Mindfulness Series: 5 Essentials

Hiya sweet Mindfulness practitioners. Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community is gearing up for our 5 week class, beginning April 9, and I wanted to give everyone a peek into the delights that await us. Thich Nhat Hanh is best known for his ability to take classical Buddhist teachings and adapt them beautifully and simply for today's time. He has done this with the "5 Essentials", as I like to call them. Some who have studied TNH might know them as the 5 Mindfulness Trainings. These trainings are based on the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path and outline ethics for a happy life in very concrete and applied terms. Each week we'll explore one of the 5 Essentials, for example: Loving Speech and Deep Listening and dissect it, turn it around, try it on and practice it during our week off the cushion. Then, we'll come back together to discuss its application in our lives and sit and walk for insight into the next week's Essential. The 5 Essentials will serve as precious tools in your personal practice. 

We'll loosely use the following book as our guide: The Mindfulness Survival Kit: Five Essential Practices written by Zen Master, Thich Nhat Hanh. If you're interested in the class, please contact me to register and reserve your space. See you at The Studio for our first evening together, Thursday, April 9. Many sweet moments until then....

Spring Mindfulness Retreat 2015--A Beautiful Day

LTMC refreshed past Saturday, March 21, 2015

Hello Lovelies, I'm still walking in the Pureland from retreat day on Saturday and wished to linger in the blessings by sharing a few gems that some Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community Members have asked be posted for our continued practice this spring season.

Firstly, the spring meridians discussed--Gallbladder and Liver both have articles which can be clicked on for more information and a recap of what was discussed. If you suffer from insomnia, it may be worth your time to read these in more detail. Feel free to contact me for a private session to go into more in depth treatment.

Secondly, a beautiful definition of "Dharma" which I read after sweet Robin, asked for a definition:

The Dharma is the teaching of love and understanding. The Dharma is the teachings of the historical Buddha and his descendants in the form of discourses, the commentaries and precepts that show us the path leading to peace and deep insight, love and understanding. The Dharma is all the elements in our world and in our consciousness that guide us on the path of liberation. The living Dharma is contained in every corner of the universe. The floating cloud is silently preaching about freedom and the falling leaf is giving us a dharma talk on the practice of letting go. Every time you breathe mindfully, walk mindfully or look at another person with the eye of understanding and compassion, you are giving a silent dharma talk. (The New Sangha Handbook: Nourishing our Practice, Deepening our Roots, Growing our Freedom, download this fabulous resource here)

Our mindfulness walk at Paradise Park was filled with many treasures and was personally my favorite part of retreat, especially the insights shared afterward. Speaking of insights, here were some beautiful ones from retreat participants left in the discussion basket:

• "With your feet on the ground look to the light."
• "...I invited that every emotion derives from love...."
• "Engage a loving conversation with your mind and heart to act as one."
• Question: "Is TNH Tibetan Buddhist or Vietnamese Buddhist?" TNH was born in Vietnam and ordained in tradition of Zen Buddhism. 
• "I feel like we're at the Plum Village, or where ever Thich Nhat Hahn lives :)" 

The last comment was the highest compliment possibly received as the goal of Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community is to build a place where we can nurture happiness, love and peace. A Cherokee morning song was sung to seal our time together as thanksgiving for a very beautiful day indeed. Here’s a link to a version of the song I sung on Youtube, by a beautiful group, Walela, with translation.

Oh, and one more request from retreat participants, the Spring Mung Bean Soup recipe, which nourished and sustained us through out the day! Yum, yum, entirely yum!

Spring Mindfulness Retreat Mung Bean Soup Recipe

Spring MUNG BEAN SOUP

Author: Pinch of Yum (I've adapted)
Serves: 6
INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups dry mung beans (these can be bought at Grass Roots or any Whole Food store)
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 bunch spinach
• salt to taste
• curry seasoning added to your liking

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Boil: Bring the broth to a boil in a large pot. Add the rinsed mung beans and cook, uncovered, for about 40 minutes. I checked on mine every 10 minutes and added more water as needed. You want the consistency to be like a very thick soup.
2. Saute: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic, and ginger in the oil in a large nonstick skillet until soft and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add to the mung bean pot and allow the mixture to simmer together for a few minutes.
3. Mix: Stir in the coconut milk and remove from heat. Fill bowl with chopped spinach and serve over this beautiful green bed or brown rice, like a soup.

This was a total hit at our Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community Spring Retreat this past weekend. It's healthy, tasty and removes ama, or undigested slug that can accumulate over the winter, from the body. It's very green but heck, it's Spring and seriously, tastes delicious. 

Wild Cherry Hot Rod Moment

I love how as each new Mindfulness Retreat draws closer, I have opportunities to work on the themes as life provides scenarios to play and gain insight. This Spring Retreat's theme is "emergence," and I had a beautiful teacher last weekend....

My husband and I had gone to Monterey for a tennis tournament and on Sunday night, tired and beat up, we headed home. We decided to stop in Gilroy, at a business friend's house for dinner. What was going to be a "quick" stop, ended up stretching over 3 hours. You know how it goes. 

After a delicious meal, out came the ice cream and testosterone began flying, as my husband and our host shared stories about a business deal that had gone bad for my husband. As they talked, I could feel my own anxiety build (emerging, emerging). But rather than pay attention to it, I dove into the conversation with my own remembrances and amped up with my husband and friend. Finally, as we got ready to leave, our friend suggested taking a ride in his beautiful Wild Cherry 1967 restored Nova. I gotta say, I was fully aware that anxiety emerged again, this time, fuller force as I ran through why: it's late and we still had a 4 hour drive home, no seatbelts (or airbags), everybody's amped up, farm roads....I even considered staying behind, letting the boys go have some fun, and I would prepare the cabin for take off and star gaze. 

But no, I pushed my little seed of anxiety down and hopped in the hot rod. Windows were rolled down as we sped down the road, wheels screeching and teeth chattering. Most people who had made a bad decision would just suck it up, or let loose and have some fun. I could do neither and after a few minutes what popped out of my mouth was a total wet-blanket comment, "Time to go home!" Those who know me, know I tend to sometimes just let it out, often to my regret. This experience will be known as the Wild Cherry Hot Rod moment--when life handed me a glorious opportunity to stop, pay attention to what was emerging and then choose star gazing rather than racing off into the thick of it! What a mess. When I apologized to my saint of a husband, he smiled and said, "It's really no big deal, it's OK." Mindfulness is an art and a practice, and I, a humble student. 

Emergence is a theme I'm committed to working on this beautiful spring season--taking good care of whatever might pop up--a beautiful flower or vine of thorn! Hope to see you on Saturday in community--and no hot rod jokes!

Spring Mindfulness Retreat March 21, 2015

The earth is absolutely singing--can you hear her? Spring is emerging all over the place and the retreat coming up is an opportunity to use the present moment to soak it all up in community. Spring Retreat theme is "emergence," and the teachers are many: sweet star nations have been singing overhead as the fifteen spring constellations make their appearances with Great Bear and Hercules creeping into view, doves have arrived in Lake Tahoe, and the Manzanita bushes have early pink blossoms busting out. March 21 is an opportunity to shed the winter coat and resource the goodness or our beautiful home and restore. The day will be arranged to practice sitting meditation, walking meditation and the continuation of Metta or Loving Kindness Meditation. Please join Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community at The Studio Lake Tahoe to refresh!