“Yoda: [M]y ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us, binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force flow around you.” Erin: It’s Star Wars day, and practicing equanimity is the best jedi mind training there is. … Continued
Erin: The phrase “It is what it is” can be heard as dismissive, shutting down further discussion. But for tonight’s meditation, let’s explore the phrase experientially. Each moment of our experience is what it is, not more, not less. Can we accept what is happening? Can we accept ourselves while we do it, or don’t, to the … Continued
Erin: Going back to basics for this one, exploring the See-Hear-Feel technique that’s the foundation of Shinzen Young’s Unified Mindfulness system. What could be more ordinary than being with our senses? Don’t we spend all day every day seeing and hearing and feeling? Yes. And yet, somehow when mindful awareness joins the party, the mundane has … Continued
Erin: My lofty, not always met, goal for communication is to speak from the intersection of honest and kind. We’ve probably seen or felt the sting of someone “sorry not sorry, no filter, telling it how it is”. And likely we’ve also sidestepped some truth telling in favour of being polite and non-confrontational. Tonight we’ll do an … Continued
Erin: I have never felt at home in society’s binaries. The either/or categories of existence (gender, sexuality, beliefs, affiliations…) don’t ring true in my experience and seem designed to promote surface judgements and sow division. F that noise. We’re all more beautifully complex creatures, embodied contradictions of both/and. Tonight we’ll practice being this and that, and … Continued