OMB is back!
Practising at level 2, and meditation tips!
One Mindful Breath at Level 2
Our weekly group sessions had to take a pause during levels 3 and 4 but with the return to level 2 we’re excited to resume our weekly meetings. We’ll be practising with Ministry of Health safety measures in place:
We ask everyone to scan the tracer code or fill in the book
Chairs will be spaced to allow for physical distancing
We encourage everyone to wear a mask or face covering (other than people who aren’t able to).
Any dāna (donations) should be made online rather than via the coffin.
We won’t have tea and biscuits after the session.
We’re really looking forward to being able to practice as a group again. There's no better way to build a foundation in mindfulness than meditating with others and we look forward to seeing you soon!
Coming up in September
Our community explores the role of mindfulness in embracing the difficulties of life, letting go of the dictates of reactivity, experiencing the calm and clarity of spaciousness, and cultivating creative engagement as a way of being in the world.
All events are at the Wellington Friends Centre, 7 Moncreiff Street, Mt Victoria, Wellington. Doors open at 7.15pm and the sessions start at 7.30pm.
Wednesday 15 September - Practising with complete intention
To promote human flourishing, we need to cultivate the intention to become less reactive in relation to our experiences while fostering loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. In this week’s session we’ll be looking at how practising meditation with a “complete intention” can help us develop these qualities, moving us away from a rigid, egoistic self-concept toward an understanding of the self as socially and naturally embedded.
Wednesday 22 September - Bernat Font on Buddhism and self respect
In this session we’ll be viewing an interview between One Mindful Breath and secular Buddhist teacher and writer, Bernat Font, from Barcelona, Spain. Bernat explores the idea of the ‘self’ and asks how we might love ourselves and how we might tame ourselves. It’s a great talk that explores how the Buddha considered that self love was the foundation of empathy and kindness to others. We’ll be discussing the talk and also meditating together as a group.
Wednesday 29 September - Embracing uncertainty
We often desire to control our external environment, sometimes striving in vain to change things to a desired state, or trying to keep things the way they are. When we fail to control our external environment we’re subject to getting upset or stressed. In this session we’re exploring how to use meditation and dharma practice to help us to embrace uncertainty and change. We’ll also be meditating as a group.
Our Spring day-long meditation retreat has been rescheduled
With lockdowns and the on-going uncertainty at being at level 2, we’ve decided to postpone our day long meditation retreat until 6 November 2021.
As ever, all experience levels are welcome, from beginner to more experienced meditators. Everyone can get something out of this retreat.
The retreat is always popular and is limited to twelve people, so register now! You can find all the details on the event Meetup page here.
Meditation during lockdown
The isolation of lockdown (and level 2) can make meditation potentially both more useful, but also more difficult to start, sustain and get help with. If you are one of the people who picked up a mindfulness practice early on, found it helpful, but have lately been struggling, now may be a good time to step back and reconsider just what you may need need to develop your practice.
Start as small as you can
If you are an enthusiastic new meditator, or just desperate for some relief from your own mind, you may be tempted to dive straight into long meditation session. Go slow! Your mind might not be used to meditation. All the ordinary mind-states that come up when we meditate – boredom, resistance, irritation, the to-do list – will feel all the more frustrating if you have committed yourself to a forty-five minute session. So start small, and simple. Building a ten to fifteen-minute practice every day is enough to notice a difference.
Something small, done regularly, is also contained enough that your mind will be able to metabolise what comes up. Lockdown has been hard on all of us; amidst the tiredness and numbness, this is something that we can forget until it presents itself. When you start meditating, it’s wise to be gentle with yourself. You are learning something new, and there’s no rush.
Find Togetherness
The biggest myth about meditation is that it is something that you do by yourself. It's a myth One Mindful Breath tries to bust whenever we can! During lockdown you might have spent a lot of time alone already. Even if we’re surrounded by others at home, sitting by ourselves for several minutes every day can seem very challenging. There are other things that press for our attention; there are the voices in our minds that have their own opinions; meditation is new, and unfamiliar. For many of us, what we need for meditation to feel most supportive is a sense of being alone, together.
So figure out where you most need support, inspiration, and guidance, and seek it out. Our weekly sessions are starting again at level 2 which provides great structure and routine. Even if you can’t make it to our weekly practice sessions think about enlisting your family or flatmates into practising with you, or buddy up with a friend over Whatsapp. Don’t sit in silence time after time, mind drifting and ruminating. Try Tara Brach’s excellent weekly podcast and meditations, for a fresh perspective. Experiment, and find the balance of being alone, together, that helps you best.
Know When Not to Meditate
Sometimes meditation is not the right response to what we’re feeling but sometimes certain states of mind might be better tackled in other ways. If there is a lot of energy in your emotions, walking or exercising can be especially helpful. When in the grip of anger, stamp it into the ground; if you are feeling very anxious, move your eyes around as you walk, taking in the space, the sky, the trees - trying to feel as present as possible. Sometimes this can be the most mindful way of responding if you are in the midst of something difficult.
If you are experiencing strong emotions, simple adjustments to your meditation practice can also help. If you have a lot of anxiety, then sitting upright, with your back supported by a cushion against a wall or the back of the chair, can feel more supportive than sitting on a cushion. If something overwhelming comes up while you are meditating, then opening the eyes, looking around the room, and pressing your feet against the floor can be very grounding.
Stay Curious!
Like any other commitment, a meditation practice which seems interesting is easier to sustain. Each time you meditate, try dropping a couple of questions into mind: ‘What thoughts keep arising?’ ‘What am I feeling in my body?’ ‘What is this?’ Afterwards, it can be helpful to take a moment to journal your answers. It needn’t be much – a few words, or phrases – but as you become more familiar with the flow and habits of your own mind, connections and insights will arise.
Over time, you will start spotting patterns not only in meditation, but also as they pop up in your mind during your daily life. You will start to spot triggers and reactions – and you will also start to notice what helps. You might find that taking the attention to the sensation of your breath helps in a moment of doomscrolling, or that sensing your sit-bones helps you stay grounded when you are irritated with a Zoom call. Try it and see.
Check out the Secular Buddhist Network
If you’re looking for more in-depth information to help your practice, brilliant articles on a range of subjects, and ways to connect with practitioners overseas, check out the Secular Buddhist Network at
https://secularbuddhistnetwork.org/
One Mindful Breath is proud to have been one of the original financial backers of the network and we continue to contribute to this fantastic shared resource.