He who binds to himself a joy Does the winged life destroy; But he who kisses the joy as it flies Lives in eternity’s sunrise. —William Blake

the first step in creating the holding environment is giving ourselves permission to meditate in a personally creative and meaningful way, rather than force ourselves to align with traditional instructions.

Learning to stay receptively attentive when the mind is settled is one of the high arts of meditation. Generally we are either (a) attending to something actively, (b) spaced out, or (c) absorbed in an experience. When mindfulness becomes more stable and is accompanied by relaxation and interest, a fourth mode of perceiving becomes viable. Attentio

Distraction is the only thing that consoles us for our miseries, and

I understood immediately that certain things—attention, great energy, total concentration, tenderness, risk, beauty—were elements of poetry. And I understood that these elements did not grow as grass grows from a seed, naturally and unstoppably, but rather were somehow gathered and discovered by the poet, and placed inside the poem. —Mary Oliver

Relaxation helps set the stage, and playfulness mitigates the intensity that most of us bring to meditation.

Paradoxically, most beginning meditators hold an unexamined assumption that discursive thinking will diminish as meditation deepens. However, because thinking is a part of our wiring, thoughts will not completely stop as we progress in meditation, any more than sounds or physical sensations will disappear. This simple misunderstanding creates inter

whether we are beginners or long-term practitioners, our core agenda centers around happiness.

Our emotional needs matter. This is our North Star. We want to know how meditation can help improve our balance of mind, increase our focus, and decrease our stress.