Beginning in February, we are pleased to have five individuals share their wisdom with the sangha, each of whom has been participating in a new certification program to become mindfulness meditation teachers. We invite you to join us as we welcome these new voices to our Wednesday night gatherings: Sarah Bryce (Feb 21), Sharon Shelton (March 21), Joe Gilbert (April 18), Sarah Gardner (May 23), and Barbara Shumannfang (June 20).

The Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program is a 2-Year professional training program for teaching awareness and compassion-based practices with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. This new certification program through the Awareness Training Institute has been in the making for over 30 years. It is the result of the greater need in our world for more qualified mindfulness meditation teachers and the growing popularity of mindfulness, self-compassion, and meditation.

Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield have specially created a high quality certification program that has wide application and maintains both psychological and spiritual depth. It deepens the meditation training of each participant and prepares them to skillfully teach and guide others.

By studying to become a certified meditation teacher, they have:

We hope you will join us in welcoming these gifted individuals over the next five months as they deepen their experience of teaching through their offerings to our sangha at our Wednesday evening gatherings.

http://triangleimc.staging.wpengine.com/

Whether new to meditation or practicing for many years, we all share the potential for the path to deepen the faculties of conviction, persistence, mindfulness, concentration, and discernment.  These faculties become strengths that support us along the way toward the direct realization of mindfulness as a path of insight.  As these strengths unfold, we can find ourselves more capable of experiencing the joy and tranquility already present in our lives.

This residential retreat will provide an invaluable container within which to examine practice as a process that moves through levels of arriving, observing, opening, and being.  With the opportunity to experience the various qualities associated with each of these stages, we also come to realize that progression along the path does not necessarily unfold in a linear, stepwise fashion.  This heart-felt progression can be experienced both within ourselves and in relationship to our world.  No matter where along the path we may be, we begin to see our journey as a dynamic process of deepening, with each level providing what is needed for greater wisdom and compassion in that moment.

To register please go to this  Registration Link.

This year, the Durham Shambhala Center is sponsoring a team in the Durham CROP walk. We'd love to have you join us!

A team of Durham Shambhala Center walkers will be struttin' their stuff at the annual Durham CROP walk on March 25.  The funds raised by this walk help feed the hungry people in our Durham community and around the world.

This workshop will explore bringing awareness to thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations while they are happening and how consistent practice may allow us to develop a calmer baseline, manage catastrophic thinking, and choose to respond skillfully to difficult events in our lives. 

Included Practices; Seated Meditation,  Yoga, Body Scan, Walking Meditation, Loving Kindness Meditation.

To register or for more information, contact Paula at

[email protected] or 919-260-0255

As humans we are exquisitely sensitive and can easily become overwhelmed in the sea of relentless sensory contact. Learning how to cultivate mindfulness and tranquility in the flow of daily life is a profound resource for peace and for wise action.

In this Insight Dialogue retreat we will practice taking refuge in awareness, wisdom, and spiritual friendship (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha).

We will investigate obstacles to friendship and beloved community, internally in the heart-mind, and externally in social constructions, cultivating Lovingkindness, Compassion, Appreciative Joy, and Relational Equanimity. We will explore foundations for peace, possibilities for courageous personal and collective action, and the benefits of deep companionship on the Noble Eightfold Path.

This retreat is both an introduction to Insight Dialogue and an opportunity to deepen practice. It will be held in Noble Silence except for the Insight Dialogue sessions. We will alternate periods of silent meditation practice, Insight Dialogue, mindful movement and time in nature.

REGISTER HERE

 

Caring Circles is a Triangle Insight program whose purpose is to connect community members needing temporary assistance with volunteers willing to provide help. Assistance can take as many forms as there is need, such as meals, rides, housework, lawn care or childcare.

 

This exchange pairs needed service with volunteers to match. If you wish be notified when another member needs and requests support, send an email to [email protected] asking to be added to the list of potential volunteers. Thereafter, you will receive email notifications of care requests. You decide if you can and want to respond to any request. There is no obligation on your part by signing up to receive these notifications.

 

You can find this information plus details on how to request support on the Shramadana webpage. You can also speak with Gordy Livermore, Mary Mudd or Howard Staab for more information.

 

 

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A moment of self-compassion can change your entire day. A string of such moments can change the course of your life. - Christopher Germer, PhD

 

Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) Inner Resiliency Training for Healthcare Professionals is a new program by Kristin Neff, PhD, adapted specifically for healthcare settings.  This brief training aims to improve wellbeing and decrease burnout among healthcare professionals by cultivating skills to deal with distressing emotional situations as they occur. 

MSC practices can be used on the spot while at work with patients, clients and colleagues. Participants of the program will learn tools and skills to care for yourself while caring for others; to listen with compassion; to handle difficult emotions with greater ease; and to reconnect to the values that give your life and work meaning. Cornelia Lee is offering this program locally starting in November this year.

Chapel Hill 

Mindfulness Meditation Group

 

This group is an opportunity for new and experienced meditators to practice meditation in an encouraging and friendly group.  The leaders are experienced meditation instructors who will offer guidance and support as needed by those who attend.

 

Each session will begin with some basic instruction in mindfulness meditation and gentle guid ance during a 20-25 minute period of sittin g and 10 minutes of mindful movement. The session may have a suggested theme or be open ended.

1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month

Suggested donation for each class is $5 - $15, sliding scale. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Donations will be split between Minded and Unity Center for Peace. For more information, visit out website:  http://www.getminded.com/

 

 

Do you know teens who need mindfulness and self-compassion?  If so, this new resource, scheduled for release on Dec. 1st, is a one-of-a-kind workbook that includes fun activities based in mindfulness and self-compassion to help teens deal with the challenges of day-to-day teen life.

Karen Bluth, PhD , is research faculty in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. She conducts research, teaches mindfulness and self-compassion courses, and regularly gives talks and leads workshops at universities and schools.   

 

Most of us feel compassion when a close friend is struggling, but we're much less sympathetic with ourselves. What would it be like to receive the same care and support from ourselves when we need it the most?

 

Burgeoning research shows that self-compassion is strongly associated with emotional wellbeing, lower levels of anxiety and depression, and more satisfying personal relationships.

 

Cornelia is offering free, 1- to 2-hour, interactive workshops to organizations and groups in Durham and Raleigh that introduce the theory, research and practice of self-compassion, including opportunities to:

·   Discover how self-compassion could enhance your happiness and well-being at home and work

·   Have a direct experience of self-compassion

·   Learn simple skills for integrating self-compassion into daily life

 

To inquire about a free workshop for your group or organization, or for information about upcoming 8-week Mindful Self-Compassion classes this summer and fall, please contact Cornelia Kip Lee at [email protected] .

This early morning sitting group led by Ron Vereen meets Mondays and Thursdays from 7:00 - 7:45 AM. The group begins with silent, unguided practice, with Ron giving a guided heart practice during the last 10-15 minutes. There is no charge for participation, and donations are accepted. For more info contact Ron at

[email protected] .

Meditation sessions are held every Monday at the Duke Cancer Center Quiet Room from 12:30 p.m. - 1 p.m. Staff, volunteers, patients, family members and the public are invited to attend. 

The sessions are free, and there is no registration. For a map and the latest scheduling, see this  announcement . 

Contact Chaplain Olsen at [email protected], or call 919-684-3586 for more information.