Intro to Meditation and Mindfulness (4wks)
Short Description:
With the ever-busy holidays and dark Winter right around the corner, this is a fantastic time of year to get or keep a meditation practice rolling. So much real life stuff to work with!
Insight meditation, which we will be exploring in this course, strengthens our capacity to experience “things as they are” directly without the filters of discursive thinking, evaluation, or habitual reactivity.
My teaching style is non secular, as straightforward as possible, and incorporates a healthy dose of humor. This class is appropriate both for those new to insight meditation practice as well as individuals with experience who wish to revive and/or refresh their existing practice.
Long Description:
You may have an idea of what meditation and/or mindfulness is. Perhaps you picture someone sitting peacefully on a little pillow, cross legged with hands in some sort of perfect pinch formation, and a slight smile on their face. Ahhhh almighty bliss, zen, enlightenment. Must be nice.
You may also have heard that regular meditation practice can bring about many wondrous benefits: feeling less stressed and more focused, increased productivity and improved performance, better sleep, and lower blood pressure. That and more is all possible and super duper great (if and when it happens), but that’s not really the purpose of mindfulness.
More deeply, the true purpose of mindfulness is to totally transform your way of being in the world.
Insight meditation, which we will be exploring in this course, strengthens our capacity to experience “things as they are” directly without the filter of discursive thinking, evaluation, or habitual reactivity. It consists of bringing a natural and clear attention to whatever occurs in the present moment. Instead of just reacting automatically or being carried away by thoughts about the past or future, with insight meditation there is (at least more often than before) awareness, clarity, and choice.
The point of the practice isn't to improve or feel better about yourself in some way. It is to be free from yourself.
So, back to the person sitting perfectly perched on a cushion looking calm. What you may not know is, just like you and most humans on earth, they are likely experiencing a complete shit show inside their mind and body. They are likely restless, bored, and experiencing a hurricane of thoughts. That’s all part of the fun, exploration, and discovery!
My goal isn't just to teach you basic relaxation exercises (we’ll do those too), but rather to introduce you to mindfulness of body and emotions and also to begin working with thoughts and beliefs as a toe dip into the pond of living a more fulfilling, meaningful life (queue the ducks: quack quack!).
Cost: $120
Week 1: Introduction to Mindfulness
Week 2: Mindfulness of Body & Emotions
Week 3: Working with Thoughts & Beliefs
Week 4: Metta, Joy, Equanimity into the world
With the ever-busy holidays and dark Winter right around the corner, this is a fantastic time of year to get or keep a meditation practice rolling. So much real life stuff to work with!
Insight meditation, which we will be exploring in this course, strengthens our capacity to experience “things as they are” directly without the filters of discursive thinking, evaluation, or habitual reactivity.
My teaching style is non secular, as straightforward as possible, and incorporates a healthy dose of humor. This class is appropriate both for those new to insight meditation practice as well as individuals with experience who wish to revive and/or refresh their existing practice.
Long Description:
You may have an idea of what meditation and/or mindfulness is. Perhaps you picture someone sitting peacefully on a little pillow, cross legged with hands in some sort of perfect pinch formation, and a slight smile on their face. Ahhhh almighty bliss, zen, enlightenment. Must be nice.
You may also have heard that regular meditation practice can bring about many wondrous benefits: feeling less stressed and more focused, increased productivity and improved performance, better sleep, and lower blood pressure. That and more is all possible and super duper great (if and when it happens), but that’s not really the purpose of mindfulness.
More deeply, the true purpose of mindfulness is to totally transform your way of being in the world.
Insight meditation, which we will be exploring in this course, strengthens our capacity to experience “things as they are” directly without the filter of discursive thinking, evaluation, or habitual reactivity. It consists of bringing a natural and clear attention to whatever occurs in the present moment. Instead of just reacting automatically or being carried away by thoughts about the past or future, with insight meditation there is (at least more often than before) awareness, clarity, and choice.
The point of the practice isn't to improve or feel better about yourself in some way. It is to be free from yourself.
So, back to the person sitting perfectly perched on a cushion looking calm. What you may not know is, just like you and most humans on earth, they are likely experiencing a complete shit show inside their mind and body. They are likely restless, bored, and experiencing a hurricane of thoughts. That’s all part of the fun, exploration, and discovery!
My goal isn't just to teach you basic relaxation exercises (we’ll do those too), but rather to introduce you to mindfulness of body and emotions and also to begin working with thoughts and beliefs as a toe dip into the pond of living a more fulfilling, meaningful life (queue the ducks: quack quack!).
Cost: $120
Week 1: Introduction to Mindfulness
Week 2: Mindfulness of Body & Emotions
Week 3: Working with Thoughts & Beliefs
Week 4: Metta, Joy, Equanimity into the world
Tuesdays 7:30-8:30pm
Oct 11-Nov 1
Taught by,
Heather Brincko
Heather Brincko is an artist of many mediums including mixed-media, photography, land sculpture, and trapeze. A lover of “impossible” problems, the complexities of the world are a source of both excitement and inspiration. As an artist and meditation teacher, she works quietly to bring others into the creative fold, to believe in their innate abilities as humans, to be aware of the slippery landscape of human behavior, and to open up realms of exploration.