Steal These Meditation Ideas
Part of the CEC’s mission is to inspire people around the world to create their own quirky, self-lead meditation communities. To that end, we’d like to share these short descriptions practices we’ve lead over the years.
Pamela: For this sit, or maybe not-the-typical-sit, we’ll practice discerning between the sacred and mundane. Perhaps we might find a mundane thing or two. Perhaps we won’t because there may not be a difference. Perhaps none of it will make sense at all.
Jude: Highly regarded neo-Advaita teacher Sri Nisgardatta Maharaj made a radical statement “There is no such thing as a person. There are only restrictions and limitations. The sum total of these defines the person”. He is claiming that our sense of Self is made up of our limits or boundaries. The more self-oriented we are, the more boundaried and isolated we become. In this practice we will inquire into the limits of the self in hopes of opening more possibility and connection.
Joss: I am desperately ready for more mindful interdependence to take over the damn scene. I know you are too. Part of me wants to lead a practice inviting us into the expansive, pleasurable parts of giving and receiving care. But I think the other fabulous facilitators this month will probably cover that. So I’d like to turn towards what I think is a notable barrier to interdependence: codependence. This practice will lean into discomfort a bit, to explore how you feel and respond to other people’s emotions. It’s a practice of feeling into the boundaries between empathy and compassion – staying centered in yourself, so you can (hopefully, maybe) open more deeply and fully to the world around you.
Laura: As the sun warms the Northern hemisphere, this summer season invites us to spend more time outdoors in the natural world. I’m always struck by how quickly my body registers an authentic and visceral connection to the Earth. Being in nature feels like a subtle reset, or sometimes a deep reminder of who we are. In our busy lives, pausing to reconnect to nature can be a powerful healer. Bringing awareness to our relationship with the natural world, and knowing that we are not only connected to all aspects of our ecosystem, but that we too are a part of nature, can be very powerful. In tonight’s practice, we will explore: deepening awareness into our body, becoming aware of our inner landscape and contemplating our connection and role as a part of our natural world. Tree huggers, park dwellers, fly swatters, all are welcome.
AJ: There’s an old image from Korean Hwaeom Buddhism called Indra’s net – the whole universe imagined as an infinite web of jewels, where every jewel reflects every other jewel, all at once. Tug on one thread and the entire thing shimmers. Early Buddhism has a less poetic name for the same insight: dependent origination, the plain observation that nothing arises on its own, including you. Your next breath depends on some tree you’ll never meet. Your sense of “I” is propped up by people whose names you don’t know. We love a good self-made story, but tonight we’re sitting with the slightly destabilizing (and honestly kind of freeing) truth that there’s no separate self holding it all up alone. Through breath, body, and a guided meditation in the Buddhist style I trained in, we’ll feel into how thoroughly we belong to each other. What shifts when you stop carrying yourself like you’re the only one carrying you?
