Showing posts with label meditation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meditation. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
‘Of mind in me’
My lodge didn’t hold a meeting last night, but instead planned a casual social evening with some Masonic learning, and Worshipful Master Diego flattered me with a request to provide that education. I figured it would be best to avoid the lecture format and opt for my interactive lesson in “The Exercise.”
The Exercise was imparted to me at the School of Practical Philosophy years ago; the tutors there call it a mindfulness exercise, and not meditation. To be honest, I’m still uncertain of what the difference is. Anyway, with Winter sunstay only hours off, and Christmas just days away, and St. John’s Day next Monday, and New Year’s near, I thought I should introduce the brethren to this easy and portable technique for focusing the mind to protect against the modern tensions built into this mystical month.
I’m sure some previous edition of The Magpie Mason has a detailed description, but in brief, The Exercise causes one to regulate his Five Physical Senses before settling into a moment of peace.
Perhaps it isn’t meditation because it is quick and requires no lotus position, chanting, or other demanding ritual. It is, in fact, a technique one may employ spontaneously and in practically any place, as I emphasized during my talk.
I also told the story of how a visit long ago to Kite and Key Lodge 811 initialized my interest in this kind of thing for lodge life. It was there that I experienced the surprising power of a moment of silence immediately following the lodge opening. I think it spanned about 120 seconds, and it was a revelation. After the rush rush rush of getting to lodge, setting up, clothing ourselves, and the many potent stimuli of greeting one another and the rest of the routine, a mere two minutes of quietude sharpens the mind and relaxes the body, readying everyone even further for their labors.
Maybe I convinced Diego to introduce this to our meetings at Publicity Lodge.
I concluded by urging everyone to seek out Chuck Dunning’s books concerning Masonry and meditation, so I may as well recommend them to you too. (My review of his latest will appear in the upcoming issue of The Journal of the Masonic Society, due out this month. And I’ll publish it here as well.)
Monday, June 29, 2020
‘The Contemplative Builder channel’
Chuck Dunning set up a YouTube channel a few months ago to present discussion of the practical application of certain Masonic teachings.
Recent topics include “Masonry and Mental Health in the Time of COVID-19” and “Meditating with Blue Lodge Symbolism.”
We all enjoy learning about history and talking about philosophy and delving inside the rituals and symbols, but these videos illustrate ways to put into practice Masonic thinking that otherwise might remain only printed words to you. It’s a service very much needed in the Craft. Enjoy.
This talk is based on a piece Dunning wrote
for The Journal of the Masonic Society.
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
‘Help with this survey on contemplative practices’
Bro. Chuck Dunning, author of Contemplative Masonry, is researching the availability of meditation and similar practices in Masonic meetings. Maybe you could help him.
Complete this survey.
I know you’re out there. When I spoke on this subject five years ago at the Masonic Restoration Foundation in Philly, I was surprised and delighted to see the hands raised when asked who follows a mindfulness exercise, and if it was part of lodge life.
I know you’re out there. When I spoke on this subject five years ago at the Masonic Restoration Foundation in Philly, I was surprised and delighted to see the hands raised when asked who follows a mindfulness exercise, and if it was part of lodge life.
The confidential survey asks only eight questions.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
‘The Secret of the Golden Silence’
I’ll continue advertising events where the hosts impart mindfulness techniques and insights into mindfulness techniques because I believe in the benefits of certain practices to the individual, and to the Masonic lodge working as a group. Rosicrucians and others already employ some form of this work in their gatherings, and it is sad that almost all Freemasons are missing out. When I spoke at the Masonic Restoration Foundation’s 2015 symposium in Philadelphia, my topic was meditation exercises intended for lodge use. Among my audience of about 75, I think something like 12 or 15 raised their hands when I asked whose lodges incorporate some form of mindfulness work in their labors.
I was stunned.
Of course the attendees of any given MRF event are Freemasons who don’t waste time on the generic fraternal club pap that characterizes probably 95 percent or more of the Craft lodges in the United States, but to see 20 percent or so of that group answer in the affirmative – and then dominate the ensuing half hour of Q&A—was an answer to a prayer.
Anyway, as you may infer from what I wrote here, it is necessary to search outside the Masonic lodge to learn about mindfulness practices, and this edition of The Magpie Mason takes us to the C.G. Jung Foundation for Analytical Psychology on East 39th Street. It’s hard for me to think of December just yet, but on Saturday the 3rd there will be a daylong seminar based on Carl Jung’s writings on contemplative silence through a Taoist prism. From the publicity:
The Secret of the Golden Silence
Led by Royce Froehlich, Ph.D., MDiv, LCSW
Saturday, December 3
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Jung’s Commentary on The Secret of the Golden Flower (1929) presents his insights on the nature of consciousness in the light of Taoist thought, with a nod to Christian gnostics and mystics. In the Chinese text, Jung hears the archetypal call for contemplative silence. Whether to foster communion between one’s subjective self and a deity, the objective psyche, or to focus one’s attention on a task at hand, we are encouraged to follow Jung’s lead to quiet the mind. Contemplative techniques can offer insight to one’s personality and may contribute to a variety of therapeutic benefits for body, mind, and spirit. In Jung’s case, the application of “certain yoga techniques” contributed to the development of The Red Book.
Much of Analytical Psychology’s rich lexicon and clinical language is in this treatise on individuation and mental illness, where Jung engages the subject of we-wei (actively doing nothing), which is the “secret” of the golden flower. Resonant in the mystical thought of preacher and spiritual guide Meister Eckhart, who describes such a state of mind as Gelassenheit (letting-be-ness), the contemplative attitude of doing nothing also inspired the composer John Cage, whose work will inform this presentation. In addition, the workshop will review basic emotion regulation (mindfulness practice) techniques prescribed for the treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder in Dialectical Behavior Therapy.
The C.G. Jung Foundation for Analytical Psychology, Inc., SW CPE, is recognized by New York State Education Department’s State Board of Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers 0350.
At completion of this workshop participants will be able to:
• Offer an overview of a key text in the development of Jung’s analytical psychology and its application in clinical practice.
• Show the relationship between analytical psychology and contemporary models of psychotherapy that include mindfulness techniques.
• Identify common elements in Jungian theory, spiritual practice, and the arts.
Royce Froehlich, Ph.D., MDiv, LCSW, is a Jungian analyst with a private practice in New York City. A graduate of Columbia University’s School of Social Work, Union Theological Seminary, the New School for Social Research, and the European Graduate School, he is on the faculty of The C.G. Jung Institute of New York, The C.G. Jung Foundation for Analytical Psychology, and teaches in The Open Center’s Holistic Psychology certification program.
Registration:
General Public: $90
Members/students: $75
Register here.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
‘Mindfulness and the Arts’
MindfulNYU offers another public event next week, which I publicize here (and will attend) largely for Parabola’s Tracy Cochran’s involvement. From the publicity:
Mindfulness and the Arts
Hosted by MindfulNYU
Wednesday, November 18
7 to 8:30 p.m.
238 Thompson Street, Room 461
New York City
Free tickets here.
What do a cast member of Star Trek, a pioneering social justice filmmaker, and a highly accomplished journalist have in common? Mindfulness!
Join MindfulNYU’s Generation Meditation, Stressbusters and three mindful artists for a night of interactive activities and stimulating discussion as we explore how mindfulness can enhance our creative lives.
Labels:
meditation,
Mindful NYU,
New York University,
Parabola,
Tracy Cochran
Thursday, September 17, 2015
‘May all be happy.’
May all be happy.
May all be without disease.
May all creatures have well-being.
None should be in misery of any sort.
- Vedic Prayer
This week, the School of Practical Philosophy on East 79th Street commences its fall semester, and those like myself who completed Level 1, Philosophy Works, naturally would continue to Level 2, titled Happiness, which addresses these:
- What is happiness?
- Is happiness natural or do we need to find it?
- What gets in the way of being happy?
- How does happiness relate to others?
- How may happiness be experienced fully?
- Learning to observe without prejudice.
- Living life in the present moment.
Sorry to say I will have to catch up at a later time, but I did return to New York University last Thursday for Mindful NYU’s presentation of The Habit of Happiness: An Evening on Mindfulness with the Blue Cliff Monastic Community. Located in the Catskills, Blue Cliff was founded by Vietnamese Zen Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Read a bit about his amazing life here. A small group of monks are touring the United States this month to impart some of the very useful techniques of mindfulness exercise. They spoke for more than two hours that night inside the Kimmel Center on Washington Square South, and, rather than risk inaccurately reporting all of what they said, I will share a few key points instead.
Monks from Blue Cliff Monastery appearing last Thursday at NYU. |
Introducing themselves by name—their names, in Vietnamese, are chosen for them by their teacher—and sharing some of their life stories, the monks of Blue Cliff quickly engaged the audience in a Singing Meditation. Lest anyone think meditative exercises have to be silent and motionless, this is proof that happiness can be achieved through a transparently silly activity. I wish I had video recorded it because it is a lively technique that I guarantee will demolish the most agitated or torpid state of mind at any time, and it must be seen to be believed. I don’t want to leave it at that teaser, so I’ll try to explain:
Fortunately the song can be heard here, courtesy of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village Mindfulness Practice Centre. In addition to the harmonizing, the monks employed descriptive hand gestures to complement the lyrics, which of course heightened the levity. So you’ve clicked that link, and heard the song—try getting it out of your head—but the point is not humor exactly; it is, in the words of one monk, “to live happily in the present moment.” But what is the present moment? It is not a construct of lineal time connecting past to future. It is, if I understand, a oneness of things physical and metaphysical. Singing the song is a way to practice breathing, a tool to relieve stress, and the lyrics present a method for us to express gratitude for all that we have, and to bring awareness of the things we do all day every day.
Sister Purification and Sister Brightness demonstrate the Singing Meditation. |
I think the monks imparted this lesson better in the Tangerine Meditation. All of us in the audience found small tangerines awaiting us on the seats upon our arrival, and were instructed to not eat them. At the appointed time, we were guided through a simple exercise of just seeing the piece of fruit; and smelling it; feeling it; and contemplating the planting of the tree that yielded it, and its growth; and considering the sunshine that ripens the fruit and makes it grow sweeter; and the rainfall; and the laboring hands of those who pick the fruit for our enjoyment. It is a gift of the whole universe—sky, sun, rain, earth, people—that instills in us a feeling of great gratitude. (You alchemists out there are smiling knowingly in recognition.)
And then it was time to eat the tangerine. The Eating Meditation teaches us to be present with our food, appreciating the love and hard work that goes into producing it, so that we truly may be nourished by the food. Peeling the tangerine with a neighbor, pairs of us shared the pleasures of eating the fruit together.
That all may sound simple, but as the monk named Sister Brightness explained, these exercises affect a very complex change in the psyche. Mindfulness, she explained, originally was known as “right mindfulness.” Right, not as in value judgments, but meaning a oneness of mind and body that produces great understanding that we can cultivate in ourselves, as we come to a level of concentration and joy with each breath in and each breath out. The breathing allows us to sustain awareness, “and every moment is a Friday, a weekend.”
Brother Jewel with tangerine. |
All of this helps me as I prepare to present “Come to Your Senses!” at Inspiratus Masonic Lodge in New Jersey on the 28th. This will be a new and improved version of the talk I gave before the Masonic Restoration Foundation last month in Philadelphia—which reminds me I haven’t posted news and photos from that weekend yet—before an audience of about 70 Freemasons from all over the country. The lecture, which is informed by proprietary instruction from the School of Practical Philosophy, ran 20 minutes, and the Q&A required another half hour, which was great because it showed me how much information I neglected to address in my 20 minutes. I am hardly experienced in the ways of mindfulness, so I am looking forward to getting back to NYU for a special event for alumni on the afternoon of October 24 for more instruction.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
‘The Habit of Happiness’
New York University’s Global Spiritual Life will host a group of Buddhist teachers next month for an evening of interactive learning and meditation exercises. From the publicity:
The Habit of Happiness:
An Evening on Mindfulness
with the Blue Cliff Monastery
Thursday, September 10
7 to 9 p.m.
Kimmel Center for University Life
Eisner and Lubin Auditorium
60 Washington Square South
Manhattan
Courtesy Blue Cliff Monastery |
The good news is that if we can truly awaken to each moment of our daily life we can experience happiness right here and now, no matter our situation. With mindfulness, we train the mind to cultivate happiness within ourselves and we learn that our happiness and suffering are deeply connected. Embracing our suffering with the energy of mindfulness can transform the necessary “mud” of our lives into lotus flowers of happiness, at any moment.
Fifteen Dharma teachers from Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastic community, in partnership with Global Spiritual Life’s MindfulNYU, will offer an interactive evening of practice and teaching through sitting and walking meditations, a talk, and time for Q&A. This special event is part of their Miracle of Mindfulness 2015 U.S. Tour. Should you have any questions, please write here.
RSVP here.
Tour information here.
Monastery information here.
This tour includes many stops in California, Mississippi, and New York, so do click this link to see if events are near you. On Friday, September 11, the group will visit St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery for “The Music of Mindfulness: An Eclectic Concert in Celebration of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.”
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
‘Mindfulness discussion at NYU’
The NYU Center for Spiritual Life is doing it again. On Sunday, November 2, it will host another panel discussion on mindfulness in different faith traditions. The center is located at 238 Thompson Street, and the discussion will be hosted in Grand Hall on the fifth floor from 1:30 to 4 p.m. From the publicity:
Mindfulness and meditation have historically played a role in nearly every major religious tradition, and yet it is only in recent times that many of these traditions are reclaiming those practices, educating their communities, and incorporating them into their spiritual lives. What are the meditation practices in Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism? How do they differ in each tradition, and how are they similar? Why is a renaissance of these practices important now? Internationally renowned spiritual teachers from each tradition will engage us in this conversation, followed by a Q&A.
Featuring Rabbi David Ingber (Judaism), Sarah Sayeed (Islam), and Ven Pannavati Bhikkuni (Buddhism). Moderated by Yael Shy, Co-Director of NYU’s Of Many Institute for Multifaith Leadership.
Co-sponsored by the Of Many Institute, the Mindfulness Project at NYU, and others.
Monday, July 7, 2014
‘This Week at the Rosicrucian Cultural Center’
A busy schedule of most interesting programming at the Rosicrucian Cultural Center is coming this week. The Center is located at 2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard in Manhattan.
Nightly, from Tuesday the eighth through Thursday the tenth, 6:30 to eight o’clock, will be experiential workshops led by the Grand Master of the Rosicrucian Order. In “Learn Rosicrucian Healing Techniques,” Julie Scott will guide the group through “the process of using Rosicrucian techniques to create radiant physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.”
At the end of the week, it’s a new Mystical Weekend.
On Saturday, from 1 to 5 p.m., Dr. Lonnie Edwards, author of Spiritual Laws that Govern Humanity and the Universe, returns to lead another discussion of those spiritual laws.
Sunday afternoon, from one to three o’clock, Julian Johnson will lead the Third Temple Degree Review Forum for Rosicrucians in the Third Temple Degree (or beyond). At 3:30, a period of silent meditation will begin, followed by a Convocation at four o’clock.
The full moon will arrive on July 12. I haven’t heard if there will be a Full Moon Meditation at the Center this month, but I’ll update this if one is announced.
Labels:
AMORC,
Dr. Lonnie C. Edwards,
Julian Johnson,
Julie Scott,
meditation,
moon,
Rosicrucians
Friday, June 13, 2014
‘What would a wise person do now?’
It’s such a simple idea couched within that easy question.
What would a wise person do now?
It is the overall theme of Part 1 of the School of Practical Philosophy’s five-section course of instruction in workable wisdom. That’s practical philosophy—the lessons deal in What Is, and not the speculative What If.
I am winding down my first term as a student in the School, with a penultimate class this evening and the final class next Friday at the School’s townhouse on East 79th Street. I have decided, without any hesitation, to proceed into the second course, aptly named Part 2, which will begin in late September and run into early December. While I have promoted hundreds of events over the years, and encouraged Magpie readers to attend them, it’s very rare that I push membership in any group, but the School of Practical Philosophy surely would be of interest to anyone who regularly reads this website.
Part 1 is a fast-moving pastiche of disparate topics. It is introductory, geared to touch on ten ponderous, vital techniques of realization. At their root is Plato’s hopeful belief that wisdom is innate within each of us, and the lessons clear pathways in the mind by imparting exercises that compel wisdom to triumph over equally instinctive obstacles (e.g., ego, emotions, negative feelings, desires, et al.) so that a state of higher consciousness can be attained and can become one’s default setting in every waking moment. It’s about attaining a state of being, not just a state of mind.
I suppose that is too ambitious after only the introductory ten weeks, but after eight Friday nights, I do not doubt that after assiduous study through the five courses it is attainable, and I expect to work my way through to the end. (I should mention there are no exams or quizzes. You learn because you want to learn.)
It would be wrong to reveal details of the School’s proprietary instruction, and it is not my job to intrude into their marketing, but just to share a bit of what we have covered these past weeks, I’ll explain a little.
In any explanation of the School, it is necessary to begin with The Exercise, a multi-stage, yet silent and motionless, process that arouses one’s waking consciousness. Again, I won’t give it away, but it is an activity of the mind—not to be confused with meditation, which is something else—that focuses on the five physical senses to squelch the confusions, distractions, stresses and other externalities that actually cause us to go about our day in a state of “waking sleep,” meaning we can be engaged in our usual daily activities without being fully mentally aware.
It works. And it is something worth undertaking more than once a day—as an antidote whenever the concerns and employments of the world threaten to lessen our ability to be fully awake.
Some of the principal principles of Part 1:
What would a wise person do now? – It’s so deceptively simple. This uncomplicated idea, when put into practice—again, remember this is about practical philosophy—can have the result of changing you. Had I the presence of mind to ask myself this question earlier in life, I could have avoided all manner of trouble and aggravation countless times. What would a wise person do now? It applies to any occasion. Try it.
My word is my bond. – You say you’ll meet your friend at eight o’clock, but you don’t arrive until 8:20. Every time. It’s not a superficial tic. It is a discrepancy between who one claims to be, and who one is. And of course it is a principle that applies to far more serious matters.
Whoever or whatever is in front of you is your teacher. – As observation is the primary method used in the course, we are to practice approaching life with an open mind, and we begin to see more clearly what is true and what is not true.
What you give your attention to grows. – In the process of waking up, there are only two useful states of attention: Attention Open, where the attention is not caught by anything in particular, but open to everything in general; and Attention Centered, where the attention is focused on one thing with great clarity and precision. Choice is possible only when we begin to wake up.
There are many more. You get a few of these principles and practices each week.
In addition to schools located around the country, the School of Practical Philosophy offers distance learning. Whichever your choice, go for it. I cannot imagine anyone regretting it. It is a wise thing to do.
Labels:
meditation,
Plato,
School of Practical Philosophy
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
‘The moon is in the east’
“When the sun and the moon are separated by the entire extent of the firmament, and the moon is in the east with the sun over against her in the west, she is completely relieved by her still greater distance from his rays, and so, on the fourteenth day, she is at the full, and her entire disc emits its light.”
Vitruvius
The Ten Books of Architecture
Book IX, Chapter 2
It’s a pleasure to read Vitruvius. Augustus was fond of saying how he found Rome built of brick but left it made of marble, but history remembers it was Vitruvius who made the transformation a reality. His decalogue on architecture encompasses far more than the technical know-how on constructing enduring buildings for all human needs. He provides insight into the ancient mind, and how it knowingly set about ordering life in that age. That long sentence quoted above is Vitruvius borrowing from Berosus, the Chaldean historian.
Moonlit Sea by Shoda Koho, woodblock print, 1920. |
June’s Full Moon Meditation will take place on Friday the 13th at 9:30 p.m. I have class at the School of Practical Philosophy and cannot join you, but gather at the Rosicrucian Cultural Center (2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd. in Manhattan) for a period of mindfulness exercise at 9:30, after which the group will proceed to a nearby park for more spiritual work under the gaze of the full moon.
Trust me, if you’ve never done such a thing, this is fun if nothing else, but if you know about meditation, then this exercise will suit you in ways more direct.
Labels:
AMORC,
Berosus,
meditation,
moon,
Moonlit Sea,
Rosicrucians,
Shoda Koho,
Vitruvius
Sunday, June 1, 2014
‘Rosicrucian Mystical Weekend’
The Rosicrucian Cultural Center in New York City (2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard) will host its June Mystical Weekend.
Saturday, June 7
1 to 5 p.m.
Discuss Spiritual Laws with Dr. Lonnie Edwards,
author of Spiritual Laws that Govern Humanity
and the Universe.
Sunday, June 8
1 to 3 p.m.
Second Temple Degree Review Forum
with Julian Johnson (open to members
in the Second Temple Degree or beyond).
3 to 3:30
Guided Meditation: overall exercise
and vowel intonations.
3:30 to 4
Silent Meditation
4 to 5 p.m.
Convocation
Labels:
AMORC,
Dr. Lonnie C. Edwards,
Julian Johnson,
meditation,
Rosicrucians
Friday, May 23, 2014
‘The coming week at Anthroposophy’
No fewer than three lectures to take place at the Anthroposophical Society in the coming week. That’s 138 West 15th Street in Manhattan.
Tomorrow night, Eugene Schwartz will complete his four-part series titled “In the Midst of Life: Understanding Death in Our Time.” 7 p.m. $20 admission. From the publicity:
Eugene Schwartz at his lecture last month. |
Lecture 4: Heaven Can Wait. The presentation of death in today’s world—literary and lowbrow alike—may give us insight into the strange and subtle ways that light from “across the threshold” is shining into the darkness of our century. We will explore some manifestations of this light as they appear in popular culture, and witness the surprising ways in which we are coming to understand death in our time.
Eugene Schwartz has been a Waldorf school teacher, an educator of teachers, and an educational consultant for 33 years. He has given nearly 2,000 lectures on Waldorf education and Anthroposophy. His articles, podcasts, and videos are here.
On Monday, Memorial Day, at 7 p.m., László Böszörményi will present “A Meditative Experience: Becoming Silent Inwardly.” No admission fee, but donations are welcome. From the publicity:
When I sit in an attitude of inner silence, I expect heaven to open up and to behold Jacob’s Ladder reaching to heaven, the angels of God ascending and descending. That would happen if I were healthy. Instead, my consciousness is overwhelmed by magnified images of my egoistic everyday obsessions. Becoming inwardly silent has to be learned; opening myself to heaven, earned. In our meditation together we will learn exercises that help us to become silent. In preparation, take the following meditation from Georg Kühlewind: “What in the visible is light, in the hearable is stillness.”
László Böszörményi
|
Mr. Böszörményi will return to the podium next Thursday, the 26th, to present “The Limits of Science and the Limitlessness of the Human Spirit” at 7 p.m. $20 admission.
Our science is as good as our way of knowing is. Modern science was born from the revolutionary changes in the Renaissance, following the medieval scholastic way of knowing. The new way of knowing is based in the almost perfect separation of thinking, perceiving, and feeling, which frees knowing for a science which can deal with the dead and past world in an amazingly efficient and creative way. On the other side, this science is not able to deal adequately with life and human beings. László Böszörményi will bring examples of limits of modern science and of this way of knowing. The main part of the talk then deals with extending the borders of consciousness in full wakefulness, without illusions. A new science can be based on new ways of knowing that we develop in ourselves. Such a science strives to read the signs of nature and people, not to analyze and measure them. Such a science is, in a way, science, art, and religion in one. This would bring a new revolution, gentle and self-aware—not damaging anything, but recreating everything.
Monday, May 12, 2014
‘Full Moon Meditation Wednesday’
The Phases of the Moon by Galileo |
Galileo
One need not be a member of the Rosicrucian Order to take part in its cyclical Full Moon Meditations, but doing so may cause you to wonder if the Order just might offer an appealing method of organizing the mind. (If you’re into that kind of thing.)
Full Moon Meditation
Wednesday, May 14
8:45 p.m.
Rosicrucian Cultural Center
2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard
New York City
The group gathers in the downstairs meeting room of the RCC for a period of mindfulness exercise before heading over to a nearby park.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
‘The Wisdom Within’
Friday night was my first class at the School of Practical Philosophy. Located in a gorgeous townhouse on the Upper East Side, clearly it was a private home generations ago, just a stone’s throw from Central Park. We assembled in what had to have been the family library, replete with mahogany walls adorned with Victorian carvings and with glass-enclosed bookshelves. It is an impressive neighborhood; just a few doors up is the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America headquarters, and directly across the street is the first Waldorf School established in North America. I’m impressed with our teacher (they’re all unsalaried, doing what they love), with the course syllabus, and with the group—about 25 people who were engaged through more than two hours of discussion. In introducing himself and the course, our Mr. Primiano made it clear that there are no “right” answers to the questions that typically arise during philosophical discussions, and that the only difference between him and us is the simple circumstance that he stands before the group leading the discussion. (This is how you know you’re in capable hands for this kind of thing.)
A placard, large enough to read from the back of the room, stood at the front with this printed:
To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust. It is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically.
Henry David Thoreau
Walden
Athena in bronze relief greets you at the school. |
What is philosophy? Literally—from the Greek—it is love and wisdom. Or love of wisdom. It raises awareness to enable us to see things as they are by training our capacities to discern certainty, direction, and clarity, thus leading to the satisfaction of our desire for truth.
Why study philosophy? It encourages us to step out and see the big picture and ask the big questions, but philosophy is not just about the mind. It also is a question of being, to help bring about a greater depth of experience. Plato teaches that wisdom, a Cardinal Virtue, is innate, but that the other Cardinal Virtues are learned. We know mental exercises are needed to awaken and sharpen our abilities.
Introduction to two very practical exercises in awareness.
1. When facing a quandary, ask “What would a wise person do now?” This is an exercise. Practice this twice for two minutes every day.
Neither accept nor reject what you hear, but instead test the truth of it. If it works, trust what you have found.
2. In addition, a mindfulness exercise was imparted. I was very pleasantly surprised by this as it fits with my Rosicrucian work and with the overall reason for being of the Mindfulness Project at NYU, which I try to visit when able. Its steps are summarized here:
The Exercise
(Take time to experience and enjoy each element of the practice. Resist the urge to move ahead.)
Find a balanced, upright and comfortable posture from which you need not move.
Become aware of where you are right now.
Feel the weight of your feet on the ground.
Feel the weight of the body on the chair.
And the play in the air on the face and hands.
Feel the gentle pressure of the clothes on the skin.
Without looking around, welcome color and form; light and shadow.
Taste.
Smell.
Observe the breath as it enters and leaves the body.
Now open the listening.
Receive all sounds as they rise and fall without comment or judgment of any kind.
Let the listening run right out to the furthest and gentlest sounds, embracing all.
Now simply rest in this greater awareness for a few moments.
I think the time and place of your exercise is important, but do your best.
Class 2 on Friday night is titled “Levels of Awareness,” and we will discuss, among other topics, how wise people lead lives governed by principle.
Click to enlarge. |
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
‘Full Moon Meditation next week’
Full Moon and Autumn Flowers by the Stream, by Ogata Gekko , c.1895.
Color woodblock print at Art Institute of Chicago.
|
“Sweet Moon, I thank thee for thy sunny beams; I thank thee, Moon, for shining now so bright; For, by thy gracious, golden, glittering gleams, I trust to take of truest Thisby sight.”
Pyramus
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
There will be a full moon next Monday—Moon Day—so there will be a Full Moon Meditation at the Rosicrucian Cultural Center that evening. From the publicity:
Join us at the Rosicrucian Cultural Center for our Full Moon Meditation.
April 14 from 8 to 9 p.m.
2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard
New York City
The Rosicrucian teachings suggest that each of the celestial bodies, including the moon, has a particular influence on our consciousness.
Each Full Moon we will meet to reflect on this influence and attune our consciousness with it.
Everyone is welcome!
Labels:
AMORC,
meditation,
moon,
Ogata Gekko,
Rosicrucians,
Shakespeare
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)