tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3626749871918606842024-03-13T10:49:36.442-04:00Moving Into Mindfulnesstaking discoveries from the cushion and the classroom into daily lifeAmy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-73349071022656692532018-05-23T13:24:00.000-04:002018-05-23T13:25:06.800-04:00Are We There Yet?My daughter just graduated from Hampshire College (squee! so proud!), and as always I was struck by the word "commencement." As Barbra Streisand says in <em>The Way We Were</em>, "that's a funny word for the end." Of course, commencement ceremonies are called that because the graduates are about to begin the next chapter of their lives. So although it marks the end of an era, it is also just the beginning.<br />
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Another word for this is <em>transition</em>. I love transitions because within them we can see our habits of mind and body so clearly. I often encourage my <a data-cke-saved-href="http://wayopenscenter.com/alexander-technique/" href="http://wayopenscenter.com/alexander-technique/" target="_blank">Alexander </a>students to bring full attention to transitional activities, such as walking through a doorway, up or down stairs, moving from car to walking or the other way around. It can be a challenge to practice body-mind unity during an activity, especially at first, but it's pretty easy to shine the light of awareness between actions.<br />
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Doing this brings about radical change. Why radical? Because it's the last place we show up. We are always thinking ahead, moving toward something, or away from something. Who brings intention to reaching for the door handle and opening the door? The point (we think) is to get on the other side of the door. So when we intend to be present during transitional moments, we transform habitual "endgaining," as F.M. Alexander termed it, and are awake for the means by which we are acting.<br />
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Mindfulness, whether in formal meditation practice or otherwise, shows us how addicted we are to the future. Anyone who meditates sees right away that the mind likes to plan, organize, and control what it anticipates will be coming. This tendency has a helpful adaptive quality, and our ability to scan the horizon for future encounters is part of our evolutionary heritage. But when this is the only way we operate, we suffer. It is deeply unsatisfying to be constantly looking ahead for happiness, hoping that what we really want can be obtained "someday." This hamster wheel of desire (<em>samsara</em> in Buddhist parlance) keeps us chasing dreams and fantasies, all while missing what is happening in the here and now.<br />
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You already know this. You can think of an example from your life right now, can't you? It's like the little kids in the back seat of a family car trip, asking "are we there yet?" It's like me, obsessively checking my peony plants to see if <img align="right" data-cke-saved-src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b15bf4637afa8e98400fed93d/_compresseds/385f3ef8-e1c5-4fab-9b12-5e7927b29351.jpg" data-file-id="5201061" height="240" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b15bf4637afa8e98400fed93d/_compresseds/385f3ef8-e1c5-4fab-9b12-5e7927b29351.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 240px; margin: 15px; width: 180px;" width="180" />the blooms are out yet. I caught myself doing this yesterday, staring at them, being kind of critical about how long it was going to take until they opened up. As if their only value is the flowers they produce, and can't they hurry it up a bit? Seriously, how nutty is that?<br />
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Yet this is how we are, how we so often relate to our experience of life. And this is why mindful guidance repeatedly reminds us, "there is nothing to do, nowhere to get to, nothing to become." That is absolutely true, if you are in the moment. Yes, the peonies will bloom, but what is even more true is that, in this moment, they <em>are</em> blooming. They are as perfect now as they will be when the blooms are fuller and more fragrant. When I notice how I want them to be in a different state than they are, I can learn everything I need to know about the ways I create and increase my own suffering. Is "suffering" too strong a word for such a small dissatisfaction? Maybe, but multiply that by the hundreds of times a day when I want things to be other than they are, and that adds up to an unhappy state.<br />
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Being there during transitions helps with this. Try choosing to bring present moment awareness to something you do every day, like the transition from finishing a meal and getting on with the next thing, or the moments between reading an email and replying to it. Keep it simple, without analysis or expectation. Can you be there, not chasing the next thing but really in transition? If you can, you will discover the truth that everything is flowing, changing, and dynamically balancing.<br />
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Are we there yet? Nope, and we never will be. We are here, now. That's all, and that is enough.Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-50497640363321580792018-01-10T18:09:00.000-05:002018-01-10T18:09:19.511-05:00Three Words for 2018It's that time again, a new year. A new opportunity to take stock, review what has come to pass, and set some intentions for living into 2018. I've been choosing three words to guide me for the past several years, words which point to concepts that support my curious inquiry as I make my way, as I keep learning how to allow Way to open as it will.<br />
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My words for 2017 were <a href="http://movingintomindfulness.blogspot.com/2017/01/" target="_blank">Simplicity, Power, and Forgiveness</a>. As always, I had endless opportunities to explore each one, when I remembered to. I went long stretches without including these three in my awareness or in direct experience. When I recalled my intentions, however, examples of each were everywhere around me, either by their application or by their absence.<br />
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As I knew it would be, Power was absolutely the issue of the day. <br />
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Whether in the #MeToo movement, or the dangerous egocentric posturing of the President toward foreign nation-states (toward nearly everybody), or taking a knee on the football field, or even in my own spiritual community, people have been pretty confused about power: what it is, how we wield it, how to get it, and how to hold on to it. On the flip side, there is Powerlessness, the sense that one has no choice, no agency over their experience. I continued to face my own powerlessness over the things I'm addicted to (Step 1 in the 12-Step tradition), and I noticed an uptick in students telling me "I can't" or "it won't work" or other types of resignation. This helped me move closer to the idea that Power is mostly an agreement between one or more people; like everything, it's relational. I cede my power to you, or we share power with each other, "empowering" us. Perhaps that's the social contract we need to maintain, I don't know. What I do know, after a year of considering it, is that true power comes from within.<br />
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Sorry if you were expecting some new insight. I can only confirm that what wise teachers have said for millennia is true: there is no real power except what we each possess innately, and there is a power that exists among and between us too, which I call interdependence (<a href="http://movingintomindfulness.blogspot.com/2016/01/" target="_blank">a word from 2016</a>). How we use that power is up to us, and even under duress we have the option of exercising our unique agency. This doesn't have to be reserved for big conflicts among groups, like <a href="http://movingintomindfulness.blogspot.com/2017/08/its-like-this-now.html" target="_blank">what happened in Charlottesville last summer</a>. It can also be accessed under boringly mundane situations, like <a href="http://movingintomindfulness.blogspot.com/2017/02/" target="_blank">when I was sick last winter </a>and could only function in the most basic, simple ways.<br />
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It was in that brief illness that I saw the power of Simplicity, and throughout the year I witnessed many instances of how I often needlessly complicate things, which reduces my power. Feeling overwhelmed by too much to do, too many ideas, hopelessly juggling everything in the hope that somehow everything will work perfectly -- this is neither reasonable nor effective. It weakens my actions and renders my good intentions moot. It makes me feel like giving up. The simplest remedy I know, one I keep rediscovering, is The Pause. <a href="http://movingintomindfulness.blogspot.com/2016/12/" target="_blank">Pausing adds a little gap</a> wherein I can drop the extra effort or the added plans and concepts and sense what's immediate and essential. On a larger scale, of course we all need to "live simply so that others may simply live." Yet untangling from the many ways I participate in unjust economies and human interchange systems is not easy. When I can pause, I find freedom in the gap, and can make better decisions about what to participate in, and how.<br />
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When I don't remember to pause and give space to present moment reality, I mess up or I miss the mark because my aim is off (a classic definition of "sin"), or I'm just not <i>there</i> as my life unfolds. That's where Forgiveness begins<span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span>In researching forgiveness and what it means, I was reminded
of the wonderful work of the <a href="http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/about" target="_blank">Greater Good
Science Center</a> in Berkeley. Their website is an incredible resource,
where I found several helpful articles about forgiveness, like <a href="https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/eight_essentials_when_forgiving#data-tab-how" target="_blank">Eight Essentials When Forgiving</a>. GGSC not only provides
instructions about mindful practices on myriad topics and issues, but also
includes the reasoning behind the practice, the evidence for why it works, and
the sources of that evidence. The forgiveness practices are long-term and
intensive, because forgiveness isn't easy, and it's a process, not a destination.
It's important to remember that forgiveness is for the one extending mercy, not
for the one who is being forgiven. Jack Kornfield explains this with <a href="http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/gg_live/science_meaningful_life_videos/speaker/jack_kornfield/forgive_for_you/" target="_blank">a powerfully moving story in this short video</a>, also from
the GGSC website.<br />
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I was able to forgive a lot this year, and I feel pretty good about that. The good feeling isn't pride or satisfaction with "self-improvement." It just feels good to forgive someone, even myself. Letting myself off the hook, lowering the bar, radically accepting my many flaws and screw-ups allows me to also do this with others. Forgiveness doesn't eliminate the need for accountability or consequence, it just dissolves the weight of whatever burden one has been carrying, and the sticky ties one has to the person one is forgiving. Forgiveness is liberation.<br />
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Thus it was a big year full of big changes, consistent practice, and continuous learning. 2018 is shaping up to be even more so, and to navigate whatever it will bring I have again chosen three guiding words:<br />
<ul>
<li>Renunciation</li>
<li>Appreciation</li>
<li>Faith</li>
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What arises for you as you read these words? My next blog post will be an examination of each one, and why I chose them. </div>
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In the meantime, I'll be busy spreading the word about <a href="http://wayopenscenter.com/mindful-stress-relief/" target="_blank">Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction</a> class (starts on January 28!), <a href="http://wayopenscenter.com/alexander-technique/" target="_blank">Alexander Technique</a> lessons, and <a href="http://wayopenscenter.com/qigong/" target="_blank">Qigong</a> practice. I'll use the simple power of forgiveness as I share.<br />
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The Light in me honors the Light in you.<br />
<br />Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-91389829058312937982017-08-16T16:52:00.001-04:002017-08-16T16:53:22.282-04:00It's Like This Now<em>The thought manifests as the word;<br />The word manifests as the deed;<br />The deed develops into habit;<br />And habit hardens into character.<br />So watch the thought and its ways with care, and let it spring from love<br />Born out of concern for all beings. - The Buddha</em><br />
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On Sunday I returned from a 9-day silent meditation retreat at <a data-cke-saved-href="http://dharma.org" href="http://dharma.org/" target="_blank">Insight Meditation Society</a>. I intentionally didn't listen to the news on my drive home, wanting to preserve as much as possible the continuity of awareness and mindful power I'd worked so hard to cultivate. I sensed that something socially or politically significant had occurred while I was off the grid -- these days that's a pretty safe bet --but whatever it was, it could wait until I got home.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7K7vRT2ZbpOqWk3ScIg6eNXftEWAc4Ac425IuQG-EylRLcBeaeGyfwxIw_OpUo-lRysrvGawdNLcUxRLzeWMRZHyP531aI9t9Fs775Wu9tXZRu5GG08Bc47gpYibd-gBBOP2HOC5jSQ/s1600/Metta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="960" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7K7vRT2ZbpOqWk3ScIg6eNXftEWAc4Ac425IuQG-EylRLcBeaeGyfwxIw_OpUo-lRysrvGawdNLcUxRLzeWMRZHyP531aI9t9Fs775Wu9tXZRu5GG08Bc47gpYibd-gBBOP2HOC5jSQ/s200/Metta.jpg" width="200" /></a>When I heard the story of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/12/us/charlottesville-protest-white-nationalist.html" target="_blank">what happened in Charlottesville</a>, my first reaction was to open my heart and send wishes of loving-kindness to all involved. I felt sad and deeply disturbed, and once again wondered what it must be like to view everyone who is different from you with suspicion and hatred, to be so threatened by difference that you feel the need to dominate and destroy. Thus I included the fascists and neo-Nazis in my on-the-spot <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mett%C4%81" target="_blank">metta</a> practice, because I had just heard my dharma teacher say multiple times a day, "everything belongs" and "be willing to include."<br />
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I wish I could say the story ends there, but it doesn't. That attitude lasted about half an hour, until I heard Trump's remarks about how some "very fine" people had been among the "alt-right" group, and that there was blame on all sides. I heard this person -- whose number one job requirement is to represent and protect <i>all</i> citizens -- defend hatemongers who seek to destroy our democracy, and I watched a slow-burning fury begin to grow in my belly. The anger that arose within me at that point has grown exponentially over the past few days, coming on me in waves that require me to sit right down and feel, breathe, let go. Can I get inside the head of a neo-Nazi? No, thankfully, but I sure know what rage feels like, I know the urge to smash something, to want to see someone punished, and punished cruelly. And when I look intimately at that rage, what I find is fear. Sticky, searing, life-choking fear.<br />
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That's why they're called terrorists. They act from fear and incite fear and misery in others.<br />
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So Trump won't call them terrorists, but I will, and so will anyone who can tell the difference between love and tyranny.<br />
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Still, what are we supposed to do at times like this? How do we speak the truth and hold haters and their apologists accountable, without adding to the violence and terror? How do we work with the rage within and without?<br />
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My Buddhist teachers would say, "turn toward it," "allow it to be however it is," even "say yes to it." <i>Wha!?! </i>Say yes to neo-Nazis? Say yes to hate? That just doesn't sound correct, not at first anyway. But what that really means is to accept whatever is, however it is, in the present moment. <i>Then</i> take appropriate action. If something is unacceptable, if harm is being done and you can stop it, by all means please do. But do it skillfully, consciously, humbly. I may not be a terrorist, but I've got the capacity for a whole lot of manic bitterness and violence, and if I don't know this about myself it will manifest somehow. If I can't move in close to my fear and let myself feel it without judgment, it will become the driving force that determines my conduct and my speech. I have learned this through experience.<br />
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A recurring meditation instruction from <a href="http://commongroundmeditation.org/about/teachers-and-leaders/teachers/mark-nunberg-guiding-teacher/" target="_blank">Mark Nunberg</a> is, "Something is being known. It's like this now. Can that be okay?" The "okayness" is not about the object being known, but about the way I'm relating to it. Can I be okay with how afraid I am, how angry I am, how much grief I feel? Yes. I can say yes to these true facts, moment by moment. And the interesting thing I have observed is that turning toward these energies as they arise within me often diminishes them. The powerful urge to kick <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/christopher-cantwell" target="_blank">Christopher Cantwell</a> in the balls or to see Trump humiliated and thrown out of office is not a solid thing; it is an energy that changes, impermanent like everything else. It's unpleasant, and not very peaceful or loving, but I see it. I'm beginning to know its ways, make some space around it so it can't take hold, can't push me around anymore. In this way I create choices, can take effective action, or no action if that is what is called for.<br />
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It looks like the violence in Charlottesville is just the beginning; at least, that's <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/08/the-alt-right-stands-at-a-crossroads/536748/" target="_blank">what the fascists are promising</a>. So we absolutely must be ready to stand up to this hate, act in love and faithfulness, be willing to make sacrifices, and find a way to unite so that we can make a world where "everything (and everyone) belongs."<br />
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It's like this now. Are you willing to include?Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-38390354685797061922017-04-12T14:59:00.000-04:002017-04-12T15:06:49.893-04:00On-the-Spot Ways to Not Freak OutLast week I found myself in a challenging situation that felt like a crisis, in spite of knowing that it wasn't -- at least not yet. My husband, who has a history of heart problems, was experiencing dizziness and other symptoms that might have indicated another heart attack, so a friend took him to a nearby ER. I got a phone call to consult about whether the ER visit was necessary, and I agreed that it was a good idea. During this discussion I was a model of calm concern. I remembered to stay grounded in my body, to breathe, to listen carefully. My dear one was in New York City and I was in Philadelphia, so it made sense to wait for a report from the ER before deciding whether to take any action, like hopping the next train to NYC.<br />
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I don't know about you, but waiting patiently is not my strong suit. Having nothing constructive to do feels helpless, and that is not a feeling I enjoy. I did what I had been doing, which is to breathe, send positive healing energy to my husband and those caring for him, and get back to the tasks at hand, hoping to be distracted from the supremely unhelpful running commentary in my mind.<br />
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At one point I had the bright idea to post on Facebook: <em>What is your go-to method for letting go of worry when there is zero you can do about a scary situation?</em><br />
I got a lot of very interesting answers, and many of them are listed below. Some are religious or spiritual, some are body-based, some are more psychological. These are practical, easy things anyone can do under stress, and I thank everyone who replied on my Facebook page.<br />
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And hallelujah, it wasn't a heart attack. Just a wakeup call.<br />
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<u>Coping Methods (in no particular order)</u>:<br />
<ul>
<li>Breathe.</li>
<li>Pray. </li>
<li>Once when I was scared for someone, I sat through the fear and wrote them a letter. I never mailed it, but the duration of the focus was a true "Holding in the Light." Now I do that by coloring and drawing too. You could do it with movement.</li>
<li>A prayer I use is "God is with me now and all is well." Also, say the name Jesus repeatedly.</li>
<li>Something I've used with some success is the idea that if there is no solution, it is not a problem but rather an event -- like, say, a rainstorm. Problems have solutions that require planning and sometimes can benefit from a bit of timely worry.</li>
<li>I try to stay very present. Wash hands, feel temperature, etc etc....keep coming back....and of course breathe.</li>
<li>Going for a run.</li>
<li>Do an activity you enjoy - reading, crafts, TV, walking, etc.</li>
<li>Put on a song I love and focus on the music. Breathe with it.</li>
<li><strong></strong>Placing yourself firmly in the present can help. Rub your toe into the floor to remind yourself where you are. Grasp something small, whatever is close by.</li>
<li>Say the Serenity prayer.</li>
<li>I remember I am never alone, whether I simply visualize love and support from my community or reach out like you are doing now.</li>
<li>4-7-9 breathing. From Dr. Andrew Weil. Breathe deep to count of 4. Hold to count of 7. Exhale to count of 9. </li>
<li>Look at the big blue sky. Makes every worry seem small.</li>
<li>Worrying is praying for what you don't want; it is always better to just pray.</li>
<li>Herbs that ease anxiety and fear - motherwort, oatstraw, nettle, skullcap.</li>
<li>Under the circumstances, let the rain wash it away. [<em>It was pouring on this day.</em>]</li>
<li>Looking at what is the worst case scenario and asking if you can survive it. Thank Mother-Father God for giving you the strength to deal with it.</li>
<li>Trust my gut to take the next step. I choose to take one step at a time without trying to figure out an ultimate solution. I remember I'm not alone.</li>
<li>Relax your pelvic floor. You will feel better immediately.</li>
</ul>
I put my favorite one last. I cannot tell you how often that has made all the difference for me. I know it's not helpful or even necessary for others, but I'm so grateful to my Alexander colleague for reminding me of this. <br />
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Next time you feel like you are in a tough situation that is out of your hands and all you can do is wait for more information and then be ready to act -- try one of these methods. Or combine several: Breathe and look at the big blue sky and relax your pelvic floor muscles while you remember that you are not alone. And ask for help on social media; people just love giving advice!<br />
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<br />Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-59837541205676917062017-02-09T12:56:00.000-05:002018-06-27T12:20:37.883-04:00The Power of Tiny Repeatable Actions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<em>Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day, saying "I will try again tomorrow." </em>-- <em><a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.maryanneradmacher.net/" href="http://www.maryanneradmacher.net/" target="_blank">Mary Anne Radmacher</a></em><br />
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I've had a quietly courageous week. I learned how to use mindfulness practice when suffering from the Puking Flu.(Hint: nausea comes in waves, like the breath. Try not to struggle.) I discovered more about what <a data-cke-saved-href="http://movingintomindfulness.blogspot.com/2017/01/three-words-for-2017.html" href="http://movingintomindfulness.blogspot.com/2017/01/three-words-for-2017.html" target="_blank"><em>simplicity</em></a> means; it is amazing what the most basic things like a warm bed, soft pillow, peppermint tea, and a loving cat can do for you when you're feeling like death warmed over. I was able to recognize my luxurious existence, at least compared to some others. I wondered what it would be like to be so indisposed and ill without a reliable place to call home, or someone to come and murmur sympathetically from time to time, without the ability to maintain a little dignity and privacy. I was relieved to discover an ability to respond to an unpleasant situation with some gratitude (when I wasn't feeling terribly sorry for myself) and interdependent understanding.<br />
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More and more, I'm seeing that stepping back and searching for the big picture in any situation is often all that's needed. Taking the long view is called for right now, don't you think? I'm hearing some discouragement around questions of whether one's individual efforts can make a real difference. Whether in relation to socio-political chaos or about daily mindfulness practice and changing movement habits, folks are expressing doubts about the power of tiny repeatable actions. Is calling your senator effective? Can one big splashy march truly change hearts and minds? Is moving my computer monitor higher or lower really going to stop my neck pain? Is it really so bad to skip a day or two of meditation?<br />
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Yes and no. No, because just one person does not make a movement. Nor will occasional, sporadic attempts at meditating establish steady concentration leading to wisdom. (Really, it will not. I speak from experience.) Also yes, because each person in a group is just as vital and necessary as any other. And each time you sit meditation, you are recalibrating your inner and outer fields. That affects the wider field of everyone you come in contact with. Each time you notice an inefficient or tension-producing habit, and you stop the activity and apply some Alexander thinking, you are bypassing the old automatic neural pathways and carving out new ones.<br />
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I've written about <a data-cke-saved-href="http://movingintomindfulness.blogspot.com/2016/05/drop-by-drop.html" href="http://movingintomindfulness.blogspot.com/2016/05/drop-by-drop.html" target="_blank">my experience of incremental change</a> and "progress" before. I have told the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.friendsjournal.org/fall-seven-times/" href="https://www.friendsjournal.org/fall-seven-times/" target="_blank">stories of my many failed attempts</a> and what I've gained by them. But I must need more lessons in this, because the Puking Flu was the culmination of some days of deep internal darkness, a feeling of severe tension in all parts of my body, and a lot of what <a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Smalley" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Smalley" target="_blank">Stuart Smalley</a> calls "stinkin' thinkin'." Whatever virus got into me, my body responded by forcing me to focus on the most basic aspects of my existence, with little or no time to indulge in despair about humankind. I did best when I accepted tiny victories like being able to digest saltines, and small comforts like nurturing music and blessed sleep.<br />
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I don't have any deep wisdom about the power of the individual and the power of the collective; I look to other teachers for that. I am learning about this daily, as I get curious about what we mean by <i>power</i> anyway. I now know, however, that when I feel overwhelmed with despair, I can get simple. I can step back and look for the big picture. I can break it down and take small bites. In this way, it seems, the possibility of opening the body-heart-mind to compassion and healing grows, incrementally.Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-25604759352312923502017-02-01T16:48:00.002-05:002017-02-01T16:48:21.385-05:00Pathways 2017Perhaps you follow Way Opens Center on Facebook, and if so you've probably seen some images that I've been posting there. "Way Opens" is a Quaker phrase that implies faith and also forward movement. Each day in 2017 Way Opens Center will post a picture of The Path, as a reminder that there are many avenues to explore, many terrains to navigate, one step at a time, over and over again. These pathways may look familiar, they may look strange, they may barely look like an actual way through, but each can provide a little reminder that "we make the road by walking."<br />
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Each month I will share a slideshow of all the images from the previous month. <a href="http://play.smilebox.com/SpreadMoreHappy/4e4455774e44677a4e54553d0d0a" target="_blank">Here is the show for January. </a><br />
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I am currently drafting a post on one of the 3 words for 2017, Power. Stay tuned. An until then, enjoy the view of whatever path you are on.<br />
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Namaste.Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-77238168701809633142017-01-04T14:15:00.001-05:002017-01-04T14:16:19.421-05:00Three Words for 2017<span style="font-family: inherit;">Last year I began the practice of choosing three words to inform and guide my life for 2016. They were <a href="http://movingintomindfulness.blogspot.com/2016/01/three-words.html" target="_blank">Prosperity, Interdependence, and Love</a>. During the year I set the intention to notice how these three concepts showed up in various ways, and looked for ways to deepen my understanding of what they mean and how they operate.</span><br />
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Prosperity was the easiest one to work with, perhaps because it is tangible and not esoteric. I expected to learn about ways that are prosperous, and how that might be different from financial wealth. Things like an increase in public recognition of my work was a sign of prosperity, as was the wonderful, generous outpouring of financial support for my MBSR training fund. (You can still give, until January 15, here: <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/AmyMBSR">https://www.gofundme.com/AmyMBSR</a>) I prospered in positive feedback, in skill development, in deepening connections with others. I confirmed what I suspected when I chose Prosperity: you don't have to be rich to prosper.<br />
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Interdependence was so beautiful to work with. This is the most wonderful reality of life, the way we need one another for our well-being. This is not just healthy psychology or sound philosophy, it is nature. Interdependence describes the foundation of all life. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews/" target="_blank">Trees, for example, use an intricate network of roots, spores, etc. to communicate and help other trees thrive</a>, because when one tree thrives, they all do. That is true for all life forms, including humans. So in a year that saw the worst effects of polarization, petty hatred, and an "I got mine" mentality, the need for recognizing interdependence has never been more important or relevant. I sought out, and was blessed to experience, many instances of interdepent life. Everything's connected.<br />
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Love? Well, love could be the watchword every year. It's still a mystery to me, and as far as I can tell it is the reason we are here. I think life human life is a course -- a doctoral-level course -- in love. I (re)discovered some qualities of love, such as the fact that when love is present it makes you want to move closer to another person rather than farther away, or it makes it less impossible to do so. When there's love in the equation, courage arises, or compassion, or openness and flexibility. Love makes one stronger, more clear, more willing and able. This is why Michelle Obama encourages us to "go high when they go low." This is why Jesus advises us to love our enemies, because in the act of bringing love into the mix, we ourselves change (not sure what it does for the enemy). And of course there's romantic love, sexual love, spiritual love, friendly love, love for the earth, and so on. Love takes many forms and it's been an eye-opener to recognize love in action.<br />
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For 2017 -- a year that arrives full of foreboding and determination in equal measure -- I have chosen three words that hold huge potential for personal growth. Like last year, I'm choosing concepts that are a bit daunting. If I want to experience and cultivate these elements, I will need to make some pretty big changes. Part of my discernment process was to identify the words that scared me the most or made me react by contracting. That's often a sign that I'm at my growing edge. I also wanted to notice which words intrigued me the most, what ideas I was willing to explore thoroughly and consistently through the year. It's no surprise that in each case, I am both curious and afraid. How like life!<br />
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My three words for 2017 are (drumroll please):<br />
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<li>Simplicity</li>
<li>Power</li>
<li>Forgiveness</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5DwcHWdy_DeAtANlPY52H9RtG12qdx2N1rgGQ5KReAYvvtvvXtRD0LqmJhyVSv2vw0R-DZL0ZqIzkhrvuTy38mpmuUQFbJv8Z8QxWii6jH-jEqGFruti55G6xMm53ubgbTWOS9QzJ4g/s1600/Quaker+Spices.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5DwcHWdy_DeAtANlPY52H9RtG12qdx2N1rgGQ5KReAYvvtvvXtRD0LqmJhyVSv2vw0R-DZL0ZqIzkhrvuTy38mpmuUQFbJv8Z8QxWii6jH-jEqGFruti55G6xMm53ubgbTWOS9QzJ4g/s200/Quaker+Spices.jpg" width="133" /></a>I'll be writing more about each as the year unfolds, but for now I will say that I chose Simplicity because I tend to over-complicate things and burden myself unnecessarily, and I want to stop doing that. Simplicity is one of the "Quaker Spices" or shared testimonies of our faith, and in my opinion, the least understood or followed by Quakers. Mostly, though, I want to understand my own lack of trust in the simple way. <br />
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Power was sort of a no-brainer. The power grab in the U.S. by neo-Nazi elements, the myth of "people power" in an election run by the corporate oligarchy, the stories I keep hearing about how disempowered people feel, the lack of justice for people of color and women and immigrants -- it's all a swirly mass of fear and craving about who's got the power. So I am super motivated this year to learn about what constitutes true power. Stay tuned, I think we're all apt to learn about this in 2017.<br />
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Forgiveness feels a little like Love, in that it is universal and absolutely necessary for a peaceful life. My immediate task is to cultivate forgiveness for myself, even as I seek to learn better how to forgive others. I don't believe in New Year's resolutions but I did renew my vow to recognize when I am being unkind or oppressing myself, and then to stop and extend some compassion my way.<br />
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Like signposts along the way, my three words guide and even nudge me towards more fully awakening to life. May 2017 provide you with guidance and encouragement as you too seek awakening.Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-44228250651280453612016-12-14T15:46:00.000-05:002016-12-14T15:46:33.944-05:00The Second Arrow<em>Because of the particle-like nature of consciousness, we can enter the space between instinct and action, between impulse and reaction. To do so we must learn to tolerate our pain and fear. This is not easy. . . . We must learn the difference between reaction and response. . . . When someone cuts us off in traffic, we can angrily retaliate by racing up to them shouting, trying to get back at them, or we can breathe and let it go. When we are criticized, when we are betrayed, we don’t have to reinforce the pain of the situation by adding to the pain by our reaction.</em> -- Jack Kornfield, <em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://jackkornfield.com/responding-with-love-and-courage/" href="https://jackkornfield.com/responding-with-love-and-courage/" target="_blank">Responding With Love and Courage</a></em><br />
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Jack goes on to describe this personal reactivity as "the second arrow," a classic Buddhist description of what we do when in conflict or some other negative situation. Something painful happens, and it's like being shot with an arrow. Then we habitually, unconsciously pierce ourselves with another arrow, causing extra, unnecessary suffering.<br />
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"Unnecessary" is the key word here; we do not have to reinforce the pain. Alexander lessons, meditation practice, Qigong and other forms of mindful movement, all offer the opportunity to unhook from this automatic reaction, over and over again. At first, and always, it's necessary to see this happening. Like most habits, we become so used to judging ourselves and others that it feels normal, even unavoidable. You can't change what you don't know about, so waking up to the habit comes first.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkQgM5xcHO9e5PLxlggIKSquEbv6cPJSxJlRlQyBjuQxl_FsJr1O-8dduT7vj003Z7cA1S6WvZewZLsFyJPiD84Ns6qnk2bu33n420f5iXNmyudFGJNe8Ds6XH4qEMPIWsehhOp3dMbA/s1600/Two+Arrows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkQgM5xcHO9e5PLxlggIKSquEbv6cPJSxJlRlQyBjuQxl_FsJr1O-8dduT7vj003Z7cA1S6WvZewZLsFyJPiD84Ns6qnk2bu33n420f5iXNmyudFGJNe8Ds6XH4qEMPIWsehhOp3dMbA/s200/Two+Arrows.jpg" width="200" /></a>When we look, we see that we do this quite consistently, so it's useful to recognize how reactivity operates, dominating our lived experience. As Jack points out, this requires the willingness to tolerate challenging emotions: pain, fear, disgust, loneliness, powerlessness, [<em>insert your favorite unpleasant emotion here</em>]. Our aversion to be with these feelings comes in many forms, but it needn't be acted upon. We can pause and attend to the space between the stimulus and response, the urge to react and the reaction itself.<br />
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The freedom to make new and better choices in response to whatever arises is a hallmark of the Alexander Technique. Those who study it soon discover that what seems like a little pause is actually quite spacious, that a momentary stop provides enough power to see, sense, and switch off harmful habits of thinking and moving. In meditation, as steady attention is cultivated, it becomes very easy to see how we add extra pain to painful situations (by pushing away or running away), or ruin pleasant experiences (by grasping and greed).<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So what is the cumulative effect of practicing the pause, of finding the gap and waiting there? <a href="http://www.sylviaboorstein.com/" target="_blank">Sylvia Boorstein</a> describes it this way: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>If I want to free myself from endless cycles of struggling..., I need to keep rediscovering that the pain of the struggle is greater than the pain of the desire. If I develop the habit of restraining myself, I'll enjoy the relief of feeling the desires pass, and I'll remember that desires are not the problem. Feeling pushed around by them is. I'll continue to have desires, of course, because I'm alive, but they'll be more modest in their demands. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I don't know about you, but I often feel weary of being pushed around by my own reactivity; it wears me down. I have experienced the liberation that comes from turning toward my pain and pausing there, the freedom to notice that I'm wounding myself with the second arrow, and stop. </span>Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-83794653457012313892016-11-24T08:53:00.000-05:002016-11-24T08:53:05.780-05:00Giving Thanks<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY7WwQMx-xW3_kESkw_CSVHzirJl8JzGspKcRX28WGKHsj5awPPW60c0j7zewFyJBG2keOG5fyWLf2xLArRjVU8ykRDYs188cFTBjkfBQXtTWL3MrmlrI6MgeVL2c-qdMbX46hmuY91Pc/s1600/small+glass+half+full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY7WwQMx-xW3_kESkw_CSVHzirJl8JzGspKcRX28WGKHsj5awPPW60c0j7zewFyJBG2keOG5fyWLf2xLArRjVU8ykRDYs188cFTBjkfBQXtTWL3MrmlrI6MgeVL2c-qdMbX46hmuY91Pc/s200/small+glass+half+full.jpg" width="144" /></a>Living is tentative and uneasy for many of us right now, especially in the U.S. Gratitude helps so much. It's like a magic energy that alchemically transforms scarcity into satisfaction, half empty into half full. Luckily, we have a whole day dedicated to giving thanks.</div>
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Today I am grateful for:</div>
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<b>My passion.</b> When I resonate with something or someone, I’m
all in. I may not always be disciplined or consistent, but I am wholly dedicated to
whatever inspires me, and I enjoy bringing my total self to the endeavor or the
relationship. I give my all. I show up, and keep showing up. For my ability to
turn desire into dedication, I’m thankful.</div>
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<b>My family. </b> I’m lucky to have a husband who keeps loving
me and growing in companionship, and two absolutely beautiful daughters who are kind and
funny, smart and insightful, emotionally sensitive and socially aware. My
father, who at 90 continues to seek understanding and healing, has given me a
strong spiritual foundation for life as well as an appreciation for nature and
the beauty of this world. My brother taught
me how to be strong and resilient, and to trust my intuition. My nieces and
nephews astound me with their ability to forgive and to develop unconditional love. They are also super creative and persevering in all
they do, which gives me hope for the future. Thank you.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKO8nSXWQVSYlcrrexAzTfk60Ho6lskC5DmqUsrrcX5UpW18l6KYLtCTCB7F716GpjbCFVmEqSfyU1N4cAX5_yfEI_Mg5V0jI7aCDT9-fApg6CAkcvHGDv79csBpMEP8W13J0UQ6950uI/s1600/meeting-for-worship-hdr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKO8nSXWQVSYlcrrexAzTfk60Ho6lskC5DmqUsrrcX5UpW18l6KYLtCTCB7F716GpjbCFVmEqSfyU1N4cAX5_yfEI_Mg5V0jI7aCDT9-fApg6CAkcvHGDv79csBpMEP8W13J0UQ6950uI/s200/meeting-for-worship-hdr.jpg" width="200" /></a><o:p> </o:p></div>
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<b>My spiritual family.</b>
These are my closest friends, advisors,
mentors, and cheerleaders. They listen when I ask, are not afraid to call me on
my foolishness and wrong thinking, encourage and pat me on the back, give me
gifts and let me give to them in return, and generally help me remember to play
and be goofy while I still can. Maybe we’ve known each other since high school,
maybe we just met last year, but we connect authentically in the heart space
(see #1 above). You know who you are. Thank you.</div>
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<b>My gifts.</b> I am an experienced, talented hands-on
healer, an engaging and skilled teacher, and a decent writer and editor. I
enjoy connecting people with one another and creating networks of learning and
support, and I can organize events with the best of them. I am never happier
than when I’m planning a workshop or writing a lesson plan or refining
curricula. Nerdy but true. My singing and dancing is mediocre but on a good day
I can engage in them with gusto and abandon, which is half the battle. For the
gifts I was born with and those I’ve worked hard to develop, I’m thankful.</div>
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<b>This life.</b> I feel so grateful to be drawing breath right
now, this very minute. My dharma teacher, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/Today%20I%20am%20grateful%20for:%20%20My%20passion.%20%20When%20I%20resonate%20with%20something%20or%20someone,%20I%E2%80%99m%20all%20in.%20I%20may%20not%20be%20disciplined%20or%20consistent,%20but%20I%20am%20wholly%20dedicated%20to%20whatever%20inspires%20me,%20and%20I%20enjoy%20bringing%20my%20total%20self%20to%20the%20endeavor%20or%20the%20relationship.%20I%20give%20my%20all.%20I%20show%20up,%20and%20keep%20showing%20up.%20For%20my%20ability%20to%20turn%20desire%20into%20dedication,%20I%E2%80%99m%20thankful.%20%20My%20family.%20%20I%E2%80%99m%20lucky%20to%20have%20a%20husband%20who%20keeps%20loving%20me%20and%20growing%20with%20me,%20and%20two%20absolutely%20beautiful%20daughters%20who%20are%20kind%20and%20funny,%20smart%20and%20insightful,%20emotionally%20sensitive%20and%20socially%20aware.%20My%20father,%20who%20at%2090%20continues%20to%20seek%20understanding%20and%20healing,%20has%20given%20me%20a%20strong%20spiritual%20foundation%20for%20life%20as%20well%20as%20an%20appreciation%20for%20nature%20and%20the%20beauty%20of%20this%20world.%20My%20brother%20%20taught%20me%20how%20to%20be%20strong%20and%20resilient,%20and%20to%20trust%20my%20intuition.%20My%20nieces%20and%20nephews%20astound%20me%20with%20their%20ability%20to%20forgive%20and%20to%20develop%20unconditional%20love.%20%20They%20are%20super%20creative%20and%20persevering%20in%20all%20they%20do,%20which%20gives%20me%20hope%20for%20the%20future.%20Thank%20you.%20%20My%20spiritual%20family.%20%20These%20are%20my%20closest%20friends,%20advisors,%20mentors,%20and%20cheerleaders.%20They%20listen%20when%20I%20ask,%20are%20not%20afraid%20to%20call%20me%20on%20my%20foolishness%20and%20wrong%20thinking,%20encourage%20and%20pat%20me%20on%20the%20back,%20give%20me%20gifts%20and%20let%20me%20give%20to%20them%20in%20return,%20and%20generally%20help%20me%20remember%20to%20play%20and%20be%20goofy%20while%20I%20still%20can.%20Maybe%20we%E2%80%99ve%20known%20each%20other%20since%20high%20school,%20maybe%20we%20just%20met%20last%20year,%20but%20we%20connect%20authentically%20in%20the%20heart%20space%20(see%20#1 above. You know who you are. Thank you. My gifts. I am an experienced, talented hands-on healer, an engaging and skilled teacher, and a decent writer and editor. I enjoy connecting people with one another and creating networks of learning and support, and I can organize events with the best of them. I am never happier than when I’m planning a workshop or writing a lesson plan or refining curricula. Nerdy but true. My singing and dancing is mediocre but on a good day I can engage in them with gusto and abandon, which is half the battle. For the gifts I was born with and those I’ve worked hard to develop, I’m thankful. This life. I feel so grateful to be drawing breath right now, this very minute. My dharma teacher, Mark Nunberg, tells me that there are only two things to ask when I sit to meditate: 1) Am I interested in what’s here right now? Can I cultivate some curiosity about how it is? 2) Do I care about this life which has been entrusted to me? Can I cultivate some compassion for this being? For my ability to remain interested and caring, both on and off the cushion, I am thankful. Wishing you and yours a happy Thanksgiving Day and the ability to feel genuinely, deeply grateful for all the many blessings of this human life. Claim them. They are yours, and no one else can know them and live them like you can. Namaste." target="_blank">Mark Nunberg</a>, tells me that there are
only two things to ask when I sit to meditate: 1) Am I interested in what’s here right now?
Can I cultivate some curiosity about how it is? 2) Do I care about this life
which has been entrusted to me? Can I cultivate some compassion for this
being? For my ability to remain
interested and caring, both on and off the cushion, I am thankful.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKvcwwgYwO9r_O20sDc9sDa7jNcolzQPqcd7w5th5-VbrZbo8BhtryVNSQzx89rKnsH9vmOljMO_ogRf_1NTbVVZGutOdQokSJbb3jKXlbewtdddV-QKap9DbWsJPyPDZdRSbiW1gaH3Y/s1600/Fear+less.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKvcwwgYwO9r_O20sDc9sDa7jNcolzQPqcd7w5th5-VbrZbo8BhtryVNSQzx89rKnsH9vmOljMO_ogRf_1NTbVVZGutOdQokSJbb3jKXlbewtdddV-QKap9DbWsJPyPDZdRSbiW1gaH3Y/s200/Fear+less.jpg" width="128" /></a>Wishing you and yours a happy Thanksgiving Day and the ability
to feel genuinely, deeply grateful for all the many blessings of this human
life. Claim them. They are yours, and no one else can know </div>
them and live them
like you can.<br />
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Namaste.</div>
Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-89155232069485340762016-10-12T13:20:00.000-04:002016-10-12T13:21:36.489-04:00Surviving SkillfullyFor many years now, I have been learning and teaching that mindfulness is a skill. It is not a state of bliss, or wisdom, or mastery, or even clarity. These states may result from mindful living, but mindfulness itself is a skill set that we apply with intention to meet whatever is, however it is, in the moment.<br />
<br />
This is simple, but it's not easy. That is why there are a variety of practices that we can engage in to foster and develop our understanding of the skillful means available to us. A short list might include formal meditation (sitting, standing, walking, lying down), mindful movement (qigong, yoga, Alexander technique, tai chi, aikido, etc.), communication practice (NVC, peer counseling, compassionate listening), and reflective writing and art-making.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTMHiJrG9aCijrCOOXRs9emlhnzniYj4LW2eZE2brtApPF95iSswENtsWL88r7calTMlRt-Siy2I04I22THEinHWpzVlzkDh3fqF02omwc-r2MByFZ9eOc2Tbqa870hI6Heq-sH_AJX-M/s1600/rain-practice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTMHiJrG9aCijrCOOXRs9emlhnzniYj4LW2eZE2brtApPF95iSswENtsWL88r7calTMlRt-Siy2I04I22THEinHWpzVlzkDh3fqF02omwc-r2MByFZ9eOc2Tbqa870hI6Heq-sH_AJX-M/s200/rain-practice.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=b15bf4637afa8e98400fed93d&id=5d3575bbfa" target="_blank">In a recent newsletter</a> I discussed the acronym RAIN, and how it guides the process of turning toward our experience in order to be with it mindfully. RAIN is most useful at times when one feels overwhelmed with emotion, or confused, or otherwise thrown off course somehow. (It works beautifully in ordinary moments too, but we don't typically feel the need to navigate those moments as carefully.) To recap, RAIN stands for:<br />
<br />
R -- Recognize<br />
A -- Allow<br />
I -- Investigate<br />
N -- Not Personal, Nature<br />
<br />
Many teachers have offered this RAIN guide. <a href="https://www.tarabrach.com/selfcompassion1/" target="_blank">Tara Brach uses it quite a bit in her teaching</a>, and has several examples of how it can work individually and in relationships. I have used it successfully many times, as a way to utilize the skill of mindfulness that I am cultivating, and I'd like to share an example of how it is of great use to me right now, today.<br />
<br />
Perhaps only a few of you know that I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and, as a young adult, date rape. Even as I type that sentence I am using RAIN.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>I am <i>Recognizing</i> the strong sensations that arise in my body, accompanied by thoughts like, "Don't say that publicly. Find another example!" Feelings of embarrassment, shame, fear, and vulnerability are here. </li>
<li>So I <i>Allow</i> them to be present, don't fight, accept to whatever degree I can. It's actually okay to be with those feelings and thoughts, because </li>
<li>When I <i>Investigate</i>, I find that I have felt this way many, many times, and essentially these are just insubstantial thoughts, and physical sensations in the body. And they are changing. They have a pulse, a texture, a duration. Like everything else we pay attention to in meditation (breath, sounds, etc.), these strong and mostly unpleasant feelings arise, stay for a while, and then change or disappear. </li>
<li>I don't need to get caught in the experience, I can know it as <i>Nature</i> arising. I've just shared an intimately personal truth about myself, which breaks the rules of my conditioning, big time. <i>Of course</i> these thoughts and feelings will arise. It may sound odd, but the truth is, this is not happening to me. But I can be with it as it happens.</li>
</ul>
Okay, to be honest, I'm still working on that last one. It is difficult to stop identifying with my experience. Yet all the great spiritual teachers remind us that we must. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb70CYgwvpM" target="_blank">Joseph Goldstein says, </a>"the Buddha summed [everything] up in one essential teaching: Nothing whatsoever is to be clung to as I or Mine. This is not a philosophical statement, it is something for us to practice, to realize, moment to moment. This is the practice of freedom."<br />
<br />
<div>
As a survivor of sexual abuse, the past several days have been severely challenging. Beginning with the release of the recording of Donald Trump bragging about how he can get away with sexual assault because he is a celebrity, to the onslaught of reactions to it, the jokes and discussion on social media, and culminating in that violent war of words we called a "debate," I have been strongly triggered and retraumatized. Maybe you have been too. Chances are good that about 30% of you reading this are also survivors. The rest of you know someone who is.</div>
<div>
<br />
And I can live through these upsetting, truly hideous personal reactions because I have a skill set called Mindfulness. I have gathered and used many tools for 30 years or more, picked up along the way in psychotherapy, bodywork, 12-step groups, religious practices, and other sources which have helped me heal and restore wholeness. But daily mindfulness practice is really paying off right now. I don't like being triggered, but it no longer needs to run my life or even be a problem.</div>
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An acronym like RAIN is a hook to hang our hats on. It's a go-to process that we can access (dare I say <i>cling to</i>?) in difficult moments. It prevents us from reacting unconsciously and engaging in old harmful habits. Even better, it helps us wake up and see when we're reacting out of our old unconscious habits, and stop. </div>
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Interestingly, the name of one sexual assault hotline is <a href="https://www.rainn.org/about-national-sexual-assault-telephone-hotline" target="_blank">RAINN</a>, and if you need someone to listen and help you, please call<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.6px;">800.656.HOPE (4673).</span></span><br />
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Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-76930204949263914812016-08-23T17:33:00.000-04:002016-08-23T17:33:56.265-04:00Why I Love MBSR<span style="font-family: inherit;">As you must know by now, I am raising money to pay for a big teacher training course next month at the </span><a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/stress-reduction/history-of-mbsr/" href="http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/stress-reduction/history-of-mbsr/" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Center for Mindfulness</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> at the UMass School of Medicine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px;"><br /><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.gofundme.com/AmyMBSR" href="https://www.gofundme.com/AmyMBSR" target="_blank">PLEASE CLICK HERE TO MAKE A GENEROUS GIFT</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Many (most?) folks don't know what Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is, so it's hard to know why, other than the fact that you really really like me, you should make a donation or otherwise support my training. So here's some basic facts and a few reasons I adore this program and have received great benefit from it.</span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is an <a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/stress-reduction/mbsr-8-week/8-week-course/" href="http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/stress-reduction/mbsr-8-week/8-week-course/" target="_blank">8-week program</a> that has been helping people defuse their stressful suffering for nearly 40 years. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was created and developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, at the University of Massachusetts Medical </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">School. Jon wanted to test whether the mindfulness meditation he was practicing could be </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">applied directly to healing and an increase in overall wellness.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0cqazi0ottGA0H4X7ESO22GF8bZ-_PnUwtvG8ontlTxbp4NNYRtwHOBrApjemyD_Vwag0aIEP0lZjg0dZFBJwSJ2ybGt16QxwXS6OZejOUkZF8OlmWZZWfbDwgcAR5HJlLXScoJ0g7sQ/s1600/JKZ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0cqazi0ottGA0H4X7ESO22GF8bZ-_PnUwtvG8ontlTxbp4NNYRtwHOBrApjemyD_Vwag0aIEP0lZjg0dZFBJwSJ2ybGt16QxwXS6OZejOUkZF8OlmWZZWfbDwgcAR5HJlLXScoJ0g7sQ/s200/JKZ.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MBSR Founder Jon Kabat-Zinn</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Program participants are often referred by their doctors or psychotherapists, but the course has become so successful and is offered in so many places that word of mouth brings in people with all sorts of needs and interests.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Participants practice meditation or mindful movement (yoga, qigong) for 45 minutes each day, guided by the teacher via MP3 recordings. MBSR is a wonderful way to establish a regular meditation practice.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mindful communication, education about the physiology of stress, and an exploration of sensory perception are also included.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Other mindful methods have branched off of MBSR, such as Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, Mindful Birthing, Mindful Eating, and so on.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have done most of my MBSR training right here in Philadelphia, at the Mindfulness Institute at the <a data-cke-saved-href="http://hospitals.jefferson.edu/departments-and-services/myrna-brind-center-of-integrative-medicine/" href="http://hospitals.jefferson.edu/departments-and-services/myrna-brind-center-of-integrative-medicine/">Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine</a>. The Jeff program doesn't certify teachers, which is why I'm continuing on at UMass.</span></li>
</ol>
So why do I want to teach MBSR? Why add a whole new program to my practice, one with a lengthy and expensive training? Some of the reasons have just been spelled out, and I'll add a few.<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>MBSR is not the latest fad</b>, it has been around for a generation now, and tens of thousands of people <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">have completed the course and been helped by it. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>MBSR works. </b>It has been <a href="http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/stress-reduction/history-of-mbsr/" target="_blank">studied clinically multiple times, with consistent, repeatable results</a>. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>MBSR is adaptable.</b> It offers multiple strategies for addressing stressful conditioning. The program doesn't say there is only one way to wellness. We learn a variety of strategies and learn what works and when. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>MBSR empowers people.</b> This is maybe my favorite thing in life: to witness a person's "aha moment." Because MBSR is effective, people who practice in between classes discover that they have agency, and don't have to be stuck. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>MBSR keeps me honest.</b> I learned this right away when I trained as an Alexander teacher -- if you want to learn something thoroughly, and maintain a disciplined practice, teach it to others. Like the AT, teaching MBSR requires that I continue to cultivate mindful living, so that I can model what I ask my students to practice.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>MBSR teachers make boatloads of money. </b> False. Just Kidding. </span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">These are just a few of the reasons I love MBSR. I hope that once I begin offering the course, you or someone you care about will take it. I also hope you will consider supporting my training fund with a gift of any size. <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/AmyMBSR" target="_blank">You can do that here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you don't live near me but are curious about an MBSR course near you, just Google it. Seriously, this thing has legs! You are likely to find one at a local hospital, college, or movement studio.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Namaste. Wishing you wellness.</span></div>
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Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-60911106190402838492016-05-18T15:11:00.000-04:002016-05-18T15:11:22.537-04:00Drop By DropWhile I was on retreat earlier this month, I became keenly aware of how change happens. The fact that it is always happening -- that impermanence is the most reliably prevalent thing we can experience -- is not news to me. (I quite often forget that I know it, however.) But I was not so familiar with how major shifts in habitual thinking and being happen. It is typical to become a little disheartened at some point on a long silent retreat, and it's especially easy to feel discouraged in everyday practice. It can seem like nothing much is changing, that the encounter with greed, hatred, and delusion is never-ending. In daily life it can feel like my reactivity is always operating, no matter how deep and calm my meditation is, in spite of my intention to be mindful.<br />
<br />
During meditation practice I noticed an image arising over and over again: <a href="http://giphy.com/gifs/3oEjHTka7jfRpGS71m" target="_blank">a drop of water falling</a> on a stone in a river. I understood that awareness was telling me to keep at it, that with each sit or walk, with each breath, I was moving toward liberation. Continuity, discipline, momentum -- bit by bit water wears away the stone. Each drop is as important as every other, each contributes to an eventual change of shape.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://wayopenscenter.com/alexander-technique/" target="_blank">Alexander Technique</a> is like this too. At first, lessons are mostly about recognizing what is actually going on, how one is doing things, what habits of movement and tension are present. Once the habits are known, different choices can be made, exploration can begin, new ways of thinking are cultivated. But of course this doesn't last very long; habit is strong, and perhaps at first it is only possible to take a few steps before the old familiar pattern takes over once again. If we can accept that this is the way of it, we will progress in a steady fashion, which leads to thorough change.<br />
<br />
Thus the sage advice to "begin again and again." Each time we choose to perform an action with awareness and ease, not allowing the unconscious habits to dictate our behavior, we carve out new neural pathways, so that the next time our body-mind will recall the open and easy way, and old habits are less likely to interfere. This builds a kind of underpinning that becomes more powerful the more we practice. Sometimes it is then possible to have a big change in a short period of time. It feels like a major shift in consciousness or sensory experience just happens, all at once.<br />
<br />
Ayya Medhanandi Bhikkhuni describes how this works, in <a href="http://tricycle.org/magazine/dharma-snow/" target="_blank">The Dharma of Snow</a>:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">"...we need to be able to feel our humanity, to feel our nature from the inside. Not superficially but from within, where the invisible factors of mindfulness, clarity, faith, energy, concentration, and wisdom can dismantle and dissolve years and years of deluded ways of perception, of relating to life. That’s what this practice brings about, given enough patience and diligence and surrendering to the process. It brings about a spiritual transformation. It’s invisible. We don’t know it right away, but after years we begin to see. We see the changes in each other. We see the changes in ourselves. It’s quite remarkable."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
I find this essay deeply encouraging, a true validation of my commitment to daily mindfulness practice. I much prefer complete and lasting change that takes time, over quick changes that disappear like soap bubbles.<br />
<br />
So no discouragement, at least not for long. Every time we wake up, we wake up a little more.<br />
Namaste.<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span>Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-76454917778860199722016-03-09T13:10:00.000-05:002016-03-09T13:10:50.414-05:00Leaping Into Mindfulness, Part Two<i>Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes... Including you.</i> -- Anne Lamott<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg99nfYj7Uy1OtUJiy38_gDy2nuQdx5akknEPk_0Gx-cQk3QR5a3EJL-k3YwKkn5OVFlZWyPavQ_rfkrFqE5PPMwCohvmdergxiWPUuKVV-Ew_sRhgIpvdnO0oUGkmzcHIdcN6w3QpIVlU/s1600/edited_1443357023666-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg99nfYj7Uy1OtUJiy38_gDy2nuQdx5akknEPk_0Gx-cQk3QR5a3EJL-k3YwKkn5OVFlZWyPavQ_rfkrFqE5PPMwCohvmdergxiWPUuKVV-Ew_sRhgIpvdnO0oUGkmzcHIdcN6w3QpIVlU/s200/edited_1443357023666-1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">W</span>hen I promised to report back on my <a href="http://movingintomindfulness.blogspot.com/2016/02/leaping-into-mindfulness.html" target="_blank">day of mindfulness</a>, I imagined sharing lessons learned, significant inner experiences, and maybe even a little insight. My expectation was that I would gain something which could then be given. That's not how the day went, and although it was successful in every way, I didn't emerge with anything tangible. That's because there's no "there" there. There is nothing special to get, have, do, or be. In certain respects it was an ordinary, unremarkable day.<br />
<br />
I'm frequently asked about the value of meditation, about what a person can get out of it, so it's an easy trap to fall into. As a teacher, I need to consider "takeaways" for my students. We think that by sitting or walking in formal practice we are building up to something or accumulating spiritual credit somehow. We are conditioned to think this way, especially in the U.S., where everything is a commodity, part of the American Dream mentality that having more equals being more. <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/mindfulness-grows-popularity-profits-063501664.html" target="_blank">In recent years this has become especially true of "mindfulness."</a> One of my three words for 2016 is <i>prosperity</i>, so I have been watching to see how my ideas of scarcity, abundance, and economic exchange operate in my life. I'm intrigued by how it shaped my expectations in this instance, to see my assumption that I'm "getting something" out of meditating, and that it is a thing that can be given to others.<br />
<br />
It's complicated. Regular daily practice definitely has a stronger impact on my life than when I was only sitting now and then. The discipline to meditate even when I don't feel like it has been hugely beneficial, carrying over to other instances in my day-to-day where I don't want to participate but now choose to stay with what is happening instead of resisting or running away. I am becoming more skilled at focusing, I now have "tools" for managing my anxiety, rage, grief, and despair (also joy and enthusiasm and faith). I treat myself with more respect and kindness than before. Sometimes this spills over into how I treat other people.<br />
<br />
These are just some of the effects of regular meditation and mindful movement practice. Yet, like the <a href="http://wayopenscenter.com/alexander-technique/" target="_blank">Alexander Technique</a>, the point is not to gain but to lose, to let go of what's in the way. When I sit or walk or do Qigong, if I approach it as a way to get something (like peace of mind) or get rid of something (like tension), I will struggle. Rather than being with whatever is arising, I have an agenda for what is supposed to happen and I need to keep checking on my progress. Thus my desires are running the show. Meditation becomes the way I can see that operating and drop it. This is the practice. Yet even knowing that, I still get caught in the belief that I'll get something from the letting go that I can then share with others. This makes me smile at myself.<br />
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Here's some highlights (okay, takeaways) from my experience of an at-home day-long silent meditation retreat. There's nothing new to me in any of this, and I'm so grateful for the reinforcement of lessons I keep learning as I go.</div>
<ol>
<li><b>Cultivate No-Time.</b> During the first sit at 6 am I noticed a lovely feeling of expansion and freedom, and realized how luxurious it felt to know I had the whole day ahead for practice. When I sit most mornings, there's a subtle sense of urgency, a need to stay on schedule. I'm often sending messages about efficiency and productivity, like I'm saying "get 'er done!" Since then I have allowed myself to tap into the experience of no-time that meditation brings. How can I cultivate the luxury of spacious awareness, even in a short meditation?</li>
<br />
<li><b>Can't Unsee That.</b> I love walking meditation. Walking in my own house, not so much. All I could see was the mess and the dirt and the repairs that need to be made. Even with eyes lowered, even when anchored in the present moment, I felt inundated by the stuff I normally choose to ignore. Just for balance, I began noticing the beautiful things too: the colors, the light, my daughters' artwork, the feeling of the rug under my feet. It sounds like a stale proverb, but it is harder to walk in your own house than in someone else's.</li>
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<ol><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1V6oNvdYAWd7N3Y8EGsJNEMWj0XcrmsloDM7MO2O1IOogYv16J4FlSZgfnnnFNluFlGEywn89l_E-fV-l3tXR4gXx_EElrcEgxYRCgayDGgYSodIubHKKoEPKkfW9oe6eAKpLQbyp-K8/s1600/Zafu+Zabuton+compressed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1V6oNvdYAWd7N3Y8EGsJNEMWj0XcrmsloDM7MO2O1IOogYv16J4FlSZgfnnnFNluFlGEywn89l_E-fV-l3tXR4gXx_EElrcEgxYRCgayDGgYSodIubHKKoEPKkfW9oe6eAKpLQbyp-K8/s200/Zafu+Zabuton+compressed.jpg" width="200" /></a></ol>
<li><b>Fundamental Support.</b> I ordered a new zabuton to match my awesome memory foam zafu, and it arrived just as my mid-morning guided meditation with <a href="http://commongroundmeditation.org/about/teachers-and-leaders/teachers/mark-nunberg-guiding-teacher/" target="_blank">my teacher Mark</a> was ending. I appreciated the lovely difference it made in my comfort (as compared to a blanket on the rug). It wasn't due for a few more days, so I felt supported by the universe in my intentions for the day.</li>
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<li><b>Cleaning Into Mindfulness.</b> I scheduled a work period into the day, which expanded from 45 to 75 minutes because it was so enjoyable. That's right. Cleaning toilets and washing floors felt good. As in pleasurable, physically pleasant. Turns out the secret to enjoying household chores is simply to show up and be present while doing them. I apply my Alexander Technique in these activities, and it removes strain and increases ease. Scrubbing a sink becomes an opportunity to awaken. </li>
<br />
<li><b>Inertia and Momentum.</b> I hit the same energy roadblocks I always hit. I was sleepy after lunch, but that was anticipated; my schedule called for a walk along the canal. Still wanting to sleep when I returned, I stuck with the plan and sat for some guided metta practice. I hoped the specific nature of this type of meditation, where I consciously send wishes of loving kindness to myself and others, would keep me alert. It did not. Torpor and sluggishness won out and I took a nap, which had also been built into the schedule, knowing myself as well as I do. Upon waking, I enjoyed some <a href="http://wayopenscenter.com/qigong/" target="_blank">Qigong</a> practice and rebalanced all that sluggish energy. That gave me momentum to keep going through dinner time and into the evening. I was surprised at how a big part of me wanted to quit at this point, with only a few hours to go. I saw how habituated I am to hitting the internal "off switch" in the evening. I reminded myself that I wasn't working or "on," so there was no need to turn off.</li>
</ol>
Because nothing much of consequence happened, because I was in my everyday environment, because I got quiet and attended to simple things like breathing, walking, and washing up, I was able to notice how much of what I typically think of as "my life" is <i>made up stuff</i>. That is, stuff that isn't actually happening, except in my mind. Since Leap Day I've continued my experiment with awareness, to keep learning how to take it off the cushion and out into the world. I forget to experiment a lot of the time, and I'm not always successful when I do remember, but wow -- thinking sure likes to create a lot of drama and unnecessary nonsense. Of course that's what the mind does, that is its nature. Doesn't mean I have to believe it.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
-----------------</div>
<br />
Are you curious about how a day of mindfulness practice might benefit you? If you live in or near Philadelphia, consider joining me for <a href="http://wayopenscenter.com/events/" target="_blank">Moving Into Mindfulness on April 9</a>. If that's not possible, invite me to teach in your region. Or contact me privately and I will help you create your own personal silent meditation retreat.<br />
<br />
<i>Namaste</i>.<br />
<ol>
</ol>
<br />Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-9659941398595024142016-02-28T17:14:00.000-05:002016-02-29T21:21:46.414-05:00Leaping Into Mindfulness, Part One<h4>
<span style="color: #383838; font-family: "gotham" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">After the Oscars, Before Super Tuesday</span></h4>
Lately I've been pining for a long retreat at <a href="http://dharma.org/" target="_blank">Insight Meditation Society (IMS)</a> or somewhere. I get such amazing results in my practice when I have the time and space to do nothing but meditate and do mindful movement. The <a href="http://movingintomindfulness.blogspot.com/2015/08/silence-loudest-thing-in-my-head.html" target="_blank">9-day silent retreat works</a> in a powerful way to stabilize my attention and lead me into a depth of awareness that daily meditation cannot. Alas, it will be late April before I can get back here:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw0eMxpCAqM0tgj9-uPaEH-4fPCGYg1GXnJlRXrMZr364y5GQHjc3vAaoVglyCArYxcoih_AeF4SsEkDIl5zTtGUYI0XgBnKIsKoi2II1L5CH65i9hdrduAP20RMFdO7p4W2XEUlc9-7E/s1600/CompressedWallpaperMar2014Preview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw0eMxpCAqM0tgj9-uPaEH-4fPCGYg1GXnJlRXrMZr364y5GQHjc3vAaoVglyCArYxcoih_AeF4SsEkDIl5zTtGUYI0XgBnKIsKoi2II1L5CH65i9hdrduAP20RMFdO7p4W2XEUlc9-7E/s200/CompressedWallpaperMar2014Preview.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
So I decided to try something I read about or heard from someone like <a href="https://www.tarabrach.com/" target="_blank">Tara Brach</a> or <a href="http://www.sharonsalzberg.com/" target="_blank">Sharon Salzburg</a> or <a href="http://www.sylviaboorstein.com/" target="_blank">Sylvia Boorstein</a>: a one-day silent meditation retreat at home. I chose Leap Day, February 29, because I figured, what makes more sense than to celebrate getting an "extra" 24 hours of time by practicing nonstop silent contemplation of the present moment?<br />
<br />
This can succeed because I'm an empty nester, my husband leaves very early on Mondays to teach in New York and doesn't get home until later in the evening. I can turn off the phones, set an away message on my email, and follow a schedule very similar to the one I follow when I'm at IMS. Of course my meals won't be prepared for me, and there won't be a crew to do my dishes, but I have made meals in advance and will cook and clean mindfully (and there's a work period in the schedule). I've arranged my time in 60- or 45-minute segments, alternating between sitting and walking meditation, with periods for meal prep and eating, housework, mindful movement like outdoor walking and Qigong, and even a nap.<br />
<br />
The midmorning sit is with guidance and in the evening I'll listen to a dharma talk. I can do this because there are literally hundreds of recorded meditation sessions and teachings at <a href="http://dharmaseed.org/" target="_blank">Dharma Seed</a>, a priceless resource for curious yogis and meditators. I will also mine the 31 video podcasts from last October's <a href="http://themindfulnesssummit.com/" target="_blank">Mindfulness Summit</a>, which I have archived. There are so many options, I'm going to download a few to my Kindle and then use that for audio and video delivery. Other than that, no electronics allowed! I'll be going off the grid after the Oscars tonight and won't return until early on Super Tuesday.<br />
<br />
I realize that one of the other reasons this is possible is because of my privilege. I have a job with flexible hours, I have a safe home, I have good health, I have the ability to give myself this day of self-care. I am grateful for my secure situation in life, and the first blessing I will recite tomorrow is one of praise and thanksgiving.<br />
<br />
At this writing, I have about 6 more hours to speak, use my phone and computer, watch TV (the Oscars are like the Superbowl around here), and live "normally." After the retreat is over, I'll post Part Two and report back on how it all goes.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://photos.gograph.com/thumbs/CSP/CSP992/k12883322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://photos.gograph.com/thumbs/CSP/CSP992/k12883322.jpg" /></a>Does this sound like something you'd like to try too? What would you need to put into place in order for it to be possible?<br />
<br />
Namaste.<br />
<br />Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-49625606527277389792016-01-29T16:43:00.000-05:002016-02-16T21:55:40.749-05:00Three Words<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have decided to experiment with a
way of framing my work and life this year, an approach which has often been
suggested to me from sources both personal (people who know me well) and
professional (experts who do not). I’ve resisted this advice in the past, feeling like it’s
gimmicky or limiting somehow. Over the past few weeks, however, I’ve quietly tried it out and it feels helpful. It is simply this: choose three
words for 2016 that will guide and inform everything you do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One blogger, </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://chrisbrogan.com/3-words-2016/" target="_blank">Chris Brogan</a></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, recently caught my attention as the latest to recommend this
practice. The idea is that the three words inform decision-making, serve as
touchstones during uncertainty or confusion, and challenge me to ask deeper
questions about my motivations and assumptions. Chris points out the advantage
of choosing three words over several or just one: the power of triangulation. Each of
the words (or more accurately, the concepts behind the words) reinforce the other
two and are in turn nuanced by them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Choosing my three words was a
wonderfully insightful process. I saw more clearly what I value, what I
feel I lack, what I’m good at, what scares me, and what brings me satisfaction.
That alone was worth it, and you might consider what three words you would
choose, even if you don’t plan on holding yourself to them all year. In considering several options, I intended
to strike a balance between small, specific action words (“build”) and large,
universal ideas (“compassion”), but I’ve ended up with some mighty big,
slightly intimidating words, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrFO702T7Sg" target="_blank">and that’s okay</a>. My three words feel friendly and
demanding in equal measure, and I’m surprised at how easy it has been to turn
toward them without effort when I need to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My three words for 2016 are:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>Prosperity </b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>Interdependence </b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>Love</b></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Rather fundamental, especially the
last one. I will be writing about each of the three in the coming weeks, and
about how relating to them or using them as guiding forces plays out in my
developing work. For now, here’s some working definitions and a few initial
thoughts on each.</span><br />
<div>
<b 14.95pt="" line-height:=""><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div>
<span 14.95pt="" line-height:=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Prosperity - </b><i>a successful, flourishing, or thriving condition</i>. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>Good fortune, success, profitability, affluence, wealth, ease, plenty.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">makes me quite anxious, and I have my </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/friendsspiritualaccountability/" target="_blank">Spiritual Accountability Group</a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> to thank for that. They rightly
challenged me to take a good hard look at this, and now I’m motivated to end my
ambivalence about money and success and seek to understand what it truly means
to prosper. It also reflects my desire to address issues of class and privilege
more directly this year. Some initial questions that arise include:</span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">What
am I doing to thrive, how does my work help others thrive too?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">How
can I more easily recognize “scarcity mentality” and embrace present-moment
abundance?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">What’s
wrong with making lots of money?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">How
does money reflect, or not reflect, how I value my work in the world?</span></li>
</ul>
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Interdependence - </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"> <span class="oneclick-link"><i> the quality or condition of being interdependent; mutually reliant on one another. [</i></span></span><i style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><font-size: 115="" 12.0pt="" line-height:=""><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8V0IJ11CoE" target="_blank">Here’sa cool video about one example of interdependence</a>]</font-size:></i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This makes me feel so enormously
joyful and grateful and safe. It is my antidote to despair. I have taught that
everything is connected for 25 years and I certainly know body-mind unity. Yet
it is only recently that I have been able to live in the flow of all that is
(not constantly of course), sensing the complexity of how everything I can
experience is interwoven and affected by everything else. We’re all in this
together. Relevant queries might be:</span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">How
can I trust interdependence and act from that trust?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">How
does remembering interdependence help to develop compassion?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">What
do I gain from my fierce independence? Does interdependence negate that? How
does my individuality fit in?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">How
does working with myself or one other person serve the whole of creation?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">How
does my work with groups reflect my understanding of interdependence?</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Love – </span></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There are so many definitions, as we
all know. </span></i><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/love?s=t" target="_blank">This is a link to some of them</a></span></i><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I suppose this could or should be a
guiding word every year. This year, I have reached a point where I need to
understand Love in a fresher or deeper way. Like the song <i>Both Sides Now</i>, I really don’t know Love at all. I experience it, I
share it, I crave it, I am provoked by it, I have potent memories of it, but
honestly? It feels like I am just barely waking up to Love. I have so many
questions, it makes me chuckle to think of it. Here’s a few:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Is
Love our default setting?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Love
can manifest any way it wants to. How do I cultivate Love skillfully?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">What
is the relationship between power, vulnerability, wellness, and Love?</span></li>
</ul>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My three-word framework has already
made a difference in my confidence level and my ability to relax into everyday
living. Somehow, having these big ideas as reference points assists me in
navigating my life. I look forward to learning more as I go and sharing what I
discover.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>I honor the Light within you. Namaste.</i></span></div>
Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-9548806897194868912015-12-31T16:33:00.000-05:002016-01-01T13:43:03.716-05:002016: Being Simple, Curious, Loving Lordy lord, 2015 has been one hell of a year. The painful
stuff was hugely painful and the pleasant stuff was supremely pleasurable. Not
a lot of in-betweens. When I was clear, I was totally directed and on point.
When I was confused, I was in a fog, just lost and wandering about, hoping for
a familiar landmark. I established some personal discipline at a new level for
me, which really paid off. A few times I forgot or ignored key facts about
living as a human, which really cost a lot. Destiny will bitch-slap me when I
pretend the rules don't apply to me. Mostly I worked my ass off this year, on
both the outside and the inside (because there's not much difference between
them). I just kept showing up, which is all person can do, really. The rest
will take care of itself, if I can release the death-grip on my agenda for
every single second that unfolds in my life. If I can soften, trust, choose
faith, open to my innate freedom.<br />
<br />
In 2016 I desire to keep it simple, get curious about what is
real in any given moment, and love myself. I really do want to love myself as I
am, as I move through each day. When I consider various challenges for the new
year, this is the one that seems the most daunting, the most radical. It goes
against everything I was taught or learned or am being conditioned to believe.<br />
<br />
I bow deeply in humble gratitude to all the teachers who came
into my life this year, whether you intended to help me learn or not. Thank you
in advance if you will keep walking with me in 2016.
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9FKWVscg0lU3A7bc1GrCWzHzwUxd70CkUN_LXVcZDTEyqU8_JbeBY5vFzOIlg04IviJu3fkE_pIDtC2WJ2RFZKLNoPdurGW0i73r1dDCfdR0viCVLX0L-jKSOM1Hy0viUC9rq2-5iEM/s1600/I+Don%2527t+Know.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9FKWVscg0lU3A7bc1GrCWzHzwUxd70CkUN_LXVcZDTEyqU8_JbeBY5vFzOIlg04IviJu3fkE_pIDtC2WJ2RFZKLNoPdurGW0i73r1dDCfdR0viCVLX0L-jKSOM1Hy0viUC9rq2-5iEM/s200/I+Don%2527t+Know.jpg" width="200" /></a> Thomas Merton wrote, "My Lord God, I have no idea where
I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where
it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am
following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe
that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that
desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from
that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I
may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are
ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone."<br />
<br />
Not knowing is crucial; my happiness depends on it, in fact.
When I move through life thinking I know what to expect, or how things should
be versus how they really are, or precisely what the outcome of anything will
be, I am miserable. I don't mean the instinctual kind of knowing, like when I
can sense something true in my gut. I mean the kind of knowing that closes me
off, decides what will happen before it has actually occurred, produces
reactions in me that are habitual and stale and often inappropriate to the
situation. The kind of knowing that believes the story I tell myself, over and
over and over again.<br />
<br />
To say, "I don't know" is a little scary, like
liberating things tend to be. To shift the perspective and say, "I sense that this is real and I know what I am doing and where I am going, but the
truth is, I don't honestly know." Can I let go into that way of being,
that open-hearted warrior stance? In 2016 I plan to test the theory that moving
through life in faith is a way to love myself, and that loving myself is an act
of faith.<br />
<br />
Namaste, dear ones. All blessings as we turn the page and
create another year together.
Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-80448906474186109372015-12-01T19:33:00.000-05:002015-12-01T19:33:12.874-05:00The Grateful DaysEach day in November I posted on Facebook something for which I'm thankful. I found it easy most days, but occasionally I needed to choose to feel grateful, which always produced something significant enough to name. I noticed that the act of choosing gratitude led to a sense of lightness and ease, and more connection to my immediate environment. My intention was to strike a balance between the general and the specific, neither too shallow nor too heavy duty, so the list contains a range of reasons to be thankful. These are the 30 things I came up with.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwFGZZx50L6LZ9I2lq4RcwyiBVN1fKvRVOHMuuOgzmZI3kHVAlsHdK8z98wkptirmn5Hv7dQUibJWYeNGJlG936lTW0hGaUIRX_eC1S5PjsvcgPwxsLXTgishyphenhyphen4tgd3b_YZ51q46jnDCQ/s1600/Flower+Lungs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwFGZZx50L6LZ9I2lq4RcwyiBVN1fKvRVOHMuuOgzmZI3kHVAlsHdK8z98wkptirmn5Hv7dQUibJWYeNGJlG936lTW0hGaUIRX_eC1S5PjsvcgPwxsLXTgishyphenhyphen4tgd3b_YZ51q46jnDCQ/s200/Flower+Lungs.jpg" width="167" /></a><br />
1 & 2 - My two lungs<br />
<br />
3 - The right to vote <br />
<br />
4 - Health! Health Militant! (Oliver Sacks)<br />
<br />
5 - Leading midday meditation each Thursday<br />
<br />
6 - My kids and their generation of activist-warriors<br />
<br />
7 - Love songs<br />
<br />
8 - Yoda fortune cookie: "Do or do not. <a href="http://wayopenscenter.com/there-is-no-try/" target="_blank">There is no try</a>."<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ3AwGbBSqC4Vcyb8bGScN4m2TMz3CPRTeorvo4876lUKL2TQN-NTNZIJmruZrJWCn_GX1fmDmi-aL_5EPOF-xF3BWdRPPIbRw_t7X6BngXfFRwHaf-tlM1rizUOmNxJWEdJoiVZl3iP8/s1600/Warrior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ3AwGbBSqC4Vcyb8bGScN4m2TMz3CPRTeorvo4876lUKL2TQN-NTNZIJmruZrJWCn_GX1fmDmi-aL_5EPOF-xF3BWdRPPIbRw_t7X6BngXfFRwHaf-tlM1rizUOmNxJWEdJoiVZl3iP8/s200/Warrior.jpg" width="138" /></a></div>
<br />
9 - My warrior nature<br />
<br />
10 - My <a href="http://wayopenscenter.com/alexander-technique/" target="_blank">Alexander Technique</a> students<br />
<br />
11 - My job at <a href="http://cpmm.org/" target="_blank">Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting of Friends</a><br />
<br />
12 - <a href="http://www.quakersbucks.org/" target="_blank">Bucks Quarterly Meeting</a><br />
<br />
13 - Moving and leading others in movement<br />
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14 - The people who joined me for <a href="http://wayopenscenter.com/moving-into-mindfulness/" target="_blank">Moving Into Mindfulness</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyl5SqnpviRyPXiKIsjyDMjZ4MhkKFxhs0tJ2x6HlLyb_5BJ0xQWPBi65jXq0-B48kthBzczMyEGpJvXSxBye6pgoNZnE06hWKwj099cT1u97A9kBlSSgn3pbdbiWJw1UJGCsRur53As/s1600/windowsill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyl5SqnpviRyPXiKIsjyDMjZ4MhkKFxhs0tJ2x6HlLyb_5BJ0xQWPBi65jXq0-B48kthBzczMyEGpJvXSxBye6pgoNZnE06hWKwj099cT1u97A9kBlSSgn3pbdbiWJw1UJGCsRur53As/s200/windowsill.jpg" width="200" /></a>15 - Love Saves the Day, a universal truth<br />
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16 - The little objects of comfort on my kitchen windowsill <br />
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17 - My amazing husband, J. David Brimmer<br />
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18 - Ben & Jerry's<br />
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19 - Favorite movies like "O Brother Where Art Thou?" and the love of good friends<br />
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20 - Feminism<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2pbYIBoDoqARTOoI5kt-s1o4FsCWJbM2ca-CTSbduHMJISQErXuU6nes-FI3ZM73gO0aSQlL8McWmvqEjPOPWAf8JEjfKODjXL8YuZu4IYaU8MhPT7Adwu6nRP_Mpx6WQKBQsMRyPWU/s1600/Sunset+Nov+2015+Too.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2pbYIBoDoqARTOoI5kt-s1o4FsCWJbM2ca-CTSbduHMJISQErXuU6nes-FI3ZM73gO0aSQlL8McWmvqEjPOPWAf8JEjfKODjXL8YuZu4IYaU8MhPT7Adwu6nRP_Mpx6WQKBQsMRyPWU/s200/Sunset+Nov+2015+Too.jpg" width="200" /></a>21 - Interdependence<br />
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22 - A beautiful sunset and the ability to see it<br />
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23 - A warm fire on a cold evening<br />
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24 - Hot and cold running water and modern conveniences<br />
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25- Teachers in the classroom, making a difference<br />
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26 - Companionship along the way<br />
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27 - Mild temperatures, a gentle walk with my family<br />
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28 - Doing nothing. And naps!<br />
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29 - Choosing to be thankful produces gratitude<br />
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30 - The wise ones who have come before to show the way<br />
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I have myriad reasons to be thankful, and this exercise leaves me feeling humble and very, very lucky. As we move through the coming weeks of increasing darkness, may I be grateful for everything, just as it is. May I trust in the abundance that surrounds me without needing to see very far ahead. May I let go of my agenda and rely on mindful, whole body sensing to navigate.<br />
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Advent, the Christian season of preparation and expectancy, has begun. Here is a poem from an Advent book by <a href="http://www.janrichardson.com/" target="_blank">Jan Richardson</a>, <i>Night Visions</i>:<br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There are other senses,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">you tell us, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">and when the darkness</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">obscures our choices,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">we must turn</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">to the other ways of knowing</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">you have given us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In the daylight</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">we can get by on sight,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">but for the nighttime</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">is our hearing,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">is our tasting,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">is our smelling,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">is our questioning,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">longing touching.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A thousand messages waiting</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">for our sensing</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">you have given us,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">O God.</span></div>
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May beautiful expressions of gratitude light your way as we move toward the Winter Solstice. May you know the ease of well-being.<br />
<br />Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-8550963621777999072015-10-06T18:44:00.000-04:002015-10-06T18:44:09.305-04:00Walking This TalkMoving Into Mindfulness isn't just a blog; it is also a learning and exploration process. Join me for a day-long workshop in November here in Bucks County, or next January in Center City Philadelphia. Here's some basic information. Feel free to call or email if you'd like more information and to register.<br />
Namaste,<br />
Amy<br />
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<strong><u>Moving Into Mindfulness</u></strong><br /><strong>Saturday, November 14, 2015</strong><br /><strong>9:30 am – 4:00 pm <a data-mce-href="http://wayopenscenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/blue-green-qi-gong.jpg" href="http://wayopenscenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/blue-green-qi-gong.jpg" style="color: #0011bb; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="blue green qi gong" class="alignright wp-image-415 size-thumbnail" data-mce-src="http://wayopenscenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/blue-green-qi-gong-150x150.jpg" height="150" src="http://wayopenscenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/blue-green-qi-gong-150x150.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: none; box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) 0px 1px 2px !important; display: inline; float: right; height: auto; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.625em 1.625em; max-width: 98.5%; padding: 8px; text-align: center;" width="150" /></a></strong><br /><strong>Fallsington Friends Meeting</strong><br /><strong><a data-mce-href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/9300+New+Falls+Rd,+Levittown,+PA+19054/@40.184909,-74.8195968,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x89c150da75673021:0xe1276a831d8289b1?hl=en" href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/9300+New+Falls+Rd,+Levittown,+PA+19054/@40.184909,-74.8195968,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x89c150da75673021:0xe1276a831d8289b1?hl=en" style="color: #0011bb; text-decoration: none;">9300 New Falls Road</a>, Levittown, PA 19054</strong><br /><strong>Sliding Fee -- $45 – 75 per person</strong></div>
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<span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;">An experiential, guided movement class for people at all levels of practice. Discover how to take the benefits of your mindful movement out of the classroom and into everyday living. The workshop explores mindfulness through three components: <a data-mce-href="http://wayopenscenter.com/workshops-classes/" data-mce-style="color: #000000;" href="http://wayopenscenter.com/workshops-classes/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">Qigong</a>, everyday activities, and guided meditation practice.</span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;">We will also investigate mindful eating (in a shared lunch), and thoughtful communication practice. We'll discover how movement is stillness and stillness contains movement. Participants will be given resources to support home practice, and leave with tools that can be applied in daily living.</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.4px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">
<span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;">Please see the <a href="http://wayopenscenter.com/moving-into-mindfulness/" target="_blank">full description of Moving Into Mindfulness</a> on the Workshops page of the website for more information.</span><br /><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;">To register, contact</span><br /><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;">Amy Ward Brimmer</span><br /><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;">917-216-5850</span><br /><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;">amy@wayopenscenter.com</span></div>
Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-3524269770166467542015-09-23T09:19:00.000-04:002015-09-23T10:01:23.134-04:00Days of AweI don't know much about Yom Kippur, but I do know it is the holiest day in the Jewish year, the culmination of a 10-day period that begins with Rosh Hoshanah, the new year. This period is called the Days of Awe. They end with repentance, sacrifice, and purification. Today is the Day of Atonement.<br />
<br />
I don't hear that word much, unless I'm reading the Bible or other religious book. Webster's definition includes "reconciliation" and "satisfaction" as descriptors. When I Google "atonement," I get 3 basic items: <a href="http://www.reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/yom-kippur-day-atonement" target="_blank">Yom Kippur</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atonement_in_Christianity" target="_blank">Christian reconciliation with God through the death of Jesus Christ</a>, and the novel and film, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0783233/" target="_blank">Atonement</a> (which is amazing, please see and/or read it when you can).<br />
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All discussions of atonement remind us that the original English meaning was literally, "at-one-ment," the bringing together of beings who have become separated. Harmony, peace, and unity are attained. Wholeness is restored.<br />
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<i>Restored.</i> That is crucial, because it implies that wholeness and harmony are already present, are the way we're meant to be in community with one another, and with the Divine. (Please substitute whatever word works for you: God, the Force, the Universe, the Way, Nature. The finger that points at the moon is not the moon.) In assessing our mistakes, the harms we have done, our unconscious cruelty and lack of compassion, we are recalibrating ourselves back to how things really are. If we have gotten lost along the way, or traveled down some roads that take us farther from our felt connection with all living beings, we can change direction. Your internal GPS will announce "recalculating," as you move into a restored way of relating to your life.<br />
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So atonement doesn't manufacture anything, doesn't produce some special state or mood. It eliminates what is interfering with right relationship. It makes right speech, right action, more likely.<br />
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I'm not sure what "awe" means to Jews when they consider the Days of Awe, but to me it points to the amazement that I can be brave enough to look at my failures, selfishness, lack of faith, potential for mean small-mindedness, and my dumb mistakes and say, "Yes. I did all that. I'm capable of some despicable behavior. I am at fault and owe several people apologies." I can see all of it and neither flinch nor be destroyed by it. I can face my frailties, arrogance, fear, and darkness, and when I do, it dissolves. It shows me my growth potential, and it is a blessing to see it. Awareness can hold it all.<br />
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The days are getting shorter, the darkness is growing. This is a time of increased looking within, tending the fires for the long cold nights ahead, keeping vigil with the heart-mind. Once I have restored unity with my fellow humans, gotten back on track with the Universal Way, and come home to myself, I move in a fresh direction, full of awe at our innate ability to be One With Another, One With All.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdm9ih7ezEQ7RD4YIjs7fTSYS8CGxN9YXxZgjaCaFQ0xg4BM9BpAznWIfnp3X0kfFIuXSWscZhJjx1KZDWdja9GKeJVw5UWiZtoweyQyDe6538KvL9tHhjOXanh2LpSrV5fxBz9o1mRW4/s1600/Unknown+Blessings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdm9ih7ezEQ7RD4YIjs7fTSYS8CGxN9YXxZgjaCaFQ0xg4BM9BpAznWIfnp3X0kfFIuXSWscZhJjx1KZDWdja9GKeJVw5UWiZtoweyQyDe6538KvL9tHhjOXanh2LpSrV5fxBz9o1mRW4/s200/Unknown+Blessings.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Meditation for today: <i>May the coming days of ripeness and release bring me the courage to let go of what has been, and may I cultivate the curiosity and fortitude to turn toward whatever is here now, just as it is. I give thanks and praise for unknown blessings already on their way.</i><br />
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Namaste.Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-74880962384985082942015-08-06T13:43:00.000-04:002015-08-06T13:43:55.289-04:00Silence: The Loudest Thing in My Head<div style="line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you
indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin
to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly
dance. -- Khalil Gibran</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Silence is so freaking loud. -- Sarah Dessen, Just Listen</span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm about to embark on an annual 9-day silent meditation retreat at <a href="http://www.dharma.org/meditation-retreats" target="_blank">Insight Meditation Society</a> in Barre, Massachusetts. This has become the cornerstone of my life and ministry. It is spiritual bootcamp, and nothing feeds me like this experience does. But mention to anyone that you're going on a multi-day silent retreat, and see what responses you get. I'm always surprised at what I hear: "retreat" sounds good to folks, "meditation" is intriguing to most, but "silent"? That seems to stop them cold.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">I can't even stay quiet for 9 minutes, let alone 9 days.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> I would go bonkers if I couldn't talk to other people.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> That sounds a little bit boring.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Perhaps it's my years as a practicing Quaker, but to me, the silence is not a problem. In fact, it's the least troublesome aspect of retreat life. It's a huge relief for me -- someone who essentially talks for a living -- to stop speaking. And since we all maintain "noble" silence, where eye contact is avoided and personal interactions are reduced to the bare minimum (nodding instead of saying "excuse me," for instance), I am also relieved of the burden of listening to others. Picture, if you can, 100 or so humans sitting and walking meditation from 5 am to 9 pm, eating together, doing yoga or Qigong, cleaning or cooking together, all without conversation. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The challenges of being on retreat in this way are supported by the silence, not made more difficult. Because, except for no talking, it's not very quiet. "Silence is so freaking loud." When all the external chatter falls away, I can notice the internal noise more easily. Just as when I sit or stand in balance and I can feel the constant motion, as I alternate sitting with walking meditation practice I see how strong my story line is, how I feed certain thoughts and try to reject others, how my habitual assumptions are operating.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_BW5uh38EnDXamXm043yK6ACKczqhaUwL82QlGAFGqcL4ZPqas4195_C7Y3JYZgsE57XYvlx7KDCveM-QxhI4T8hyphenhyphenRQaU9uIPS9lS5JqwFesbc8PEhCacgKNYKCgJuXgKqycR-7gwkno/s1600/calm+sitting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_BW5uh38EnDXamXm043yK6ACKczqhaUwL82QlGAFGqcL4ZPqas4195_C7Y3JYZgsE57XYvlx7KDCveM-QxhI4T8hyphenhyphenRQaU9uIPS9lS5JqwFesbc8PEhCacgKNYKCgJuXgKqycR-7gwkno/s200/calm+sitting.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">One friend remarked that this retreat must be so peaceful, so blissful. Well, yes and no. I do experience the bliss of directly experiencing reality in a way I don't when I'm in everyday living. There are times that I sense the peace that passeth all understanding (turns out this is the ground of all existence, but that's a different blog post). Mostly I just feel the struggle, the greed, the tension, the rationalization, the repulsion, and the delusion of my life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sounds fun, doesn't it? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It is, actually. What could be more interesting than investigating your self? Aren't you the most fascinating and important person you know? Who can you truly know, other than you? What is it to be alive, anyway? Believe me, it's the opposite of boring.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Staying with the present moment all day, every day: that is the challenge of a silent meditation retreat. Silence is just the condition we cultivate so that we can show up without ceasing, turn toward what is arising with precision and curiosity, and relieve ourselves of the weight of continuous social interaction. So silence is easy. Continuous, embodied, present moment awareness is not so easy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Each year I find the prospect of this retreat a little daunting, but I have come to recognize that it is a gigantic gift I give myself (and all who are connected to me). It's one way I honor myself, because it cannot be done without self-compassion, without turning it all over to the power of love. <a href="http://shambhala.org/teachers/pema-chodron/" target="_blank">Pema Chodron</a> describes this as "placing the fearful mind in the cradle of loving-kindness." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Within that cradle, there is the possibility of radical acceptance, of meeting life just as it is, and being okay with that. Helen Keller, who certainly knew something about silence, said, "Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Namaste. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-62369954152517876952014-12-24T11:51:00.002-05:002014-12-24T11:53:27.088-05:00No ComparisonI posted this on my Facebook page today, and it surprised me because I wasn't intending to write anything like what emerged. Christmas surprise Number One.<br />
Wishing you all many lovely surprises of the season.<br />
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As I consider the many many items on my To Do list this a.m., I notice my habit of comparing. What others have accomplished (cookie baking! presents all bought and wrapped!) and what I have accomplished in years past -- thinking about this stresses me out. So why compare what is to what was, or what other realities may exist?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrSugM9MjLo_OXwdDgHyqtxjCe2-ib3CFXw2ai52N3z_8QlZBiN8eEcTZ0BqxJoXAiWKJUZbnjaRWtSM4b_rzMBUIdAse7B8eeVY_GXnnZB1ScyktE4n-7L2bez0KkBNzyxnC__MkKRdQ/s1600/holiday-stress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrSugM9MjLo_OXwdDgHyqtxjCe2-ib3CFXw2ai52N3z_8QlZBiN8eEcTZ0BqxJoXAiWKJUZbnjaRWtSM4b_rzMBUIdAse7B8eeVY_GXnnZB1ScyktE4n-7L2bez0KkBNzyxnC__MkKRdQ/s1600/holiday-stress.jpg" height="200" width="151" /></a>Because let's face it, this is kind of a weird Christmas. The girls are mostly grown up, so no special Santa-related surprises. No staying up super lat<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">e to be elves and put something together on Santa's behalf. It's raining and 60 degrees. We are not going to A Christmas Carol at the McCarter for the first time in a decade. David has multiple health issues. Caitlin won't arrive until this afternoon. The stockings aren't hung, I haven't wrapped a single gift, there are cookies to bake and cleaning to be done, and we don't even know where we'll be dining this evening...</span></div>
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I'm just not ready for the birth of Jesus.</div>
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I wonder if this is how Mary felt. (I'm comparing again, I know.) How inconvenient to have to travel so close to your due date. How unprepared was Mary for labor and delivery in some cave stable, with no blankets or midwives or hot water?</div>
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Jesus didn't care. "Ready or not, here I come!" he warned, and out he came. Babies do that, they like to surprise us. Birth is never quite what one expects, which is ironic since we spend 9 months being called "expectant."</div>
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So Advent is over and the season of preparation has come to an end. But my home life has not caught up to that fact, so this morning here I sit, sipping coffee and assessing the chaos and wondering how important it truly is to accomplish the items on my To Do list.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiURyjq7cLjg0yQ5M2d2cayenSH7RwjUzwsM1MbPiWXoumIUj-zTXxx3EPC2DNG0OAsVDr9kr6VdQoMWDo8tx3BiD1JX1CO1GG4crYPnBU5i2UKTTGvVmG_WF9_brhl6Tbkcp9e42ImWPM/s1600/Mary-and-Baby-Jesus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiURyjq7cLjg0yQ5M2d2cayenSH7RwjUzwsM1MbPiWXoumIUj-zTXxx3EPC2DNG0OAsVDr9kr6VdQoMWDo8tx3BiD1JX1CO1GG4crYPnBU5i2UKTTGvVmG_WF9_brhl6Tbkcp9e42ImWPM/s1600/Mary-and-Baby-Jesus.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a>Not important really, since no matter what, that child -- the holy, enlightened, pure and radiant being -- will get born. Maybe if I remember that today and stay awake to my life, I will notice and embrace that fact. Maybe I can even embody it.</div>
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And for that there's no comparison.</div>
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Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-48589331156218619382014-12-09T10:47:00.000-05:002014-12-09T10:47:13.700-05:00Mindful Interdependence: A Holiday Gift for All The holidays bring with them the opportunity to spend time with family and friends. While our relations can be a source of comfort and joy at this time of year, many people experience the stress of potential conflict and unpleasant encounters with relatives they might not be so thrilled to spend time with, but who cannot be avoided.<br />
Understanding the necessity of being in relationship with others can go a long way towards easing that stress. If you've been meditating and marking your "progress" on an individual basis, you might want to notice how mindful and compassionate you are when you're around other people. <a href="http://www.tricycle.com/feature/tie-need-not-bind" target="_blank">This blog post by Rev. Patti Nakai</a> reminds us that enlightened growth does not happen in isolation, but depends on the connections among and between each of us. My awakening is intimately bound up in yours. <br />
If you can muster some gratitude for your obnoxious cousin or overbearing in-laws, you might get a glimpse of how we're all in this together. Enjoy reading <a href="http://www.tricycle.com/feature/tie-need-not-bind" target="_blank">The Tie That Need Not Bind</a>. The amazing photos alone are worth a look.<br />
Namaste.Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-51933087380038351712013-12-01T15:19:00.000-05:002013-12-01T15:19:08.453-05:00November Days of ThanksgivingNovember was my month of gratitude, where I posted something I am thankful for nearly every day on Facebook. It was a great experiment and I enjoyed being grateful for everything I could think of, from people, to places, to fundamental elements, and so many other things.<br />
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Here's the list I created, with the number of "likes" each post received. I'm sure it depended on which day I was posting, and the time of day, but some posts got a lot more likes than others. Friends education got the fewest likes, and I'm happy to report that my expression of gratitude for my husband David got the most, by far. (Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert came in second!).<br />
<br />
What are you thankful for? Meister Eckhart said, "If the only prayer you ever said in your life was 'thank you,' that would suffice." It's been my experience that saying this simple prayer every day has a huge impact on the quality of living. And I'm grateful for that.<br />
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<b>November Days of
Thankfulness<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Thankful
today for my family, especially the wonderful visit this weekend from<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/caitlin.brimmer?directed_target_id=0"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Caitlin</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">and her boyfriend Drew. Also good times with Rachel and her
BFF<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/julie.evans.908?directed_target_id=0"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Julie</span></a><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">. Food in the oven, fire
in the fireplace, deepening mindfulness, and an interview about the AT on the
horizon. SO grateful. (9)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Thankful
for dawn light this morning as I arose (no more pitch black at 6 am!) and the
gold and red leaves that surround me. (8)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Thankful
today for the learning and teaching process, this miracle of intimate sharing
between people. Thank you<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/alexis.z.martin.3?directed_target_id=0"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Alexis Martin</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">for trusting me with your growth and for keeping me on my
growing edge. (7)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Today
I am thankful for the body's ability to heal. I am grateful for bodymind unity
and inherent wellness, for organic resilience. (15)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Today's
thanks goes to mail carriers, delivery people, waitresses, truck drivers,
janitors, and all workers everywhere who do the basic tasks that keep our
everyday lives functional. (9)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Today
I am thankful for my little red car. It's 12 years old with over 100K miles and
still runs just fine. It was free, given to us by David's mom when she could no
longer drive, and although it is not the car I would have chosen, it serves me
well. If you have reliable transportation, be grateful. (15)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Today's
thing I am thankful for: My freedom to choose. I have a lot of liberty, both
socio-politically, and -- most importantly -- psycho-spiritually. I can choose
my reality to a great extent. I often forget this, so today I'm thankful to
remember it. Namaste. (8)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Today
I am thankful for the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). No really. (18)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Today
I am grateful for WATER. For access to clean, potable water and reliable
plumbing, I give thanks. Water is remarkable. It's the only substance that
occurs naturally as a solid (ice), a liquid and a gas (water vapor). It's basic
and it's something which all living things have a right to. (6)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">On
11.12.13 I am thankful for [drum roll please]... the aging process! Yes, it's
true. Getting older is a <i>good</i> thing.
Even though it's often the reason for my complaints, and some aspects of it can
be hard to accept (sagging skin, flabby tummy, arthritis), just consider the
alternative. (8)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Today
I am thankful for Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, as proof that civilization
isn't completely dead yet. (22)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Thankful
for the kind of sunsets we get in the northeast in November. Tonight's was
simply spectacular.<span class="apple-converted-space"> (6)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Late-breaking
thankfulness: Friends education, specifically George School. (4)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Today's
thing to be grateful for: naps! (13)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Thankful
Day #17: I am incredibly grateful to have served for two years as Clerk of
Bucks Quarter, Rel. Society of Friends (Quaker). I learned so much, met many
new Friends and deepened relationships with old ones. This would not have been
possible without the expert leadership of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/holly.olson.758?directed_target_id=0"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Holly DiMicco Olson</span></a><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">, Coordinator
extraordinaire, and the able assistance of Boris Simkovich, our new incoming
Clerk. (And, tbh, I'm thankful to be finished!) (17)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Today
I am thankful that I can read and write, and that some people can write very
well indeed, and I can read what they write and enjoy it. (14)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Thankful
for silence, and the ability from an early age to be able to spend time alone
with myself, to find nurture in quiet solitude. (19)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Thankful
for BREAKFAST!!! The best meal of the day. (4)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Today
I am thankful for forgiveness and for my ability to forgive. (9)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">I'm
thankful for television. That's right. TV. The vast wasteland. The idiot box.
Yep. (11)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">I'm
so thankful for FIRE and a lovely fireplace in my home. My whole childhood I
wished we had a fireplace. I thought well-off people had fireplaces, it seemed
like a sign of stability. So here's to being stable and well-off (more or
less)! (24)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Thankful
for my dad,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/robert.ward.5458?directed_target_id=0"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Robert Ward</span></a><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">. Thankful that I can feel
grateful for him. (8)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">I
missed my daily post of thankfulness yesterday. So today I am grateful for two
things: 1. Knowing the Alexander Technique and being able to teach it to
others. 2. Being part of the Alexander community and having wonderful
colleagues who respect and support me. (12)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Thankful
that<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=1470030412&extragetparams=%7B%22directed_target_id%22%3A0%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/caitlin.brimmer?directed_target_id=0" style="cursor: pointer;"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Caitlin</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">is home for the long weekend!</span> (13)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Gratitude
on Thanksgiving Day for my growing ability to follow the way as it opens, no
matter what. May we all become more available to meet life on life's terms, to
be human in our guest house. Namaste.</span> (11)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Today's
thing to be thankful for: A new bed!!! My lower back is most grateful of all.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span> (12)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Thankful
beyond words for my amazing husband,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=667786203&extragetparams=%7B%22directed_target_id%22%3A0%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/j.david.brimmer?directed_target_id=0" style="cursor: pointer;"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">J. David Brimmer</span></a><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">. He
is kind, compassionate, intelligent, creative, a great father, a hard worker
and wonderful provider, and in my case, truly my "better half."
(45)<span class="apple-converted-space"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-63764639004918406682013-07-23T16:49:00.000-04:002016-02-22T20:10:39.928-05:00Contracting and ExpandingMy intention today is to write about our habitual resistance to reality as it arises, moment to moment. I have been planning this post for a few days, making notes, adding thoughts, imagining it in odd moments of reverie. I was inspired by a series of teachings given by <a href="http://pemachodronfoundation.org/">Pema Chodron</a> at <a href="http://www.eomega.org/">Omega</a> last May, entitled "The Marks of Our Existence."<br />
<br />
Pema reminds us that life is fluid, dynamic, and always shifting. Ultimately, this is very good news, but we have been conditioned to expect reality to be solid, fixed, and predictable. The essential groundlessness of our existence frightens us, or at best, takes us by surprise, and when that happens, we react by resisting. You don't get what you want, or you get something you don't want. People don't do what they say they will, or they do things you wish they wouldn't. We get worked up or hooked in, we collapse and cave in, we pull back, push away, or grasp at some aspect of what is happening at any given moment. These reactions are experienced physically and mentally as tension. Habitual, unconscious resistance shows up in the body-mind as <i>contraction</i>.<br />
<br />
So this morning I sat down at my desk with great enthusiasm to wax eloquent on this topic of contraction and what to do about it. Then, of course, one thing after another just kept arising, preventing me from getting a start on my writing. Some of these interruptions were positive, some neutral, and one was very annoying indeed.<br />
<br />
My plan was to finish before noon, because I had agreed to take my husband to the hospital for a minor procedure, which required him to have someone drive him home afterward. I was struggling inwardly as we arrived on time for his appointment, troubled that I had not even begun to write. I hoped I could drop him off, go home for an hour, and get going on it already. When we inquired, we were told they'd call for him in about 15 minutes and the procedure would only take about 15 minutes, so we decided I should just stick around. Sounded good to me.<br />
<br />
You know where this story is going, right? <br />
<br />
A half hour later, when they still had not come for him, I decided to have lunch in the cafeteria. In an attempt to cultivate patience, I took my time, used the meal as a chance to practice mindful eating, and returned after about 30 minutes. David was still sitting there. <br />
<br />
I won't recount the details of the next part except to say that I did indeed <i>contract</i>. Like most of us, I am very good at resisting what life throws my way, and I do it regularly. When they finally came to get him, I decided to sit outside in the hospital's meditation garden, and recognized the irony of being resistant to the fact that I was delayed in writing a blog post about resistance. I was able to smile at myself and feel grateful for irony, which is so often my teacher.<br />
<br />
Contraction is an opportunity for mindfulness. The practice is simple: when you are contracting, notice it, and then <i>expand</i>. Don't judge yourself for contracting, or even try to stop it. Just contact the contraction, and find a way to open to it, to bring about <i>expansion</i>. This is a core principle of the <a href="http://wayopenscenter.com/alexander-technique/">Alexander Technique</a>, which provides a method for restoring balance and poise to the way we use ourselves in activity.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhb_WS_2LxBc8FQQQ44ynNn0bwUr5mTTs-8FJxfEkzHnOf0dpkakpJbzj4HwqE4S57iOMNGd1nJuMYHhclAWsHj20dPXeAR9oa5CHN3C1nEgWl_p0DHMOlOdWDPCgjdoBRnkaOwfuILuE/s1600/contraction+expansion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhb_WS_2LxBc8FQQQ44ynNn0bwUr5mTTs-8FJxfEkzHnOf0dpkakpJbzj4HwqE4S57iOMNGd1nJuMYHhclAWsHj20dPXeAR9oa5CHN3C1nEgWl_p0DHMOlOdWDPCgjdoBRnkaOwfuILuE/s200/contraction+expansion.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Closing down and opening up.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
There are some tried-and-true ways to expand when we are contracting, including:<br />
<ol>
<li>Open up physically. Spread your arms out wide and take a big, deep breath. You might not be able to do this in all social situations.</li>
<li>Smile. It has to be a legitimate smile, not a phony, mask-like thing. (This worked wonders for me today, even though it was kind of rueful.) <a href="http://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/">Thich Nhat Hanh</a> teaches "thinking a smile" and so do many Alexander teachers.</li>
<li>Speaking of the AT, expansion can happen when you readjust how you're sitting or standing, to allow your spine to lengthen into its full integrity of support. Notice how your shoulders let go and your breath expands when you do this.</li>
<li>Open your sense perceptions. Really see, hear, smell, or feel your body weight in space. </li>
<li>Exaggerate the contraction, then release it. Some people need to do this because they cannot feel expansion otherwise. It helps to make the tightness even tighter, and then follow the outward direction as the tension releases.</li>
<li>Extend kindness to yourself. T<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">he resistance is a fear reaction to the
reality of our constantly shifting, fluid, and groundless life.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">It is universal and
very fundamental for most of us.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Instead of being hard on
yourself or indulging in the critical inner voice, why not be kind? Pema's teacher used to say,</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -24px;">“Place the fearful mind in the cradle of loving kindness.”</span></li>
</ol>
Notice the many strategies you have for resisting life, and contact contraction as it happens. Choose to expand instead. Practice this and see what happens.Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362674987191860684.post-21120565420318933632013-06-30T13:37:00.000-04:002013-06-30T13:37:44.390-04:00Welcome to Moving Into MindfulnessIt's time to reorganize and redefine. This blog, formerly known as Way Opens, is now called Moving Into Mindfulness. I have changed the title to reflect the new project I am developing of the same name. I want to separate this ministry -- and I now accept that it <i>is</i> a ministry to which I am called -- from my professional website, <a href="http://www.wayopenscenter.com/">Way Opens Center</a>. The companion blog on that website is specifically about topics in the <a href="http://wayopenscenter.com/what-is-the-alexander-technique/">Alexander Technique</a> and the other somatic energy healing work I do.<br />
<br />
Moving Into Mindfulness gives me more latitude to write about my adventures in mindfulness practice, what I am exploring spiritually, and in all other areas of my life. I'll post more personal reflections, stories, dreams, memories, fears, joys, and questions. Lots of questions.<br />
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I hope you will follow me on both blogs, and I hope you will support my Alexander bodywork practice by becoming a client and sending your friends to me, too. I do need to make a living, after all. I am entering a period of uncertainty about my so-called career, and I actually don't know at this moment what I will be doing to earn a living. Will it be in addition to Way Opens Center or instead of it? Will I have one full time job with benefits or many consulting gigs? Will I become a barrista at Starbucks or work the checkout line at the local grocery store? I don't know the answer to that today.<br />
<br />
What I do know is that I have turned a corner somewhere. I do believe that my Moving Into Mindfulness project is a response to a call, and I am excited about developing a workshop and series of classes that I plan to start offering as soon as possible. So I am stepping out in faith, knowing that if I stay open to life as it arises and practice accepting life on its own terms, interesting opportunities will present themselves. <br />
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I am held, as we Quakers like to say. I am not worrying about what I will eat or what I will wear or how I will pay my mortgage (to paraphrase Jesus). I invite you to follow my writing. Looks like it might be an interesting adventure!Amy Ward Brimmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155024961920861439noreply@blogger.com2