Monday, November 3, 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 evening, November 3, from 7-8:30PM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Wednesday morning, November 5, from 7-8AM ET online; Thursday morning, November 6, from 7-8AM ET online; and Friday, November 7, from 12-1PM ET in person/online (hybrid).
On Monday, our evening meditation will be co-facilitated by Rachel H and Camille. They share:
Thich Nhat Hanh introduced the Lazy Day practice to Plum Village in 1984. In a dharma talk from 2002, Thay explains:
“A lazy day is a day when you refrain from doing anything; you resist doing things, because you are used to doing things. It can be a bad habit: if you are not doing anything, you have to die. You cannot bear the thought of doing nothing. It has become a habit. That is why, when you do not do anything, you suffer. The lazy day is a kind of drastic measure against that kind of habit energy. On lazy days, you refrain! You do your best in order to refrain from trying to do something. You try to do nothing. It’s hard. It’s hard, but we have to learn.…. We think that when we are not doing anything, we are wasting our time. That is not true. Our time is first of all, is for us to be. To be what? To be alive, to be peace, to be joy, to be loving. And that is what the world needs the most – so, we train ourself in order to be.”
When I visited Deer Park Monastery a few summers ago, I felt the effort it took to be and not do. There was all this time! Think of what I could accomplish! It took me a few days to settle my mind and begin to practice being without doing. While I initially resisted the slowness of life there – and certainly on the Lazy Day – by the end of the week, my body had gotten a delicious taste of a new way of experiencing time. There was a spaciousness and unfolding to the days there that felt transformative.
Here at home, I live a full life at the pace of a city. I don’t feel that I have a day per week to be. To practice in the spirit of a Lazy Day, I am trying to take part of a day each weekend to practice being, or at least doing more slowly. I have developed some intentions for myself:
Don’t drive.
Don’t have appointments.
Don’t have goals for accomplishing something.
Don’t have a plan.
Maybe spend time in nature.
Maybe see some art.
Maybe take a nap.
Maybe read.
Maybe bake a cake.
Maybe take our dog for a long exploratory walk.
Maybe make some art.
Maybe call my parents or a friend.
Maybe stare out the window.
Be aware of how I feel.
Be aware of what my body needs.
Be aware of the world around me.
Be slow.
These are not real Lazy Days, but they let me reconnect to that feeling of spacious unfolding from my week at Deer Park and they help my body remember that in order to do, do, do (which is most of my life), I want to have a foundation in being.
When we meet on Monday, we will listen to part of The Way Out Is In, Episode 41: The Art of Laziness: Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There! and share our experiences of time, productivity, slowing down, and our habit energies of doing. You could consider:
What ways of spending time nourish you?
When and how do you allow yourself to rest?
In what ways does your pace of life serve you?
We look forward to seeing you, hearing your reflections, and anything else on your hearts on Monday evening.
With love,
Rachel H. and Camille