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. Oline 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, Jim, and Sharon for 20 minutes of silent meditation followed by a reading and discussion from Bhante Gunaratana's book Mindfulness in Plain English. All are welcome and there is no need to have the book.
The mind is everything; what you think, you become.
– Bhante Gunaratana
Click here to join on Zoom @ 7 PM ET
Join Gloria and Ryan to read and discuss "Beautiful Snowflakes", an article by Norman Fischer exploring the joy in realizing that we and our world are as passing as falling snowflakes. Our session will begin with 20 minutes of silent meditation.
I know there is no way not to be connected, no person or place that is beyond my concern.
– Norman Fischer
Click here to join on Zoom @ 7 PM ET
Join Sandi, Lauren, and Adam to explore the relationship between humility and the stillness that exists inside of us. We'll draw on the "As We Wake" chapter from the book Seven Thousand Ways to Listen. Everyone is welcome, and you don't have to be familiar with the book. We'll begin with 20 minutes of silent meditation.
When overwhelmed, I try to remember that our inborn gift appears when we are completely present to the moment we are in.
― Mark Nepo
Click here to visit our Meetup
IN-PERSON – OWEN SOUND
We often find it difficult to change our behaviour, whether that's getting into a regular exercise routine, improving our listening skills, or quitting smoking. Join Ken to look at some research on how mindfulness meditation can elevate the odds of changing a particular behaviour. Our session will begin with 35 minutes of sitting and walking meditation.
...as [mindfulness meditation] practice develops, it may begin to enhance motivation for change by affecting processes of reward, associative and extinction learning, and habit formation, thereby shifting the balance from unhealthy to healthier behavioral repertoires.
― Mindful.org staff
Click here to join on Zoom @ 7 PM ET
ONLINE
What would it mean to transform our minds? What role can meditation play in this transformation? Join Sandi to consider this question through the writings of Matthieu Ricard. This session is open to all and will start with 20 minutes of silent meditation.
The aim of meditation is to transform the mind. It does not have to be associated with any particular religion. Every one of us has a mind and every one of us can work on it.
― Matthieu Ricard
Click here to join on Zoom @ 7 PM ET
ECODHARMA
This week, tune in to explore the intersection of environmental issues and Buddhist teachings. The session will begin with 20 minutes of silent meditation.
Friday EcoDharma sessions are for those experiencing anxiety or grief about environmental issues. The aim is to bring mindfulness and Buddhist practices to our distress, and build community.
Dharma is not upheld by talking about it. Dharma is upheld by living in harmony with it.
― Unknown
Click here to join on Zoom @ 10:15 AM ET
What does it mean to be curious about ethics as we begin to know ourselves better? Join Debbie on Sunday to consider this question after 20 minutes of silent meditation, We'll be drawing on Ethan Nichtern's book, The Road Home. There's no need to be familiar with the book.
Ethics is about asking the deep questions concerning how we make choices, especially when we don't know definitively what we should do, which is pretty much always.
― Ethan Nichtern
The world can be a busy and highly stimulating place. Sometimes, it's more than we can handle with any degree of balance and calm. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could quickly and reliably reduce stress, boost our mood and our ability to think, and even improve our sleep patterns?
...the true path to peak performance lies not in asking if we’ve worked hard enough to earn rest, but in questioning whether we’ve rested enough to work at our best.
– Maike Neuhaus Ph.D
The practice of Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR) offers exactly those benefits. NSDR has its roots in yoga nidra practice but represents "a broader, more secular approach to relaxation and mental wellbeing". NSDR combines body scanning, breath awareness, and visualization that can be performed seated or lying down in less than 10 minutes.
An easy way to experience this remarkable technique is this guided version with Andrew Huberman, the neuroscientist who coined the term NSDR👇 🙂
Ken & the Community Meditation Team
Image by Siggy Nowak from Pixabay
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
