A Wisdom Walk Insight In the middle of my walk, snowflakes started to fall. My mind shifted from ease to hesitation. I did not want to slip. As I tuned into my body, I began to feel how my feet gripped the ground. I trusted in my body’s knowledge of how to adapt my paceContinue reading “Inner Courage”
Author Archives: Wendy Heckert, Ed.D.
Gratitude: A Two Minute Practice
Supportive Practice Try this brief practice as part of your formal meditation practice or as a daily practice. It can be as long or short as you want it. I have found it particularly useful to do after a long day. The Practice Pause. Take a full deep breath in drawing the air all theContinue reading “Gratitude: A Two Minute Practice”
Mindful of the Mundane
Supportive Practice I randomly chose this card this morning before my morning sit. It shares this simple wisdom of Thich Nhat Hahn. It made me smile because it reminded me that formal meditation practice is great but the real work comes in bringing mindfulness to the mundane – to every day activities that we oftenContinue reading “Mindful of the Mundane”
Heart Space: A Meditation Poem
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, meeting each and every part of our lives with curiosity and compassion. Frank Ostaseki, The Five Invitations And belonging is our true nature. Sebene Selassie, You Belong: A Call for ConnectionContinue reading “Heart Space: A Meditation Poem”
Cultivating Connection: Sharing Joy
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”
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”