Awareness of our “inter-being,” the way that our own breath, blood and hydration connect with the larger systems of the world, can ground us, heal us, and remind us of the ways we are supported in the world even when we are feeling anxious or alone.
What: 30 minute opening remarks and guided meditation, followed by an optional 15-minute discussion or exercise to help integrate this mindfulness practice into your day.
When: Wednesday, March 31, 1:00 – 1:45 pm Mountain Time.
Where: Zoom. To join the announcement list and receive the Zoom link, please send your name, phone number (so we know you are not a bot), and email address to MindfulnessTree@icloud.com Be sure to add this email to your address book so the announcements don’t go to spam.
Today’s mindful pause focused on nurturing the strength and support we already carry within us by “resourcing,” consciously drawing into our attention experiences of love, support, and wisdom. These resources can include, to name just a few, our breath and sense of grounding on the earth; people who love us, both living and dead; spiritual figures such as Jesus or Buddha or Ganesh; the support of the air and water, as well as other aspects of nature and the wild; and memories of balance and equilibrium.
In times of adversity and challenge, many of us find ourselves looking for outside sources of strength, support and wisdom. This week’s guided meditation will help us find and nurture those qualities from within.
Jon Kabat-Zinn has been a pioneer in bringing mindfulness techniques into the mainstream of medical practice to work with stress, pain and illness. You can read an overview of this work 
Mindfulness is not a miracle cure for illness or pain, but it can change our relationship to it. Sooner or later, all of us experience health challenges, and having some mindfulness practices to fall back on can be a wonderful support.
Guided meditation: 
Is it possible to love life, even when it’s really hard? This question has motivated beloved mindfulness teacher Tara Brach for more than thirty years, and this week we will draw on her work to explore how to find peace, even happiness, right here, right now.
It was lovely to be with you today to explore awareness of thoughts. Here are some related resources:
For a fun but also moving example of how taking a moment to ground in presence can illuminate what follows, enjoy this video of 
Dear You
Our minds are like hummingbirds: they are beautiful and mysterious, but they can also be hyperactive and insatiable. We know we make better decisions and that out interactions flow more easily when we are calm and centered. But how do we calm our overactive thoughts? The first step is to observe what is really going on in there. It’s almost always surprising.