Compassion Archives • Heather Lyn Mann

Mindful Advocacy and Spiritual Authority

December 17, 2014 by heatherlynmann

As a professional advocate for twenty-plus years, I can say people of my ilk don't know we do our jobs in two separate but simultaneous realms. First, advocates work in what is called the “historical” realm—this is the every-day world where we commute to work, sit in meetings, draft emails, lobby, educate, and demonstrate. We define…

The Big Betrayal

August 22, 2014August 22, 2014 by heatherlynmann

Are you like me? Growing up, did you learn right from wrong at home, in school, and at church? Did you get a good education with the intention of making a contribution to society? Did you involve yourself in an issue, pour your heart into the cause(s), and then run headlong into walls of resistance and disappointment, again…

#ThichNhatHanh: #Meditation on #Water

January 13, 2014 by heatherlynmann

This water's shape is round or square according to the container that holds it. In the spring warmth, it is liquid. In the winter cold, solid. When its path is obstructed, it stands still. How vast it is, yet its source is so small and difficult to find. On the…

#Democracy and #Enlightenment

December 31, 2013 by heatherlynmann

There is a tendency to exchange engaged democracy for passive democracy, to entrust the stewardship of our collective understanding and shared ethic to people who appear to have more knowledge but—in fact—have a limited point of view. We are made of the stuff of earth, evolved by her hand, so…

#Dharma Leadership with #angelKyotoWilliams

October 31, 2013 by heatherlynmann

I have the great fortune to co-lead a retreat with angel Kyoto Williams this coming April. The event, sponsored by Spirit Rock Meditation Center, is for the Community Dharma Leadership Program, forth cohort. Here is a gentle story from the Huffington Post that reflects her lovely way.

#Mindfulness Skills for the #InsightEnvironmentalist

October 23, 2013 by heatherlynmann

Insight Environmentalists practice these mindfulness skills for healing. They: 1.Touch the pain of planetary anguish 2.Take responsibility as earthlings to end suffering 3. Accept reality; say what they know 4.Transform fear into confidence sadness into compassion anger into a call for justice futility into inventiveness 5.Practice a living ethic by…

Here’s what #AlbertEinstein Said…

October 18, 2013 by heatherlynmann

A human being is part of the whole called by us "the universe," a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest--a kind of optical illusion of our consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting…

How #SacredActivists can Transform the #ClimateChange Debate

October 16, 2013 by heatherlynmann

Environmental conflicts like climate change are ready for a more peaceful discourse, one shaped by an awareness of brotherhood and sisterhood. Sacred activists and other ethical and spiritual leaders can dedicate themselves to cultivating a more equitable terrain for decision-making by calling for kindness, adding diversity to the community of…

#Gratefulness during the #GovernmentShutdown?

October 13, 2013 by heatherlynmann

I can only take so much of the news these days. It is painful to watch our political leaders behaving badly--especially when there is important work being left undone. Citizens of this country are hurting; the global environment is tanking, the world is festering with poverty and injustice, and our…

#ClimateChange and #CoralReefExtinction–Part 3

October 10, 2013 by heatherlynmann

This is the third posting in a series that began on October 9th--H I find writing this is excruciating. I close my eyes and want to cry for the loss of all that I know and all that I love. The suffering of so many species is etched on my…

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Heather Lyn Mann