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Move Your Body


Of course you know that daily meditation is great for you. But what about those times when it feels impossible to sit still? One way to enjoy your practice is through a moving meditation. This is ideal when you are just simply too restless to sit quietly and you want to cultivate mindfulness in a movement form.

Take a meditation walk and begin to let go of some of the excess energy and anxiousness. A meditation walk will rejuvenate both your body and your mind.

When you go on a walking meditation, be sure to leave your phone, music, errands and window shopping behind.

Have an awareness of where and how you are walking while you allow yourself to remain outside the busy activities of your surroundings. Walk at an easy pace and let your mind become calm as your body settles into the rhythm of your footsteps.

Other movement meditations can be anything where your body enters into a cadence or rhythm and allows your mind to eventually settle. Some ideas include swimming laps, folding laundry, rowing a boat, sweeping or raking leaves.

The key is to get a physical rhythm through motion which causes your mind to clear as the body moves with ease.

Having mindfulness while you are in a meditation walk or other moving meditation is an excellent way to develop mindfulness for the rest of your day .

Give it a try and Enjoy!

Kathleen

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Meditating in -2 Degrees (that’s -18 in Celsius!)


During winter break we went up to Tahoe for a family ski trip. It was beautiful and we all enjoyed plenty of good skiing for the week.

My practice is that during the course of my travels, I like to experience a public meditation. Sometimes I get to do that with other people and sometimes I do it by myself in a public setting. So, of course, Tahoe was no different – except that it was COLD!

The temperature was -2 degrees – and that is Fahrenheit, it was -18 in Celsius! But I was determined to sit outside in the Northstar Village and bring meditation into the world. No fanfare, just a quiet silent stillness amidst the bustling crowds of folks on a holiday.

So I found a sunny spot and decided to start with a 5 Minute Meditation. It was quite surprising that once I settled in, it was effortless to go another 20 minutes. My bum was really cold, but the shining sun kept the rest of my body warm enough.

My favorite part was relaxing into the moment and tapping into the ancient grandness of the mountain. It was easy to see how transient my worries are in the face of such a lasting and solid rock of earth. As the people hurried by me, I often sensed the excitement, anticipation, worry and unrelenting go-getting-ness of people with an agenda for having a good time.

It was interesting to observe and I noted how often I fall into that place of being determined for things to happen in a certain way instead of allowing a more natural flow of life to occur. In reality, it takes both the determination and the allowing – but it’s important not to let one overtake the other.

After nearly a half hour, it was time to get moving! So off I went for another day enjoying being outside and appreciating the gorgeous mountain and the sense of groundedness it gave me.

Best blessings to you,
Kathleen

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Paris Meditation – La Tour Eiffel


I’ve already enjoyed a number of transformative meditations here in Paris – alone as well as with others. And I was meeting a friend later tonight for another shared session. So, at this point, I was not planning on a meditation for the evening. In fact, I was taking some time for myself to enjoy the sights – it has been a while since I’ve been to Paris.

But alas, if there is one thing I have learned on this trip, it is to not make assumptions about what I have planned and what is being planned for me. I trust the process and magic of serendipity…

On my way to see the Eiffel Tower I get lost. Again!! Except of course, one cannot really get lost in Paris, one can only wonder around drinking in the glory of the city. I walk and walk and walk and then finally, because there is a bit of time consideration, I get a taxi to bring me the rest of the way.

The sun has already set, so I can see in the distance that the Tower is already lit up. No matter how many times I see the Eiffel Tower, I am amazed by how big it is. How grand it is. How larger-than-life it is.

It is glowing, gleaming, glorious. Damn she is beautiful!

The plaza is filled with people, hundreds of people. It is buzzing…and that is the funny part, because with all of these people it is simply buzzing. By contrast, I experienced last week the Djema El-fna Plaza in the Medina of Marrakesh screaming with unbridled excitement and rush.

Continuously this trip has revealed to me multiple layers of contrasts.

So, knowing that this is a buzzing but calm crowd, and although it’s dark, it is the Eiffel Tower. And I know, I know, I know that I must do a public meditation. Right here. Right now. On the spot. No fanfare, no announcement, just do it.

OK, it’s my first time meditating out in the world at night. So first I assess whether it is indeed safe. There are many vendors hawking wares, but they are generally aggressive only in the aspect of trying to make a sale as opposed to hassling women who are alone…we will see.

It is easy to find a spot and so I don my sunglasses and settle in. I wonder if it is going to be too much of a distraction. The crowd is mild, but the Eiffel Tower is Positively Looming! Let’s give it a try.

Surprisingly, the first thing I notice is how still I immediately become. Not just still, but statuesque. Still. Unmoving. Grounded. At home I can sit still for long periods of time, up to 2-3 hours at a time. But this is different. This is deeper and instantaneous.

Then I realize that I have tapped into the Tower! It had the opposite effect of what I assumed, imagined, supposed. Another contrast. Rather than the anticipated distraction, The Eiffel Tower was instead grounding me. Clearly there was no use in trying to dictate this meditation (as if there ever is – ha!) I am a passenger on this journey. Really this is an opportunity to sit back – or in this case, sit still – and let it take me.

Having my martial arts training ingrained in me, I am always aware of my surroundings, especially in a new environment, especially in the dark, even as I surrender to the force of the Tower. At one point I heard the crunching of gravel as someone approached me, a vendor. “Excuse me, Madame…” But I knew he has commissioned sales to make and he knows the cues for who is a buyer and who is not. I am clearly not – sitting perfectly still, completely straight, dark glasses. He left promptly.

For this meditation, there was no monkey mind – just a visual and unexpected journey. The images that came to mind were the contrasts between temporary and permanence.

Temporary is all about change.
You are here – change.
Then you are here – change.
Now you are here – change.
The aspect of temporary is continuous change.

Permanence has change in it, but because it so much slower or perhaps vaster, permanence doesn’t represent change, it represents presence amidst change.

I saw an image of the tower and all of the people milling about…with a sense of urgency of a time elapsed film I saw those people leave and then the next group arrived. They too left and then the next group came and left and so on all through the history of the 120 plus years of the Eiffel Tower. Coming and going. Coming and going. The people were the temporary expression while the Tower just stood with permanence. Weather, seasons, years, politics, construction, and a river of people all represented the aspect of temporary as the Eiffel Tower stood still and glorious and dignified. Then I saw my own temporariness, my own body spring forth and then decay while the Tower stood.

Abruptly I saw the Tower gone. Not so much having disappeared, but rather not having been at all. The time before the Eiffel Tower was built a mere 122 years ago. I sensed the place in Paris before La Tour Eiffel, and then the place on the earth we call Paris, before France, before Europe, before countries.

Suddenly in that moment of realization that which previously seemed permanent, the Eiffel Tower, became the temporary. And I notice myself again. Not my body, but my soul. I noticed that my presence shifted from the temporary, my body, to the permanence, my soul.

Breathe.

I was absorbing the permanence and length of my soul when my body martial arts awareness kicked in and I heard the gravel crunching again of someone approaching.

Two men…jovial, playful, slightly drunk. And Way Too Close To Me.

Back to the moment,
back to power of the moment,
back to the temporary,
back to the power of temporary as in…
Change!
Change now!

I flashed open my eyes, stood up and walked off. Possibly an abrupt sight, but my awareness alerted me to get moving, change locations immediately

So I did!

Ah, the beauty of contrasts, of the yin and yang, the back and forth, the lovely and delicious balance of the permanence and the temporary…and back again.

And that was my Nighttime, Public, Out In The World, Eiffel Tower Meditation.

xoxo,
Kathleen

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Meditate In The World – Marakkesh

Yves Saint Laurent Garden in Marakkesh


Meditating in public can seem a little unusual, daunting even. But it is actually much easier and calming than you ever imagined. The day my public meditation was in the Yves Saint Laurent Gardens in Marakkesh was marvelously sweet and tranquil. The warm air caressed my skin as I settled into a gentle state of stillness. The sounds that wafted were exotic to me. Languages, birds, insects. As always, I was delighted and surprised by the ease of finding stillness during a public meditation. So utterly exposed. And yet enclosed within myself.

I have meditated publicly literally all over the world – from Morocco to Lake Tahoe [Meditating in -2 Degrees! (that’s -18 in Celsius!)] Each time I learn something new about the world around me, something new about the world within me, something new about the world of meditation itself.

Maybe today is the day you would like to give it a try. Find a rock, a bench, a quiet place amid hustle and bustle. Of course, it is important that you find a place that is safe and that you feel secure. Set you cell phone timer for 5 minutes. Close your eyes and relish the moment as you settle into the most unlikely opportunity for stillness. Enjoy.

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Meditate In The World – London

Did you “Meditate In The World!” today?

My public meditation, out in the world, was in London at Paddington Station right at noon. One of the pleasures of meditating in a public place is the surprise of how easy it is to do. And paradoxically, one of the busiest train stations around, London’s Paddington, is an ideal place for a meditation.

Wait a minute Kathleen! Did you just say that a loud, noisy, rushing, chaotic, busy train station is IDEAL for meditation??

OK! Let me qualify that a bit…not for everyday.

But the truth is that I bet your life is loud, noisy, rushing, chaotic, and busy – at least some of the time. So what better than to have an external experience to mirror the internal experience.

A reminder of how wild the inner mind and daily demands can be.
And a reminder of the necessity for a “time-out” every day.

Also, the train station is superficial. None of the noise and demand is for you. It is just in the background.

Consider this: how much of the chaos, noise, demand, distraction in your life is really and truly yours? How much of it is superficial and can be ignored? Not all of it, I know. But some of it.

So, my Meditation In The World was quite invigorating. I am always get excited before I meditate in public – and I do it a lot – cafes, coffee shops, bookstore, parks, beaches, city plazas, sidewalk, airports, and now train station!

How will it go? Will I be able to find quietness? Are people staring at me? Ignoring me?

And of course “why?”

Well, each time I learn something new. I notice something else. I experience another place of quiet and calm amidst the swirl that otherwise never presents itself.

Public Meditation is a wonderful treat to experience and just a little adventure that you can have wherever you may be. Give it a try.

Please remember SAFETY. I often have someone else with me who is the “keeper” and keeps an eye on me, any others participating, and the belongings. Use common sense…and Enjoy!

xo,

Kathleen

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London – Meditate In The World


Did you “Meditate In The World!” today?

My public meditation, out in the world, was in London at Paddington Station right at noon. One of the pleasures of meditating in a public place is the surprise of how easy it is to do. And paradoxically, one of the busiest train stations around, London’s Paddington, is an ideal place for a meditation.

Wait a minute Kathleen! Did you just say that a loud, noisy, rushing, chaotic, busy train station is IDEAL for meditation??

OK! Let me qualify that a bit…not for everyday.

But the truth is that I bet your life is loud, noisy, rushing, chaotic, and busy – at least some of the time. So what better than to have an external experience to mirror the internal experience.

A reminder of how wild the inner mind and daily demands can be.
And a reminder of the necessity for a “time-out” every day.

Also, the train station is superficial. None of the noise and demand is for you. It is just in the background.

Consider this: how much of the chaos, noise, demand, distraction in your life is really and truly yours? How much of it is superficial and can be ignored? Not all of it, I know. But some of it.

So, my Meditation In The World was quite invigorating. I am always get excited before I meditate in public – and I do it a lot – cafes, coffee shops, bookstore, parks, beaches, city plazas, sidewalk, airports, and now train station!

How will it go? Will I be able to find quietness? Are people staring at me? Ignoring me?

And of course “why?”

Well, each time I learn something new. I notice something else. I experience another place of quiet and calm amidst the swirl that otherwise never presents itself.

Public Meditation is a wonderful treat to experience and just a little adventure that you can have wherever you may be. Give it a try.

Please remember SAFETY. I often have someone else with me who is the “keeper” and keeps an eye on me, any others participating, and the belongings. Use common sense…and Enjoy!

xo,

Kathleen

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New York – Meditate In The World


I just got back from NYC where I did a couple of meditations in public surroundings.

One was in a busy coffee shop. There was so much noise it was unbelievable. Many languages all around me, construction outside, traffic, horns, and just a lot of chaos and noise.

I knew this was going to be good…

I set my timer for the 5 Minute Meditation and closed my eyes.

Always when I start a meditation in public, I make sure that I am in a safe situation and that my belonging are secure. And that first moment or two when I close my eyes it is awkward. Although I was quite visible, the nice thing about New York is that no one really cares what you are doing.

And I start to settle in.

Immediately I notice the different languages.

Gently the words themselves begin to fade, and it is the cadences of the voices that filter through.

The blaring horns and machinery sound distant even though I know they are only a few feet away. After a surprisingly short amount of time, the noises settle into an indistinguishable pattern.

At this point, my mind travels to my self consciousness – is any one staring at me? don’t worry, no one cares, is any one staring at me? don’t worry, no one is bothering. Back and forth a few times. Let it go.

And then it happens.

I see it, I feel it, I sense it:

Stillness.

Briefly, I find stillness.

Everything is completely quiet and I can hear nothing else. There is no noise, no distraction, nothing at all.

Pretty quickly it is jarred, but I want it back so I try again.

I reach out in my mind trying to grab onto it.

Hahaha – trying to grab stillness!

So I think of it like a dove. I’ve been told you must hold a dove carefully with firmness but not tightly. Hold it so that it cannot fly off, but gently so as to not squeeze it.

I imagine that moment of stillness is like a dove in my hand and return to it carefully with focus and gentleness and there it is again.

Another moment of stillness. Deep inside me.

When I am at home in my meditation space and this stillness comes to me, it sometimes completely envelops me with warmth and calm.

In the NYC coffee shop, it didn’t happen quite like that!

But none the less, it was there and everything else disappeared.

All of this is happening within the 5 minutes, but in meditation the passage of time is different. What is only few minutes can seem like an eternity. Both in it’s best and most difficult sense.

Again, I am jarred out of my stillness, but is is OK. I just continue to sit quietly with my eyes closed and am enjoying the experience.

The timer beeps softly and I open my eyes taking in the scene again. Everything is full color, full volume. Close next to me is a man who appears agitated by my meditation. He glares at me, but I cannot help but smile back at him. He visibly relaxes and then goes about his business.

And I too get on with my day.

I am glad I gave it a try.