The gift of mindfulness practice is that in any moment of anxiety or fear, we are called to open our hearts, to know we have the courage to be with even our deepest, darkest fears.  An old Hasidic story says that the teachings are placed on, not in, our hearts, so that when the heart breaks, the teachings fall in.  We hear, reflect on and put into practice, the teachings, so that in the turmoil of anxiety and fear loving awareness, into which we train our hearts, is our response—trusting that loving, compassionate, peaceful presence is what is most healing in the experience of the broken, anxious or fearful heart.

I am called by this reflection to recommend highly to you a teaching by Akincano, a gracious and insightful teacher, at New York Insight this coming weekend, which he describes  (I summarize) as “Brahmavihara:  The boundless mind — Dimensions of Universal Empathy” . . . a direct experience that is universal, timeless and transcultural: Love, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity, capacities of every human heart … literally at the heart of human experience….”

Brahmavihara teachings and practice train the heart into feeling life fully, intuitively sensing how to reach out and touch our own and others’ hearts from the clarity and caring of our boundless mind/heart.  These Brahmaviharas encourage intuitive wisdom and loving presence in the face of the joys and sorrows all humans know. We learn how to allow the teachings to fall into our heart and trust what we find there.  Look into this event and look into opening your heart so the teachings can fall in.

With metta,
Gina Sharpe
Guiding Teacher