Please share with friends. You can reduce your stress right now learning simple mindfulness meditation and movement. Have peace right here, right now.
Archive for the ‘Meditation’ Category
Stress Reduction with Mindfulness Meditation and Movement in Little Village
In Meditation, Stress reduction, Tai Chi, Uncategorized on December 5, 2011 at 5:48 pmMeditation at Jin & Tonic Wellness in West Loop
In Meditation on August 16, 2011 at 5:00 pm
mindful of body, breath and mind.
Meditation Classes at Jin & Tonic Wellness
1526 W Monroe Suite 100
Chicago, IL 60607
Meditation: A simple yet profound practice. Learn to quiet your mind by focusing on the breath. When the mind becomes still, the fog of our emotions drops away, revealing reality more clearly, allowing us to make decisions from a calm center. We can enjoy life’s pleasures and experience it’s troubles, both large and small, without losing our equilibrium. Meditation helps keep the mind and body in harmony and balance.
9-10 am Saturdays starting Sept. 17
Suggested donation $17/class
Space is extremely limited. Advance registration required.
Register via email: http://www. calmchicago.org
Meditation benches and cushions required for class. Available for purchase here:
http://www.calmchicago.org/Shop.html
The teacher:
Hillary Johnson, is the co-founder of Calm Chicago: the mind & body center. She is a student of Master Jiru, Abbott of the Mid-America Buddhist Association.
Free Retreat (libre retiro) June 18
In Meditation on June 5, 2011 at 2:01 amThe Little Village Buddhist Meditation Center will hold its first meditation and tai chi retreat Saturday, June 18 from 10 am- 2pm. All are welcome. No previous experience required. Join us for a day of mindful peace. Free. Donations gratefully accepted. Please silence your cell phones and other electronic devices. Also, please no perfumes or colognes. Register at our website. May all beings experience peace and happiness, Hillary
Hola amigos, La Villita Centro de Meditación Budista celebrarásu primera meditación y retiro de tai chi Sábado, 18 de junio de 10 am a 2 pm. Todos son bienvenidos. No se requiere experiencia previa. Únase a nosotros para un día de paz consciente. Libre. Donaciones aceptada con gratitud. Por favor, tu silencio los teléfonos celulares y otros dispositivos electrónicos. También, por favor, no perfumes o colonias. Inscríbase en nuestro sitio web. Que todos los seres experiencia de la paz y la felicidad, Hillary
Images of Impermanence
In Meditation on February 26, 2011 at 8:03 am
grasses bend down in winte
Form is emptiness ... emptiness is form
impressions of geese
One Solution to Anything Life Kicks Up…
In About our center, Meditation on February 8, 2011 at 2:07 am…more meditation. 
Buddha at Sunrise at MABA by Ven. Kongmu
Mind too busy to sit or stand?
Then do some tai chi or qigong. It’s helps to settle the mind down. To train the mind to observe … only observe. Not offer analysis. Not engage in conversation. No useless chit chat.
Just allow the mind to begin to find its natural state … quiet, empty, blissful no matter what. Not sticking to moments, opinions, carving the world up into bits we like and bits we dislike.
What ever life kicks up. Stress. Anger. Jealousy. Greed. Defensiveness. and so on … we can let it all go with more meditation.
Will it go away all at once? I don’t know. Not for me so far…but I can tell you this. The more I practice, the more life gets simpler and more peaceful, not only for me but those around me too.
And that’s a start. Come try with us, if you like. We even have some free classes.
Wishing peace and happiness to all beings.
(xian huang) hillary johnson
Dharma name given by my teacher, Master Ji Ru
Spring 2011 Class Schedule
In About our center, Meditation on February 1, 2011 at 6:35 amClass Schedule
Beginner classes:
Qigong / Meditation
Saturday 3:30-4:30pm
Tai Chi / Meditation
Sunday 10-11 a.m.
Beginner classes offer a gentle introduction to 18-form qigong, Yang 24 form taiji and meditation.
Ongoing classes:
Qigong / Meditation
Saturday 4:30-5:30
Tai Chi / Meditation
Sunday 11 – noon
Advanced students are encouraged to attend beginner classes. Their study continues Sundays with advanced taiji, qigong and meditation training.
Learn more about our course offerings.
Sunrise Classes
Tai Chi / Qigong:
in Ping Tom Park (weather permitting) otherwise we meet in the center on Lumber St.
Wednesday and Friday 7 a.m.
30 minutes – $15
all levels welcome
No special clothing required, just sneakers. Go straight to work from class!
Drop-In Tuition: Want to try a class out? Students may pay drop-in tuition $20 for any open class.
Follow Up: Meditation Changes Your Brain Structure
In Meditation on January 31, 2011 at 3:14 amInteresting Posting from O, The Oprah Magazine March 19, 2010: Learn to Meditate
In Meditation, Uncategorized on January 31, 2011 at 2:58 amfrom the website O, The Oprah Magazine March 19, 2010: Learn to Meditate
This article appeared online back in March and my bad for not finding it sooner. One thing about meditation, is it doesn’t make me feel much like surfing the web a lot. But it’s important to see what people are up to in your own field… SO…
1. Hooray to all the well-known who are bringing attention to wonderful things like meditation practice.
2. On the other hand, Danger Will Robinson! Caution anyhow. Sometimes, those good intentions lead to a over-reduction of practices to simplicity in-extremis.
Of course, if we make stress-reduction practices seem too difficult no one will want to do them. Still, it behooves us to describe things with a bit depth and offer additional direction that will truly help guide those seeking more than the quick fix-of-the-week and then onto something else.
I’m just saying. Here is the article as I found it online. The link above will take you directly Oprah’s website which is full of info on every subject under the sun.
Taking time to sit in silence every day can help you develop focus—and discover purpose—in your life.
Find a quiet, comfortable spot where you won’t be interrupted. Sit in your favorite chair, on a porch swing, on a rock by a river. Lie back in a warm bath, if you’d like, or on a blanket on the grass. If your eyes are open, focus softly on whatever is a few feet in front of you, your gaze, if you’re sitting, slightly down. The idea is to just be still for a few minutes. Be with yourself.
Try to concentrate on your breath—breathing in and breathing out (nothing special, don’t change the way you breathe). You might even want to say those words to yourself at first: “Breathing in, breathing out.” After a while, let the words go. When you find your mind wandering, notice the thoughts—don’t judge them—and let them go. Do this by coming back to your breath.
That’s meditation—simply being there with yourself for a few minutes every day, getting to know your own mind.
Under the article, there’s a place for readers to respond. Awesome, right?
Here is what one reader said, that prompted me to write this blog entry, that you are now reading:
Can it be that simple? I am secretly depressed and have been for years, can I really help myself be meditating in this way for a few minutes a day? I’ve tried it before. Perhaps I didn’t try for long enough…
I decided, uncharacteristically to write back. I just felt that this reader was sounding like they were out there, feeling kinda bad, because like, “I tried it and if it’s that simple how come I don’t feel better yet,” or something like that. I don’t want to put words into the mouth (or pen) of reader Harris 497.
Harris497, The answer to your question, “can it be that simple?” is both yes and no. As a meditation teacher, I’d say that yes, in the beginning, when you first have the seed of an idea to try sitting meditation, it is that easy. Sit down, focus on the breath and when thoughts come along, don’t hold on to them, don’t judge any aspect of your experience and let everything go. Just sit. Just breath. And just be aware that you are sitting there breathing.
On the other hand, as a set of instructions for really developing a daily meditation practice that can seriously help you reduce your suffering, it won’t get you very far.
I don’t know where you live so I can’t make any direct recommendations but in general I suggest this: find a good meditation teacher where ever you do live. If you’re in the Chicago area I could make suggestions. A good guide is an important part of having long term success for establishing real peace of mind.
There are lots of teachers out there. Find one. Some wonderful and some, not so much. Be careful. Choose mindfully and don’t get taken in by any hype. Make a selection that feels right to you.
If you’d like to discuss this, I can be reached through my site and I’m happy to offer what I can. www.calmchicago.org We’re located in Chicago in Chinatown. I know of teachers, who know other teachers, around the country, so if you are not local, maybe I Can help you make some connections. Wishing you all the best in your quest.
What do you think?
PS. Let’s look at this one line for a sec…
That’s meditation—simply being there with yourself for a few minutes every day, getting to know your own mind.
Especially this last bit, “getting to know your own mind.” Getting to know your own mind means, we learn how the mind works and we do this by long careful practice of observing the tiny, micron slices of experience, of action that are the processes through which or by which the mind operates. And that, while not rocket science, in that anyone can learn to do it, is not something that simply happens with a few minutes of even daily sitting and breathing. It takes determination, patience and guidance and that’s just for starters. It’s an amazing, life changing journey that can be a huge benefit to yourself and to all around you and I wish everyone would do it. It’s changed my life! And I see how it benefits others and makes all of life more peaceful, it does take time and attention. And kindness, compassion to ourselves. One of the great amazing things is, that as we go through the process, the whole world becomes more peaceful. How awesome is that?!
Yin and Yang: Not Just Ideas About Balance and Change
In About our center, Meditation, Peace, Stress reduction on January 28, 2011 at 4:31 amPlease say hello to the center’s two fish, Yin & Yang.
Meet Yin and Yang, the center's two calm fish. They remind us daily that everything changes.
They have a pretty pleasant environment with lots of plants around. We’d love to have more plants, so we can really freshen the air in the center as much as possible without chemicals. Many thanks to Vincent for all the plants you see here. They were a gift in our prior location and in the move had to be re-potted and trimmed up some. Moving plants in -4 degrees weather is not ideal for the delicate house plants but they seem to be bouncing back.
We love a lot of plants at Calm Chicago. Makes the air clean and healthy.
So, if you have some plants you’d like to donate, they’ll be gratefully received. We get a pretty good amount of indirect light from the south.
We’ll be adding a jade plant soon. Lovely for the center because the soft, round green leaves are beautiful and grow only very slowly. This is how we develop our own practices in tai chi (or taiji), qigong and meditation…slowly, breath by breath.
Thanks so much to our teachers, family, friends and students for all your support. I am ever grateful. Together we make the city more peaceful and less stressed. I bow to you all for your efforts and dedication.
The center will be offering lots of wonderful new seminars this year. We hope you’ll join us as much as you can. Please let us know what you’d like to see offered that would really be of benefit to lots of people. We may not respond to every single idea but we’ll gratefully receive them all.
Many thanks, Hillary and Matt
The central yin and yang in our logo, symbolic of two fish, constantly moving, swimming, going up-coming down.
Sticking to the Schedule Reduces Stress
In Meditation, Stress reduction, Tai Chi on January 27, 2011 at 9:07 pmJust a flash of insight from practice the other day. Like many of my realizations, nothing earth shattering on the surface but buried in its simplicity is a deep thing.
Let’s see if I can put it into words.
Tai Chi (taiji) and meditation allow us to start the day mindfully and without stress
Every day I get up at 5:30 and do some qigong, tai chi and standing meditation to start the day. What happened was, as I looked at the clock on the wall in the center, I knew there was only 40 minutes to practice. At 6:40 a.m. I HAD to be DONE, because the drive to work can take a long time. The Deadline? Be at the desk no later than 8:30. But as often happens with tai chi and meditation, it feels so good and I want to stay and keep going.
I mean, I love tai chi and meditation even more than I like triple scoops of Mint Chocolate ice cream in a dark chocolate dipped waffle cone.
But, if I kept going, I’d be late for work. And that would cause a lot of suffering and trouble for not only for me with the boss, but for colleagues who rely on my presence to get their jobs done.
So, at 6:40 I turned off the light and locked the door to the center. I walked to my car carrying my breath and mind in each step, full and empty, full and empty.
Quan Yin reminds me to balance compassion with wisdom, to do what the next truly appropriate thing is, not just what I want to do.
There was the pleasure of a clear mind from practice and the knowledge that the decision to stick to the schedule was a benefit to me and those around me.
The deep lesson. There is a time for everything. A time for tai chi and a time to drive to the office. Sticking to the schedule reduces stress. The ego is reduced in size. The ego and it’s desire to selfishly pick and choose are set aside for the larger good; a more peaceful day for all the interdependent beings.
Try to live blamelessly, without causing trouble for the self or others.
Do you have times like that? Where you have something you have to do but would rather do something else? How does that play out for you? Are some times harder than others to be disciplined with? Why is that?
