Breathe in Beauty

Guided walking meditations in the coastal redwoods with Christine DeCristofaro

The ground crunches beneath my feet releasing the smells of young redwood and fresh earth. I take a deep breath filling my lungs with all the knowledge the clean fresh air can offer.

It feels good to walk.

It feels good to breathe deeply – to breathe in beauty.

It feels good to be awake and truly appreciate the wonder and serenity of Ratna Ling.

Walking meditation is meditation in action. When we do walking meditation, we are using the physical, mental, and emotional experiences of walking as the basis for developing greater awareness.

Walking meditation is a great way to take awareness into our ordinary lives. Most people do at least some walking everyday – even if it’s just walking from the house to the car, and the car to the office. Walking meditation is an excellent way to squeeze more meditation into the day — you can do it anytime you’re walking. Once you have learned how to do a walking meditation, each time you walk – no matter how short – can be used as a meditation practice.

The great thing about walking meditation is that you can do it anytime you are walking — even in the noise and bustle of a big city. At first, it might be difficult to keep your awareness engaged with your walking with all the people, places and things wanting your attention. But with practice, you will begin to feel more and more comfortable keeping your eyes directed forward and begin to feel grounded in your own unique experience – no matter how busy or crazy the world is around you.

At Ratna Ling, I am blessed with wonderful walking paths through the coastal redwoods either on our property or nearby hiking trails. It is a safe place to learn and practice a walking meditation since our only traffic concerns are the local turkey, rabbit and deer populations. I am currently leading guided walking meditations with instruction so you may learn, experience, and develop a walking meditation practice of your own.

I hope to breathe in beauty with you soon in the Realm of Treasures, Ratna Ling.