07.14.2025. Clouds
Hello dear Friends,
"Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn, a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter. If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things, this is the best season of your life." — Wu Men
🌿
What clouds your mind? I see the clever, seductive trappings of my mind: full to the brim with unnecessary comfort and things; full of clouds shape-shifting into animals and butterflies in the sky; full of all the sweet and sour distractions of life, like shopping on Fifth Avenue– all the display windows are winking at me, saying, "Come in, linger, and buy." This is the working of our crazy-making mind, sparking stories that lead us down dark mind-alleys of rumination, clutching worry and fears. Or, perhaps, it just lulls us into a heavy-lidded sleep, with sweet chocolates and couches that swallow us whole with promises of comfort and care (sometimes necessary, but perhaps not all the time). The Buddha said,
"Question everything; find your Light."
The First Noble Truth: One way that has been a lamp, a ‘parting of clouds’ in my life, is the path of Buddhism’s First Noble Truth: Life is Suffering (Buddhist or not, it is a true truth in this realm, a good to know–can be a help). This truth encompasses three forms of suffering—ordinary (the unavoidable that comes with birth, old age, sickness, and death), suffering of change (the impermanence of everything), and all-pervasive suffering (a deep internal belief, rich feelings of inadequacy, like "I'm not good enough" or "I'm deeply flawed," a silent, ancient undercurrent of a ‘self-ugh’).
The 'Self-Ugh' and Change: What if this ‘self-ugh’ (I just made-up, married those two words—perhaps you know this too in your bones, a deep, gnawing dissatisfaction with the self, a low rumbling ugh!) What if it is not personal, just business? What if it is just the mind insists upon ‘a small-broken-you view,’ trying to make this "you," this view, permanent. This is the good news: everything changes (thoughts, emotions, solid forms). This is terrifying, too: change is not so easy on our tender hearts. But, as the winds of awareness open our insides—when the wider truths are known, in that moment there is an inaudible crack, the Light shines through (Light/God/Spirit/You cannot hold back). We no longer identify with less, toss ourselves aside—this First Noble Truth is priceless, a gem to be mined, worthy of a deep-dive–it saved my life, brought holy tender, heart kind–help me to recognize clouds, not personal.
“Do you know what you are? You are a manuscript oƒ a divine letter. You are a mirror reflecting a noble face.”
― Rumi
Come Join Me—
Mindfulness of Emotion Meditation & Metta Meditation Practice
All are welcome, no prior experience needed—just bring an open heart.
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Drop-in Meditation Practice
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Conversations on the Practice of Meditation
Location: 1765 Glenview Road, Glenview (in the Patio Shops)
Donations are gratefully accepted.
A bow of gratitude we are here together,
Holding both the complexity and tenderness of our world.
Wini
PS. A Sweet Reminder: No In-Person Metta July 21 & 27–Off 2 Weeks, Summering. No Metta Newsletters arriving in your inbox! Next post, Monday, August 4. (Be well).
Scroll Below–2 poems, 3 quotes, 2 sacred closing songs, and goodness between. Made with ♥️.
💌 Know someone who needs a little goodness for their heart? Please share! If this was forwarded to you, subscribe for your own copy
🌸 Two Poems to Share
Growing Apples | Nancy Miller Gomez
There is big excitement in C block today.
On the window sill,
in a plastic ice cream cup
a little plant is growing.
This is all the men want to talk about:
how an apple seed germinated
in a crack of damp concrete;
how they tore open tea bags
to collect the leaves, leached them
in water, then laid the sprout onto the bed
made of Lipton. How this finger of spring
dug one delicate root down
into the dark fannings and now
two small sleeves of green
are pushing out from the emerging tip.
The men are tipsy with this miracle.
Each morning, one by one,
they go to the window and check
the progress of the struggling plant.
All through the day they return
to stand over the seedling
and whisper.
Guaranteed Ways to Miss the Hidden God | Paula D'Arcy
“1. LIVE your life at high speed. No exceptions. Run hard.
2. STAY scattered and distracted. The more clutter and activity, the better.
3. TAKE everything personally. Never evaluate. Agree.
4. USE blame liberally. It's so invigorating. I wasn't responsible, you were. Everything's your fault.
5. DON'T laugh, especially at yourself.
6. STAY tied to your past. Elevate it to greatness. Live remembering and longing. Or missing. Why do it halfway? Go for it.
7. USE the word 'because.' 'I can't change, because.' Because is so little appreciated as a solvent for responsibility. Try using because. This will work.
8. NEVER question or think for yourself. Just keep moving and accepting. (Refer to #1 and #3.)
9. CONTINUE to think of God as invisible and distant. Surely not present in this room. At this moment. Not while I'm reading a book.
10. REINFORCE the belief that your life is going to happen soon. This is not it, not yet. But one day. Maybe when I finish reading."
🌸 Three Quotes | Thomas Merton. Elizabeth Gilbert. Epictetus.
“I live in the woods out of necessity. I get out of bed in the middle of the night because it is imperative that I hear the silence of the night, aloud, and with my face on the floor, say psalms, alone, in the silence of the night... The silence of the forest is my bride and the sweet dark warmth of the whole world is my love and out of the heart of that dark warmth comes the secret that is heard only in the silence…” —Thomas Merton, Dancing in the Water of Life
“You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestation of your own blessings.” —Elizabeth Gilbert ( Book Club Fans: her new book, All The Way To The River, is COMING SEPTEMBER 2025!)
“If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid” ― Epictetus
🌿 Oh, this sounds easy, yet hard to do. The wiring "to know" is deep, ingrained from schooling long ago, from family systems where the unknown was not safe, and play was relegated to structured games—embodying the need-to-know, have answers in our bones. My meditation teacher gave me a practice long ago to help unwire this life-suffocating tight wiring: answer everything, life life with a "don't know," even when you may. Let the body rest, breathe, lean into curiosity and question the unknown.
🌸 3 Spots Open ✍️ | Come Rest: A Sacred Evening of Breath & Healing
“That moment of inward breath,
that pause and awareness of “how beautiful this is” is a prayer of appreciation,
a moment of gratitude in which I behold beauty and am one with it.”
— Jean Shinoda Bolen
You're warmly invited to August's Healing Vessel: The Conversation Tonight is Breath. I'll be joined by energy-healer Julie Fedeli and harpist Margaret Pasquesi for an evening of deep tending and gentle presence.
This is your time to simply "come rest." Experience healing energy that holds dear and reverences the Spirit in each person. It's a moment for tending to the sacred, and for allowing the sacred to tenderly embrace you.
Date: Tuesday, August 12
Time: 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM
To ensure a sacred and intimate setting, space is limited.
Please contact Gina directly to add your name to the list.
For more details, visit my website.
🌸 Retreat With Wini | Experience the Wisdom of Your Heart This Fall
“I'm currently blooming a sacred weekend retreat for a small circle of women—a precious pause for soulful replenishment, slow unfolding, and holy time. A time to deepen into the teachings and practices of the open tender heart.”
—Wini
Join me for an intimate retreat experience this fall, from September 11-14, 2025! On Saturday morning of our retreat, we'll explore our inner truths through the innate wisdom of horses.
We're thrilled to welcome Linda Bruce, owner of Soulful Prairies and an experienced social worker and Equine Gestalt practitioner. Linda will guide us through an insightful, experiential session. You'll gain a deeper understanding of the herd and prey mentality of horses and its profound connection to your own energy.
All of this will unfold in a beautiful, sacred environment specifically designed to help you recognize the wisdom that already resides within you.
A Weekend of Deep Connection & Self-Discovery
Our retreat weekend offers kindness of:
Meditation (Sitting & Walking)
Silence
Connection
Listening
Contemplative Writing
Awakening Into Presence Teachings
Equine Gestalt Experience
Ready to awaken into your inner presence? Learn more and reserve your spot for this transformative fall retreat!
🌸 Closing Songs 🎶 | Voice of My Womb by Marya Stark
“When I listen to the voice of my womb I hear a beauty-prayer.” A song to birth joy, uplift your heart. What do you hear when you listen to the voice in your heart?
🎶 Listen here (3:03 min)
Lyrics:
Listen
When I listen
To the voice of my womb
I hear a beauty prayer
A beauty prayer
It says child
Stay calm
Stay open
You are protected and connected
To this love
This song
This wisdom
It is always there
🎶🎶And one more to give a listen to by Marya Stark "UNSTOPPABLE JOY" (6:12 min)
In all Mystical traditions, it is a great practice to close your practice, your day, your sacred offerings with chants and prayers of blessing, gratitude and protection.
"May you let Love lead you today.
May you the landscape of your heart bloom your beauty,
let her voice be heard, she is wise.
May you love this world as it is—
full of broken beauty, the holiest of holy sorrows and unstoppable joy.
May all beings be safe and protected."
Have a blessed day,
Love, Wini 💖
🌸 Deepen the Light: Share & Support Metta
This community thrives on shared light and kindness. If Metta resonates with you and brings warmth to your inbox, you have the power to amplify its reach.
Will you help us spread this tender kindness and care? Share Metta with a friend who could use a dose of nurturing light in their life.
Ready to deepen our collective glow? Your contributions directly empower us to illuminate our precious world with even more light.
✨ Together, let's bloom more Light.
💞 Together, let's grow more Goodness for the healing of all.
🌎 Together, let's stitch more heart-tenderness into the fabric of our planet.
Every offering, no matter how small, makes a profound difference.
Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/Winifred-Nimrod
Zelle: wininim@gmail.com or 847.312.9313
….Until next week. 💖 ✨
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.
- Mary Oliver
