This series is FULL! Please message us if you're interested in a future session.
Mindfulness, or mind-training, is the practice of being awake.
By training up our ability to closely watch our mind, we become intimate with our suffering, our habitual patterns of grasping and avoiding, all the while opening a doorway to personal insight. In the words of Buddhist abbot Bante Gunaratana, mindfulness is "the practice of being 100 percent honest with ourselves." Only when we know ourselves deeply can we relax reactive habits and live with a more open-heart.
Traditional mindfulness practices are comprised of walking or sitting meditations designed to anchor the mind in the present moment. Through this effort, we are able to cultivate attentional balance (being able to choose what we pay attention to) while widening the bandwidth of experiences that we can tolerate without distress. Ultimately, we access genuine happiness, and easeful orientation that isn't dependent on life being easy.
In this 4-week series, you'll learn to practice a variety of traditional mindfulness meditation methods that:
calm the mind and relax the body
improve focus and concentration
develop an accepting and resilient orientation towards life's challenges
cultivate an open-hearted and friendly attitude towards yourself and others
Along the way, you'll find out what works for you and learn how to build your own practice.
Everyone is welcome and no prior experience is required.
With Jennifer O’Sullivan
Meets four consecutive Thursdays in Fairfax:
Sept 26, Oct 3, Oct 10, and Oct 17.
$100
