Day of Mindfulness
Earlier today, we hosted a day of mindfulness (DOM) here at Empty Mountain. There were 11 of us in total. We had nice weather for being outside and a lovely group of folks attend, all of whom drove out from Missoula.
Since purchasing and moving on the land in July of 2022, today’s DOM was the fourth one we’ve organized and hosted. We had two DOM’s last year, and we ambitiously offered our inaugural DOM in August of 2022, even before we started building our cabin. What can I say, I’m motivated to bring folks together in the spirit of the practice. Mike is the builder of infrastructure here at EM and I am the builder of community and practice. Together we make a good team.
In our short run of DOM’s thus far, each one has been a little different. We’re in active testing mode. We’re honing in the start time, run time, and end time (we’re finding that 10am-1pm is feeling pretty good). We’re trying out different schedule flows, different places to gather, and we’re mapping out routes for outdoor sessions of walking meditation. Having a plan and following a schedule for a program event is a must, but it will only take you so far. Ultimately the learning comes from the experience of doing it. So we’re acquiring good information during the process of each one, to help us plan the next one, and making adjustments as we go.
Our flow for today was as follows:
10:00am Welcome and start of day
10:15-11:00 Outdoor walking meditation
11:15 Sitting meditation
11:30 Practice talk by Nicole, entitled The Poetry of Living
12:00pm Community sharing circle
12:30 BYO picnic lunch
1:00 End of day
If you’d like to listen to the talk I gave during the DOM today, please click here.
Also, we will be hosting a DOM next month on July 14. If you would like to join us, please RSVP by emailing us at emptymountain406@gmail.com, and we’ll send you more info & directions.
I’m not a big fan of social gatherings. By which I mean, the casual surfacey kind where people loud-talk over one another and it’s impossible to have any type of real conversation. I’m just not a small-talk kind of gal. But I will happily join a group of folks practicing sitting or walking meditation or an intentional sharing circle any day of the week. DOM’s are right up my alley in terms of how I like to spend time with people. They’re a good mix of shared silence, mindfulness practice, authentic sharing, and closer connection for me. Huzzah for folks taking the time and energy to come together for such things as practicing mindfulness. Huzzah for community togetherness.
