WORKSHOP – San Francisco
Saturday, October 9, 1:30-5pm
Zen Center, 300 Page St, San Francisco
"OTHER PEOPLE’S SUFFERING: Mindfulness in the
Face of Despair"
A nurse once said to me, "My job is so terrible
that if I were actually present during it, as
you recommend, I would go insane. Why should I
cultivate mindfulness in such a situation?" City
dwellers often find themselves anesthetizing
their senses to reduce their discomfort level as
they walk the streets. Doesn't awareness only
increase our immediate suffering? Yes, of
course, it does, which is why developing the
stability cultivated by formal meditation
practice is very important to all of us. We need
to be very grounded to allow the extreme
suffering of other people to enter us, feel it,
and then let it pass out, not sticking anywhere.
What mindfulness does for us in these situations
is widen our weave, makes the openings in our
bodies large enough for enormous amounts of
suffering to be registered and then pass
through, leaving no trace. In this 2-afternoon
workshop, we will sit, move and discuss living
in the middle of so much misery.
(PLEASE NOTE: Tony Patchell, who spent 12 years
as a "street Therapist" working with the
homeless, will join us for the afternoon.)
Call 415-863-3136 for information and
registration
See www.sfzc.org
THE BODHISATTVA PATH: Practicing with Emotions-
Mountain View, CA
Saturday, February 5, 2005, 10am-5pm
Kannon Do, Mountain View, CA
5 CEUs for MFTs and LCSWs available.
In order to practice The Middle Way as Buddha
presented it in his first dharma talk, The Sutra
on Setting In Motion the Wheel of Dharma, we
must deal with the emotions of
desire/craving/lust and ill will in the form of
resentment or anger. How does craving transform
itself into universal love? How does anger
become the raw energy that fuels creativity and
social justice? The stability and vulnerability
cultivated by a Bodhisattva in the heat of
passion forge an equanimity as deeply
imperturbable as the serenity of any
ascetic. In this class we will consider two very
different Buddhist approaches to working with
emotion: Abhidharmic and the Middle Way.
$35 for the day
Bring a bag lunch
Contact: Cornelia Skonkwiler at Kannon Do:
corneliash45@aol.com
WORKSHOP - Green Gulch Farm, Sausalito
ENCOUNTERING THE ONE WHO IS NOT BUSY: A
Radical Approach to Time and Work
Saturday, February 12, 9:30am-5pm
Green Gulch Farm, Sausalito, CA
6 CEUs for MFTs and LCSWs available.
Ever wish you could not only get things
done, but also enjoy doing them? Learn to do
so with this holistic approach to time
management and the fundamental and specific
skills necessary to make it happen. There is
a part of us that is not involved in gaining
or losing. but is boundless and infinite and
appreciates all things for just what they
are, The One Who Is Not Busy. Learning to be
simultaneously "busy" and "not busy" by
living the Zen principle of simultaneous
inclusion allows us to experience work and
the rest of our lives in a deeply meaningful
way. In this workshop we will do sitting and
moving meditations indoors and outside, as
well as emphasize point of view in everyday
activities such as eating, talking, and
walking.
Call 415-383-3134 for more information
IN THE DRAGON’S MOUTH: Lay Practice in
the Cold, Hard World
Half-Day Workshop - San Francisco
With Tony Patchell
Saturday, February 26, 1:30-5pm
$45 standard; $40 members
3 CEUs are available for MFTs and LCSWs
Particular topics surface in our daily lives
as workers, consumers and members of this
society, which are greatly illuminated by
our meditation practice: Effort and
relationships at work, stress issues, and
whether we are able to live according to our
values. In this workshop, we will use our
personal experience to explore together how
we might be both very effective in the
world, yet cultivate our own availability
and personal satisfaction. We will do still,
moving and interactive meditations and
discuss some useful forms for daily life.
Registration and Questions, call
415-863-3136
WORKSHOP - Walker Creek Ranch, Marin
County
Sunday, April 10, 2005, 9am – 4:00pm
Walker Creek Ranch
(see photos at
http://mcoeweb.marin.k12.ca.us/wcreek)
$67 per person* (includes breakfast, lunch,
tax and gratuity, facility fee, and fee for
Ms. Cohen) for 20+ participants.
*Fee slightly higher if fewer participants.
Sponsored by the AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF
UNIVERSITY WOMEN
DANVILLE-ALAMO BRANCH
Reservations: Mail check to Myrna Matthias,
17 Wilson Court, Alamo, Ca 94507 and
indicate any special needs or dietary
restrictions. No tickets will be issued, but
names will be placed on reservation list.
Deadline to receive checks is MARCH 8, 2005
Call Myrna Matthias at 925-944-5670
A LIFE WORTH LIVING: Radically Enhancing
our Day-to-Day Satisfaction
We will take this day to devote our whole
being to looking with curiosity
at the sometimes-amusing phenomena of being
middle-aged in a youth-oriented culture.
Since past models of aging are not inspiring
to many of us, some ingenuity is required
for us to formulate a vision for the second
half of our life consistent with our deepest
values. There is a part of us that is not
involved in gaining or losing. but is
boundless and infinite and appreciates all
things for just what they are. In this
day-long seminar, we'll do gentle movements
to expand our physical/neurological
repertoires and promote flexibility; do
still and interactive meditations to
cultivate the presence that keeps life and
relationships vital; and create a vision
consistent with our deepest values rather
than according to the fears and expectations
manufactured by our culture. Listening to
one another and to our deepest self, we will
explore the true basis of security, bring
forth our inner wisdom, and enjoy this
precious time together. A long lunchtime
will enable us to explore the natural beauty
of Walker Creek Ranch.
A ZEN/YOGA RETREAT DAY - Outside
Healdsburg, CA
Sunday, July 31, 9:30am to 5:00pm
With Zen Priests Darlene Cohen & Tony
Patchell
and Yoga Teacher Deborah Karish
Joy Spring Ranch outside Healdsburg in
Geyserville
LUNCH and TEA INCLUDED
You are welcome to stay after and enjoy the
beauty of the Ranch!
$50-80 Suggested Donation
Call Deborah at 707-431-0615 to REGISTER and
get directions.
BOOKS AND CDs WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
ZAZEN IN MOTION, A Stress Reduction Strategy
The most important step in breaking free of a
life dominated by stress and anxiety is to learn
how to sink into the present with all of our
senses and feelings available to us; then all of
our personal resources come into the present
with us. We can break the habit of “showing up”
only for the moments that we think are
worthwhile and then going numb for all the rest.
Just as a muscle gets weak from disuse, our
ability to be present fades if we don’t practice
awareness right in the midst of our
goal-directed activity. During this afternoon of
practice, we will use commonplace physical
activities to develop meditative consciousness:
gentle exercises that promote mental
flexibility; talking meditation; eating
meditation; and focusing the attention on a
series of objects while walking.
