Tuesday evenings, 7:00-8:30 pm
March 19-May 14 (no class on April 30)
Online through Zoom
Suggested donation: $100
Calm and relaxation, while healthy and good in themselves, only liberate us temporarily from the stress of life. We become free as we look deeply into the nature of our experience and live in harmony with the understand. Our hearts and minds begin to correct their perceptions and assumptions. Discernment is essential. This 8-week series explores how to examine one's moment-to-moment experience with care and the essential insights that come from that examination. Each class will include 30 minutes of guided meditation followed by a short talk, then dialogue with students about the topics at hand. Students will benefit most from the class who maintain a daily practice of meditation concurrently.
To register, click here. Be sure to hit "submit" at the end. Instructions how to pay are on the form . Scholarships available.
March 19, 2024
Dharma Talk - Distinguishing between wholesome and unwholesome states of mind. Mark discusses the elements of meditation that help us notice our inner states so that we may practice discernment and see things more deeply.
Discussion - Participants discuss what they noticed about their states of mind in meditation.
March 26, 2024
Dharma Talk - Mark goes deeper into the concepts of wholesomeness and unwholesomeness.
Discussion - Participants continue noticing their wholesome and unwholesome states of mind.
April 2, 2024
Dharma Talk - The process of insight/looking deeply begins with noticing the stream of experiences in meditation, both in the body and in thought.
Discussion - Participants discuss their experiences with tuning into their bodies and thoughts.
April 9, 2024
Dharma Talk - Mark discusses the concept and practice of "not self". Using the impersonal "this is suffering" rather than the personal "I am suffering" creates a different relationship and consciousness to our experiences.
Discussion - What's in your emotional "storage closet"? Restlessness? Anxiety? Grief? Overwhelm? How do we feel these emotions and learn to work through them?
April 16, 2024
Dharma Talk - Mark discusses gratitude, appreciation, and seeing through the human convention of "mine".
Discussion - Participants discuss the nature of reality and its change; and the feeling of space when using the impersonal vs. personal.
April 23, 2024
Dharma Talk - How do we see everything as "not self"?
Discussion - Being on retreat has value, but how do we practice looking deeply and being present in everyday life?
May 7, 2024
Dharma Talk - Nothing is ours to keep. Mark discusses the human desire to "possess" and impermanence as an aspect of "not self".
Discussion - Is there ever permanence? What about stages of consciousness that persist?
May 14, 2024
Dharma Talk - Mark discusses gratitude, connectedness and appreciation.
Discussion - Enlightenment or bust?!? Mark ends the discussion with loving kindness meditation.