When I went back to my homelands, to the hill looking over the Missouri River, I decided it was a good opportunity to find three stones to carry with me, to do the meditation I learned at the mindfulness retreat with Thich Nhat Hahn many years ago.

What I discovered was, there aren’t many stones on the hills looking over the river — the hills are soft clay, and the stones by the river are either sharp fossilized fragments, or round clay pebbles that nearly melt in your hands. But I did find some stones on the gravel driveway — imported no doubt, but nice smooth stones that will fit in my pocket.  I’ll give these stones to someone sometime, part of my practice, to find stones that will be a blessing to someone at some point.

The practice:

Stone 1: “Breathing in, I see myself as a flower…breathing out, I feel fresh…(3x)

Stone 2: “Breathing in, I see myself as a mountain…breathing out, I feel strong…(3x)

Stone 3: “Breathing in, I see myself as still water…breathing out, I reflect things as they are…(3x)