Tag Archives: meditation

Thich Nhat Hanh: Joy of Meditation As Nourishment

~of wings and wonder

Pair your breath cycle with the meditative phrases/instructions and then drop to the individual word. You can choose how much time you stay with each instruction depending upon how long you wish to practice. You can also utilize this as a recitation, pairing each instruction and singular word with your breath cycle for one round.

Breathing in, I know I am breathing in
Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.

(Inhale) In
(Exhale) Out

Breathing in, I see myself as a flower.
Breathing out, I feel fresh.

(Inhale) Flower
(Exhale) Fresh

Breathing in, I see myself as still water.
Breathing out, I feel clear.

(Inhale) Still water
(Exhale) Clear

Breathing in, I see myself as space.
Breathing out, I feel free.

(Inhale) Space
(Exhale) Free

~From the book: The Blooming of a Lotus, by Thich Nhat Hanh

mini-meditation

breathing in calm, breathing out ease

Our lives are constantly tumbling forward into the future, and the only way back to here and now is to stop. Even a few moments of suspended activity, a mini-meditation of just being still, can reconnect you with a sense of aliveness and caring. That connection will deepen if, during those moments, you intentionally establish contact with your body, breath, and relax.

~Tara Brach, True Refuge

~cultivating continuity and stability in uncertain times

Another day, the waves come and go.

So much has changed, and is still changing, day by day. While the unpredictable is always a part of life, our regular rhythms, habits, and choices that typically support a sense of control or agency break open in moments of profound disruption. Groundlessness appears and we are seemingly dropped into a new, arising reality.

The word pandemic comes from the Greek pandemos, pan (all) demos (people). Spreading across the globe and our nation, we are acutely aware of the vulnerabilities of those disproportionately affected (e.g., the elderly, the immune compromised, the poor and/or uninsured, the newly unemployed, the college students sent home, the imprisoned, the health care workers and grocery store clerks serving on the front lines, instead of “sheltering in place,” the children without adequate adult support and/or nutrition.) That said, all people know fear and worry in a worldwide health crisis.

This morning as I was reflecting on the disruption of daily life, defined as I/we knew it pre-pandemic, I realized again that mindfulness practices, like yoga and meditation are meant for these times, especially. While everything shifts around us and within us, one can go to their familiar mat and practice moving with breath and awareness and come home to the present moment. We can meet whatever is arising with curiosity, kindness, and care. This nurtures its own form of stability and continuity, in motion or stillness. Our non-judgmental breath holds the same invitations and metaphors as before, of receiving and releasing, freshness and unburdening; our mat is a zone of safety; and the body is a container that can only live in the present moment. This helps us to ground here, where a felt sense of safety can be accessed or cultivated. These practices also allow us to observe and pull back from the ruminating “what ifs” and catastrophic cliffs of of the wandering, spooked mind. These practices of homecoming allows us to look out and remember: The sky is still spacious and the ground is still solid under our feet. A loving, aware connection to self, and in extension shared with others through loving-kindness, can help to fortify us in an unfamiliar landscape. And we can practice again and again, accessing the peace within and our ever-present essential goodness.

May we all be safe.
May we all be free of suffering.
May we all be healed.
May we all be at peace.

Thich Nhat Hanh

artist unknown (Yes, I can’t read the signature. Apologies.)