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Schedule
Friday nights, 7-9 pm. Doors open at 6:45.
1716A Linden Avenue (door on the right)
Coming in April at
First Unitarian Universalist Church
All events are free and open to the public.
Wednesday, April 4, 7:30 p.m. -- Public talk by Zen teacher Michael Elliston, hosted by the Nashville Zen Center. Michael is Abbot of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center and a respected leader among zen practitioners. Wednesdays, April 11 - May 2, 7:00-8:30 pm -- Rita Frizzell will be teaching a class based on Ken McLeod's work, Releasing Emotional Reactions. Come work with these methods for coming to completely know your experience. |
Practice Tips from Ken McLeod
Practice Tip: five short pointers
Avoiding
Whatever you avoid, somebody or something else has to pick up. Emotions are energy in motion. If you don't experience them, then the energy either goes into your body and is stored there or it goes out into the world. Why would you make others experience what you, yourself, are avoiding?
Stagnation
When energy is blocked or can't move, it stagnates. In your body, the restricted energy goes into adjacent muscles and organs and causes illness. In your personality, restricted energy flows into the patterns that you are least aware of and they run. In groups, restricted energy flows into the people whose attention is weakest and they are flooded.
When energy stagnates, change the configuration or pay the consequences.
Momentum
Consistent practice builds momentum. Momentum doesn't just go away. It has to go somewhere. When attention is not present, momentum into old patterns and powers them. The more you practice, the longer you practice, the more important attention becomes.
There are no vacations.
Rhythm
Respect the rhythms of practice. When you are tense and on edge in your practice, just rest. When you are relaxed and open, push deep.
Glass doesn't bend; it breaks. Water doesn't move until you open a channel.
Old ways
Once you see through a pattern, once you see what you've been doing, you can't go back. Ignorance may have been bliss, but you aren't there anymore.
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Losar Tashi Delek!
That means, "Good fortune and blessings to you on New Year's Day!" Today is the Tibetan New Year, which is the largest celebration of their calendar year. It is followed by Miracle Month, two weeks in which the energy is said to be so refined, so powerful that the effects of positive and negative actions are multiplied by 10 million times.
Is that "mythic language?" Perhaps, but not a bad time to remember to practice generosity, kindness, and compassion, and to avoid projecting negativities onto others.
Happy lunar new year! May the year of the water dragon bring you great good fortunet and blessings. And Happy Ash Wednesday as well.
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This week we are happy to welcome a special guest, thanks to our friend Laura Hollins. Rachel Faro is the founder of Miami Shambhala and also a singer/songwriter. She will be giving a talk that will fit well with our new series by Pema Chodron. White envelopes will be provided for those who would like to make a small offering of gratitude (dana).