The Executive Circle of Sage-ing International sends our love and sincere hope that you—our beloved members, your families and friends remain safe and healthy during this time of rapid change and uncertainty relative to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of our communities are facing great challenges—complying with daily mandates, coping with outbreaks, and providing necessary care. We encourage you to continue upholding each other as a community of elders and sages, as well as those who are placing their lives on the line for the best interests of our countries and global neighbors.
We acknowledge with deep gratitude the medical and first response teams that continue to provide an outpouring of their expertise with open-heartedness and generosity. We are beholden to the tireless work of scientists and healthcare researchers who are attempting to discern safe paths forward. We are appreciative of the experts who are wisely supportive of our physical and environmental safety. Neighbors and friends are finding new ways to ensure that each other are cared for in their daily needs. Families are becoming more and more creative in discovering ways to stay connected and informed. Yes, this is a transformative time of deepening a radical experience of the power of love, compassion, gratitude and courage!
While we are immersed in an immense wave of change, one certainty is our interconnectedness and clear need for one another. Those who attended our online Sage-ing Wisdom Circle last Thursday were so grateful to have an opportunity to come together from their homes around the world. Please join us this week for the second contemplative online Sage-ing practice of
Social Meditation:
centering silence, meditation, heart-to-heart dialogue and spiritual intimacy in a safe and secure environment. The Meditation Circle, facilitated by Pat Hoertdoerfer, MDiv, CSL, and Anne Wennhold, will be on
Thursdays,
April 9 and April 16 at 4 pm ET/3pm CT/2pm MT/1pm PT via
Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 489 596 4735
It is stunning that in just a few weeks we have come from places of not knowing about the COVID-19 virus, to being alerted, and then to clearly recognize and experience devastating and profound outcomes. We are now urgently and conscientiously responding by making wise choices—at times on a moment-to-moment basis. Many of us are curious about how we will ever find normalcy again. This is truly a time to consider expanding our perspectives while remembering we have the capacity to keep our hearts steady and re-establish a strong foundation on our shaky ground. As we take deep centering breaths, it is well to remember what we can be
grateful
for in the midst of such an alarming disruption and surging massive grief. While we are all experiencing losses to varying degrees, it may be somewhat healing to consider the question,
“What can I possibly be grateful for?”
We all have an understanding of the general definition of gratitude:
the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
A spiritual practice of gratitude can be viewed as a state of mind and a way of living. Regardless of definition, gratitude helps us make sense out of our lives. Frankly, gratitude is likely difficult to ponder right now during this time of great tension. However, there are truly excellent reasons to practice the “art of gratitude.”
Practicing gratitude promotes calmness and optimism. For years, there have been studies supporting that gratitude increases mental strength, reduces stress, and boosts immunity.
https://youtu.be/55k6jccd-PQ
Gratitude also plays a positive role in overcoming distress. Even during this time of pandemic, recognizing what we have to be thankful for fosters resilience. Therefore, how do we begin to quiet ourselves to start embracing an attitude of gratitude?
https://youtu.be/utDUB3egRJc
In doing so, we need to create the spaciousness to pay attention to our gratitude practices.
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It is our intention to continue encouraging our community, and to support a positive transformation by means of
radical gratitude.
https://youtu.be/sgm9E_cmvWA
In nurturing the
art of gratitude
, here are possibilities to consider:
- Be Open-hearted: Consider how you practice gratitude in your daily life, how you experience gratitude through your senses, and what practices bring you the greatest sense of joy. Reflect on how you can approach gratitude open-heartedly. Here are a few “gratitude techniques” to inspire your imagination with ideas for gratitude-in-action:
- Journal about what and for whom you are grateful
- Write a gratitude letter to yourself or others
- Send thank you notes to family members and friends for whom you are grateful
- Organize and host a virtual (i.e. Zoom) “gratitude gathering”
- Identify three things you are grateful for each day
- Create a “gratitude collage”
- Take nature photos each day of what inspires gratitude in your heart
- Be Contemplative: We offer a powerful and yet simple healing practice that can be adopted and used anytime and anywhere—Breath of Thanks. Taking full, deep breaths physically slows our heart rate, and quiets our mind. This practice allows us to be more fully present and remember what really matters, especially in times we are facing crisis and challenges beyond our control:
- Close your eyes and breathe deeply ten times. With each exhale, say to yourself “thank you” and name something for which you are grateful. Begin with what is most important to you—family, safety, health, shelter, community etc.
- Validate your “ten gratitudes” by writing them down. When we write down that for which we are grateful, it causes us to pause and feel gratitude in our body—not just our mind. Writing them down also helps to validate the gift in a deeper way into our psyche.
- Be Present: Pause frequently during the day to take thoughtful and deliberate breaths. With each deep breath, pay attention to your surroundings wherever you may be. Find something you truly appreciate, something that fills your heart with joy, peace and contentment. Focus on the wonder of life, and the beauty of the moment.
Life’s journey is not linear, not easy nor perfect. By practicing gratitude, we acknowledge that we have the ability to open our heart and spirit to shift the way we respond to the difficult events around us, and move through life with more grace.
Here at Sage-ing International, we are truly grateful for each of you, your wisdom and spirit, and all that you each hold during this crisis and beyond. We courageously stand with you in practicing gratitude for others, ourselves, our surroundings, and kind acts of others. Together, let’s promise to be a harbor for each other—heart to heart. We invite you to gather again with us
—
as a community of elders and sages—in one hour of silent meditation to uphold our collective well-being and the healing of our planet Earth at this crucial time—every Thursday, at 8:00 pm, in your time zone
.
May we continue to be strong together. May we all love ourselves and our world into healing.
The Executive Circle of Sage-ing International
Marilyn Loy Every, Co-Chair
Jerome Kerner, Co-Chair
Nancy Gray-Hemstock, Secretary
Cindy Siemers, Treasurer
Katia Petersen, Member-at-Large
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