Someone Once a Stranger: A Retreat Experience The truth about a meditation retreat is that you really don’t know what will happen. Try as you might to predict and you will undoubtedly be surprised. But no matter what, something will happen that will help you to open your eyes, to “wake up,” out of the habitual ways you think and behave. May 31, 2018By Vicki Goodman ResidentialRetreats
Walking Meditation Meditation is a practice of presence that you can bring alive in all settings and activities. The formal training in walking meditation can be particularly valuable for helping you to cultivate an awareness of your embodied experience in each moment, allowing you to bring your body, heart, and mind together as you move through life. May 25, 2018By Vicki Goodman DaylongRetreats, meditation, ResidentialRetreats
The Sacred Pause In the midst of daily life there are other simple ways to take a “mini sacred pause,” bring awareness to what is alive here and now, and relax into presence. It is very easy—amidst the stress, busyness and demands of modern life—to live much of our time on autopilot, leaning into the future or ruminating on the past, dislocated from our lives in this moment. April 1, 2018By Vicki Goodman meditation
The Characteristics of Mindfulness So what is mindfulness, really? It’s more than just being aware of what the mind is doing. For starters, mindfulness is knowing what is happening in the mind, body and heart. Mindfulness is radically inclusive…nothing is left out. I remember when a teacher mentioned that my mindfulness practice did not extend to family relationships and thinking, “of course not, that’s the really hard stuff.” When we practice mindfulness as a hobby we tend to pick and chose the times to bring this kind of refined attention. At some point we practice not just to be free from our own suffering but for all beings to be free from suffering.... August 5, 2016By Vicki Goodman teachings