Imagining Forgiveness

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”   

                                                                                                                    William Shakespeare

On a contemplative walk through the gardens at Mercy Center last fall, I took a photograph of a rose with my cell phone camera. My husband, James, then painted his impression of it. How wonderful to be inspired by a simple moment in nature.

MLK by James Paul Brown

MLK by James Paul Brown

“Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” Martin Luther King Jr.

As you enter 2014 and make some resolutions for the new year , I highly recommend a book by Stephen Levine entitled Becoming Kuan Yin as an anchor for being called to your true nature. Here are a few quotes from the book that I would like to share as a New Year’s Blessing:

“When the heart and mind are in harmony, they produce a song. It is life calling from cell to cell.”

“It is a love song, of course, which when sung changes everything.”

“In the meantime, sing all the songs you can until you find your own. And when you do, let it vibrate the heart-mind like a giant pipe organ in an ancient cathedral.”

“Wishful thinking leaves us wanting. But one breath at a time we can recall the song, hear the flute, smell the rose. One breath at a time we can take birth at last and complete the rondo.”

“First it resonates in the vaultings of the heart, but soon it breaks free of all constraints and my song becomes the song that sings itself.”

May your song resonate deeply within you and burst joyously from your heart singing itself into the world as your unique blessing for the coming year and always. May you be peaceful and free from suffering and the cause of suffering. May you be happy, safe and may you live with ease. May you be filled with vibrancy and lovingkindness for yourself and for all beings.

painting by jamespaulbrown 2006

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

From the book Becoming Kuan Yin: The Evolution of Compassion, p. 57

You may wish to attend a wonderful workshop coming up at La Casa de Maria Sept. 27-29th, facilitated by a very special couple who walk their talk. Here is the description provided as well as the link for registration:

Compassion as a Way of Life: Becoming the Bodhisattvas that We Already Are with Radhule Weininger and Michael Kearney

                                                                                                           www.lacasademaria.org/

If we feel called to compassion as a way of life, we need guides. The Bodhisattva is the Buddhist figure of the care-giver, – the one who dedicates him or her self again and again for the wellbeing of others. For the Bodhisattva, his or her greatest yearning is the happiness, wellness and freedom of others. Their loving and compassionate action is effortless, natural and self-sustaining.

We are all care-givers. We all care for our loved ones, neighbors, clients and the world. We may feel overwhelmed when we hear of the Bodhisattva in this way, especially when we realize that this is a far cry from how we are living. We may also notice a reluctance to get involved, or a tendency to get over-involved, or feel depleted by what we are already doing. However, the world is yearning for us to care.

You already hold the Bodhisattva nature, within you, and on this retreat you will uncover this treasure within. You will find a gentle way to see the impediments that hold you back from realizing your potential. You will learn ways to reconnect ~ through mindfulness and compassion meditation; nature-based practices; the Cultivating Emotional Balance Process; and one model to move you into compassionate action: Joanna Macy’s Work that Reconnects.

Michael Kearney and Radhule Weininger will co-lead the retreat. Michael is a physician in end-of-life care. He is the author of Mortally Wounded and A Place of Healing. Radhule practices psychotherapy and teaches mindfulness meditation. She has studied Mindfulness Meditation with Jack Kornfield through Spirit Rock Buddhist Center and with Alan Wallace. Together they have written articles on caregiver self-care.

Residential rate of $375, includes 2 nights lodging in shared room, meals and tuition.Single supplement $75. Limited partial scholarships are available, application required.

Commuter rate $275. Includes meals and tuition.

September 27 -29

Friday, 7:30 pm to Sunday, 1 pm

Residential Fee: $375.00 Commuter Fee: $275.00

FOR MORE INFORMATION: CALL PEGGY: 805-969-5031

Programs La Casa de Maria 800 El Bosque Road Santa Barbara CA 93108

registerb@lcdm.org (805) 969-5031

Address: Programs La Casa de Maria 800 El Bosque Road Santa Barbara, CA 93108 USA Map and Directions

View Details

http://www.radhuleweiningerphd.com/meditation-retreats–conferences.html

Photo by Shanthi Bhavana

There are almost 4000 citations in the current psychological literature on mindfulness practices and the benefits to emotional, physical, and spiritual health. Extending from the research on mindfulness, there is a burgeoning area of research on Compassionate Care Therapy (CCT) and other compassion-based practices and related topics (i.e., empathy, the greater good, etc.). Research programs such as those at UCLA, Stanford, Harvard, UC Davis, Berkeley and the University of Massechusetts, to name a few, demonstrate that neuroscience is backing up the validity of the contemplative practices that spiritual traditions have espoused for thousands of years.

We are witnessing a shift these days. There is an ever blossoming respect for integrating contemplative psychology and compassion building practices in psychotherapy. It is important that we work with ourselves and with our clients to support coherent narratives and meaning-making around trauma, existential dilemmas, medical issues, and other stressors. While many have incorporated time tested ways of knowing and “being” into their lives and practices regardless of quantifiable validation from external authority, emperical studies are now actively supporting the use of compassion-based, meditative/contemplative practices and imagery in various psychotherapeutic contexts.

Here are a few website references that will assist in aquainting you with some cutting edge science in regard to meditation and compassion-based practices:

http://www.mindfulselfcompassion.org/meditations_downloads.php Chris Germer, Ph.D

http://www.self-compassion.org/ Kristin Neff, Ph.D.

http://www.upaya.org/roshi/ Joan Halifax Roshi

http://ccare.stanford.edu/research/

http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/http://www.johnbriere.com/articles.htm  John Brier, Ph.D on Trauma

http://www.psychiatry.emory.edu/PROGRAMS/mindbody/

http://www.cultivatingemotionalbalance.org/

http://www.investigatinghealthyminds.org/

http://www.traumacenter.org/research/ascot.php

http://www.chademeng.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGNhXdLo_pM Belleruth Naparstek, LCSW on imagery & military

Documentary Film Suggestion:

The Dhamma Brothers

http://store.pariyatti.org/Dhamma-Brothers-The–DVD–Collectors-Edition_p_2575.html

Enjoy!

Juliet

Imagery International’s 5th Conference is coming up very soon.

The Magic of Imagery

Mercy Center

(San Francisco Bay Area)

October 4-6, 2013

http://imageryinternational.org/annual-conference/

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A bowl of water

On a windowsill

Be still

In your heart

And know

This place

In silent moments

Each day

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Tags: Be Still