We have three online meditations a week, on Wednesday morning, Thursday evening, and Saturday morning. The Zoom links for those meetings can be found on the Events Calendar and you will also find more detailed information below. You’re welcome to join us online for any of the 3 meetings each week.
In addition to our regular online meetings, we are now meeting for indoor in-person meditation sessions every Wednesday and Saturday Morning. Please see the Events Calendar for specific details.
During the Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday online meetings, we “sit together” for meditation for half an hour. Meditations include guided meditations, meditations with some initial guidance and instruction, and silent meditations. The Wednesday morning meditation starts at 9:30 am, with half an hour of meditation, followed by half an hour of sharing. On Thursday evenings there is a talk or discussion and sharing following meditation. Meditation is from 7:30 until 8:00 pm, with the talk and discussion ending at about 9:00 pm. The Saturday morning meditation starts at 8:00 am, with half an hour of meditation followed by half an hour of sharing.
The current series for upcoming Thursday night meetings will be based on the Buddha’s first and most basic teachings, The Four Noble Truths, which describe stress and suffering, their causes, and the path that can lead to the end of suffering. Chris will emphasize the interpersonal and social aspects of those teachings in this series of talks. An excellent resource for the talks will be Gregory Kramer’s book, Insight Dialogue: The Interpersonal Path to Freedom.
After the 7:30 pm meditation this Thursday, December 16, there will be a talk on the path to freedom from stress and suffering taught by the Buddha. In addition to meditation, that path, known as the Eightfold Path, includes suggestions for living an ethical life filled with wisdom and compassion. The talk this week will provide an introduction to that path, which we’ll continue to explore after the holidays. Chapter 7 of Insight Dialogue by Gregory Kramer would be a good resource for the talk, or see the additional resources below. The following Thursday, December 23, there will be a discussion of the Eightfold Path after the 7:30 meditation.
If you can’t or don’t wish to join the online sessions you can just meditate at the same time as we’re meeting and know that there are others from the group who are meditating with you. I’ve had many people contact me to say they were doing that for our meditation sessions recently, and that it can help bring a feeling of connection.
Warm regards,
Insight Meditation of the Mid-Columbia