Mindfulness Meditation

A meditation session led by Tracy Cochran.

For centuries Himalayan practitioners have used meditation to quiet the mind, open the heart, calm the nervous system, and increase focus. Now Western scientists, business leaders, and the secular world have embraced meditation as a vital tool for brain health.

Whether you’re a beginner, a dabbler, or a skilled meditator seeking the company of others, join expert teachers in a forty-five-minute weekly program designed to fit into your lunch break. Each session will be inspired by a different work of art from the Rubin Museum’s collection and will include an opening talk, a twenty-minute sitting session, and a closing discussion. Chairs will be provided.

Presented in partnership with Sharon Salzberg and the New York Insight Meditation Center.

RELATED ARTWORK

Tara Protecting from the Eight Fears Kham Province, Eastern Tibet; 19th century Pigments on cloth Rubin Museum of Art Gift of Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation F1997.15.1 (HAR 237)

Theme: The End of Suffering

This painting is a lovely depiction of Tara as a protectress. She sits in the pose of royal ease with her right hand extended in the gesture of supreme gift giving. Though Tara bestows her benevolence on all beings, she’s often portrayed specifically as a protector against the “eight great fears” most often experienced by travellers. A few examples of these fears include drowning, being attacked by lions, and being falsely imprisoned. Though these were very real fears for travellers at this time, they also represent psychological states that bring us suffering. For example, drowning represents attachment, while lions are associated with pride, and thieves represent greed. Through her protection, Tara aims to end the suffering of all beings in both their physicality and their mentality.

About the Speaker

Tracy Cochran is editorial director of Parabola, a quarterly magazine that for forty years has drawn on the world’s cultural and wisdom traditions to explore the questions that all humans share. She has been a student of meditation and spiritual practices for decades and teaches mindfulness meditation and mindful writing at New York Insight Meditation Center and throughout the greater New York area. In addition to Parabola, her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Psychology Today, O Magazine, New York Magazine, the Boston Review, and many other publications and anthologies. For more information please visit tracycochran.org.