Insight Meditation Community of Bloomington-Normal

08/20/2026

Lovingkindness phrases are not magic words, and we do not have to manufacture a warm feeling for them to “work.” They are a way of practicing our intentions.

Try offering a few phrases slowly:

May I be safe.
May I be peaceful.
May I be kind to this body and mind.
May I live with greater ease.

Then bring to mind someone for whom care comes naturally and offer the same wishes. If it feels steady, include a neutral person—someone you see but do not really know.

There is no need to begin with the most difficult person in your life. Lovingkindness is not forced forgiveness, and it never requires us to imagine someone unsafe.
If the traditional phrases feel false, begin here: May I learn to meet this moment with kindness.

Sharon Salzberg on lovingkindness and connection: https://www.sharonsalzberg.com/on-being-column/exploring-lovingkindness-in-the-lab-and-in-the-heart

08/19/2026

Mindfulness is often presented as harmless relaxation. For many people it is supportive, but it is not universally soothing.

A systematic review of meditation studies found that some participants reported unwanted effects, most commonly anxiety and depression. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health notes that the evidence on safety is still limited.

Ethical teaching on meditation includes permission to modify or stop. If closing the eyes feels unsafe, keep them open. If the breath intensifies panic, orient to sights and sounds, feel the feet, stand up, or move. If meditation is repeatedly worsening distress, talk with a qualified mental health professional and an experienced, trauma-sensitive teacher.

The most important take away is that difficulty in meditation is not always a sign to push harder. Sometimes wisdom is recognizing that a different anchor, a shorter practice, more support, or a pause is needed.

Research review: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32820538/
NCCIH overview: https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation-and-mindfulness-effectiveness-and-safety

We found that the occurrence of AEs during or after meditation practices is not uncommon, and may occur in individuals with no previous history of mental health problems. These results are relevant both for practitioners and clinicians, and contribute to a balanced perspective of meditation as a pra...

08/18/2026

Compassion has a yes, and compassion also has a no.

This article by Jack Kornfield is a few years old but is timeless as ever. He writes about a courageous compassion that can say no to abuse, racism, and violence without surrendering to hatred. That teaching corrects an old confusion in me: the idea that spiritual practice should always look agreeable.

Sometimes care is tender. Sometimes it is protective. Sometimes it comforts a person who is suffering. Sometimes it refuses to cooperate with what is causing suffering.

The question is not only, “Am I being nice?” It is: What am I protecting? Is my response rooted in care or in the desire to punish? Can I oppose an action without denying anyone's humanity?

Before a difficult conversation, it can help to feel both feet, soften the belly, and remember the value you are trying to serve. A soft heart and a strong back belong together.

Jack Kornfield, “The Courageous Heart”:

Jack Kornfield explores courage of the heart, showing how compassion and mindfulness help us meet life fully.

08/17/2026

Community question: Where do you practice peace in the middle of ordinary life?

Perhaps it is in a comfortable chair, on a meditation cushion, or beneath a familiar tree. But it may also be somewhere you pause in the course of an ordinary day—sitting in the car for one minute before going inside, walking the dog, washing dishes after everyone else is asleep, or taking one breath before answering the phone.

For me, the kitchen is one of those places. Cooking invites me into a step-by-step process: chopping, stirring, tasting, and beginning again. Each step is done better with care and love—and made even better when shared with someone I love.

Formal meditation matters to me, but so do these ordinary places where we remember that we are alive and have a choice about how to meet the next moment.

Where is that place for you? Share in the comments—or post a photo if you would like. Your answer may give someone else a new way to practice.

08/16/2026

Meditators, I have unexpectedly good news: all that time spent on the cushion may also count as mobility practice. 😄

According to this TIME article, spending a little time on the floor in different positions can help counter some of the stiffness of chair life, keep the hips moving, and give us regular practice in the surprisingly important skill of getting back up again.

Apparently, our kindergarten teachers weren’t just managing chaos when they told us to sit crisscross applesauce. They were early mobility coaches.

The authors recommend starting wherever your body is comfortable—even five minutes—and using your hands, knees, or furniture for support when needed. There is no prize for rising gracefully while both feet are asleep.

How long can you sit on the floor before your body begins submitting formal complaints?

https://time.com/6267767/surprising-benefits-of-sitting-on-the-floor/

08/15/2026

Community question: Where do you practice peace in the middle of ordinary life?

Maybe it is sitting in the car for one minute before going inside. Walking the dog. Washing dishes after everyone else is asleep. Standing beneath a familiar tree. Taking one breath before answering the phone.

Formal meditation matters to me, but so do the small places where we remember that we are alive and have a choice about how to meet the next moment.

Share your place in the comments—or post a photo if you would like. Your answer may give someone else a new way to practice.

08/13/2026

As I speak with Dharma and mindfulness leaders about forming regional support groups, I have been reminded that, in collaborative relationships, it is important to begin by getting to know the person in front of me. When that relationship comes first, collaboration tends to unfold with more ease, patience, flexibility, and forgiveness.

I need this reminder because when I care about a project, I can become eager to discuss the format, the schedule, and how to get it moving. Those things matter. But people rarely feel sustained by a structure they did not help shape or by a group in which they do not feel known.

That kind of trust grows through time, mutuality, and the experience of being listened to without becoming someone else’s project.

I am beginning to think that leadership is often less about having the right plan and more about creating the conditions in which people can tell the truth, discover what they share, and take responsibility together.

Where in your life might you be hurrying toward an outcome before the relationship is ready?

If you’re curious about the work behind these conversations, you can learn more about the Buddhist Insight Network, which supports Insight meditation teachers, leaders, and communities, at https://www.buddhistinsightnetwork.org/. BIN also maintains a directory of Insight meditation groups across the United States and beyond at https://www.buddhistinsightnetwork.org/sanghas.

Buddhist Insight Network -- Where meditators find Insight sitting groups, retreats, and resources, and Insight Meditation teachers/leaders find community with each other.

08/12/2026

Does meditation automatically make us kinder?

The research offers an important caution. A 2018 systematic review found that meditation's apparent benefits for prosocial behavior depended heavily on what was measured and how the studies were designed. Effects appeared for compassion and empathy, but not for aggression, connectedness, or prejudice, and some findings weakened when studies used stronger control groups.

I appreciate research that complicates the story. Attention training alone does not guarantee integrity. A person can become more focused without becoming more generous, accountable, or willing to confront harm.

This is one reason Buddhist practice has never been only about meditation. It also includes ethics, wise speech, community, compassion, and examining how our actions affect other lives.

Sitting can be rehearsal. The real test is how we live when someone is inconvenient, when power is uneven, or when doing the caring thing costs us something.

Study:

Many individuals believe that meditation has the capacity to not only alleviate mental-illness but to improve prosociality. This article systematically reviewed and meta-analysed the effects of meditation interventions on prosociality in randomized controlled trials of healthy adults. Five types of....

08/11/2026

When I feel emotionally stuck, my first impulse is often to think harder. Sometimes more analysis only tightens the knot.

Tara Brach's RAIN practice offers another way:

Recognize what is happening.
Allow the experience to be here for now.
Investigate gently: Where do I feel this in the body? What belief or fear is asking for attention?
Nurture with care: What would I say to a good friend in this same moment?

RAIN is not a demand to enjoy what hurts. It is a way of bringing awareness and compassion to the places where we usually become lost in resistance, shame, or fear.

A very short version is simply: This is hard. Can this be here for one breath? Where do I feel it? What would kindness offer now?

Practice resources from Tara Brach: https://www.tarabrach.com/rain/

08/10/2026

I am learning that community is not something we merely attend. It is something we contribute toward, cultivate, and grow.

The most meaningful communities in my life have not been built through perfect programs. They have grown through ordinary acts: someone remembering what another person shared, checking in after a hard week, risking an honest answer, listening without immediately trying to solve anything.

Our sangha is small. That has sometimes felt like a struggle. It has also shown me how much can happen when even a few people are willing to be human together—honest, imperfect, occasionally vulnerable, and free from the need to perform.

What has helped you feel that you truly belonged in a group?