Open Meditation on Thursday Evenings
We can make friends with our minds and become present to our lives through working with our breath. In meditation we begin to discover how
January 1, 2026
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We can make friends with our minds and become present to our lives through working with our breath. In meditation we begin to discover how
Sangha member Alicja Bardin writes from Poland: “I have often thought about people I know but don’t have daily contact with. We are connected, interconnected by circumstances, places, other people . . . After all, being connected is not the same as being in constant touch.”
How does the bustle of a busy market relate to meditation and contemplating our busy minds? In a new post, sangha member Alex likens the sense of community from Farmer’s Markets to the experience of attending Nalanda West’s Sunday Open Meditation Program. ”You could see how these natural moments done regularly come together in this ecosystem of mutual support and collaboration.”
Mitra Lee writes, “Usually we focus on ourselves, on our own well-being, our goodness or badness, and our perceptions of pleasure and pain, right and wrong, like or dislike. In the practice of the four immeasurables, we train to extend our attention beyond ourselves and our habitual, conditioned thoughts. They help us to open a place for others in our mind and, beyond this, to see others as the same as ourselves.”
In this article, Mitra Lee teaches: “Using our imagination enables us to expand our mind toward great love and great compassion, which are much more useful for bringing us into connection than are negative thinking and judgment. Kleshas, negative emotions, or depressing thoughts can really bring us down and cause despair, despondency, and disconnection. If we want to connect with ourselves and others, imagining, cultivating, and offering love and joy will be of much more benefit.”
Ben Mikolaj challenges us to face contempt with compassion: “Loving kindness has no exceptions. Even those who terrify, disgust, or enrage us are beings who feel pain and long for happiness. Even those who actively oppose empathy are worthy of it.”
