Dharma Topics

Prior to each Thursday evening gathering in Silver Spring for meditation and Dharma sharing we send out an announcement of the topic. The announcement is includes a short essay that focuses on a way of bringing mindfulness into our lives, families, work, and society. Below are topics that we've discussed in the past.

The archive goes from 2004 to the present. You can search by one or more key words, such as: Compassion Training (no quotes), or by phrases, such as: “emotional and spiritual healing” (with quotes). If you would like to receive our weekly announcement, please click on the bar to the right.

Practicing Transformation

Facilitated by: Eliza King| in: Dharma Topics

Discussion Date: Thu, Dec 12, 2019

Dear Still Water Friends,

One unexpected avenue for me to live more fully in the present moment has been writing a coming-of-age memoir about how my visual impairment and the disfigurement of my left eye shaped my childhood and teenage identity. As I’ve reflected on, crafted, and written down stories from my past, I’ve looked deeply into the roots of challenging patterns and memories. In this process, I’ve been overwhelmed and pulled back into past sorrows and unresolved feelings. This sentence from the Fifth Mindfulness Training, Nourishment and Healing, has helped remind me to notice when I am feeling trapped in old hurts, and lost in anxiety about people’s future reactions to my words.

“I will practice coming back to the present moment to be in touch with the refreshing, healing, and nourishing elements in... Continued