Join us for this month’s Breathing for the Earth, which will be taking place on Saturday 1st October, and will be a special event. We will meet at the earlier time of 12 noon at Coffee Saints for a mindful climate conversation, a space to share our feelings about the ecological crisis.
This will be followed, at about 1pm, by a public meditation and Bell Busking session outside in the square (by the Paolozzi sculptures), where we will play meditation bells (aka singing bowls) made from butane and propane gas cylinders, in a symbolic act of transforming the energy of fossil fuels into the energy of mindfulness. Please come to one or both parts of the event, and bring your friends!

For more detail about what to bring, and to let us know you’re coming, please check Eventbrite!

Read on for a letter from Robert:

Dear friends,

We’ve passed the equinox and the weather has become autumnal, by turns rainy and chilly. The mile-long queues to view the royal coffin have gone, as have the heaps of cut flowers from supermarkets and recycling centres.

I didn’t particularly want to join the queue*, so marked the Queen’s passing with a ceremony of my own: I went to scrump apples in Holyrood Park (which belongs to the Crown, of course). Since I picked them on Friday, the day after she died, but before Charles took the oath of Accession, does that mean they were technically interregnal apples, with no actual owner? Either way, they made a delicious crumble which, as it happened, we shared with friends on the day of the funeral.

What I did wonder, though, as I watched the endless queues and the blanket media coverage of what was, after all, the passing of one particularly well-known and -respected human being, a symbolic grandmother to more than one nation, was this: When will we see the mass outpourings of grief for the suffering and damage done to that great bodhisattva, our cosmic mother, Planet Earth? Are we as a society so disconnected from nature that we are not able to grieve when ancient woodlands are destroyed to make way for roads or high-speed rail lines, when floods and wildfires appear on our screens almost daily, when the mercury hits 40 degrees in England? Do we just numb our feelings with more consumption and carry on rushing faster and faster into an ever more ominous future?

These questions may seem gloomy or depressing. In this culture, we are not exactly encouraged to explore uncomfortable feelings in public. But as Earth Holders, we believe it’s vital for us to get in touch with our feelings about the ecological crisis: to remain mindful and conscious of them, though not to be overwhelmed by them. For this reason we have decided it’s a good moment to hold a “Mindful Climate Conversation”, where we will be able to share our feelings about the ecological crisis. This will be followed by an outdoor session of meditation and Bell Busking, as described above.

We hope you can make it!

For the earth,

Robert
for Earth Holders Edinburgh

* PS: The word QUEUE is very accurate, as it consists of one letter doing something useful and four letters standing in a row behind it doing nothing at all. (Not an original or new observation but I though it was quite relevant.)

About Earth Holders Edinburgh

Earth Holders Edinburgh is a community taking mindful action for Mother Earth. We practice non-violent direct action for the sake of our beloved planet and all life. We see this as an integral part of our spiritual life, balancing the inner path of mindfulness with the outer path of action. We come from different spiritual traditions, and are open to members of all faiths and none. We draw strength and wisdom from our connection with nature and with the Earth. We are an evolving and inclusive group actively seeking new members. You can sign up to our newsletter or see our full purpose statement here.

The Silent Rebellion movement originated in Cambridge, where XR Cambridge has held several peaceful public meditations.

We will be facilitating a mindful peace walk at Saughton Park on Sunday 4th September 2022 organised jointly with the Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality and Peace, EICSP. The walk will start at noon. Please see the EICSP website for details.

After our August break for the festival we will begin regular sessions at St Mark’s Unitarian on Castle Terrace at 7:15pm on Thursday 1st September. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Jointly organized by the Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality and Peace, EICSP, Scottish Charity, SC038996, and the Edinburgh Sangha of the Community of Interbeing.

• Venue: Lauriston Castle, 2 Cramond Road South, Edinburgh. EH4 6AD.
• Date: Sunday 26 June 2022.
• Time: 12 noon. Gather in front of Lauriston Castle for 12 noon.
• Event Description: This silent walking meditation is an open event. It will be led by the lay members of the Edinburgh Sangha of the Community of Interbeing, who follow the practice and teachings of Zen Buddhist Master, Thich Nhat Hanh. Before the walk begins there will be a brief introduction to mindful walking as a meditation practice. This is not a protest or a campaigning event, so please do not use any banners. Children are welcome when accompanied by adults. Please remember to wrap up warmly.

‘We walk just for walking. We walk with freedom and solidity, no longer in a hurry. Let us enjoy every step we make.’

Thich Nhat Hanh

Nature Connection Retreat in South Scotland: Exploring our Global Footprint: Plum Village Tradition: Touching the Earth in Mindfulness

• Book: https://wistonretreat.eventbrite.co.uk
• Share: https://facebook.com/events/1512123359189642

We shall draw on Thich Nhat Hanh’s Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet and his Love Letter to the Earth.

Based in glorious woodland setting of Wiston Lodge – an hour south of both Edinburgh and Glasgow – this is an opportunity to reflect on our place in the natural world.

All food is vegan and home cooked. Bring real money for a wonderful bookstall, Dana for our programme leaders plus footwear and water-proofs for Mindful Walking in the grounds.

One booking / person – simply book a second place same way. Three days and nights’ accommodation + full board at Wiston: Shared Room £225 / Single Room £255 / Camping £145. For how pay please contact David by email.

Touching the Earth Sangha in Banchory are delighted to invite you to a special Hybrid retreat at The Burn, near Edzell, during the last weekend of June 2022. Led by Mhairi McLuskie (True Action of Loving Kindness) Mhairi (pronounced Vari) discovered Thich Nhat Hanh in 1990 and was ordained as a lay Dharma teacher in 2012. She has applied her mindfulness practice during the ups and downs of family and work life, including the sudden deaths of her parents and the premature death of a beloved friend.
Mhairi has shared mindfulness in many settings – including courses for female offenders, victims of sexual abuse and for organisations, as well as through Plum Village UK retreats and the Be Calm, Be Happy courses which she co-developed. She enjoys offering mindfulness retreats and courses on the themes of transformation and healing and cultivating love. Mhairi was born in Scotland and is currently living in the West Midlands.

On this short retreat, we have the opportunity to refresh ourselves by nourishing peace, understanding, love and togetherness. We can slow down and look deeply into the elements of true love, supported by each other and by our natural surroundings. We can gain fresh insights on how to deepen love in ourselves and how this will serve our world.

The retreat will run from 18.00 on Friday 24th June (arrival at the Burn from 16.00) until 15.00 on Sunday 26th June 2022. Although, our facilitator is a lay teacher of the Plum Village Tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, the weekend will be run in a largely secular manner. For beginners as well as for those with experience, this is a rare chance to enjoy learning about mindfulness through practice in a most beautiful environment. Everyone is welcome including those from all religious traditions as well as agnostics and atheists.

We are anticipating a high demand for this retreat so we recommend early booking using the attached form.

As a Sangha we want to help alleviate the suffering that is occurring in Ukraine. It would be inefficient for us to collect money and pass it on ourselves, not least because this removes any opportunity to add Gift Aid to a donation. For the time being we will therefore not be collecting donations at our meetings but asking everyone to make a contribution directly to the Disasters Emergency Committee, Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. We can do this for a while but will eventually need to return to asking for donations to cover the cost of renting the church. In the medium term we expect the rent to go up because of the increase in fuel prices – partially caused by the conflict. Let’s give something while we can.

Breathing in I know you are suffering.
Breathing out I am here with you.

For the sixteenth time we are going to walk in peace at the Royal Botanic Garden in an event organised in collaboration with Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality and Peace, EICSP.

Please join us at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, John Hope Gateway, Arboretum Place, Edinburgh, EH3 5NZ on Sunday 20 March 2022 at 10am for 10.15am-11.15am.

This silent walking meditation is an open event. Before the walk begins there will be a brief introduction to mindful walking as a meditation practice.

This is not a protest or a campaigning event, so please do not use any banners. Our silence and togetherness in nature says it all at this time.

May the Sound of this Bell
Penetrate deep into the Cosmos
Even in the darkest spots
Living Beings are able to hear it clearly
So that all suffering in them cease
Understanding come to their hearts
And they transcend the path Of Sorrow and Death

The Universal Dharma Door
Is already open
The Sound of the Rising Tide is heard clearly
The miracle happens
A beautiful child appears in the heart of a Lotus flower
One single drop of this Compassionate Water
Is enough to bring back the refreshing
Spring To our Mountains and Rivers

Listening to the Bell I feel the afflictions in me begin to dissolve
My mind calm, my body relaxed
A smile is born on my lips
Following the Sound of the Bell
My breath brings me back to the safe Island of Mindfulness
In the Garden of my Heart
The flowers of Peace Bloom beautifully

Children are welcome when accompanied by adults.

Please remember to wrap up warmly and note that no animals except Registered Assistance Dogs are permitted within the Garden. Please maintain social distancing, and follow all recommended COVID-19 protocols.

We will be returning to our regular meetings at St Marks Unitarian from 3rd February 2022 and are looking forward to seeing you in person.

There is no need to book through Eventbrite. We will keep a paper register of who is attending for Covid contact tracing. You will need to sign in when you arrive and give a contact number. We will discard the list of attendees after three weeks.

The mask policy is “like a cafe”. Please wear a face covering when standing and moving about but you can take it off when seated. We are still meeting in the main part of the church so there is plenty of air and you can sit a distance away from others if you need to.

But 17th February may be on line again! We aren’t sure if a regular facilitator will be available on 17th February as most of us will be on retreat.