Mindfulness Meditation · Fluidity
This week’s meditation session is led by Sharon Salzberg and the theme is Fluidity. The guided meditation begins at 16:11.
This episode marks a significant milestone as the 500th episode of the Mindfulness Meditation podcast. Since its launch in 2015, the podcast has been listened to by people around the globe nearly 1.5 million times to date.
Shiva Vishavarupa, Universal form with Consort; Nepal; mid-19th century; Pigments on cotton; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; C2003.20.2
This painting depicts Shiva and his consort Shakti. Shiva is one of Hinduism’s major deities, embodying forms such as an ascetic, destroyer, conqueror of death, and cosmic dancer. This painting presents him as Vishvarupa, “universal form” or “form of the world.” There are a seemingly infinite number of Shivas on the canvas, conveying the principle that the entire world is in motion in an eternal cosmic dance.
Shiva embraces his female consort, Shakti, who is in complete harmony with him. Both have a multitude of heads and arms, indicating their infinite vision and reach. Shiva bears the orbs of the sun and moon in his two main hands, as if the cosmos itself were in his grasp. The interplay of creation and destruction serves as a reminder of the constant fluidity of the universe.
Sharon Salzberg, Cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, has guided meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. Her latest books are Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom and Finding Your Way: Meditations, Thoughts, and Wisdom for Living an Authentic Life. She is a weekly columnist for On Being, a regular contributor to the Huffington Post, and the author of several other books, including the New York Times bestseller Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation, Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World, Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience, and Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness. Ms. Salzberg has been a regular participant in the Rubin’s many on-stage conversations and regards the Rubin as a supplemental office.
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