Triangle Insight Meditation Community |
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December 2021 Newsletter
triangleinsight.org
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It is important to distinguish meditation as a particular form and practice from meditation as a way of life. We may start by practicing meditation much like practicing piano. Eventually, when we become proficient, we will not need to practice anymore. Just as playing becomes practice, everything we do will become meditation.
However, we must begin by practicing.
Jack Kornfield
Living Dharma
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Our home is the
Episcopal Center at Duke
505 Alexander Ave. | Durham, NC 27705
(when safe to gather in person)
Morning meditation: Monday and Thursday
Wednesday meditation with Dharma Talk, or as Insight Dialogue (below)
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Wednesday Evenings
6:30 - 8:00 pm (Insight Dialogue: 6:30 - 8 pm)
December 01 - Ron Vereen
December 08 - Scott Bryce
December 15 - Cornelia Kip Lee (Guest Teacher)
December 22 - Lori Ebert (Insight Dialogue)
December 29 - No Meeting (Holiday)
January 05 - Ron Vereen
January 12 - Scott Bryce
January 19 - Sarah Bryce
January 26 - Mary Grigsby (Insight Dialogue)
Monday and Thursday Morning Meditation
7:00 - 7:45 AM (click here for more info)
Zoom locations to be emailed.
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Concentration takes patience |
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To receive this monthly newsletter, please complete the newsletter subscription on our Newsletters webpage, or send your request to the info email above.
If you would like to change any part of your subscription(s), please email us and we will make this change for you.
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Next about Hybrid Meetings and Triangle Insight
Please scroll down to the Retreats and Special Events section for news about how you can assist our future hybrid meetings with the upcoming new technology practice session.
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The Practice of Insight Dialogue at Triangle Insight |
Insight Dialogue is an interpersonal meditation practice and is offered at Triangle Insight once monthly, usually on the fourth Wednesday of the month. It brings the mindfulness and tranquility of silent meditation directly into our experience with other people.
An excellent resource for learning more about the practice is the new website for Insight Dialogue: www.insightdialogue.org.
The evening begins with silent meditation practice, followed by gentle mindful movement, and then shifting into dyad practice where interpersonal mindfulness is explored with a partner in response to a contemplation that is offered. The dyad practice is optional so that anyone who chooses to remain in silent practice may do so, rather than shifting into dyad practice. One can investigate the guidance of the contemplation internally, noticing the moment by moment unfolding of internal experience. Note that the ID practice goes from 6:30 to 8:00 pm while meeting on Zoom. When it is possible to resume in-person meetings the time will return to 8:30 pm, to allow for more spaciousness and time for questions. We hope you will be able to join us.
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Reference Notes for Wednesday Dharma Talks
Triangle Insight Meditation teachers invite us to consider these notes to the references they used for their Dharma talks. Please click on the link below to see teacher notes for the current month.
Nov. 03 - Ron Vereen
Nov. 10 - Daya Breckinridge
Nov. 17 - Karen Ziegler
To find teacher notes for previous Dharma talks, go here, on the TIMC website.
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RETREATS and SPECIAL EVENTS |
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A Message from the TIMC Board of Directors:
Technology Update and Planning for Hybrid Meetings
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Greetings all,
We hope your Thanksgiving holiday was gratifying and that you are staying safe and well during these uncertain times. The following announcement is an up-date on moving to a hybrid meeting model.
The success of our recent technology fundraiser enables us to proceed with purchasing the necessary equipment for the hybrid meeting model. We are now in the planning stages for implementing this model such that both in-person and virtual participation can be accommodated at all of our gatherings. We are inviting your engagement in a process to explore what will be needed.
A hybrid meeting practice session is considered crucial as a preliminary step toward going “live” once it seems appropriate for us to return to the Episcopal Center (EC). We are seeking both in-person and virtual (Zoom) volunteers for this practice session in early 2022, and specific options for dates and times are being discussed with the EC.
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Volunteer for the in-house part of the hybrid practice session at the EC.
Proof of vaccination for COVID-19 is required, and having had a booster a preferred bonus. This gathering will also follow recommended protocols from both the Episcopal Diocese and Duke University that are in place at the time of the meeting, e.g., masking, social distancing, etc.
Volunteering for the in-person component could include not only serving as a participant but also assisting in the set-up and take-down for the meeting.
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Volunteer from home as a virtual participant.
You will need to have a device with the capacity for joining a Zoom session.
Remote volunteers will trial both the video option and the phone-in option. In addition, some familiarity with the variety of features that can be accessed during the meeting would be helpful, such as Audio, Video, Rename, Viewing Options, Chat, Raise Hand, etc., and instructions found in our TI Zoom guidelines.
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- A date/time for the hybrid practice session is being arranged with the EC. At the moment, we have clearance for any Saturday in January or February. STAY TUNED! Details on the exact date and time will be forthcoming.
- Depending on how the practice session goes, both a morning and an afternoon session may be needed to try out the different features of the Owl-Pro system. If two sessions are required, it may be possible to attend either one or both times.
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If you wish to volunteer as either an in-house or a virtual participant at our meeting practice session, contact us at board@triangleinsight.org. We will keep your name on tap, and connect when details have been formalized. Or you can wait until we make a formal announcement via email, and let us know then.
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A TIMC Technology Committee is now being formed. We are inviting anyone interested to serve on this committee to help us determine any additional technology needs and organize and implement our technology/meeting plans.
Thanks to all for your ongoing support! If you are interested in any of the above opportunities then please let us know by writing to us at board@triangleinsight.org.
With gratitude for our community,
The Triangle Insight Board of Directors
(Cynthia Hughey, Marian Place, Leah Rutchick, Martin Steinmeyer, Ron Vereen)
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OPPORTUNITIES
Community Engagement
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Do you have an event or activity that you would like to share in this space? The newsletter welcomes ideas for volunteer activity to engage our Buddhist values and spirit. Send to the newsletter any opportunities you may know about, or those in which you participate. Email your ideas to board@triangleinsight.org, and please include main details and relevant links.
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Please use these links to visit the website for this information |
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Welcome Committee
Sangha means spiritual community, and it is treasured because without it awakening cannot be sustained. –Jack Kornfield, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry
The Welcoming Committee wishes to foster the experience of belonging to a diverse, tolerant community connected through mindfulness practice, where all feel welcome and safe. We seek to link all participants and newcomers to ongoing activities and to ensure the Zoom connection is available. You are welcome to Visit our Webpage!
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TIMC Community Connections Committee |
Please check our website for updates from this committee. Its webpage is under construction but you can find the announcement for this committee, as previously published in this newsletter, on our Programs webpage.
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Having admirable people as friends, companions, and colleagues is actually
the whole of the holy life. - The Buddha
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As Jack Kornfield notes in A Path with Heart, “We give to a community when we bring our energy, our creativity, our heart to the whole…. True community arises when we can speak in accord with truth and compassion. This sense of spiritual community is a wondrous part of what heals and transforms us on our path.”
Our KM groups provide a special opportunity for this relational practice. With the group’s care and mindful sharing, we deepen our understanding, our hearts soften, and we move from judgment and separation to compassion and connection. A beautiful aspect of this process is that as the heart of the dharma is enriched in our own lives, we are contributing to the spiritual journey of others. This is the gift of the third jewel of sangha, a jewel that illuminates the path we travel together.
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Current KM Groups
We currently have an opening in our Insight Dialogue group. Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Raleigh, and Secular Dharma each have a waiting list.
Details about all our groups are on our List of KM Groups web page. If you would like additional information, or want to join a group, be on a waiting list, or start a new group, please contact Sarah Tillis, KM Coordinator: sarah@triangleinsight.org.
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The Kalyana Mitta (KM) Coordinating Team of Sarah Tillis and Tamara Share expresses deep gratitude for the dedication of our sangha. |
May our Kalyana Mitta groups be of great benefit to all. |
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Known as RAGs, Racial Affinity Groups allow people to deepen self-awareness around issues of race in small, racially homogeneous groups. As we face our long history of systemic racism and violence against people of color, RAGs provide a safe space where participants can integrate the dharma into their exploration of racial belonging and racial habits of harm.
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Announcing a New RAGs Coordinator
Kathy Shipp, long-time participant of the Triangle Insight community, is now the coordinator of TIMC's Racial Affinity Groups. Kathy will keep the sangha aware of on-going RAGs and the opportunities for practice that they offer, through newsletter, website and meeting announcements. She will be available to answer questions about RAGs formation and RAGs experience, and she will be a resource of information about racial equity training and practice. Among the coordinator's other responsibilites, she will maintain an up-to-date list of active RAGs, and connect people who are interested in forming a new group, To reach out to Kathy, email her at kathy@triangleinsight.org.
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Sangha Support: Caring Circles, Helping Hands
A TIMC Sangha Initiative connecting and strengthening the bonds of our shared practice.
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Caring Circles offers the Triangle Insight Meditation Sangha a simple framework for requesting and providing services to cope with the uncertainties and needs of everyday life.
Knowing there is a helping network for sharing and receiving is a great joy and safe haven. Requests for assistance from the TIMC community will be connected with TIM regular practitioners who are ready to volunteer their assistance as a form of dana service.
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Financial Support
For Training Programs and Workshops in Racial Justice and Diversity
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Our goal:
To help individuals and our community deepen the understanding of how unexamined views of race can limit the mind and human systems.
A Scholarship Fund for this purpose exists through donations from the TIMC General Fund and the generosity of several Triangle Insight participants.
If Triangle Insight sangha participants would like to receive scholarship support for training with OARNC, White Awake, or other programs addressing racial injustice, please send email to board@triangleinsight.org.
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We invite the community to join this initiative by contributing directly to this scholarship fund.
For your convenience, you may use the dedicated PayPal portal
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KORU Mindfulness 2.0, with Erica Alexander |
For people who have completed a Koru Basic class and want to continue to grow their practice.
Koru 2.0 is also a great introduction for folks who have some familiarity with mindfulness practice AND for people who want to restart a practice.
We review and enrich practices from Koru Basic, and add new practices to bring more ease, presence & contentment.
January 25 & February 1, 8 & 15
Tuesdays, 5:30pm - 6:45pm
Durham Arts Council online
Instructor, Erica Alexander
$105
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TIMC BOARD | NEWS AND REPORTS |
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Currently serving on the Board of Directors: Cynthia Hughey, Marian Place, Leah Rutchick, Martin Steinmeyer, Ron Vereen.
Board Meetings
Cynthia, Leah, Marian, Martin and Ron convened an open board meeting on November 20, 2021, on Zoom. The minutes will be forthcoming, but here's a brief summary: .
--After a discussion on its function and capacity for digital storage, the Board decided to adopt a shared drive in the G-Suite system (enabled by Google Drive) as the repository for all Board documents. Access is securely restricted to current Board members.
--There was an extended discussion of our current state of preparation for moving to hybrid sessions.
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We voted to form a leadership Technology Committee to carry through with this project. Several board members volunteered to take this in hand, and at least one sangha member already has volunteered. Those who noted in the Reopening Survey (June 2020) their interest in assisting this new phase in our community's life will be contacted to help.
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Martin volunteered to purchase the Meeting Owl-Pro equipment with funds from the TIMC account for a one-month trial period.
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The first job will be to determine if the equipment is adequate for our needs by holding a hybrid practice session. As of this writing, we are in the process of arranging with the Episcopal Center to schedule a date and time for this trial run. The goal is to determine where to put the equipment relative to teacher delivery, seating, and Zoom projection-sound level requirements (see the announcement and call for volunteers elsewhere in this newsletter).
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To review, the Meeting Owl-Pro is an internet-connectible audio/video system, fully compatible with Zoom, for remote accessibility and session recording; it captures a high-definition image of our setting, and the Owl camera is able to rotate 360 degrees with some vertical flexibility.
--The Board has invited Perry Sweitzer to attend a board meeting in January to present his proposal for a participant-observation project, and to answer any questions from the Board. Questions from the attending audience will be answered at the end of the meeting, or will be addressed by email if inadequate time remains. Mr. Sweitzer is working with a Duke research lab in their study of the presence and impact of Asian religious traditions in North Carolina (Joseph / Perry Sweitzer project).
--The Board continues to share leadership for preparing the agenda and guiding the meetings on a rotating basis. Marian has volunteered for this role for the next meeting.
The next open board meeting will be held on Zoom, Saturday, DEC. 18, 10-11 a.m. Please note this meeting is both earlier and shorter than usual to accommodate holiday schedules. A Zoom invite will be sent to newsletter members in the week prior.
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Newsletter Submission Pointers |
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At least two weeks prior to the month in which you wish your announcement to appear, submit new items to info@triangleinsight.org.
- Include in your request a short statement of your relationship to TIMC.
- New requests submitted in the last week of any month may not be accepted if time is a factor in preparing a final copy.
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Changes to existing entries may be incorporated if submitted early in the last week of any month.
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All authors are encouraged to update their newsletter entries and to resubmit, clearly indicating all changes in text and lay-out to minimize error and design time.
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Keep the text crisp and short, but include important details and attachments. Instead of longer texts, refer the reader to websites for additional information.
- Indicate how many months you want your entry to be published, and
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Stay in touch with updates if any specific details change. You are responsible for calling in any changes in time, special dates and/or end dates for ongoing classes, groups or other continuing entries.
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Special circumstances may require adjustment of the deadlines indicated here; early submission is a best practice and helps the newsletter editors determine where, how and if the item submitted shall be published (please see #1 in the Guidelines).
Please contact us through info@triangleinsight.org, and include "Newsletter" on the subject line. We will help you get your item published. Thank you for helping us!
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The Triangle Insight Board is looking for interested sangha participants to help us build a Communications Network for our whole practice community
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Build a Communications Network around
the Newsletter & Website
Newsletter Editorial Committee
To all interested sangha participants, we are forming a Newsletter Editorial Committee and hope you will volunteer to help develop and maintain the Newsletter. Email www.board@triangleinsight.org. noting Editorial Committee in the subject line.
Website
Plans are in the works for refreshing the website with advice from. a professional website designer. If you are interested in working on planning the website, send us an email: ww.board@triangleinsight.org.
Thank you!
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You are welcome to contact me directly with any comments or suggestions to improve the newsletter and website.
In humor and good intention,
Leah Rutchick, leah@triangleinsight.org
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