Charlotte Center For Mindfulness // Podcasts

In this sharing, I draw from Shinzen Young’s teachings on equanimity as non-self-interference and a radical permission to feel. We look at this in very practical ways of what does this mean for a moment of tangled reactivity and how to work in real life with these concepts with some skillfulness. When feelings are experienced with equanimity, they assume their proper function as motivators and directors of behavior as opposed to driving and distorting behavior. – Shinzen Young  

In this practice, we open to letting thoughts be thoughts, feelings be feelings, body sensations be body sensations without adding to a story about any of them. This practice is very useful for learning a skillfulness with untangling our reactivity in life.

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters is a much beloved poem from Portia Nelson. In my years of working with this poem, my understanding of it has radically changed, and that has been so helpful with orientating myself in a useful way with the world as it is: I I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk I fall in. I am lost … I am helpless. It isn’t my fault. It takes me forever to find a way out. II I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe I am in the same place but, it isn’t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out. III I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in … it’s a habit. my eyes are open I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately. IV I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it. V I walk down another street. -Portia Nelson My additional chapter: III I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in … it’s a habit. my eyes are open I know where I am. It is my fault. It still takes a long time to get out. Eyes open in the darkness of the hole is often where the deepest learning is possible…  

In this meditation, we practice with opening the sense doors– sight, sound, touch, smell, taste and mind– for grounding practice.

This meditation draws from a poem by Mary Oliver, I Have Decided: I have decided to find myself a home in the mountains, somewhere high up where one learns to live peacefully in the cold and the silence. It’s said that in such a place certain revelations may be discovered. That what the spirit reaches for may be eventually felt, if not exactly understood. Slowly, no doubt. I’m not talking about a vacation. Of course, at the same time I mean to stay exactly where I am. Are you following me?  

In this podcast episode, I draw from a beautiful book called, Learning To Fall, by Phillip Simmons. Simmons was diagnosed with ALS at age 35 and given 5 years to live. He wrote this book at 9 years on the “blessings of an imperfect life.”

In this meditation, we start with standing movements to release tension and connect with breath and body. This is followed by a short sitting practice.

This week we look deeper at the movement from worry to care– worry, as a fear based reactivity and care, as a wise strong compassionate connected responsiveness. This movement is a powerful support in challenging times. I share Joseph Bruchac’s version of The Chenoo, a story of a man-eating ice giant from the far north and a young woman who faced him, as a metaphor for understanding both the reactivity and responsive sides of ourselves and where our deepest strength lies. When I say it’s you I like, I’m talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see, or hear, or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate. Peace that rises triumphant over war. Injustice that proves more powerful than greed. So, in all that you do in all of your life, I wish you the strength and the grace to make those choices which will allow you and your neighbor to become the best whoever you are. Fred Rogers    

In this talk, we explore practices to support ourselves in the midst of a challenging Election. These include resourcing in the good, intentional planning with media consumption and practicing with “Don’t Know Mind.” Here are some of resources I would like to share: How to Survive Election Night and Beyond: https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/election-day-toolkit/ Stability in the Storm, A Pre-Election Day Meditation Sit with Sharon Salzberg, Mon 11/2 at 7p: https://www.dharma.org/spe20/ Don’t Know Mind and the Election of Our Lives: https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/dont-know-mind-election/

In this final week before the Election, grounding and resourcing practice can be an important support to our well-being. This meditation starts with some gentle stretching and then moves into a sitting practice. Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace. – Fredrick Buechner

For this short sharing and meditation, please have some small bit of food available, such as a couple of raisins. Contemplations before eating from Thich Nhat Hanh: This food is a gift of the earth, the sky, numerous living beings, and much hard and loving work. May we eat with mindfulness and gratitude so as to be worthy to receive this food. May we recognize and transform unwholesome mental formations, especially our greed and learn to eat with moderation. May we keep our compassion alive by eating in such a way that reduces the suffering of living beings, stops contributing to climate change, and heals and preserves our precious planet. We accept this food so that we may nurture our brotherhood and sisterhood, build our Sangha, and nourish our ideal of serving all living beings.

Excerpt from St Francis and the Sow, by Galway Kinnell The bud stands for all things, even for those things that don’t flower, for everything flowers, from within, of self-blessing; though sometimes it is necessary to reteach a thing its loveliness, to put a hand on the brow of the flower and retell it in words and in touch it is lovely until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing.

In this sharing I explore lessons from both the Virginia International Raceway and Thich Nhat Hanh on opening to life well in all conditions. The Two Promises from Thich Nhat Hanh: I vow to develop understanding in order to live peacefully with people, animals, plants, and minerals. I vow to develop my compassion in order to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals.

This is a shorter sharing and practice with the sound of silence. This is a practice that has been offered in many meditation and spiritual traditions from around the world. Much of my sharing is drawn from a book by British monk, Ajahn Amaro called “Inner Listening.” The book is a lovely short read that is available for free download at: Inner Listening

In this longer combined talk and meditation, we will more deeply explore the practice sometimes called “the sound of silence.” It is a practice that has been offered in many meditation and spiritual traditions from around the world. Much of my sharing is drawn from a book by British monk, Ajahn Amaro called “Inner Listening.” The book is a lovely short read that is available for free download at: Inner Listening  

Jack Kornfield offers the observation that at the end of life, our questions become very simple– Did I live fully? Did I love well? Meditation becomes a opportunity to learn to live into these questions now.    

We think sometimes of compassion as a quality that we “should” be accessing if we are “good.” There is a totally different way of understanding compassion instead as that quality of being that brings us sanity, strength, courage and even ease in the midst of difficult situations.

There is a radical freedom offered in practice when we learn to open in all conditions. From the book, “Thoreau’s Ecstatic Witness,” comes this account of Henry Thoreau from his sister, Sophia, in his last couple of months before dying of tuberculosis in his early forties: One friend, as if by way of consolation, said to him, “well, Mr. Thoreau, we must all go.” Henry replied, “when I was a very little boy I learned that I must die, and I set that down, so of course I am not disappointed now. Death is as near to you as it is to me.” … I feel like saying that Henry was never affected, never reached by it. I never before saw such a manifestation of the power of spirit over matter. Very often I heard him tell his visitors that he enjoyed existence as well as ever. He remarked to me that there was as much comfort and peace in perfect disease as in perfect health, .… The thought of death, he said, could not begin to trouble him.

It is very helpful to feel into how a true open mindfulness or loving awareness doesn’t discriminate or have preferences for what it is knowing in awareness. In this practice, we explore feeling into the relationship of loving awareness, preference and no-preference.

Join me for this short reflection and meditation on the usefulness of goodwill in challenging times.

In this short meditation, we give time for our eyes to rest and relax into spacious awareness

Compassion arises naturally as the quivering of the heart in the face of pain, ours and another’s. True compassion is not limited by the separateness of pity, nor by the fear of being overwhelmed. When we come to rest in the great heart of compassion, we discover a capacity to bear witness to, suffer with, and hold dear with our own vulnerable heart the sorrows in beauties of the world. Jack Kornfield Loving compassion is like sunlight, awakening and bringing joy to beans. It’s beauty is like a rainbow, lifting the hearts of all who see it. Tarthang Tulka

Compassion arises naturally as the quivering of the heart in the face of pain, ours and another’s. True compassion is not limited by the separateness of pity, nor by the fear of being overwhelmed. When we come to rest in the great heart of compassion, we discover a capacity to bear witness to, suffer with, and hold dear with our own vulnerable heart the sorrows in beauties of the world. Jack Kornfield

This week’s post is the first of three parts exploring bringing mindfulness into heart of our relationships.

Join us for guided movement practice followed by a short sitting practice. We explore the intention of goodwill, letting go and compassion through it all.

I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself. -Maya Angelou To be at home in a world where everything changes means to embrace a radical understanding of home. Join us for a short teaching and practice

In this sharing, I consider the art of pendulation, i.e. using pleasant and neutral sensations to resource us for meeting our challenges.

In this meditation, we practice the art of using pleasant and neutral sensations to resource us for meeting our challenges.

In this podcast I share a short reading from Jody Green on meeting the challenges of Zen Koan, “Every Day is a Good Day” and the lessons from our new cat, followed by a short meditation.

When things are challenging, we need strong skills to be with ourselves in the midst of the challenge. This is part 2 of last week’s podcast, but I include a small re-cap if you missed last week. Thanks!

In this body and heart practice, we allow space for our awareness to deeply settle in the body and then explore expanding circles of compassion from this grounded space.

This week we start an exploration of ways to be with ourselves in practice when it is just hard to be with ourselves. Learning to “track” is a very useful place to start.

Join us for this sitting meditation where we explore grounding in the body with gravity and breath. Thanks!

“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.” -Kahlil Gibran In this short sharing and practice, we explore the attitudes or qualities of goodwill, compassion and letting go in support of a life well lived.

We need strong refuge points for our awareness in order to support ourselves in the midst of life. This meditation is about strengthening that knowing of refuge within ourselves.

In mindfulness meditation, we teach how to be aware of the breath as an anchor or refuge, and in our current world, to invite awareness into the breath is to invite again awareness of “I can’t breath…” That fact needs to be met with a lot of care and compassion. This week we open to an awareness of George Floyd’s plea for breath and how it can inform us through our practice how to come into a stronger, more compassionate and responsive relationship with ourselves and our world. Helpful resources are listed below.   From Rumi (translator?): I said: what about my eyes? He said: Keep them on the road. I said: What about my passion? He said: Keep it burning. I said: What about my heart? He said: Tell me what you hold inside it? I said: Pain and sorrow. He said: Stay with it. The wound is the place where the Light enters you.   Resmaa Menakem: www.resmaa.com, My Grandmother’s Hands, https://onbeing.org/programs/resmaa-menakem-notice-the-rage-notice-the-silence/ Ruth King: www.ruthking.net, Mindful of Race Tara Brach podcast: www.tarabrach.com/courageous-presence-racism/  

Join us for this short teaching and sitting practice. Today we continue the exploration of a quote from Abraham Heschel, “Self-respect is the fruit of discipline. A sense of dignity grows with an ability to say no to oneself.” In particular, we look at how “bite-sizing” the moment helps open a workable choice point for growing this fruit. Also from Rumi (translated by Coleman Barks): We are the mirror as well as the face in it. We are tasting the taste this minute of eternity. We are pain and what cures pain, both. We are the sweet cold water and the jar that pours.

I hope you enjoy this 13 minute sitting practice on awakening to and befriending the present moment.

Sometimes we are holding tension in the body that benefits from movement before sitting. Join us for this combined longer standing and sitting meditation on befriending the present moment.

This week we explore three short Nasruddin stories and how they are useful for understanding our practice. If you are not familiar with Nasruddin, he is a trickster or wise fool character from the Sufi tradition. These stories are much loved for the unexpected yet revealing “twist” always present.

For this short morning meditation, we explore the beautiful quote from Abraham Heschel: “Self-respect is the fruit of discipline. A sense of dignity grows with an ability to say no to oneself.”

Please join us for a guided sitting meditation on grounding and re-centering through body and 5 senses.

Today’s offering is a bit like a patchwork quilt of odd pieces that have been present in my heart over the last week that, at least to me, come together in an interesting pattern or whole. These include research about joy in babies, thoughts on what makes a good day in the midst of deep suffering, and a poem from Kabir– I Said to The Wanting-Creature Inside Me.

Please join us for this short teaching and guided meditation. Thanks!

Join us in this sitting meditation as we explore accessing the four foundational qualities of the heart: goodwill, appreciative joy, compassion and equanimity.  

Mindfulness teacher Christina Feldman says, when practicing with the heart qualities, “it’s not the feeling that matters most, but rather the intention.” This simple insight is freeing for practicing with strong heart even when we are not “feeling it.” This week we explore this beautiful insight.

Today I draw upon the wisdom of Darlene Cohen in her article, “One Button At a Time” about working with chronic physical pain and how beautifully those teachings apply to chronic emotional pain as well.

This body scan is a deep centering and grounding for the nervous system.

In this meditation, we take the time to acknowledge whatever pain and hurt might be present, and then to ground and re-center our own nervous systems in order to make ourselves more present in a healing way in our world .

For this week of so many layers of pain and hurt in our nation, we take the time to acknowledge the pain, to ground and re-center our own nervous systems, and to look at ways to help support healing in our world by not being part of the problem.