in addition to my regular sitting meditation practice, i have a simple and short practice i use in moments of stress or heightened energy, when i’d like to come back to my body and mind and remain calm. the practice can be done just about anywhere and at any time. no requirement to sit, you can be standing, walking, lying down, eyes closed or open.

although the practice can be beneficial even if done on its own, it also has way of tapping into the energy of mindfulness cultivated in a regular sitting meditation practice if we have one.

the practice is inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh’s teaching style, using short phrases paired with mindful breathing. i shared this practice with my mom as she went through tests, scans, and radiation for cancer. the practice was beneficial for her and i hope it can be for you as well.

breathing in mindfully, say to yourself:

CALM BODY

breathing out mindfully, say to yourself:

CALM MIND

as we breathe in, we are taking care of our body, we are aware of our breath, feeling the oxygen filled air come into our body, giving our body what it needs to be calm at at ease.

as we breathe out, we release the air and let it go out of the body. at the same time we let go of the air in our lungs, we can release our grasp of thoughts, letting go of our thoughts, our worries, our stress, our anger, our fear. by letting go of these, we are allowing space for a calm mind.

(breathing in)

CALM BODY

(breathing out)

CALM MIND

~j

#CalmBody #CalmMind #mindfulness #meditation #breathe #LetGo #SelfCare #path #practice #JinpaLhaga

hello friends!

if you find benefit or enjoy my content, whether it be my art, writing, meditation tips, etc. please consider becoming a Patreon contributor for as little as $3/month. there are 7 tiers with various – hopefully beneficial – rewards. in addition to tier rewards, Patreon contributors also occasionally and exclusively receive high quality digital prints of my art work for free as well.

i’m currently a full-time caregiver for my dad with his Parkinson’s/Lewy Body Dementia, leaving no time to work outside the home, so the means listed above are my sole way of making my bills (spoiler: i’m not making my bills).

HUGE gratitude for all who have been supporting already or have bought art or have attended class. it has truly been helpful and i’m so grateful!

 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

the content i create and offer will continue to flow regardless, but if you’re able to help support, it’s greatly appreciated. in either case, i hope my art, meditation tips, shared quotes, thoughts, etc are beneficial to you!

AND if you’d like to learn meditation or practice meditation with me, i sit every weekend on Zoom for Self-Care Saturdays & Sundays at 10am PT, offering a 1 HR group class for free or by donation. $10 is the suggested amount.

ALSO if interested, you can purchase various artwork prints or on products at my Redbubble store or message for commissioned work.

*all links can be found at: https://linktr.ee/jaysenwaller

thanks and wishing everyone health and happiness!

~j

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

#dana #generosity #meditation #MeditationClass #MeditationTeacher #artist #art #path #practice #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

it is a brave practice to meet our lives just as they are in this moment, to meet ourselves just as we are, with how we feel, with all we are experiencing. 

it takes a certain amount of bravery to meet our discomfort, a certain amount of fortitude to lean into our life rather than avoiding it, rather than grasping only after what is comfortable and enjoyable, rather than pushing away what is challenging and upsetting.

but life is filled with a full range of experiences and to live our lives fully is to meet all of our life with an open heart, with curiosity, and courage. we learn so much about ourselves and this life by embracing this attitude, by taking this approach. by doing so we are connecting, understanding, and relating to ourselves and others in a very real, human, and tender way. we come to know that everyone, without exception and in a multitude of ways, is experiencing the full range of this life with all of its ups and downs.

meeting our lives where they are, provides the opportunity to be brave, provides a gateway to understanding, to empathy, to tenderness, and compassion. it provides the opportunity to love and the (perhaps) surprising revelation that we have the capacity to be here and to do this thing called life, and to do so with love.

~j

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

#OpenHeart #presence #courage #bravery #curiosity #understanding #empathy #compassion #love #interconnected #human #life #path #practice #PemaChodronQuote #JinpaLhaga

stillness allows for settling.

settling allows for spaciousness.

spaciousness allows for clarity.

this is the practice.

~j

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

come sit and breathe with me this weekend for Self-Care Saturdays and Sundays at 10am PST. hour class includes mindfulness awareness and lovingkindness meditation practices. no experience necessary. free or by donation. $10 suggested. link: https://linktr.ee/jaysenwaller

#stillness #breathe #meditation #mindfulness #awareness #lovingkindness #path #practice #MeditationClass #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

“…let’s adore one another before there is no more of you and me.”

~ Rumi

this life burns quickly. time never seems enough and we truly only have this moment. how do we give ourselves fully to love?

this is the practice.

~j

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

#impermanence #life #ThisMoment #presence #interdependence #relationship #path #practice #enso #Zen #EngagedBuddhist #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #art

right speech.

right action.

we have the incredible privilege of using our words and our actions in a way that embody love and benefit this world. no matter the size of our platform, or the reach of the light we shine, when we speak we can ask ourselves, “is this love?” and when we act we can ask ourselves, “is this love?”

each word, each action is a seed planted. are we planting seeds that harm and destroy or seeds that benefit and heal? what example are we setting? are we embodying love?

emotional maturity is a practice. speaking and acting with responsibility is a practice. nonaggression is a practice.

~j

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

#RightSpeech #RightAction #nonaggression #OpenHeart #CalmMind #path #practice #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #art

path & practice.

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

#path #practice #ShineLight #OpenHeart #bodhisattvas #EngagedBuddhism #JinpaLhaga

Zen Parable of the  Monk and the Samurai ~

A big, tough Samurai once went to see a little monk.

“Monk!”

He barked, in a voice accustomed to instant obedience.

“Teach me about heaven and hell!”

The Monk looked up at the mighty warrior and replied with utter disdain,

“Teach you about heaven and hell? I couldn’t teach you about anything. You’re dumb. You’re dirty. You’re a disgrace, an embarrassment to the samurai class. Get out of my sight. I can’t stand you.”

The Samurai got furious. He shook, red in the face, speechless with rage. He pulled out his sword, and prepared to slay the Monk.

Looking straight into the Samurai’s eyes, the Monk said softly,

“That’s hell.”

The Samurai froze, realizing the compassion of the Monk who had risked his life to show him hell! He put down his sword and fell to his knees, filled with gratitude.

The Monk said softly,

“And that’s heaven.”

Commentary:

do we want to create hell or heaven? the celebrated Franciscan, Richard Rohr put it this way, “What we don’t transform, we transmit.”

like all emotions, anger carries an energy, a particularly intense and hot energy. if we don’t meet our anger with skillful means – mindfulness and an open heart – we can burn ourselves and those around us up. anger not attended to, can be harmful and destructive to ourselves and others. it can lead to aggression, violence, and suffering. we can become stuck and lose ourselves, becoming ghosts of who we once were.

we can, however, meet anger with open-heartedness, understanding, and compassion, we can look deeply into anger mindfully. perhaps the anger is pointing to a deeper unresolved fear or hurt. perhaps anger manifests because we see an injustice or harm taking place. the energy of the anger can be used as a motivator to end the harm. anger can be our wake up call that something needs to be taken care of.

~j

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

*come sit with me this weekend for Self-Care Saturdays & Sundays at 10am PT as we practice meditation. free or by donation. $10 suggested. link: https://linktr.ee/jaysenwaller

#anger #aggression #compassion #clarity #equanimity #meditation #path #practice #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

join me this weekend for Self-Care Saturdays & Sundays at 10am PT for a 1 hour guided Mindfulness Awareness and Lovingkindness meditation practice. no prior experience necessary. sessions are free or by donation, $10 suggested.

links can be found here:  https://linktr.ee/jaysenwaller

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

#meditation #mindfulness #awareness #lovingkindness #metta #meditationclass #meditationteacher #path #practice #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

it’s #WorldPoetryDay ✨

here’s a poem i wrote some time ago out of personal experience that i think speaks to the challenges and heartache of this time of loss for so many. how do we engage our losses, our heartache, our suffering? can we see the value of our heartache, our tenderness and vulnerability?

for me, love is the answer to both of these.

~j

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

#heartache #OpenHeart #tenderness #love #life #EngagedBuddhist #path #practice #poetry #JinpaLhaga #JMWart