Posts in Relationships
Ways we can really listen especially when we disagree
Ways we can really listen especially when we disagree

Dear Friends, 

I hope you are enjoying the summer days as much as I am. We have been reading Thich Nhat Hanh’s book Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet in our meditation community and recently read a section on deep listening - which can be challenging especially with our loved ones - written by the Plum Village monastic Sister True Dedication. 

She shares the value of listening to all points of view in society and in our personal lives, the practice of transforming our anger into compassion, and techniques for practicing deep listening.

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Mindfulness, RelationshipsRachel SwitalaComment
Two things I learned from monastics last week
Two things I learned from monastics last week

Dear Friends,

I’ve had quite a full two weeks, hosting 8 monastics from Plum Village plus three non-monastic friends and coordinating their evening of mindfulness and music in Baltimore. 

Two of the things I absorbed living and working with these deep practitioners were (1) Letting go of worrying about small things that went wrong and trusting that things will work out and (2) Deeply caring about each other while also being a sovereign, whole person. Not beholden to anyone or anything else. Free and complete just as we are.

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Mindfulness, RelationshipsRachel SwitalaComment
Adding hugging meditation to our holidays
Adding hugging meditation to our holidays

Dear ones,

During the holidays and as we return from our COVID separation, we may want to also return to the practice of hugging our loved ones. 

Below is an excerpt from my book, Things I did When I Was Hangry: Navigating a Peaceful Relationship with Food, about one of my favorite Plum Village practices – Hugging Meditation. 

I also have a 1-minute video demonstrating this practice. 

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Mindfulness, RelationshipsRachel Switalamindfulness practice, healingComment
Giving to others without harming ourselves
Giving to others without harming ourselves

Dear Friends,

The holiday season exhorts us to be generous and give. What does it mean to practice generosity from a mindfulness perspective? There are so many opportunities to give material and spiritual aid; how do we determine when to give and when not to give? And how do we know when we are being generous?

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Mindfulness, Love & Compassion, RelationshipsRachel Switalamindfulness practice, healingComment
My challenge with my gratitude practice
My challenge with my gratitude practice

Dear Friends,

I’ve been a fan of gratitude lists and the practice of gratitude for a while. There are so many benefits of gratitude which you can read about from Web MD here or Plum Village here .

I recently realized that one of the places I am challenged is in feeling and expressing gratitude for other humans. I can easily feel gratitude for my safe warm home, my two cuddly dogs, or the beautiful zinnias blooming in my yard. And I can even find gratitude for folks who are distant from me or passed away, like my grandma or Thich Nhat Hanh.

More challenging is to feel gratitude for the people who I see or talk to on a regular basis. The people I take for granted. In fact, I can feel annoyed by people because they aren’t living up to my expectations, often noticing what they don’t do instead of what they do.

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Mindfulness, RelationshipsRachel Switalamindfulness practice, healing, relationships Comments
Boundaries without Separation
Boundaries without Separation

During this time of year, we may find that we get triggered by our families and friends or the expectations of the holiday season. If you’ve picked up a self-help book or read a holiday blog, you know that the supposed answer to all of this is to learn how to set boundaries. In addition to a lifelong self-help book addict, I am also a student of the Buddha, who says that in the ultimate dimension there is no separation between me and you, between me and this computer, or between me and the rain coming down at this moment. If there’s no separation, how can there be a boundary? This is a question I have pondered while watching the rain fall.

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Relationships, Self-CareAnnie Mahon Comments
Mindful Parenting - A talk by Annie at Blue Cliff Monastery
Mindful Parenting - A talk by Annie at Blue Cliff Monastery

Last month, while attending a family retreat at Blue Cliff Monastery, I gave a talk on mindful parenting. In the talk, I share lots of stories of our parenting struggles and how the practice of mindfulness helped me/us get through it and find love and joy in the process. Parenting is hard. And my personal practice, looking clearly at what is really happening, and connecting to other parents are the things that consistently helped us.

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Mindfulness, RelationshipsRachel Switalamindful parenting, mindfulness practice, blue cliff monasteryComment