We meet every Tuesday for meditation and conversation at the Active Lifestyles Centre Grey-Bruce (We will be at the Harmony Centre on December 17th while our normal venue is renovated). Doors open at 7 PM. Tea and snacks are served. Free meditation instruction is available.
See the Contact page for directions or to get in touch.
This week, after we sit and walk in silent meditation, we'll look into the role of curiousity in mindfulness. In her article on Mindful.org, Patricia Rockman writes:
We don’t ask “why” when inquiring into our practice because mindfulness is something to be embodied, to be experienced rather than thought about and analyzed. I’m not suggesting that we do away with thinking, analysis, or intellectual pursuit. We are problem-solving creatures and this is an important part of being a sentient being. We would not have survived long without our intellects. But within the practice itself, learning and insights come out of being with each moment as it comes and goes.
After reading parts of Rockman's article, we'll explore three specific practices for being more curious about this life.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Several times a year, we draw from a wide range of insightful teachers who educate and inspire us, choosing one to feature and then sharing readings, videos, exercises or other explorations with our local groups.
Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams is a writer, activist, ordained Zen priest and the author of Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living with Fearlessness and Grace, published by Viking Press in 2000, and the co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation, published by North Atlantic Books. Called "the most vocal and most intriguing African-American Buddhist in America" by Library Journal. Williams is the Spiritual Director of the meditation-based newDharma Community and founder of the Center for Transformative Change in Berkeley, California and is also credited with developing fearlessMeditation, fearlessYoga and Warrior Spirit Training. As of October 2013, she is the world's 2nd female Zen teacher of African descent. Her given Buddhist name, Kyodo, means "Way of Teaching."
Angel is a social visionary that sees Transformative Social Change: applying inner awareness practice to broad-based social change, as America’s next great movement. She is an early shaper and leading voice in that work and coined the name for the field. For over 15 years, she has deeply invested her time and energy to putting into practice her unwavering belief that the key to transforming society is transforming our inner lives. She has developed comprehensive systems for illuminating both practical personal change and the profoundly liberating potential of mindfulness, yoga, and somatic practices coupled with wisdom teachings. Calling for a paradigm shift that “changes the way change is done,” angel envisions the building of a presence-centered social justice movement as the foundation for personal freedom, a just society and the healing of divisions of race, class, faith and politic.
Both fierce and grounded, angel is known for her unflinching willingness to sit with and speak uncomfortable truths with love. Her work has been widely covered by such publications as New York Times, Boston Globe, Ms., Essence, Buddhadharma, Village Voice, and on the Oxygen Channel. She notes, “Love and justice are not two. Without inner change, there can be no outer change. Without collective change, no change matters.” Whether in writing, teaching or speaking, her voice is unique.
Visit angel's Web site to learn more.
Active Lifestyles Centre Grey Bruce (McQuay Tannery)
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