"Religion and Modern Thought" came to a sweet end today. All of us - the students, me, and two researchers who've been observing our class from time to time - sat around our big table (the pleasures of a small class!) and shared some final reflections in various forms. (One of them was this big mandala, whose circles somehow refer to each of the fifteen weeks of our course; details of the others, including mine, at
some point in the next days.) We closed with a repeat of the Thich Nhat Hanh "Eating a Tangerine" exercise, with a difference. As we mindfully ate our California tangerines - five weeks ago it was Smiles; this time it was Halos - I invited people to smile at each other. (Smiling is an important practice for Nhat Hanh, too.) It was silly and profound: a sweet farewell. The circle we started with a dial ended with a halo!
some point in the next days.) We closed with a repeat of the Thich Nhat Hanh "Eating a Tangerine" exercise, with a difference. As we mindfully ate our California tangerines - five weeks ago it was Smiles; this time it was Halos - I invited people to smile at each other. (Smiling is an important practice for Nhat Hanh, too.) It was silly and profound: a sweet farewell. The circle we started with a dial ended with a halo!