Sit down, relax, and enjoy this 35-minute meditation that is appropriate for anyone who feels - or would like to feel - a closer connection to the exquisite waters and land of the Catskill Mountains. When the mind finds stillness, such as through mindfulness meditation, our experience of the world around us becomes more intimate and alive. We become “enlightened by the ten thousand things” of everyday life.
This meditation is led by Shoan Ankele, a Priest and Senior Monastic in the Mountains and Rivers Order and Zen Mountain Monastery. She has been in full-time residential training since 2007, and is the Monastery’s Creative Director and Training Coordinator. Before coming to the Monastery, Shoan taught in an interdisciplinary arts program for high school seniors in Ulster County. This meditation was delivered for the 2024 Ashokan Watershed conference, a series of nature-based experiences surrounding the theme Conservation Through Connection. To learn more about the Ashokan Watershed Conference, visit ashokanstreams.org/ashokan-watershed-conference/.
The Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program (AWSMP) is a collaboration between Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County, the Ulster County Soil and Water Conservation District, and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection that funds the program. The stream program works closely with local municipalities and landowners in the Ashokan Reservoir watershed to implement science-based stream projects that protect water quality and the ecological health of streams.
This video was produced by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County with funding provided by the NYC Department of Environmental Protection. For more information on the AWSMP, visit www.ashokanstreams.org, on Facebook at AWSMPUlster/, and on Instagram @ashokanstreams
Time stamps:
0:00 Introduction
8:13 Meditation Practice
34:40 Closing Thoughts