OLLI0084 - Gladdening the Mind: Meditating in the Divine Abodes

Course Description

This is a meditation course, open to both beginning and experienced meditators. When you wake up in the morning, after you get going with your day, what is the quality of your mind? Do you like hanging out with yourself? Is your mind a good friend to you? How do you relate to dear ones, to difficult persons, to adversaries, to strangers, to people in distress? In the Buddha’s teaching of mindfulness meditation, there are four qualities of mind called the Divine Abodes, or brahmaviharas. These four are Loving-kindness, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity. These qualities of mind can be cultivated through meditative practice. We will learn to “incline the mind” toward these qualities and discover that we can choose to make our home in these divine abodes. Additionally, because it is at the core of the teaching of Jesus, and because grievance and resentment toward others, oneself, and life can block the experience of kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, we will add Forgiveness practice as a “fifth brahmavihara,” as do some contemporary mindfulness meditation teachers. Watch video