The Returning Way
Table of contents
  1. The floor
  2. Attention and Love
  3. The Ten-Second Returni
  4. The Sittingii
  5. Metta and Tongleniii
  6. One Thing Eateniv
  7. The God Unfedv
  8. The Ruined Ordinaryvi
  9. The Bird Gatevii
  10. The Open Windowviii
  11. Boundaries and Thresholds
  12. The Hearth Boundaryix
  13. When Intensity Speaksx
  14. True Namingxi
  15. The Two Shoresxii
  16. The Rite of the Near Otherworldxiii
  17. The Width of the Roomxiv
  18. Relation and Repair
  19. Feed the Guest, Keep the Doorxv
  20. The Bowl of Namesxvi
  21. The Watchxvii
  22. The Mending Tablexviii
  23. Who Answers to Youxix
  24. Be Beside Mexx
  25. The Webxxi
  26. The Mirror at Four in the Morningxxii
  27. Coming Back Inxxiii
  28. Direction and Uselessness
  29. The Letter to the Guardianxxiv
  30. The Star Ledgerxxv
  31. The Map Without a Permitxxvi
  32. The Feast of Enoughxxvii
  33. The last pages
  34. Other ways throughxxviii
  35. When the practice must endxxix
  36. A blessingxxx
Practices

Other ways through

Every practice in this book assumes some door. When one of them is shut, take another.

If this door is shutAnother way in
Stillness or upright postureSit, lie down, stand, pace, rock, wheel, change position, stim, or stay as you are.
Inward sensationAttend to a wall, a screen, a device, a texture, a sound, an image, a trusted description, or no single thing.
Spoken wordsSign, type, select an image, point, use augmentative communication, make a mark, or stay silent.
Writing or memoryVoice note, object placement, photograph, color, witness, calendar mark, prepared card, or no record.
Solitude and privacyA friend nearby, shared quiet, a library corner, a phone call with no camera, or a ten-second practice.
Objects, food, or drinkNo object, something already owned, a non-physical offering, no ingestion, or ordinary medical care.
Time and energyOne line, one gesture, assistance, a deferred action, rest, or stopping.
Travel or sensory exposureThe bedside, a window, a picture on a screen, softer light, headphones, a road the body can take, or no travel.
Matching a groupIndividual pace, looking away, delayed response, stimming, silence, disagreement, or leaving.
A visible seasonThe quarter, the pay cycle, the care roster, the school term, the shift pattern, or eight weeks counted from a date you write down.