Tea InfusiastI was blessed to enjoy a spontaneous session of tea with a Buddhist Sister at a recent mindfulness retreat.
Last weekend, I had a profound experience attending a two-day retreat. Adelphi University, near me, organized a program on its campus with monastics from Blue Cliff Monastery. The monastery “is a mindfulness practice center and monastic training center founded by the Vietnamese Buddhist monk, author, and peace activist…Thich Nhat Hanh.”
I’m sharing some ideas to invite stillness into your life. These tips are for anyone who finds it challenging to meditate or “be still.” Maybe that’s you most of the time. Maybe only sometimes.
Difficulty with being still in meditation is something I have had to tackle in my own practice. My body and mind have often (and continue to, at times) struggle to remain still. For me, part of this challenge is nervous energy and part is physical stiffness.
Two ways of thinking about the challenge really helped me. First, reframe the issue of stillness. Recognize that stillness can be “absolute” or relative.
Secondly, conceptually and physically separating forms of stillness can also be helpful. You can be (relatively) still in body and/or mind. Either and both can be healthy and are worth cultivating.
Here are some ways to invite stillness into your life.
Friday Morning Meditation and Gratitude Practice Series, September 2024
Interested in exploring what a conscious gratitude practice and gratitude-focused meditations could do for you? Or, maybe you already have a gratitude practice and would like to deepen it with meditation and the encouragement of community. Either way, you are warmly invited to sign up for my September guided meditation series focusing on gratitude!
NOTE: I added some updates to this post since I graduated from the training.
I’m about 80 percent through the Inner Illumination Meditation Teacher Training with Shawn J. Moore through Sankofa of Yoga. [Update: I graduated from the program in July 2024.] This training has been a fabulous journey! I’m learning so much from the practices, classes, readings, assignments, and small group work.
I met Shawn at a retreat with Tracee Stanley in Summer 2023. (The photo is from that experience.) His sound baths and meditation sessions were absolutely transporting!
So, I subscribed to his newsletter and attended a few of his online experiences. (You can subscribe to his newsletter at the bottom of his page, located here.)
In this post, I reflect on several enticements to speed through a mindfulness course.
My ever-evolving relationship with tea has been one of the main paths through which I have deepened my mindfulness practice. I am also expanding my practice in new ways. Notably, I recently began an online mindfulness training program. The materials recommend we aim to complete the course in about three months, although we have flexibility. So far, I’m really enjoying the training program’s mix of information, stories, guided meditations, and journal prompts.
