Weekly Mindfulness Topics
Dear friends,
This week: we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EDT in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), Wednesday morning from 7-8AM EDT online, and Friday 12-1PM EDT in person.
On Monday, Camille and Bea will facilitate.
Camille
Participating in a transformative course with Plum Village monastics centered around Thich Nhat Hanh's Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet has been profoundly enriching. The journey through this insightful 7-week e-learning course, accompanied by the wisdom, support, and practices offered in the workshop, has invigorated my spiritual dimension and deepened my commitment to mindful living.
Dear friends,
This week: we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EDT online, Wednesday morning from 7-8AM EDT in person at the AU Labyrinth in honor of Earth Day, and Friday 12-1PM EDT online.
Magda will facilitate Monday night.
DHARMA EYES
“But when our ‘spiritual eyes’ are opened, we never lose the ability to see the wonder of all dharmas, all things” (Thich Nhat Hanh, Fragrant Palm Leaves, p. 102).
On my recent pilgrimage to Vietnam to commemorate the second anniversary of Thich Nhat Hanh’s (Thay’s) continuation, I do my best to view everything with dharma eyes. My entire experience at Phoung Boi, the retreat founded by Thay at the Dai Lao Mountain in the B’su Danglu forest, feels like an act of mindfulness.
At the start of the visit, Sister Tue Nghiem asks us to serve as Thay’s continuation: “Wherever we sit, Thay sat at the very spot. Wherever we walk, we are walking in Thay’s footsteps. Let’s enjoy the place with Thay’s feet, Thay’s eyes, Thay’s ears, and Thay’s heart.” Having read Thay’s book Fragrant Palm Leaves, where he describes this hermitage vividly and with nostalgia, I try to take in every detail through my physical and spiritual eyes. Feeling extremely privileged, I aspire, through my writing as well as the accompanying illustration, to share Phuong Boi with those who would have loved to be here but could not.
Dear friends,
This week: we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EDT in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), Wednesday morning from 7-8AM EDT online, and Friday 12-1PM EDT online.
On Monday, Susie will facilitate.
“The earth is you. You are the earth. When you realize there is no separation, you fall completely in love with this beautiful planet.” - Thich Nhat Hanh
Camping last summer, I took time to lay on the earth like my dog, Bodhi. We got to listen to what Mother Earth was conveying. I had just finished reading Deepak Chopra’s book Abundance: The Path to Inner Wealth, which is about abundance of non-monetary treasures as well as having an open and abundant mindset for life.
Last year in Hawaii, I booked a massage appointment – the first one in many years. My massage therapist is also a healer of many other modalities.
After the trip, we continued to communicate via Zoom, and I asked questions about the next step in my journey: how I can end my career with a soft landing and potential legacy? She suggested I ask the earth what to do next. Now my meditations include pulling in the earth’s wisdom so I can be more aware of the next right path.
Dear friends,
This week: we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EDT online at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), Wednesday morning from 7-8AM EDT in person, and Friday 12-1PM EDT online.
Monday (April 1) is a newcomers night - learn more and sign up here
Ellen will facilitate Monday night.
I've had the privilege of facilitating a few times this year already. In reviewing my topics and comments, I realized they were all focused on challenges and on difficult emotions. Yet I've been thinking a lot lately about joy and about how mindfulness can encourage my joy. My sense is I rarely experience joy, but reading and listening to Thay’s teachings on joy, I wonder if the joy is there and I'm not seeing it or allowing myself to experience it.
Simple joys abound: the blossoming flowers in my garden now, listening to a wonderful song when I"m sitting at my kitchen table working late in the evening and pausing to really hear it, having dinner or coffee with good friends, or appreciating that I'm two blocks away from Rock Creek Park with all its wonderful paths and beauty.
Dear friends,
This week: we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EST in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), Wednesday morning from 7-8AM EST online, and Friday 12-1PM EST in person.
On Monday, Annie will facilitate and we will read the Five Mindfulness Trainings (more info here) and focus on the third mindfulness training, True Love (full text of this training is below).
The third mindfulness training ends with the words: “Practicing true love, we know that we will continue beautifully into the future.” But what is “true love” exactly?
I have noticed lately that we say, “I love you” more easily and more often to our friends and family than we did when I was a girl. We also say, “I love this book” and “I love this restaurant.” But what does the word love really mean when said so casually?
And what does true love mean in the context of a committed intimate relationship or a close friendship? What if we decide we don’t love that person anymore? Do we have any responsibility to love? Does love allow for loving from a distance?
This week we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EST online, Wednesday morning from 7-8AM in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), and Friday 12-1PM EST online.
On Monday evening, Magda and Marisela will facilitate.
In commemoration of Black History Month and International Women’s Day, Opening Heart’s Engaged Mindfulness group invited Dr. Marisela B. Gomez to facilitate Monday night. We are honored to have Dr. Gomez, who recently co-authored Healing Our Way Home: Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors, Joy, and Liberation with Valerie Brown and Kaira Jewel Lingo.
Dr. Gomez is an Order of Interbeing member, a Plum Village Dharma Teacher, and a community public health activist scholar, who has been organizing in various capacities for equitable and sustainable alternative models for community development for more than 25 years in Baltimore, Maryland.
Dear friends,
This week: we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EST in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), Wednesday morning from 7-8AM EST online, and Friday 12-1PM EST online.
This Monday evening Annie was scheduled to facilitate. However, there’s been a change in schedule and Camille will facilitate.
Annie’s original topic below:
Even in the best of times, it can be challenging to get out of bed and remember to practice mindfulness. But when I remember to start my day with some mental reminders, such as a few mindful breaths or steps, my whole day leans more toward ease and joy. Practicing mindfulness in the morning doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy our favorite coffee drink or I can’t enjoy my new favorite Oolong tea. And it doesn’t mean we have to be all perky and bubbly. (I surely am not.)
This week we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EST online, Wednesday morning from 7-8AM in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), and Friday 12-1PM EST online.
On Monday evening, Camille will facilitate.
The fourth mindfulness training (of the Five Mindfulness Trainings, or Five Precepts, developed during the time of the Buddha) is the practice of deep listening and loving speech. It teaches us that when we speak lovingly and listen compassionately, we can help relieve suffering and promote reconciliation and peace, both in ourselves and in others. Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) teaches that with compassionate listening, you listen with only one purpose: to “help him or her to empty his heart.” Even if they say things that are full of wrong perceptions, you can give them a chance to speak and to suffer less.
Dear friends,
This week we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EST in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), Wednesday morning from 7-8AM EST online, and Friday 12-1PM EST online.
This Monday evening Camille will facilitate. Camille shares:
I have had the habit energy of worrying over many things. Most of the time my worry has stemmed from fear of things that might happen in the future. The fear of my kids getting sick, of my parents dying, and the fear of change have often held me captive, so much so that I begin to feel it not only in my thoughts and mind but also in my body. The result of this can cause restless sleep, inconsistent eating habits, and anxiety, all contributing to a very tired body and mind.
This week we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EST online, Wednesday morning from 7-8AM in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), and Friday 12-1PM EST online.
On Monday evening, Marie will facilitate.
Recently my practice has been a bit different. I’ve been touching peace and joy more than usual so that I have more capacity to hold, witness and sometimes transform suffering. As I write this, I’m smiling. I realize how odd these words would have sounded to my younger self, who was raised to be endlessly empathetic, often burnt myself out and felt guilty about my good fortune.
What, specifically, have I been doing?
Dear friends,
This week we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EST in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), Wednesday morning from 7-8AM EST online, and Friday 12-1PM EST online.
This Monday evening Ellen will facilitate. Ellen shares:
Lately, I’ve been thinking about awareness, its connection to mindfulness and the power of awareness in bringing more compassion, connection and pausing.
In Thay’s book, Peace Is Every Step, he has an entry called “Nourishing Awareness in Each Moment.” He talks about the “lures” in life, the things that lead us to become “lost and scattered.” I recognized the “lures” or distractions that pull me in different directions every day. They pull me away from myself and from true, compassionate connection with others.
This week we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EST online, Wednesday morning from 7-8AM in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), and Friday 12-1PM EST online at our meditation space.
Annie will facilitate, and shares:
Dear Friends,
This week we will meet online. Annie will facilitate and we read the Five Mindfulness Trainings. This week we will have two special guests from our community – Rachel Switala and Conor Lane - who have just received the Five Mindfulness trainings at a ceremony on January 6 in Oakton, Virginia.
The FIve Mindfulness trainings are ethical statements that can help us align our life with our deepest intentions. The trainings are based on the practices of understanding and loving kindness toward ourselves, our communities, and the world.
Dear Friends,
This week we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EST in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), Wednesday morning from 7-8AM EST online, and Friday 12-1PM EST online.
I’ve been thinking about the silence and stillness that we need in order to develop awareness and touch joy. Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) has said:
The more space we make for stillness and silence, the more we have to give both to ourselves and to others.
Before I went on my 6-week retreat to Plum Village in October, I had a pretty strong habit of listening to podcasts anytime I wasn’t listening to anything else. For example, when I walked the dogs, when I showered, when I drove, etc.
This week we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EST online, Wednesday morning from 7-8AM in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), and Friday 12-1PM EST in person at our meditation space.
Camille will facilitate, and shares:
Two years ago, our mindfulness teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) transitioned out of his body at the age of 95, after spending most of his life sharing mindfulness practices with peace, understanding and love. After the two year mourning period, we now recognize Thay as our spiritual ancestor. In a ceremony later this month in Vietnam, Thay will also be acknowledged as the fifth patriarch of Từ Hiếu Temple – his root temple.
On Monday evening, our community will gather together in meditation, chanting, and sharing, to honor and celebrate Thay. The peace and joy he shared with us - his students and spiritual descendants - will be passed on to all around us. From Plum Village: “The calm, clarity, and peace we can generate today are both a manifestation of Thay’s love and our expression of our spiritual support and love for him.”
Dear friends,
This week we will meet Monday evening in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW) from 7-8:30PM EST, Wednesday morning online from 7-8AM, and Friday online from 12-1PM EST.
Camille will facilitate.
This Monday evening we will share together the practice of Touching the Earth. It is a beautiful practice offered regularly in Plum Village centers around the world. The script of the touchings is below along with a short video of an introduction of Thich Nhat Hanh’s (Thay’s) on Touching the Earth.
This practice is about “emptying ourselves” as we bow down to touch the earth in order to make life possible in the present moment. We can begin to release ideas, stories, notions, anger, attachments, and the ideas that we and this world we know are permanent. When we touch the earth we can empty ourselves and surrender these ideas and any unwholesome qualities in us.
I love and relish in the Earth touchings and have much gratitude as I am reminded that I have the support of my ancestors, family, friends, teachers, sangha, the earth, and all who have walked and worked the lands in sharing their love, understanding, nourishment, caring and healing with me and all the world.
Dear Sangha,
Last year in January, I had the opportunity to facilitate and talk about the beginning of a new year as a chance for renewal and hope. I felt it was important to try to be optimistic and open.
As we enter 2024, I find myself much more anxious and worried about so much in my personal/family life, my career and most importantly the despairing state of the world. My anxiety has been, for the first time, affecting my health and well-being. And I’m surrounded by friends, family members and colleagues who are also suffering from stress, anxiety and fear.
So I started to research Thich Nhat Hanh’s (Thầy) writings on anxiety and worrying. As usual, he has much to say, which I found to be very helpful.
Dear Friends,
This week we will meet Monday evening in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW) from 7-8:30PM EST, Wednesday morning online from 7-8AM, and Friday online from 12-1PM EST.
On Monday we will enjoy a guided meditation on letting go of anything we don’t want to carry into the new year, and setting our mindful intentions for 2024. Our meditation will serve as a gentle guide in aligning our intentions with actions and embracing positive changes in our lives.
The new year often brings lots of resolutions, goals, and aspirations – a natural response to the chance for a new beginning. Yet, in the rush to change or improve our lives, we might lose sight of the profound beauty and completeness of the present moment.
Dear friends,
This week we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EST online, Wednesday morning from 7-8AM in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), and Friday 12-1PM EST in person.
Susie will facilitate on Monday evening, December 25.
Please join us as we read the Five Mindfulness Trainings together with a focus on the fifth mindfulness training - Nourishment and Healing.
We have a line item in our family budget for drinking. We don’t call it “drinking”, we call it “food & beverage”. In January of this year, I was sipping an expensive wine at a Georgetown restaurant with a large group of our best friends. Something hit me partway through the meal, something Godlike and undeniable. I had to close my eyes and be with this feeling. Something was telling me this was wrong for my body. I could hear my friends around me having a great time, and when they noticed my eyes were closed, I heard their questions to me, “Susie, are you ok?” “Is she ok? I don’t know.” etc. I held up my hand in a “wait” motion. I just needed to sit with this and hear what I needed to hear. After a couple of moments, I opened my eyes, and didn’t take another sip. I got sick later that evening and felt much better physically, but thought about all that money we just spent on the lovely food and the wine. Is there a line item for that?
Dear friends, This week Annie and Andy will co-facilitate and we will meet Monday evening in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW) from 7-8:30PM EST, Wednesday morning online from 7-8AM, and Friday online from 12-1PM EST.
We will reflect on one of the central understandings of Thich Nhat Hanh’s (Thay) teachings, Interbeing. This is a word that Thay created to reflect his insight that nothing can exist by itself. We depend upon everything else to be, or rather, to interbe.
This simple - but not easy - insight is the foundation for our practice. If we really know that we are a single cell in the cosmos, not a separate and lonely creature, we will live with more ease and feel greater belonging to all of life. Knowing that we interare releases our need to run after external things because we realize that we already have, and in fact are, everything we need.
Dear Thay, dear friends,
This week we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EST online, Wednesday morning from 7-8AM in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), and Friday 12-1PM EST online.
Marie will facilitate on Monday evening.
Over the last few months, I’ve been struck by the power of sangha. I had a health crisis, and while I didn’t attend sangha in traditional ways (meaning in body or via Zoom), that didn’t matter. I felt held and supported. I did not practice sitting or walking meditation, and that didn’t matter either. I knew the sangha body was practicing, at our sangha and at other sanghas. I rested into the hammock of this knowing, and oh did that feel good!
Dear Friends,
This week we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EST in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), Wednesday morning from 7-8AM EST online, and Friday 12-1PM EST online.
This is a newcomer’s week, so if you want a little extra instruction or to ask a question, please meet Annie at the OHMC meditation space at 6:15 PM. Sign up here
We will explore one of the basic practices taught by Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) and one at the heart of Plum Village life – slowing down. In this upcoming holiday season, we may be pushed to move very fast, but we can find ways to resist the rushing and find more ease.
Thay wrote: "Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future; live the actual moment. Only this moment is life.”
How often do we do anything reverently, slowly, and evenly? And what happens when we do?
During my most recent visit to Plum Village, I had the time to practice slowing down in each activity and found a lot of benefits.
Dear Friends,
This week we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EST online, Wednesday morning from 7-8AM EST in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), and Friday 12-1PM EST online.
Annie will facilitate on Monday evening. After we enjoy guided deep relaxation, walking meditation and silent sitting meditation, we will read the Five Mindfulness Trainings together and focus on the Fourth Training: Loving Speech and Deep Listening.
The Fourth Mindfulness Training reminds us of all of the suffering that can be caused by speaking unmindfully and not listening well to others. During the holidays, we often spend time with our families, whether chosen or blood. We can reflect on how we might practice loving speech and deep listening using the Fourth Mindfulness Training…
Dear friends,
This week we will meet in person (3812 Northampton Street NW in DC) on Monday 7-8:30PM EDT, online on Wednesday morning from 7-8AM, and online on Friday 12-1PM.
On Monday evening, Camille will facilitate.
Plum Village, the practice center in France founded by Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay), has sought to create an environment where people can learn to “live in harmony with one another and with the Earth.” On their website they recently shared that the conflict in the Middle East and in many other places in the world are “painful to civilians on both sides and they appeal to all combatants to put an immediate stop to killing and acts of violence.” The Buddha said that “hatred cannot respond to hatred; only love and compassion can respond to hatred.” Thay says “there is no way to peace, peace is the way.”
I often sit these days of late with feeling the pain, suffering and despair of others all over the world. It is exhausting and I often feel depleted. What helps me is to be reminded by Thay to first recognize the suffering within myself and to transform the unwholesome seeds of anger, hatred or violence into seeds of peace, joy, and loving kindness. I take time to breathe in and breathe out, and then in that moment when I can cultivate those positive qualities in myself, I can begin to generate more compassion to my family and all beings who suffer.
Dear friends,
This week we will meet online on Monday 7-8:30PM EST, in person on Wednesday morning from 7-8AM EST, and online on Friday 12-1PM EST.
Magda will facilitate on Monday evening. The Chesapeake Earth Holders and members of Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC sanghas will join us to celebrate Native American Heritage Month in a gathering dedicated to water mindfulness and contemplation. Maggie Morris, a member of the Chesapeake Earth Holders and the Cloud Floating Free sangha from Charlottesville, Virginia, will conduct a water blessing. Please bring a cup of tea - or any other beverage of your choice - to our gathering. You may also bring water you hold sacred or dear for any reason.
THE SCENT OF WATER IN THE DESERT
My reflections on water begin in an unlikely place: the desert of New Mexico. Recently, as I was practicing walking meditation through the stone labyrinth of Ghost Ranch, my sanctuary, I thought back to my conversation with Hollis, a kind young biologist I had met on a previous visit. Hollis had shown me formations of precious cryptobiotic soil, a sign of new life in the desert. He also showed me a blue sage that was growing next to the labyrinth. Encountering this plant in the desert was special, as it requires ample water in its early stages. As I thought back to that day in Ghost Ranch I looked around me and realized that I was in the middle of a yellow wild flower oasis bordered by cottonwoods whose leaves had turned bright yellow in the fall.
Dear friends,
This week we will meet in person (3812 Northampton Street NW in DC) on Monday 7-8:30PM EDT, online on Wednesday morning from 7-8AM, and online on Friday 12-1PM.
On Monday evening, Camille will facilitate.
Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) says our daily life is like a prayer. He also says praying is like an energy that we can touch at any time. He says if we are in touch with reality in the present moment, then “when you practice mindfulness while sitting, walking, cooking, washing, you don’t feel that you waste your life. You are living every moment of your life deeply. Your life becomes a prayer. Much happiness and peace result from that kind of living.”
Praying has been always been part of my life but has sometimes been elusive to me - not always sure about what I was looking or asking for in prayer. In the last few weeks I have been better able to bring prayer into my life in the present moment in “body, speech and mind” with the help of “meditation, concentration and insight” or “mindfulness” as Thay describes. With mindfulness Thay shares we can “produce the energy of faith and love necessary to change a difficult situation."
Dear friends,
This week we will meet online on Monday 7-8:30PM EDT, in person (3812 Northampton Street NW in DC) on Wednesday morning from 7-8AM, and online on Friday 12-1PM.
On Monday evening, Ellen will facilitate. Our focus will be on Thich Nhat Hanh’s important teachings about our “habit energy.” We’ll watch a very short video from Thich Nhat Hanh that helps us recognize our habit energy and how to compassionately tend to it.
This is a very timely topic for me. The world seems frayed, pained, pulled apart and almost at its limits these days. Pain and tension seem to be everywhere. Tragedies abound. For me, that’s somehow made my habit energies intensify. Maybe it’s a false sense of being ok if I’m busy.
Dear sangha friends,
This week we will meet on Monday evening in person 7-8:30PM at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), Wednesday morning from 7-8AM online, and Friday 12-1PM online.
On Monday evening, we will read the Third Mindfulness Training: True Love, and share our reflections on how this Training plays out in our own lives.
The Third Precept of Buddhism originally was “Refrain From Sexual Misconduct.” With great wisdom and compassion, Thay renamed the Third Mindfulness Training, “True Love” to reflect an expanded perspective on the third precept. Last year, the training was additionally revised to be more compassionate and inclusive of our LGBTQIA+ siblings.
Nowadays, we find ourselves living in a highly sexualized society, where we, and particularly our young people, are exposed to pressures to conform in terms of dress, speech and behavior. At the same time, there is often a cloud of shame and fear that prevents us from speaking openly about this topic. I hope that we may come together on Monday evening to share openly and respectfully about how we as mindfulness practitioners respond to the teachings embodied in this Training.
Dear friends,
This week we will meet online on Monday 7-8:30PM EDT, in-person (3812 Northampton Street NW) on Wednesday morning from 7-8AM, and also online on Friday 12-1PM.
On Monday evening, we will host two special guests - Joann Malone, friend of the Washington Mindfulness Community, and Eliza King, friend of Still Water Mindfulness Practice Center - to talk about their contributions to the new book Tears Become Rain: Stories of Transformation and Healing Inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh, edited by Jeanine Cogan and Mary Hillebrand (Parallax Press).
Susie will facilitate.
About the book: 32 mindfulness practitioners around the world reflect on encountering the extraordinary teachings of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, who passed away in January 2022, exploring themes of coming home to ourselves, healing from grief and loss, facing fear, and building community and belonging.
This week we will meet in person on 7-8:30PM at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), Wednesday morning from 7-8AM online, and Friday 12-1PM online.
Annie will co-facilitate with her friend and guest facilitator Dr. Deidre Combs on Monday evening, October 9th.
“When you begin to see that your enemy is suffering, that is the beginning of insight..” – Thich Nhat Hanh
Across the spiritual traditions we are counseled to be grateful for those with whom we may not agree. The challenging people in our lives can be stressful and even dangerous, yet the Buddha taught that our worst enemies can be our best teachers. In fact, there is a story about a Buddhist monastery in which there was a monk who the other monks all disliked and found difficult. Finally, after many years of disharmony, the difficult monk decided to leave. Surprisingly, the abbot of the monastery went out and found the monk and begged him to come back.
Dear friends,
This week: we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EDT online, Wednesday morning from 7-8AM EDT in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), and Friday 12-1PM EDT online.
This Monday night, we will read the Five Mindfulness Trainings and focus our attention on the Fourth Training. Annie and Camille will co-facilitate.
Annie writes:
The Fourth Mindfulness training suggests that one of the ways we create more suffering is by our “inability to listen to others.”
My husband and I have been married for nearly 37 years. And over those years, our mindful speech and compassionate listening has been improving, albeit slowly. One very helpful practice has been to stop imagining what he must be thinking while he is talking and instead to simply listen to what he is saying.