Kaye Twining

Sitting Meditation:  A foundational spiritual practice

This workshop will introduce participants to the practice of sitting meditation, as taught by Buddhist nun, Pema Chödrön.

Sitting meditation is a simple and profound practice. It cultivates within the practitioner three particular human qualities of precision, gentleness and letting go.  Such qualities are necessary for a person to non-judgmentally recognise and befriend their whole unique self, that is, their brilliance, their ordinariness and their not so desirable characteristics. Such a befriending dissolves the person’s resistance to authentic self knowledge and in turn, allows them to be open and receptive to the ongoing invitation of transformation within the light of their current beliefs, values and life experience.

Even though sitting meditation is a foundational practice within one stream of Buddhist spirituality, it may also become foundational to the spiritual practice of people from differing religious / spiritual traditions. For the practice of sitting meditation simply cultivates fertile ground within a practitioner’s inner being.  From such fertile ground the spiritual practices from their own religious tradition may be sown and flourish.  In this way, sitting meditation transcends particular religious / spiritual boundaries.

Kaye Twining

Kaye lives in Melbourne with her husband, children and grandchildren. She undertook her spiritual direction training at Heart of Life Spirituality Centre in 2003 and established Tree of Life – Spiritual Wellbeing in 2008.

Fundamental tenets of Tree of Life are:

• an attitude of rational curiosity;
• reflection on lived experience;
• the practice of authentic living.

While the Jesus Story is fundamental to Kaye’s spirituality, the teachings of Buddhist nun, Pema Chödrön, have been significant in her ongoing life adventure of living fully in response to daily life.