Community Meditation is non-profit network of meditation groups. We bring mindfulness and wellness into people’s lives through courses, meditation sittings and group discussions, both in-person and online. By sharing the benefits of meditation and mindfulness, we support the evolution of a wise, caring, and healthy world.
Our network has existed for over a decade and although our roots are Buddhist, we draw on many wisdom traditions as well as contemporary wellness, psychology, and neuroscience. Community Meditation is completely volunteer-based and guided by a council of experienced teachers.
Community Meditation is a Canada Revenue Agency Registered Charity No. 73107 5719 RR0001.
Your donations, either one-time or with a monthly subscription, help us to pay rent, insurance and other basic expenses. We are a volunteer organization and all of our costs are covered by donations and course fees. Online Canadian donors will receive an annual tax receipt for the full amount of their donations in each calendar year.
One-Time Donation Monthly Donation
NOTE: For monthly donations, use the Qty button to adjust the amount in units of $5. For example, a Qty of "3" is 3 x 5 = $15.
All online sessions, except our short morning sessions, include a 20-minute silent meditation. New to meditation? Instruction is available.
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Click here to join on Zoom @ 8:45 AM ET
Looking for a mindful start to your day? We're launching silent group meditations from 8:45 to 9 AM ET, Monday to Friday. There is no meditation instruction available in these sessions–if you'd like instruction, email hello@communitymeditation.net.
Click here to join on Zoom @ 7 PM ET
Please join Brenda, Gordon, and Jim for 20 minutes of silent meditation followed by a reading of Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up by Koshin Paley Ellison. This week, we'll read and discuss Chapter 12, "Practicing Loving through Direct Communication." Everyone is welcome, and there's no need to have or be familiar with the book.
...we can come into...attunement if both people are willing to be uncomfortable, have direct conversations, and stay in relationship.
– Koshin Paley Ellison
Click here to join on Zoom @ 7 PM ET
Join Kaye-Lee, Gloria, and Marian for 20 minutes of silent meditation followed by the reading and discussion of "Elizabeth", a chapter in Tracy Cochran's book Presence: The Art of Being at Home in your Self. There's no need to have read the book, and all are welcome.
The experience of embodiment leads us back to the marvel of perceiving and to the mystery of the one who knows.
– Tracy Cochran
IN-PERSON – MISSISSAUGA
Join us in person on Wednesday as we gather to explore topics such as meditation, mindfulness, compassion, Buddhism, and other related subjects. Our session will begin with 20 minutes of meditation, and there are no prerequisites to participate. All are most welcome!
What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action.
– Meister Eckhart
Click here to join on Zoom @ 7 PM ET
ONLINE
Please join Lauren, Adam, and Sandi to read and discuss the final few chapters of Mark Nepo's book, The Power Of Friendship. How does the illusion that we "know" something affect our suffering? Our session will begin with 20 minutes of silent meditation. There's no need to be familiar with the book.
After years of struggle, I can see how we meet the hurt and anxiety, and the not-knowing allows us to accept our gripping reality with less and less tension, until the sensation of standing lightly between our suffering and the rest of life...
– Mark Nepo
IN-PERSON – OWEN SOUND
In his article "What You Have Given Your Mind to Do", Michael Singer asks us to look closely at our mind and what we expect of it. What is the nature of our thinking? How realistic are our expectations? Join Ken to read and discuss this article after 35 minutes of sitting and walking meditation.
By watching your mind, you will notice that it is engaged in the process of trying to make everything okay.
– Michael Singer
Click here to join on Zoom @ 7 PM ET
ONLINE
Please join Daniel and Debbie to read the "Meditation Is Not Required" Tricycle article by Zenju Earthlyn Manuel. How we approach meditation can actually cause us to move further from a peaceful mind and waking up. We begin with 20 minutes of silent meditation. All are welcome
I have experienced that liberation is understanding the nature of the mind through recognizing illusions, perceptions, etc.—not getting rid of them.
– Zenju Earthlyn Manuel
Click here to join on Zoom @ 7 PM ET
ECODHARMA
Join Daniel McCubbin as we read Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee's "Eco-Spirituality: Towards A Values-Based Economic Structure" article from The Guardian. Can we look at our values first, and see what kind of economic structure might lead to those values manifesting in the world? Our session will begin with 20 minutes of silent meditation.
Friday EcoDharma sessions are designed for those experiencing anxiety or grief relating to environmental issues. The aim is to bring mindfulness and Buddhist practices to our distress, and to build community.
In order to consider the question of sustainability, it is important to begin with the question: who or what is being sustained?
– Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
Click here to join on Zoom @ 7 PM ET
Please join Darina as we read "The Wisdom of No Escape", a chapter from Ethan Nichtern's book The Road Home. Interdependence and personal responsibility seem at odds–how do they fit together? There's no need to be familiar with the book, and everyone is welcome.
Once we see that nothing happens in a vacuum, that's the exact moment we are properly inspired to become accountable for our own minds.
– Ethan Nichtern
Note: This article was originally posted on August 14th, 2023.
It can be very gratifying to set a goal and achieve it. Goals offer a sense of direction, meaning, and purpose. The trick is maintaining our perspective so the goal–which by nature leans heavily into the future–doesn't blot out the present.
Let's say you want to become less anxious at work. First off, you'll need to be more specific to turn that into a goal. What would "being less anxious" look like? Maybe you find yourself wanting to say something at the monthly meetings, but when the time comes, anxiety strikes, and you clam up. Let's transform that into a goal: "I will voice my opinion on one topic at the next monthly meeting".
To reach this goal, you'll need to shift your behaviour, which typically means taking up a new activity and rehearsing it. In other words, you'll need a system. That might be 5 minutes of deep breathing practice, twice a day, every day. You could choose two specific times of day and a place to practice. Maybe let your family or roommates know not to interrupt you.
I began to realize that my results had very little to do with the goals I set and nearly everything to do with the systems I followed.
- James Clear
Voila! You have a goal and a system to bring it to fruition. Now is the time to shift your attention from the goal to the system. Why? Because, assuming your system is realistic and effective, the goal will take care of itself. Your part is to show up every day and do the breathwork. Can you sense how following a simple system, instead of doggedly pursuing the goal, orients you to the present?
Keep that goal in your back pocket, though. If you find your motivation to practice flagging, recalling the goal and why you chose it can be helpful 👍
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Ken, Sandi, and the Community Meditation Team
Photo by Mauro Gigli on Unsplash
We started this meditation network to help you bring more clarity, balance, caring and joy to your life and your community.
The truth that many people never understand, until it is too late, is that the more you try to avoid suffering, the more you suffer.
― Thomas Merton
