Winter Mindfulness Retreat--December 5, 2015

LTMC is looking most forward to hosting the Half-day Winter Retreat coming up in a few weeks. Please invite your friends and family to join you for a day of restoration as we prepare for the holiday season. Bring a cup, spoon and napkin to enjoy a warming agent as we take our practice to Paradise Park for walking meditation and enjoy the sanctuary upstairs in The Studio. It promises to be a special day of relaxation, concentration, insight and sweet community. I can think of no better way to introduce our Winter Retreat theme of "Stillness," than with a poem:

Stillness of the Dawn
©Karla Johnston 2010

As I slumber,
perfect peace covers the land.
Bird spreads its wings in flight,
soaring entirely of its own volition.
Tree synchronizes a slow, bending dance
to extend a providential resting place.

Might I,
upon waking-up to stillness,
embrace such intimate rapport?

 LTMC looks forward to seeing everyone on December 5 and wishes everyone a treasured Thanksgiving. 

Solidarité

I've spent the last few days mindfully attending to the sadness that I felt watching the attacks in Paris over the weekend. I was reminded of Thich Nhat Hanh's insight that understanding is necessary in the midst of violence. How can we understand such acts?

I posted to my larger OI community, who support me in my mentoring process for lay ordination (in Thich Nhat Hanh's Plum Village tradition). I received much calm and steady support, and these resources are shared on the Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community Facebook page. Then, as is my deepest practice, I began to write--my way of gaining understanding. This blog article and this week's Inner Constellation Blessings* are the start. Before I began my writing practice, I consulted Hafiz (remember my love affair with this poet began a few weeks ago). Here's what he had to say about the events in Paris:

I Have Learned So Much

I
Have
Learned
So much from God
That I can no longer
Call
Myself

A Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim,
A Buddhist, a Jew.

The Truth has shared so much of Itself
With me

That I can no longer call myself
A man, a woman, an angel,
Or even pure
Soul.

Love has
Befriended Hafiz so completely
It has turned to ash
And freed
Me

Of every concept and image
My mind has ever known.


Beautiful Hafiz, you are nectar to my sadness, and it transforms as all things do. Now it's time for skillful action. I look forward to continuing the discussion in Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community, a group that meets weekly, dedicated to practicing understanding and love within ourselves and with our loved ones. The writings will continue...for now, today's Inner Constellation Blessing:


11/16 Inner Constellation Blessing: Solidarité
©2015 Karla Johnston, InnerConstellation.com
Fixed views have the potential for much violence and intolerance. True peace and understanding is born when we relinquish our claims to the truth and listen deeply to the suffering and joy of others. Daily, constantly--let go and listen. 


*If you would like to receive the IC blessing gift, a short blip of inspiration sent to your inbox M-F, please contact me. 

"Letting Go"

Yesterday Tahoe received the first snow fall of the season. As I watched the autumn leaves release from the branches, the November IC theme emerged--"Letting Go." I'm inspired to practice holding onto nothing, being as the leaves and letting go of the past beautifully.

I had an opportunity to look deeply at this theme yesterday, as my work took me into a situation with an enormous amount of suffering. Today, I sit in front of my crackling fireplace in comfortable layers, having just finished a bowl of warm oatmeal. I sip my cinnamon tea and contemplate the happiness in my heart, even though the conditions of yesterday transpired. What is this ability to be present with suffering and yet still find the qualities of peace, compassion and joy? I believe "letting go" may be one ingredient and the understanding that my love is greater than my suffering.

I've come to a monumental conclusion of late in my daily practice--suffering seems a result of holding on; the more I can let go, the more my suffering ceases. When I let go, my peace, compassion and care can grow and interestingly, my capacity to be with suffering increases.

Sitting in front of the fire, writing this article, I am warm, comfortable, empty, and in this state, it's much easier to be filled. I look forward to practicing "letting go," with you all in the month of November. May your day be filled with sweet practice opportunities.