Thursday evening info:
Over the next month or so we’ll explore the Buddha’s teachings on four qualities of the heart that support us in our lives and practice, and can help us to cultivate an open heart. These four qualities, lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, are usually known as the Brahmaviharas or the four immeasurables. A resource that we’ll draw on for the talks and discussion is the book Boundless Heart: The Buddha’s Path of Kindness, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity by Christina Feldman.
After the 7:00 pm online meditation on Thursday, August 14, Chris will give a talk on the cultivation of joy in meditation and in our spiritual life. In this talk we’ll take a wider look at the practice of joy and the ways in which it interacts with lovingkindness, compassion, and equanimity. The following Thursday, August 21, we’ll have an open discussion after meditation of the role of joy in our lives. You can find resources with more information about the cultivation of joy at on our Updated Resources page.
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Meditation Retreat on Saturday, August 23, 2025
Chris Murray will lead an Insight Meditation retreat on Saturday, August 23, 2025, from 9:00 am until 4:30 pm. Registration is now open for the retreat. To register for the retreat, please send an email to Tim Barbour.
The retreat will be conducted at All Saints Episcopal Church, 1322 Kimball Avenue, Richland, in the Parish Hall. Chris is the Guiding Teacher of Insight Meditation of the Mid-Columbia.
The topic for the retreat is “Offering Compassion to Ourselves and to the World“. This in-person retreat will explore the practice of compassion in several aspects. We’ll include compassion for ourselves because compassion for ourselves provides a support for experiencing compassion for others, and self-compassion can help us respond wisely to the anxiety and stress that many people are experiencing. We’ll explore a few ways of offering compassion to others, and to the world that supports all of us. We’ll also look at the ways that kindness, joy, and equanimity support our practice of compassion.
The 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.
Fee for the retreat will be $10. Please use our online donation form at Donorbox to pay the retreat fee and leave a comment indicating that the donation is for the retreat on August 23. The fee will be waived for those who can’t afford it, please send an email to Tim Barbour if you’d like to request a scholarship. Those who are registered for the retreat will receive an email the week of the retreat with additional information.
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Tri-Cities Cancer Center Meditation Support Group Meets Aug 21st
We’ll continue our monthly mindfulness meditation support group meeting at the Tri-Cities Cancer Center in August. The Cancer Center is located at 7350 West Deschutes Avenue, Kennewick and the next meeting will be Thursday,8/21/2025. The sessions, which are held on the third Thursday of each month, are meant for cancer patients, cancer survivors, and their caregivers. The session will begin at 12:00 pm at the Cancer Center in the Fireside Room. If you have a serious illness other than cancer, or are a caregiver for someone who is ill, you’re welcome to attend the sessions. Each session includes a brief review of mindfulness and mindful self-compassion meditations and the role they can play in reducing the anxiety arising from diagnosis and treatment, an opportunity to ask questions, and the chance to practice meditation with others. Please contact Lorie MacIsaac to register for the support group session by email at Lorie.Macisaac@kadlec.org or call 509-737-3412.
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Beginning Meditation Class ~ August 17, 2025
There is one remaining Beginning Meditation class scheduled in our current series. The class will be held on Sunday, August 17 and will be conducted in person at All Saints Episcopal Church, 1322 Kimball Avenue, Richland, in the Parish Hall. The class will be from 1:30- 3:00 pm. There is no charge for the class; donations are accepted.
Even if you missed the rest of the classes in the series, the remaining class will include review of the basic meditation practices that we’ve covered in the course and will provide a good introduction to meditation. The date and topic for the remaining class are:
August 17 – Insight Meditation and Open Awareness
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Weekly Meditation Schedule:
In-Person Meetings:
Our in-person meetings take place at All Saints Episcopal Church, 1322 Kimball Avenue in Richland. Our in-person meditation meetings are offered on Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. and Saturdays at 8:00 a.m. We meditate for half an hour, followed by an optional time for sharing and conversation after meditation. No problem if you just want to meditate and then leave.
Chairs are available in the meeting hall. However, if you prefer to use your own chair, blanket, cushion or bench, you are welcome to bring it. The meetings have recently moved indoors and meet in the Parish Hall at the rear of the church.
Those who regularly attend the in-person meetings have developed a masking policy for the times we meet 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. 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.
Currently, the Covid community levels are low in Benton County; masks are optional on Saturday and Wednesday morning unless any participant feels more comfortable with everyone masking. Please bring a mask to all of the in-person sessions in case the meeting is moved indoors and there is an attending member with greater vulnerability.
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.
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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 two volunteers 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. 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.
Warm regards,
Insight Meditation of the Mid-Columbia