Mindfulness Meditation · Resilience
This week’s meditation session is led by Kate Johnson and the theme is Resilience. The guided meditation begins at 9:16.
Durga Killing the Buffalo Demon (Durga Mahisasuramardini); Nepal; 12th-13th century; Gilt copper alloy; 11 × 13 1/8 × 7 1/2 in.; Rubin Museum of Art; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; C2005.16.11
The narrative of the Hindu goddess Durga—her assembling the weapons of all the gods and overcoming the demigod Mahisha, who endangered the order of the world—s represented here at the moment of her victory. Having chopped the bull’s head off, Durga pulls the body of the demigod from the animal by the hair and stabs him before he can even draw his sword. His two companions kneel before her and drop their weapon-bearing arms in defeat, with a vajra and a disk piercing their chests.
Kate Johnson works at the intersections of spiritual practice, social action, and creativity. She has been practicing Buddhist meditation in the Western Insight/Theravada tradition since her early twenties and is empowered to teach through Spirit Rock Meditation Center. She holds a BFA in dance from the Alvin Ailey School/Fordham University, and MA in performance studies from NYU.
Kate is a core faculty member of MIT’s Presencing Institute, and has trained hundreds of leaders and change-makers in using Social Presencing Theater, a mindfulness and dance improvisation methodology used to inform strategic planning and systems change in our complex world.
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