Meditation Matters

This meditation will focus on strengthening relationships with friends, family and loved ones through mindful presence.

Exploring the ability for meditation and mindfulness to help us combat social injustice, racism and intolerance.

Welcoming the energy of Spring through poetry.

Embracing the legendary message from Chief Seattle that all living things share the same breath and  the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports.

Through the poetry of Mary Oliver, we expand our ability to pay attention, to give thanks, and to welcome the silence through which another voice may speak.

It’s been said that the secret to happiness is freedom and the secret to freedom is courage.  This meditation will help us tap into the infinite courage that lies within each of us.

Using the metaphor of Russian nesting dolls, we dive deeper and deeper into our souls until we reach the level of stillness, where we find an endless supply of peace, love and joy.

By focusing on the aliveness we feel with joyful activities and important relationships, we awaken the infinite joy that resides within each of us and set our intention to enliven joy in the New Year.

Through some of the poetry of Rumi, we explore universal, ideal love which--when practiced fully--will burn away all fear, prejudice, greed and ignorance.

After the US Capitol insurrection this week, we remind ourselves that true nonviolence and true love is the greatest force on earth and our greatest hope for peace and justice. 

From the wisdom of the meditation teacher Roger Gabriel, this meditation guides us to setting intentions to bring about a healthy, happy and harmonious New Year.

We “talk to ourselves” all the time but we need to be mindful of the things we say and learn not to believe everything we think.  Through this meditation we expand our ability to speak to ourselves with compassion and positivity. 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said that while we must accept finite disappointment, we must never lose infinite hope.  This meditation expands our ability to dislodge any disappointment that we may be carrying for too long so that we can be truly free.

Today’s meditation includes a special 8-step breathing exercise designed to train ourselves to embrace happiness more fully and to welcome happiness more easily in our lives.

Through some of the poetry of Julia Fehrenbacher, we quiet the distractions and detours of our minds just long enough to hear the holy whispers that speak to each of us.

The Bhagavad Gita it says that yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.   These gentle poses are designed to stretch and open areas of your body and facilitate an alignment of your  breath with your movements.

As Oprah Winfrey has said, what we focus on expands and what we give our attention to grows.  Thus, when we focus on the goodness in our lives, we actually create more of it.

A meditation that bring inner peace by manifesting the insight of the American teacher Pema Chodron, who taught that that true inner peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or external event control your emotions.

Following the guidance of Thich Nhat Hanh, we experience the wisdom that “feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky…[but] conscious breathing is my anchor.”

This meditation allows us to unplug from the world of uncertainty for a few moments and embrace our inner stillness.

Expanding our ability to see the miracles that exist everywhere including the miracles of beauty, compassion and love.

Expanding the deep inner courage that lies within each of us to help work for social change and social justice.

Enjoying--and learning from--the extravagance of nature, including sunflowers, butterflies and rivers.

Expanding our capacity to replace hurt with healing, to transform pain into peace, and to liberate ourselves from the disappointments of the past.

Embrace the infinite joy and limitless possibilities that exist in the present moment.

Through meditation we learn how to be more mindful not in order to control our thoughts, but to stop letting our thoughts control us.

A gentle, guided journey into the infinite expanse of the Universe.

Reflections about life, death and gratitude from Br. David Steindl-Rast.