Insight and Choice in Life's "In-Between" Moments

Life is full of transitions:  from the big transitions between life stages, to the infinite moment-to-moment transitions that fill our days.  Some transitions are clearly marked with a ritual (like a wedding) or an event (like a layoff).  Others are more vague (like aging).  Some transitions we make because we want to (like changing into comfy PJs before bed), others are borne of a fraught necessity (like code-switching, a reality for people of color who need to adjust speech and language depending on who the audience is).  

We tend to pay attention to the before and after stages, and less attention to the transitions themselves, but tuning in to that moment of transition can offer great insight and choice.  

As we wake, how do we migrate from sleep to being fully conscious?  What are our first thoughts and actions? Do we sense into the body, consciously stretching, wishing ourselves a good morning, tuning into the feet as we place them on the floor, and maybe even set an intention for the day?  What is our transition like at the end of the day?  Is there room for a moment of reflection on what we were grateful for during the day, and a sense of the body sinking down into the support of the bed?

When we start and finish our meditation, there is a chance to notice what we’re bringing into our practice.  We can begin to understand ways that we can enter the practice more skillfully.  Instead of expecting to be able to move directly from engaged life into stillness, we might create physical and auditory cues to help us make the transition:  sounding a chime, tuning in to the breath, bringing attention into the body…. And on the other end of the practice, can we bring some of our attentiveness to the small act of opening the eyes, and bring tender attention and curiosity to what it feels like  and sounds like to move our hands back and forth against each other as we re-introduce movement to the body if we’ve been still?  

And we may find that we need to re-insert transitions to separate parts of our life that have blended together in the past two months.  Many people who are working from home, for instance, may be finding that the transition from work to home life has all but vanished and that well-being would be supported by creating more defined transitions between those activities.

There is no right or wrong way to do any of this.  They key is to know how we’re making transitions - to pay attention to the transitions themselves, not just the before and after states.  

We as a society have just gone through a major transition, and another transition is on the horizon.  This time is ripe for discovery and choice.  

May all beings without exception find insight and choice in each moment,

Your CMP family

Guided Meditations

Visit the CMP website www.CommunityMindfulnessProject.org for guided meditations.  You'll find them on the Guided Meditations page under the Resources tab.  
 

We Need Your Support - Especially Now

CMP thrives on donations. All of our weekly sessions are free and open to the public, but donations are essential to our sustainability. During the pandemic, we have lost all of our revenue from libraries, while at the same time offering four times as many meditation sessions each week.  CMP is a licensed charity in the state of CT as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Checks can be given to facilitators at our weekly sits or mailed to Community Mindfulness Project, P.O. Box 1713, New Canaan, CT 06840. Credit cards are accepted in the Giving section of the website (www.CommunityMindfulnessProject.org). For donations of wired funds or appreciated securities, please email welcome@communitymind.org. Thank you!