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Daily Reflection Sit Join us daily at 12:00 PM (Eastern) The Holding Environment: The Body THE HOLDING ENVIRONMENT: BODY Play Video Play Video 2020 November 30: Warming up the Body The body is the container for practice. With caring attention, open it up, settle into a comfortable, and establish a stable (grounded) and aligned posture. Play Video Play Video 44:58 2020 October 30: The Body You Inhabit is a Holding Environment Kindly and wisely, tend to your inner environment as though you were your guest Play Video Play Video 37:51 2020 September 10: The Physical Holding Environment: Taking Our Seat Pointers for feeling into how to support “your” body Play Video Play Video 37:55 2020 September 08: The Holding Environment: Optimizing the Conditions Make physical room and space. Play Video Play Video 38:21 2020 September 03: The Holding Environment, Dharmically Take your time. Set up the posture of the practice. Keep checking in on it. Play Video Play Video 37:40 2020 September 01: The Holding Environment a la Winnicott Attending with care, as a mother with her child. Play Video Play Video 39:35 2020 May 12: Settling Back Inviting a receptive posture in practice. Play Video Play Video 38:09 2020 May 11: Befriending the Pain We Carry In Our Bodies. SEE, FEEL, & DISCERN experientially Holding and Being Held. Play Video Play Video 40:07 2020 April 09: Befriending the Body Let go of as much tension as is possible, many times during the day. Shake it off. That is a compassionate act.

Daily Reflection Sit Join us daily at 12:00 PM (Eastern) The Holding Environment: The Mind THE HOLDING ENVIRONMENT: MIND Play Video Play Video 44:58 2020 October 30: The Body You Inhabit is a Holding Environment Kindly and wisely, tend to your inner environment as though you were your guest Play Video Play Video 39:15 2020 October 29: Our Home as Holding Environment "Inside the chaos, build a temple of love”… Rune Lazuli Can you still build a welcoming “home” in the midst of chaos? Play Video Play Video 2020 October 27: The Architecture of Your Practice If the foundation is weak, the structure is vulnerable. Setting up the body for practice and tethering to the here and now. Play Video Play Video 2020 October 26: “Geborgenheit”: Inner Well Being and Outer Protection How useful is it to be following the threads of the various energies in our outer world? Play Video Play Video 39:14 2020 October 22: The Choice to Return to the Present Moment It’s the willingness to return to the present moment that becomes the most important moment. Play Video Play Video 2020 October 20: The Job of the Meditator We arrive to meditation in our own little universe. Noticing when we slide into our “self” view and shifting back into mindful posture Play Video Play Video 2020 October 19: Thought… Not the Only Show in Town Learning how to not get pulled into the narrative that creates dis-ease. Play Video Play Video 38:52 2020 May 04: Briefly Acknowledging Afflictive Mind States No need to add aversion to the challenging moment; simply return to the present kindly. Play Video Play Video 2020 April 20: Inviting Wonder We may not be able to be ‘a bride married to amazement’, but let’s remember the ordinary miracle of being here when returning to the breath. Play Video Play Video 2020 April 16: Interest is the Mother of the Settled Mind Practicing ‘as if’ the breath were compelling. Play Video Play Video 2020 April 12: Self Compassion Reflecting on your fundamental goodness. Play Video Play Video 40:19 2020 April 11: Sati: Remembering to bring mindfulness to mind Take an ordinary mundane task and do as you normally would, then try doing it from a posture of mindful caring attention. See the difference for yourself!

Daily Reflection Sit Join us daily at 12:00 PM (Eastern) The Holding Environment: The Heart THE HOLDING ENVIRONMENT: HEART Play Video Play Video 38:48 2020 October 15: The Holding Environment: Getting a feel for the heart How does it feel inside? How can you be responsive? Explore! Be curious. Play Video Play Video 38:37 2020 October 12: The Holding Environment: Inviting Play Inviting the child within through visualization. Play Video Play Video 38:10 2020 October 08: The Holding Environment: Chanting Consider a chant to uplift the heart. Play Video Play Video 37:40 2020 October 06: The Holding Environment: The Dharmic roots of the Heart Friendliness, Compassion, Joy, Equanimity Play Video Play Video 38:02 2020 October 05: The Holding Environment: Inviting Playfulness Bringing childlike energy; ‘noodling around’. Play Video Play Video 39:11 2020 December 02: Tenderizing the Heart Kindle the ATTITUDE of kindness and care. Invite the heart into your practice, at the beginning and while you are practicing. This is the atmosphere we want to practice out of! Play Video Play Video 38:16 2020 October 01: The Holding Environment: Holding and Being Held Feel into each of these two aspects of the holding environment. What needs holding? How can we hold what needs holding? Play Video Play Video 37:13 2020 September 29: The Heart of the Holding Environment - The ground of friendliness Ahimsa, non-harm is the ground of friendliness Play Video Play Video 38:15 2020 September 28: Inviting Wonder into the Inner Holding Environment Bringing forth images of wonder from past experience Play Video Play Video 2020 September 24: The Holding Environment: The language of the heart The heart senses and communicates symbolically. What stokes the heart’s warmth, care, and kindness? Play Video Play Video 37:42 2020 September 22: Softening the Attitude and Inviting Gratitude Using memory image to invoke gratitude in meditation. Play Video Play Video 37:55 2020 September 21: The Importance of Heart in the Practice First see where we contract and not further reinforce it. Play Video Play Video 38:40 2020 September 14: Enlivening the Breath Bringing heartfelt attention to the breath Play Video Play Video 37:46 2020 July 30: Mindfulness is a Heart Training The heart regulates our interest in our world. Mindfulness meditation trains us in holding interest. Play Video Play Video 2020 July 19: Chanting Can Uplift the Heart Another way to cultivate the internal holding environment; a personal example. Load More

Daily Reflection & Sit Join us daily at 12:00 PM(Eastern) Daily Sit Categories Click on any of the squares below to dive deeper into each topic. Meditation Preparation The Holding Environment: Body The Four Noble Truths Panna Brahmaviharas The Paramis: Sila (Mortality) The Paramis: Viriya (Energy) The Paramis: Adhitthana (Resolution) The Seven Factors of Awakening: Overview The Seven Factors of Awakening: Energy The Seven Factors of Awakening: Concentration 2020 Meditating in the Time of the Coronavirus The Holding Environment: Overview The Holding Environment: Heart Sila The Three Characters of Existence: Anicca, Dukkha/Sukha, Anatta The Paramis: Overview The Paramis: Nekkhamma (Renunciation) The Paramis: Khanti (Patience) The Paramis: Metta (Lovingkindness) The Seven Factors of Awakening: Mindfulness The Seven Factors of Awakening: Joy The Seven Factors of Awakening: Equanimity The Holding Environment: Breath The Holding Environment: Mind Samadhi The Eight Worldly Winds The Paramis: Dana (Generosity) The Paramis: Panna (Wisdom) The Paramis: Sacca (Truthfulness) The Paramis: Upekkha (Equanimity) The Seven Factors of Awakening: Investigation The Five Daily Reflections The Seven Factors of Awakening: Equanimity

ONGOING EVENTS THE DAILY SIT via Zoom at 12:00 pm - 12:45 pm (Eastern) Learn more HERE Join us daily at 12:00 PM (Eastern) Mornin' Meditations Zoom Recording Archive Check this homepage for updates and the Upcoming Events page for all events. We will add more events during 2026! UPCOMING EVENTS UPCOMING RETREATS *SAVE THE DATES* MORE INFORMATION COMING SOON Vallecitos Retreat Between Spiritual Bypass and Stress Reduction: Mindfulness and Deep Psychological Work, An Intensive Retreat for Mental Health Professionals July 1-8, 2026 Finding Balance in Chaos: A Mindfulness Retreat for Coming Back to Ourselves August 4-9, 2026 The Institute for Meditation and PsychotherapyCertificate Program September 18, 2026-May 9, 2027 BCBS Opening Cert Retreat September 18-23, 2026 Copper Beech Retreat w/ Chris Germer October 2-9, 2026 BCBS Householder Retreat TBA A Loving Community Focused On Mindfulness for Psychotherapists and Lay Practitioners Read about Founders Bill & Susan Morgan >> WELCOMING YOU HOME Bill and Susan Morgan’s journey to where they are today began well before their 4-year silent retreat at the Forest Refuge in Barre Massachusetts*. In 2009, they felt it was time in their lives to seek a longer-term practice. They decided to see what it was like to be completely free from day-to-day worries and responsibilities in order to gather experience, train in spiritual practices, and deepen their own capacity for compassion and wisdom. At the end of four years, knowing they wanted to continue on the path they had begun on retreat, they carried home their experiences and knowledge and have dedicated their everyday-lives to nurturing, teaching, developing, and supporting a community of practitioners devoted to enriching their spiritual practice. Their life is built around daily practice, teaching, writing, offering retreats, and building their own refuge in the city where practitioners can come and deepen their own spiritual lives and practices. They open their home to those who genuinely want to follow a similar path. *The Forest Refuge is affiliated with the Insight Meditation Society Learn about Bill & Susan's 4-year silent retreat DANA May what we offer be of benefit to as many as possible. The practice of giving is universally recognized as one of the most basic human virtues. In the teaching of the Buddha, the practice of giving claims a place of special eminence, one which singles it out as being in a sense the foundation and seed of spiritual development. ~Bhikkhu Bodhi PAYPAL: Donate button below YOUR DONATION IS GREATLY APPRECIATED SPECIAL OFFERING: The Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy Certificate Program Info & Apply >> Bill & Susan are meditation teachers within this Certificate Program sponsored by the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy (IMP). This nine-month program will comprehensively explore the integration of mindfulness and psychotherapy. The clinical and academic material will be studied in a manner that embodies the qualities of mindfulness, suffusing the inquiry with awareness, insight and compassion for self and others, and engaging both mind and heart.

Daily Reflection Sit Join us daily at 12:00 PM (Eastern) The Seven Factors of Awakening: Joy The Daily Sit Categories THE SEVEN FACTORS OF AWAKENING: JOY Play Video Play Video 38:39 2024 December 25: The Joy of Receiving It is a joy to receive and it is an art. Compliments are an easy way to practice and experience this joy. We all secretly want to be seen and appreciated for who we are and what we do. Notice, feel, breathe, let the compliment land, then, and only then, say “thank you” and shhhhh (finger to mouth), no buts, no qualifiers, just “thank you”. Play Video Play Video 38:00 2024 December 23: Resistance to Joy Exploring the evolutionary, societal and personal conditioning which make it challenging to arouse and sustain joy. Play Video Play Video 38:13 2024 December 18: Two Kinds of Joy – Savor the Flavor There are the everyday kinds of joy with their big and small delights and there are the quieter kinds of joy that come from meditation, from setting aside our burdens and the busyness of the day. They are to be enjoyed! Savor the flavor! Play Video Play Video 36:55 2024 December 16: Evoking Joy Appreciating and savoring small moments of joy. Play Video Play Video 38:56 2024 December 11: Joy Is Available To Us. Trust This. Be on the lookout for joy in small ordinary moments. Nurture it. Play Video Play Video 38:38 2024 December 9: Piti: The Joy That Comes from our Meditation Practice We can experience a happiness that is not dependent on pleasant vedena - the dhamma joy that comes with fully being with what is arising and passing with acceptance, non-judgment, interest, and care. Play Video Play Video 36:14 2024 December 4: Moments of Joy: On and Off the Cushion Joy is a central factor in Buddhist teachings. Joy can be experienced during formal practice, while we sit, alone and/or with a sangha. And it can arise off the cushion too, when we practice kindness, appreciation and gratitude. What brings you joy? Play Video Play Video 38:36 2024 December 2: Introducing Pitta; The 4th Awakening Factor Pitta, joy, is not dependent on any outside circumstances but instead arises from our practice and our freedom from greed and aversion. It can arise in the midst of pleasant and unpleasant conditions. We can see joy manifested in the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu.

The practice of giving is universally recognized as one of the most basic human virtues…. In the teaching of the Buddha, too, the practice of giving claims a place of special eminence, one which singles it out as being in a sense the foundation and seed of spiritual development. ~Bhikkhu Bodhi Dana May what we offer be of benefit to as many as possible. The practice of giving is universally recognized as one of the most basic human virtues. In the teaching of the Buddha, too, the practice of giving claims a place of special eminence, one which singles it out as being in a sense the foundation and seed of spiritual development. ~Bhikkhu Bodhi There is a long tradition of offering meditation instruction in exchange for some offering of dana, which means generosity in the Pali language. Moved by this model, we have come to adopt an approach akin to this in spirit. Some of our offerings are for dana, which means that there is no fixed fee. The receiver of the guidance and instruction is free to offer an amount based on a combination of perceived value and personal means. This exchange brings the heart aspect of the mind—qualities of appreciation, kindness, and gratitude– into clearer focus. We wish to introduce this model to professional caregivers in the context of retreats and personal meditation instruction so that they may consider, feel and realize the benefit from engaging generosity. Many ask us what the usual range of offering might be. As therapists, we are accustomed to appreciating the value of wise counsel, and most offer what they themselves might expect to pay for a psychotherapy/consultation session, or what they might charge for a session themselves. That said, we gladly receive what is freely offered. YOUR DONATION IS GREATLY APPRECIATED PAYPAL: Donate button below