Kingdom Mindfulness

13/10/2022

Starting today, every Wednesday at 14:30hrs, meet at the leafroom in the garden.

26/06/2022

23/07/2021

I was eighteen years old when, having recognized my confusion and unhappiness, I went to India to try to learn meditation. I was filled with self-judgment and the desperate wish to be someone other than who I was. After some time and travels, I went to Bodh Gaya, the site of the tree under which the Buddha had attained enlightenment 2,500 years before.

As I sat under the descendant of that very tree, what emerged from a deep place within myself was, “I want to have the love of a Buddha, I want to love myself and others the way the Buddha loved — without prerequisite or limit.” I thought, “We all should know love for our vulnerabilities as well as our strengths, our problems and sorrows as well as our triumphs.” That moment shifted all my ideas of what spiritual transformation would look like.

Instead of thinking that growth and understanding will come from doing battle with aspects of ourselves, or thinking they will come from enmity toward emotions, memories, and longings that we actually can’t keep from arising , we discover that kindness and compassion for ourselves is the best and most healing trajectory for transformation.

Art by Hunting Louise

16/07/2021

When the mind is festering with trouble or the heart torn, we can find healing among the silence of mountains or fields, or listen to the simple, steadying rhythm of waves. The slowness and stillness gradually takes us over. Our breathing deepens and our hearts calm and our hungers relent. When serenity is restored, new perspectives open to us and difficulty can begin to seem like an invitation to new growth.

This invitation to friendship with nature does of course entail a willingness to be alone out there. Yet this aloneness is anything but lonely. Solitude gradually clarifies the heart until a true tranquility is reached. The irony is that at the heart of that aloneness you feel intimately connected with the world. Indeed, the beauty of nature is often the wisest balm for it gently relieves and releases the caged mind.

JOHN O'DONOHUE

Excerpt from his books, Beauty: The Invisible Embrace (US) / Divine Beauty (Europe)
Ordering Info: https://johnodonohue.com/store

Co. Clare, Ireland
Photo: © Ann Cahill

29/05/2021

"The secret of creating peace is that when you listen to another person you have only one purpose: to offer him an opportunity to empty his heart.

If you are able to keep that awareness and compassion alive in you, then you can sit for one hour and listen even if the other person’s speech contains a lot of wrong perceptions, condemnations and bitterness. You can continue to listen because you are already protected by the nectar of compassion in your own heart.

If you do not practice mindful breathing in order to keep that compassion alive, however, you can lose your own peace. Irritation and anger will come up, and the other person will notice and will not be able to continue. Keeping your awareness keeps you safe." - Thich Nhat Hanh

27/05/2021

Have you noticed that when a loved one is struggling you're able to listen with compassion and patience, then encourage them with support?

Yet when you're the one going through a tough time, are you be beating yourself up or short on patience?

It's important that you show yourself the same kindness, patience, and compassion you give to others.