Tag: Mindfulness

Meditation and Memory: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Neuroscience

Among the well-known benefits of meditation, which include physical relaxation, attention enhancement and better sleep, the mind-body intervention of meditation has been found to contribute positively to the neuroplasticity of the human brain. 

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to form structural and functional neural connections throughout life. At a young age, our brains grow exponentially, and during adolescence, this means organizing thoughts and memories to create a healthy understanding of our life experiences. Neural adaptation allows the brain to learn new skills, recover from injury, and adapt to changing environments. Many studies have shown that meditation helps our brain’s memory capacity and cognitive function. So it seems we can teach an old dog new tricks and meditation is one way to go about it.

Practicing meditation trains your brain to focus, and when we add the power of mindfulness — paying attention, on purpose, to one thing in the present moment — it helps us redirect our minds when we get distracted. An article by Dr. Scott Loeb published in Lone Star Neurology explored meditation and memory, stating: “By repeatedly focusing attention and cultivating meditation, it strengthens specific neural pathways. Mental exercise through meditation builds stronger connections between cells.” 

Meditation practitioners learn to work with how they perceive the world, ourselves, and others. This can positively affect our lives, behaviors, and relationships.

In the book “Altered Traits,” psychologists Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson discuss research they performed on masters of meditation vs. novice meditators. Using MRI data and gray matter voxels, they examined the brain of Tibetan yogi Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, who began meditating at nine years old and comes from a lineage of Tibetan Buddhism teachers and masters. Rinpoche’s brain looked about eight years younger than what would be considered normal for a 40-year-old. 

Additionally, the ability of master meditators to keep their minds focused for long periods indicates that meditation develops areas of the brain engaged in structural growth. Meditation can stimulate changes in the brain that encourage development in the hippocampus, a region vital for memory. As we age, using meditation to stimulate brain areas that enhance attention and memory may be another reason to bring these practices into our lives. 

In Buddhism, meditation practitioners learn to work with how we perceive the world, ourselves, and others. This can positively affect our lives, behaviors, and relationships. Although the Tibetan master Rinpoche didn’t need proof of the benefits of his lifelong practice, it was interesting that science corroborated what he already knew from Buddhist philosophy. He has since written extensively about his experience collaborating with brain scientists in the book The Joy of Living. 

Meditation also helps maintain attention and working memory during stressful times. Indeed, this is one of the most common impetuses for bringing meditation into a family’s routine. One study on human resources personnel, as explained on neurosciencenews.com, “showed that those who underwent MBSR training were able to maintain their attention and working memory capacity, even during periods of high stress, compared to a control group that did not receive the training.”

What about the most problematic aspect of memory loss, dementia? A study published in the National Library of Medicine in which “the effects of Kirtan Kriya meditation and music listening on cognitive outcomes in adults experiencing subjective cognitive decline, a strong predictor of Alzheimer’s disease,” suggested that the practice of meditation “can significantly enhance both subjective memory function and objective cognitive performance in adults with subjective cognitive decline, and may offer promise for improving outcomes in this population.” 

Another study done in Boston and published in Virginian Rehabilitation & Wellness found that meditation strengthened the cerebral cortex, an area of the brain that handles mental functions such as learning, concentration and memory: “Regular meditation increases blood flow to the brain, which leads to a more robust network of blood vessels in the cerebral cortex, which reinforces our ability for memory capacity.”

The potential for using meditation to enhance the brain’s neuroplasticity is exciting. Harvard researchers reviewed more than a dozen recent studies examining the effects of either mindfulness or cognitive training on older adults with MCI (mild cognitive impairment). “For people with MCI, practicing mindfulness over several weeks to months seemed to sharpen attention, memory, and other mental skills, and ease anxiety and depression. Similarly, cognitive training was associated with better memory, executive function, and mood.” Indeed, it is exciting to scientifically notice fundamental changes in key brain areas that traditionally change and weaken over our lifespan. 


Regardless of how it’s been proven, incorporating meditation into a family’s daily routine seems like a win-win option for members of all ages, and practicing meditators will confirm these benefits in their own lives. Many options exist if you want to incorporate meditation into your daily routine or your family’s daily routine. Pre-recorded practices can easily be found online, and Mindful Frontiers offers a wide range of guided meditations on Insight Timer and YouTube. A personalized workshop can also be arranged if one-on-one guidance works better for you.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC, a Benefit Corporation (BCorp) based in Taos, New Mexico, whose mission is to welcome a mindful future, one present moment at a time, and is dedicated to promoting community wellness through mindfulness and meditation. We offer individuals, families and organizations a variety of practices designed to support and nurture positive social-emotional growth. Anne-Marie, lifelong Taoseña, is a certified meditation leader and labyrinth facilitator. Mindful Frontiers can be found on social media and the Insight Timer app. The website is ⁠MindfulFrontiers.net⁠.

Initially published in The Taos News, May 8, 2025

Tonglen practice for awakening compassion

When life is challenging, we can share kindness with the world.

Generating kindness and compassion during challenging times is a way to feel engaged in and supportive of the world. Helping others brings meaning to our lives and reminds us that we are all interconnected. Helping those in less fortunate circumstances opens our eyes to their struggles and brings perspective to our challenges. When we help others, we benefit society and ourselves. Tonglen is a compassionate meditation practice that awakens our potential for releasing suffering and seeking relief. 

The word tonglen comes from the Tibetan language and translates as giving and taking. Tong means giving or sending, and len means receiving or taking. Pema Chödrön, an American-born Tibetan monk who is a Tonglen practitioner and teacher, explains that in tonglen practice, “we visualize taking in the pain of others with every in-breath and sending out whatever will benefit them on the out-breath.” Tonglen meditation uses visualization and the breath to transform negative energy using messages that generate peace; in the process, we feel love for ourselves and others.

Tonglen originated in India and was brought to Tibet around the 11th century. The practice originated to help those suffering from serious diseases so people might heal and continue to help others. Buddhist monks would practice Tonglen with the intention of releasing the suffering of others in their community and the world at large. “Usually, we look away when we see someone suffering. Their pain brings up our fear or anger and our resistance and confusion. So we can also do tonglen for all people just like ourselves—all those who wish to be compassionate but instead are afraid, who wish to be brave but are cowardly.” (Chödrön)

Tonglen is similar to Loving Kindness (Mettà) in that we use the transformative power of the heart to channel healing. Although the overall intention of these practices is similar, tonglen welcomes the feelings of suffering into our hearts. We feel the pain and sadness before guiding the heart to transform the pain into compassion and extend it outward into the world. Chödrön explains the compassion practice further: “Tonglen can be done for those who are ill, those who are dying or have died, or those who are in pain of any kind. It can be done as a formal meditation practice or right on the spot at any time. If we are out walking and we see someone in pain, we can breathe in that person’s pain and send out relief to them.”

Compassion is not the same as empathy. A working definition of compassion is “the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another’s suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering.” A subtle difference is that empathy is the ability to understand another’s emotions, whereas, with compassion, we also desire to relieve their suffering. 

The following short tonglen practice can be offered for those struggling with illness or emotional suffering. It can be done sitting in meditation or on the fly as we go about our day’s activities.

Tonglen practice for families and groups. Young children can be invited to draw during this practice and use their creativity to channel compassion.

  1. Sitting in stillness with eyes closed, we welcome compassion into our hearts. Generate open awareness as you watch the breath go in and out, inviting the desire to fully awaken to compassion. Bring your attention to the heart and welcome feelings of love – this could be a golden light, an image of the Buddha, or an overall feeling of warmth. You may also choose to place your hands on your heart.
  2. Visualization of a person’s suffering using the breath and sensations. Breathing in and out welcomes an awareness of your or someone else’s suffering. Name the suffering (sadness, grief, pain). See the situation in as much detail as you wish. 
  3. Receiving and taking in suffering. Focus on the situation by seeing an image of the suffering. Use the in-breath to receive the image and transform it into something more positive on the out-breath. You may try using smoke changing into a healing white light. You can also see the person in pain and visualize their face turning into a smile. As you do this, recite several times: May this pain and suffering be released.
  4. Expand compassion by extending it to all who are in the same situation. Using the same in-and-out-breath practice described above, visualize and welcome an awareness of all who feel the same suffering. On each out-breath, offer them the mantra: May this pain and suffering be released. 

Conclusion of the practice: Sit in silence for several more breaths, enjoying the feeling of release and transformation. Recite the final mantra: May all beings be well and live with ease. When ready, open your eyes slowly, bringing awareness back to your environment and noticing your surroundings.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC. Mindful Frontiers is a Benefit Corporation (BCorp) based in Taos, New Mexico, dedicated to promoting community wellness through mindfulness. We offer schools and organizations a variety of mindfulness & meditation tools designed to support and nurture individuals and groups with positive social-emotional growth. Our mission is to “welcome a mindful future, one present moment at a time,” guiding people towards greater awareness, emotional balance, and a deeper connection with themselves and others. Anne-Marie is a certified meditation leader and a certified labyrinth facilitator. Featured practices can be found on the Insight Timer app. Our website is ⁠MindfulFrontiers.net⁠.

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Twelve minutes a day of mindfulness sharpens the mind.

Meditation helps us pay attention and be more productive. 

Mindfulness is about present-moment awareness. Paying attention to what is going on in the moment, inside and outside of our bodies is the key to meditation. The overarching idea is that by using the awareness skill of attention, we can become more focused on inner and outer experiences and be able to respond to difficult situations more calmly, avoid distractions and be more productive.

Dr. Amishi Jha, author of Peak Mind, and a neuroscientist and professor of psychology at the University of Miami explains that the brain’s neuroplasticity is at the heart of why mindfulness helps with focus. Her research team has identified that twelve minutes is the optimal amount of time for a daily meditation attention practice. “Attention regulates how you perceive your life, think your thoughts, feel your feelings, enjoy your memories, and daydream about the future.” Dr. Jha and her team taught people with high-stress jobs how to place attention where it matters most using mindfulness. “What we gain from mindfulness [is] the capacity to keep our attention where we need it… [and] the more you practice, the more you benefit.”

Daniel Goleman (known for his work on emotional intelligence) wrote in his book, Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, “Mindfulness is one variety of attention, one way to focus. Concentration is another … If we start to be too concentrated, then mindfulness reminds us to break that trance of absorption and become mindful of what’s arising in the mind.” There are three types of attention: Inner, Other and Outer. Inner Focus is self-awareness. Other Focus is empathy for others. And Outer Focus is understanding systems or the way life works. While meditating, we practice paying attention to what’s going on inside and outside our bodies on purpose, or intentionally. Since the mind will inevitably try to take our attention elsewhere in an attempt to control experiences, we offer it something to pay attention to. This is called a mindful meditation anchor. Usually, it’s the breath but can also be sounds or body sensations. It can also be an open awareness in which we notice whatever comes into our mind and then let it go with non-attachment. We become observers of the present moment without getting distracted by what our ego mind would like to control, such as worry and anxiety.

The following short practice is a fun and beneficial activity for the entire family or a group of people, that is done with eyes open. You can engage in it at home or outdoors. Using the focus power of our eyes and mind, we practice paying attention, on purpose, to one thing for as long as it is visible. Enjoy!

Mindful Meditation Attention Practice

• Find a comfortable place to sit, either in a chair or on the ground looking through a window with an interesting outdoor view. Begin by relaxing the body with a few deep breaths in the nose and out the mouth.
• When you’re ready, choose an object in front of you as your mindfulness anchor: a bird, animal or insect. (I highly recommend selecting a moving anchor.) For as long as you are sitting in meditation, you will keep your focus on this one object and when other objects come into view, you disregard them and continue to watch your chosen anchor. 
• When choosing a bird or insect, you may have to turn your head and follow it for as long as it is within your view. Follow your attention anchor, disregarding anything else that may come in to distract you. Only change your attention anchor if it flies away or disappears. Then just choose the closest object and continue paying attention for as long as possible.

Note: This mindfulness activity is fun because as our attention and eyes follow the anchor, we see other things we’d prefer to pay attention to but commit to focusing on one thing. This teaches us to discern and stay connected. It’s a metaphor for traditional meditation practice where we return to the breath whenever our mind wanders in thought.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers. Mindful Frontiers LLC is a Benefit Corporation (BCorp) committed to community wellness. It provides schools and organizations mindfulness meditation tools that nurture positive social-emotional growth. With over two decades of meditation experience, Anne-Marie coaches children, families, individuals, groups, and classrooms. She is a certified meditation leader and a certified labyrinth facilitator. Featured practices can be found on the ⁠Welcoming a Mindful Future⁠ podcast and Insight Timer app. Our website is ⁠MindfulFrontiers.net⁠.

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Yoga and Meditation:

Close Cousins on the Path of Well-being.

As a meditation guide and coach, I often hear comments such as, “I can’t meditate because I can’t sit still,” or “I can’t stop my mind from thinking.” Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese meditation master and founder of Plum Village, believed that “people should learn to be, rather than just do, and that doing nothing can bring about a quality of being that is very important.” We fear “doing nothing” because we have been trained that our worth is in what we accomplish. Furthermore, the ego identifies itself in mind activity. Meditation helps us be in the moment, mindful of what’s here, and now. Through “doing nothing”, we may even find inspiration for our next project.

Another comment I hear is, “I prefer yoga to meditation because I need to move my body.” Indeed, all beings enjoy movement and we need exercise to keep our bodies healthy. Yoga is a movement practice that includes meditation. There are eight limbs of yoga of which three are close cousins to meditation: Pranayama: Breathing techniques that regulate breathing and calm the mind, Dharana: The concentration of the mind and Dhyana: Meditative absorption where the mind is completely focused on an object of meditation. Meditation includes breathing, calming the body, and focusing the mind on an object of attention. 

Meditation helps us be in the moment, mindful of what’s here, and now.

A blog post from Arohan Yoga further explains the connection: “Yoga and meditation are deeply intertwined. Yoga postures can prepare the body for meditation by releasing tension and improving focus. The relationship between yoga and meditation is like a dance between two partners, each complementing and enhancing the other. Together, they create a harmonious path towards overall well-being, helping us to find balance and tranquility in our lives.” The main benefit of meditation is to calm the mind and body so if you can do yoga, you can meditate.

This month’s family practice involves combining meditation and walking. Thich Nhat Hanh emphasized the practice of mindful walking as a profound way to deepen our connection with our body and the earth. While on my daily walk recently, I explored various ways to combine mind-body connection with walking meditation. Although zen-style walking meditation involves linking the breath to our steps intentionally, I believe we can use simple mantras accompanying the rhythm of our steps to bring meditation into a daily movement routine.

Walking meditation mantras

When you and/or your family are on a walk, choose a mantra and repeat it as long as you can keep your attention on the words. The rhythm can be slow or brisk, following the pace of your steps. When the mind gets distracted or bored, choose another mantra and continue walking. The eyes are focused straight ahead, and slightly down, on the path forward. From time to time, we stop, gaze upward, and appreciate the view before returning to our walking meditation.

  1. Left foot, left foot …
  2. Right toe, right toe …
  3. I move with ease, I move with ease …
  4. May I walk in peace … 
  5. Grounded in the earth …
  6. Chakra mantra: Lam, Vam, Ram, Yam, Ham, Om …

During your next exercise walk or hike, explore blending meditation with movement for a full body-mind experience!

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC. Mindful Frontiers LLC is a Benefit Corporation (BCorp) committed to community wellness by providing, schools and organizations mindfulness meditation tools that nurture positive social-emotional growth. With over two decades of meditation experience, Anne-Marie offers coaching for children, families, individuals, groups, and classrooms. She is a certified meditation leader and a certified labyrinth facilitator. Featured practices can be found on the ⁠Welcoming a Mindful Future⁠ podcast and Insight Timer app. Our website is ⁠MindfulFrontiers.net⁠.

Inviting the Power of the Heart Through Meditation: 

Building resilience and meaningful relationships with others and ourselves.

“Your heart was made for love: for connection, belonging, and meaningful relationship with other people, beings, and the earth.”

Oren Jay Sofer Your Heart Was Made For This

In the recently published book entitled Your Heart Was Made For This, Oren Jay Sofer expounds on the power of the heart to meet a world in crisis. An important premise in his book is that “whatever the mind frequently thinks upon and ponders, that will become its inclination.” Where we place our mind’s attention is where our personal character and habits of thought will gravitate, much like a rut in the road that grabs us. This is part of the concept of “neuroplasticity” which basically means that our brains are malleable (adults as well as youth) and we can change how we think and act throughout our lives with intention, purpose, and practice. Sofer further explains that “If we do not shape the heart, the world will do it for us, and the world does not have our highest welfare in mind.”

One of my favorite meditation practices is Tonglen. The word tonglen comes from the Tibetan language and translates as giving and taking. Tong means giving or sending, and len means receiving or taking. Tonglen is similar to Loving Kindness (Mettà) in that we are using the transformative power of the heart to channel compassion. We acknowledge the suffering of the world and its beings and then visualize the suffering being transformed in the heart into compassion and then release it outward with intention, on an out-breath, for the betterment of the world.

Heart-based meditation practices such as tonglen and mettà are healthy ways to channel compassion into the world and our own lives. Focussing on the breath going in and out of the heart center is where we start this transforming process. One of the most powerful daily mindfulness practices is to watch where we place our mental attention as we go about our day. Taking a break from scrolling on an electronic device to sit in meditation is a valuable activity that shifts our focus from the external world to our internal environment and helps us notice what our mind is doing. Noticing what we are thinking or ruminating about, and then redirecting our focus back to the body and the breath is a liberating way to change the way our brains control and create ruts of behavior. It is worthwhile to take time to contemplate conscious attention throughout the day as we go about our lives as well as when sitting in meditation. This kind of attention is called heart-mind awareness. Setting aside five to 10 minutes a day to do a heart-mind meditation practice is a healthy way to nourish wise attention and encourage a shift in our mind’s behavior.

This month I invite you to do a short tonglen practice that can be offered for those who are ill, dying, or passed on, or people we know (or don’t know) who are in pain of any kind.  This can also be an on-the-fly practice in which we send compassion to people we encounter throughout the day, offering heartfelt intentions of wellness and ease. 

Tonglen practice for families and groups.

Note: Young children can be invited to draw during this practice and use their creativity to channel compassion.

  1. Sitting in stillness with eyes closed. Begin by breathing in and out, noticing where the breath is the clearest in the body, and then bring your attention to the heart. Welcome feelings of kindness – this could be a golden light, an image of the Buddha or personal deity, or just an overall feeling of warmth. You may also choose to place your hands on your heart.
  2. Visualization of a person’s suffering using the breath and sensations. Breathing in and out welcomes an awareness of your or someone else’s suffering. Name the suffering (sadness, grief, pain). See the situation in your heart-mind just as it is.
  3. Receiving and taking in suffering. Focus on the situation by seeing an image of the suffering. Use the in-breath to receive the image and with the out-breath, transform it into something more positive. You may try using smoke that changes into white light. You can also see the person as being in pain and then visualize their face turning into a smile. As you do this, recite several times: May this pain and suffering be released.
  4. Expanding compassion outward by extending it to all who are suffering. Using the same in-and-out breath process described above, visualize and welcome an awareness of a world that is suffering. On each out-breath offer the mantra to the world: May this pain and suffering be released. 

Conclusion of the practice. Sit in silence for several more breaths, enjoying the feeling of release and transformation. Conclude with a final recitation of the mantra: May all beings be well and live with ease. When ready, open your eyes slowly, shifting your attention to your body and then to the space you’re in by noticing some objects around you.

Originally published, December 13, 2023 in The Taos News

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Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC, a Benefit Corporation committed to Community Wellness through the practice of meditation. With over two decades of meditation experience, Anne-Marie leads meditation workshops and provides coaching for children, families, individuals, groups, and classrooms. She is a certified meditation leader as well as a certified labyrinth facilitator. A full audio version of featured practices can be heard on the Welcoming a Mindful Future podcast. Our website can be accessed at MindfulFrontiers.net.

Loving-Kindness is a Meditation Practice with Big Benefits:

Sending Kind Thoughts

Children are born with an innate capacity to give and receive affection and compassion. We’ve noticed how young children absorb the smiles of others and instinctively reciprocate their own heart-melting energy. We’ve watched a young child shed tears seeing another being in distress and noticed how they are able to join in the laughter of others. Observe them as they hug their furry pets and speak sweetly to un-furry pets such as a butterfly or a lizard. Children are born with a real sense of how to love and be loved. As they grow older, this spontaneity wanes as life affects their lived experiences. They find out that others are not always kind and loving, that people can display hurtful behaviors and life may become more challenging to navigate.  

Indeed, the world is sometimes a hard place and meditation can help assuage the feelings that come from suffering (dukkha in the Pali language of Buddhism). This is actually the first of the Four Noble Truths: that there is suffering in the world. The Second Noble Truth, that there is a cause of suffering, allows us to understand that it is not our fault. The Third Noble Truth teaches us that there is an end to suffering and then the Fourth Noble Truth sends us on the path of how to handle the effects of suffering by training our emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence helps us to stay present with life experiences. Intelligence is knowing that this, too, shall pass and that there is a positive way to deal with suffering. By encouraging present-moment awareness we learn to accept the changing nature of our experiences, the behaviors of others, and our own inner landscape. We learn to see things as they are without the duality of “good” or “bad,” and learn to check in with ourselves to build our internal resources.

This may be the biggest benefit of family meditation: to pause, check in, and genuinely wish ourselves and others well. When the family learns to nurture inner peace, we can generate positivity and heartfulness. By practicing mindful meditation, families can model how to keep positivity and generosity flowing, even when life’s experiences are confusing and painful. Loving-kindness, also known as Metta, is a meditation in which we send kind thoughts to ourselves and others. It is a generous practice that anyone can do, no matter the age and level of emotional intelligence.

A Metta Meditation for Sending Loving Kindness

  • Before you start this mediation, set a timer (10-20 minutes for example) and decide who will be the leader. Then choose a few phrases that invoke kindness and compassion. Write them down if it helps everyone to remember. Here are some examples:
    • “May I/you/we be at peace.”
    • “May /you/we be healthy.”
    • “May I/you/we feel free.”
    • “May joy fill my/your/our life.”
  • As is customary for meditation, find a comfortable place where the entire family can be together and attention is the most focused. 
  • Start by taking three deep breaths together, inhaling through the nose, and exhaling through the mouth while tuning in to how the body feels and responds to relaxing breaths.
  • Continuing our rhythmic breathing, we will offer loving-kindness intentions to people in our life, called beneficiaries, (yourself, your family, your neighbors, your community, your country, and people who need kindness across the world). 
  • Offering Metta starts with ourselves individually and then, in turn, moves on to others one at a time, ending with a community or group.
  • With the beneficiary clearly in your mind, repeat the loving-kindness phrases several times, moving from one beneficiary to the next every few minutes. The leader can speak the phrases out loud or encourage everyone to say them silently to themselves as the intended beneficiary is visualized. 
  • When the timer goes off or the meditation is completed, sit quietly for a few moments, smiling and sensing how it feels to have shared loving-kindness with ourselves and the world. 
  • If time permits, journaling can be encouraged. The very young can draw how they feel or who they sent Metta and illustrate how it made that person/those people feel.

Originally published in The Taos News, August 10, 2023

Meditating with Mother Nature: Impermanence and Interconnectedness.

Meditating in nature is a satisfying activity that anyone can do, no matter their age or mobility. Many people enjoy sitting under a tree or by a stream, lying on their back in a meadow or just sitting on the porch on a hot summer day. Communing with nature can be a rewarding experience, especially if we can feel gratitude and pay close attention to what is around us, appreciating the incredible colors, shapes, and designs. In the book, Awake in the Wild, author Mark Coleman writes, “Nature has the power to transform and awaken us. For centuries, monks, mystics, and other individuals have lived, meditated, and sought refuge in the forests, deserts, and mountains.” 

We can learn a lot from Mother Nature regarding impermanence and gratitude during the summer when there is an abundance of colorful life around us. All of this beauty is freely offered with nothing asked in return for all that is produced. Gaia’s beauty reminds us that there is beauty for beauty’s sake as well as a deep interconnectedness or interbeing, a term coined by Thich Nhat Hanh.

Thich Nhat Hanh, (called Thay, or teacher, by his followers), was a firm believer in meditating with nature. “When we look into our own bodily formation, we see Mother Earth inside us, and so the whole universe is inside us, too. Once we have this insight of interbeing, it is possible to have real communication, real communion with the Earth;” from Love Letters to the Earth. The idea of interbeing is very important to Thay and his Plum Village followers. Interbeing is the belief that we are part of Nature, its beings, and all that lives on our planet. We breathe together, hold space together and depend on each other for survival. There is no self separate from our environment and we all need the same elements to survive. What happens to you affects me and what happens to our environment affects all of us.

As I recently read in a Lion’s Roar article by Valerie Brown entitled The True Nature of a Flower, “Interconnectedness can be seen in a garden. A flower does not grow in isolation. It’s permeated by non-flower elements such as sunlight, soil, water, and air. It cannot exist without these non-flower elements. When you really look at a flower, you begin to see this interconnectedness of the roots stabilizing the soil, the nectar providing food for butterflies and insects, and seed heads offering nourishment for birds”. With awareness of interconnectedness, we understand the kinship connecting plant to flower, flower to non-flower elements, and also to everything else, including humans. We cannot exist without sunlight, water, air, and the nutrients plants provide. Using meditation, we can deepen our awareness of the connection (interbeing) we have with our environment and Mother Earth whose abundance and wisdom are immense.

The following practice is intended for families (or a group of people) to practice together in a natural setting. This meditation takes place in a quiet outdoor place – the backyard, a city park, next to a stream, or in a forest. It is appropriate for all ages.

Meditating with Mother Nature

  • Once you’ve found your spot in nature, gather everyone around and find a place to sit. If you have brought chairs, cushions or blankets, they can make sitting on the ground more comfortable. Barefooted would also be nice.
  • As you take your seat, notice what is going on in the body or mind. We can always be aware of something, whether it is thoughts or sensations. This is Mindful Awareness.
  • Close your eyes and bring attention to the body. Bring awareness to your posture and what parts of the body are in contact with the earth. Sit with as much ease as possible so that relaxation can be present.
  • Breathe normally and feel the entire movement of your breathing as it moves through the body. As you breathe, feel the air coming in and going out and imagine that you are breathing with all life forms around you. Plants breathe, animals breathe, insects breathe, etc…
  • Do this for a few minutes together, allowing everyone to enjoy their own breathing sensations as well as the appreciation that there’s a community breathing together.
  • Now, bring your awareness to the natural environment around you. What do you hear? What do you feel? Are there sensations in relation to the areas that are in touch with the earth? Tickling of grass, Crumbling of earth, Solidity of rocks …?
  • Open your eyes and look around you. What do you see? Trees swaying in the wind. A bird on a branch, an ant on the ground; pay attention carefully and with a curious heart. 
  • Allow everyone time to silently engage with their surroundings so that there is an awareness of the relationship we have with all kinds of life forms – the plants, the insects, the trees, the birds, and even the hidden animals. Acknowledge that we are all part of this living, breathing ecosystem. Even if the family or group can only sense this for a short time, it is worthwhile, and with practice, the time can be extended. (A valuable goal is to sit in nature for at least 30 minutes.

An audio version of this featured meditation is available on the Welcoming a Mindful Future podcast via Spotify, Apple, and Google podcast platforms.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC, an education-based mindfulness meditation center offering workshops, classes, and coaching for children, families, individuals, and classrooms. For more information please visit the website at MindfulFrontiers.net.

Originally published on The Taos News, July 13, 2023

Tonglen practice for awakening compassion

Children have an innate capacity for generating kindness towards others.

One of my favorite meditation practices is Tonglen and a well-known teacher of this practice is Pema Chödrön.  The word tonglen comes from Tibetan language and translates as giving and taking. Tong means giving or sending, and len means receiving or taking. Pema explains that in tonglen practice “we visualize taking in the pain of others with every in-breath and sending out whatever will benefit them on the out-breath. In the process, we … begin to feel love for both ourselves and others; we begin to take care of ourselves and others.” In basic terms, tonglen meditation uses visualization and breath-focus to transform negative energy into positive.

I first learned about tonglen during a meditation-leader program at Sage Institute for Creativity and Consciousness from which I graduated in 2021. I was so intrigued with tonglen that my final paper was about comparing the practice to the heart language found in poetry. 

Historically, tonglen originated in India and was brought to Tibet around the 11th century as a way to help those who were suffering from serious diseases, and also so people might heal themselves so they could continue to help others. 

Tonglen is similar to Loving Kindness (Mettà) in that we are using the transformative power of the heart to channel healing. Although the overall intention of these practices is similar, tonglen is different in that we actually welcome suffering into our hearts. We feel the pain and sadness before allowing the heart to feel compassion and extending it outward into the world.

Compassion is not the same as empathy. A working definition of compassion says it is “the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another’s suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering.” Empathy is “the ability to sense other people’s emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling.” (greatergood.berkeley.edu) So, we can understand the subtle difference to be that empathy is an ability to understand another’s emotions, whereas with compassion we also desire to relieve their suffering.

Pema explains the compassion practice further: “Usually, we look away when we see someone suffering. Their pain brings up our fear or anger; it brings up our resistance and confusion. So we can also do tonglen for all the people just like ourselves—all those who wish to be compassionate but instead are afraid, who wish to be brave but instead are cowardly. Rather than beating ourselves up, we can use our personal stuckness as a stepping stone to understanding what people are up against all over the world. Breathe in for all of us and breathe out for all of us. We can use our personal suffering as the path to compassion for all beings.”

The following short tonglen practice can be offered for those who are ill, those who are dying or have already passed, or those people in pain of any kind. Although this is a shortened version, tonglen is traditionally an extended meditation practice.

Tonglen practice for families and groups. Young children can be invited to draw during this practice and use their creativity to channel compassion.

  1. Sitting in stillness with eyes closed. Generate open awareness as you watch the breath go in and out, inviting the desire to fully awaken to compassion. Bring your attention to the heart and welcome feelings of love – this could be a golden light, an image of the Buddha, a “feel-good” being, or just an overall feeling of warmth. You may also choose to place your hands on your heart.
  2. Visualization of a person’s suffering using the breath and sensations. Breathing in and out, welcome awareness of yours or someone else’s suffering. Name the suffering (sadness, grief, pain). See the situation as it is in as much detail as you wish. 
  3. Receiving and taking in suffering. Focus on the situation by seeing an image of the suffering. Use the in-breath to receive the image and with the out-breath, transform it into something more positive. You may try using smoke that changes into healing white light. You can also see the person as being in pain and then visualize their face turning into a smile. As you do this, recite several times: May this pain and suffering be released.
  4. Expanding compassion by extending it out to all who are in the same situation. Using the same in-and-out breath practice described above, visualize and welcome awareness of all who feel the same kind of suffering. On each out-breath offer them the mantra: May this pain and suffering be released. 
  5. Conclusion of the practice. Sit in silence for several more breaths, enjoying the feeling of release and transformation, Recite the final mantra: May all beings be well and live with ease. When ready, open your eyes slowly, bringing awareness back to the space you’re in, noticing your surroundings and all sensations that are present within you. 

(Please note that mindfulness and meditation are not a substitute for medical therapy.)

Originally published in The Taos News, January 5, 2022

The Impermanence of Life:

Mindfulness and the change of seasons

I received an email newsletter from Ten Percent Happier, a meditation app that offers many types of meditation and teachings. The article shared was entitled, “The Joy and Dread of Autumn” by Jay Michaelson and the topic connected to my heart. It speaks to the impermanence of life and how nature dies with the change of seasons. Michaelson writes, “At this time each autumn, as leaves begin to fall in earnest … I actually feel a desire to somehow paste them back onto the trees.” Reading this I thought to myself, “yeah, that’s how I feel.” 

Surely, fall is a beautiful season and recently my family was in New Hampshire where the sugar maple leaves change to deep colors of red and maroon. Along with the more common yellow and orange, fall’s palette is really spectacular. Even on the ground, the leaves create a gorgeous contrast between the still-green grass and beige sidewalks. It’s as if the forests are on fire with color and the sparks are on the ground. 

“Even if the autumn leaves are riotously beautiful, the bare branches of February are bleak and dour,” writes the author, who says he suffers from seasonal affective disorder. The mind knows that death is near so with the colored leaves soon turning brown, the trees will be bare for the next 6 or 7 months. I realize that I’m a green-season person even though I have an autumn birthday and am grateful to live in a region where there is sunshine all year. So in this conundrum, mindfulness helps me practice with emotions, thoughts and sensations conjured up by the change of seasons. I notice the grasping and aversion felt in my body as churning in the stomach and heaviness of heart. I understand that these feelings are uncomfortable, even depressing. I allow myself to explore the sadness when fall is giving way to winter and remind myself in a moment of wisdom that this is a predictable journey of life and death which is temporary and will in a few months transition again to the seasons of rebirth. I try to make friends with my emotions using self-compassion, reminding myself that the flowers and green leaves WILL return. Apple crisp and pumpkin pie are delicious. Wood burning in the fireplace is cozy and all is well in this moment. It’s the cycle of life.

The following family meditation is done outdoors on a hike or where ever we can find an area to be among trees. We keep eyes open and can choose to either sit or lie down for this practice.

Autumn Family Meditation

Begin by feeling the areas of the body in contact with the ground. Sitting, the feet and legs are touching the earth while lying down, the whole back body will be heavy and grounded.

The leader directs everyone to take several deep breaths in through the nose and out the mouth to settle the nervous system and center the body in the meditation space.

The leader then asks everyone how they feel about the change of seasons. Some like it just fine while others may be feeling a little grasping for summer or aversion of fall. It’s a personal thing either way and no need to answer out loud. This is a moment of introspective contemplation. 

Next we do a body scan, moving our attention progressively from one end of the body to the other while noticing any areas that are tense or tight. Those are where the emotions of the change of seasons are physically being felt. 

Looking around, what do we see in the trees and plants around us. What colors are the leaves, branches, plants, vines, etc? Are there signs of life or is everything pretty much asleep?

Using the sense of touch or body sensations, what’s the temperature of the air? Cool, warm, etc. Is there a scent to the change of seasons? Dirt, decaying leaves, evergreens…

What nature sounds are we aware of? Birds, squirrels, a breeze in the trees blowing leaves to the ground? There may be fewer animal sounds when the season is changing to winter.

Once the atmosphere of the practice has been established, we continue to notice the in and out breath and remain in silence, allowing the body and mind to interact with the breath and the environment around us, noticing what our awareness wishes to tune into.

When enough time has passed, we take a few deep breaths together and look around us, mindfully seeing details of nature’s beauty that is a constant in the cycle of life. 

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC, an education-based mindfulness meditation center offering workshops, classes and coaching for children, families, individuals and classrooms. For more information please visit the website at MindfulFrontiers.net.

https://www.taosnews.com/opinion/columns/the-impermanent-cycle-of-life/article_50a53031-a9c6-5a2d-9d9a-8656aa735797.html

Awaken curiosity and creativity

Encouraging mindfulness during creative endeavors.

Welcoming mindfulness into artistic projects is a fun way to incorporate curiosity and creativity into our daily life. Many of us have seen the extreme concentration of children when they are fully engaged in an artistic project: drawing, coloring, finger painting, or writing a story. Their whole body is engaged. I remember my daughter would stick her tongue out when focused on a project and when I saw that I knew she was in her creative zone.

I am a life-long creative and always have an artistic project in the works. Knitting, crocheting, sewing, cooking, and writing fill my heart with a joyful calm. The mind is focused, the heart is connected and I know this is a special time. Recently, I began guiding monthly Meditative Creations classes. We use the power of mindfulness to enhance focus and curiosity. Whether it is coloring a mandala, free-drawing, knitting, or journaling, mindfulness awakens what is happening inside and out. Using mindfulness, we pay close attention and use the five senses as a way to invite curiosity.

In an article entitled Mindfulness and Creativity published in the Canadian Teacher Magazine, Peggy Bochun quotes Harvard neuroscientist, Dr. Daniel Siegel. “Mindfulness helps fine-tune brain connections and creates integration by developing new neural pathways.” When we incorporate mindfulness into creative activities, the brain can focus intently on what is being created and we are able to integrate “the whole of the body, both hemispheres of the brain, and memory” which develops new ways of engaging with the project. 

For example, when we are drawing, mindfulness helps bring full attention to the hand-eye activity. The mind is in the background as we focus intently on what the hands are doing. We notice the colors, the texture, the feeling of the instruments in the hand, and the sound of drawing on paper. When knitting or crocheting, we bring full attention to the movement of the needles or hook and the sensation of the yarn in the fingers and hands. The sense of smell can be used to notice the odor of colored markers or pencils as we draw or paint designs. The eyes are engaged as we pay attention to the colors of our creation as well as the rhythmic pattern of the activity. Periodically, we may stop, breathe, and notice our whole body in space playing a role in channeling creativity. 

The following is a group activity and each person has their own project to work on. The practice requires a leader who guides everyone through the five senses as well as inviting moments of silence.

Meditative Creations Practice

We begin by describing to each other what we are creating. Just a simple sharing of the project. “I’m drawing a picture. I’m coloring a mandala. I’m knitting a scarf, etc.”

We begin by noticing our body and our breath. Taking a few slow, deep breaths in the nose and out the mouth, we allow the body and the nervous system to calm down. This helps us to be ready to focus on our project.

The leader will then invite everyone to bring mindfulness through the five senses by asking the following phrases and encouraging participants to reply silently to themselves. This practice requires silence and individual attention. (If helpful, background acoustic music can be played).

What do you see? The eyes are needed to direct what you’re doing.

What do you feel with your fingers? The sense of touch is a central part of your project. Do you feel the pencil, marker, hook, needle, etc? Is the instrument hard, smooth, sharp, or dull?

What do you hear? Is the pencil or marker making a sound as it draws or colors on the paper? Do the needles make a clicking sound? What sound does your project make?

What do you smell? Is there a smell to the project or materials you’re using? Or is there a scent in the environment where we are all creating?

What do you taste? Sometimes smell and taste are closely related and if there is a smell to the project or environment, it may bring up a taste or remind us of a past activity.

When done, we put down our projects, close our eyes, take a few deep breaths, notice our body in space and then open the eyes and look closely at what we’ve created. The leader may choose to ask participants what they notice about their project or whether there are thoughts and realizations that have come up as a result of doing this meditative creation practice.

Published in the Taos News, October 13, 2022