Note from Louisa
 
On March 20th, the northern hemisphere moved through the vernal equinox, the midpoint between the winter solstice and the summer solstice, where the hours of light and dark are perfectly balanced.
 
Not only does the equinox signal the advent of spring, but invites us to
pause and examine what feels out of balance in our lives. On this day, and the corresponding autumnal equinox on September 22nd, we can play with the idea of unifying internal opposites and honoring the darkness within us, as well as the light.
 
Just as spring heralds the beginning of the year, with evidence of new life springing up all around, the passive, contemplative focus of winter is left behind. We feel the stirring energy of new life, new opportunities, new ideas. 
 
Perhaps, we can use this pause to invite a little spring cleaning for the soul? Clearing off the earth to make room for the small seedlings that will push through the soil to find the sun. What within you needs help and support to find its way into the light? What unhelpful habit or belief might be discarded for the energy of a new practice or idea?
 
Using the cycles of the Earth to help guide our work throughout the year keeps us attuned to the same benchmarks that our ancestors used for millennia to move in concert with the seasons and to mark periods of great transition, as well as moments of stillness. To embrace what grows in the light, as well as what thrives in the dark. Both are needed to be whole. What is your work for the spring?
 
Blessings on your journey,
 
Louisa
COVID UPDATE:

Please note that CML is monitoring the changing COVID landscape in order to determine when we can safely open for in-person sitting groups, classes, workshops. At this time, we remain closed for anything in-person, except for individual therapy, until June 2022, at which time we hope to offer
some beginning outdoor activities in the hopes of easing back
into in-person workshops and classes. We’ll keep you posted on
any changes to the schedule. Thank you!

Daily Silent Meditation             
8:15 - 9:00 am
Monday - Friday Morning
Meeting ID: 899 6440 8784
Passcode: 818114
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Guided Meditation
1:15 - 1:45 pm          
Tuesday Afternoon
Meeting ID: 826 1223 4516
Passcode: 058471
Mindfulness Study Group
Facilitated Online by Laura Crosby
First and Third Sunday of the month from 4pm to 6pm

We read together — so no homework! — and discuss each chapter. Books are available from lcrosby@me.com
 
The Mindfulness Study Group is beginning a new book.

We Were Made for These Times: 10 Lessons for Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption by Kaira Jewel Lingo.
Join the Mindfulness Study Group as we begin reading and practicing with We Were Made for These Times, a book dedicated “to those seeking to find their way and to those in the chrysalis” during times of challenge and transition. The author draws her rich and deep mindfulness training with Thich Nhat Hahn, as well as her life experiences, to help us …
“… learn ways of finding freedom and stability in the midst of all this, so that we can meet whatever life brings us with an open heart, a balanced mind, and committed action.”

Our sessions are freely offered, drop-ins are welcome at any time, there is no registration necessary, and we are a very welcoming group. We read together, discussing each section and practicing together as we go — so no homework! Books are available from lcrosby@me.com

The Mindfulness Study Group meets the first and third Sunday of every month from 4-6pm. Sessions are via Zoom until The Center’s meditation room reopens. 

Meeting ID: 843 4464 0572
Passcode: 570798
Presence and Monologues
by Pamela Mueggenberg LMHP, MA

“The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they bloom like flowers.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh 
“I’m making a nether garden inside my house where I can grow netherwort and I thought it took netherrack but it didn’t so I tried nethersoil and that didn’t work either and then I thought aha, its soulsand and it worked and now I have 64 netherworts what’s your favorite Minecraft plant, I like the coral reef but you can’t get bees down there.” - my 8 year old son

We all have monologues inside us. Grand speeches we practice in the shower for our next work meeting, or titillating date with our new favorite person, or a frankly dynamite and awe inspiring screed against the oppression of daylight savings. When we are able to sit with someone who fully hears our words, our story, we experience their mind and our mind connecting - a healing channel between us that helps us both more fully embrace our shared experience and human worth. We can pour our monologue out into the shared space, and our companion can marvel at our creation. The experience can be sacred.

But we are a reciprocal species. We learn best through give and take, sharing information through the interplay of two minds as they push and pull an idea into something new. We long to be heard just as much, if not more, as we desire our beloveds to be heard by us. To put it more bluntly, sometimes you just want to get a word in!

In certain situations, that’s just not what needs to happen. My beautiful child has clearly told me that when he is talking Minecraft he is “talking out my thoughts as they come in my head and I don’t want you to talk back because it mixes up all my ideas.” So I am quiet, and I listen, and I marvel, and I can see his imagination in real time as it creates and discards ideas as fluidly as a sculptor at the wheel.

So what is our place here, as we are quiet, and listening, and marveling? It is easy to feel swept up in another’s story, to lose sense of ourselves or our voice as another is stretching theirs. Where is the reciprocity that we value so deeply?

To fully celebrate the seemingly paradoxical reciprocity of listening to another person speak without pause is to acknowledge the power of the listener, of the witness. These monologues cannot be heard, in that moment, if we choose not to listen; they would simply not exist.

We are important, and we can be cherished as such. As we breathe in, we inhale the rate, the cadence, the message of this person’s words. As we breathe out we explore our own body and mind, give ourselves the space, love, and energy we need in that moment. When you tire, when your brain gets full, you are able then to compassionately connect with your person and let them know when the conversation needs to shift without eliciting defensiveness or shame.

In the meantime, breathe in your beloved. Breathe out, and allow your focus of attention to move to your own mind and body. Breathe in, you. Breathe out, me.

Breathe in. Breathe out.