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No images? Click here Saturday, April 1, 2023 Richard Rohr's Daily MeditationFrom the Center for Action and Contemplation Week Thirteen Summary Cultivating a Beginner’s MindMarch 26–March 31, 2023 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Week Thirteen Practice AGE PracticeBuddhist teacher and addiction counselor Valerie Mason-John created the AGE (Awareness, Gathering, Expanding) practice to help people when they are suffering. Through greater consciousness of our thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations, contemplative practice helps us encounter Divine Reality in our powerlessness. Mason-John recommends taking three minutes for this practice, one minute per stage of breathing: There are three stages to [the practice]: Awareness, Gathering, and Expanding (hence AGE)…. 1. Bring Awareness to whatever is happening right now. (Assume a gently upright posture.) Become aware of your thoughts: what are you thinking right now? Allow your thoughts to be there, without pushing them away. What are you feeling right now? Let your feelings be there too. Acknowledge them as they are, even if they are difficult. Become aware of sensations in your body, especially any strong physical sensations. As best you can, just allow them to be there and bring an attitude of friendly curiosity toward them. 2. Then, Gather your attention on the breath, becoming aware of the breath coming in and going out of your nostrils and the movement of your chest and belly. Focus on the physical sensation of the breath.… 3. Finally, Expand your awareness to include the whole body. As best you can, feel the physical sensations in the whole of your body…. If you notice any areas of tension or tightness, you could direct your attention there. You could imagine directing your breath to these areas, breathing into and exploring the sensations with the breath. Valerie Mason-John and Paramabandhu Groves, Eight Step Recovery: Using the Buddha’s Teachings to Overcome Addiction (Cambridge, UK: Windhorse Publications, 2016), 23. Image credit: A path from one week to the next—Jenna Keiper, Mystic. Jenna Keiper, North Cascades Sunrise. Jenna Keiper, Jonah. Used with permission. Click here to enlarge image. Regardless of the conditions we find ourselves in, we learn to navigate in the midst of our lack of control. 2023 Theme: The Prophetic PathPractice with UsExplore FurtherMeet the TeamHelp Shape the Daily Meditations JOIN NOW |
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