Pranayama is the formal practice of controlled breathing. There are many techniques… each one is as accessible and beneficial as the breath itself . Squared breathing is one of those techniques and it has a calming effect. It engages the parasympathetic nervous system, which is often referred to as the body’s rest & digest system. Typically … More Practicing Pranayama, Practicing Presence
Noticing is a skill. It reveals the incredible abundance of life on earth. Why? Because there’s just so much to notice. How do I develop this skill of noticing? It comes down to sensing when to shift your attention to the next noticing. It comes down to satiety, to noticing when you have … More Satiety, Silence, and Stillness
We will work with interludes this week, which means we will be paying attention to the space between. The space between thoughts. The space between breaths. The space between moments. Once again, we find ourselves allowing. Allowing the precious space between to become the noticed space. In doing so, a new space arises as the … More Ripples of Awareness
Interlude Meditation – Day 1 As we begin a new week of meditations, we begin to experience the efficacy of the steps we’ve worked with thus far and we begin to recognize that, in fact, we are meditating. Fullness of any kind often leads to a pause, an interlude, which is the name of … More The Sweet Lull
Interlude Meditation – Day 2 It’s the sweetest space, the space between. The space between Friday and Monday. The space between doing this and doing that. The space between what was and what will be. The space between thoughts. The space between break-ups, between breakfast and lunch, between Act 1 and Act 2, between hugs, … More The Space Between
Interlude Meditation – Day 3 Joy arises from a stillness of sorts, deep within the center of our being. We can locate this center by moving our awareness to the space of the heart. Heart-focus connects us to our livingness. Stillness resides there, as well. A stillness made possible by immovable truth and wisdom; … More Stillness. Movement. Joy.
The importance of shamatha cannot be understated in regards to one’s meditation practice or one’s life. On the cushion or off, shamatha is the capacity of a human being to abide in a state of calm, serenity, or composure, tranquility, equipoise, or steadfastness such that distractions are non-effective to pull one away from stability and … More 7c. Shamatha: Inner peace and harmony
Meditation practice is profound in its simplicity. Sit down, give yourself time and quietude for a chosen period of time, and simply engage the essence of the moment. This is the choice to do a sitting rather than the rehash that goes on in the mind. To engage the “essence of the moment” requires the … More 7b: Awareness as it is
Interlude is the space between, between in-breath and out-breath, between out-breath and in, it is the space between thoughts. Interlude is the space – the empty non-action – before action is engaged. Often action is engaged robotically, habitually. Just as often, action is the result of chasing a desire or running away from something, avoiding … More 7a: Interlude – experience space
Did you ever consider that this current life is an Interlude? It is an interlude between one’s first breath and one’s last. Interlude, then, has vast implications both in one’s meditation practice, as well as in one’s life. Interlude is the moment, it as a pause, and as the potency that is available. It is … More 7c. Interlude: One’s Life
We are a field of Presence and Being. This, like the vibration of an emotion or the energy of a thought, can be felt. Our field is palpable – when and if – we take note of it. I love the image used for this meditation because, like the transparent Buddha who pervades his field … More Field of Presence
Awareness is tangible. It has qualities that are distinct, just as non-awareness or thoughtlessness, or gratitude and creativity have distinct qualities. One of the qualities of awareness is spaciousness or openness. Step 7- Interlude – has us notice the space (or interlude) after the in-breath and after the out-breath. Calling one’s attention to the sensations … More 7a. The quality of Awareness
Milarepa, a great Tibetan yogi and enlightened being, was asked about enlightenment. He said, “It is the space between thoughts.” The interlude of the breath is the way to discover this. Enlightenment is a particular neutrality that is lived within each moment. It is not attracted to anything because the state of enlightenment perceives all … More Enlightenment is the space between: interlude
There are many reasons to learn to meditate, but one is inner quiet. The interlude between the breaths is an excellent example of this. The interlude after breathing in is the point of “just enough” registered by the body/lungs. The interlude after breathing out also is a point of “just enough” once again registered by … More Peace and Quiet
