![]() Last night I taught a workshop on stillness. Coming at the end of the day I’d experienced it was a joke. I’d had almost no sleep and was feeling completely spun out. The peaceful walk in nature I’d anticipated with my dog turned into a two-and-a-half hour fiasco involving a possum that left me hoarse and exhausted - both of us covered from head to toe in mud. I couldn’t imagine experiencing stillness, let alone teaching it to anyone. So I did what I often do in the face of impossibility. I showed up and told the truth. Truth is, I’m not a regular meditator. I love feeling centered and peaceful but a meditation practice has never been my strong point. I asked the group does anyone here meditate? All of them raised their hands. Great, I thought. But when I probed a little deeper I discovered that many of those meditators felt they “should” be doing it more or better. So we opened up the possibility that living a conscious centered life and developing a personal practice for peace might look different for each person. I felt the whole room breathe a sigh of relief at the dropping of yet another story of how we should be doing better. What unfolded was one of the sweetest workshops I’ve ever experienced. Here are a few of the ideas we explored:
That last one, today, is how I chose to begin. I stepped out on to my porch and a little bird in a cherry tree was singing its heart out. All by itself, in the darkness like a solo Gospel choir. The perfect new beginning…
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SusannahArchives
August 2019
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