Have you wanted to try meditation as a method to increase calm and focus but find that it’s difficult following through? Is your mind convincing you that meditating is not as important as everything else that’s going on in your life?
In our busy lives, sometimes it is challenging to prioritize a meditation practice. We are not taught to “just sit there.” Many of us are constantly on the move with a never-ending to-do list.
But just think— how would your life change if you did make a shift into more intentional stillness? What would it feel like to experience the joy of just being? How would your relationship to yourself and others change if you were able to cultivate more presence and compassion?
Explore these questions with others through our Stepping into Meditation and Community course. This is an online, interactive, eight-week course that will guide you to the most present, compassionate, and connected aspects of yourself. Through inner exploration and engaging with community, you will learn accessible, time-tested Tibetan Buddhist practices that will allow you to awaken into deeper peace, joy, compassion, and balance in your life.
Course Overview
The purpose of this course is to support us in coming home to our truer selves—the most present, compassionate, and connected parts of ourselves. We will learn accessible, time-tested, and lab-tested Tibetan Buddhist practices that will allow us to awaken into deeper peace, joy, compassion, and equanimity in three spheres of engagement in our life: personal, community, and the world. The content covered in this 8-week course will provide a foundational framework for Namchak practices, culture, and sangha (community) skills.
Time & Format
This course will be delivered online via Zoom. The complete course consists of eight 90-minute sessions. We will start on Monday, August 14, from 5:30-7 pm MT and will meet each Monday until October 2, with an optional Learning Circle Transition on October 9th.
Course Outline
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Week 1: Course Overview, Intention Sharing & Community Foundations
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Week 2: Four Noble Truths, Intention Deepening & Mindful Body Scan
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Week 3: Introduction to Shamata
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Week 4: Mind of the Meditator & Working with Obstacles to Our Practice
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Week 5: Loving Kindness Practice Starting with Ourselves
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Week 6: Introduction to Tonglen- A Compassion Practice of Giving and Receiving
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Week 7: Engaged Bodhicitta: Exploring our Work in the World
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Week 8: Bringing it All Together & Carrying the Gems Forward
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Week 9: Optional Learning Circle Transition
Tuition
Our intention is to make this workshop financially accessible to all, so we offer a tiered fee structure. Please choose whichever level works best for you. If program costs present a financial barrier or you are interested in a stipend to offset the cost of childcare, please contact [email protected].
Invite a friend! Sangha or community, is one of our favorite elements of the Buddhist path. That’s why we’re happy to share that when you register for the Stepping into Meditation and Community course, you can bring a friend, family member, or loved one to the course for free!
Upon registering for the course, you’ll receive a discount code via email for your guest to use for complimentary registration. They simply have to register for the course through our website and use the promotional code that you received in your email. We look forward to seeing you and your friend at our next course! Please email [email protected] if you have any questions.
Course testimonial:
“Connecting with others who were, just like me, wanting to learn more about the Dharma, develop a daily practice, and be a part of something special has made this tumultuous and overly uncertain year a lot more enjoyable and gratifying. I loved the weekly conversations, the learning about Tibetan Buddhism and meditation methods, and the camaraderie that grew in spite of and because of our differences. I hold the greatest gratitude for Namchak for hosting these events and I’m looking forward to being a part of many more.” – Laura
“This is an awesome human experience. At the end of the course I could feel my difference and see amazing changes in others. A weekly session is so nice to keep the pace up. Rachel is extremely authentic and I can’t say enough about her professionalism and representation of Namchak’s philosophies.” – Sandy
