A Non-Religious Spiritual Practice and Volunteer Community Supporting Boston’s South Shore

Friday Reflection — November 14, 2025

This week, we continue with Thich Nhat Hanh’s No Death, No Fear: Comforting Wisdom for Life, lingering another week in chapter eight (Fear, Acceptance, and Forgiveness).  Thay speaks about the “vertical line,” a continuum on which we are connected to our ancestors and our descendants .  In the practice of touching the ground and connecting with before and after, we come to see that line is not fixed in time and space, and that we are much closer to those who come before and after, intimately closer perhaps, than we know. 

In a practice of touching the ground, as we connect with those who have come before us, we will inevitably come close to painful experiences, to hurts not-quite-healed during an ancestor’s lifetime. Hurts perhaps passed along to us.  Practice also invites us to come close to our parts in causing hurt and resisting healing, and the ways we participate in passing along our wounds to those who come after.

How can our practice connect us to that tender place where forgiveness can happen?  How might we open up our own hearts, in the present moment we occupy (“the only moment we have,” Thay says), to compassion and lovingkindness?  Might sitting mindfully, in practice with others, help open us to the hardest work of forgiving ourselves?  

Come and sit gently with yourself and others, and hold these questions with openhearted curiosity.  You do not have to be reading along to join in, though reading along might enhance your experience.

Friday Reflection meets weekly at First Parish Scituate from 9:30-11:00, and is open to members and friends of Mindfulness Plus.  There is parking out front and on the right side of the church building.  Come in through the front doors, we meet in the Sloop Room straight ahead.   

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practice groups, volunteer opportunities, educational workshops & retreats, and social events in support of our South Shore communities.

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  • “I have already written some facts of my life, journal-style. But this new Recollections experience allows me to share with my grandchildren, and hopefully their children, some life memories in my own words, my voice for posterity.”

    – Karen from Cohasset

  • "I have been a care giver my whole life. I helped both elderly parents live in their home as long as possible. Been a bedside nurse for over 40 years and raised 2 children . After my mom who was my best friend died Covid hit. I worked in a Boston Hospital ICU T throughout it. When it was over I realized i had lost my compassion. After another year I retired. I started to volunteer to have a sense of purpose. One day I walked into Mindfulness Plus and it changed me I was encouraged to cry and talk and most of all heal. The wisdom of the group was invaluable. Every meeting gave me fresh insight. And soon my words helped others. I will be forever grateful to this group that has transformed me (with alot of hardwork on my part) I encourage everyone to try it. You have nothing to loose and everything to gain."

    - Pat from Hanover

  • “I find the Living with Loss Community Support Group to be very warm and supportive. This experience has allowed me to expose vulnerabitlies without judgment, and the compassionate energy shared is personally healing. I am grateful to the Mindfulness Plus organization and their offerings to the South Shore community.”

    – Claire from Quincy

  • “I have found some comfort attending the Living with Loss group. It is nice being surrounded by others that are also suffering loss and sharing our thoughts and emotions. It is a gentle, non-pressured atmosphere and I have always left feeling just a little bit better after attending. I hope in time to not need the group support but right now I do and it’s a safe, easy, supportive, comfortable place to share some of the tough emotions around significant loss.”

    – Rebecca from Hull

  • “Friday Reflection offers the opportunity to sit with a group of friends, silently review my past week, and if I choose, speak in confidence and without judgemental feedback about what it is like to live in my body, mind and soul. And more than that, I'm offered the enlightening and fascinating opportunity to listen to other members of the group do the same. I find it centering, peaceful and harmonious.”

    - Bill from Weymouth

  • “It is an honor to be a volunteer interviewer in the M+ Recollections program. It is a privilege to enable community members to tell stories of their lives that hold special meaning for them that they can choose to share with others. Through being part of this process, I also learn about, and gain new perspectives about the diversity of our community members, as well as deepening my connections to our community.”

    - Paula from Hull

  • "Loss and grief equals pain. The healing process from this pain is hard work and is exhausting. Whether your loss is deeply personal or on a bigger societal level, the Tuesday Living with Loss group provides a safe space to share your loss with others in a non-judgmental, pressure-free environment. You can share many words or sit quietly the entire time. Knowing that there are others who support you and collectively embrace your soul has helped my own healing process continue after the sudden death of my husband last year."

    Gail from Scituate

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— Jim from Cohasset

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