Taking care of our irritation and anger

Dear Friends,

This Monday (Aug 25) our meditation will have the theme:

How to handle irritation and anger, taking care of my emotions.

Guido has prepared the evening and the language will be Dutch

Doors will be open at 19h30

Help for making tea is welcome.

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Recognizing your own stability, The Island of Self

Dear Friends,

Last week we practiced recognizing and taking care of our roots.

Tomorrow we will practice recognizing and taking care of our stability.

Each one of us gets confronted with turmoil or emotional stress.

The practice of going home to "the Island of Self" helps us to recognize the place in us where can find and touch our stability.

When we become still and come home to ourselves we can concentrate on our experiences of feeling free and firm.

When you practice touching those feelings, you can feel free and firm in difficult situations too.

Please find in upcoming events the invitation for the day of mindfulness in Eindhoven on september 21st. guided by Cuong Lu

This day will be in dutch.

Registration is needed via www.aandacht.net

Please share this invitation flyer with those that might be interested

Have a good day!

Hans

Taking care of my roots, taking care of your roots

Dear Friends,

This Monday evening we will practice together with the focus on our roots.

In Buddhism we recognize 3 kind of roots:

Our family roots, parents grand parents

Our environment, neighbors, friends, fellow citizens

our spiritual roots, our teachers and examples

They are alive in us, they have formed who we are.

We can choose where to  live and who to follow, where we dig our roots in the ground.

When you look closely you see that you feed the roots of your friends, family and society..

Meditation starts at 20h00

Doors open 19h30, if you want to help with setting the room and making tea, you are welcome at 19h15

Next to this we can announce that Zen teacher Cuong Lu will come to Eindhoven and lead a day of mindfulness on september 21st. The language will be Dutch. More info will follow.
This fall we are looking if we can organize English speaking evenings with Cuong Lu.

Also please have a look at the day of mindfulness of Wake-Up Netherlands for a day of mindfulness on Sept 6; Topic: The National index of Happiness as is used in Bhutan. Especially for students and young adults. You are invited to join!!  www.aandacht.net/agenda

Have a wonderful weekend

Hans

Interbeing

Dear Friends,

Tomorrow Monday august 4

the theme of our evening of mindfulness and our meditation will be interbeing

We do not lead a separate existence

We are not separated from nature,

We are not separated from humanity

We are not separated from our family and friends.

We can see parts of ourselves around us and our surrounding is part of us.

It is impossible to take one out of the other, we inter-are.

If we look with the eyes mindfulness we realize that my existence does not stop at my skin or when my body falls apart.

If we hurt the other, we hurt ourselves; if we help the other, we help ourselves.

But also if I treat my self with love and dignity, I automatically treat the world with love and dignity.

Doors will be open at 19h30,

meditation starts at 20h

Program will be as usual, guided sitting, silent walking, silent sitting,

followed by Dharma sharing and informal tea.

Help with setting up the Kapel and making tea is welcome as of 19h15

Have a good night and a wonderful day !!

Hans

True Happiness

Dear Friends,

Tonight we will have our regular evening of Mindfulness meditation and Dharma sharing.

Following last week meditation where we read the first of the 5 mindfulness trainings,

we will this week read the second:

True Happiness.

Realizing that being alive is a wonder and that this world gives us all opportunity to have a good life together. We can enjoy the abundance, beauty and richness of this world and share these wonders with each other.

Doors will be open at 19h30 for tea and settling down.

Help with preparing the Kapel and making tea is welcome.

Have a wonderful day !

Hans

Being there to give and receive True Love

Dear Friends,

We had a wonderful day of Mindfulness this weekend guided by the monk-teacher Phap Xa. Next to a big representation from our Sangha, there were about 90 persons present coming from as far as Utrecht to Turnhout.

Our Sangha was complimented for the flawless and loving way we had prepared the day and have received the visitors.

In line with the theme of this day of Mindfulness: "True Love" we would like to stay in this flow.

As explained by Phap Xa in his Dharmatalk, True love can be seen as a combination of 4 elements:

Maitri: Loving kindness

Karuna: Compassion

Mudita: Joy

Upeksha: free and borderless

Phap Xa further explained: In order to experience and to give this kind of love we need to be there. If we cannot be fully present, what can we notice or give?

We will practice tonight in being there, mindful fully present:

Fresh as a flower

Solid as a mountain

our mind as Transparent as calm still water 

having space in me for my self and others.

Doors will be open 19h30

Meditation starts at 20h

followed by Dharma sharing and

as usual we close with informal tea.

Enjoy !

Hans

We have done this meditation several times but still it refreshes me.
There are many other groups that do the same in their own way.
Here a few links:

http://www.allthingshealing.com/Meditation/Pebble-Meditation/5630#.U3DPxvl_uSo

and:

http://mymeditativemoments.com/?p=177

Present moment, Wonderful moment

Dear Friends,

Tomorrow, monday (28-4) we will focus our mindfulness evening on enjoying the present moment.

A beautiful quote from Thay is:
"...It is a miracle to be alive !..."

If you see how many conditions and events have come together in order for us to be here, you start to realize that we are very privileged .

There is so much that we can enjoy like nature, all the inputs to our senses, we can enjoy company and friendship, we can enjoy doing sports or experiencing art.

All we have to do is come home to the present moment and observe and experience.

Monday evening we will practice meditation  and sharing together.

Doors will be open at 19h30.

Meditation will start at 20h00

Have a beautiful day !!

Hans