Mindfulness Meditation · Letting Go
This week’s meditation session is led by Tracy Cochran and the theme is Letting Go.
Flying Naga; Nepal or Tibet; 14th century; Gilt copper alloy; repoussé; 13 1/4 × 15 3/4 × 2 1/8 in.; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; C2005.16.18
This beautiful repoussé displays a naga king coming out of a carefully detailed motif known as cloud foliage. Nagas are powerful snake spirits that can either harm or help humans and are associated with underwater and subterranean realms. In Nepal, looking at the clouds and seeing shapes resembling aquatic animals, like nagas and other beings, is a sign of the impending monsoon rains. Once the sky is full of these beings, it lets go of the water in the clouds, watering crops and allowing for a plentiful fall harvest.
Tracy Cochran has been a student and teacher of meditation and spiritual practice for decades. She is the founder of the Hudson River Sangha. In addition to offering meditation online, Tracy has taught mindfulness meditation and mindful writing at the Rubin Museum and the New York Insight Meditation Center, as well as in schools, corporations, and other venues worldwide. 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.
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