Contemplating impermanence not only motivates your practice, but also fuels it.
~ HH the Dalai Lama
Meditation
A beautiful reminder of the importance of Stillness from John O’Donohue, shared via Rebecca Toh.
Thank you to @patrickrhone for making me aware of Toh’s writings.
Today, July 6th, is His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 85th birthday. Here is his 85th Birthday Message.
May Meditation Nudges - Final Week
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
As a compliment to the live meditation sessions that I am running through May on YouTube and archived on my YouTube page, I am sharing tips and advice on meditation practice. I am calling these brief posts, May Meditation Nudges. Here are the topics and links from the forth week. Posts from the first week can be found here, the second week here, the third week here, and the forth week here.May Meditation Nudge 31
Sunday, May 31, 2020
Boundaries This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. I want to finish up the May Meditation Nudges with a short reflection on what external support we can offer our meditation practice. By that I mean, what we can do away from our formal meditation practice, out in our daily life, to aid our meditation practice.May Meditation Nudge 30
Saturday, May 30, 2020
Keeping it light This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. I have spoken during these May Meditation Nudges of the importance of just showing up, of sitting with our emotions regardless of what arises and the need for vulnerability. This might appear on the face of it as though meditation is rather an ordeal, especially when I speak about meditation being a marathon and not a sprint.May Meditation Nudges - Forth Week
Saturday, May 30, 2020
As a compliment to the live meditation sessions that I am running through May on YouTube and archived on my YouTube page, I am sharing tips and advice on meditation practice. I am calling these brief posts, May Meditation Nudges. Here are the topics and links from the forth week. Posts from the first week can be found here, the second week here, and the third week here. Day 22 Emotions Day 23 Fine tuning the focus Day 24 Loving kindness Day 25 Does this ring true for you?May Meditation Nudge 29
Friday, May 29, 2020
Hear, reflect, meditate This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. Within the tradition that I was taught meditation, three steps were explained leading up to engaging in a meditation practice. Hear or read the teaching/explanation. Reflect on what you have heard or read.May Meditation Nudge 28
Thursday, May 28, 2020
Vulnerability & meditation This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. I believe that meditation requires a degree of vulnerability. I will call it here, self-vulnerability. Another word might be honesty? Unless one has a meditation teacher or meditation cohort with whom you can confide your experiences, meditation is a solitary practice.May Meditation Nudge 27
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
You are not alone This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. Meditation is an ancient tradition. Depending on one’s reading of history, the practice of meditation might go back as far as the 20th century BCE. Within the tradition that I was taught meditation, Tibetan Buddhism, Buddhism first arrived in Tibet in the 6th century.May Meditation Nudge 26
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Breaking my own suggestions This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. I titled one of the earlier articles in this Nudge series, “Beware of waiting for silence before you meditate.” While I believe that the advice that I offer in that piece is important, I am now going to apparently contradict myself!May Meditation Nudge 25
Monday, May 25, 2020
Does this ring true for you? This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. Can you identify with this description? Some days, perhaps for reasons that you cannot really put your finger on, you can’t really find your bearings. You feel as though you are trudging through treacle, not getting anywhere and not really sure where you are headed anyway.May Meditation Nudge 24
Sunday, May 24, 2020
Loving kindness This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. Loving kindness, that acceptance of yourself just as you are. That is something that I don’t always find very easy. I catch myself doing something, reacting to someone, speaking to someone, thinking something that I really wish that I didn’t do, say or think.May Meditation Nudges - Third Week
Saturday, May 23, 2020
As a compliment to the live meditation sessions that I am running through May on YouTube and archived on my YouTube page, I am sharing tips and advice on meditation practice. I am calling these brief posts, May Meditation Nudges. Here are the topics and links from the second week. Posts from the first week can be found here, and the second week here. Day 15 Community Day 16 No judgement Day 17 Awareness and Mindfulness Day 18 Self-Confidence Day 19 Faith Day 20 Meditate from where you are Day 21 Missing your regular meditation I hope that you can join me for the remaining two May meditations this coming Monday 25th and Thursday 28th.May Meditation Nudge 23
Saturday, May 23, 2020
Fine tuning the focus This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. As your practice of watching the breath develops, you can start to use some subtleties to fine tune your focus. Become aware of the temperature of the breath as it enters the nose and when it leaves the nose.May Meditation Nudge 22
Friday, May 22, 2020
Emotions This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. Regardless what we are meditating on, sometimes a strong emotion will arise. The practice of just noting the emotion and returning to the object of meditation, for example the breath, can feel like a tug of war between your attempt to meditate and the emotion’s pull for your attention.May Meditation Nudge 21
Thursday, May 21, 2020
Missing your regular meditation This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. I suggested a couple of weeks ago to look for opportunities in your daily life to meditate. Don’t just limit yourself to your regular session. Build the momentum, build on your practice, look for those opportunities.May Meditation Nudge 20
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Meditate from where you are This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. Maybe you have set up a routine for your practice? It might be daily, every other day, maybe twice a day. The schedule will vary for different people and that is fine.May Meditation Nudge 19
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Faith This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. At first glance this might appear as an odd subject to bring into the world of meditation. What my intention is, is to offer you another tool to support you in your practice.May Meditation Nudge 18
Monday, May 18, 2020
Self-Confidence This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. My teacher use to say of meditation practice that it was like tasting good food. Once you have tasted good food, you want to go back for more. Similarly with meditation, once you start to taste or experience the fruits of practice, you will find yourself wanting to stay with the practice, to experience more and dive deeper.May Meditation Nudge 17
Sunday, May 17, 2020
Awareness and Mindfulness This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. Awareness and mindfulness live side by side when we are meditating. We hear more about mindfulness these days. Mindfulness is constantly, or as constantly as I can muster, checking that my mind has not wandered off from the object of meditation.May Meditation Nudge 16
Saturday, May 16, 2020
No judgement This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. Whatever the object of meditation, for example the breath, on trying to focus on that object you will find yourself distracted by your mind. Sometimes more distractions than other, but still you will be distracted.May Meditation Nudge 15
Friday, May 15, 2020
Community This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. Meditation can be a lonely practice. It is just me sitting with myself. I am choosing to show up and sit with my mind, regardless of how my mind feels. Sometimes I am keen to get to the meditation cushion, sometimes I experience real resistance.May Meditation Nudges - Second Week
Thursday, May 14, 2020
As a compliment to the live meditation sessions that I am running through May on YouTube and archived on my YouTube page, I am sharing tips and advice on meditation practice. I am calling these brief posts, May Meditation Nudges. Here are the topics and links from the second week. Posts from the first week can be found here. Day 8 Creating a place to sit Day 9 Beware of waiting for silence before you meditate Day 10 Meditate where you are Day 11 The Breath Day 12 Take a break Day 13 Boredom Day 14 Just show up I hope that you can join me for the May meditations.May Meditation Nudge 14
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Just show up This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. Sometimes I find that I just don’t have the enthusiasm for meditating. The day in, day out routine of sitting regardless of what is going on in my life just feels too much.May Meditation Nudge 13
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Boredom This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. I write this about meditation practice, but the ideas can be used just as well in your everyday life. Boredom can arise in our lives when we are feeling uninspired, disliking and uninterested in what we find ourselves doing in that moment.May Meditation Nudge 12
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Take a break This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. If your set meditation time is 5 minutes, I encourage you to sit through that time. If your set meditation time is 15 minutes, I encourage you to sit through that time.May Meditation Nudge 11
Monday, May 11, 2020
The Breath This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. So far I have looked at practicalities of meditation, and not so much at technique. In these nudges I won’t be going into a lot of detail, but intend to give a flavour of what I am talking about.May Meditation Nudge 10
Sunday, May 10, 2020
Meditate where you are This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. As well as having your personal meditation place, I recommend looking for opportunities to meditate in your daily life. They might not be as formal as your regular sitting, in fact you might not even be sitting, but they give you the opportunity to keep the familiarization with you practice going and help you bring your meditation into your life.May Meditation Nudge 9
Saturday, May 9, 2020
Beware of waiting for silence before you meditate This is an ongoing series running through May to compliment the twice weekly meditation sessions that I will be hosting on YouTube (and are now archived on my YouTube page). If you have any questions, please contact me. At first glance this nudge might appear contradictory to yesterday’s post, but it is not. I still advocate for the importance of having your own special place where you go to sit.