May this period of meditation awaken me further so that I may be of benefit to others.~ Pema Chodron
Good evening and welcome to Monday Group Meditation, we will be sitting from 7:30 to 10:00 PM EST. It is not necessary to sit for the entire extended time, which is set up to make it convenient for people in four North American Time Zones; sit for as long as you like and when it is most convenient for you.
Monday Group Meditation is open to everyone, believers and non-believers of all stripes who are interested in gathering in silence. If you are new to meditation and would like to try it for yourself, Mindful Nature gave a good description of one way to meditate in an earlier diary, copied and pasted below:
"It is a matter of focusing attention mostly. In many traditions, the idea is to sit and focus on the rising and falling of the breath. Not controlling it, but sitting in a relaxed fashion and merely observing experiences of breathing, sounds, etc. Be aware of your thoughts, but don't engage in them. When your mind wanders (it will, often), then return to focus on breath and repeat."
Polarization and friction increase during elections. This has probably always been the case, but here in this time, in this culture it is true in the extreme. Hopefully this evening, for a while at least, we can bring humility, compassion and loving kindness forward to cause some peaceful ripples in the fabric of the Universe.
Perhaps I've shared this short video for meditation before, I'm not sure. In a just a little over two minutes Ani Pema deftly takes us into the heart of humility and compassion, and helps us to soften our hearts.