Mindfulness Meditation Podcast - Mindfulness Meditation 01/25/2017 with Kimberly Brown

Episode Date: January 26, 2017

Every Wednesday, the Rubin Museum of Art presents a meditation session led by a prominent meditation teacher from the New York area. This podcast is a recording of the weekly practice. If you would like to attend in person, please visit our website at RubinMuseum.org/meditation to learn more. Presented in partnership with Sharon Salzberg and the Interdependence Project. Kimberly Brown led this meditation session on January 25, 2017. To view a related artwork for this week's session, please visit: http://bit.ly/2mAYgMM

Welcome to the Mindfulness Meditation Podcast. I'm your host, Dawn Eshelman. Every Wednesday at the Rubin Museum of Art in Chelsea, we present a meditation session led by a prominent meditation teacher from the New York area. This podcast is a recording of our weekly practice. If you would like to join us in person, please visit our website at rubinmuseum.org slash meditation. We are proud to be partnering with Sharon Salzberg and the teachers from the Interdependence Project. In the description for each episode, you will find information about the theme for that week's session, including an image of a related artwork chosen from the Rubin Museum's permanent collection.

And now, please enjoy your practice. Kimberly Brown is back with us. It's great to have her back. And she'll be talking to us a little bit more about this idea of beginning again with that clear insight. She has degrees in physics and literature and trained as a psychodynamic psychotherapist and worked at a marketing consultancy for more than a decade before joining the Interdependence Project, which is where she is now. She's a graduate of the first year-long Interdependence Project meditation teacher training program, and she studies Tibetan and American Buddhism with Lama Norla Rinpoche and Sharon Salzberg. Her work and teachings emphasize the ways in which contemplation,

wisdom, and ethics are shared among all traditions of awakening. Please welcome her back, Kimberly Brown. Brown okay hi well Happy New Year everyone I'm glad you're back so beginning again as Don mentioned that's the theme here at the Rubin the last few weeks, and it's a new year. It's often a theme for many of us to start fresh, to begin again, to renew. And, you know, my experience with starting again, I had always thought and always been taught, let go of the past and begin again start over what's ever done you can not cling to that and

come back to the present and start again but since the election my practice has been let go of the future and start again so you know I say that only half jokingly because no matter where you are on the political spectrum, it is a time of great uncertainty, a lot of strife. I have a sort of chicken little personality, and throughout my life, as a result of many causes and conditions, I often feel catastrophe or disaster is imminent, and I get very caught in that story. I feel very afraid, sometimes so afraid that I'm unable to act or unable to act clearly or reasonably. or unable to act clearly or reasonably so at that point it's important for me and anyone else struggling with this to be able to see their fear anxiety worry delusion

very clearly in order to come back to the present very clearly in order to come back to the present so why would we do this you might say well Kim it is a dangerous time you gotta be scared okay one thing to be scared another to be caught up in a story that is not happening right now okay and living in that state of great disaster and anxiety well for one you make it sick right and that's not going to help you or anyone else okay if you are so anxious and so caught up and so in something that may or may not

happen in the future, letting go of that and practicing coming back to the present with your body, you will be of more benefit to yourself and others. Another reason is, in general, if we are in a place of neediness, greediness, hatred, fear, ignorance, denial, generally the decisions we make in those moments will not be the best decisions okay they won't be good decisions and good here in this tradition means a decision that leads to an action that will be beneficial for yourself and others that will prevent harm to yourself or others okay so that's the kind of action skillful action that

we're talking about now another thing you might miss is possibilities okay if you're very caught up in what's going to happen and that's the only thing you can see, you might miss other possibilities that will arise from certain outcomes. You might miss certain ways of working with difficulties that may arise. So you want to be present. I want to be present for what's really arising right now so I can very wisely act okay this image really sums it up okay Bhairava can see everywhere 360 degrees above below all around right and also can act so skillfully and by Robert's feet are on

the ground very very solidly ready to act okay so if this is pointing out to our own ability to cut through our delusion okay our own ability to do that now that's how we can begin again, right? We have this ability. We can cut through our delusion. We can start again. And the reason we can start again is it's our nature. Okay?

In the Buddhist texts, they will say, they describe mind as luminous, as stainless. And mind does not mean brain. It means our human nature, our experience of being human. And stainless means there's nothing you can do to damage this nature okay I mentioned I have these chicken little qualities of fear of panic of great anxiety okay however many moments I have of that throughout my lifetime will not stain my nature okay I can always work to develop this nature to see clearly and to have compassion and wisdom for myself and others. It's a very important thing to remember.

It allows us to begin again. And in Zen, there's this teaching. In Zen, there's this teaching. The story is a young woman who lives with her family. She wakes up one morning, looks in the mirror, and her head is gone. And she freaks out. She runs from the bathroom, and she goes to her brother, and she says, Holy cow, my head is gone. And says what are you talking about your head is right there and she runs to her sister and she

says my head is gone what am i going to do my head is gone and her sister says i don't know it's right there and she runs to her mother and she says my head is gone my head is gone what am i going to do And she runs to her mother and she says, my head is gone, my head is gone, what am I going to do? And her mother smacks her in the face. And the woman touches her own face, the young woman, and she says, oh, it's always been here. Okay? Your nature has always been there. Okay? And sometimes you're going to smack yourself in the face to wake up to this.

Okay? You're going to use this in the face to wake up to this. You're going to use this wrathful nature to wake up to this. It seems to me that we are going to need all our wits about us in the near future, each one of us. And seeing clearly and sitting up straight is really going to be important. clearly and sitting up straight is really going to be important and we could do this through our meditation practice and we can do this through mindfulness exercises okay do we have anyone new to meditation today welcome welcome welcome right so today in this spirit of waking up of acting wisely for ourselves and others coming to the present and seeing what's to be done right now if you are able please stand up okay if you are not able to stand please be alert in your seat okay so you're standing here keep your eyes still find a spot maybe right in front of you. You can look straight ahead or you can look down a little, but keep your eyes still, okay?

Not looking around. And bring your attention to your feet, okay? Now this doesn't mean thinking about your feet. Experiencing your feet, okay? Your feet are on the earth. The earth is holding you up, okay? This is what it means to be grounded, to come from a place of presence right here. So putting your attention on your feet. Now bringing your attention to the center of your chest. Some might call that your heart center.

Without moving your eyes. Resting your attention in your heart center. And so this is both metaphorically and literally where we want to come from. We want to come from a place where we are grounded and where we are leading from our heart. It's a very powerful position. Every word you speak, every action you take has many many outcomes therefore your life is incredibly valuable and you can bring about benefit

to yourself and others over and over again and over again. Feeling your feet resting your attention in the center of your heart. So everyone go ahead and sit down. You're not already sitting, sit down. Keep that same sense of alertness. Right, the leading from your heart center. If you ever have teachings with Tibetan teachers, they will say, guard your mind, guard your mind. And they're pointing at their heart, okay? Because heart and mind are the same.

Heart and mind are the same heart and mind are the same there's no separation our wisdom and our compassion cannot be separated so I am going to instruct with an eyes-open meditation today if you're unaccustomed to this just give it a try okay just give it a try you'll want to lower your gaze a little so likely you'll be looking at the person's back the person in front of you you'll be looking maybe at their back or at their seat back okay okay so keeping your eyes open, right? Your gaze down a little bit, okay? So your head is upright.

Your eyelids are half closed. You're awake. You're not looking around. You're sitting up straight, but not too stressed out. Upright, not up uptight my friend says. If you're like me and you work on a computer a lot you might be jutting your chin out. You can pull your chin back so your ears are parallel to your shoulders. Taking a moment to allow whatever intention brought you here today, whatever led you to want to meditate here in this group. Could be doing anything.

It's New York City, but you're here. And really appreciate that. Really honor your intention. And now bring your attention to your feet, allowing yourself to have the experience of your feet on the floor. Feeling your seat, relaxing your belly, bringing your attention to the center of your chest, your heart center. Noticing your shoulder blades. Gently noticing your forehead, your cheeks, your jaw. Allowing sound to enter your ear.

Feeling your feet, noticing your seat, relaxing your belly. Opening your heart. Noticing your shoulder blades. Feeling the back of your head. Allowing sound to enter your ears.. Noticing where you are. If you're planning, worrying, letting go of the future, feeling your feet, bringing your attention to your seat, relaxing your belly, opening your heart, feeling your forehead, your cheeks, ears. Beginning again in the present moment. Your body and your senses are always in the present moment, feeling your feet. Noticing your seat, your belly, allowing sound to enter your ears.. Noticing what's arising.

Awareness is the same as letting go. Noticing thoughts, plans, emotions. Choosing to return your attention to your feet, feeling your seat, relaxing your belly, opening your heart, allowing sound to enter your ears. A Tibetan instruction is relax. Never made sense to me. And I read the Zen instruction.

Zen is like falling down a well with your eyes open. That's the same as relax. Feel your feet. Bringing your attention to your seat. Relaxing your belly. Opening your heart. Allowing sound to enter your ears. Relaxing into this moment. allowing sound to enter your ears.

You don't have to fix or change anything right now. Feeling your feet. Noticing your seat. Relaxing your belly. Opening your heart. opening your heart, feeling your shoulder blades, the back of your head, noticing your forehead, your cheeks and your jaw, allowing sound to enter your ear. Thank you. Notice if your eyes are wandering around. Keep them still.

If you're falling asleep, stand up. Open your eyes. Feeling your feet, relaxing your seat, your belly, your heart. Noticing your shoulder blades. Noticing thoughts that are arising, allowing sound to enter your ears. Thank you. Feeling your feet, noticing your seat, relaxing your belly, opening your heart. Center of your chest. The fighter doesn't train for the fight in the fight. Feeling your feet. Noticing your seat. Relaxing your feet. Noticing your seat.

Relaxing your belly. Noticing whatever thoughts or emotions are arising. Noticing any judgments that are arising toward yourself, toward others. Nothing has to be changed. Noticing. Feeling your feet. Noticing your seat. Bringing your awareness to your heart center. Just resting your attention on the physical sensation of the center of your chest. In a moment you'll hear a bell ring. Please stay still until you can no

longer hear it, at which time if if you'd like, you can join me in offering yourself a bow of gratitude for your practice here. Thank you all so much for your practice here. Thank you. That concludes this week's practice. If you'd like to attend in person, please check out our website, rubinmuseum.org slash meditation to learn more. Sessions are free to Rubin Museum members, just one of the many benefits of membership. Thank you for listening. Have a mindful day.