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 Tara Brach's book Radical Acceptance. This week, we'll read and discuss a section from Chapter 2, "Discovering the Freedom of Radical Acceptance." Everyone is welcome, and there's no need to have or be familiar with the book.
There is only one world, the world pressing against you at this minute. There is only one minute in which you are alive, this minute here and now. The only way to live is by accepting each minute as an unrepeatable miracle.
– Tara Brach
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 on the topic of generosity from Tracy Cochran's book, Presence: The Art of Being at Home in Yourself. Everyone is welcome, and you don't need to be familiar with the book to join us.
Generosity begins with being generous toward ourselves, letting everything be just as it is.
– Tracy Cochran
Click here to join on Zoom @ 7 PM ET
ONLINE
Please join Lauren, Adam, and Sandi to continue contemplating and connecting with Murray Hidary's 5-part exploration into the nature of joy. In Part 3, he explains that lasting joy is built on eight inner qualities: perspective, humility, humor, acceptance, gratitude, forgiveness, compassion, and generosity. These pillars are available to use in everyday life, and can be strengthened through simple practices like daily gratitude, intentional forgiveness, compassionate action, and a brief “joy check-in” each morning. Our session will begin with 20 minutes of silent meditation.
Joy isn’t something we acquire—it’s something we uncover, layer by layer, as we live in alignment with these truths.
– Murray Hidary
OWEN SOUND, IN PERSON
In *Unwinding Anxiety*, Judson Brewer uses his extensive research to make the case that willpower rarely works when it comes to breaking the habits that support and amplify anxiety. So what does? Join Ken to explore Brewer's simple 3-step process for working with anxious thoughts. Our session begins with some informal chat, followed by 35 minutes of sitting and walking meditation.
If you really pay careful and close attention...and you see that a behavior is not rewarding right now, I promise you that you will start to get less excited about doing it again.
– Judson Brewer
Click here to join on Zoom @ 7 PM ET
ONLINE
Please join Debbie and Daniel as we watch a video by Eckhart Tolle. In it, he explores how easily we get pulled into constant mental noise and why presence, not escape, is what brings clarity. This video shares a simple practice to help you stay centred even when life demands your full attention. Our session will begin with 20 minutes of silent meditation.
The moment you realize you are not present, you are present. Whenever you are able to observe your mind, you are no longer trapped in it.
– Eckhardt Tolle
Click here to join on Zoom @ 7 PM ET
ECODHARMA
Join Daniel McCubbin as we watch a video by Martin Koehring. In it, Koehring spotlights the crucial role of a fair and regenerative mindset as the foundation for a bridge leading to a new path of recovery. 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.
Business leaders are increasingly recognizing that the risks associated with climate change and social inequality are material to their bottom line.
– Martin Koehring
Click here to join on Zoom @ 10:15 AM ET
ONLINE
Join Debbie to read and discuss Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change by Pema Chodron. We feel comfortable knowing who we are, and we don't like people or circumstances that challenge it. Yet, that challenge and discomfort might be our greatest teacher. Our session will begin with 20 minutes of silent meditation. There's no need to be familiar with the book.
Whatever we encounter, we're either attracted to it or averse to it or indifferent to it, depending on how much of a threat to our self-image it represents.
– Pema Chodron
Are you familiar with the phrase "identity drift"? One meaning of it refers to a gap between the person you've become over time, and the commitments and relationships that have become outdated. This usually happens gradually. One morning, you wake up and realize you've outgrown some part of your life. It just...doesn't fit anymore.
Looking back, I can see a few personal examples. I was all about karate in my late thirties and eventually became a 2nd-degree black belt. Within a few years, however, I realized (partly due to injury) that I was no longer "that guy." Then it was headlong into writing, performing, and recording music, which was followed by a deep dive into Integral Theory (don't ask 😉 ). That gave way to screenwriting, and then it was on to weightlifting. In each case, I reached a point where “it” was no longer central to who I’d become.
Meditation is, among other things, a tool for self-reflection. It helps us see ourselves and the world around us with greater clarity. When that happens, it may be time to look at:
The next step is to acknowledge the gap and take small steps to shift that environment, commitment, or relationship into alignment with who you’ve become. This can require some finesse. Start by updating just one area: a boundary, a schedule shift, a conversation, or any small change that supports the person you’re becoming.
Sometimes, momentum doesn’t start with doing more. It starts with removing what no longer fits.
– The Weekly Wisdom
Depending on your situation, you may experience some grief over the changes you need to make. That’s OK. It’s a natural and healthy part of growth, and a part of stepping more fully into your evolving self.
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Ken, Sandi, and the Community Meditation Team
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
