Video of the full session (1hour 33min)

Audio of guided meditation & drawing (guided meditation first 17min, followed by 12min of drawing)

Downloadable audio file

Notes for the first class

Practice is the goal!

Mindfulness of Body & Breath Meditation

• Anchors to return to whenever you feel overwhelmed or need grounding:
  • sensation of the hands
  • sensation of the feet, connection to the earth
  • sounds
• Notice where you feel the breath physically. 

  • Where do you feel it right now? Upper lip, tip of the nose, inside the nostrils, throat, chest, belly, whole torso, whole body.

  • If you can’t find the sensation of the breath anywhere, that’s normal. Practice compassion and invite your attention into the body. 

  • When you realize that your mind has wandered, celebrate that moment of realization. That is an awakening! Reward your awareness with an inner smile or a bow. You can whisper “welcome back”. Rest for a moment in the spacious awareness before gently returning to the breath.

Invitation to daily practice

• This week, please practice a combinations of meditation & “tracing the breath” for 5 minutes total per day. Doing it everyday is more important than how long you do it for. You can stand at the counter while your coffee is brewing, breathing for 2 minutes and then trace the breath on the back of a receipt for 3 minutes. Notice how you feel afterward.
• If you fall off the wagon, forgive yourself completely and get right back on!

Video of the full session (1hour 33min)

Link to watch on YouTube

Streaming Audio of the full class (90 min)

Downloadable Audio of the full class

Video of the full session (1hour 40min)

Link to watch on YouTube

Audio of guided meditation & drawing (guided meditation first 18min, followed by 28min of drawing)

Downloadable Download the audio file

Please practice for 5 minutes every day: noting your emotions as they arise and morph and give way into other emotions. Practice bringing an attitude of openness & acceptance. Then draw with the arising emotions for a few minutes (or more)! If you are inspired to continue drawing, you can open up from there to improvisatory drawing or however you would like to work.

Materials for next week

Next week we will venture into repetitive markmaking and pattern. For this I recommend using a fine-tipped marker or drawing pen:

• a Micron Pigma or Molotow artist pens in nib sizes .1, .2, and/or .4  

• Faber-Castell Pitt pens in S, XS, and/or F; or 

• a fine tipped sharpies and/or bold rollerball or gel pens (my favorite is Uniball Impact 207)

It can be exciting and motivating to buy new art materials, but it isn’t necessary. All you really need is one pen that feels great to draw with. If you want to go for the max, find 2 or 3 different thicknesses to play with.

I’ll be using black, but you could play with gel pens or color if you like.

Please also bring some watercolors or inks and some wet media paper. If you don’t have watercolors or inks, you could also use markers. Basically, we’ll be laying down some color fields that will serve as a backdrop for the following week’s drawing. 

Video of the full session (1hour 35min)

Link to watch on YouTube

Audio of guided meditation & drawing (guided meditation first 15min, followed by 35min of drawing)

Downloadable Download the audio file

Please practice for 5 minutes every day: noting your thoughts as they arise and labelling them, for example “planning” or “remembering” or “judging”. Practice bringing an attitude of openness & acceptance. Then practice some drawing. You can play with the kinds of pattern and repetitive mark making we did in class or continue with the improvisatory drawing with emotions we did last week.

Natural pigments

The paints that I mentioned in class are BEAM Paints, handmade nature-based watercolors & gouache by this marvelous M’Chigeeng First Nation Canadian artist, Anong Beam. I highly recommend these marvelous materials!

Materials for next week

• 2 or 3 pre-painted circle backgrounds — Please bring a few simple circles painted in light colors. We will be drawing concentric circles on those color fields. Be sure the paint has completely dried before class on Saturday.
• pens (black or colored) in various thicknesses.

Video of the full session (1hour 30min)

Link to watch on YouTube

Full audio version (1 hour 30min)

Downloadable full audio version

Just the meditation & guided drawing (17 min meditation, 26 min drawing, 43min total)

Downloadable just meditation & drawing version

Please practice for 5 minutes every day: noting your physical sensations, breath, emotions, or thoughts as they arise and pass away. Practice bringing an attitude of openness & acceptance. Then practice mindful drawing for a few minutes: improvising with emotions, repetitive mark making or concentric circles. If you are inspired to continue drawing, you can open up from there to improvisatory drawing or however you would like to work.

Bonus bedtime practice

SELF-FORGIVENESS SCAN 

Even when we are not overtly at war with ourselves, we often move through the day judging ourselves for the ways we feel we are falling short. This practice brings our self-judgments into awareness so they can be seen and released. It’s an especially cleansing way to end the day. Try it when you are lying in bed before you go to sleep. 

Take some moments to become still and to relax any obvious areas of tension. 

Then take a few long, slow breaths to help you arrive fully in your body. 

Now ask yourself, “Is there anything between me and being at home with myself?” (Feel free to change the wording in any way that helps you identify the presence of self-blame.) 

Then pause and see what comes up in your body and mind. What stories of wrongdoing have you been telling yourself? Stories of letting others down, of performing poorly at work, of not meeting your standards as a parent, partner, friend, or human being. 

If something arises, simply acknowledge it and offer it forgiveness. 

You might gently place your hand on your heart and whisper, “Forgiven, forgiven,” or “It’s okay.” Recall your intention not to push yourself out of your own heart. 

Then inquire again: Is there anything else you’re holding against yourself? 

Continue in this way until you’ve identified whatever self-judgments you’ve been carrying. 

End the scan by offering yourself a prayer or blessing, a wish for your own peace of heart and mind.

Materials for next week

Next week we will experiment with improvisational drawing. Bring all your favorite materials!

Some ideas:

• oil pastels / chalk pastels

• colored pencils

• pens / markers

Video of the full session (1hour 31min)

Watch video on YouTube

Audio of the full session 

Downloadable Audio of the full class 

Audio of guided meditation & drawing (40 min total: 20 min meditation, 20 min guided drawing)

Downloadable Audio of the Meditation & Guided Drawing with music

Notes from class

How do we take these practices forward into our lives & the world?
How do we keep the practice — both formal  & informal?

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (surgeon, author, shaman) Toltec indigenous Mexican wisdom

Don’t believe the unexamined agreement you may have made that you are never enough. Instead, make these Four Agreements with yourself:

• Be Impeccable with your word
• Take Nothing Personally
• Assume Nothing
• Always do your best

Three pillars of waking up:

• Awareness
• Forgiveness
• Action