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Sharon Salzberg returns to join 2bpresent for Lovingkindness in the Face of Adversity-November 13th

We are thrilled to welcome back Sharon Salzberg to our mindful community for a fall evening exploring Lovingkindness in the Face of Adversity

Wednesday November 13th from 7:00-9:00pm

Mamaroneck, NY (location to be sent upon confirmation)

 

Sharon is one of America’s leading spiritual teachers and authors.  She is cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, Massachusetts. She has played a crucial role in bringing Asian meditation practices to the West. The ancient Buddhist practices of vipassana (mindfulness) and metta (lovingkindness) are the foundations of her work.

During this evening we will explore the power of lovingkindness when we face our own physical challenge or illness, emotional upheaval, negativity from others, or unfairness in how we are being treated. We will look at lovingkindness and compassion as strengths rather than as submissive states, and talk about joining them with discerning action, wisdom, and our often untapped capacity for resilience. We'll practice meditation along with dialogue and discourse.  Suitable for both beginning and more experienced meditators.

To Register Click Here

Back to Reality

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It's been a glorious summer for us at 2bpresent.  We took time from the normal school year schedule and lived weeks in a very unstructured unscheduled manner.  As we are now in August, we have been struck by the reality of returning to a school and life schedule that is drastically different from the way we have lived for several weeks now.  In pondering this shift that is going to have to take place the following lyrics from En Vogue seemed apropos to share with all of you. Back to life, back to reality.  Back to the here and now, yeah.  Show me how, decide what you want from me.  Tell me maybe I could be there for you. However do you want me? However do you need me?  How, however do you want me?  However do you need me? Back to life,  back to the present time.  Back from a fantasy, yeah. Tell me now, take the initiative. I'll leave it in your hands until you're ready... Summer is a break from the reality of the hectic schedules that we have during the school year.  People asking of us and us pouring ourselves out to those we love and the causes that we support.  We are wanted and needed and needed and wanted 24/7.  By breaking from that for summer we are able to refuel and come back recharged.  The transitions from one to another are not without anxiety for us or for our children.  For our children they have shifted from school schedules to summer (camp or unstructured chill time) and now what they focused on so much is coming to a close and the hectic school schedules that they have are approaching them once again.   Can we incorporate the best of what they love from the summer into their normal school year schedule?  Can we put a little less on all of our plates this year and have more time to just be together as a family?  Will they miss something if they aren't as busy?  Will we?

September also coincides with a climatic shift as the sweltering warm days start to turn cooler.  We go from shedding clothes to adding layers to stay warn.  As we look toward this transition, can we add mindfulness and meditation into the layers we wrap ourselves in?  Incorporating a mindful practice into the way we interact with those we love the most and those who we just barely touch.  Mindfulness can make those shifts be they seasonal or from summer back to school smoother and easier for ourselves and our families.

If you are interested in learning more about beginning a practice of mindfulness and meditation, please join us as we once again journey to find Real Happiness following the work of Sharon Salzberg and other experts in this field.  Click here for more information on this upcoming course and on our event hosting Sharon Salzberg in our community.

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Sharon Salzberg Joins 2bpresent for a night on Real Happiness

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Join 2bpresent for an evening with

Sharon Salzberg

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Sharon is one of America’s leading spiritual teachers and authors.  She is cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, Massachusetts.  She has played a crucial role in bringing Asian meditation practices to the West. The ancient Buddhist practices of vipassana (mindfulness) and metta (lovingkindness) are the foundations of her work.

Happiness that is not shaken by conditions begins with imagining that such stable and open happiness exists, and could exist for us. We also need wisdom in order to know how to make such happiness real. This implies patience, perspective, and an ability to see things as they are. During this evening we will explore our notions of happiness, strength, aloneness and possibility. We'll practice meditation along with dialogue and discourse. Suitable for both beginning and more experienced meditators.

To register for this event click here

 

For more information about Sharon please visit: www.sharonsalzberg.com

2mindfulmoms to attend Spencer West Event on March 13th-JOIN US

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The 2mindfulmoms hope that you can join us at a very special event that is taking place in our community on Tuesday, March 13th.  All of the PTA's in the Mamaroneck Union Free School District have worked together to bring a inspirational, motivational speaker named Spencer West to our community.
Spencer encourages youth to overcome their daily challenges, believe in themselves as active change-makers, and find personal strength to fight for the issues they are passionate about. His words have encouraged millions of young people to become more socially involved in their communities and the world.
While the event is an extension of the Building Bridges program, it is an evening not to be missed for the entire community.

Please join us for a unique family experience (BRING YOUR KIDS) and See What Students are Learning in the Mamaroneck Schools

"Overcoming Challenges in Life"

Featuring Special Guest and Motivational Speaker: Spencer West Intro by Dr. Shaps and an MHS student

Tuesday, March 13th

7:00-8:30 pm

Hommocks Auditorium

130 Hommocks Road Larchmont, NY

FREE to the PUBLIC

Bring your kids grade 3 and up.

Spencer Will talk candidly about the struggles he overcame in life after losing his legs.  He speaks about overcoming bullying and stereotypes and about overcoming personal obstacles

Here is a link to Spencer's Website.  http://www.metowe.com/speakers/spencer-west/  where people talk about Spencer's talk inspired them.

Meditating with Middle School Students-70 new people meditating

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On Friday, the 2mindfulmom's had the pleasure of going to our 6th grader's middle school for an event called Real Work/School Work.  We where asked to present to 4 different classes of 6th grade students about our company 2bpresent.  We explained to the kids how we started our company and how the things we learned in middle school where applicable to the work we are now doing.  We then had the pleasure of listening and interacting with them as we discussed meditation, breath work, stress, and tools for handling difficult situations.

The fun really was listening to their insights and leading them on a Guided "mini vacation" meditation to their most favorite place in the world.  The meditation we used was a blend of Real Happiness Concentration (Sharon Salzberg) and also included the work of  Linda Lantieri (http://www.lindalantieri.org/) from her Inner Resilience Program geared towards children.  The kids where guided to visualize being in their most favorite place and feeling what it was like to be there, smelling what it was like to be there and then spending time in stillness in that very special and safe place.

What was amazing for the 2mindfulmom's was how receptive to this entire experience the kids where.  Whether we asked them to share their feelings or locations they went to they where all eager to share and tell us how good it felt to close their eyes and just breath.  Many of the kids took themselves to places in nature disconnected from the modern world and their very fast paced lives.

We stole a few minutes of mini meditations during these sessions for ourselves and absorbed the energy of these fabulous kids.

My daughter provided feedback from the informal lunch room survey that took place over sandwiches and the kids thought the session was really cool.  We encouraged the kids to try taking their parents on a mini vacation.

We hope everyone is having a good week with their sitting practices.

-the 2mindfulmoms

 

This post was included as part of our 28 Day Meditation Challenge with Sharon Salzberg for Real Happiness

 

Middle School Meditation Students

The Smallest of Gestures

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It always amazes me how the smallest of gestures can come to mean so much.  It is those moments that I pull myself back to when my day spins out of control.  As a busy parent, sometimes we are caught running between so many things and those small gestures or moments between things can be as anchoring as the breath.  Today, after giving a group of kids a lift somewhere on a very cold day, my daughter turned back to me after she had already left the car and looked me in the eyes and simply said "Thanks so much."  It was three short words, but the eye contact and the fact that she turned away from her group of friends and turned towards me meant the world to me.  Since I have been working on being more mindful and present, this moment energized me with the beauty that it contained.  How many moments do we miss because we are not mindful and present?  Take notice of the small gestures and moments with your kids and see if you can use them to anchor you when you feel your day or your energy spinning away from you.

Real Happiness Next Session Starts 2/28

Due to a wonderful response we are pleased to announce an additional session of: Real Happiness

 

What if you could be more peaceful with yourself, those around you and your world? What would that life hold for you?

Join us on a journey to "Real Happiness" as we learn about the work of Sharon Salzberg and other leaders in the field of meditation, and design an action based plan to incorporate mindfulness meditation and lovingkindness more fully into our everyday lives.

What is meditation?

Meditation is the practice of quieting the mind, of focusing our attention, to eliminate the many thoughts that are constantly bombarding us. By clearing those thoughts through meditation, we have the ability to achieve an inner calm and stillness, and the ability to experience a profound sense of ease in our everyday lives.

The emotional, psychological and physical benefits of meditation include improved sleep, stress reduction, increased concentration, and increased ability to manage difficult emotions. Scientific studies also suggest that meditation may reduce high blood pressure, increase the immune system, reduce chronic pain and help the body fight a number of diseases.

Join us for contemplation, meditation, group discussions, and action-based exercises. This course will run for five weeks and will meet for an hour and a half on Tuesday mornings. Course dates are: 2/28, 3/6, 3/13, 3/20, 3/27 (please save 4/3 as a snow make up day)

We will meet at Applause, 114 West Boston Post Road, Mamaroneck, second floor, from 9:30 am to 11:00 am.

The discussions will be facilitated by Joanna Wolff and Cheryl Brause of 2bpresent.

Investment: $195 per person. A minimum of 8 people are needed to run the course.

Click Here to Register as space is limited

 

 

2bpresent Joins Westchester Jewish Center and Dr. Daniel Matt for a Kabbalah-Illuminating the Sabbath

We are pleased to announce that we will be joining Westchester Jewish Center (WJC) and Dr. Daniel Matt for Kabbalah: Illuminating the Sabbath on the weekend on January 27th.  2bpresent will be leading the guided meditation on January 28th as part of the Havdalah program.  We are thrilled to be able to partner with WJC and Dr Daniel Matt.  For more information about this event please click here

2bpresent announces new course: Practical Applications of the Yoga Sutras

Description:

Practical Applications of the Yoga Sutras - A course for experienced meditators (for graduates of Foundations of Meditation or other relevant course work).

Course Description:

In this course we will explore the Yoga Sutras - the most comprehensive exposition of the ancient philosophy of yoga.  How we can use this ancient text to influence our modern lives?   We will explore what the Sutra's say about attachment and aversion, discuss the 8 Limbs of Yoga, discuss the Yama and Niyama's, and  the concept of Samadhi and dharma. Each class will have a lecture and a twenty minute meditation.

For more information and to register for this course, click here.

 

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Simple Step #2- Setting Yourself Up For Success

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So here we are back in January. Our intentions are pure, our determination is strong and our resolutions need to be REALISTIC. What is it that we want out of 2012 and how can we establish a plan that will insure our success rather than set us up once again for failure? We all enter January with resolve and clear intentions of what we want to achieve, but do we design a plan that supports those ideas? Are those ideas realistic given our starting point? Just last week I celebrated my birthday with a day trip to Kripalu with Cheryl. We spent that day learning, meditating and doing Vigorous Kripalu yoga. Days later my abs are still sore and my mind is still thinking about what we learned. One of our seminars focused on how to keep the Kripalu feeling in our everyday lives. It's easy to feel terrific and eat well when you are on a retreat, but how do we come up with a plan to do this when we are back "in the real world." We discussed the Sanskrit word Sankalpa which is our "will, purpose or determination." When you make a sankalpa you set an intention with a yogic twist. As opposed to a resolution, a sankalpa involves consciously understanding what's behind something rather than focusing on the negative aspects of something (like losing 10 pounds, not yelling at the kids, etc.). Sankalpa focuses on your "being" rather on your "doing" and the greater personal meaning behind what you are working towards. What is it that you really want in the core of your being? So rather than setting a resolution this year, let's design a Sankalpa that involves "Right Action". Let's make a plan that is SMART, (specific, measurable, accountable, realistic and timbebound). Let's revisit it in a week, assess it, tweak it, and recommit to it. Let's be realistic that relapses will happen. I may have already had one relapse (day 2 ugh) ...when I heard myself shouting at my overtired child tonight. It should all be a fluid plan that can be changed and involve treating yourself with compassion. There is no failure. As long as there is intention the Prana (energy) will follow. Here is a quote to keep in mind while you are working on your Sankalpa and your SMART plan. "Whether you've broken the vow 100 times come back the door is always open."-Rumi

Peace Despite the Stick

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For those of you new to our blog here is a little information about my home life. I have two amazing dogs. They are both labradoodles....Chip is 3 years old and has a very old soul...He weighs about 70lbs. Taz is a puppy and still is full of all of that frenetic puppy energy and he weighs about 25lbs. Chip loves to lay on the lawn stretched out with his face resting on the grass. Today I took a look out of the window and saw Chip laying peaceful as he usual does all stretched out. This was not an unusual sight for me or anyone who lives near us to see, but what struck me as so odd was that he wasn't moving despite the fact that Taz had a long stick half resting on his back and half on the grass that he was stepping on and biting. Each time Taz climbed onto Chips back to bite the stick more I expected Chip to turn around and snarl at him. It never happened, Chip was so at peace even while Taz was climbing and jumping on him. It struck me as so powerful that he could be so peaceful with this annoying young puppy jumping and poking him with this stick. As I think about my day ahead and all of the pokes I will invariable experience with "Sticks," I will summon my inner Chip to carry me through each of these situations.

Being Wrong

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I love being wrong. I know that sounds so strange and counter intuitive, but my last post was about the garden being finished for the season and I was wrong. Big time wrong. Let me explain, it was a sunny day on Monday and I looked out at the garden that I had yet to clean up and decided not to delay. The sun was shining, the kids where at school and the moment was mine. I ventured into the garden which looked so sad and wilted. All of the energy and life seemed to have been picked from it. I began my ritual of ripping out all of the plants that I had so tenderly planted with such promise and hope. Some had yielded their full potential of edible gifts while others hadn't. As I carelessly walked on top of the raised bed ignoring where I was stepping and hastily making my way through the task of bending and pulling out all of the tomato stakes and remnants of tomato plants this huge patch of lush green weeds caught my eye on the other side of the garden. I couldn't believe I had such a large cluster of weeds that were such a brilliant green color. When I walked over to it to examine it more closely and I was in awe of what I saw. It was a full crop of Broccoli Rabe. One of the crops that I have struggled with the most. Despite the most carefully executed planting, watering and carrying routine time after time I had failed to grow this beloved family favorite. Each year I had experienced another failure from this crop. When I examined it more closely and looked back at my garden notes that I had kept from the start of the season I was even more amazed. It was all completely wrong. It wasn't supposed to be there, that wasn't where I had put it or intended for it to grow. This made the discovery even more profound and perplexing to me. As I contemplated how seeds or plants take root and choose to succeed, I pondered on how some times the things we are sure are right for us do not take root, and the others we are convinced are not right for us on our path take root and thrive. It is so often that a different path appears or something grows where it is not supposed to, but being open to being wrong allows you to see that what was once thought of as a weed is now a luscious gift in life.

The House is Still

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Its as quiet in my house as it can be. The kids and my spouse have not awakened. The dogs are still groggy from a night of sleep and have not yet started to bark at the frequent squirrels who appear in our yard. The only noise in my kitchen is the whooooing sound of my electric tea pot warming my water for my much anticipated cup of green tea. This is one of my most favorite times of the day. It is peaceful and my mind is quiet. The day has yet to unfold and I find myself working hard to keep it at bay while these precious moments fuel my body and mind for whatever may cross my path. The water is now boiling and can hear the noise of the water bubbles bursting onto each other. Then, I hear the click that indicates that the water has completed its cycle of transformation from cold tap water to liquid gold that penetrates the tea bag as it transforms itself into my cup of tea. During a recent Dharma talk I attended with Thich Nhat Hahn in New York he talked about how your tea is not just tea. How it has the essential elements of the earth, water, the clouds and sun and everything in the universe. So while you are sipping your tea you are sipping the clouds. Today, I will drink my cloud tea and be present in the day. It is a rare gift today, a weekday during the school year when my kids and spouse all will be home. My attention has only now moved from the inside of my house and how peaceful it is to the noise of the last fall leaves rustling on the tress as the autumnal breeze blows through them. What a sensation to be able to be moved by the wind. Right now they are all aligned and dancing to the left, but as the wind shifts the movement of the leaves becomes more erratic. Just as the energy shifts cause us to become more erratic during the course of our days. How can we navigate our way through our windy days and maintain our connection to the tree as we fall to the earth at time? Through meditation and breath work. Meditation provides me with this tool. Meditation is not something that was a natural fit for me. I have spent years in constant motion not sitting down to breath for a moment. Always racing to get one more thing done, but lately I find that sitting and breathing has taken on new meaning and that the need to get one more thing done doesn't seem as important.

Today in the Garden

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Today marked what I think is the final day of harvesting from my fall garden.  It's time to say goodbye to lettuce, chard, kale, eggplant, brussell sprouts, dill and rosemary grown in the organic garden and return to buying produce from the farmer's market or traditional market.  I am hopefully the my stock piles of greens will carry us through a few more weeks.  As I picked my last few items with the sun shining down on my garden, I thought back to the success we had this growing season.  This was our first year of the fall planting and it yielded so many gifts as the weather turned cooler by the day. Our normal planting routine always takes place on Mother's Day.  Each year my family endures the Mother's Day ritual of planting our families garden together.  It is a gift we work on giving to each other.  As the primary farmer in the house I require full attendance on planting day.  No organized sports or religious school are allowed to interfere with this sacred time together.  It is a tradition that we have established and it is wonderful to all be outside together in the garden.  We all have our required parts and roles that we play.  My husband makes sure that we don't plant things to closely together, my son works the pick ax through the soil to loosen it for easy planting and my daughter plants the marigolds to keep the pests away and then always disappears to swing her way through the rest of the planting of the swing set I consider getting rid of each spring.

While the sun is shining brightly now, the over night temperatures where at the edge of frost and the garden had seen better days.  While the fall harvest is over, the fall clean up and preparation for next years garden are just beginning.

Each year the garden has grown and so has our pleasure from having it as part of our family.  What once seemed like a herculean task now is a normal part of our spring ritual.  I often meditate while I am watering or working in the garden.  It is so peaceful and serene to be one with nature.  People often ask me what causes everything to grow so well in the garden....I always remark that it is gods work...Sun, Water, Air and the beauty of another day transforms both the garden and us.