Mindfulness Practice

Sitting meditation is like returning home to give full attention and care to ourselves. In meditation, we calmly concentrate our attention on our breathing, the flow of air coming in and going out of our nose. When things arise in our consciousness, we notice them, and let them go without becoming overwhelmed or carried away. If our minds wander to events in the past or worries about the future, we gently bring our awareness back to the present moment sensations of our breathing and this collects and re-anchors our mind. Meditating like this is very healing. We realize we can just be with whatever is within us–our pain, anger, and irritation, or our joy, love and peace.

When we practice walking meditation, we shift our awareness to the sensation of each step. We walk as free people as our feet gently kiss the earth. The aimlessness of walking meditation is pleasant because there is no where to go and nothing to do as we walk. Experiencing ease, each step becomes nourishing and healing.

After practicing sitting and walking meditation, we enjoy a Dharma talk. The talks are given by volunteer Indigo Sangha members on a shared basis. They transmit and translate ancient insights for modern times. Listening deeply, we let the message penetrate our consciousness to water the seeds of wisdom and compassion that are already there.

Following the talk there is an opportunity to benefit from each other’s insights and practice experience. This is a special time for us to share our joys, our difficulties, and our questions relating to the practice of mindfulness. When sharing, we root our comments in our own experience rather than in abstract ideas or theoretical topics. We practice deep listening while others are speaking to help create a calm and receptive environment. By speaking about our happiness and our difficulties in the practice, we contribute to the collective insight and understanding of the sangha.