A nice connected breathing meditation to begin your day from a place of joy.

100 Breaths to Begin the Day

Practice talk by Nicole Dunn on sangha building, given at Deer Park Monastery on January 11, 2024.

Practice talk on Sangha Building

This short talk is part 1 of 4 of a free online practice group called Four Arenas, hosted by Empty Mountain and organized & led by Nicole. The arena our group will be centered on for our first week, which starts on January 14, is Joy.

4A Practice Group: Joy

This short talk is part 2 of 4 of a free online practice group called Four Arenas, hosted by Empty Mountain and organized & led by Nicole. The arena our group will be centered on for our second week, which starts on January 21, is Gratitude.

4A Practice Group: Gratitude

This short talk is part 3 of 4 of a free online practice group called Four Arenas, hosted by Empty Mountain and organized & led by Nicole. The arena our group will be centered on for our third week, which starts on January 28, is Self-Befriending.

4A Practice Group: Self-Befriending

Part 4 of 4 of a free online practice group called Four Arenas, hosted by Empty Mountain and organized & led by Nicole. The arena our group will be centered on for our fourth & final week, which starts on February 4, is Comfort-Zone Expansion Work.

4A Practice Group: Comfort-Zone Expansion Work

Slowly is an original song by Lisa G. Littlebird about the power of meditation.  Its slow, tender verses build into a chorus that invites all voices. It has been arranged here for Wholehearted Chorus. A professional studio recording from Lisa is coming in early 2025.

For more information: https://thebirdsings.com/slowly/

Slowly by Lisa G. Littlebird - ALL PARTS

Original song ©Shireen Amini. This is a song created for sharing freely in community.  If you perform or record the song for income,  contact Shireen for permission. Please support the composer's forthcoming studio release of this song!  https://shireenamini.com/

This is a song about taking in support from others in our times of need. Inspired by Resmaa Menakem’s iconic book My Grandmother’s Hands, I first learned this song from Shireen at Song Village in 2022 where I remember my heart opening so wide I just wept in the loving arms of our big, singing community.

Recorded by Lisa Littlebird for Wholehearted Chorus on guitar and vocals with permission from the composer.  Male voice in vocals generated with ConvertKit AI.

For more information: https://thebirdsings.com/gather-your-resilience/

Gather Your Resilience by Shireen Amini - ALL PARTS

A song to feed and encourage our hearts in the midst of heartbreak, personal and collective.  To call us into ever more more. 

The first part of this song are from Kai Cheng Thom's direct words (I actually now realize she wrote "bring me ever closer", oops!).  She's a Chinese-Canadian trans author, performance poet, cultural worker, community healer, and teacher on the practice of revolutionary love. Here's her website - https://kaichengthom.com/

This song can be sung with the parts consecutively, different folks singing separate parts, and it can also be sung in a round

Lyrics:

Part 1 -

The heart breaks so it can grow 
The heart breaks so it can open
May my heart break lead me ever closer 
To the being I long to be 
A being whose love feels like freedom
A being whose love feels like freedom

Part 2 -

Let it go, let it grow, let it go, let it grow Let it open
Let it go, let it grow, let it go, let it grow Let it open
May my heart break
Lead me closer
To being love and freedom 
To being love, to being love 
To being love and freedom

The Heart Breaks So It Can Grow (after Kai Cheng Thom)

This singing prayer arrived during a four day fast in the desert of Payahuunadu outside of Big Pine, California. The natural world reminds us to rest, to go to the rivers and forests to renew ourselves.

Lay Me Down

At Home
Lyrics and Music by Béthany Pozzi-Johnson 2013

Vocals and Acoustic Guitar performed by Béthany
Guitar & Bass performed by two mysterious friends
Produced & mixed 2019 by a mysterious friend

Lay Me Down

Linds Roberts