March Online Retreat

Note: If you are unable to join us on March 24 or 25 for the retreat, register anyway!

You will receive a complete "Retreat Kit" with all of the materials and mp3s for "Cultivating a Heart of Compassion" to do at your convenience. Easy! 

" ... I must try to be alone for part of each year, even a week or a few days; and for part of each day, even for an hour or a few minutes in order to keep my core, my center, my island-quality."

~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gift from the Sea

Are you in need of rest and rejuvenation? 

Are you in need of "me time" to reconnect with your sacred center? 

If so, I invite to you consider my Annual Online Retreat. This year's theme is:

"Cultivating a Heart of Compassion"

It is a guided day "in" with women from around the globe ...

March 24 OR 25

You pick your day!

This one-of-a-kind at-home retreat is a time to step away from your busy life and spend precious time with you—to stop, rest, and restore yourself.

This is a guided "day in" —a gently paced day based on a theme with guided activities to support it. You will be informed how to prepare for it and provided with all the materials you need to create the perfect retreat for yourself. It is a day that will allow you to rest, yet also to learn and grow.

It is a special time for
"Cultivating YOUR Heart of Compassion."

We will be retreating at the same time together—in the privacy of our homes around the world—around this wonderful theme.

Women from all over the globe sending blessings of lovingkindness— all at the same time!

Just imagine!

What will we do on this retreat?


This "day in" will involve exercises of ease-filled meditation—we will be learning “Metta,” or Lovingkindness Meditation— and practicing in very short increments. No long, uncomfortable sittings!

The retreat is designed for those who are new to Metta practice, as well as seasoned meditators.

There will be an opening ritual, video, guided meditations and exercises (mp3s), articles to read, and a complete Schedule with suggested times for: rest, reading, reflecting, mindful walking and mindful eating, all around the theme of cultivating compassion—compassion for yourself, first and foremost—then for others.

The retreat is scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. You choose your day, Saturday OR Sunday. I will be retreating both days and holding sacred space for you. 

In the morning, you will be guided through how to create a "Metta Map," courtesy (and with permission) of my Metta teacher, Sylvia Boorstein. I teach Lovingkindness Meditation in the Vipassana style with her blessing and guidance.

We will learn to direct compassion toward and accept compassion from ourselves. We will also explore the roadblocks women often encounter in doing this practice. We will soften and open our hearts. We will refill our personal reservoirs of love so that we can effortlessly offer compassion to others.

In the traditional style of Metta, you will also earn and practice how to offer phrases of well-wishing (blessing, unconditional friendliness) to 6 categories of people:

Yourself
Benefactors
Loved Ones and Friends
Neutral People (Strangers)
Difficult People
All Beings

Please know, however, that because this is a retreat—a special time to re-treat yourself—there are no shoulds or have to’s in terms of activities. I will make suggestions about how you can use your day kindly and wisely, but only do what feels right to you in that moment. Listen to your wise heart.

Group Call

On Sunday evening, March 25 at 8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. EST, we will have a Group Conference Call with a Closing Ritual. I'll answer your questions and we'll share our retreat experiences. Fun!

Participation in the call is optional. If you wish to participate but can't, an mp3 recording of the call will be sent to you the next day. No worries!

Common Questions About an Online Retreat

Do I prepare for my retreat?

Yes! Everything you need to prepare for and engage in your retreat will be sent to you once you register, including my article, "How to Prepare for Your Retreat."

How will I know what to do on my retreat?

Your retreat “Schedule,” including readings and audio recordings, will be included in your "Retreat Kit," which will be sent to you 2-3 days before the retreat.

What if I have questions or need help?

You can contact me anytime by filling out this form. 

Now what?


Register by making payment below. The cost for the retreat is $18.00 

You'll receive a confirmation email with pre-retreat materials. 

Your Retreat Kit with Schedule, handouts, and audio recordings (mp3s) will be sent to you 2-3 days before the Retreat so you will be fully prepared.

I am honored you have chosen to spend this retreat time in spirit with all of the women around the world who have chosen to do the same.

In a sacred community of the heart, we will find ease and joy.

Blessings upon our retreat. May true compassion be ours!


With metta (loving-kindness),
Jan Lundy

Praise from previous participants:

 

It was brilliant! I could write volumes (I actually wrote about 10 journal pages) about the day. The retreat got me to re-realize that this is who I am. I want to do a retreat now on a regular basis as it's so important to me. I'm delighted that you offered this one and look forward to more in the future.

~Sheryl

Thank you for so much for having this at home retreat. It couldn't have come at a better time. I feel so much at peace now and loved. Throughout the day I journaled, drew, meditated, walked, and surprised. I learned to let go, even though it is not easy.  Sending blessings out was another release and I felt love wrap her arms around me. This is an experience I will treasure and may take a day to relive it again. 

~Ellen

I am new to all this and I learned more in ONE day about my essence as a woman than I have in my entire life.  I have chronic illnesses and I have learned that I have to love MYSELF and show myself self-kindness.

~Mona

I retreated both days and I am blessed by your wisdom and the way you wove the material together was beautiful. I feel my divine Spirit within and will treasure this day forever. Thank you for your creativity and wisdom to bring this retreat to me and other woman.

~Cindy

Love, Love, Loved my retreat day! 

~Brigitte

I kept telling myself I didn't deserve a retreat because I didn't get enough housework done yesterday, but I did it anyway.  I am so glad I did. Thank you so much for your generosity in creating this retreat. I think it got me back on track again. It was an empowering feeling knowing that other women were doing the retreat at the same time.

~Gayle

My sister participated in the retreat (one state away) and we talked about it for an hour and a half afterwards. We each had a different intention going into the experience, explored it in our own way, and benefited greatly from it. What a wonderful way to "share" the day.

~Diane

Thank you for coordinating the retreat and sharing the day with us in such a special way.  I thoroughly enjoyed the mp3 recordings and intend to listen to them throughout the coming weeks. I am excited to report that I had a great and productive day TODAY because of the retreat yesterday.

~Anonymous

What sweet rest for body, mind and spirit. An inestimable gift for which I am so very grateful. This was a very worthwhile and enlightening way to spend my day. Thanks again for providing the resource materials and encouragement.

~Anonymous

Photo Credits (top)
Nutdanai Apikhomboonwaroot

(Side) FreeDigitalPhotos

December's Message

Dear Friends,

I've just sent out my December newsletter. I've kept it short and, hopefully, helpful because most of us are very busy these days. The topic is one for which I have great passion—compassion and kindness. 

The article that is basis of the newsletter is featured here. I hope it touches your heart and will serve you well through the holidays—and every day of the year!

And if you don't receive my monthly newsletter, but would like to, you can subscribe here. 
It always contains an mp3 of Guided Meditation. This one is for "Openheartedness."

Holiday blessings to you—my friends from many different spiritual traditions 

who celebrate in a myriad of ways. 

Thank goodness for the unique way each of us connects with the Sacred. 

In that, we are One. 

December: 

The Season of Compassion

“Do you have a kind heart today? ”the Indian master Atisha asked. He posed this question to whomever he might encounter in his daily travels. Can you envision someone stopping you in a busy mall in the midst of the holiday hustle and asking you that very question? 

I imagine that any of us would be caught unawares, stumbling over ourselves to come up with a good response. “Umm, I’m a little busy right now,” we’d say. “I have a lot of shopping to do in a really short time, so I’m not sure. Yeah, ok, I’m feeling pretty kind. I am buying people all this stuff, you know.” And on we’d march to the next store, with the single-pointed attention of a hunting dog sniffing out his prey. “Geez, what a weirdo,” we’d mumble to our companion, glancing back at master Atisha who is now asking the question of another unsuspecting shopper.

In truth, ever since I stumbled across Atisha’s question, I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and trying it on for size. Not asking someone else the question, mind you, but asking it of myself as a way of determining how openhearted I am at any given moment. It seems that in December we’re invited to think a bit more about how we relate to others. The holidays we celebrate—Hanukkah, Christmas, or Kwanzaa—invite us to examine our own hearts; to open them wide, offer wishes of well-being to others, and engage in acts of generosity. But what if we’re like that shopper in the mall I described, and we’re feeling too busy or overwhelmed, resentful or Scrooge-like, at what the holiday season demands of us? What then? Might I suggest, cultivating compassion.

Webster’s dictionary defines compassion as empathy, care, concern, sensitivity, warmth, tenderness, or mercy toward another. The definition I like best, however, is kindness. If you combine this word with another sourced in the formal definition of compassion—“love”—you’ll discover my new, most favorite word in the English language: lovingkindness. To me, this word says it all. Just saying it, in fact, makes you feel warm and fuzzy all over. Lovingkindness. It opens the door of your heart just a crack, enough to let in a little ardor of the season. We can begin to cultivate this virtue by asking ourselves Atisha’s question: Am I feeling kind right now? This is a wonderful question to reflect upon, especially in the midst of a season whose pressures may disconnect us from our good, kind heart.

Start Where You Are

Lovingkindness begins at home. Not with our loved ones, but with ourselves. In the spirit of holiday giving, of wanting to make things jolly for everyone, we may not treat ourselves so kindly. We may live from a monumental “To Do” list; make numerous commitments to entertain; and set standards of decorating or gift giving that rival Martha Stewart herself. Because we innately want to give of ourselves and create beautiful, meaningful experiences for others, we may overextend or exhaust ourselves. This is not being nice to ourselves. Naughty is more like it!

If we desire to be more compassionate and kind to others, we must be that for ourselves first. As the holidays progress, don’t let your desire to please, an inclination toward perfection, or those nasty “shoulds” get in the way of your own self-care. Don’t let “keeping up with the Jones’” prevent you from keeping up with yourself. You can demonstrate self-kindness in many ways, including: Saying ‘No’ when you feel so inclined. Delegating. Minimizing. Not rushing. Resting. And giving yourself some TLC on a regular basis. Treat yourself as nicely as you would your own best friend. The more kindly you treat yourself, the better you’ll feel—and the more beneficent of heart you’ll be to others. When we take good care of ourselves, we are able to more fully care for those we love.

Do Unto Others

I have been blessed throughout my life with many women who have modeled compassion for me. Wise and wonderful women they were, so generous and kind: grandmothers, my mother, mothers of friends, teachers, and mentors. So many showed me firsthand how to be caring, because they were so caring themselves. I believe we can learn to be more compassionate by role modeling the acts of those who have gone before us.

If you’re feeling a bit stingy or closed-hearted, call upon a memory of someone who demonstrated compassion to you. Bring them into your mind’s eye and feel, once again, what it was like to be on the receiving end of their mercy.  Their tenderness. Their generosity. Remember how delicious it felt to be cared for in this way. The greatest gift you can give to them this holiday season is to emulate their fine example. Do unto others as they have done to you. Share the love they bestowed upon you with others who may be in need of love themselves. Model the compassion you’ve been shown and just watch how everyone around you begins to boast that holiday glow.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, one of the most respected spiritual leaders of our day, may have articulated best how it is we arrive at a place of compassion. “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” No matter which holidays we celebrate, no matter what traditions we hold dear, the thread of compassion runs through them all. The brightest and most beautiful gift of the season is lovingkindness—yours, mine, and ours. 

©2008, Janice Lynne Lundy

 
 
"What To Do When You're Feeling Blue:
30 Days of Insights and Practices to Change the "Hue" of Your Life"

 Begin anytime, a self-paced class, delivered daily, guaranteed to help you rise above melancholy and embrace gladness—no matter what is happening in your life! 

Learn More and Register

Would you like a bit of wisdom sent to your Inbox each day?

Lovely friends, I am so pleased to announce my newest offering:


"Beads of Wisdom."

This is something I have wanted to create for a very long time—daily whispers of mindfulness, compassion and loving-kindness.


Just a sweet dose of remembering "we are that," and a practical suggestion to help us embody it further.

Sign-up using the form below and you will receive your first Bead right away, and one each morning after that. (Unsubscribe anytime.)

And feel free to pass on your favorite Beads to friends. Sharing is good. It spreads ripples of love and kindness out into the world. With so many people struggling, a hand, a word, a loving gesture can make all the difference in someone's day.


May we be the love and kindness we wish to see in the world!

"A Blessing of Angels" for the Season ...

"May the Angels in their beauty bless you.

May they turn toward you streams of blessing.

May the Angel of Awakening stir your heart

To come alive to the eternal within you,

To all the invitations that quietly surround you.

May the Angel of Healing turn your wounds

Into sources of refreshment.

May the Angel of the Imagination enable you

To stand on the true thresholds,

At ease with your ambivalence

And drawn in new direction

Through the glow of your contradictions.

May the Angel of Compassion open your eyes

To the unseen suffering around you.

May the Angel of Wildness disturb the places

Where your life is domesticated and safe,

Take you to the territories of true otherness

Where all that is awkward in you

Can fall into its own rhythm.

May the Angel of Eros introduce you

To the beauty of your senses

To celebrate your inheritance

As a temple of the holy spirit.

May the Angel of Justice disturb you

To take the side of the poor and the wronged.

May the Angel of Encouragement confirm you

In worth and self-respect,

That you may live with the dignity

That presides in your soul.

May the Angel of Death arrive only

When your life is complete

And you have brought every given gift

To the threshold where its infinity can shine.

May all the Angels be your sheltering

And joyful guardians."

Excerpted from To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings
by John O'Donohue.

A perfect holiday gift, by the way, for people of all spiritual traditions.

Today, may the blessings of the Angels be yours ...

I Cultivate Compassion for Myself

The Fifth Transformational Truth: 

I Cultivate Compassion for Myself

I am committed to a vow I took many years ago. It’s a self-made promise to live more gently with myself; to be as kind to myself as I try to be to others; to befriend myself.

In her wonderfully supportive book, The Courage to Be Yourself, my dear friend and mentor, Sue Patton Thoele, writes of “befriending” in this way. “I believe it is essential,” she says, “that you become a loving and tolerant friend to yourself. Do you act as a sheltering tree in your own life? Take a moment to think about how you treat your friends. Do you express the same kindness and consideration toward yourself? Many of us hold a deep-rooted belief that we don’t deserve to be loved. “They” deserve friendship, but for some unfathomable reason, we don’t. This is a false belief. We are worthy of love. We do deserve our own support and friendship.”

(Sue, by the way is the "Holy Woman" who represents this Truth in my book,  Your Truest Self.)

I admit, for most of my adult life I have been generally unkind to myself. I’ve pushed myself beyond healthful limits to be the perfect wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, neighbor, employee, volunteer, community leader, and more. All roles I thought I should play in life to be a “good person,” to be liked and accepted by others, especially by my family, peers, and coworkers; to be perceived as successful, of service to others, and a contributor to the greater good of humanity. It appears that the majority of women get trapped in this pattern of behavior, too.

We can begin to be more kind to ourselves by making a decision to start befriending ourselves. Let’s make a vow, together, to be more gentle with ourselves. Let’s commit to treat ourselves as lovingly as we would our own best friend.

I’ve created a “Be Kind to Yourself” list of practices that can be hung on your refrigerator, the bathroom mirror, or your computer screen to remind you to treat yourself more lovingly, more gently, every single day. They’re practices that can nurture and balance you.

Honor your inner rhythm: Work when you feel like it, play or rest when you don’t.

Get out in nature: Allow its beauty and naturally calming effect to soothe you.

Nurture your body: Pamper it with massage, leisurely baths, aromatherapy, loving touch.

Eat healthfully: Consume as low on the food chain as possibly, especially fresh fruits and vegetables.

Move: Stretch, walk, exercise, dance, hike, do anything that rids your body of tension.

Soothe your mind: Turn off the TV, meditate, read inspirational literature, listen to music, engage in a hobby.

Laugh: Mingle with friends who inspire, relax, or rejuvenate you.

Breathe: Take time alone spent in quiet, breathe deeply and regularly, allowing your body’s inner reservoirs to be filled with calm.

Rest: A nap can be a sacred time, nourishing body, mind, and spirit simultaneously.

Connect: Plug in to the Divine as you understand it through meaningful spiritual practices of your own creation.

I hope that you’ll join me in renewed commitment to acts of personal lovingkindness. When we do, we’ll undoubtedly find ourselves being kinder to others, for self-compassion naturally breeds compassion for others. Self-love spawns love for our fellow human beings. Being kind to ourselves may just be the most loving thing we can do for everyone ...

Right now, in fact, I am headed off to a hot steaming tub for a good soak. I'll read for a bit, perhaps even take a nap. I've been "on the road" for a few days and will be heading out again soon, so I am renewing my vow by being extra kind to myself this weekend.  How about you? 

What can you do today, tomorrow, this weekend to renew YOUR vow to be kinder to yourself?

I'd love to hear ...

Leave your vow here as a comment on this post and you' ll be entered into the next drawing for a copy of Your Truest Self. It's still her birthday!

And Congratulations to Nadia, Happy Lotus, for being the winner of last weekend's book giveaway! Hooray!


(Images courtesy of http://www.telegraafhotel.com and http://itztours.com)