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.
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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 and to continue reading Chapter 1 of Pema Chodron's Welcoming the Unwelcome: Wholehearted Living in a Brokenhearted World. No need to be familiar with the book–all are welcome!
Of all the words in this book, there might be one paragraph or one sentence–maybe one I didn't even realize was that important–that clicks for you in just the right way. Something may change the way you see things and actually move you closer to being able to alleviate suffering in the world.
– Pema Chodron
Click here to join on Zoom @ 7 PM ET
Join Gloria, Kaye-Lee, and Marian for 20 minutes of silent meditation followed by a reading and discussion. We'll be exploring John Welwood's article "Intimate Relationship as a Spiritual Crucible", beginning with the section Relationship as Charnel Ground. There's no need to be familiar with the article.
A soul connection not only inspires us to expand, but also forces us to confront whatever stands in the way of that expansion.
- John Welwood
Click here for directions
IN-PERSON – MISSISSAUGA
Life is inherently unpredictable, so our desire to control and predict robs us of peace of mind. Join Tammy on Wednesday to explore this very human quandary. Our session will begin with 20 minutes of silent meditation.
As human beings we share a tendency to scramble for certainty whenever we realize that everything around us is in flux...but in truth, the very nature of our existence is forever in flux...What a predicament!
– Pema Chodron
Click here to join on Zoom @ 7 PM ET
ONLINE
We might respond to the mystery of life by declaring how awful a world this is, or by proclaiming the possibility of enlightenment and perfection–if we try hard enough. The paradox is that adopting either response only distracts us from being here and helping each other. Join Lauren, Adam, and Sandi to continue reading and discussing the "Wandering Authenticity" chapter from Mark Nepo's Seven Thousand Ways to Listen. Our session will begin with 20 minutes of silent meditation.
One side of our challenge is to feel the pain in being human and not escape down the rabbit hole into despair, but to stay here and hold each other up in the mystery.
― Mark Nepo
Click here to visit our Meetup
IN-PERSON – OWEN SOUND
This week, join Ken to explore the practice of "gathas", short verses that are recited in rhythm with the breath. Gathas are usually recited mentally, not aloud, and initially drawn from existing sources. With practice, we can develop our own gathas. The session includes 35 minutes of sitting and walking meditation.
As meditation in motion, gathas loosen the tangle of our thoughts, opening us to experience the present moment.
― Zachiah Murray
Click here to join on Zoom @ 7 PM ET
ONLINE
Join Debbie to continue reading and discussing Oliver Burkeman's book, Meditations for Mortals. There's no need to be familiar with the book. This session is open to all and will start with 20 minutes of silent meditation.
It’s in the nature of being finite that every choice comes with some sort of consequences, because at any instant, you can only pick one path, and must deal with the repercussions of not picking any of the others.
― Oliver Burkeman
Click here to join on Zoom @ 7 PM ET
ECODHARMA
This week, join Maxine to read and discuss the transcript of a dharma talk by Kaira Jewel Lingo. Times of great uncertainty and disruption call for an appropriate response. An "Ecosattva" is a being committed to protecting and serving all, including our precious Earth. We can all walk this path of the Ecosattva, responding to the cry of the earth with clarity and dedication to the interdependent well-being of ourselves, our communities, and all beings. 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.
There are two things that any Ecosattva needs to cultivate to be able to meet the challenges of this moment: fierce compassion and equanimity.
― Kaira Jewel Lingo
Click here to join on Zoom @ 10:15 AM ET
What do we tell ourselves about what it means to be human? This Sunday, join Debbie to explore this question through the "Being Human" chapter of Ethan Nichtern's book, The Road Home. The session will begin with 20 minutes of silent meditation.
With no exaggeration, your view of human nature is perhaps the most important view you hold.
― Ethan Nichtern
Here's one way I might express the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism:
The Eightfold Path is called a path for a reason: it's something that takes time. In that respect, it's like learning to juggle or play the euphonium. You begin, get guidance, practice for some time, and eventually become a children's entertainer 😉
Seriously, though, the Buddha expressed the Eightfold Path as a process whose endpoint is the complete, permanent cessation of craving and therefore suffering. That's no small feat and might well be the work of a lifetime (or lifetimes, if rebirth is your thing). The Path isn't only about the destination, of course. We begin to benefit from Wise Speech from the moment we start practicing it!
I'd like to point out that stopping craving, the third Noble Truth, is also available now. Not the permanent variety, the instant one. In fact, it's been happening now, perhaps haphazardly and occasionally, since you were born.
Consider Ken MacLeod's one-breath meditation:
You are always able to have clear stable attention for one breath, so breathe out, gently and steadily without strain. At the natural end of the exhalation, stop.
Guess what? It's now now.
Ken & the Community Meditation Team
Photo by Yan Krukau.
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
