Thursday evening, 7/27, there will be a discussion after the 7:00 pm online meditation of the quality of metta (lovingkindness, benevolence, goodwill). The following Thursday, 8/3, Chris will give another talk after meditation on the quality of kindness and benevolence (metta), and ways to practice it in meditation and daily life. The discussion and talks on 7/27 and 8/3 will be self-contained, but there are resources below if you’d like additional information on the topic.
______________________________________
Meditation Retreat and Friday Evening Talk and Meditation with Dori Langevin, 8/18 and 8/19
Registration is now open for an Insight Meditation retreat with Dori Langevin on August 19, 2023 from 9:00 am – 4:30 pm. The topic for the retreat is “Seeing the Goodness: The Wellspring of Unconditional Friendliness.” This in-person retreat will consist of a mix of stationary meditation and movement meditation with instruction and a Dharma talk and will be suitable for beginners and experienced meditators. It will be held at Shalom UCC, 505 McMurray Street in Richland, WA. To register for the retreat, please send an email to Tim Barbour. You can also visit the Events Calendar for more details on the retreat and talk.
___________________________________________
Beginning Meditation Classes Series Through July 30, 2023
The last class of the current series of Beginning Meditation classes will be held this coming Sunday afternoon, and you’re welcome to join us even if you missed the earlier classes. The classes will be conducted online via Zoom. The classes are intended to work together to provide an introduction to meditation or serve as a useful “touchstone” for more experienced practitioners. You are welcome to attend any or all of the classes. Each class can be a stand alone class, and will focus on a different topic. All classes will be from 1:30- 3:00 pm. If you’d like to register for the classes, please send an email to Chris Murray at [email protected] . The dates and topics for the remaining classes are as follows:
July 30 – Insight Meditation and Open Awareness, and Exploring Your Meditation Path
__________________________________________
Weekly Meditation Schedule:
In-Person Meetings:
We hold two in-person meditation sessions each week on Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. and Saturday morning at 8:00a.m., at All Saints Episcopal Church, 1322 Kimball Avenue in Richland. Please see the Events Calendar for more details. We meditate for half an hour, followed by an optional time for sharing and conversation after meditation. No problem if you want to just meditate and then leave.
*As long as weather or smoke conditions cooperate, our in-person meetings will take place outdoors throughout the summer.*
Those who regularly attend the in-person meetings have developed a masking policy for the times we are meeting indoors. The community levels of Covid will be checked each time we publish a newsletter. When community levels are low; masks will be optional. When community levels are medium or high, masks will be required.
Currently, the Covid community levels are low in Benton County so masks are optional.
However, please bring a mask to all of the in-person meditation sessions in case there is an attending member with greater vulnerability. If there is any attending member that feels more comfortable with everyone masking, we will all mask in support of the most vulnerable among us.
The Covid Community levels are posted on the following website: https://covid19.bfhd.wa.gov/cases-and-roadmap-to-recovery/
The indoor meeting hall has chairs available. However, if you prefer to use your own chair, blanket, cushion or bench, you are welcome to bring it. We meet in the Parish Hall, through the glass door at the back of the church.
We’re looking forward to welcoming some of you in person and being there online for others.
Online Meetings:
In addition to our in-person meetings 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. You’re welcome to join us online for any of the 3 meetings each week.
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.
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.
We’re looking forward to welcoming some of you in person and being there online for others.
_____________________________________
Volunteers at Coyote Ridge Corrections Center
The Insight Meditation group has supported Buddhist meditation groups at the state prison in Connell, WA since 2003. Those visits were on hold during the height of the pandemic but resumed last year. Currently we have one volunteer visiting the medium-security prison on Monday afternoons and we are seeking additional volunteers to support that effort, especially when our lead volunteer isn’t available.
There are several requirements for those volunteering at the prison. All volunteers need to have completed the initial vaccination series against COVID-19. Orientation and training are required. Applicants also need to undergo a background investigation. Applicants with a criminal background need to be off of supervision or parole for a year before applying.
Those applying to volunteer should have a regular meditation practice and at least some knowledge of Buddhist teachings and be willing to learn more so that you can discuss Buddhist practice with the inmates. If you’re interested, please contact Chris Murray for more information about volunteering at Coyote Ridge.
____________________________________
IMMC Meditation Library
The meditation group has a new lending library of books on mindfulness, meditation, Buddhist practice, neuroscience, and psychology. The collection includes books by Jon-Kabat Zinn, Joseph Goldstein, Ajahn Sumedo, Daniel Siegel, Mark Epstein, Rick Hanson, and many others. The books are stored in the library at All Saints Episcopal Church, so you’re welcome to browse the collection the next time you attend one of our in-person meditation sessions. Drew Proctor is the new librarian for the meditation group’s collection. I’m grateful to All Saints and to Drew for helping make the IMMC library possible.
The books were a gift from Lloyd Ames, a resident of West Richland, who died in March. He had a long-term interest in meditation that he shared with Peggy Painter, a neighbor who had taken meditation classes from IMMC. When Lloyd passed away, Peggy approached the meditation group to see if we would be interested in the books. So, many thanks to Lloyd and his family and to Peggy for making and facilitating the gift.
The shelf space that we have is limited, so I don’t think we’ll be able to accept additions to the library at this time, but we’ll let you know if that changes.
Warm regards,
Insight Meditation of the Mid-Columbia