melanie gin
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A letter to the white man at the hot springs

To the overly friendly white man who spoke to me on five separate occasions in five hours at a clothing-optional hot springs resort on the morning of my birthday, You

17 May 2022 3 min read

Full moon, blood moon birthday

Happy birthday, dear Melanie. In the waning hours of your birthday, soak in the healing red glow of the full blood moon.

15 May 2022 3 min read

An ocean of belonging

Step into this ocean of belonging. Around you there are beings who accept and love themselves. They float, welcoming the rising tide, accepting the ebb and flow of water with

11 April 2022 1 min read

There is no wasted time

This morning I found myself in a familiar loop, worrying about whether the grey weather would limit my enjoyment of the regional botanic gardens, whether I’d be cold and miserable.

25 March 2022 2 min read

Creating cultures of liberation

Reflections from second web3 dialogueHow does enlightenment arise in the body? For a moment, I return to the meditation cushion past midnight, the singing of the frogs accompanying me. I

18 February 2022 6 min read

Naming our ancestral stories

Reflections from first web3 dialogueThe stories of our ancestors are at the root of our suffering and provide us a path forward into the light of liberation. Where do we

11 February 2022 5 min read
on thay's passing

on thay's passing

My teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, has died. In the Plum Village tradition we say “continued in new form” or “transitioned” to avoid the delusion of “life and death”.

23 January 2022 4 min read
Returning to wholeness in 2022

Returning to wholeness in 2022

Sink into the spring of healing. Slowly bathe this human body in attention, soft fingertips caressing scalp so tenderly we weep.

1 January 2022 6 min read

A wedding blessing (for Ellen and Earl)

Ellen is the sister in my chosen family The one I turn to when I forget who I am In her face I see the fullness of our collective journey,

29 December 2021 2 min read

Let’s be human together.

As the holidays approach, I'm celebrating all of the little things that have gone well for me this week. Doing my best to offer grace when it’s not possible.

20 November 2021 2 min read

sand towers

I stand on the beach watching a child kneel down building with their hands mounds of sand like towers overlooking the ocean. They build, she builds three, four piles of

29 August 2021 1 min read
spoken word at 31

spoken word at 31

I want to speak in poetry, where the silence means as much as the sound — where silence is sound. Let this silence be stillness, the listening of this body to the creek passing through worn rocks on a journey downstream.

16 May 2021 3 min read
celebrating the harvest

celebrating the harvest

I want to learn to take up space that arises out of confidence and faith in my own song, a space that is expansive and immediate, grounded in the present moment, alive.

1 May 2021 3 min read

Stilling the ocean

Meeting sorrow and disappointment in the midst of ongoing acts of violence against Asian people, particularly Asian womenI touch into my anguish and fear of inhabiting this Asian body at

4 April 2021 4 min read

Bringing my values to the workplace as an Engineering Manager

My mission is to build empathy and wellbeing into engineering teams. How can I create the conditions to foster belonging, wonder, integrity, and contribution in the workplace?

15 February 2021 2 min read

The world I'm building

One day I want to build a company without borders, one where an Arab and an American and a Chinese can gather in a virtual space and build a better,

7 February 2021 1 min read
Welcoming this body to 2021

Welcoming this body to 2021

An annual love letter to myselfDear one, It is time to lay your body down to rest. Offer your torso and legs a bed of wildflowers, your head a soft

3 January 2021 4 min read

Crafting a Memory of Wellbeing from the Car Crash

I was in the forest with a notebook and pen, listening to a message from the trees. The energy was easeful, spacious, curious. I wrote and listened and breathed in

27 October 2020 11 min read
The message from the trees

The message from the trees

Not long after requesting a message from the trees, I slammed into one going 15-20 mph in my car. The tree stood strong. My head slammed into the steering wheel

27 September 2020 3 min read

Red sky

Wildfires are raging across California. The sky is burnt red orange grey. Ash has settled on my stationary car, the bare earth, the leafy trees near my window, my moving

9 September 2020 2 min read

ease and encouragement

I give the ease in my body space to enjoy the bird calls coming from the three pines. A plane hums overhead. Genmaicha in my cup. The air is cool

17 August 2020 4 min read

kickboxing and joy

Today a friend and I were both feeling down, so I proposed we do yoga together over Zoom video.   Can I be honest with you, Melanie? They said. I don’

23 July 2020 1 min read

Constriction and space (3 ways)

1Constriction is in the furrowing of my brow, visible to only the sharpest observer running in line from my third eye to throat to belly button a sharp arrow on

20 July 2020 4 min read

Sit.Walk.Listen: Bringing "collective awakening" to the streets of San Francisco

This past Sunday June 14, I sat crosslegged in front of San Francisco’s City Hall, letting the words of the poet Langston Hughes flow over me, a vast and

17 June 2020 3 min read

On race, privilege, and inclusivity in practice space

Dear Thay, dear sangha, I feel moved by a Native friend’s email thread and by the recent police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis to look deeply into inclusivity

29 May 2020 7 min read
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