About the Meditation
Meditation session led by Tracy Cochran.
The guided meditation begins at 16:27.
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: Awaken
According to Buddhist belief, at the moment of death we have an opportunity to attain an enlightened state of mind. But our own karma brings up various visions, including terrifying ones. If we do not recognize them as projections of our own mind, we cannot reach the enlightened state or a good rebirth. This painting depicts the deities described in a 14th-century text, “The Peaceful and Wrathful Deities: The Profound Teachings of Self-Liberated Wisdom Mind,” as well as the famous “Liberation upon Hearing in the Intermediate State.” The teachings of this text allow practitioners to prepare and train their minds for this future eventuality. Often ritual specialists read these instructions to the deceased as the means of guiding them through the difficult process of transitioning to a future existence.
About the Speaker
Tracy Cochran has been a student and teacher of meditation and spiritual practice for decades. She is the founder of the Hudson River Sangha, which is now virtual and is open to all. The link for her weekly meditations can be found on her website: tracycochran.org.
In addition to the Rubin Museum of Art, Tracy Cochran has taught mindfulness meditation and mindful writing at the New York Insight Meditation Center, as well as in schools, corporations, and other venues nationally and internationally. She is also a writer and the editorial director of Parabola, an acclaimed quarterly magazine that seeks to bring timeless spiritual wisdom to the burning questions of the day. Her writings, podcasts, and other details can be found on her website and on parabola.org.