Meditation Mornings

To meditate is to find peace in activity and activity in peace

This is a time in our country to appreciate our capacity for kindness, and generosity.

How precious our human life! It offers beauty if we see it, love if we feel it, achievement if we recognize it, peace if we opt for it. We have the capacity to create such moments any time we want to. They may be brief but nevertheless powerful

Compassion doesn't come easily to in our lives. The thinking mind too often gets caught in dualities like self and other, the doer and done to, good and bad. As a result it splits our world in two, and that leads to suspicion, injury and retaliation. Fortunately, there comes a time in a meditation practice when we let go of the dualities. That allows us to experience the full power of compassion.

We human beings are live waves in the ocean -- more alike than different and deeply inter-connected. Compassion arises out of this creation. However, compassion doesn't come easy in our daily lives.

Barbara's meditation focus for April is The Present Moment: Just Be: Within this moment you just are. There is no good or bad, no likes, no dislikes. No distinguishing. No wisdom and no gain. Just be! Right Here: With no desire to be somewhere else you are fully present. This place is rich, beautiful and peaceful. It comes with no worry and no fear. In the moment right here is everywhere!... Right Now: Living in the moment fills your full attention. There is no past: that's only a memory. There is no future: it hasn't happened yet. Right now is all there is! Just be, right here, right now. It's life in the present moment.

A Buddhist Story A man, walking alone in a jungle, realizes there’s a tiger following him. Running as fast as he can, he reaches a cliff. Grabbing hold of a thick vine, he jumps. With the tiger below above and a deep chasm below, death is imminent. Then he eyes a ripe red strawberry that’s growing in a crevice of the rock. Quickly, he plucks it, and pops it into his mouth. Ahh!... Hanging on that vine, that man is the human experience: Life is short and death is a certainty for all of us. But, the story teaches, we can make choices about how we want to live. We can choose to experience it fully as we live, joyfully plucking strawberries wherever we find them.

January 9 is our next Meditation Morning. The focus is on life Choices and meditation. Join us at Russian House on the Bryn Mawr campus see more at BarbaraFishman.com

A woman doing her daily run in a jungle realizes a tiger is following her. Running fast she comes to a cliff, grabs a thick vine and jumps. Tiger above, chasm below, death is imminent. Seeing a ripe red strawberry growing in the rock, she plucks it and tastes. Ahhhh. In this life you can't always avoid trouble. Even the effort makes us unhappy. But you can choose to savor a ripe red strawberry when you find it!

This Saturday December 12. The next Meditation Morning. Come meditate together. It's good for the world

Lots of anger and guns in our world. We need to represent another way without demeaning others who don't agree

One can think of Thanksgiving as food to fill the belly. It's also an opportunity to experience the gift of human warmth