Mindfulness Practice at PCMK

Mindfulness Practice

Last week the Session (PCMK's governing board) approved my request to begin a mindfulness/ meditation practice at the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco. Mindfulness is a non-religious discipline that is enjoyed by people of many different faiths, and those who claim no faith. The practice, grounded in awareness of the breath, is a health-enhancing strategy recommended by many doctors.

Among those finding value in meditation are people seeking healing, living with stress, needing to improve focus, dealing with anger, depression, high blood pressure, etc. Practitioners are encouraged to return to their spiritual roots and deepen their faith experience in their own religion.

Please read the materials below, and if you have questions, or would like more information, let me know.

--Jack Lohr, Interim Pastor

Mindfulness Practice: Meditation at PCMK

Mindfulness is one of the treasures of human nature. Everyone has a natural capacity to be mindful, which means to be present in the here and now, to be truly present without wanting anything else. Our countless habits of thought and action which we have acquired during our life as well as inherited from our forebears make it difficult to be present. By gently bringing ourselves back to the present moment again and again, we can relearn the art of mindfulness which is always available within ourselves.

The roses under my window make no reference to former roses or to better ones; they are for what they are; they exist with God today. There is no time to them. There is simply the rose; it is perfect every moment of its existence. Before a leaf-bud has burst, its whole life acts; in the full-blown flower there is no more; in the leafless root there is no less. Its nature is satisfied, and it satisfies nature, in all moments alike. But man postpones or remembers; he does not live in the present, but with reverted eye laments the past, or, heedless of the riches that surround him, stands on tiptoe to foresee the future. He cannot be happy and strong until he too lives with nature in the present, above time. --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Why Meditate? - Meditation has the power to transform life. It can calm the mind, creating a more stable and balanced life. It gives us direct access to our own depths and our inner lives. It can transform unhappiness, conflicts, and stress. Through meditation we attend to our feelings, thoughts, perception, body, health, energy, awareness, and expression. Increasingly, medical studies are discovering that even a short program in mindfulness meditation produces demonstrable effects on brain and immune function.

When and where will it happen? - Normally, each Thursday, from 7 to 8 PM, starting May 19, upstairs at the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco.

What will we do? – Once a week, a group will gather to practice mindfulness meditation, sitting on chairs or cushions, or lying on the floor. Activities may include:

• simple guided meditation (to guide the thinking as we breathe in and out)
• brief silent, walking meditation
• silent meditation
• total relaxation
• readings on the practice of mindfulness

Who will lead it? - Jack Lohr, Interim Pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco will organize it and encourage other leaders. He founded a continuing meditation group in NJ in 1998 following a 21-day retreat with Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh.

Who is it for? Everyone! Mindfulness is a non-religious discipline that is enjoyed by people of many different faiths, and those who claim no faith. The practice, grounded in awareness of the breath, is a health-enhancing strategy recommended by many doctors. Among those finding value in meditation are people seeking healing, living with stress, needing to improve focus, dealing with anger, depression, high blood pressure, etc. Practitioners are encouraged to return to their spiritual roots and deepen their faith experience in their own religion. Jesuit priest and Zen teacher, Robert E. Kennedy says that people, leaning toward a deeper form of prayer, are often attracted to studying Zen. He writes: “Zen gives us a method to put contemplation into practice. Zen training does not allow us to analyze or theorize about prayer or life. Instead, it plunges us at the outset into the contemplative act in which there is no subject or object.”

Four Qualities of a Mindful Life

 These qualities are the keys to fruitful relationships between human beings.

The Quality of Compassionate Listening

We have seen clearly that in this world there are people who have the capacity to listen deeply to others and to comfort them in their pain. This capacity lies within all of us. We shall nourish it so that we can listen deeply in order to relieve the suffering in the world. We are committed to practice listening with all our attention and open-heartedness. We shall develop the capacity to sit and listen without having any prejudice arise. When we listen to another, we shall not judge what is said. We are committed to listen in order to understand the other deeply. We aspire to listen so attentively that we can hear what the other is saying as well as what is left unsaid. We know that, just by listening deeply, we alleviate a great deal of pain and suffering in our friends and loved ones.

 The Quality of Deep Understanding

 We have seen clearly that in this world there are people who have the capacity to be still and look deeply into the heart of things. This capacity lies within ourselves, and we shall nourish it so that we can look deeply with all our attention and open-heartedness. We shall practice looking with unprejudiced eyes. We shall practice looking without judging or reacting. We shall practice looking deeply in order to be able to see and understand the roots of suffering. We are determined to look deeply at the impermanent and interdependent nature of all that is.

The Quality of Compassionate Action

We have seen clearly that in this world there are people who realize their deep aspiration to act with the eyes and heart of compassion. We know that this capacity lies within ourselves, and we are determined to nourish it. We know that the happiness of others is our happiness. We aspire to practice joy on the path of service. We know that every word, every look, every action and every smile can bring happiness to others. We know that if we practice wholeheartedly, we ourselves may become a deep source of peace and joy for our loved ones and for all beings.

The Quality of Being Present for Those Who Need Us

 We have seen clearly that in this world there are people who are willing to be present where there is suffering, oppression and despair in order to bring hope, relief and liberation. We shall nourish in ourselves the capacity to bring relief where it is needed. We are determined not to forget about or abandon those who are in desperate situations. We shall do our best to establish contact with them when they cannot find a way out of their suffering or when their cries for help, justice, equality and human rights are not heard. We also commit our true presence to our friends and loved ones and in doing so deepen our true love and friendship with them. We shall practice to achieve the qualities of perseverance and stability so that we can always be supportive and faithful to those who need us.

--from Mindfulness Practice Center Guidebook

For us to be happy, we need to water the seed of mindfulness that is in us. Mindfulness is the seed of enlightenment, awareness, understanding, care, compassion, liberation, transformation, and healing. If we practice mindfulness, we get in touch with the refreshing and joyful aspects of life in us and around us, the things we are not able to touch when we live in forgetfulness. --Thich Nhat Hanh