Another Day, Ahhh, New Menu Choices

From Spirit Rock course "Awakening Joy" a favorite practice comes from the
first section on Intention. Whenever you "remember" you ask yourself
the question, "where can I find joy in this moment?" It is a constant
surprise what can be found just by remembering to look-- whether
it's a sound or a breath or a texture, a friend's hand, a splash of
light, a quirky stranger, a bright red leaf dangling... And all you have
to do is look?! So far even in the gloomiest moments, there it is.
Waiting for to be noticed. The practice is not about ignoring what's
difficult but rather remembering to look for and feel the "10,000
joys" that exist along side the "10,000 sorrows." So today's menu
practice is: "Where can I find joy in this moment?"

Engage your self in...

today, it is yogi's choice day-- FEET or HANDS. The practice of focusing awareness on the feet is a grounding practice, one that brings one right to the "here" of the "here and now." Helpful, especially when caught up or feeling lost.

Awareness of hands is more of a connecting practice-- our hands are often the interface between our internal and external world-- we reach for a door knob, shake someone's hand, open the fridge, hold a cup of tea, write a letter, pick up the phone, etc. It's an opportunity to connect physically with the rich textures of our lives.

Now explore your experience as you choose one or the other to be your practice focus of the day--

On Today's Meditation Menu...the breath

So today's focus of awareness is breath. pretty standard procedure.
whenever you "remember", take a few deep breaths into the belly or
heart. You can use a mental support like saying to yourself,
"breathing in, I know that I am breathing in, and breathing out I know
that I am breathing out" (a la Thich Nhat Han) or simply be present to
the physical sensations that show up. Mindfulness of breath (the
anapansati sutta) is the most basic practice taught by the Buddha...

"Daily Menu Practice"

Hi all--
In last night's reading at Sangha the author Ezra Bayda suggested a
"daily menu practice" as a good way to support bringing mindfulness
practice off the cushion and into our daily life. A menu practice
just means bringing a particular focus of awareness to each day. We
unanimously voted to have a "menu practice" each day this week which I
will send via email (just this one week only, not to worry)-- as
always, feel free to hit your delete button.

So today's practice is SOUNDS. Whenever you can (whenever you
remember!) notice whatever sounds are present. Hear the tone quality,
the loudness, softness, continuity, sharpness, dullness, roundness,
even the silence underneath. Notice the sounds of walking, eating,
cooking, breathing, going to the bathroom, computer keys clicking,
voices, wind, cars, birds, plumbing, whatever it is. (Last night I
ate my noisiest salad ever {crunch crunch)!) And of course, notice
when there's a mental story or judgement about the sound; whenever
there is, meet it for a moment with curiosity and acceptance, and then
come back to the physical quality of the sound itself. If you find
yourself caught up in an emotion, a personal drama or any kind of
mental gymnastics during the day, come back to the simple experience
of the actual sounds arising in that moment.

from Rebecca Foster's Virtual Sangha email

Eckhart Tolle on Twitter

love it, one liners from ET that are great reminders of the present moment!
Check it out at http://twitter.com/EckhartTolle

Acknowledging the good that is already in your life is the foundation for all abundance. ~E. Tolle

Mindfulness

Walk Slowly
It only takes a reminder to breathe,
a moment to be still, and just like that,
something in me settles, softens, makes
space for imperfection. The harsh voice
of judgment drops to a whisper and I
remember again that life isn’t a relay
race; that we will all cross the finish
line; that waking up to life is what we
were born for. As many times as I
forget, catch myself charging forward
without even knowing where I’m going,
that many times I can make the choice
to stop, to breathe, and be, and walk
slowly into the mystery.
~Danna Faulds

Each Moment a New Beginning

I am so grateful for the gift of starting over, beginning again, this moment, each moment anew. It is a blessing right here right now. I started the challenge, loved increasing my sitting time, week one flew by. I traveled to a yoga intensive in Chicago and found it almost impossible to stick to week two so upon my return i began again. Oh it's been fidgety and unclear and too clear and pushy and sweet to and then as week 3 began it all fell apart; I ran...YIKES! So here I am stepping back in, beginning again. Amen.