Everything you always wanted to know about mindfulness…
Free classes for beginners and those wanting a refresher led by Claire Bowers.
Friday, Nov. 15 2019, 10-11:30am with a followup class on Friday, Nov. 22 10-11am.
It can be confusing or even intimidating to begin a new meditation practice. How do you start? Close your eyes, take a breath, then thoughts flood in, taking over your best intentions. It’s easy to give up in frustration. It’s honestly that way for everyone, you are far from alone. Cultivating a calm mind is a skill that comes with time and practice. Every time you sit with the intention to meditate, no matter the immediate results, you have indeed begun to nurture the practice that will grow over time.
Joining us for this morning session will provide you with the tools you need to begin a meditation practice at home, and to join a group of meditators with confidence, You will learn how to make time and space in your day for meditation, what to do when the mind fills with thoughts and won’t let you focus, and the benefits (there are so many) of a daily meditation practice. Time to ask your questions and offer your reflections (if you choose), will be woven around short practice sessions.
The holidays are fast approaching. It can be a time of anxiety and frustration for many of us. Learning to be in control of our reactions to others, to busy schedules, and external expectations of us is a gift of cultivating a meditation practice. It is not necessary to repeat the same old behaviour and thought patterns of the past. We will spend some time focusing on the holidays and how to best navigate them in ways that invite joy and peace.
Claire Bowers, our guide, has been practicing meditation since 1983 and has facilitated meditation groups in various formats since then. She studied the contemplative traditions of the west at the University of Toronto as part of her Master of Divinity degree and continued on to receive a Master of Arts in Creation Spirituality at Holy Names Collage in Oakland California before turning her focus to the east and studying the practices of Tibetan Buddhism.