30 results for tag: Providence Meditation Teacher
Silent Retreat at Providence Zen Center
I have just completed a three-day silent retreat at Providence Zen Center in Cumberland, Rhode Island. It was up the hill at Diamond Hill Zen Monastery. If you have ever been there, you know how beautiful and amazing the space is overlooking the pond. You can hear the birds and bullfrogs even more clearly at the monastery than you can at the Zen Center.
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... Why Learn How To Do Nothing?
Do Nothing. Just writing those two words feels freeing. I am so grateful that I have learned how to do nothing successfully for almost twenty-five years. I am not a bum or lazy; much to the contrary. I just do nothing at least once a day to support effectiveness and attention. I do nothing to stay present or become present again after a distraction or lack of focus seep in. I do nothing because it is important, maybe necessary, to be the person I aspire to be....
Bowing: An Energetic Transaction
On my first morning in South Korea in August of 2008, I entered a local “deli” to buy something quick to eat before my first day at work. I arrived from the USA and arrived at my room around 1:00 a.m. I did not get to sleep till nearly 3:30, with a wake-up time of 8:30 a.m. The “deli” is not what I would typically call a deli, as someone who grew up outside of New York City but does not know the correct name for it. The woman prepares several kinds of kimchi, pickled vegetables, and stews, which are hot and ready to go. I did not know what I was thinking when I walked in the door of her small business. She bowed and said a formal greeting I know now as “Annyeong-haseyo” = "Hello". Her bow is what stopped me in my tracks....
Basic Training For Beginning Meditation Practice – Breath-Watching
I was recently asked by a reporter from a national magazine about basic good practices for beginning meditation. The following are responses to questions she asked on basic beginning meditation practice....
Fear of Silence – It Can Be Loud
The fear of silence runs deep. For many of us, the fear of silence shows up when we are lying in bed at three in the morning with a "freight train brain" and can't fall back asleep. For others, the fear of silence is loudest when sitting at a bus stop or a restaurant by ourselves. Technology has found a way for us to temporarily escape our fear of silence. We do not have to deal with our fear of silence because we can always push a button for instant stimulation. Does pushing buttons actually quell our fear of silence? What if we made the conscious choice to actually sit and be in silence instead of trying to escape it? What do you think we can learn about ourselves and each other in silence?...
Harvard Unveils MRI Study Proving Meditation Literally Rebuilds The Brain’s Gray Matter In 8 Weeks
It is not surprising how much research has developed proving the healing and healthy effects of meditation and mindfulness training. This new Harvard study proving that Meditation Literally Rebuilds The Brain feels like a breakthrough, but to those of us doing this work for decades, it feels long overdue....
Potential Negative Side Effects of Meditation
Is there a dark side to meditation? Can people experience the negative side effects of meditation? Why is the spiritual community so fearful of the media exposing situations of armful or negative experiences with meditation or Yoga? Or What Research Says about Reiki? I, for one, am not fearful or startled by these experiences or stories. I have known many people who have experienced harmful or negative side effects of Meditation, Yoga, Reiki, Tai Qi, Qi Gong, and most other healing modalities. Why is this a shock? Not all people, bodies, minds and spiritual imprints are the same, why should our experiences be the same? The same would be true for Prayer; who has not had a negative experience praying sometime in their life? Can you honestly say there is anything that you have experienced something powerfully in your life that has been completely free of any negative experiences - sleeping, eating, making love, walking, laughing, relationships, singing, dancing, painting, kissing, medicine, religion, school, hugging, psychotherapy, counseling, etc.?...
