Heart to Heart Virtual Zen Meditation

Heart to Heart | People of Color Meditation Group by Empty Hand Zen Center

Between social distancing ordinances and black male joggers being gunned down with no one to answer for it, I have found myself lost in the weeds. My letters to my emotions have ceased as I no longer find solace in writing. Writing. My lifelong love affair with the written word no longer serves me. What am I to do?

A friend of mine has been guiding meditation for a while now and invited me, yet again, to one of her groups at Empty Hand Zen Center. She didn’t know of my inner struggle. She didn’t know that her invitation was, as my grandmother would say, right on time.

I joined the virtual classroom via Zoom. After a few technical issues, we were up and running. We began with instruction, learning the proper way to sit, hold our hands, and how to breathe (from the belly). I learned that Zen is an art of patience. Of silence. The first session felt easy, feeling much shorter than it’s actual 15 minutes. I felt emotions pour out of me as tears stained my face. Cathartic is the only word that comes to mind. After a discussion and a break, the second session was a bit harder for me. I was unfocused and frustrated at my inability to repeat the previous experience.

In the discussion that followed, I was reminded to give myself grace (my word of the year!) and remember that there’s a reason it is called Zen practice. I definitely feel better after the guided meditation and will be looking for an app or group to practice daily. And I will join Heart to Heart as often as I can. It was a truly enjoyable experience.