Mindfulness Meditation · Change
This week’s meditation session is led by Tracy Cochran and the theme is Change. The guided meditation begins at 15:41.
Wheel of Life; Tibet; 18th century; Pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, gift of the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation; F1997.40.10
The Wheel of Life is strongly emblematic of change and is a captivating visual reminder of cyclical existence. The Wheel of Life is featured at the gateway of temples to awaken practitioners to the impermanence of life and the constance of change.
The Wheel of Life explains the concept of rebirth (samsara). Yama, the god of death, grips a wheel driven by three animals, representing the mental poisons attachment (rooster), anger (snake), and ignorance (pig)—at its hub.
In the next circle from the center, people move upward to higher states of consciousness and downward to afflicted states. Their actions, polluted by the poisons, propel them in a continuous cycle of rebirth in the six realms of existence, depicted in the large segments around the two inner circles. These are the realms of gods and demi-gods (top left), humans (top right), animals (lower left), hungry ghosts (lower right), and hells (bottom). As we behold the Wheel of Life, let’s reflect on how we can elevate our consciousness into a higher state of being.
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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