THE NIÀN FORUM

Did you gain any insight from today? What thoughts do you have about life / living better right now? Share in the comments below!

Today my meditation and sangha learning journey ends in HangZhou and I will be heading to BJ to resume my work with due diligence. I had deliberately make it a routine to come back at the end of every month to this sangha community to practice deep listening and loving speech. These six days of p

"Trust in your goodness. Find the safety you need to open. Let love resurrect you. Let its magnetic pull connect you with the life energy you were born into. Let love make you quiet, tender, strong, and caring. Let love make you dance. Discover the love that is your home. Live from the love that

Today is the last day of the Lunar Tiger year, we will be welcoming the friendly and adorable Rabbit when the clock strikes 00:00 January 22, 2023. The custom is to stay up all night on New Year's Eve (守岁Shǒusuì) together with our family to see the new year in. I had long abandoned this practice an

I had my second jab of Bivalent yesterday morning. As I was being ushered from one station to another and finally witness and felt the sharpness of pain in my right upper arm, I observed with mindfulness my movements, thoughts, feelings and sensations throughout. Interestingly the strongest feeli

#Read09 Did not expect to receive this gift in September 2019 when I was CEO of a well know local education group. This very diligent and kind Operation Manager reminded me to slow down and take good care of myself. "The world moves fast, but that doesn't mean we have to." Many thanks to Cynthia a

#Read08 Diamond Mind. A Psychology of Meditation. The image of the diamond its sparkling purity "is suggestive of the ever-present enlightened mind which is within each one of us. ... It goes further. The diamond is the hardest of gems, and manifests an adamantine quality. Its power serves all ob

January 13, 2023. 1. I was able to settle in with the guided movements quite naturally with ease. 2. "How did you get out of bed today?" -- As I heard this question I realised I was kinda tense this morning before the practice as every morning I need to prepare my youngest niece for school. When I

January 10, 2023. 1. I managed to settle in stillness quicker as I listened calmly to the guiding questions. 2. "What is here for you right now?" as I was trying to process this question, I compared what was present for me before I heard this question. "What is present at this moment?" -- I could

We all have a story about how mindfulness started for us, and I'm curious to hear yours. Please share yours below! May you shine with happiness, Erin Curator, niàn

A good poem invites us to slow down and reflect on what is truly important. Is there a poem you've read that inspired you to live more simply, healthily, and wisely? Why do you resonate with this piece of poetic writing? Do remember to indicate in your comment the poet's name and link to the re

I am very grateful that I could attend the weekly Sunday "Take A Pause" hosted by our niàn Life curator Erin last night. She shared a poem by Donna Ashworth from her book, I Wish I Knew. Source: Donna Ashworth Facebook Indeed we are fortunate to have this body this life to realise many dreams alon

Understand this might be controversial because everyone has different perspectives of morality. Open with keen ears on what the teachers think.

#Read10 Many thanks to CNY for giving me this opportunity to reconnect with this book that I had bought in 2016! >.< In this book we can explore how, with mindfulness training, we can literally rewire our brains for leadership excellence. "Would you agree with me when I say that all success a

Came across this image many times and today I can resonate with the wisdom much more as I rode through all the waves of challenges for the past six years. I finally came to terms that it is not what you have experienced that makes your greater, but what you have faced courageously, what you have

I have rested in a way for about three weeks since I came back from BJ after having gone for 22 months and could not fly back due to the COVID-19 restrictions then . Before I came back I had these expectations that many things would have changed for betterment especially at home that had turned out

January 14, 2023. 1. Somehow it felt that the entire 7-minute process happened in a blink of eyes, it ended so quickly. 2. I was recollecting the positive experiences that I had this week in my mind (following the guided questions) and began to filter who to thank. And that was very distracting an

#Read07 I used to be very easily agitated (mostly being too judgmental) or even got angry when facing difficult situations. Things had improved a great deal since I practice mindfulness whenever and wherever I can, especially for the most challenging past five years. "When you get angry, go bac

January 11, 2023. 1. Today's practice I was able to be in the flow much quicker than I thought. 2. Before the practice, I saw the tile Being with the Body, hence I was wondering if we were to be doing body scanning. Well, didn't expect it to be a standing body scan from toes to head. During the sc

The feeling during today’s practice and afterwards was "calm". At the beginning, when I started paying attention to my breath, I started breathing abnormally (I don’t know if this happens to anyone else), it’s like whenever I starting paying attention to how I’m breathing I forget how to do it natur

I draw and write simple quotes daily on mindfulness, relationships, life, etc. for my Instagram posts (@MingMindfulness). Thought to share the mindfulness ones with everyone here, I hope it inspires you to pause, reflect or sit.

Feeling extremely unsettled and trapped since I came back to BJ for work. Besides doing my meditation religiously, I engaged much in reading to search for my peace of mind. NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT | Jack Kornfield "You don't have to wait to be free. You don't need to postpone being happy. Al

Please do allow me to share how I deeply feel while looking back on my journey of cultivating self-compassion. The journey was genuinely not easy as I tried my level best to ride all the waves of challenges with mindfulness. I now know that uncovering happiness "is found in a profound and enduring

Since I came home after 22 months away in BJ, I had tons of opportunity to "Take A Pause" and practice mindfulness at home although not that successful at many times, I will still continue putting in Right Effort. As CNY is drawing closer, my siblings and I are facing quite a bit of conflicts with

January 15, 2023. 1. Today's practice was kinda emotional as I offered kindness to myself. 2. When I was going through who (the one I love) to offer the word of kindness for this practice, a few images appeared. Eventually I realised the one I had to be kind with compassion most was myself. I coul

#Read06 "The definitive book on the science of meditation . Rigorously researched and deeply illuminating... A must-read for anyone interested in the hidden potential of the human mind." | Daniel Gilbert "For long-term meditators, those who have done about 1,000 hours or more of practice, th

Today my body felt a bit sore, but it was nice to wake up my body with a bit of mindful stretching before starting my day. Will try to incorporate this few minutes of stretching every morning before doing anything else.

January 12, 2023. 1. Focusing on the breath always calms me down. 2. I felt my heart pumping strangely faster than usual this morning and as I started practicing the guided meditation focusing on breathing in and breathing out, I could feel the pumping went slower. At the end of the practice (I ex

#Read03 Finally got hold of this book when I visited Kinokuniya on Dec 27 last year after 23 months away from home. Deepest gratitude to Coach Erin LEE when she introduced this transformative gift while she conducted the Mindful Listening practice during her weekly Take A Pause program. Intent

#Read05 relax and be aware--MINDFULNESS MEDITATION FOR CLARITY, CONFIDENCE, AND WISDOM This book was gifted to me by my sister-in-law before I flew off to Beijing to commence my expatriate life for the second time in 2021 January. It has a profound helpful approach to mindfulness training in the a