Welcome to the last session of the Engaged Mindfulness Meditation group talk series. For a quick recap, the first two sessions focused on cultivating courage – building the foundation of a mindfulness practice. The next four weeks focused on cultivating compassion – strengthening our capacity to turn toward suffering, our own and others. We reliedContinue reading “Cultivating Connection: Sharing Joy”
Author Archives: Wendy Heckert, Ed.D.
Cultivating Connection: Growing Gratitude & Generosity
Welcome to the seventh week of the Engaged Mindfulness Meditation talk series. This week begins the two week focus on the theme of cultivating connection with this talk and two meditations exploring the practices of gratitude and generosity. The previous six weeks has been a journey of building and strengthening both our mindfulness practice andContinue reading “Cultivating Connection: Growing Gratitude & Generosity”
Active Compassion – The Agency of Inner Practice
Welcome to the sixth session of this eight session series on Engaged Mindfulness. This is the last session in cultivating compassion. The topic is Active Compassion where we explore the relationship between our inner practice and compassionate action. We will also engaged in the meditative practice of tonglen, which can be done formally or onContinue reading “Active Compassion – The Agency of Inner Practice”
Embracing Our Common Humanity – Widening Our Circle of Compassion
Welcome to this fifth session in the eight week series on Engaged Mindfulness. This is also the third session focused on cultivating compassion. Opening Practice Christopher Germer, PhD, co-founder of Mindful Self-Compassion program, states, “A moment of self-compassion can change your entire day. A string of such moments can change the course of your life.”Continue reading “Embracing Our Common Humanity – Widening Our Circle of Compassion”
Cultivating (Self) Compassion: Strengthening Our Inner Ally
Welcome to the fourth session of an eight week series on Engaged Mindfulness Meditation. This is also the second of the four sessions focused on cultivating compassion. Opening Practice We begin with a meditation aimed to settle us into our physical space, drop into the body, notice the breath, and relax into stillness. We thenContinue reading “Cultivating (Self) Compassion: Strengthening Our Inner Ally”
Cultivating Compassion: Opening Our Hearts – Lovingkindness for Our Loved Ones & Selves
This third week’s talk begins with a brief settling and intention setting practice. Intention is our innate capacity to harness and direct our energy and effort at will. And as shared in session 1, intention is one of the three pillars of mindfulness – intention, attention and attitude. We began this series of talks withContinue reading “Cultivating Compassion: Opening Our Hearts – Lovingkindness for Our Loved Ones & Selves”
Cultivating Courage: Listening With Kind Curiosity & Loving Presence
This is the second of an eight talk series on engaged mindfulness and compassion practices. Opening Meditation I invite you to either listen to the guided meditation or read offering below. Gift yourself a few minutes of loving presence. Find a comfortable posture, close your eyes or take on a soft gaze. Whatever makes youContinue reading “Cultivating Courage: Listening With Kind Curiosity & Loving Presence”
Cultivating Courage: Finding Refuge in the Body & Breath
This is the first of an eight talk series on engaged mindfulness and compassion practices. Frank Ostaseki, co-founder of the Zen Hospice Project and author of The Five Invitations, shares, “The object of meditation isn’t to change ourselves, to throw out the old and bring in the new. It’s about making friends with ourselves, meetingContinue reading “Cultivating Courage: Finding Refuge in the Body & Breath”
Why Practice Mindfulness & Compassion During These Challenging Times
Welcome! Thank you for joining me as I share with you some reasons to practice mindfulness and compassion during this time of global crisis and societal change. Throughout this talk, we will engage in brief and simple practices that can be used immediately. To move into a space of exploration, let us begin with aContinue reading “Why Practice Mindfulness & Compassion During These Challenging Times”
Showing Up For Life: Daily Intention Setting
Today, February 19th, marks six months since I started writing down a daily intention. The truth behind the maxim “what we practice gets stronger” has moved from intellect to embodiment for me. In August, my daughter came across a a 5 year memory journal at a gift shop. I had been exploring the power ofContinue reading “Showing Up For Life: Daily Intention Setting”
