Events
Community Meditation Gathering
Wednesdays 7-8 PM
Join me (in person!) on Wednesdays from 7-8 PM for sitting meditation with your Portland community at Atrium Movement & Events. In addition to more detailed instruction, I will also offer a brief talk on a philosophical aspect of the practice, with opportunities for questions, answers and deeper discussion.
In Year Two of the Yearlong Buddhist Studies Program, we take a deeper dive into some of the personal, interpersonal, and collective teachings of Buddhism with an eye towards deepening our conceptual understanding alongside investment in new meditative and contemplative practices.
We also go deeper with a committed group of sangha friends as a cohort, an experience of supporting each other’s path and progress that can’t be replicated by isolated self-study.
Arranged as 30 weeks in five 6-weeks segments, Year Two begins with a look into Buddhism as a psychological and scientific system, alongside an exploration of how Buddhism is in deep conversation with western neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary biology.
This is a live, online program that will engage students in interactive learning and community. Students will also receive lifetime access to all session recordings.
The Power of a Broken Heart
A Winter Meditation Intensive
Saturday, February 8
2 - 5 PM
In these overwhelming times, how can our meditation practice help us find the courage and clarity to take wise, compassionate action?
Our winter meditation intensive will center on Tonglen, a powerful practice of turning towards, rather than away from difficulty in which we visualize breathing in suffering, then breathing out peace and healing. This way of working with our minds and hearts helps us develop the ability to be present for the suffering of others, as well as relate with kindness towards our own. Tonglen rewires our minds for compassion, using the tenderness of our own hearts to transform fearful, self-centered attitudes into opportunities for deeper connection with others, as well as the confidence to be proactive in the world around us.
Whether you are new to meditation or have been practicing a long time, extended periods of sitting in community can deepen, as well as inspire your personal practice. The afternoon will include meditation instruction, with periods of both sitting and walking meditation, as well as longer periods of exploring the fundamentals of Tonglen as a compassion-based technique. There will be opportunities for questions, discussion and personal reflection, including the interactive practice of social meditation, which has become the hallmark of Atrium’s weekly community meditation group.
This program is offered on a sliding scale basis, with a suggested cost of $60. Advance registration is strongly recommended.