Mindfulness Meditation · Returning to Joy
This week’s meditation session is led by Tracy Cochran and the theme is Returning to Joy.
Flying Celestial Figure; Nepal; 16th century; Wood; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin; C2006.66.655
This delicate wood carving from Nepal was most likely used as a decorative wall ornament. It depicts an apsara, a female sky spirit often found residing in depictions of heaven. Apsaras are said to be able to travel between earth and heaven, displaying their ability to exist liminally between different states. Though found in all Indian religions, apsaras inhabit an ambiguous position in Buddhism, sometimes symbolically representing the reward for a spiritual path, while other times posing as temptresses to Buddhist ascetics. Existing within different planes and modes, apsaras serve as a reminder that no matter where you go, you can always return to joy.
Tracy Cochran has taught meditation and spiritual practice for many years. She is a speaker and author whose most recent book, Presence: The Art of Being At Home in Yourself, was published by Shambhala Publications in 2024. Tracy is the founder and leading teacher of the Hudson River Sangha and has taught mindfulness and mindful writing at New York Insight, the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, and many other venues. In addition to serving as the editorial director of the acclaimed spiritual quarterly Parabola, her writings have appeared in The New York Times, New York Magazine, Psychology Today, The Best Spiritual Writing series, Parabola, and many other publications and anthologies. For more about Tracy, please visit tracycochran.org and parabola.org.
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