Throughout this new season, our study and practice will be devoted to learning to hold space for ourselves and others in order to build trust, safety, skillful understanding and compassion in our spiritual community and in all relationships.
Self-Compassion provides the fuel for sustaining our own well-being so that we can be solid, whole, and free when called to serve others.
Check out these images + ideas on being kind to yourself:
This Sunday at Heartdance Studio, we’ll continue our month-long discussion of “The Suchness of Sangha: Holding Space for Ourselves + One Another” by looking deeply into the practices of Loving Speech + Deep Listening as the grounds for building skillful understanding, trust, authenticity, compassion and accountability.
After a wonderful season of Walking The Labyrinth, I am excited to delve into the deep inquiry and rich discussions that follow our sitting practice.
This Sunday at Heartdance Studio, we’ll explore “The Suchness of Sangha: Holding Space for Ourselves + One Another” and share our curiosities, concerns and insights about cultivating community through spiritual practice. #GoodSpiritualFriends
We will also have in attendance a researcher from The Religious Soundmap Project at MSU who will record the practice as part of a collaborative effort “to demonstrate the diversity of religious beliefs and practices” in our region.
This Sunday, we will walk in freedom and dedicate the merit of our practice to those who relentlessly pursue, speak out, and fight for the RIGHTS of all to LIVE + LOVE FREELY. #LoveWins
And I think being human is about being in the right kind of relationships. I think being human is a process. It’s not something that we just are born with. We actually learn to celebrate our connection, learn to celebrate our love. And the thing about it — if you suffer, it does not imply love. But if you love, it does imply suffering. So part of the thing that I think what being human means to love and to suffer, to suffer with, though, compassion, not to suffer against. So to have a space big enough to suffer with. And if we can hold that space big enough, we also have joy and fun even as we suffer. And suffering will no longer divide us. And to me, that’s sort of the human journey.
I was invited to facilitate a dharma discussion for my root sangha to address the wellspring of emotions and concerns members have expressed following the tragedy in Charleston last week. Drawing on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, I entitled the talk “Good Spiritual Friends: Taking Care of Ourselves & One Another in the Face of Racism, Bias, & Injustice” and asked that we actively investigate our own perceptions, intentions and behaviors as we reflect on how to apply and cultivate the dharma in response to such devastation. We expressed our confusion, anger, shame, fear, helplessness, outrage. We cried. We breathed. We sat with our discomfort.
I asked that we continue to find refuge in practices that help to nourish and ground us as well as those that illuminate unskilfulness, awaken clear comprehension, and inspire compassionate actions.
That sweet space of refuge is fleeting: Our hearts burst open with the victory of the Marriage Equality Act last Friday. Then they are crushed once more with every church that goes up in flames at the hands of racist terrorists.
For sanity and nourishment, I am mindful about what I consume–attempting to combat this madness by sharing this dose of sustenance (clear, compassionate understanding) for the mind and soul.
What a glorious day to kick off the Broad Art Museum’s second annual summer yoga series! I’m grateful to be a part of this community education program once again.
Bring a friend + a yoga mat and join me in the Sculpture Garden for the next FREE class on Saturday, 6/27, at 11 AM. Advanced Registration is encouraged and will reserve your spot if the class is moved inside the museum due to inclement weather (first 50 registrants): Broad Art Museum Programs & Events.
So a Rabbi, a Buddhist, an Inter-Spirtual teacher, a Hindu, a Christian + an Imam sit down at at table…
Yes, it sounds like a setup to a humorless joke but it was a joy to participate in this interfaith conversation where we planted seeds for building bridges and fostering compassionate understanding among people of various philosophies and faiths.
I’m thrilled to be a part of this interfaith conversation at Michigan State University on Tuesday, 24 March 2015. As I reflect on my work experiences — from retail to restaurants, grassroots to corporate offices in New York City and, for the last 9 years, in various wellness and spiritual settings — I am aware that in my younger days in the workforce my choice and ability to navigate differences in professional environments was influenced by the conditions and circumstances of the time. With wisdom and after witnessing a whole lot of “mess,” the decisions I make are driven by my principles and ethics. I seek alignment in all areas of my personal and professional — eliminating any disparities between how I tend to my livelihood and my life. I look forward to sharing insights and ideas with this diverse group of beings. | Complete Event Details: http://alumni.msu.edu/programs/lens/courseSummary.cfm?activity=1417 | Livestream Info: http://new.livestream.com/msualumni/FAITH
to those who relentlessly pursue, speak out, 
tscottmiller 