I was so moved by this email I received from Peter Cutler, an Order of Interbeing Member with the Dharma Name True Sangha Virtue, that I requested his permission to share it with you. Peter is a member of Boston’s Old Path Sangha. He is a spiritual teacher, Zen artist and founding member of the Sacred Circle in Sedona, Arizona. 

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Gift yourself bliss in less than 2 minutes. Take a break from whatever it is you’re doing. Find a comfortable chair, cushion or rug to sit on and watch this brief meditation. Breathe easily and freely focusing on your in-breaths and out-breaths. Absorb Thay’s words and the sound of the bell with each inhale, release all the tensions in your body with each exhale.

“If I lose my direction, I have to look to the north star, and I go to the North. That does not mean I expect to arrive at the North Star. I just want to go in that direction.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

A note from Lilian:

Yoga and mindfulness are intimately intertwined. I find great value in the practice of yoga, and I know many of our community members do as well. I asked Marti Yura, a yoga teacher and studio owner, to share with us the most important lesson she's learned so far as a yogi.

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Thay asks us to transform our garbage and in so doing, encourage the growth of our internal flower. But how?

In SAVOR, we discuss the notions of self and other that mislead our understanding of the true nature of reality.

At 1:14 AM E.D.T. the sun crossed directly over Earth’s equator, marking the changing of seasons from winter to spring in the Northern hemisphere. In celebration of this wondrous season of abundance, please enjoy this poetic excerpt from Thay:

Last week I celebrated International Women’s Day by considering all of the great women who work diligently each day to bring more love into their homes, communities, and the world at large: mothers, sisters, friends, teachers, activists, volunteers, authors, and more.

Women make up 73 percent of professionals in the nonprofit sector, 76 percent of public school teachers and 94 percent of nurses in the United States. Whether in our professional or personal life, we devote much of our attention to caring for others.

I offer you this blog as a place to begin if you are new to mindfulness, and a place to return if you are a meditator who has fallen out of practice. We all face hardships that sometimes block us from our internal light. Please use this post to touch base with yourself and begin afresh. In this moment, you have everything necessary to live fully and truly.

Dear Savor Community,  

Let’s use this time, in the wake of Thanksgiving, to nurture the deep seeds of gratitude within us.  We can water these seeds each day, by pausing to notice and embrace the love that flows through to connect us all. Like making way for water to run, we carve out time and attention in our lives, so that we may fully accept the gifts of life.

Breathing in, I open my heart to receive love.

Breathing out, I smile with thanks.