About the Meditation Podcast
Meditation session led by Kimberly Brown.
The guided meditation begins at 12:35.
For centuries Himalayan practitioners have used meditation to quiet the mind, open the heart, calm the nervous system, and increase focus. Now Western scientists, business leaders, and the secular world have embraced meditation as a vital tool for brain health.
Whether you’re a beginner, a dabbler, or a skilled meditator seeking the company of others, join expert teachers in a forty-five-minute weekly program designed to fit into your lunch break. Each session will be inspired by a different work of art from the Rubin Museum’s collection and will include an opening talk, a twenty-minute meditation session, and a closing discussion.
This program is supported in part by the Hemera Foundation with thanks to our presenting partners Sharon Salzberg, the Interdependence Project, and Parabola Magazine.
Related Artwork
Theme: Life After
Buddhist traditions maintain that if we are trained to recognize the true nature of our subtle consciousness at the moment of death, we could attain awakening.
This image depicts the mind’s experience between death and rebirth, the bardo, as described in the text Liberation upon Hearing in the Intermediate State and imagined by an artist.
First, clear light appears as peaceful deities who encourage the mind to become aware and free. When negative karma triggers frightful visions, recognizing their nature can help avoid rebirth in the unfortunate realms, if not reach enlightenment.
The painting shows all possible outcomes—the six realms of existence as gods, demigods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings. The Lord of Death presides over the judgment of karma which affects the next rebirth.
About the Speaker
Kimberly Brown is a meditation teacher and author. She leads classes and retreats that emphasize the power of compassion and kindness meditation to reconnect us to ourselves and others. Her teachings provide an approachable pathway to personal and collective well-being through effective and modern techniques based on traditional practices. She studies in both the Tibetan and Insight schools of Buddhism and is a certified mindfulness instructor. Her new book, Navigating Grief and Loss: 25 Buddhist Practices to Keep Your Heart Open to Yourself and Others, was published in November 2022, and an updated edition of Steady, Calm, and Brave was released in January 2023. Both are published by Prometheus Books. You can learn more about Kimberly on her website.
