Present Moment Archives • Heather Lyn Mann

Walking Meditation: The Practice of Stopping

March 4, 2015March 4, 2015 by heatherlynmann

Walking meditation can be short or long in duration, depending upon the amount of time available. This exercise supports the practice of indoor or outdoor walking meditation for either individuals or groups. It is offered in three parts: opening remarks, middle contemplations, and concluding words. When practicing alone, read the…

William Gibson and the Present Moment

February 4, 2015 by heatherlynmann

William Gibson --a novelist and essayist of speculative fiction who coined the term "cyberspace"--observes this about now: The future is already here, it's just unevenly distributed.

Melt into #OriginalPoetry by #FinnEnke

May 7, 2014 by heatherlynmann

It is an honor to introduce you to an original work by my friend, Finn Enke. You may feel when you read this gorgeous work you are in the presence of a boundless soul. You may glimpse the beauty of home. To the Open Water at Dawn on April 9…

#WendellBerry: The #Peace of #WildThings

December 29, 2013 by heatherlynmann

When despair grows in me and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron…

A #Sailor Discovers #DivineWisdom

October 15, 2013 by heatherlynmann

Here is an excerpt from writing done while sailing. Please read to the end and answer the question posed. Enjoy! H The deceptively simple sail is a technological wonder. Dense threads—hammered together under force—prevent even the most determined blow from penetrating the weave. The fabric is able to withstand years…

#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…

#RadicalTransformation for #EnvironmentalActivists and #Buddhist Practitioners

October 2, 2013 by heatherlynmann

Each of us--as children of Mother Earth--can benefit from a spiritual relationship with the natural world. Countless studies disclose the mental and physical benefits that emerge from time in nature. But two groups are especially ripe to have that relationship be intentional and radically transformative: environmental activists and Buddhist practitioners.…

#Mindfulness and the #NeuroticMind

September 22, 2013 by heatherlynmann

I learned about the relationship between my mind and breath at my first Buddhist retreat. Sitting in calm alertness, I tried to focus my mind on a single point of pure, dependable reality: my breathing. Sitting peacefully I thought: Breathing in I feel myself breathing in. Breathing out I feel…

Podcast Link: “Sailing at the Earth’s Tempo”

August 16, 2013 by heatherlynmann

https://soundcloud.com/heather-lyn-mann/sailing-at-the-earths-tempo Follow this link to hear a six-minute reading of my latest published work: "Sailing at the Earth's Tempo." Or, you can find the article in the summer 2013 issue of The Mindfulness Bell, a publication of Plum Village. Enjoy--H

How to Meditate and Why

August 14, 2013 by heatherlynmann

"Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out. In. Out." These words are my inner voice speaking as I begin my daily meditation practice. I learned these simple words from my teacher, the Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. They are a…

Heather Lyn Mann