This Monday December 4, we will meet in person.
Go to calendar for our schedule
Address for OHMC meditation space:
3812 Northampton St. NW, Washington DC 20015
Please arrive a few minutes early so we can invite the bell on time. You may also arrive 15 minutes early to practice working meditation by helping us set up cushions.
OPTIONAL ORIENTATION FOR NEWCOMERS
MONDAY, DEC 4, 6:15 pm EST
PLEASE SIGN UP - LEARN MORE HERE
Dear Friends,
This week we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EST in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), Wednesday morning from 7-8AM EST online, and Friday 12-1PM EST online.
This is a newcomer’s week, so if you want a little extra instruction or to ask a question, please meet Annie at the OHMC meditation space at 6:15 PM. Sign up here
We will explore one of the basic practices taught by Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) and one at the heart of Plum Village life – slowing down. In this upcoming holiday season, we may be pushed to move very fast, but we can find ways to resist the rushing and find more ease.
Thay wrote: "Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future; live the actual moment. Only this moment is life.”
How often do we do anything reverently, slowly, and evenly? And what happens when we do?
During my most recent visit to Plum Village, I had the time to practice slowing down in each activity and found a lot of benefits.
Life was more beautiful because I could notice all of the small and large conditions for happiness that take place in each moment, but are often missed when I am hurrying.
My nervous system was able to settle, and I felt much calmer and more relaxed in body and mind. I didn’t feel the need to get anywhere or anything, I was content.
Slowing down allowed me the space and time to deeply listen to the concerns and struggles of other people. While my listening alone might not have solved their difficulties, being lovingly heard is definitely a source of healing. I felt a lot of joy being able to offer that to new and old friends.
I also had the time and space to listen to my own body. Slowing down allowed me to notice tension in my body as soon as it arose. I then had the awareness needed to take good care of whatever was causing my tension. Often the tension was coming from an unnoticed thought or worry and I was able to see whether I needed to do something, or could simply let it go. We know that bodily tension is unhealthy for us in so many ways, and it can be challenging to notice it when we are moving quickly.
As a result of slowing down, I found myself being gentler and kinder inside myself and outside of myself. This is a deep value and aspiration of mine and an important reason for my practice.
Our path offers us lots of practices to help us slow down. To begin with, we need to notice when we are rushing without judging ourselves. Rushing is a normal reaction to being a human in this world. Once we notice we are rushing, we can remind ourselves that we are fine and that whatever we are rushing to is not a life-or-death emergency (unless you are an EMT or ER doctor and it truly is!).
We can pause and notice the feelings in our body. What does an in-breath feel like in our abdomen, and what does an out-breath feel like? We might notice where we are holding tension in our body and release as much of it as we can. Reminding ourselves as often as needed that we are OK, even if we don’t get the thing we are running after, we act imperfectly, or we miss something important.
It is helpful to practice slowing down in moments when we don’t feel hurried. This is why we come to meditation and go on retreats. When we meditate, we find contentment, joy, and ease as well as build the capacity to slow down during those really harried moments.
On Monday, we will listen to an excerpt of Thay speaking about our habit of running at the start of this video. Then we will support ourselves and each other by listening and sharing our experiences with rushing and slowing down and whatever else is in our hearts.
I look forward to seeing you then.
with love,
annie