our heart's center.
Yoga can be done anywhere or anytime. Every movement and every stretch counts. As the Bhagavad Gita says "Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self."
In this meditation, we will use chair yoga to tap in to your inner capacity for healing and well-being. These poses are designed to facilitate an alignment of your breath with your movements.
Breathing is a profound act that connects us internally with our truest self and externally with all life on earth.
Wendell Berry's poetry celebrates the wholeness of life and miracles we often take for granted.
It's normal to have an active mind. Allow yourself to let go of all emotions that no longer serve you.
Many of us our taught that we should think before we speak, but we rarely follow this advice for ourselves. As a result. we often say things to ourselves that may not be that helpful or supportive. This meditation focuses on our ability to think before we speak to ourselves.
In celebration of National Train Your Brain Day, today’s meditation focuses on Mindfulness.
This meditation will focus on strengthening relationships with friends, family and loved ones through mindful presence.
Exploring the ability for meditation and mindfulness to help us combat social injustice, racism and intolerance.
Embracing the legendary message from Chief Seattle that all living things share the same breath and the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports.
Through the poetry of Mary Oliver, we expand our ability to pay attention, to give thanks, and to welcome the silence through which another voice may speak.
It’s been said that the secret to happiness is freedom and the secret to freedom is courage. This meditation will help us tap into the infinite courage that lies within each of us.
Using the metaphor of Russian nesting dolls, we dive deeper and deeper into our souls until we reach the level of stillness, where we find an endless supply of peace, love and joy.
By focusing on the aliveness we feel with joyful activities and important relationships, we awaken the infinite joy that resides within each of us and set our intention to enliven joy in the New Year.
Through some of the poetry of Rumi, we explore universal, ideal love which--when practiced fully--will burn away all fear, prejudice, greed and ignorance.
After the US Capitol insurrection this week, we remind ourselves that true nonviolence and true love is the greatest force on earth and our greatest hope for peace and justice.
From the wisdom of the meditation teacher Roger Gabriel, this meditation guides us to setting intentions to bring about a healthy, happy and harmonious New Year.
We “talk to ourselves” all the time but we need to be mindful of the things we say and learn not to believe everything we think. Through this meditation we expand our ability to speak to ourselves with compassion and positivity.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said that while we must accept finite disappointment, we must never lose infinite hope. This meditation expands our ability to dislodge any disappointment that we may be carrying for too long so that we can be truly free.
Today’s meditation includes a special 8-step breathing exercise designed to train ourselves to embrace happiness more fully and to welcome happiness more easily in our lives.
Through some of the poetry of Julia Fehrenbacher, we quiet the distractions and detours of our minds just long enough to hear the holy whispers that speak to each of us.
The Bhagavad Gita it says that yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self. These gentle poses are designed to stretch and open areas of your body and facilitate an alignment of your breath with your movements.
As Oprah Winfrey has said, what we focus on expands and what we give our attention to grows. Thus, when we focus on the goodness in our lives, we actually create more of it.
A meditation that bring inner peace by manifesting the insight of the American teacher Pema Chodron, who taught that that true inner peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or external event control your emotions.
Following the guidance of Thich Nhat Hanh, we experience the wisdom that “feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky…[but] conscious breathing is my anchor.”
This meditation allows us to unplug from the world of uncertainty for a few moments and embrace our inner stillness.
Expanding our ability to see the miracles that exist everywhere including the miracles of beauty, compassion and love.
Expanding the deep inner courage that lies within each of us to help work for social change and social justice.
Enjoying--and learning from--the extravagance of nature, including sunflowers, butterflies and rivers.
Expanding our capacity to replace hurt with healing, to transform pain into peace, and to liberate ourselves from the disappointments of the past.
Through meditation we learn how to be more mindful not in order to control our thoughts, but to stop letting our thoughts control us.
A meditation to embrace the wisdom of William James who said “the greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another."
Releasing ourselves from fears and other internal constraints, we embrace our limitless freedom.
Expanding our sense of connection with others and improving the quality of our relationships.
A meditation to help heal racial and social injustice by expanding our ability to love and accept each other.
From the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, we understand that if we learn to do nothing, we gain the ability to do anything.
Through a selection of poetry, we expand a sense of infinite hope available to us in every situation.
Expanding our sense of connection with others and improving the quality of our relationships.