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Dear Still Water Friends,
Because so many of us will be traveling or with friends and families,
we will have no Still Water programs on Thursday, November 23, 2006.
However, we will have our Friday morning sitting as usual. This Friday,
as on other Fridays, we will begin our sitting at 6:30 at Crossings and
then go out for Breakfast together around 7:45. You are invited to join
with us.
Wherever you are for Thanksgiving, as you begin your meal you may
wish to share, or simply say to yourself, the Five Contemplations we
say before eating in the Plum Village tradition:
This food is the gift of the whole universe - the earth the sky, and much hard work.
May we eat in mindfulness so as to nourish our gratitude.
May we transform our unskillful states of mind and learn to eat with moderation.
May we take only foods that nourish us and prevent illness.
We accept this food to realize the path of understanding and love and joy.
And while you are eating, especially on the day of Thanksgiving, you may wish to eat mindfully. Thich Nhat Hanh explains:
When we are mindful, we know that
the food we eat comes from the cosmos, nature, and all living beings.
If we can touch even one piece of fruit with our eyes and our
mindfulness, we show our gratitude and experience great joy. If we look
at our food for just half a second before putting it into our mouth and
chewing it mindfully, we see that one string bean is the ambassador of
the whole cosmos. This is the practice of being in touch.
(From The Mindfulness Bell, Issue #6)
Warm Wishes,
Mitchell Ratner
Senior Teacher