A short piece today which you can also read on Substack along with a mindfulness of breathing audio.
I am wishing you well wherever you are on this Samhain. You probably know that Samhain is the old name for All Hallow’s Eve, the fire festival traditionally marking the change of season from summer to winter. Samhain is thought to be the best time to commune with the dead, when the buffer or interweave between our worlds are considered to be at their thinnest.
Perhaps as this old summer year ends, and a new one begins with the winter dark, there is time to welcome a fresh perspective, to consider our hopes. It is also a good time to honour our ancestors, or to embrace our roots. Taking some time to reflect. So, at a time when there is more dark and hopefully not too much artificial light messing with our night vision and sleep, here is a short 12 minute mindfulness of breathing practice. Perhaps a good one to do with a soft candle light, firelight if you have it, or sitting luxuriantly in the dark. After all the Celts did not begin this new year at sunrise, they began it at sunset, in the dark.
https://open.substack.com/pub/karen844/p/happy-samhain?r=2juety&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Thank you for reading, and for your practice if you also listened on substack. Details for next open practice are below.
Open practice, Monday 6 November 2023. 6.30 – 7.10 pm
40 minute online open practice once a month on the first Monday of the month 6:30-7.10 pm.
A short drop in session, with no assumption, no judging, no previous experience required, and no need to turn your camera on if you’d rather not. Pay what you can. Suggested donation: £2. If you’d like to come please let me know on karen[at]outsidethought[dot]co[dot]uk and I’ll send you a Zoom link and details.
There will be a short meditation and maybe something to take away to practice. The aim is to shift our awareness into the present moment and create (even if only a tiny sliver) a chance to notice ourselves between the many distractions of life, and all the stuff we have going on. The sessions will have a loose focus, usually connected to common themes such as self-doubt, working with unhelpful or difficult thoughts, being with our busy minds, letting in the good. My approach will focus on the practical. Building skills to use when we need them.