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.
Jeff: “Hey, what are you doing today?”
“Nothing.”
“But, you did that yesterday.”
“Yes, and I haven’t finished.”
Something mysterious and beautiful happens when we do nothing together. It seems to makes space for a particular kind of intimacy that – as per the theme of this month – we can call devotion. This Monday, we explore.
Steph and Avi: Western medicine and science tells us that the brain stores human emotion and memory – but the body holds onto the past too. According to the late neuropharmacologist Candace Pert, the “body is your subconscious mind. Our physical body can be changed by the emotions we experience.” In the spirit of the day, we’ll work with the emotional body recalling events of the past – either our own or those belonging to times of war – to explore where our emotions associated with these events live in our body, and how might we work to accept, heal and release them.
Steph: Regardless of their Faith, practitioners of Bhakti yoga, known as bhaktas, or loving devotees, express their devotion to their God through meditation, prayer, ritual, and chanting. A Bhakti thinks of “God” in personal terms. Their purpose is to develop feelings of unconditional love and devotion. In part 1 we’ll work to connect with and channel our own personal Deity’s in meditation – whomever that may be, living or dead, human or otherwise.
Erin: It’s messy to be a human interacting with other humans. Beautiful too, especially when we can wade through the mess and emerge with a deeper understanding of ourselves and each other. So tonight we’ll practice sitting with the uncomfortable parts of our experience, increasing our tolerance while maintaining compassionate boundaries.
Jude: In the meditation we will explore how we hold ourselves in relationship to others, a solitary practice exploring interpersonal awakening.
