All posts tagged: 2021

Fri. 11/28/2025: Black Friday Hike on Hook Mountain for Inner & Outer Exploration

“Instead of going shopping, go outside.” – REI #OptOutside Campaign Inspired by REI’s #OptOutside movement on Black Friday, we invite you to join us in the beautiful Hudson Valley for a guided, meditative hike—an opportunity to reconnect with both inner landscape and the natural world.  This hike takes the scenic route along the Long Path—into the Rockland Lake State Park and up Hook Mountain. Enjoy expansive vistas from only 1.5 hours outside of the city, and an extraordinary area designated by the New York Audubon Society as an Important Bird Area. Much of the hike will be observed in silence and we will integrate nature meditation practices throughout the day — allowing our senses to come alive and our sense of separateness to fall away.  Together, we will cultivate a deeper intimacy with the land—and with our inner landscape—moving through the day with reverence and presence. We will foster a reciprocal mindset: as the land nourishes us, we give back through gratitude, awareness, and care.  Through this shared exploration, we will reflect on what it …

Sun. 11/28/2021: Thanksgiving Weekend Hike to Hook Mountain, Rockland Lake State Park (on the Long Path)

Enjoy a fall day in the peaceful beauty of the Hudson Valley with a guided, meditative hike to connect with nature and ourselves. This hike takes the scenic route along the Long Path—into the Rockland Lake State Park and up Hook Mountain. Enjoy expansive vistas only 1.5 hours outside of the city, and an extraordinary space designated by the New York Audubon Society as an Important Bird Area. Much of the hike will be observed in silence but we will integrate meditation practices throughout the day — allowing our senses to come alive and our sense of separateness fall away. Turning our attention inward allows us to become receptive to both of our outer and inner experiences. The dynamic outdoor conditions will be a perfect container for mindfulness practices. The hike will be approximately from 10am – 3pm. When: 9:45am-3pm, Sunday, November 28, 2021 Who: Lin Wang Gordon Where: Rockland Lake State Park, South Entrance on Route 9W and Lake Road, Valley Cottage, NY, 10989. (Use “753 Route 9W” for Rockland Roots GPS. The park entrance should …

Sat. 9/25/2021: Tending Grief in Nature – Jamaica Bay Wild Life Preserve

Grief, if not attended, could often hold us hostage to life’s uncertainty and losses.  How do we open our heart and continue to let our life energy flow while facing and tending our grief intimately?  How do we establish a sense of connection with our loved ones when their bodies are no longer here? We will spend this day  outdoors to meditate, to free write, to experiment the elements, to share dreams…

8/6 – 8/15/2021: Inner Outer Nature – Ecodharma Training Retreat – with Johann Robbins and David Loy

This is a ten-day experiential immersion into ecodharma, set at the beautiful Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center. Our sense of separation from nature is at the root of the ecological crises our civilization faces, and ecodharma is a path of deconstructing that separation, reuniting our inner nature with outer nature.

Sacred Earth Sangha in Central Park – Honoring the Land – Sat. 5/8

Date: Saturday, 5/8/2021 Time: 2-5pm EST Location: Meet at 1:45pm at 100th St., Central Park West Since its beginning, every session of SES has begun with three honorings – honoring native land, honoring Asian lineages, & honoring ancestors. In April, May and June, we are exploring these three honorings and relating them to our commitment to honoring the earth. In April, we explored honoring the Asian lineages of our practice. For May, we will have a special gathering in Central Park to explore Honoring Native Land. What does it mean to honor native land in a city rampant with the destruction and desecration of nature? How do we heed the call of indigenous communities that proclaim that land acknowledgements are not enough? How do we forge a connection to earth that goes beyond ideas of property and ownership to ones of relationship and stewardship? Join us as we use embodied and relational practices to explore these questions and more. “Land is the basis of all independence. Land is the basis of freedom, justice, and equality.”— …

Sacred Earth Sangha: Honoring the Asian Lineage – Mon. 4/12

Date: Monday, 4/12/2021 Time: 7-9pm ET The NYI Sacred Earth Sangha is a community formed around deep practice and conscious engagement of the challenges of the climate crisis. The Sacred Earth Sangha is dedicated to meeting our current global challenges by cultivating a sacred relationship to Earth and all her beings – to honoring life. What does it mean to honor? Since its beginning, every session of SES has begun with three honorings – honoring native land, honoring Asian lineages, & honoring ancestors. For our next few meetings, we will be exploring these three honorings and relating them to our commitment to honoring the earth. In April, we begin with honoring of Asian lineages. In the face of continuing violence towards AAPI people, we will explore the often extractive ways western convert Buddhism has approached Asian dharma practices and how, instead, we can cultivate a wise relationship to lineage and community – one that honors the Asian heritage of these teachings and the lands from which they come. All are welcome. No previous meditation experience …