Meditative Tools for Stillness

In this two-hour workshop with Aaron Haas, you will develop the skills to navigate this semester with connection. Together, we will explore intentional connection to our thoughts, our breath, and our instruments. Keep reading to hear about this workshop in Aaron's words: "What is your deepest ground? As musicians and students, we tend to rely subconsciously on various things for a sense of safety and groundedness. The respect of our peers and audiences, recognition and approval of our mentors, our own technical and musical skills, a position in an orchestra or university, the list goes on. But the problem with all of these is that they are ultimately unreliable, and when something happens that threatens or deprives us of them, we become ungrounded. So what can we truly rely on? The answer we will be exploring in this workshop is simply your deepest ground. Sometimes called the “ground of being,” we can begin to sense it as a deep stillness beneath and within us. As you are sitting now, breathe into the soles of your feet, feel the support of the Earth beneath you, and sense that you are even held by something much, much greater. Take a moment. It is not an abstract idea, it is felt experience of something deeply still, wide awake, and always here. This is the “ground” that is the subject of our 2-hour workshop. In the first half, we will explore meditation and writing prompts to help us discover this ground firsthand, so that we can use the ground as a resource for the coming school year and whatever challenges await. And in the second half we will pick up our instruments (which needs not be shared) and see what it might actually look like to act from it, in the same way that a tree grows upwards and outwards from its roots, producing branches, leaves, and flowers. If we can learn to recognize this ground, we can learn to flower from it, with an open, loving heart and unhindered, sky-like mind. We can feel safe to truly shine."