It has been a while since I wrote in this space. As a high school teacher, the first couple of months of the school year is a busy time for me – getting through the first quarter of school schedule. And somehow, now that November is here, I am able to breathe a bit more easily – knowing that Thanksgiving break is around the corner.

A lot has happened in these couple of months in terms of writing and teaching. Firstly, my reflections from retreat this summer was published in the Valley Insight newsletter, thanks to the support and encouragement of my teacher and friend Doreen Schweizer. And then, it was picked up by the Barre center of Buddhist Studies (BCBS) and published in their sangha newsletter with my permission. This came about because the BCBS director receives our very own Valley Insight newsletter! This was definitely a surprising event – both in how this unfolded and what a small and connected world we live in. You can find it here, reprinted exactly from ours.

Earlier this Fall, I felt some sadness – the momentum of my learning and teaching during my teacher certification program had slowed and I missed the intensity of the learning. I also welcomed this opening of flexibility in choosing what I listened to and practiced in terms of dharma and the time to delve into what interested me. It has been a lovely surprise for me to have this time open up in this new way. I have continued offering a monthly drop-in series which has been a gift for me in my own practice thanks to the generosity of yogis who have showed up for them. You can find my recordings under guided meditations tab. I have also co-taught a monthly three-part series on Insight dialogue which is my new passion!

Insight dialogue makes insight meditation inter-relational. Developed by Greg Kramer, this is a series of guidelines that combine mindfulness, concentration and insight/wisdom to bring to our lives, especially in relationships both with ourselves and others. The guidelines are Pause, Relax, Open, Attune to emergence, Listen Deeply and Speak the truth. The book by Greg Kramer is a wonderful manual to the practice – and practicing with others through the series and the summer retreat has deepened my own practice and joy. It has opened up a door to the mystery in each moment by attuning to: what is changing, how am I relating to this moment and how can I soften? It is also a practice, which when combined with contemplation of suttas (scriptures) from early buddhist texts, can lead to wonderful and insightful dialogue and great joy!

I find that each day, each week, a different guideline speaks to me. Right now, it is the mystery of not knowing, of attuning to emergence. Even when I plan what is coming, I don’t know what the moment will bring. How do I stay open to that? And this opening to surprises – and how I respond to them – is teaching me a lot about myself. I had the surprise of getting Covid recently. The surprise of receiving help and support and well wishes from others. The surprise of recovering well and feeling healthy again. The surprise of friendship – my own and that of others. The surprise of opening to not knowing!

As the world tilts on its axis in many ways that are challenging, how do we open truly to not knowing and to the possibility of freedom and love in this moment, no matter what? Perhaps, the answer can be found in one such contemplation Bhadra (Lucky):

Lucky to be walking a Path
that finds peace
in the arising
and passing
away
of
each
present
moment.

Regardless
of how things
work out
or don’t.

From “The First Free Women: Poems of the Early Buddhist Nuns”
Translated by Matty Weingast
Shambhala, 2020

So, as we head into Thanksgiving, may there be many gifts in your life of opening to wonder and joy!

With gratefulness, S.