Are there some acts so awful that they can’t be forgiven? Are are acts so terrible that amends are impossible?

Are they possible for people who cause harm? For people who get physical? For Russian soldiers even? Why? You might ask. It makes no sense you might conclude. Bad people deserve my anger.

But wasting my life-force on the energy of anger is a waste. Better I use my energy for good. Do you think?

Here’s one example of giving love to a person who did great harm.  It is offering love and forgiveness to a man who murdered 5 children.

A Vietnamese monk went so far as to extend his heart and help a former American soldier who killed  his own countrymen, Vietnamese children.

Learn Mindfulness for Relief and Ease. The Mindfulness Workshop starts January 24, meeting in-person near Carnegie Hall

In this meditation, we'll work with the breath in different ways - in movement, in breathing exercises, and by simply observing the breath - in order to observe the effects on our body-mind.

How do we counter "negativity bias," or the mind's tendency to focus on what's wrong about a situation rather than on what is positive? How can we train ourselves to acknowledge what might be hurting or broken, but not allow ourselves to spiral downward into resentment or depression?

This session, led by Michelle Morrison, focuses on "Stopping and Calming" - Thich Nhat Hahn's way of describing śamatha, which is an essential aspect of meditation practice. We will set down our projects and worries, and rest our bodies and minds, so that we can restore ourselves and gain insight into what is truly important.

Please join us Friday for 30-minute Friday Mindfulness at Noon.

We will practice with a Body Scan, evolved to include gentle movement.

Noticing one part of body. Then gently tightening nearby muscles, then releasing and noticing again. Noticing changes, enjoyment, and any wish for a different relationship to the body.

But nothing to achieve, just a new way on listening.... to the body.... who knows what stories it has to tell.

Meditation should be as easy as a child dreaming nice thoughts, but we run into our active minds, our worried minds, we have distractions, we worry we’re not doing it right..... there are so many ways we can lose self-compassion and increase our personal stress.

These days we get caught in judgment all the time.

Wouldn’t it be nice to see things clearly, without being caught in evaluations?

Judgment is a human characteristic, developed over many generations as our species learned to survive in the jungle. We needed to know what was safe, and what wasn’t. Who was safe, and who wasn’t. Judgment is deeply ingrained in our consciousness.

We can’t get rid of it, but we can learn to manage it.

We can train with Mindfulness to manage it.

In this digital age we rush around until we’re dizzy. There is another way. The snail way. Slower. In this mindfulness meditation we cultivate slowness. And then, with the centeredness that comes with it, we ask an important question: What is your heart’s desire? Enjoy.