Monday, November 16, we will meet in person.
Go to calendar for our schedule
Address for OHMC meditation space:
3812 Northampton St. NW, Washington DC 20015
Please arrive a few minutes early so we can invite the bell on time. You may also arrive 15 minutes early to practice working meditation by helping us set up cushions.
Dear friends,
This week, we will meet Monday evening, November 16, from 7-8:30PM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Wednesday morning, November 18, from 7-8AM ET online; Thursday morning, November 5, from 7-8AM ET online; and Friday, November 20, 12-1PM ET online/in person (Hybrid).
On Monday, our evening meditation will be facilitated by Rachel H. She shares:
This fall, I’m trying a new kind of group therapy called the Safe and Sound Protocol. It is a process of tending to my nervous system and reflecting in a group about what I am noticing. At the same time, I am reading Unshakeable: Trauma Informed MIndfulness for Collective Awakening by dharma teacher and Order of Interbeing member Jo-ann Rosen. This book layers the tenets of Buddhism and many aspects of the Plum Village tradition with neuroscience and psychology, sharing both theory and somatic practices. I am getting a crash course in generating a regulated nervous system!
Referring to the Buddha, Rosen writes, “This prince was a brilliant neuroscientist, and he set out in the laboratory of his mind to discover what suffering was, how it was made, and just how easily it could be ended. Basically, he set out to restructure his brain so that the areas that produced a calm presence could become dominant over those that created a skewed perception.” She goes on to frame mindfulness practices as exercises that shape our nervous systems, as we teach ourselves to be peaceful and engaged.
At the same time, in one of my Safe and Sound exercises, we think of a time we felt content and vividly recall that experience: the sensations, images, feelings, and thoughts. We then rest in that experience and those details to reteach a feeling of safety to our nervous systems.
Because of these experiences, the connection between sitting mediation and safety has taken on a new dimension for me. While I follow my breath, I sit in the awareness of feeling safe, noticing my regulated nervous system. I have started to see sitting meditation as practice in soothing my nervous system so that noticing a busy mind is a gateway to befriending my body, which is asking for calm and safety. Nothing is outwardly different in my practice, but working with my internal soup of feelings, breath, nerves, memories, and experiences has become a practice of actively generating calm and safety.
Co-regulation is a term that has come up in both spaces. This (as far as I understand) is the way people’s nervous systems “read” each other, so that a calm person can sooth someone who is agitated. A dysregulated person can also unsettle a calm person. All this happens without words and often without self-awareness. Parents have an important role in co-regulating children and helping those young nervous systems learn calm and safety. Similarly, adults in relationship can soothe or discombobulate each other.
This gives a name to one of my favorite parts of in-person sangha gatherings—the peaceful and safe feeling of sitting in community, in silence, and the collective peace we create together.
I look forward to creating that peace when we gather together on Monday night. In addition to sitting and walking meditation, we will have a chance to share where we find peace in our bodies, the states of our nervous systems, experiences of peaceful contentment that come to mind, or anything else on our hearts.
Xo,
Rachel H
PS. The Way Out Is In podcast featured Rosen in the summer of 2025. You can listen here.