DAY OF MINDFULNESS

A week from today, Kathleen and I are getting married. As we both practice an eclectic blend of Buddhism, Taoism, Earth-based spirituality, and New Ageism, we decided to enter our life-partnership during a private ceremony: the only people attending will be Kathleen, myself, and Sandra Marie (a spiritual teacher with whom Kathleen has studied for many years). Our families, as one might expect, weren't thrilled with our decision. Our response was simple: "This is our wedding and we want it to be about the two of us. Besides, none of you follow our spiritual path. You won't even get it. There won't be any 'til death do us part' or "do you take thee" stuff. We're forging a spiritual partnership and, to be quite honest, you aren't part of that." In keeping with the spiritual theme of the weekend, we asked my parents to give us a special wedding gift.* Sunday, the day after our wedding, we're attending a Day of Mindfulness gathering with Thich Nhat Hanh. Thich Nhat Hanh is a well-published and well-traveled Buddhist monk who was once nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. A brief description of the seminar, sponsored by Naropa University, follows:

On this day, Thich Nhat Hanh will teach us about the practice of mindfulness in our daily lives, how to touch that source of peace, solidity, and freedom that is in each one of us. This practice transforms the seeds of suffering that lie deep in our consciousness, allowing us to be an instrument of healing and transformation for our families and our society.

There's more on Mindfulness at the Plum Village website. Plum Village is a Buddhist monastery founded by Thich Nhat Hanh during the early 1980s.

*If we hadn't specified a gift, my parents would have purchased something like a gas grill. I'm a vegetarian.