Meditation and Me wants you to experience meditation in all its forms – from Buddhist to Hindu to All-American; from guided to silent, from contemplative to active, there is a meditation style that you can embrace and make your own.

These classes begin with a 15-20-minute discussion of meditation under consideration, maybe a bit of history and an explanation of the practice. Then we get physically comfortable, do some breathing exercises, and go inside to practice the style of the month.

January 8 – Loving-Kindness (Metta) Meditation

Metta Meditation originated with the Buddha as an exercise in compassion for his monks. Using a prescribed set of people, beginning with ourselves and ending with all sentient beings, the practitioner offers affirmations of loving-kindness to themselves and then shares it with others. To give compassion and love, we must step outside our protective shields and open our hearts to all beings – the beloved and the despised. In studies, Loving Kindness Meditation has been shown to be an effective way to build our internal capacity for compassion and to allow us to overcome our fear of others as we share our innermost hearts. 

February 12 – Tonglen Meditation

Tonglen Meditation is known as the practice of “sending and taking.” On the in-breath, we visualize taking in the pain and suffering of others, while on the out-breath, we send them whatever benefits them: love, peace, compassion, understanding, wisdom. With this practice, we release selfishness and begin to feel love for those who suffer as we recognize that the suffering of another is our own suffering as well. It is said that the Dalai Lama practices Tonglen daily. In our practice of Tonglen, we begin with a focus on the common man – a person just like us. We usually look away from the suffering of others as their pain brings up our personal fears of suffering. As we do Tonglen for people just like ourselves- people who wish to be compassionate but are fearful – people who wish to be brave but are cowardly – people who want to love but fear getting hurt. Then we shift to a personal situation – the suffering of a loved one, a beloved friend, a precious companion. Finally, we expand the Tonglen to every being experiencing the same suffering.