Retreats at PIMC
Welcoming Feelings (Vedana) and Awakening to Wholeness of Heart
A Day Long Retreat
with Doug Pullin
Saturday June 3rd
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
$70 Suggested Fee (No one turned away for lack of funds)
Join us as we spend a day doing meditation practices focusing on cultivation of mindfulness that is present for feeling tone or vedana. This is the second domain of mindfulness that the Buddha taught in the Satipatthana Sutta. In this practice we are not trying to fix anything. We are welcoming this moment as it is; to realize that we are inherently whole just as we are. We do not need to be "fixed" by meditation. We are not broken in the first place. We greet whatever arises in our minds and bodies with an unbiased attitude. When we use the word “feeling” to label our feeling tone in meditation, "feeling" is synonym for welcoming and letting go/letting be the feeling.
During this day of practice, we will explore the distinction between worldly and unworldly feelings. Worldly feelings have the underlying tendencies of desire, aversion and ignorance. Unworldly feelings are those arising dependent upon the practices of renunciation. The feelings arising from renunciation are the feelings that arise from practices such as moral and ethical conduct, mindfulness, concentration, generosity, equanimity, and lovingkindness. The peace and calm brought about by an open heart gives rise to a pleasant feeling not from sense pleasures– it is free from desire, craving, clinging and attachment. It brings happiness without leading to suffering. It is a non-reactive space of mindfulness and Metta where there is room for everything. This is wholeness of heart.
In the company of spiritual friends on Zoom and in person we can learn together about these qualities of heart and mind that the Buddha said can be cultivated. The day will include guided and silent meditation (siting and walking), a Dharma talk, time for questions, and a sharing circle.
Qi-Gong and Impermanence:
Painting Rainbows with Awareness
Daylong Retreat
with Jim Dalton
Saturday July 1, 2023
10 am - 4 pm
$70 Suggested Fee (no one turned away for lack of funds)
Join us on July 1 for our first Quarterly QiGong retreat with Jim Dalton. The format is similar to the half day workshops given at PIMC over the past dozen or so years: movement, poetry and sitting practice. We use mindful movement (QiGong patterns of breathing and moving) to settle the body and mind; we pause to reflect on poetry centered on mindfulness, and then make time to do nothing but sit together in silence. With the extended time frame we will repeat more cycles of moving, listening, and sitting. We look forward to another quarterly retreat in October.
According to the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, we can’t step into the same river twice; that is, in each moment, the river changes, and so do we. In fact, in the blinking of an eye, the river has moved on and our bodies changed and moved on. Each millisecond, we and the river change. Our forms are impermanent. Our feelings are impermanent. Our very perceptions are continually shifting and changing. Our mental states are changing. Consciousness is nothing but change. If we attempt to hold on to any experience as “me” or “mine,” we become entangled, and we suffer.
But we can train the mind to perceive these changes and let go, allowing our search for control and certainty to drop away. Mindful movement, reflection on impermanence through the eyes of mindful poets, and simple sitting, opening to awareness, brings about more love and benevolence, more compassion, and more joy. Developing balanced movement leads directly to equanimity, balancing loving awareness, compassion and joy.
Classes at PIMC
New classes will be posted here for fall 2023.
Events at PIMC
Meditation, Movement, and Sound Healing
Saturday, June 17th
10 am - 4:30 pm
$60 Suggested Fee (No one turned away for lack of funds)
This retreat will be meeting in-person only.
Join in joyous companionship in the Dharma for a day of rejuvenation and healing. This will be a day for meditation, movement, and the healing sounds of crystal and Tibetan bowls. We'll come together to share our heart’s joy with meditation, then we'll do some mindful movement based on Tara dance practices. The Mandala Dances of the 21 Praises of Tara is a ritual dance offered worldwide as a prayer of peace, protection, empowerment, and wisdom. All traditional cultures celebrate life with music, song, art, and dance! No experience is necessary, all genders welcome and no commitments to undertake other than to your own Presence!
Bring a mat for laying on the floor, slippers, a blanket (to be cozy), and a sack lunch.
For more information about the dances: taradhatu.org.
Phyllis Moses is a seasoned Tibetan Buddhist practitioner and facilitator and has been working somatically with people for the last 30 years.
Visit her website: https://www.hypnobirthingandyoga.com/tara