Class update

FYI:
Regular classes will resume the 2nd and 4th Wednesday after the thanksgiving holiday. Please call to let us know you are coming!

Classes merge with Living Well, Dying Well

We will resume classes next month, I'll be out of the office until then. The second and forth wednesdays of each month will be strictly for meditation practice, while the first and third wednesdays will be 6:30-8pm Living Well, Dying Well class.
For more information, visit www.livingwelldyingwell.blogspot.com

The Truth of Silence

Many people have some ambivalence about silence; they fear it, or don’t value it. Because we only know ourselves through thinking and speaking and acting. But once the mind gets silent, the range of what’s possible is immeasurable. So first you taste the silence. Then you realize that it’s not a vacuum or dead space. It’s not an absence of the real stuff; it’s not that the real stuff is the doing, the talking, and all that. You get comfortable in it and you learn that it’s highly charged with life. It’s a very refined and subtle kind of energy. And when you come out of it, somehow you’re kinder, more intelligent. It’s not something that you manufacture—it’s an integral part of being alive. And it’s vast. We’ve enclosed ourselves in a relatively small space by thinking. It binds us in, and we’re not aware that we’re living in a tiny, cluttered room. With practice, it’s as if the walls of this room were torn down, and you realize there’s a sky out there.

-Larry Rosenberg, The Art of Doing Nothing (Tricycle, spring 1998)

Quotes

“Whatever joy there is in this world all comes from desiring others to be happy, and whatever suffering there is in this world, all comes from desiring myself to be happy.
But what need is there to say much more?
The childish work for their own benefit, The Buddhas work for the benefit of others. Just look at the difference between them!”

- Shantideva

No class this wednesday July 7

There will be no class tomorrow, July 7'th as I'll be away to teach up north. We'll be back next week!

Why we Meditate

Where do our problems come from? Traditions that emphasize meditation for spiritual development usually recognize that "spirituality" is nothing other than understanding the mind and how our minds actually work. And our problems in life come from our mind. Outside circumstances in our lives vary constantly, and are unpredictable. They are not the source of our suffering. The source is the 6 inches between our ears...
If we are to look for control somewhere, working with our minds, looking inward, would be a good place to start. Its in how we perceive our world and circumstances that we have control. So we meditate to work with our minds, with our perceptions, because we recognize that our perceptions make us happy or sad, frustrated, angry, joyous etc. And perceptions are a choice, we have control over them if we practice having control. This is very good news!
Somewhat ironically, our basic meditation technique is a process of letting go of thoughts and feelings and control, letting thoughts be, letting them float away as they do naturally, or simply not holding onto them with a death grip. This process, over time, changes how we handle life, how we deal with everything that comes up in life. Isn't this what we want? To have a comfortable mind regardless of outer turmoil? "Stress" does not exist until we bring it into existence, artificially and contrived, in our mind. Meditation helps short-circuit this process. And the result is relaxation.

April schedule changes

Greetings!

Class will not be held April 21'st, as I'll be away. We are scheduled for class each week in May.

Let's all keep practicing!

Enjoying Stress

Hello Qigong'ers,

It seems we're due for an update. Class is on every Wednesday, same as always. If it is ever cancelled, it will be posted here and at our front desk (call 774.6251 to check).

There is a guiding principle for this class and for my work in our office:

Healthy bodies enjoy movement; Healthy minds enjoy stillness

It seems to me like our minds are more imbalanced than our bodies, so lately we have been focusing on meditation. Soon we will be incorporating more Wujigong, a shamanic-qigong style from early Taoism.

Also, we have recently began working with Tonglen meditation, a special practice to change our relationship to life's challenges, extend kindness to others, and to relax into stress. FMI, come to class.

All we ever have to do is relax.