About the Meditation Podcast
Meditation session led by Elaine Retholtz.
The guided meditation begins at 10:00.
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 meditation session, and a closing discussion.
This program is supported in part by the Hemera Foundation with thanks to our presenting partners Sharon Salzberg, the Interdependence Project, and Parabola Magazine.
Related Artwork
Theme: Loving Kindness
The central figure on this small stone stele is Manasa, a goddess venerated in the Hindu traditions of Bengal in northeastern India. She is worshiped primarily for her ability to prevent and cure snake bites, a power reflected visually in her hood of seven snakes and the snake she holds in her left hand. She is also believed to bestow agricultural prosperity and fertility, here represented by the fruit in her right hand and the vase underneath her foot. A kneeling female worshiper and her offering are shown at the base.
In the Himalayan regions, many craftsmen made objects for multiple religious traditions, and thus the appearance of Hindu and Buddhist works are often closely related. This is exhibited clearly if one compares this depiction of Manasa to depictions of the Buddhist deity Tara in such aspects as body posture, clothing, and ornamentation, as well as figural proportions.
About the Speaker
Elaine Retholtz has been studying and practicing the Dharma since 1988. In addition to teaching Dharma at New York Insight, she is a certified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction teacher and a certified MBSR teacher trainer. She is deeply interested in helping students integrate mindfulness into daily life. Elaine is committed to deepening her own understanding of issues of diversity and the way racial conditioning in the United States affects all of us””both as individuals and in relation to the institutions we are a part of, including New York Insight. She’s been involved in New York Insight’s diversity efforts for many years.