At the time of the Winter Solstice, our practice (for the Wednesday morning gathering) connects our usual grounding in concentration, mindfulness, and lovingkindness with themes related to the later talk on the Winter Solstice, particularly opening to the unknown and mysterious, and to what is difficult, through mindfulness and compassion.
We begin with basic instructions on settling, developing concentration, and mindfulness, with a few reminders to be present. Around 2/3 into the 40-minute meditation is a guided exploration of an experience of anger (the theme of the talk that follows is on understanding and practicing with anger).