We’ve all been there. For sure if you’re a parent, but if not then you only have to remember back to your childhood. The long road trip with mom and dad in the front seat and the kids in the back bored out of their minds. It’s just a matter of time before that incessant, and annoying question comes from the kids in the back seat – “are we there yet?”
Last fall I offered free meditation coaching sessions to a limited number of people in my audience. Those who participated were a varied group of meditators that ranged from novice to experienced that included therapists and leadership trainers, martial artists and dancers, people who follow traditional meditation schools, and people who had an eclectic collection of meditation methods. In the following coaching demo, I work with Celynn Morin who is herself, a wellbeing coach.
Over the past 4 years, I have written close to 100 blog posts at the intersectionality of Aikido, meditation, and personal development. In one way, or another, all of my blog posts explore the same essential question: What does it mean to walk a higher path of practice? A question that is very relevant in these uncertain times. I went through my archives and picked out 10 posts that I think will support you through these uncertain times. With Love.
In this installment of my “Meditation Coaching Demo” series, I work with 2 meditators who are at different stages on their meditation journey. The first session is with a yogi who has over 30 years of experience in meditation. His depth of experience allows us to explore some extremely subtle phenomena of advanced meditative states. In the second session, I work with a yogi on the fundamentals of the practice, specifically facing the challenging mental states when establishing the practice of mindfulness.
In this installment of my “Meditation Coaching Demo” series, I work with 2 meditators who not only have their personal practice but also apply meditation to their work. The first demo is with Paul Crick who works as a consultant and also in the field of Leadership Development. In both of these fields, Paul installs the practice of meditation with his clients by deepening attention in the present moment for creating a greater sense of presence as a leader. The second session is with Carlos who is a psychotherapist that uses the practice of mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with his clients.
In this second installment of my “Meditation Coaching Demo” series, I’m sharing 2 sessions from meditators who have distinctly different practices. Dave is using a mindfulness-based practice which he also applies in his Aikido practice and interactions at work. Hila has a “mantra” based practice and uses guided meditation and the repetition of a mantra for the basic preparation of her daily Nia routine. I think you will gain a lot from these 2 different meditation approaches in this installment of my Meditation Coaching Demo Series.
If you want to establish mindfulness and deepen your meditation practice then there is no substitute for working with a meditation teacher and guide. Part of my role in my meditation courses, trainings, and retreats is to closely follow my student’s meditation and help them fine-tune, clarify, and stay on track in their practice. For this reason, I am creating a series of recorded meditation interviews showing you the process of how I work with students. Welcome to the Meditation Coaching Demonstration Series.
If you are a reader of my blog then there is a good chance that you are into “embodiment” in one way or another. If you look out into the embodiment world you will very quickly run into the prolific work of Mark Walsh. This is why when he asked me to endorse his new book I wrote “No other person has had a bigger impact reclaiming “embodiment” for the mainstream as Mark Walsh.” Mark’s new book has just been launched so it felt timely to invite him to join me in another Dharma Discussion and a fun and free-flowing exploration of Embodiment – Moving Beyond Mindfulness.
Part of any commitment to a higher “Path” of practice (martial arts, meditation, yoga, etc.) is the need to put in the time to develop skills in your given field. But whereas developing skill is indispensable on any Path, gaining Mastery is an entirely different matter. The development of skill is in the realm of the possible. Mastery, on the other hand, is in the realm of the mystical. To gain mastery you must commit to the inner Path of learning from the Tengu.
Life is fundamentally creative. Yet, creativity does not happen in a vacuum. Be it the birth of a baby, the birth of a work of art, or the birth of a star, there must be a creative tension for this process to be activated. And of course, YOU have to get out of the way. This is the topic of discussion I had with Brooke McNamara in our Community Call on Zen & The Heart Of Creativity.
