In this guided meditation, participants will explore the sources that sustain our lives—ancestors, teachers, communities, and the natural world—through contemplative reflection and embodied awareness. Drawing on the Plum Village practice of touching the earth, we will connect with the “imaginal cells” within ourselves and our communities, deepening our sense of interdependence, compassion, and belonging in a complex, interconnected world.

This iPause Guided Practice is part one of a three-part series with Kaira Jewel Lingo in the Contemplation By Design Summit.

This practice session will extend the knowledge and skills presented during the keynote lecture on Oct. 14 at 7pm titled We Were Made for These Times: Coming Home to Ourselves in the Age of AI, and the interactive workshop titled Educating for Interbeing: Imagination, Embodiment, and the Education of Compassion on Oct. 15 at noon. Please consider attending Kaira's keynote and interactive workshop as well if your schedule permits you to do so. 

You are welcome to join one or all three of Kaira's Summit sessions.

Kaira Jewel Lingo is a senior Dharma teacher in the Plum Village Zen lineage and a Vipassana teacher, and a member of the Plum Village North American Dharma Teachers Council of Elders. After living as an ordained nun for 15 years in Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastic community, she now offers spiritual mentoring and leads meditation courses and retreats, focusing on racial and earth justice and engaged spirituality. She is the author of We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons in Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption and co-author of Healing Our Way Home: Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors, Joy, and Liberation. A Stanford alumna, she holds a BA and MA in Anthropology and Social Sciences, and serves as faculty in the Buddhist Eco-Chaplaincy training and as a guiding teacher with One Earth Sangha.

This session is part of the FREE Contemplation by Design Summit, Oct. 14-25, 2026.

The full summit schedule for this year will be posted at: https://med.stanford.edu/contemplation/summit.html.