Mindful December 2019

Going it alone has its benefits, and can be great for getting to know your mindfulness practice—but meditating with a friend is one way to really super-charge the experience. Meditating isn’t always so easy, after all—and the boost that comes from community is one resource that can always be renewed. Looking for like-minded meditators in your area? Mindfulness teacher Tara Brach has some great advice: www.tarabrach.com/starting-meditation-group/ Having trouble finding like-minded meditators in your area? Try building a virtual community. Check out our free instructional mp3s and videos on our YouTube and Soundcloud channels—and see how others are bringing their practice into their lives on our Facebook and Instagram pages. Looking to form communities of mindfulness at your organization? That’s the work we’ve been doing for nearly 15 years. Ask us…

In a brief conversation, Frank Ostasetski said something that changed my life. Frank is a lifelong mindfulness meditator and the cofounder of the Zen Hospice Project based in San Francisco. He has been at the bedside of thousands of people in the process of dying. I ran into Frank outside a hotel elevator at a mindfulness conference and mentioned to him we were starting to work on a story and would love his input. We were exploring how death can reveal what’s most important in life, perhaps pointing to what makes us happy while we’re still alive. Without missing a beat, he leaned in. “When people are dying, only two things matter,” he said, his bright blue eyes piercing mine with an urgency to convey decades of wisdom. “They just…

What community have you have felt most at home in? “MY NEIGHBORHOOD is home to me. My neighbors are like family.” “MY MARATHON TRAINING GROUP. We cheered each other on—the competition was only with ourselves. We brought our own meaning to running and races. Anyone could be a mentor, bringing in their experiences to help others. Also, we had fun!” “AT MY JOB, because we all work hard at a difficult job—we form bonds.” “MY RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY, not due to the religion as much as the acceptance.” “I am new to where I live, so not yet as connected as I’d like to be, but my town is full of vibrant, engaged, intelligent, compassionate people! I am really looking forward to a future of community here.” “Most often it is…

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A JOYFUL RETREAT In September, InsightLA hosted “Creating Joy in Community,” the first residential meditation retreat by and for transgender, nonbinary, gender-nonconforming, and genderqueer (collectively, trans*) people. Mindfulness and Buddhist practitioners, as well as new meditators, attended the four-day program. It was broadly accessible, thanks to scholarships (from donations), care for accessibility needs, and a trauma-informed approach. All the retreat’s teachers and staff are also trans*. Martin Vitorino, InsightLA’s Director of Programming and a retreat leader, noted that factors like gendered housing plans and few teachers of diversity can make other retreats untenable for trans* people. “It’s so powerful and healing to see yourself reflected in the teacher at the front of the room,” Vitorino told Mindful. A testimonial from V., who attended, affirms: “The sanctuary of being with all…

Foul weather and flight delays had Seth Craven worried he wouldn’t be at his wife’s side when their baby was born by scheduled C-section. Sergeant Craven was traveling from Kabul, where he was stationed with the National Guard, to his home in Charleston, but made it only as far as Philadelphia, which is where he met Charlene Vickers. She was determined to get to Charleston for a conference, and she agreed to take Craven as a passenger on the eight-hour road trip. Craven made it home in plenty of time to see his son be born—and was able to send Vickers a photo of the happy family. A man in Altoona, Iowa, may have been parched when he held up a sign asking for beer money—and included his Venmo handle—in…