A Path of Heart

Amidst global pandemic, social unrest, and the upcoming presidential election, the world can feel divided and overwhelming. It is easy to feel disconnected, angry, isolated, or even hopeless. Heart-based meditation practices can help support us during these trying times. 

A Path of Heart is a four-week mindfulness journey exploring how we can meet each moment with an open heart. Instead of reacting from our heads, we can respond to life just as it is happening with our hearts.

Workshops

The heart practices we will be exploring are based on the Buddhist teachings of the Brahma Viharas (the divine abodes), which are backed by scientific research. These four qualities of loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity are the capacity for an awakened heart and originally taught as an antidote to fear, hatred, and delusion. We will meet the four consecutive Mondays leading up to the November 3rd election from 6 to 7:30pm PST. Each class will include discussions with questions and answers, guided meditations, reflections, and relational mindfulness.  

Guided Meditations:

“The meditation practices of loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity helps us to find union within ourselves and with the world outside.  Eventually we see that literally there is no inside and outside.  The one is just one.”  -Sharon Salzberg

 Affectionate Breathing Meditation:

Use this short 5 five minute affectionate breath meditation to help bring a little more calmness, clarity and kindness to your busy days. [5 minutes guided by Banni]

Short Traditional Loving Kindness Meditation:

Use this tradition loving kindness meditation , first sending metta to a benefactor, yourself, and expanding out to all. [9 minutes guided by Alexandra]

Longer Traditional Loving Kindness Meditation:

Use this 20 minute traditional loving kindness meditation starting with a benefactor, yourself, followed by a neutral person, difficult person and expanding out to all. Allow these phrases to land on your heart. [20 minutes guided by Alexandra]

Finding Your Own Phrases Metta Meditation:

This meditation will guide you through finding your personalized metta phrases. Make sure you have paper and pen/pencil for the writing reflections. [15 minutes guided by Alexandra]

Loved You into Being Meditation:

This meditation is a beautiful reflection on all those who loved you into being inspired by Mister Rogers and his neighborhood. May we all be well and take the next loving action from our hearts. [20 minutes guided by Banni]

Extending Compassion Meditation:

According to Thich Nhat Hahn, “Compassion is a verb.” It is something we can do, an action that we can take. Compassion is at the human morality, an appropriate response to pain and suffering, our own and others. Use this meditation to cultivate a more compassionate, open heart to the challenges and difficulties that we are facing. [11 minutes guided by Banni]

Yin Self-Compassion Break:

Explanation: This brief yin self compassion break can be used when you are experiencing a moment of suffering and need to connect with yourself in a loving and gentle way. [4 minutes guided by Alexandra]

Yang Self-Compassion Break:

Explanation: This brief yang self compassion break can be used when we need set boundaries, protect ourselves or notice any injustice in the world and need to access our inner strength and resilience. [6 minutes guided by Alexandra]

Compassionate Body Scan:

Explanation: This compassionate body scan guides you in a gentle loving way from your feet up to your head. Relax and allow yourself to be gently guided, as you can loving scan each body part. [11 minutes guided by Alexandra]

Gratitude Meditation:

“Gratitude can’t be forced or demanded but it can be cultivated. With an eye to what delights us, we can naturally find gratitude. What happens when we slow down and take notice of all the small things in our lives that brings us a sense of tenderness, of safety, amusement, beauty? We may find that the small things are not so small after all.”- unknown. Gratitude is probably the most studied and proven technique for rewiring the neural pathways in our brain and is often considered the remedy to all that ails us, focusing on the goodness in our lives rather than worrying about the bad. [10 minutes guided by Banni]

Dealing with Difficult Emotions Meditation:

This meditation is for strong or difficult emotions and one way of doing this practicing seeing the difference between recognition and mindfulness… learning to be okay with what is in a kind and compassionate way. “It’s okay” can be a magical phrase for settling the mind into an acceptance of whatever the emotion might be and becoming the foundation for the appropriate response. [17 minutes guided by Banni]

Making Space Meditation:

They say healing is our acceptance of what is happening in the present moment, our allowing of whatever we are feeling, perceiving or experiencing. This meditation will guided you through the various emotions you might be feeling in these times of uncertainty and not knowing in possibly a more skillful and helpful way. May we all be well and take the next loving action. [13 minutes guided by Banni]

Resources and Inspirations: