Thầy Pháp Dung has put out a call to action on behalf of the International Plum Village Community over the up coming the Paris Climate Summit. You can read the full text below or on the Plum Village website here. This, along with the recent tragic events in France, mean that Paris is likely to be at the forefront of our thoughts and practice over the next few weeks.

There is a climate march in Edinburgh on Saturday 28th November (not 29th as suggested below) which some of us are intending to go on. If we organise anything more formal as a group then details will appear here.

The day after the climate talks (Saturday 12th December) we have one of our regular mindfulness mornings. Details will appear here shortly.

Plum Village Call to Action

To All Plum Village Practice Centers,
To All Order of Interbeing Members,
To All Our Sanghas World-wide,
To Our Dear Beloved Friends,

To support the upcoming Paris Climate Summit (COP21) and in solidarity with the Global Buddhist Climate Change Collective, One Earth Sangha, Plum Village Earth Holder Sangha, and faith communities around the world, we are calling on the International Plum Village Community to gather and send our spiritual energy to Mother Earth and to international political leaders, so that they may have the courage, clarity, and compassion to come to a wise and responsible agreement.

As a global community we have the technology, we have the opportunity, and what we need now is the political and collective will and spiritual courage to act decisively to change course.

We invite our Sanghas to come together to breathe, sit, and walk mindfully for the Earth, and generate a powerful collective energy of mindfulness and compassion. This powerful collective energy is our spiritual offering to the Paris Climate Summit and the highest form of prayer for our precious planet.

Here are actions we can take as a community:

1. Join a March: On Sunday November 29th we invite you to gather as a Sangha and join a Global Climate March in a town or city near you. We can contribute to the Climate March our collective energy of peace and stillness, enjoying every step with freedom and deep connection to the Earth. You can find a march near you or create an event of your own.

2. Fast from meat and dairy for two weeks: For the duration of the Paris Climate Summit, from November 30th to December 11th, we invite you to fast from meat and dairy products. You can come together as a sangha to eat a vegan meal “potluck-style” or as a family in your home. Eating in this way nourishes our energy of compassion, and we can send this energy to support the Paris negotiations. As we eat our meal, we may enjoy moments of silence to cherish the food and nourish our gratitude and appreciation for the Earth. You may like to practice The Five Contemplations.

3. Wear a Green Ribbon: For these two weeks, from November 30th to December 11th, we invite you to wear a green ribbon in order to raise awareness, amongst those around you, of our collective practice of mindfulness and compassion in solidarity with the Earth during this time.

4. Get Together: We encourage you to attend a sangha gathering near you, and to read from Thầy’s books Love Letter to the Earth and The World We Have. Raising awareness in our sanghas promotes collective awakening in society. You may also like to join gatherings and vigils organised by our brothers and sisters in other faith traditions and climate action groups, and offer your presence, peace, compassion and support.

5. Make a Commitment: We encourage you to reflect on your lifestyle and consider making a personal commitment with concrete actions to reduce your environmental impact. Tell those you live with or your local sangha what you plan to do (or refrain from doing), and ask for their support.

When we meditate together and walk mindfully together, we amplify the power of our mindfulness, concentration and compassion. This strong energy of collective awareness will be felt in the world. It has the power to re-establish the Earth’s equilibrium and restore balance, since we are nothing less than Mother Earth herself. Our actions will lead to collective insight, collective awakening, and collective change.

We do not know what the outcome of the Summit will be. But we determine our future by the way we live the present moment, and the way we live our daily life. Our awareness and compassion, and our love for the Earth will extend far beyond December’s Summit.

We will be holding another morning of mindfulness at the Morningside United Church on Saturday 24th October 2015 from 9:30 to 13:00. This time Suzanne will be facilitating.

This is an opportunity to deepen our practice together in the tradition of the Community of Interbeing. 

Some cushions and mats will be provided but if you have your own you may like to bring them. There will be chairs to sit on too. Tea will be provided but please bring a little vegetarian food to share for lunch.

Morningside United Church is easy to find and get to. It is at “Holy Corner” where Bruntsfield Place, Morningside Road, Chamberlain Road and Colinton Road meet. It is across the road for the Eric Liddell Centre and diagonally opposite Costa Coffee. See map below. Busses include 11, 15, 16, 23, 36, 45, 101 and 102.

Any questions? Please contact us through the form.

Facilitators: Susanne Olbrich and Suzanne Dance.
Venue: Skye Room, Gillis Centre, 100 Strathearn Road, Edinburgh, EH9 1BB.
Dates: Saturday 26 – Sunday 27 September 2015.
Time: Registration: 9.30am-10am. Retreat Days: 10am-5pm.

This is a weekend of meditation, creative deepening and community building for all who work in the field of creativity – as creators, performers, educators or therapists. Mindfulness practice has the capacity to renew body and mind and to nourish the heart. Through mindful sitting, walking and eating together, we will slow down and reconnect with the source of peace and joy inside. The retreat includes creative explorations across art forms (weather permitting outdoors), as well as time for reflection and for networking. Suitable for those new to mindfulness meditation as well as for experienced practitioners.

Susanne Olbrich has been engaged in mindfulness practice since 1996. A lay member of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Interbeing, she also studied Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) with Bangor University. Susanne’s work as a pianist and composer embraces classical, jazz, folk and world music as well as a love for experiment. She has been offering creative music workshops in Scotland and Germany, collaborating with music schools, the NHS, adult education providers and community groups. In 2012 she co-founded the Mindful Artists Network (www.mindful-artists.org). Susanne lives in the Findhorn community. http://www.susanneolbrich.net

Suzanne Dance has 20 years of experience of  mindfulness practice. She is a facilitator of the Edinburgh Wild Geese Sangha, with the Community of Interbeing. Suzanne is an actor trained at RSAMD, with extensive experience in theatre, film and television in Scotland. Recent work includes: ‘Mary Magdalene’, a self-created dance and text based piece, and ‘Leave to Remain’, an exploration of grief, loss and death. Suzanne also works with ACTive INquiry, a Theatre of the Oppressed Company that seeks to address issues of social justice. This year she has worked with Shakti Womens Aid on the theme of personal and community resilience. Suzanne is also a teacher of well-being, mindfulness and relaxation to a wide variety of groups.

Further details see the EICSP site or contact  Neill Walker, mesp2015@hotmail.com, 0131 331 4469.

Great to see Minfulness@Lunchtime has a Facebook page now.

It is great to see that the Poppy Seed Sangha in Fife now have a website and Facebook page. Check them out if you are North of the Forth!

There will be a morning of mindfulness at the Morningside United Church on 12th September 2015 from 9:30 to 13:00 facilitated by Gill.

An opportunity to deepen our practice together in the tradition of the Community of Interbeing. 

Some cushions and mats will be provided but if you have your own you may like to bring them. There will be chairs to sit on too. Tea will be provided but please bring a little vegetarian food to share for lunch.

Morningside United Church is easy to find and get to. It is at “Holy Corner” where Bruntsfield Place, Morningside Road, Chamberlain Road and Colinton Road meet. It is across the road for the Eric Liddell Centre and diagonally opposite Costa Coffee. See map below. Busses include 11, 15, 16, 23, 36, 45, 101 and 102.

Any questions? Please contact us through the form.

Thanks to Pete for beautifully facilitating the latest Mindfulness Morning at the Salisbury Centre in Edinburgh on a theme of mindful music – and on his continuation day (that’s his birthday).

Pete mentioned a bunch of resources to chase up if you are interested. Click here to download a PDF of the notes for the morning..

One thing he mentions is this fascinating documentary of the mindful attention that goes into the making of string instruments for a peace quartet.

We will NOT be meeting at St Marks on three Thursdays in August – the 13th, 20th and 27th. This is because St Marks is being used as a festival venue.

Good news is that we will be meeting on Tuesdays in these weeks at Marchmont St Giles so it may be an opportunity for you to try something different if you haven’t been before. See our regular meeting page for details.

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

There will be a morning of mindfulness at the Salisbury Centre on 1 August from 9:30 to 13:00 facilitated by Pete.

Here are directions to where it is: http://www.salisburycentre.org/site/findus/index.php

Some cushions and mats will be provided but if you have your own you may like to bring them. Tea will be provided but please bring a little vegetarian food to share for lunch.

The theme will be “Mindfulness of Music”.

Music, as a sense impression, is the second of the four nutriments described by Thay. We will apply the five contemplations, normally used for food, to music in order to increase our appreciation of it and our awareness of it’s interbeing nature.  There will be guided mediation, walking meditation, readings, listening to music (including Thay’s new translation of the Heart Sutra) and some sharing.  All welcome.