Mid-Winter River Scenes

The New Year's Retreat

Today we pack up and head out to the New Year’s Retreat.  This year we’ll have 120 people attending for the whole five days.  I suspect we’ll have both sides of the coin.  A large group builds a lot of energy as we practice for five days in silence together.  We’ll also probably be treated to an unprecedented symphony of sniffs, coughs and sneezes.

I’m looking forward to the week, which will be paradoxically quite busy for me.  I’ll be leading mindful movement sessions twice a day, facilitating group interviews, private interviews, leading some sits and giving a talk on “Impermanence and The Body.”

Enjoy your week.  Happy holidays!

Inspiring Kindness

This is pretty funny, but also touching in how much concern and caring this Christmas display  engendered!

"The good news is that I truly outdid myself this year with my Christmas decorations.  The bad news is that I had to take him down after two days.  I had more people come screaming up to my house than ever.  Great stories.  But two things made me take it down.

First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents as they almost wrecked when they drove by.

Second, a 55-year-old lady who grabbed the 75-pound ladder almost killed herself putting it against my house and didn't realize it was fake until she climbed to the top (she was not happy).

By the way, she was one of many people who attempted to do that.  My yard couldn't take it either.  I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up my yard."

(Thanks, Matt and Christy.)

Go Sangha Go!

This week I was speaking on the topic of 'Cultivating Sangha,' or the power of affiliating with like-minded community.  When we associate with people who want what we want we can gain inspiration and support way beyond what we can do individually.

When we identify ourselves as separate from others, there is a natural 'clenching' and defending.  This is sometimes in Western Buddhist circles described as "selfing."

When we do manage to drop the petty sense of "I" and "mine," magical things can happen.  Buddhist psychology speaks of the emergence of the four 'immeasurables' - the states of love, joy, kindness and compassion that arise in the absence of small-mindedness.  But something else happens, at least when you apply this on the basketball court.  You win more games.

I don't follow basketball closely, but I ran across this wonderful article about Shane Battier, a professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets.  His record of blocked shots, shooting percentages, etc are less than impressive, but when the statisticians looked closer, they noticed that when he played, everyone else on the team got better.

Here's a great New York Times article you might enjoy about Shane Battier, entitled "The No-Stats All-Star."  I found this article inspiring and enlivening.  Now that they can measure the impact players have on others rather than just their personal stats, I think this might usher in a new way of playing basketball.

If we could measure this off the court, it might also usher in a new way to live together.

An Angle on Sunrise

Morning sun through the foliage.  This was shot with a pretty hefty telephoto which compresses the image in a pretty cool way.

Leaving

Just as the sun peeps over the horizon, the light bounces off the water and hits the Paw Paw trees.  Details and colors from the decaying leaves jump out. Here are a few 'leaf portraits.' The equipment has a lot to do with the detail and color saturation.  For the geeks, these are shot with a Canon T1i with a 70-200mm 1:2.8L series lens and a 1.4x teleplus pro extender, the latter a new addition with thanks and gratitude to Kevin McDonough, my photography benefactor and dharma buddy.

Back from Retreat

I'm just back from the IMCW week-long retreat at Seven Oaks.  Seven days of silent practice.  I'm a bit bleary, but inspired.  I was up at 5:45 to lead morning yoga and each day I was fully engaged.  Mornings were filled with back to back interviews and I did a dharma talk, led a metta meditation and afternoon yoga. I'd fall into bed each night pretty spent.

I'll have links to the talks and possibly a number of my movement classes available in the near future.

We had 67 yogis for the weekend and 43 who stayed on for the whole week.  It takes a special kind of maniac to sit for a week of silent practice.  I have to say this was an inspiring collection of maniacs.

We had over 30 people turned away for this retreat so if you're interested in the five-day New Year's Retreat coming up at the end of December, you might want to register now.  We'll have a repeat gathering of the teachers:  Tara Brach, Pat Coffey, Hugh Byrne and myself.

First Fall Mornings

The first frost of the season arrived, quickly disappearing in the morning sunlight.  A few select morning shots for you:

Good Mornings

My morning ritual is pretty simple.  Roll out of bed, get dressed, use the bathroom, grab my camera and paraphernalia, roust the dogs and head out into the woods.  I'm either in pitch darkness or with some light from the moon. The dogs are in full bliss state and it's easy to tap into their alertness, joy and enthusiasm.

Whatever route I take through the woods and fields to the water, I'm almost always there to catch the sunrise.  My dear Uncle Dave, who taught creative writing most of his life, used to often gripe about how our language doesn't reflect reality.

"It's not sunrise," he would often say, "It's actually earthturn."

So here are some choice EarthTurn photos from the past ten days:

An Interview with Yours Truly on Mindfulness and Focusing

You may know I am trained as a trainer in the art of Focusing, a mind/body discipline that is intimately related (in my opinion) to the art of meditation.

You can listen to a half hour interview with moi on this topic interviewed by Serge Prengel, who conducts Focusing-related interviews for the Focusing Institute.

If you are interested, you can read more about Focusing on my site.

I love this work.

With any gnarly issue, whether it be physical pain, emotional turmoil, obsessive thinking or a general sense of malaise, this approach has a potent way of getting under the story to where it lives inside and can help cultivate a fundamental shift as to how it feels and how you relate to it.

As you'll hear me say, my experience of Focusing is that it is not only intensely therapeutic, but ultimately I view it as a training in how we pay attention.

Just as in meditation we learn, over time, to shift our attention from the world of thought and story to the direct and immediate compassionate inquiry into present embodied experience.

What is the Attitude in Your Mind Right Now?

When Joseph Goldstein was in DC this summer he shared an inquiry he's found quite helpful in his meditation practice.   I've noticed it helpful as well and have been sharing this when I guide meditation. "What is the attitude in your mind right now?"  Is there striving?  Aversion?  Grasping?

Somehow this question can help to 'reset' my awareness from being consumed by a reaction to what's happening to an attitude of softening, noticing and being more present to whatever is there.

In class this week I mentioned the retreats led by Sayadaw U Tejaniya, who emphasizes focusing not as much on technique as on being intimately aware of the attitude in each moment - the relationship to this play of pleasant, unpleasant and neutral sensations.

Tricycle Magazine recently featured an interview with U Tejaniya where he goes deeper into the practice of 'mindfulness in everyday life."  He also has a few interesting things to say about his experience of depression and the practice of 'noting,' which I mentioned in class this week.

I hope you enjoy it.

Shot of the Day

From this morning just after sunrise, tracking migrating geese heading for the horizon.

The World Wild Webs

With Fall here and temperatures not yet below freezing, the spiders seem to be going all out. These shots from are from wandering the woods during recent heavy-dewed morning, just after sunrise.

Buddha on the Beach

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

- Lao Tzu

I'm back from a daylong retreat we called "Buddha on the Beach:  Meditation in Nature".

We alternated between gathering together in our room at the Biden Environmental Center and wandering on our own in the woods, dunes and beaches of Henlopen State Park in Lewes, Delaware exploring the two fundamentals of meditation:  Deep Relaxation and Paying Attention.

Retreats are for me a sacred balance of 'being alone together.'  At the end of the day we sat in meditation then shared an insight from the day.  As we went around the circle I was touched at how an environment of caring community and natural beauty  fosters such inner balance and joy.

The Insight Meditation Community of Lewes is a wonderful little sangha by the sea.  When you're in town and would like to connect with wonderful folks, look them up.

Thank you all for your wonderful hospitality.

Come to Paw Paw

You may not know that it's Paw Paw harvest time, a season which lasts between three and five minutes.  Paw Paw trees line much of the Potomac River and the fruit shifts from being ripe to being rotten right in front of your eyes.  That's why, if you've ever tasted this local banana/mango tasting fruit, it's probably been in a jelly or jam. I didn't know there were 'tropical' type fruits in this region.  If you'd like to learn more than you'd ever really want to know, you can check out this link on Wikipedia.

Morning on the River

One nice thing about the fall is I don't have to get up so early to catch the morning light.  A few select shots from earlier today:

It's Been a Year

Wow.  A one year old blog.  I started this last August as a way to get some creative juices flowing.  It's been fun!   I've tried to post something at least once a week whether it be a "Happy for No Reason video," a thought sparked from a dharma talk, some photos I'd recently taken or a reference I thought might be interesting.

I've been delighted at the 'following' that's developed and am tickled when someone tells me how much they enjoy it.

Feel free to send along a resource you think others might enjoy, as well as any suggestions and / or feedback.

Thanks for your attention!

Down the River

Sunday I did a solo kayak trip from Algonkian Park in Sterling, VA to River Bend Park, right near our house. It was 3+ hours of pretty consistent paddling. I don't have a waterproof camera and only yanked out my little Canon A640 a few times, but wanted to share just a few of the images on the trip.

Part of what makes this trip interesting is navigating through the  Seneca Breaks, a mile and a half long section of class I and II rapids.  After all the rain this last week, the Potomac was a riled up muddy mess, but it made for some fun scooting through the fast sections.

When you put in at Algonkian, at least on a Sunday, you'll find yourself sharing the river with party boats, speedboats, bass boats, jetskis, canoes and kayaks.  The further down river you go the more remote it becomes and below the rapids I had a few hours all to myself.

As the humans thinned out the wildlife became more bold.  I saw white egrets, quite a few bald eagles, hawks, herons, jumping fish, a fox drinking on the bank, turtles and heard hidden, chattering songbirds.

First Signs

It's coming.  The Fall.  I love this coming season and I find myself already missing the summer, which is kind of ridiculous, as it's gorgeous out right now.  The quote below says it all when it comes to all the seasons we live through.

"What is the secret to your serenity?," asks the student.

"Wholehearted cooperation with the inevitable," said the Master.

- Anthony De Mello

How Does This Moment Want You To Be With It?

I'm just home from leading a nine-day training on teaching meditation.  This is part of a 500-hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training program at Kripalu Center.  This group of 40 was made up of active and experienced yoga teachers.  The retreat was deep, still, filled with tears and laughter. I kvell when I think of each of these gifted and dedicated leaders taking meditation out into the world.

We covered a wide variety of techniques:

• Breath-based Meditation
• Sensation-based Meditation
• Mantra Meditation
• Walking Meditation
• Standing Meditation
• Body-scan and Lying Down Meditation
• Conscious Eating
• Open-eyed Meditation (Tratak)
• Loving Kindness Meditation
• Slow Motion Prana Meditation

We focused on core, simple techniques that help practitioners shift from thinking to 'being.'  Through the days of practice and sharing about techniques and their effects, I'm reminded how each moment requires caring attention and a question of 'how this moment wants me to be with it.'

The yogic approach to meditation speaks of the balance of 'chitta and prana.'  Chitta is mind and awareness.  Prana is energy and feeling.

We are constantly seeking balance between the two.  If you come home in your head and wound up tight from a hard day at work, you'll want to do something to loosen up:  go for a run, do some yoga, pop a beer, take a nap, cook a meal.

Signs of 'too much prana' are those times when you are over-emotional, have 10,000 idea but just can't complete one, feel confused and lost.  You'll want to get your 'chitta together' and focus on what's most important.  You might talk to someone to get some perspective or try to get centered, get some perspective and cultivate a sense of priorities.

Some meditation techniques, like counting breaths or steps when walking, are designed to cultivate one-pointedness and concentration. Other techniques, like slow-motion moving meditation and chanting, can open us up to a greater sense of flow and expansion.

I'm honored to have had this time with such dedicated and sincere teachers.  More photos at my flickr site.  I've got a lot of shots here so folks can pick the ones they like best.