On arrival it was a very wet and overcast morning. Keith and I (Bryan) began setting up the large hall at St Giles of Marchmont. We were soaked by the rain and began putting out mats and cushions. I remarked casually to Keith “we will be lucky to have 10 folk due to the weather conditions”. Folk started to straggle in through the door looking thoroughly wet, certainly glad to be out of the rain and very happy for a cup of tea. When we sat down to begin our practise 21 folk had made the conscious choice to come to our gathering of the Wild Geese mindfulness morning despite the weather.

The theme for the day was “Habit energy and its scorpion nature”. This was partly inspired from a dharma talk given by Sister Dang Nghiem found in an old edition of the Mindfulness bell magazine. After a brief telling of the ” Story of the frog and the scorpion”. Keith led us on a guided meditation and walking meditation, followed by sit. We then broke for a cup of tea in silence. I could not help but notice that many of the now vacated mats had large damp patches due to the encounter with the rain.

A short dharma talk was given, which offered various angles to look into the subject of habit energy. How this energy enters our daily lives, its possible origins and its addictive and scorpion like nature. Also how it plays a major role in our suffering and for others. After a brief description on the practice of deep listening and sharing within our tradition. We broke into two groups for dharma sharing.

Our final practice was lunch held partly in silence. Folk brought the usual array of good food to share. We sat in a circle on our mats connecting with our food and the circle as a whole. On the invitation of the bell we broke silence and chatted, getting to know our neighbours. Finally we said our goodbye’s inviting everyone to meet again on the 1st of August at the Salisbury Centre from 9.30am to 1.30am.

To summarise the morning. It was wonderful to see the young people from Wake up who attended. They brought a balance, plus wisdom and harmony to the day. The new faces and familiar ones blended with the young, sharing there experience and I feel it was a beneficial atmosphere all round. Mindfulness mornings if nothing else is an act of peace. Hopefully we will see you again at the Salisbury Centre.

Bryan and Keith