From Self-Denial to Joy

Six Weeks of Meditation: From Self-Denial to Joy

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We just finished the best BOOST Your Practice yet!!! I am still energized from those four weeks of commitment to practice and to each other. We expect to do it again in September. Think ahead! Build teams! Make plans! Set intentions!

Today I write to invite you to meditate for six weeks. Commit to at least 10 minutes of meditation every day. You are of course welcome to sit longer.

I will host an online meditation session on most mornings during those six weeks. But we do not have to meditate together. Your commitment is to meditate for at least 10 minutes, every day, at a time that works best for you.

You will receive a daily text from me. And we will all come together for an hour of reflection every Sunday morning of these six weeks.

The six weeks of practice will be split into two sets of three weeks each.

We will begin our practice with three weeks of “Tonglen.” 

And 

We will conclude with three weeks of “Loving Kindness.”

When we practice tonglen, we begin by turning ourselves towards the parts that hurt. We start with the suffering of human hearts. And we turn it into goodness for the world. It is an essential practice for these difficult times.

When we practice loving kindness we begin with feelings of compassion, kindness, and goodwill. And we radiate these out towards ever greater circles of inclusion.

Some years ago I read a New York Times opinion piece on How to Cultivate Joy Even When It Feels in Short Supply by Rev. Tish Harrison Warren. And I was reminded that in Christian traditions the 40 days of Lent are supposed to be followed by 50 days of JOY!

Even for folks who are not Christian, Lent is popularly known as a period of penance, it is a time to practice of self-denial. You might have friends that give up things like chocolate or alcohol. I know folks who only have bread and water for 40 days.

I think there is something powerful about giving something up.

I also think there is something magical to the active practice of joy.

And I know that neither is easy.

This is a reason why I find structures like liturgical calendars or the cadence of lunar cycles to be helpful ways for humans to return again and again to the most important lessons. To remember and remember again. To breathe, practice and pray our way into the stories that give us meaning and belonging. 

So I want to make Easter Sunday the turning point in our meditation practice. 

We will practice Tonglen from Sunday, March 10 to Easter Sunday, March 31.

And

We will practice Loving Kindness from Easter Sunday, March 31 to Sunday, April 21.

If you are among the people who are justifiably triggered by Christian hegemony in our culture, I want to lovingly invite you to relax into this invitation. We are coming together in an act of ecumenical syncretism. We are claiming for ourselves what is good and worth preserving in the wisdom of humanity’s traditions.

Here is the thing though!

You are not just committing to ten minutes of meditation for six weeks. 

You will also be asked to “give something up” during the first three weeks of our practice.

And

To commit a small random act of kindness every day during our last three weeks of practice.

For three weeks, you can give up anything from sweets, to carbs, to screens, to yelling at your kids, to alcohol or porn.

And for another three weeks, you can get as creative as you want in finding an intentional small way to show kindness every day. A loving text, a deep listening moment, a compliment or affirmation of someone’s effort, a held gaze with a true smile. But it has to be one thing more than what you would normally do each day.  

There is no cost for this program. But we will pass around a virtual donation basket each Sunday. We want to kindle a recurring practice of reciprocity.

We will share more details and calendar invitations once you sign up to express interest.

We’ll use WhatsApp for my daily texts. I will open a zoom room for meditation at 6:20AM Eastern Time every morning. Remember, you don’t have to meditate at that time with me. The first 10 minutes will be for guided Tonglen or Loving Kindness. The next 30 minutes will be guided by Judith Blackstone’s Realization Process (this is not a formal part of the program, it’s just the meditation I’m personally working with). You are welcome to join or not.

Just make sure you get your 10 minutes of meditation everyday for six weeks.

I will also share my guided meditations with you, you’ll get a new one each of the six weeks. Each emphasizing a different circle of compassion.

Our online Sunday gatherings will be from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM Eastern Time.

I am really looking forward to this.

Please feel free to share the opportunity with your friends. It is always better to share these experiences together.