Dinggggg. The sound of the bell rings – just like it does every 15 minutes – reminding us to stop whatever we are doing and re-connect with our breathing, with our bodies, with the present moment.
In Plum Village, a mindfulness center in the South of France, where I spent two weeks, this awareness of the bell is only one of the ways we learn to incorporate mindfulness into our daily lives. Regular sitting meditation, sharing circles, walking meditation, and mindful working practices also help bring the various aspects of mindfulness to light.
Plum Village, which has several centers around the globe, is guided under the wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen Master and global spiritual leader who was nominated for Nobel Peace Prize. The beautiful community of monks, nuns and lay practitioners at Plum Village uses Buddhist teaching as a source of wisdom that can help us both in better understanding our suffering, as well as learning how to generate more happiness, freedom, love, compassion, joy and openness in ourselves and our world.
Insights
Below are some of the key insights I gained from the time I was there:
- You know you are in the present moment when you know what you are sensing (hearing, feeling, seeing).
- Awareness of breath is everything. It is the living embodiment of the here and now.
- If we can be in the present, away from worries about the future and regrets about the past (neither of which can be changed!), we can find peace, both in the body and the mind.
- We are all born with many kinds of seeds within us: seeds of joy, peace, and love; seeds of craving, anger, fear, hate. The quality of our life depends on the seeds that we choose to ‘water’ and nurture.
- We are a continuation of our parents and our ancestors. They have transmitted to us both positive and negative seeds. It is up to us develop the positives ones and diminish or transform the negative ones.
- Every moment is not the same as the last moment. Each moment is an opportunity to become a new person (quite literally, because our cells are always being re-born). Every moment is a new chance to change your life for the better.
- We often forget ourselves. We spend so much time communicating with our colleagues, family, and friends. Yet how often do we take the time to communicate with ourselves, and ask “How are you doing? What can I do for you today?”
Mindfulness is at the crux of each of these insights- and there are so many others! At the end of the retreat, I attended a workshop on how to share the mindfulness practice and have since been facilitating mindfulness sessions with small groups. In another post, I will share some of the ways to bring mindfulness into one’s daily life.