Mindfulness Meditation with Kate Johnson 11/6/2020
About the Meditation
Meditation session led by Kate Johnson.
The guided meditation begins at 9:16
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 sitting 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.
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Theme: Resilience
The narrative of the Hindu goddess Durga—her assembling the weapons of all the gods and overcoming the demigod Mahisha, who endangered the order of the world—is represented here at the moment of her victory. Having chopped the bull’s head off, Durga pulls the body of the demigod from the animal by the hair and stabs him before he can even draw his sword. His two companions kneel before her and drop their weapon-bearing arms in defeat, with a vajra (left) and a disk (right) piercing their chests.
This outstanding sculpture perfectly combines the dynamic with the static. The goddess’s powerful stance and fan of arms are balanced by her otherwise delicate features and calm expression. Her fan of arms is magnificently conceived of in three-dimensions, creating the appearance of movement along an arc.
About the Speaker
Kate Johnson works at the intersections of spiritual practice, social action, and creativity. She has been practicing Buddhist meditation in the Western Insight/Theravada tradition since her early twenties and is empowered to teach through Spirit Rock Meditation Center. She holds a BFA in dance from the Alvin Ailey School/Fordham University, and MA in performance studies from NYU.
Kate is a core faculty member of MIT’s Presencing Institute, and has trained hundreds of leaders and change-makers in using Social Presencing Theater, a mindfulness and dance improvisation methodology used to inform strategic planning and systems change in our complex world.
