Guided meditations from Wild Geese Sangha Edinburgh

And here we have from Wild Geese Sangha recordings of the Guided meditations which are part of the regular practice every Tuesday and Thursday.

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Wiston Lodge Retreat

Mindful walk around Arthur Seat ...

Windy... Cold.... having to calm down the nerves caused by the thought ' I am late...I am gonna be late...I am - AGAIN- gonna be late'... Very heavy on me this thought... I hardly been able to connect with the beauty of the morning...crisp, clean air, lovely, amazing green on Arthur Seat....I could see this beauty only when I became consciously aware of  my unawareness and cling to the thought....

In the end, I wasn't massively late...just a few minutes...but the fight with time... my struggle with time...I never win it... Am I judged through 'time'? I used not too care too much about time...but somehow lately it was induced in me a guilt about not being able to do things in the time frame that others expect from me, a frame that for some reasons, it does not match my internal rhythm....I wonder if should (or better maybe - could) let this thought go....maybe in professional life the time restrictions have a sense, but in my private life..if I am late...so what? At least I am there...as Byron Katie would say 'no minute too early, no minute too late' ...just at the right moment....
maybe my 'late- ness ' is an opportunity for the  people I meet to deal with their own prejudices regarding someone else's lateness...so I am actually helping them to get in touch with something very deep....

Lonely...

Mmm...then we started our mindful walk under the cloudy sky...

We first met the old volcano...

The old volcano...

...followed by a gentle climb...

views from the top

Then we started our incredibly challenging walk downhill... so much strain on the knees....

I discovered to be much easier for me to be mindful - focused and calm- while I am walking uphill...and so much more distracted when going downhill...strange...

We stopped at the wee St.Margaret's loch for some food ...and even if it was bitter cold, I must say there is nothing better than the shared food.

On our way back we walked through Hunter's Bog, something that looked easy and gentle at the beginning, and to the end it nearly left us breathless ... but happy and victorious....

And that's us....happy and in one piece at the end of our mindful walk... yay...

Happy walking!

Note: this event took place on 2nd of May

Today's

Well, today I have decided to try a mindful run...more like jogging than running....

a 5k...below via Runrtastic...

Speed really makes a difference... when mindful walking, I pay attention to synchronizing breath and steps..same when running...the difference is in the feeling or awareness of your body limits....

when running, the fatigue kicks in, sooner or later, but surely it does...and you feel like 'I want to stop'... but the 5k  doesnt end at 2.5k...so I must keep running...and then I start taking it just one step at a time...I can't think at how much I still have to go to end it, because is extremely demotivating...it is much easier if I think only at my next step...one, then another one...breathe, slow down a bit if needed, accelerate if you can...but never stop....don't stop....

after a few laps the body adapts, and my awareness is able to take in the surroundings...the stony texture of the running path, the new ducklings learning to swim by their mom, the new green shots in every tree, the sharp and clear air after rain, the rain itself for a few tens of seconds, the wind, and the crazy ducks who it seems do have a fight or competition..or maybe they simply play....so much beauty around...unbelievable spring beauty...and everything changes from moment to moment...and it's just the feeling of surprise...a kind of 'hey, let's see what u come up with now' towards everything around u....

And this is energising...and when the 5k is done, it didnt't even feel so tiring...because with everystep I took (or run) I was shown something new...no time for boredom...

Thank you, Lochend Park!

Thank you, Edinburgh!

Duckling @Lochend Park

Barcodes of tree and sun :-)

Lochend Park after rain

Elegant swan on Lochend Park

Lochend Park

Cold Sunday mindful walk

Cold day today in Edinburgh. This did not stop me (yay) from my mindful walking practice @3pm -Lochend Park .
It felt quite difficult to slow down today. Focusing on breathing, I only managed to slow down by controlling it for a wee while, through synchronizing the breathing with my steps: breathing in - left, right followed by breathing out - left, right.

I kept focusing on slowing down and leaving the control, and trying to let go up to the moment when synchronizing became natural, not somehow forced...

I have seen so many beautiful things: the buds on the tree branches, of all kinds...still protecting themselves of cold, but daring to leave the safety....

Sometimes I was aware of the people passing by maybe wondering why am I walking so slow...but I like to think they assume I am injured, and I can continue my walk without any worries...So good to simply take one step after the other, to feel the texture of the air, the smell, the temperature of the wind in the sunshine, or in the shadow...every moment becomes so unique, and I am so curious to see what comes up in front of my eyes at the next step...a walk better -in curious but very calm excitement- than a Hollywood movie.

In short for today: Cold and joy - this is quite a strange combination.



In the above pic, even if it is difficult to see, there is a squirrel, - right on the middle - it seems starge to see a squirrel so close to water...




So many things happening on the lake...

Shy buds

Mindful Walking - How to

How to - Mindful Walking

Today's walk @The Botanics

With a day off, sunny morning and after a good night rest, this day is for myself and only for myself....
I started with a great breakfast, and then a wee run to join Roger for his usual weekdays 1pm mindful walk at the Botanics...

Beautiful sunshine, light breeze with a sharp vein of cold, nature at it's best....

After the mindful walk the weather lured me into more 20 minutes of sitting meditation....a wee squirrel made me follow her and this is how I found the most beautiful place at the Botanics: Emma's Bench...

A lovely warming sun, protected of cold, and near the point where green, soil and dead branches meet and define the essence of life...

After such a lovely day, entirely spent for myself, I simply can't stop smiling....

Today's...

mmmmm... I must say that the first walk did not go too well...I was 10 minutes late at my own appointment...This would be funny if I wouldn't have been aware of how furious I was for a wee while... That I was late, thus unreliable, thus not being able to meet the expectations of others, thus feeling not good enough....thus going back for not being able to plan my trip better, thus getting furious that the buses don't come more often on Sundays...thus getting frustrated that I can't walk faster....and all these thoughts in just a few minutes...

This is where it started my walking meditation...

Breathing in, I know I am breathing in
Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.

It is difficult to walk slowly under so many heavy feelings...shame for being late...I shouldn't be late because people might feel I let them down...
is it true? can I know that people feel I let them down because I was late?
How do I feel when I believe this thought? I feel like caught in a place too small for me...suffocated....responsible for others' 'feeling good'....
How would I be without the thought? just ok....aware I have done my best to get in time, that maybe next time I can plan better time wise...and maybe allow the others to have their own thoughts about my being late, thoughts that positive or negative, but are theirs...and maybe me just being late gave them a time space they needed for themselves - for one reason or another - the way reality is, is the way it is...so, why worry so much?

Right... why worry so much? As Byron Katie says so often...nothing happens one second earlier or one second later than it should happen...


 I try to smile to my feeling of embarrassment...my face feels like made of stone...no muscle moves to give way to a smile....breathe in with the awareness of my face muscles....and they relax...and at the next breathe I can start a wee smile.....and this is how I take care of my stressful feeling....

I continue the walk... and I can see the lovely sunlight...and a squirrel, and many ducks, and lots of people rushing away after a football game....

find the squirrel..

easier to see the squirrel...

curious ducks..

people rushing off..

Half day of mindfulness @ Gillis Centre

The Meadows near Bruntsfield Links early in the morning...

The Meadows

Cold and windy, but sunny, at Gillis Centre....

Lovely walking meditation - the theme: kindness ...

back home through the park...

Sunny St.Andrew's Square....

and going back home...Harvey Nics shop window :-)

Lochend Park

Here we have Lochend Park, situated mid distance between Princes Street and Portobello, the park is an island of silence and calm in an otherwise busy and vibrant residential area.



It seems to be a good place for walking meditation. At a slow pace, a full lap takes about 30 minutes.

Lochend Park is at walking distance of Easter Road and Leith Walk and Holyrood Park. There are some bus stops just a few meters away of the southern Park entrance: one for 19 and  34 (to and from Princes Street) and 49 (to and from bottom of Leith/Ocean Terminal).

...and some pictures....

view over Arthur Seat from Lochend Park

Lochend Park

Lochend Park

Lochend Park

Lochend Park

Lochend Park

Lochend Park