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Writing the Collect, and Resources for Further Practice

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Thank you to those of you who joined me today to experiment with the ancient prayer form known as the collect. And thank you for forming such a beautiful community of practice. I will miss you during these months I am away and look forward to reconnecting in the fall.

Pádraig Ó Tuama’s video that introduced us to the collect practice is embedded below, or you can access it on YouTube here. You can hear an interview between Krista Tippett and Pádraig on how “Belonging Creates and Undoes Us” on the On Being podcast, available here. And you can learn more about his latest projects on his website.

 

Some of you asked for resources to help establish or maintain a practice. Over time, consistency is more important that duration, and especially if you are somewhat new to practice, I highly recommend Mindfulness Daily a 40-day free course of 15-minute segments offered by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. In fact, it’s a gem for all of us, no matter what level of experience, and the episodes bear returning to time and again.

If you are experiencing chronic pain, the usefulness of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) has been well vetted in the medical community. Many hospitals and wellness centers offer courses. Jon Kabat-Zinn is the godfather of the form, and his book Full Catastrophe Living is a good introduction, and you can supplement it with some of the many meditations he offers on YouTube. There are also many in-depth online courses available. Some initial scouting indicates that they generally run about $200 for an 8-week course. I can’t personally vouch for any particular offering. SoundsTrue out of Boulder, Colorado is highly reputable in its offerings for spiritual training and meditation and provides the interface for much of Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach’s online teaching. They have several offerings for MBSR.

There are also innumerable meditation apps available. Insight Timer is probably the most well known and offers a simple timer to use on your own, all sorts of guided meditations, and the option to join an online community.

Peace be with you all, and I’ll be back in touch in the fall!

With love, Teresa

Resources: Body Scan

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Intro: the Merit of our Practice (14:37)

guided Meditation: Body Scan (17:34)

For a 30-minute body scan led by Jon Kabat-Zinn, click here.

For this week’s resources related to the merit of our practice, click here.

Several members of our community of practice are experiencing chronic pain, illness, anxiety, or insomnia. Mindfulness can be a great help, and today we revisited mindfulness of the body with a body scan meditation.

Jon Kabat-Zinn has been a pioneer in integrating mindfulness practices into mainstream medicine. Participants in the 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction workshop at his Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts begin with four weeks of body scan. He invites participants to enter each day’s practice with the new eyes of a child, as if they had never experienced their own bodies before. This is a welcome reminder to all of us, a lovely intention with which to greet each day.

If you are experiencing chronic pain, illness or emotional distress, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction can be life changing. You can learn more about Jon Kabat Zinn and his work through his books and online resources. A good place to start is the book Full Catastrophe Living. You can find dozens of guided meditations and talks on YouTube by searching his name. You can find a link to a 30-minute body scan at the top of this page.