This Monday May 6, 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.
New to sangha?
This Monday we are offering an optional Newcomers Orientation.
Learn more and sign up here
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, Annie will facilitate.
The word and practice of AND has come up for me in a few places lately.
At a recent retreat at Blue Cliff Monastery, Sister True Vow talked about practicing AND as a pathway to generating happiness, AND as a way to let go of the concepts of right and wrong.
In my training with Inner Relationship Focusing, we also practice using the word AND in order to welcome all the different parts of ourselves. We may say, “Something in me is angry AND something in me doesn’t like my anger.”
I really like practicing AND as a way to accept difficult circumstances in my own life without getting overwhelmed. For example, rather than saying only “I have a chronic disease,” I can say, “I have a chronic disease AND right now the medicine for it is working.”
When someone says something that is true for them, but may not be true for me, rather than debating with them, I can use AND: “You think we should send an email AND I think we should wait.” Thich Nhat Hanh’s true love mantra, “You are partly right,” is another way to express this non-duality.
The four Brahma Viharas include the practice of upekkha, which is usually translated into English as equanimity. Thich Nhat Hanh has translated upekkha as inclusiveness. His translation suggests that, in addition to loving kindness, joy, and compassion, making space for everyone and everything is a noble and heart-opening practice and lifestyle.
I’ve been thinking about how my grandma Lucile had love and space for all 18 of her grandchildren. The practice of AND feels like a grandmother’s lap or heart which always has room for one more beloved grandchild.
This week, after our meditation period, we will watch a section from Sister True Vow’s dharma talk and then have time to reflect together on how we can practice with the word AND in order to expand our hearts and minds and live with greater understanding and love.
With love AND gratitude,
annie.