Wellspring: inspiration and guidance for a spiritual journey

Mindful Eating, a New Year’s Resolution, by Tina Simson

OK, so be honest. How many of you are planning to eat healthier in the New Year? Maybe there were too many cookies or an abundance chocolate temptation at the holiday time but I have been hearing many friends and colleagues complain about their holiday indulgences. In fact one friend told me she tried to get online at Weight Watchers on December 31st and there was so much traffic the site was down.

In the spirit of New Years resolutions, I thought I’d provide a twist on the Number One commitment this time of year. Rather than talk about diets I want to introduce Mindful Eating as a Buddhist practice. This will be the first of several posts about this concept so stay tuned and bookmark our site right next to Weightwatchers.com.

I was surprised at how many web resources I found by googling Mindful Eating. It seems the behavioral health community is promoting it for folks who struggle with eating. But whether you approach this concept with trepidation or curiosity, mindful eating can be an enriching meditation and practice that brings you face to face with the essential nourishment of life. So let’s start with a few thoughts from the teachers.

From an essay by the Buddhist Teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh

When we are mindful, we recognize what we are picking up. When we put it into our mouth, we know what we are putting into our mouth. When we chew it, we know what we are chewing. It's very simple.
Some of us, while looking at a piece of carrot, can see the whole cosmos in it, can see the sunshine in it, can see the earth in it. It has come from the whole cosmos for our nourishment.

From the Koran

Let man, then, consider the sources of his food: how it is that We pour down water, pouring it down abundantly; and then We cleave the earth with new growth, cleaving it asunder, and thereupon We cause grain to grow out of it, and vines and edible plants, and olive trees and date palms, and gardens dense with foliage, and fruits and herbage, for you and for your animals to enjoy

.

From The Buddhist Path to Simplicity by Christina Feldman

Habit is a pattern of dismissiveness, we deem whatever we do habitually to be unworthy of our attention. In the withdrawal of our attention we deprive ourselves of the capacity to be touched, to see a moment anew and to be taught by the lessons of the moment.

And to all those who cook with mindfulness, I say
"Ashk olsun!"
which is Turkish for,
"May it become love!"

Making the retreat last, by Tina Simson

I’m always so motivated when I return to my daily life from a retreat or workshop. In the quiet of contemplative hours, I promise myself that I will meditate regularly, invite the spirit of the divine into my life, and be a more open friend and partner. You see, it feels so good to take the time, during a retreat, to reconnect to my inner self and all the rest and wisdom I find there. But invariably as the busyness of my life rushes at me, my best intentions slip away. After a few days or a week, I become discouraged.

Last year when I was a Wellspring participant, I tried something different. I made room in my life for my new commitment. I recognized that I wanted to honor this effort, to make it part of each day and each week. That doesn’t happen unless I take something out. It doesn’t work to say, I’ll get up an hour earlier, or I’ll make time at the end of the day. Giving up sleep and rejuvenation to have time for spiritual pursuits is counter-productive.

As I looked at my list of commitments and responsibilities, I realized that there was no room to put one more thing into the schedule. So my first spiritual practice was ‘cleaning house.’ I prioritized, time with my husband and family was at the top, and then exercise and taking care of myself, then on down the list. What seemed to be at the bottom for me were volunteer efforts. Wow, that was a hard one. As a good UU, these were my lifeblood. But frankly, I was tired and needed to tend to my own soul. So I began, not only to say ‘no’, but also to back out. Something humbling occurred, others stepped in and I left my causes in good hands as I took time for my journey. What a gift and a lesson.

I also let my family know how important this was to me. They picked up some chores and consciously respected my time for Wellspring. And I did one more thing; I created a visual reminder of my commitment and my fellow Wellspring seekers. I found seven small stones in the creek behind my house and arranged them in a circle around a candle. Seven stones, one for each fellow seeker and a candle for the light we created together. I put it on my kitchen counter, right in the middle of my life. I lit it whenever I was home and the soft glow was a gentle reminder of my intentions and my friends and my heart.

So maybe the retreat doesn’t end at the end of the session, maybe it doesn’t end at all when we can find a way to bring it consciously into our daily living.
I wish all 2007-08 Wellspring participants a soulful year.

Namaste

Small-group connection through e-courses, by Tina

Ah, the wondrous Internet! One of my favorite web resources Spirituality and Practice is offering a way to access their e-courses privately for your own church group, spirituality circle, or other group. I recently received an e-mail from Persephone, their Coordinator of Spiritual Literacy Project, who happens to be a UU. Below is how she describes this innovative option.

We hear all the time about how hard it is these days to gather groups together -- there are often problems synchronizing schedules, the need to be with families and friends in the evenings and on weekends, travel and babysitting expenses, etc. Having your own private online community is one way for a group to share your spiritual journeys without having to be physically together. We've also found that having a focus for your online conversation -- such as the daily quotes in the e-course mailings and the practice suggestions -- keeps the momentum going and keeps people coming back.

Our upcoming e-courses are Practicing Spirituality with Thich Nhat Hanh and Practicing Spirituality with Henri J. M. Nouwen (a flyer describing them is here: http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/ecourses/2007ecourses.pdf
Your group can also choose from any of our on-demand e-courses which you'll find on the second page of the flyer.

Here's how your community's e-course would work. We'd create a special sign-up page for your small group that would describe the e-course and your practice circle (adding any special copy you supply, if you want), and give you a link to distribute to your group or to post on your website. Then when people signed up through that link, they would get an email with the link into your practice circle. Your people would pay the same for the course as anybody else, along with a $5 set-up fee per person to cover the technical costs.

This sounds like a great option for many types of small group ministries. The courses are rich and diverse, just what UU’s need! If you are interested in more information you can e-mail Persephone at persephone@spiritualityandpractice.com