Reflection on Impermanence In Nature The midday heat shimmers above the empty fields, the combine having left only golden stubble behind. I walk across the harvested land, breathing in the dry smell of earth. Last spring my feet sank into soft mud here; now the ground is hard beneath them. The crops have come and Read More
Category: Stillness Poetry
Stillness Haiku | The Pebble-Walking Meditation
Reflection On Walking Meditation During one of my early morning walking meditation sessions around the fields of the Cotswolds, I found myself reflecting on the Mental Discipline section of the Noble Eightfold Path. The image that came to mind was a still pond. When the surface of the water is calm, even the smallest pebble Read More
Can a Place Become Part of Our Meditation?
Meditation and Place I don’t often stop at this third seat. It is the closest to home, so I’m usually tempted to keep walking. But when I do sit here, I find myself looking at the water lilies growing in this particular lake. Or perhaps they are lotus flowers? Why does that matter? Partly because Read More
Can Silence Change the Way We Experience Memory?
Silence and Mindfulness This is the oldest of the three seats on my morning walk, beside the quietest of the lakes. There is very little activity here. The water is almost silent, the trees and greenery barely move, and there are few sounds to compete for my attention. Sitting here, I become aware of how Read More
How Can I Be Mindful When Everything Is Happening At Once?
Reflection On Mindfulness and Distractions The first of my three seats is beside the largest lake on my morning walking route. It is not particularly peaceful in the conventional sense. There is almost always something happening: trees rustling, leaves falling, birds calling, water birds squawking, coots diving and ripples spreading across the surface. Sometimes a Read More